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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1967.01.1676 Burlingame, california January 16, L967 CALL TO ORDER A regular meeting of the Burlingame City Council was held on the abovegiven date. Meeting called to order at 8:10 p.m., - uayor ceorge inthe chair. PLEDGE OF ALLEG IANCE At word from the chair, Pledge of Allegiance to ROLL CALL in the Council Chamber arose and gave the F1ag. all the Present Absent - councilmen: - Councilmen: Crosby-Dieder iehsen-George-Johnson-Mart in None 1967, submitted to}.{INIITES lhe Minutes of the reg.trlar meeting of January 3 council previously, were approved and adopted. COXMISS ION APPOINT},IENT l.{ayor George announced the appointnent of Mr. Ivayne Guthrie, 746 winchester Drive, ag a member of the Librarl, Board to fill a vaeancy created t[r the resignation of !tr. Ralph Moody. Ihe appointment was unanimous Iy confirmed }l!r Council. COM}IUNICATlONS 1. PRINGLE c ONSTB,I,C T ION CO. RE: REI-IOVAL OF "PEMTHoUSE " ROOF Mayor George reviewed brie f l-y the action taken at the public hearing on Decerdber 19, 1966, wherein !,tr. Douglas Pringle was directed. by unanimousl vote of Council to remove a penthouse construction on his Skyline Towersproject; that subsequently, a communieation from the Pringle Construction Company. &ted Decedbet 27, 1966, suggesting a method of removing thestructure less hazardously and with Less damage to the buililing, was acknowledged by CounciL at its regrular rneeting, January 3, 1967 and the ssubject proposal referred for consideration on this date, with notices requested sent to petitioners seeking a revocation of variance, theirattorney, the Building Inspector, the Fire Chief and l,tr. Pringle. In reply to t}le Chair, the aforementioned, in attendance, confirmedalI had received a notice. fhe letter from ltr. Robert Douglas Pringle, dated December 27, L965,setting forth the proposal. was read, wherein it was stipulated thattbe suggested method would be "subject to approval of the Fire Chief, \dho thus far has indicated he preferred a forty-eight inch clearance under the canopy, " and "it h,ould not be the intention of this companyto make any sun deck use of this area. " A letter was read from the Building Inspector, dated Decemloer 28, L965,stating his office had no objectj.on to the penthouse roof being lovreredto a height of four feet; adding that it was his recommendation that a thirty-six inch gnrard rail be provided around the pertmeter of the slab as a safety precaution. fhe Chair thereafter invited !!r. Lavrrence Augusta, Attorney. representing Ilunt Drive property owners, the petitioners to the application for a revocation of the variance, to comment. ?a t{r. AuguEta stated that "an awkward situation arose at the publichearing" (December 19) in that. in his opinion, "we were naive enough to think perhaps Council would go so far as to order the removal" (the building) and that "on the other hand, l{r. Pringle thought Council would permit the penthouse. " Continuing, Mr. Augusta stated tlat since the last rneeting, hisclients have spoten with lr!r. Pringle, and are of the opinion that "nothing is to be gained by the actual removal of the structurer"that "Mr. Pringle has offered to take the money that the removalof the structure would cost to create considerable landscaping. " !lr. Augusta advised that his clients are nov, interested in "what iEthe most beneficial thing to make the apartment house as attractive as possible" and stating that on behalf of his clients, objectiongare noh, withdrawn in favor of permitting the structure to remain and the area beautified by a tree planting and landscaping program,to screen the apartments. llayor ceorge stated that the penthouse is the subject under discuEsion;that insofar as he is concerned, it was "not the intention of Councilto completely stop the project" and thereafter referred to the motion adopted unanimously by Council at the December 19th meeting. Mayor ceorge further stated that this evening, the subject concernsCouncil's consideration to the " lovrering of the penthouse to conformto the level permitted" and thereafter referred to the Fire Chieffor his opinion. ltle Fire Chief advised that the code requires that an exit from astaiway must have a clearanee of six feet, e igfrt inches; if the roofis lor,rered anC the exit