Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1996.03.1845,1, BIJRLINGAME, CALIFORNIA March 18, 1996 CALL TO ORDER A duly noticed regular meeting of the Burlingame City Council was held on the above date in the City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order at7:30 p.m. by Mayor Harrison. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG Ird by City Attorney Jerry Coleman. ROLL CALL COUNCIL PRESENT:HARRISON, JANNEY, *KNIGHT, O'MAHONY, SPINELLI *Councilwoman Knight left the meeting at 8:25 p.m. NONECOUNCIL ABSENT: MINUTES The minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 4, 1996 were approved unanimously after a change on page 3 by Councilwoman Knight regarding the Progress Seminar "she asked Councilwoman Janney to repoft back on @ issues discussed there." Mayor Harrison called forward Beth Bhatnagar of the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center to accept the proclamation for Mediation Week. Bhatnagar thanked council for its contribution and support; she told about the mediation process and invited them to an event on March 23. CONTINUED TO NEXT MEETING - APPEAL OF PLANNING COMMISSION'S DECISION TO UPHOLD CITY PLANNER'S DIRECTION TO REMOVE A NON-CONFORMING ROOF SIGN AT 858-868 BURLWAY A letter from the appellant requested postponement until the next meeting because his attorney is out of town. Council concurred and reset the hearing for April l, 1996. APPEAL OF PLANNING COMMISSION'S DENIAL OF A SPECIAL PERMIT FOR TAKE OUT FOOD AT 1150 BURLINGAME AVENUE City Planner reviewed her memo of March 12 which recommended council hold a public hearing and take action. Clive Marder, appellant, is requesting a conditional use permit for take out in order to add hot dogs and fresh fruit drinks to the items sold in his shop, CJ's Burlingame Avenue Kiosk, at 1150 Burlingame Avenue. The existing store sells prepackaged convenience foods, such as candy, sodas, chips, newspapers, cigarettes and sundries. The applicant wishes to add steamed hot dogs and sausages and fresh juices by the glass. He is not proposing to provide any seating inside or on the sidewalk in front. The business is open seven days a week and he has two full time employees and one part-time employee on site at one time. There are two other businesses in the building, Noah's Bagels and Starbucks Coffee. Both of these businesses have take out permits; 455 Starbucks is a food establishment with inside and outside seating. There are two other food establishments on the block, Cafe Marimba and the Avenue Arcade which is currently undergoing seismic retrofit and will have a 5,000 SF food establishment with patio seating in the rear. The Planning Commission denied this request at its February 26 meeting. The appellant's attorney, Daniel Conrad, wrote a letter setting out issues about the Planning Commission action, including that CJ's already sells prepackaged items and juices in bottles, their request is simply to offer customers more variety; adding hot dogs and fresh juice will not change the nature of their customers; their customers would not be sitting down or buying things different than they are now. Mayor Harrison opened the pubtic hearing. Daniel Conrad and Clive Marder were present. Conrad said the conditions required for approval of the request are acceptable to the applicant; he felt the Planning Commission action was arbitrary and capricious; it denied the applicant his due process by applying different standards than had been applied to other businesses in the area; they already sell packaged foods and bottled drinks and take out permit is not required for that; he said the applicant is doing an excellent job of keeping the area clean; there is no evidence that litter problem comes from CJ's; parking problems are not caused by this business but by nearby restaurants. Marder asked about permit for Noah's; he responded to council questions about proposed food and drink preparation. Vice Mayor O'Mahony was particularly concerned about the young people who congregate on that block; she felt allowing this request had ttle potential of increasing that bad situation. Councilwoman Knight asked about sales of cigarettes and youth; Marder said he asks for ID for any young person buying cigarettes. Don Sabatini, owner of property nearby, said he had heard Marder planned to sell lottery tickets which would increase traffic. Marder said he already sells "scratchers" and applied to sell lottery tickets a long time ago. The hearing was closed. City Planner read Councilwoman Knight's questions about prior use at site which was retail; she noted if the Smoke Shop wanted to offer hot dogs it could also request a take out permit; this use would not be considered a food establishment because it does not "sell food and/or drink at retail with chairs;" Noah's