HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1959.10.0516
Burlingame, C al lfornl a
Octoben ,, 1959
CALI. TO ORDER
A ::egular meetlng of the Bu:r1lngame City Council was heldgiven date. Meeting called to onder. at B:05 p.m., - Mayorln the Chalr.
on the above
Johns on
PLEDGE OF .q.LLEGIANCE
At word fnom the Chalr al1 in the Couneil Chamber anose and gave the
Pledge of Allsglsnce to the F1ag.
ROLL CALL
Pnesent - Councllmen! BJmd- Johns on-Mor'ga.n-Thayer
Absent - Councllmen: Rooth
CouncLlman Rooth, absent because of llIness, was excused on motlon of
Counc l lman Byrd and seconded by Councllman Thayen.
MINUTES PREVIOUS }METING
In neply to Councilman Morganrs lnquiny, the City Clerk advl-sed thata copy of the minutes of the last meeting of the Cor:ncl1, which
lncluded a discusslon on the sales tax lssue, had not been fonwardedto the Board of Supervisors. The minutes were correcteci to record that
such was the or.der and that a communlcatlon be addnessed to the Boandof Super"vlsor:s advlsLng that the omlsslon occurred inadventently. The
minutes of September 21, 1959t were ther:eafte!: unanimously approved
and adopted on motLon of Councllman BJrrd and seconded by Councllman
Thaye:r .
MESSAGE .FROM KOMAE, JAPAN
Mayor Johnson introduced the Revenend Mynon Henre11, Head Pastor ofthe Flnst Methodlst Chu:rch, Br::cllngame, who recently neturned from
a spectal missionary assignment in Komae, Japan.
Rever:end llerrell presented Mayon Johnson ulth s ouvenfi:s of th6 trip
and a written message of good will and frlendly greetings from the
I,Iayor of that Clty. The Chab acknowledged the message glfts wlth
appnopr"late wonds.
CO}HUNICATIONS
1. R ,IIEST TO OPERATE P.ARKING LCT PRII\MOSE-DONNELIY RTFERRED
B TC Pt,{\I
A comrrunlcatlon, dated Septernber 29, 1959, was read from Wallace C.
C1ank, appeating the decislon of the Planning Commlsslon ln denylng
the appl-icatlon for. a special permlt to operate a panklng lot at
Pr.l.mrose Road and Donnelly Avenue.
A corununication, dated Septerrrben 29, 1959 from the Planning Comrnis-
slon, lnfor.med the Councll that a publlc hearlng had been conducted
cnana
lot at
pllcation submitted by Wallace C. Clarkr to operate a parking
rlmrose Road and Donnelly Avenue. The conmunlcatlon stated
p
P
that trthe ordinance outllnes
lntended to insune thet such
and not a nulsance to adJoln
or equal sunfaclng pavingr b
enclosuro; (b) .3anitany sewe
Adequate Llluminqtlon. The
had voted unanimous 1y to den
assertlon that he was not in
of the stlpulatlons.
a number of requlrements whlch are
lots will be slghtly, reasonably safe
ing owners. . .. . . .tt (s') .Asphalt r concrete
umpe n guards (lf needed) and proper
rs, if-rn atLendant ls employed; and (c)
Council- was advlsed that the Cornnisslon
y the permlt based on the appllcantrs
a financial pos: tion to comply wlth all
L7
A communlcatlon, dated Octoben 2, l-959, was read from the Clty l'lanagen,
necommendlng that the pr.oposed oper"atlon be expenimented to supplenent
the Cltyrs parklng prog?am, wtth the Clty retainlng eontnol of thefuture a.ppearrance of s ald Iot .
Mayor" Johnson Eulnounced thst thls was the tlme and the place to
conduct a heanlng on said appeal and lnvlted the appllcant, Mp. C1ark,
to make hls pnesentatlon.