is blocked, one of two otler existing stair- ways terminiting at the end of the roof must ber constructed to provide ProPer access. Fo1lo\^ring some discussion on the location of vent openings to theroof and the Building Inspector's clarification that the " four feet"reduction in the height of the roof referred to the distance betweenthe roof of the building and the canopy slab. Mrs. Douglas Pringle,in attendance, and from the audience, suggested that the canopy beonly lowered to a height to establish the six foot, eight inch clearance required t1z the code. uayor George, in reply, explained that it is the penthouse construc-tion itself, that has created the violation. lrtr. Pringle advised that it is not his intention to "make a sun deckgut of the penthouse" and therefor a railing. as recorurended by theEuilding Inspector, is unnecessary and a gravel top surfacing issufficient. lhe Building Inspector stated that "it is a platform. it is usable and it will be a hazard" and protective measures should be taken. l,lr. william Caplan, President, Millg Estate fmprovement Association,giving his interpretation of the action thus far, stated that thepresent apartment building is unattractive and it is his opinionthat a comprornise may be appropriate by accepting, as a condition,the proposal to provide "extensive and expensive landscaping which wasnot previoraly contemplated. " fhe City Attorney, in reply to the Chair's inquiry concerning theposition of Council. stated that Council has issued an "order"wlth a modifieation therefrom now being solicited; however, if the s].ab is permitted to remain, there is no assurance that a construc-tion will not occur in the future wherein Council "r[ay be in a Iega11ydifficult position. " Councilman Diederichsen, taking the position that "Council is in agreement " stated that Mr. Pringle has violated "the city's trust 7? in him t1z violating the code " and comtnenting on the apParent under- standing reached between the Hunt Drive residents and the contractor, stated he was undecided whether to accept these latest developments. Councilman Johnson, observing that there is "a legal versus apractical side to the issue, " stated that council must be " gn: itleil by the advice of the City Attorney. " commending the stand taken b[, the residents,that the subject structure i3 not unsightly; be located on the building. Councilman Johnson however, it should stated not Councilman Crosby *ated that with the oplroEition to the removal ofthe penthouse now withdrawn, a problem does exist, as pointed out b,y the City Attorney - the possibility of a future owner applyingfor a permit to conplete the penthouse if the unit is not removed. The city Attorney atated that a variance, in addition to a buildingpermit would have to be obtained; that his concern is to eliminate any possibility of the City being drawn into a court action in the future . I{r. Augusta, stat.ing that t}e current-day trend is a " rehabi Iitation "rather than a "retribution" attitude and that "nothing can be gained by the removal" but that the "area can become beautified, " urgedthat the "order" of Council be moCified. lilr. Augusta suggested that "an assurance b}, the contractor" and the "posting of a bond" would serve as an "act of faith" on the partof the project developer. Mayor ceorge. in rep1y, stated that the variance h,as approved by Councilaction in 1964; at that tine no one entered a protest, that tbe issue subsequently r.ras heard before the courts with a ruling declaringthe "variance" lega1 and valid. councilman llartin's inquiries to the Building Inspector and to theFire Chief confirmed their firm position to abide tl, the provisionsof the code, with no exceptions; each indicated no objection to lovrering the deck to a height of four feet, if fire and building codes are observed with respct to a stairway exit. councilman Martin stated that council cannot "condone an illegalstructure" and that any "compromise" concerns only the developer and the property o!