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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1998.03.16BIJRLINGAME, CALIFORNIA March 16, 1998 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 at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Mike Spinelli. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG The pledge was led by Planning Commission Chair Karen Key" ROLL CALL COUNCIL PRESENT: COUNCIL ABSENT: GALLIGAN, JANNEY, KNIGHT, O'MAHONY, SPINELLI NONE MINUTES The minutes of the regular meeting of March 2, 1998 were approved after a change by Councilman Galligan who noted on page 5 under the New Business discussion of the Floribunda/El Camino intersection,tltat,,MayorSpinelli@mentionedastop1ight...'' PUBLIC HEARING - ADOPTION OF URGENCY. INTERIM ORDINANCE 1589 ESTABLISH- ING A 45-DAY MORATORIUM ON ISSUANCE OF PERMITS FOR SECOND STORY AND HIGHER CONSTRUCTION IN THE R-1 DISTRICT THAT WILL CAUSE THE STRUCTURES ON A PROPERTY TO EXCEED A CERTAIN FLOOR AREA RATIO (FAR) Mayor Spinelli noted the City Attorney's memo of March 11,, 1998 recommended council hold a public hearing and take action. He called forward Planning Commissioner Jerry Deal, Chairman of the Neighborhood Compatibility/Consistency Committee, who stated that a flyer being circulated throughout the crty was very misleading; too bad the person who was responsible did not call to find out what was going on; he reviewed the committee's recommendation that council adopt a moratorium on construction of second stories in the R-1 Districts. He showed slides of many large new "cookie cutter" type homes" He noted the entire Planning Commission reviewed this issue at its last meeting and unanimously approved recommending to council a moratorium that would disallow building and construction permits and planning applications for additions of second and higher stories in the R-1 district if the addition or construction would result in structures on a lot exceeding either 45 percent or a total of 27(J0: square feet of gross floor area, whichever is less. Attached to the staff report was a table prepared by the Planning Department that provided examples of how various limitations on FAR would affect certain lot sizes. The commission has been discussing regulations that would establish FAR plateau beyond which some process would be imposed to ensure consistency with the neighbor- hood. In order to give the city and the commission time to study and revise its regulations, the commission recommends council adopt a moratorium. He was sure the commission could make a recommendation by the April 20 city council meeting. The city attorney noted an affirmative vote of four council members is required to adopt an urgency ordinance. 308 Mayor Spinelli opened the public hearing. Todd Robinette, Irv Amstrup, Richard Schwartz, Chris and Mary Denten, Martin Dreiling, Todd Becker, Donna Slote, Mai Cooke, Cathy and Joe Baylock, Ellis Schoichet, Suzy Kunda-Cvitkovic, Chris Andrews, Judy Richmond, Nancy Locke, Mark Grandcolas, Laura Snideman, David Pryor, Will McGowan, Amy Andrews, John Root and several others spoke in favor or in opposition. Those in favor noted the distress of having a "monster home" built next door; loss of privacy, ambiance and compatibility of neighborhood; the Burlingame Homeowners Group came into being because of this issue, people are concerned, need to keep city the special place that it is; large homes cause damage to surrounding homes; FAR should be tied to lot size; a 45 day moratorium is not a long time, do not fear it; Planning Commission is looking in the right direction, it needs some time to consider options; Burlingame homes are small so people need to expand, but need to iimit the amount of garage space and retain the character of home; people move here for trees and quaint character of neighborhoods; distributed magazine article about new neighborhoods being built like Burlingame; detractors will say this will reduce the value, but they said that when the current FAR law was adopted and values have increased; lost an historic building in the city recently, a salvage company was not even allowed to save some artifacts because of "preservationists" bothering the property owner; anxious when houses on either side were sold, but was lucky the new owners did not change them; if people want monster tract homes, there are lots of cities where they can buy them, Burl- ingame is not the place for them; encourage some type of design review board; added on to his home but kept the second story within the roof line of original home; need some type of design rules, noted "old is new again"; focus should be on design qualrty and character; side setbacks; things are changing rapidly, need to consider the character of the city; should have a design review board; a contractor was first angry about moratorium, but agreed we don't want to change the look of Burlingame; monster homes are built for profit at expense of neighbors; need to consider the impact of these huge homes on city services; another contractor agreed we need to come up with guidelines; real estate agents assure buyers that they can enlarge or tear down these small homes; need to try to keep these remodels within the character of the neighborhood; this is a beautiful town, keep it that way. Those in opposition had plans ready for an addition; did not see any reason for an "emergency" ordinance; delaying building plans for addition will cost money; should be a way to allow people who have plans started to continue with additions; value of property will be reduced; moratoriums are bad way to operate; don't see this issue as one of public health, safety or welfare; these old homes are not earthquake safe, need to be replaced; new homes added $10 million in property value to the city; need to consider the seniors whose homes are their nest egg. Jerry Deal noted there has been a year of discussions about overbuilding in the older neighborhoods; 45 days is not a long time, the commission can come up with a recommendation by then; this is not about square footage, it's about mass; cutting the FAR doesn't really help; need to give an incentive for building with neighborhood cornpatibility; need some guidelines about design; if a neighborhood has all one-car garages, a remodel must be like that; must be compatible with neighborhood; believe we will have design review one day" The hearing was olosed. Councilwoman O'Mahony noted we have been talking about this for over a year, council asked the commission to come up with guidelines; need to keep neighborhoods attractive; the moratorium does not forbid building, just have to