Mr. Clark stated his experlence with sirnllan openations ln othercltles and advlsed that hls appeal was based on four. polnts: (1) Non-
Confor"ning Use. Because of the currlent status of tne 1ot as a "non-
eonfor.ming use, lt was the appllcant rs oplnlon that his appearance
before the Planning Commisslon was unnecessary; (2) Insufflclent
reasons advanced to deny the penmlt. The appllcant alleged thatthe Conmlsslonrs reascns to deny the pernit were lnsufflclent; that
he had agneed to pateh holes ln the pavement, place potted plants
dlstinguishing the bor:adary of the lot and to improve the dr"lveways.I'lr. Clank stated thrt lt was not his intentlon to employ a fuII-tlme
ettendant and therefor:e sanltar"y faellities were not necessatty;(3) City to beneflt by prlvate handllng of parking 1ot. Mr. Clank
stated that prlvate handl.lng of a parklng faclllty woul d benefit theclty substantlally, saving the taxpayer approxlmately $2r1OO.O0 per"yerr and thst a "tickeb val ldatlon'r system ls gaining popularlty in
other clties; (l+) Solution to Cltyts parklng problem. Mr. Clank
expressed the opinion that operatlons as pnoposed tn thi s lnstance,
would resolve the parklng problem of the Clty and the saving nealized
would amount to tthundneds of thousands of dollars.tr In conclusion,
Mn. C1ar.k suggested that Bunl lngame menchants rrset up theb oun
clty-wide par.klng system, form a corpor.atlon and openate the lots
fon their consuners. "
There belng no one pnesent to speak in suppor"t thereof, the Chair
lnvlted opponents to be heand.
A telegnam, dated Oetober 5, 1959, was pead from Levy Bros. Depart-
men
met
the
ereref
tor.e executives, urglng that toe 1ot be conver.ted into a
d parking 1ot, oper.ated by the City and that the revenue derived
r.om, be expended for oper.ation and malntenance.
A commr:nicatlon dated Octoben 2, 1959 t from the finm of R. J.
Bennetts & Sonr Pharmacists, 139O Bunllngame Avenue, recorded lts
oppositlon to a validating par:klng 1ot at PnLmrose Road and Donnelly
Avenue.
A commrrnlcation dated Octoben 2, 7959 , l,ras re3d from Edwar.d R.
Martin, PnesLdentr Betten Bur.llngame Assoclatl:n, reconnendlrg that
the Councll grant Mr. C1ar.k penmlssion to operate the 1ot on a vaIl-
datlon basis, fon a perLod of slx months, wlth the stlpulatlon that
lf he wlshes to contlnue, he then be requfu.ed to meet the necessar:y
r.equinencnts. It was that Assoslaticnrs oplnlon that the openation
wLl1 save the City a eonslderable expendltune 1n rental , po1lce
patnolllng and malntenance each yeer.
Couneilman ?ha yer. advlsed that word necelved fr"om Sher.r:yrs Llquor
Store on Burlingarne Avenue, lndleates that flrm recorunends the
instailatlon of panking meters instead of a valldatlon system.
Councllman Thayer questioned Mr. Clark regandlng fees to be lmposed,
to r*hich lnqulry Mr. Clar.k replled that lt would depend largely
upon the volume of cars uslng the faclllty; however, in any case,
the fee rrould be nominal .
Howard Gundensen, Purchaslng Managen, Levy Bnos. Department Store,
stated that panklng meters would compensate for the use of the 1ot
and suggested th:t the Clty ascertain fnom the owner whether he
would obJect to the placement of parking meters on hls property.
Mr. Clank advlsed, in rep1y, that the only equitable sorutlon to
pnovlde : faclllty as proposed would be on a validation basls.
Councilman Morgan directed an lnquiry to the Planning Advisor, refer-
t lng to the statement of th6 Clty r'ranager ln hls letter to Couneil,
18
".......tire lmpllcation was that lt would have gr:anted the permlt hadthe applleant agr.eed to pave, fence, etc."
The Planning Advlson advised that the or.dinanee stipulates certalnrequlremeats and had the appllcant lndicated that the 1ot would beoperated ln accondance rrlth the rules and the nequests of the Plan-nlng Corunisslon, the penmit rould have been appnoved.
Mr. C1ank, 1n repfy, stated that ln his oplnion, the stipulations lnthis lnstance were too r'lgld to be pr"actlcal.