^rners . On the question of accesE to the roof. both the Building Inspector and the fire chief, in reply to councilman Martin, stateil that doorsat tbe top of a stair"ray to the roof area must remain unlocked fromthe ins ide. Requested by the Building Councilman ltartin to verify the section of the code, Inspector was excused to refer to the Building Code. t(EU 115 J A recess was declared lry the Chair at 9:15 p.m. crr.r. to oRDER lhe meeting was called to PRINGLE CONSIB,UCTION CO. order by Mayor ceorge at 9:25 p.m. (Continued ) Irtayor George, directing his comments to Mr. Pringle and as a matterof record, advised that "promises" made to the residents as outlinedby !llr. Augusta, is a separate and independent action, and one invihich the ej.ty cannot be made a participant. CounciLman uartin again referred to the question concerning doors and locks to the roof area and reading an excerpt from the Uniform ?8 Suilding Code, stated that the section recites that "exitldoors sha1l be opened from the inside. Councilman ltartin questioned the Auilding Code provision appliedin this particular circumstance. Eurther discussion was concluded with council concurring with the recommendation of Councilman irtartin that Mr. Pringle be permittedto lorper the penthouse to a height of four feet; that he consultwith his project engineers and members of the City's staff on the technical details and that his plans be submitted to Council forfinal approval at the next regular meeting on February 6, 1967. 2. TREE PIANTING POLICY A comrmrnication from the City Manager, dated January L2. L967,refered to prior study meetings wherein it was tbe consensus of Council that the following policy apply to requests from property owners for permission to plant trees in the front areas of their comnercial pEoperties: (1) that an application for a stred.treepernit be made to the Park Superintendenti (2) that the Park Superintendent determine the specificat.ions, standards, conditions and period of mainteance for said planting required of the applicant,(3) that aI1 costs be borne \l the applicant, and (4) that individualtree planting be discouraged; that trees be planned and spaced t^rith proper slzmmetry on a block trasis as approved { the Park Suprintendentwith advice and counsel of the Park Commission. A nrotion was introduced by Councilman Martin, that the foregoingpolicy as outlined be approved, seconded by Councilman Diederichsen and unanimously carri.ed. 4 SECTION 2LO1 .5 GAS TA]( BTJDGET APPROVED A communication from the Director of zub1ic Works, dated January Il, 195?, directed to the City Manager, reguested that the annual budgetfor the ensuing fiscal year 1967-1968 for the expenditure of Engineering cas Tax Rrnds under Section 2LO7.5 of the Streets and Highvrays Code be approved for submission to the District Officeof the State Division of Highways. A memo from the City Manager. footnoted on the communication, recommended the adoption of aresolution to formally request a budgeted allocation of $6,0O0.O0to be o+,ended on engineering for streets and highway purposes. RESOLUrION NO. 2-67 "A !.esolution of the City Council of the Cityof Burlingame Adopting and Submitting a Budget for Expenditure d state Allocated (Engineering) FundE" \^ras introduced for passage on motion of Councilman Diederichsen. seconded by Councilman Johnson and unanimously adopted upon Roll ca1l. 4 STREET SifEEP ING OPERATTON REPQRT A memo from the City Manager, dated January L2, L967, replying to a request from council nade at the last regtrlar meeting, reportedin some detail the street sweeping operation and program conducted throughout the City. the City Manager advised that "tle coordination of cleaning the City \l districts and circling the City on a regular continuous basis isnot a hit and miss operation but one by which the City is kept continuously clean. " A map, designating "Districts" within the City and an accompanying "sweeper eyele" record chart, was made available for review by Council . Ttle report from the City Manager was acknorrledged and placed on file. ?9 PORT RE:T SERVICE ROAD W A comnnrnication from the Clty l{anager, dated iranuary 12, L967, advised of a neeting wlth property oqrners on the east side of the 18OO block of El CaBino Retl, in raaponae to a request received by council at the last regular meetlng Potitioning the renoval of a fence and the widening thereafter of the service road. fhe city uanager reported that trucks parking on the east side of the service road are alleged to create the greater traffic incon- veniences and hazards and it was the recornmendation of the City Engineer and his Office that parallel parking on each side of the service road be established, that a similar