has a take out permit, is not considered a food establishment because it has no chairs; discussed an "A frame" advertisement which they had and is not allowed, it was removed from sidewalk. Councilwoman Janney questioned the issue of food establishments and found it difficult to differentiate between prepackaged and fresh prepared and wrapped foods for take out; staff affirmed our city code defines food establishments and take out and this might be an item for discussion at the upcoming council/planning meeting. Most council members agreed this business is trying to move toward food business instead of retail use, they did not think it was a good idea and it would generate more waste in this area. Mayor Harrison said he had voted to approve a similar request on Lorton last year. Councilwoman Knight moved to uphold the Planning Commission denial including findings. Seconded by Councilman Spinelli and carried 3-2 on roll call vote: Councilwoman Knight, Councilman Spinelli and Vice Mayor O'Mahony voting yes, Mayor Harrison and Councilwoman Janney voting no. PUBLIC COMMENTS Angelo Delacasa, resident, complained about what he perceived as rough treatment by the police when he was taken into custody. He said he would be seeing an attorney. Council said if that was so it could not discuss the matter. 456 Robert Freeman, Los Altos, representing Safeway Markets, spoke regarding the letter on the agenda under acknowledgements which proposed a change in zoning requirements for grocery stores in the Burlingame Avenue Commercial Area. Councilwoman Knight, feeling ill, left the meeting at 8:25 p.m. PROPOSED REORGANIZATION OF THE PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENTS City Manager reviewed his memo of March 11 in which he recommended council consider the proposal to merge the Park Department and the Recreation Deparfrnent into a single deparfinent. If council approves, staff should be directed to prepare a combined operating budget and city code revisions to accomplish the change effective July 1, 1996. For nearly 30 years, the Park and Recreation Departments have operated independently. The retirement of our Park Director in May has given us the opportunity to review the current organizalisn and consider merging the depart- ments. Most California cities operate with a combined Park and Recreation Department. The City Manager believed we could reduce management overhead and maximize our staff effectiveness. Some positions would be upgraded and receive additional responsibilities. The net savings would be about $40,000 annually. The structure for the three commissions, Park and Recreation, Beautifica- tion and Senior, would remain the same. Vice Mayor O'Mahony moved to approve the concept and direct staff to prepare budget and code changes as proposed. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Janney and carried unanimously 4-0-1, Councilwoman Knight being absent. CONSENT CALENDAR RESOLUTION 15-96 ACCEPTING COMPLETION OF EL CAMINO REAL SEWER REHABILITATION - HILLSIDE TO EASTON - CP 9510 Public Works memo of March 11 recommended council approve a resolution accepting this project as completed by Shaw Pipeline in the amount of $157,980. RESOLUTION 16-96 APPROVING REAL PROPERTY CONTRACT AND ACCEPTING TWO ACCESS EASEMENTS FOR ROADWAY AND PEDESTRIAN PATHWAY AT 1299 BAYSHORE HIGHWAY - EASTON CREEK IMPROVEMENTS - CP 8331 Public Works memo of March 13 recommended council approve a real property contract and accept two access easements at a cost of $24,585. The city is reworking Easton Creek between Bayshore Highway and Highway 101. Part of the work is within the property at 1299 Bayshore and requires two easements from that property. c SPECIAL EVENT PERMIT FOR BICYCLE RACE ON SUNDAY. JUNE 30. 1996 City Manager's memo of March L1. recommended approval of a special event permit for Gene Condon and the Peninsula Velo Bicycle Club for the bicycle race in downtown Burlingame. This event has been held for the last seven years with few complaints. a. b 457 d. DENIAL OF CLAIMS: (1) BRUCE & LESLIE MARSDEN: (2) JEAN CARROLL City Attorney's memos of March 11 and March 12 recommended council deny these claims for (1) damage to a garage from a fallen tree branch and (2) damage to a fence from a fallen tree branch. e. WARRANTS AND PAYROLL Finance Director recommended approval of Warrants Number 42555 - 42979, duly audited, in the amount of $1,248, L22.38 and Payroll Checks 84040 - 84764 for the month of February 1996 in the amount of $1,224,162.39. Councilman Spinelli moved approval of the Consent Calendar. Seconded by Vice Mayor O'Mahony and carried unanimously 4-0-1, Councilwoman Knight absent. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS Mayor Harrison said Councilwoman Ifuight had attended the Transportation meeting and Council of Cities kgislative meeting. Councilman Spinelli reported on the Airport Roundtable meeting. Vice Mayor O'Mahony related events at CCAG meeting. Mayor Harrison said he had attended SAMCEDA, presented a proclamation for "Burlingame Together" and attended the Library ground breaking ceremony with Councilwoman Ifuight and Vice Mayor O'Mahony. Mayor Harrison noted that 33 city employees purchased bonds for the Library funding which shows how much faith employees have in this city. He also attended the Samaritan House event, the Commissioner's Dinner and a Broadway BID meeting. Councilwoman Janney attended a CMAQ orientation meeting. OLD BUSINESS - none Vice Mayor O'Mahony had questions on cable television, upcoming franchise renewal process and newspaper stories about TCI. City Manager noted we have a non-exclusive franchise, that anyone can come in and federal government is hoping for more competition with recent cable changes. Commission Minutes: Senior, February 15; Planning, March LL, 1996a, b Department Reports: Building, February; Treasurer, February 29, 1996 NEW BUSINESS Mayor Harrison commended our Chief Building Official, Fred Cullum, for being named "Building Official of the Year. " He said a woman with a disabled child had commented to our Recreation Director about the difficulty of using Ray Park with her child and she complimented the Recreation Director on inviting her to review plans for ADA improvements to the park. Mayor Harrison also asked that the crew working on sidewalk replacement in the Dufferin area be careful to try to match the color of the concrete they are replacing. Council members agreed and asked if a set formula for concrete color could be established for sidewalks. 458 c ktter from Timothy Birch objecting to parking being prohibited on Carmelita between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. Mayor Harrison asked that TSP review this letter. ktter from Heidi Whiteside in support of BART Irtter from Senator Kopp stating he would seek revision of the statute excluding cities from receipt of traffic fine monies for person who attend traffic school and commenting on Councilman Spinelli's testimony at the Congressional hearing on BART in Washington DC. Mayor Harrison asked if Councilman Spinelli could provide a transcript of his presentation at the hearing. Councilman Spinelli said he would; he said he had responded to Senator Kopp. f. (' Irtter from PG&E regarding a good deed done by the Airport during a threat of power intemrption. ktter from the Burlingame Homeowners Association requesting to hear city staff speakers at its meetings. Mayor Harrison asked staff to respond with a letter similar to our 1993 letter and noted that council meetings will now be held at an earlier time which should make attending a council meeting easier. ktter from Cassidy & Verges proposing a change in zoning in the Burlingame Avenue Commercial Area. Mayor Harrison noted this is the letter Robert Freeman spoke of earlier. After some discussion, council directed staff to prepare an ordinance for their consideration making grocery stores a conditional use in Burlingame Avenue Commercial Area excluding the prohibition of stores exceeding 10,000 SF. They directed introduction of the ordinance on April 1 and a hearing to be held on April L5, t996. I Letter from Assemblyman Morrow regarding AB 616, residential occupancy limits Council asked for a letter in support of this bill. Resolution from the City of Half Moon Bay supporting renewal of the offshore oil drilling moratorium. Commendation to the City of Burlingame from SAMCEDA for "Vision and kadership" on the 1995-96 Economic Vitality Strategic Action Plan. I-etter from the Building Industry Association regarding debunking "Beyond Sprawl" and sending a new study entitled "The Case for Suburban Development. " m. lrtter of resignation from Traffic Commissioner Ron Karp. Council accepted the resignation with regret. n. Papers from Charles Smith regarding BART, buses and elderly drivers. d e j k. l. h. 459 CLOSED SESSION At 8:55 p.m. the Mayor adjourned the meeting to a Closed Session to confer with the City Manager regarding labor negotiations with the Police Officers Association. The meeting reconvened at 9:07 p.m. with no action being taken. ADJOT]RNMENT IN MEMORY OF WILLIAM E. WARNE. TED WERNER. ALBERT EBNER AND GERTRUDE ARCHIBALD Mayor Harrison noted with sadness the deaths of William Warne, father of City Planner Meg Monroe, who served for many years in government service under President Truman and Governor Pat Brown; Ted Werner, former crossing guard and local Santa Claus for many years; Albert Ebner, father of Peter Ebner; and the wife of a former Mayor of San Mateo, Gertrude Archibald. After a moment of silence, the meeting adjourned in their memory at 9:08 p.m. Judith A. Malfatti City Clerk