Mayon Johnson obsenved that the applicant has advlsed of hLs xi1llng-
ness to comply wlth several of the requlnements and therefone poslnga questlon whether the Councll should conslden the rner.lts of th6
appeel on that basls.
The Clty Attorney advised, in reply to Councilman Byrdts lnqulry,that the Councll may grant the appeal as pr.ovlded in the ordinance,or, as an alter.natlve, the applLcatlon may be re-subnltted to thePlanning Commlssion as a vanlance.
The Plannlng Advison stated that if tt ls the deslre of Councll toestabllsh the parking 1ot, the subJect should be refer.r'ed back tothe Plannlng Commlsslon to e xplore the tenms wtth the appllcant.
Councllnan Morgan moved that the subJect be referred, wlthout pre-
Judlce, to the Plannlng CommLssion for further conslderatlon, seconded
by Councllman Thayer and canried.
The hearlng was continued pendlng a repont and recomrnendatlon from'the Planning Commlss lon.
2. APPEAL RE: APARTI'MNT HOUSE VARIANCE .4.8C WAY-EL CA]4INO REAI,
Communlcatlons, dated September 29, 1919, from Frances M. Wetkinson,
]-![11 Bernal -\venue and Robert C . I,lsysp, 822 Walnut Avenue, were read,appeallng the decislon of the Plannlng Commlsslon in grantlng avar.lmce to erect an apantment at 150fr 1509 and 1515 Ar:c Way.
Mayor Johnso. announced that lf there were no obJectlons fr.omCounc1l, the heaning on the appeal 1n the matter. of a var.iance per-mitting the erection of an apartment exceedlng the Cltyrs helghtllmltatlon requlrement would be hel-d on 0ctober. 21 , 1959.
Robent Cornellr Attorney, representlng a lar:ge group of opponents,ln addnesslng the Councll , nequested that the hearing be extendedto a date prefenably in November.
In reply to 5ounc11 lnquiry, the Clty Attorney advlsed that lt would
be lmpnopen to extend the heaning beyond 0ctober 27, l.959, ,lttrout
notlfLcatlon to the appllcant.
Councilman Morgan questloned whethen the Councll is obllgated by an
lnformal understanding to continue the hearlng on October 21 and
thereafter moved that the hearing be continued unti1 November 2, 1959 'seconded by Councilnran Johnson. The rrote was r:ecorded as a tle vote:.{yes: Cor:ncl.lmen: Johnson-Morgan, Noes: Councllmen: Byrd-Thayer
Mrs. Euge ne Umland, one of the applicants, announced her presence and
followlnpg a telephone call to Mr. Umlandr advised that there werre no
objectlons to the hearlng being contlnued until November e, 1959.
The hearlng was theneafter decl-aned contlnued untll the regulars
meetlng of the City Council , November' 2, L959.
3.STREET NAME CILANIE TO IICOI{AN ROAD'I
A cormnunication dated september 29, was nead from the Plannlng Com-
misslon, advlstng that a publle hea::lng had been condueted on an
appllcatlon subrnitted by Cowan Alncraft AssocLates, nequesting that
t'hl name of tti4a.-fnand Roidtt be changed to ttCowan Roadrr and by unanimous
vote, recomnended that the name be changed.
19
A comndnlcatlon dated October 2, 1959t was read frorn the Clty
Manager:, recommending that the necessa:ry legislation be prepar"ed
tc effect the change.
CouncLlman Byrd moved that the Councll
Attorney be lnstructed to pnepane the
seconded by Counc l1man lhayen.
concr::: and
appropri ate
that the Cityleglslatlon,
A brlef discussLon erose on CounclJ.man Morgants suggestlon that
the Clty rYanager Lnvestlgate the po1lcy of other cities relatlveto belng compensated for the ser"vlce. The Chalr cal1ed for a vote
on the motlon, wlth the result as follows: Ayes: Councllmen:
Byrd-Johnson-Thayen; Noes: Councllmen: Morgan
lt.DRILL MASTER CLASSIFICATION F'OR FIRE DEPARTI'{ENT
A communlcation dated Octoben 2, L959, was nead fnom the Clty
Managen, recommendlng that an or"dingnce be adopted to pnovlde for'
the Classiflcatlon of rtDrill Me.sten'r for the .rire Department.