request for the widening of the service road was subnitted to Council in Septenber of 1962. at whidr time Council adopted a poliqp that the cost for widening be assr.uned by the area property osners and it was his recommendation that the policy be continued. Council thereafter concurred with the City Manager that the foregoing reconmendations be tranamitted to the petitioners for evaluation. oRDINN{CE No. 861 "An Ordinance of the Ci ty council of the City of Burlingame Authorizing an Arnendrnent to the Contract Between the City Council and the Board of ltdministration of the California State EBployees' Retirement system" (Police cadets, etc.,) \ras introduced by Councilman Diederichsen and given its first reading. ORDINANCE NO. 862 "Amendi ng the ltunicipal Code of The City of Burlingane By Adding *13.25.O1O Fixing the speed Linit for certain Vehicles Descending Trousdale Drive at 25 Miles Per Hour" was introduced by Councilman ltlartin and given it8 first reading. None Councilman Diedericlrsen, referring to an advertieement appearing in the newapaper that "pool tables" are available in the back room of the Pub so-Ilo on Broadway, recomended that the matter be investigated. In reply to Councilman Diederichaen, the City Planner stated that the operators of the Pub So-Eo, at one of the hearings r,rith respect to their application for a business permit, had indicated that "coin- operated pool tables" may be installed. Irhe City Attorney advised that the operation of a "pool or billiard Parlor" requires a City license. Irhe City ltanager was reque8ted to investigate for report to Council . 2. DAIICE PERI{IT "IIIE PtIrtER" Councilman Diederidrsen cocktail bar-restaurant, advised Council that the "Putter" a coribined located at 1819 El camino Real, has recently 5. Reporting verbally on the subject, the city l{anage r stated that the erection of a restrictive trud( sign and additional police patrolling of the area may alleviate sorne of the traffic problems. RESOLUrIONS - None ORDINNICES - Consideration thereof: I,'NFINISHED BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS 1. PIJB SO-HO ADVERT I SEUEril:T changed ot rtership and questioned the statua of a dance permit granted to ttre previous ovner. llrhe City Attorney advised that a dance pernrit is issued exclusively to the applicant and the city l.tanager qras requested to inveatigate the circumstances. 3. WATER OUAI.,IIY @NTROL BOAND lthe City Manager advised that an itenized report prepared by the City Engineer, with respect to the City's schedule to conply with the requirements of the Water Ouality Control Board is available for council's approval. Council indicated no objection to the report and the City llanager was requested to eo notify the Water Quality Control Board. 4. DEDICATION T'NIT ASSEUBLY OF GOD CHURCH Councilman Johnson advised of her recent attendance at the dedication ceremoniee of the Asseubly of God Church's new "Educational Unit." A comtnunication was acknowledged frqn the County Board of Supervisors, dated January L2, 1967, inviting council, the City t{:rnager and the City Engineer to a dinner meeting, 1[hursday, January L9, L967, Sheraton llhunderbolt Hote1, Itlillbrae, at 7100 p.m., concernirg the proposed county-wide Selrer Plan. Councilman llartin recommended that Council also extend an invitation to l.lr. ilohn alenks , the City ' s Consulting Engineer. 6. CIVIL DEFENSE-DISASTER PREPAREDNESS COI'NCIL Uayor ceorge acjknovrledged a corununication fr@ Mr. Irving An6trup, 27O8 Trouadale Drive, dated ilanuary 11, 1957, received too late for inclueion on the agenda, stating that its contents would be noted for Council consideration. OVERPASS TRAFFIC COT{DITIONS Mayor George referred to a complaint received from the Polaroid Conpany located on 875 stanton Road, concerning Overpass traffic conditions, advising that he had peraonally informed Mr. w. J. Chaplin, repre- senting the company, of the plans in progreas to improve the Broadway Overpaas and that ur. Chapl in vrould be notified at such time as public hearings are sdreduled on the subject. CUERNAVACA VISIT IN FORMATION In reply to councilman crosby's inquiry, councilman irohnson confirrred that the sister city comnittee is culrently formulating plans to head a delegation to visit the city's sister City of cuerlavaca. 80 5. COI'IiI:TY SEWER PLAN Mayor George announced that he rrould attend the forthcoming Civil Defense-Diaaster Preparedness Council meeting on l{edneaday, January 18, 1967, at rrhich time the new City-County Cj.vil Defense budget lrould be presented. 7. DIRT HAT'L CO!{PI,AINT :[he City Engineer, in reply to an inquiry from Councifunan Crosby, advj-Bed that engineers from the State Division of Highways uill meet sith the llayor, the city tilanagrer and his of f ice on Ilreaday, alanuary 17 , 1967, at 10:00 o'clock, a.m., to confer on plans to assiat the traffic flow on the east side of the Overpass. 81 I{ICRO-FII,MING The City Engineer, in reply to an inguiry from councilman Diederictrsen stated that the used microfiLaing equipment to be purchaged from an eastbay agency is not yet available to :fhe City of Burlingame. PROTECTOGRAPH CONTROL CENTER I'NIT ltayor ceorge refeEed to a memo from the City lfanager, subrnitted to Council prior to the opening of the meeting, recommending that the Burroughs Automatic Check Writer, used on a trial basis, be purchased as a permanent office machine in the office of the City Treaaurer. lftre city uanager reported that the time-saving efficiency and the greater amount of protection from forgery and alterations warrant the expenditure. Conunenting on Councilman Martin'E statement that the item is not an allocated budget figure, t{ayor George stated that the item sas considered at prior budget study meetings with revenue included within "Contingent Fund " expenditures. Follovring a brief discussion, wherein Councilman uartin expressed his opposition to the expenditure, a motion was introduced by Councilman Crosby, seconded by Councilman irohnson that the Burrougha Protectograph control center Unit be approved and a purdrase order issued. llhe motion thereafter carried by a majority Council vote. ANNOUNCEITIEMTS uayor ceorge announced the follorring forthcoming Council functions: The Annual council-c@uission Dinner, Bob's on Broadway, lfhursday, Pebruary 9, L967 a Ilhe Annual Auxiliary Fire-Police-Council Dinner, Kim's Restaurant, Trhursday, uarch 9, 1967. ACKNOITILEDG!,TE}ITS Receipt of the following rrere acknowledged by the Chair: Fire and Police Reports, Ittonth of Decerob€r, 1966; itinutes of the Burlingame Parking Comrission, dated Decembe r 29, L966i a communication from the state of cal.ifornia Board of corrections, dated January 6, L967, complimenting City administrators and the Chief of Police on conditions in the Burlingane city Jail, following an inspection conducted and reported to the State by the san lr{ateo County Department of Public llealth; a report from the Bay Conservation and Development ComriEsion; and a letter fron Hr. Ralph Uoody, submitting his resignation as a member of the Library Board, due to his relocation to another City. Ihe City Itlanager was requested to communicate trith ur. r,toody, expressing council regret on his resignation, conunending his service to the City and extending an invitation to him to attend the Council-Comnission dinner. WARRANTS warrants, Ii{onth of January, 1967, Nos. ?667-7A06, in the total amount of $88,236.10, duly audited, were approved for palment on motion of Councilman Crosby, Eeconded \r Councilman Diederichsen and unanimously carried. PAYROLL Payroll warrants, Nos. 12990-1344O and 100-144. in the total amount of $f32,513.4O, f,or the ltonth of Decedber, 1956, were approved on motion of, Councilman Crosby, seconded by Councilnan Diederichsen and unani.rnously carried . UOTIONS FOR!'IALI,Y SELECTING ARCHI?ECTS RE: (a) cb) Recreation Center improvements Waterfront area improvements 82 Councilman tilartin introduced a motion that Council fomally select Ur. Kingsford alones, to perform the architectural serviceg for the Recreation Center Improvements and the fim of Itoyston, Hanamoto, ltayes and Beck to perform the arclritectural services for the City's waterfront area and that the city Attorney prepare appropriate contracts. Ihe motion was seconded by Councilman ilohnson and unanirnously adopted. CHAI,TBER OF COI{MERCE OFFICIALS I{ayor ceorge acknorrledged the attendance of PauI iI. Constantino and cilbert Rodli, President and Vice-President respectively of the BurI ingame Chamber of corrnerce. ADJOURNII{ENT lflre meeting was regularly adj ourned at 10350 p.n. Respectfully eubnitted, y'/-,/,*g HERBERT K. I{IIITE, CIIY CLERK APPROVED 3 a EDWARD D. G E, <b4.----l .t