There appeanlng to be an erron ln the computation foi ttsecond yeertt
compens,ation, the subject was r.eferred to the City tnsr.*"o.
5. DRAINAGE EASEME$T FROM MARGARET S. McROSKEI (Lincoln Avenue)
A communlcation dated 0
reconnended that a r.eso
eesement fnom Mangaret
Stonm Draln lmproveme nt
lntnoduced f or: pass age ,
ctober. 2t 1959 t fnom the City Msnsg6r',
lutLon be adopted accepting a dralnageS. McRoskey as pant of the Lincoln Avenue
, Ifas concurred in and Councllman Byrd
RESoLUTI0N N0. 89-59 rrAcce pting Deed of
EEsolqlr0N lro. 90-59
Sewer Easement on Map
Bur.1lngame, San Mateo
October 21 , 1P!!) was
man Byrd, s econded
on ro11 ca1I.
by CounclLnan Thayer and unanlmous1y carried
9t-59 "A ppr.ovlng i'lna1 Map Entitled tBurlingame
Dedlcatlon of Dnainage E@t S. McRoskey, Dated
September 29, 1959 r't seconded by Councllman Thayen and r:nanlmcus 1y
adopted on no1l ca11.
6. INVITATION TO TOUR SOUTH COUNTY RO.qD SYSIEM .ACCEPTED
A memo to Counellr dated October 2, 1919, fnom the Clty i'i4"r*"o,
advLsed that the Councll has been invlted tc tour the South County
noad system. Counc ilnan Bynd, Councllman Thayen and the City
Managen announced theln lntentlon to accept the lnvltatlon. TheClty Msnsg6r? was requested to nespond to the lnvitatlon.
7. S?UDY },IEETTNG TO BE I{ELD IN FUITURE
A memo to Csung11, dated October 2, l.959 t from the Clty Marlggsr,
submltting a tentative list of toplcs for a proposed study meetlng,
was acknowledged and a date for a study session to be detenmlnedln the nean future .
8. H. RTCHARD oIHARA oPPOSING SALES TAX
A communlcatlon dated Septemben 28, 1959, was nead from Il. Rlchar.d
OtHar:a, President, Supenlon Coach and Ambulanee Sales Co., unglngthe Councll to oppose a pnoposed sales tax for the Clty of Bur1ln-
Bame or to place the lssue on the ba11ot for. the electonate todeter.rnlne. The comrmrnLcat l on rras acknowledged and placed on fl1e.
RESOLUTIONS
rrDeclarlng Intentlon to Vacate and Abandon
of Subdivlslon No. ! Burllngame Park,
County, Califonnlart /Heaning scheduled
lntroduced fon passage on motion of Councll-
Manor. No.2rBu::1tngame, Callf onnlat and Directing Executlon of
Agneement to Construet Publtc fmpnovements " was lntroduced for
passage on motlon of Councilman Bynd, seconded by Councllman Thayer
and unanlmously carried on ro11 ca1l.
20
Councllman Morgan advlsed that petltlons clrculated wlthin the Clty
by pensons stnongly op::osed to the enactment of a sales tax ondi-nance by the City Council or by the Board of Super:vlsors, irerepresented to Council on thls oceaslon, beaning lhe slgnaiures ofapproximately 2 r)-1,1O, purponted to be residents of the -Clty ofBurllngame and othen cl tles .
Councllman Morgan quoted fnom a statement by Wtlliam Werder, Chalrmanof the County Boand of Supervlsors, July 23, 1959, r hereln Mr. Wer"den
declaned that he would approve the adoptl-on of a sales tax ordinance
so1e1y lf the electo::ate so lndlcated lts approval. Councllman
Morgan repeated his previous statements that the lssue be resolvedby the voters.
CouncLlman Thayer spoke ln favor of a sales tax, statlng that the
County of San Mateo is the only county in the State of Callfonnla,rrith the exception of three smal1 northern counties, that has not
aoopted the sales tax. Councilnan Thayen advlsed that she ls 1n
possesslon of statlstlcal lnformrtlon lndlcating the amor:nt of
revenue being allocated to cltles ln other counties of the State andwhlle the lssue remains r:nresolved ln this county, the anount of
revenue may easlly reduce the property tax b:' one half.
Councll-man Byrd also spoke at conslderable length, s tating that a
sal-es tax was the only means by which to meet the upward rlse ln
budgetany costs and to malntain city services.
Councllman Byr.d observed that citles ln thls county currently re-
ceivlng revenue from a sales tax ane ln a positlon to keep the taxrate low and to reserve addltlonal revenue ln the General Fund.
CRDl NANCES
None
ULT'INTSHED BUSTNESS
1. SALES TAX
2. PETITIONS OPPOSING SALES TAX
Councilman Mongan, speaking at some length on the Salex Tax !.ssue,expressed his opposltion to a member of the Council maJorlty groupbeing selected as the Cltyts nepresentative and spokesman ai theforthcoming Sar Mateo Board of Supervlsors meeting on the subJectof Sales Tax, October B, 1959.
Mayor Johnson, speaking in oppositlon, concr.u:r"ed with the statementsof Councilman Morgsa that the matten should be r"esolved by the
electonate. Mayor Johnson stated that a sales tax would impose undue
hardshlp on 'tpeirslonerstr and on young famllles and ln her" oplnlon,
was an inequltable tax.
Mr. James Hlmrnel, Mns. Gertrude Wa11 and Ph'. Wl111am Roese, in
attendance, also volced thefu: opposltlon to the establlshment of a
sales tax.
A lengthly debate ensued, at the conclusion of which Councll,man
l,Iorgan and l{ayor Johns on each lndicated that they would be pnesent
at Ifre meetln[ cal]ed by the Board of Supervisons on october Bth.
Refenence was made to the petltlons filed on this date bear"lng the
signatunes purporting to be nesidents of the Clty of Bun'l ingame and
r:eJldents from outslde the conflnes of the City. The C.tty Cler:k
was nequested to ascertain the numben of 1oca1 residents whose
s lgnati:res appear on the petitlons circulated 'rIn Pnotest to the
Enictment of a Sales Tax Ordlnance tsy the City Councll of the
Clty of Burllngane and/on the Boand of Supervisors of the County of
San-Mateott and to so notify the Boand of Supervlsors through the
Office of the CourtY Clerk.
2L
NEW BUSTNESS
1. WALTER S. STOKES THIRTY TEAR SERVICE RECOGNIZED
Councllman Mongan rnoved that an appnoprlate communicatl"on be dlnectedto Walter. S. Stokes, commendlng },tr. Stokes on hls thlrty-yean servlcees an employee of the Clty of Burllngame, seconded by Councllman BJrr"d
and rrnanlmous 1y car.ried .
2. S]DEWALK DA}.{AGE
The Clty Englneen was nequested to lnvestlgate a complaint ,tecelved
::egand 1ng a damaged sldewalk hazard on Crescent Avenue, south of
Howand Avenue .
3.ROOF HAZARD
Mr. Charles Nlchols ca1letll-e rrovenhanglng roof" a
ttentlon of the Council to2l[ Broadway, Burlingame.
dat1 a danger.ous
lr.PETlTlON POR A}iNDGTION (Vicinity Hillstde Clrcle )
A petitLon fon Annexatlon of Unlnhablted Terrltory to the Clty of
Bunllngame, subnitted by petttlonsps Cyrus J. and i'larganet A.
McMl11an, was necelved end :refenned to the Clty Attorney fon
pnoce s s 1ng.
(ACK\OWLEDGM,IENTS
The Chain acknowledged necelpt of mlnutes from the BurlingameClty Planning CommissLon and the san Mateo County Greater Hlghways
Committee and thanked Councilman Thayer and Clty r'ianager Schwalm
for thelr appearance as the Cltyts representative at the necent
Metropolltan Bay Anea meetlng.
ADJOURNI{ENT
Thene being no funther business, the meeting lras regularly
ad journed at 12:00 mtdnigbt.
(Next regular meetlng Wednesday, 0ctoben 2L, L959) League ofMunlclpalltles Confer.ence, October 18 - 21, 1959.
Respectfully submltted,
Ctty Clerk
Mayon
M
HERBERT K. WHITE