stay within certain size and this size will not always be the FAR Burlingame City Council 309 March 16" 1998 allowed, only until some new guideline is established; commission will come back with something next month, she would support the moratorium. Vice Mayor Janney asked about the table attached to the ordinance; might consider if FAR were 45 percent on all lots. Councilwoman Knight noted her concenr about monster homes; recalled voting against the FAR a few years ago because it was not tough enough; but she was also concerned about design review, don't want another layer of govern- ment; she had some reservations about this; asked about people who have plans in process; staff responded only complete plans accepted by Planning or Building today would not be affected. Councilman Galligan wondered what the emergency was that warranted this ordinance; what is the safety issue; don't want to do anything that will devalue a person's property; only 35 days until the April 20 meeting, why not make the ordinance 35 days instead of 45 days; would like the commission to consider some type of credit for people who add on and keep the integrity of the home; discussed the great expense of buying a home in Burlingame; city might hire an architect to help applicant's architects understand Burlingame and the need to fit into the neighborhood, it could be paid through application fees; could support a 35 day moratorium, but would have trouble extending it further" Vice Mayor Janney could support 35 days, but no longer; was never enthused about FAR, thought design was more important than square footage; she requested the less restrictive terms in the moratorium of 2700 SF or .45 FAR whichever is greater; commission should carefully discuss design review board. Mayor Spinelli said we need design guidelines but concerned about bureaucracy of design review boards; commission has been working on this, believe they can come up with something in 35 days; little price to pay for some good guidelines. The mayor asked the city clerk to read the title of the ordinance. Councilman Galligan moved to waive further reading of the ordinance. Seconded by Councilwoman O'Mahony and carried unanimously. Councilman Galligan moved to adopt ORDINANCE 1589 with changes discussed including 35-day period and "greater of 45 percent FAR or 2700 SF. " Seconded by Vice Mayor Janney and carried unanimously 5-0 on roll call vote. Mayor Spinelli called for a recess at 9:05 p.m. The meeting reconvened at9:17 p.m. with all council members present. City Attorney reviewed his memo of March 11, 1998 which recommended council hold a public hearing and take action. At the last meeting, council introduced this ordinance to change the definition of "financial institution" to except one-person offices from the definition as reconnmended by the Planning Commission and with an additional amendment that would generally remove frnanciai brokers and advisors from the detinition of "financial institution. " Mayor Spinelli opened the public hearing. There were no comments and the hearing was closed. Vice Mayor Janney moved adoption of ORDINANCE 1588. Seconded by Councilman Galligan and carried unanimously 5-0 on roll call vote. Councilwoman Knight thanked Howard Page for his e-mail about this issue. March 16, 1998 310 Burlingame City Council SECOND READING - ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE 1588 CHANGING THE DEFINITION OF ''FINANCIAL INSTITUTION'' AND ADDING A. NEW DEFINITION FOR 'INVESTMENT ADVISOR OR BROKER'] PUBLIC COMMENTS Phillip Arnnstrong asked council support of the annual bike race special event listed on the Consent Calendar. He also discussed need for bike rack at city hall. Diane Wirgler read fax letter regarding the Broadway train station restaurant plans; she encouraged council to come up with a preservation ordinance for historic buildings. Cathy Baylock talked about a list of historic buildings that city council did not adopt in 1980; now half of these buildings are now gone; hope council adopts something to keep these buildings and puts some teeth into it. Suzy Kunda-Cvitkovic appreciated Councilman Galligan's statement about credits for neighborhood compatibility; she has a high attic which she would like to use as a play room, have no intention of using as a bedroom or changing the exterior appearance of the house. Chris Andrews discussed his search for the perfect place to live and finding Burlingame; hope we work to preserve historic buildings. SELECTION OF A COUNCIL MEMBER AS ALTERNATE TO THE SMC CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU City Manager's memo of March 4 recommended council appoint an alternate to the San Mateo County Convention & Visitors Bureau. At the last meeting, Vice Mayor Janney recommended that Councilman Galligan be appointed because of his financial expertise. Vice Mayor Janney nominated Councilman Galligan as alternate. Seconded and carried unanimously. SELECTION OF TWO COUNCIL INTERVIEW TEAMS FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION APPLICANTS AND THE SENIOR COMMISSION APPLICANTS City Manager's memo of March 4, 1998 recommended council choose two teams to interview for the Planning and the Senior Commissions. Councilman Galligan asked about strategy of making Planning Commission appointments on a staggered basis so there are not too many new faces on the commis- sion at one time. Staff noted commissioners setrve until replaced, council interview teams may discuss with retiring members and with applicants that appointments will be made later or on a staggered basis. Mayor Spinelli appointed Councilman Galligan and Vice Mayor Janney to interview for Senior Commission. Planning Commission interview team was continued to the next meeting. CONSENT CALENDAR RESOLUTION 17-98 ACCEPTING COMPLETION OF THE 1995-96 SIDEWALK MAIN- TENANCE PROGRAM - CP 9519 Public Works memo of March 11, 1998 recommended council accept this sidewalk project completed by JJR Construction in the amount of $491,364. a Burlingame City Council 311 March 16, 1998 b RESOLUTION 18-98 AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO SIGN AN AGREE- MENT WITH BCDC TO GUARANTEE PUBLIC ACCESS ALONG THE BAYFRONT FOR THE AIRPORT BOULEVARD PROJECT - CP 9411 Public Works memo of March 9 recommended that council authorize the city manager to sign an agreement with BCDC to guarantee public assess which is approximately .73 acres in area along the bayfront near Beach Road. The project consists of reconstructing the roadway to provide a new bike lane, a pedestrian path, public access improvements, and stabilization and protection of these improvements from tidal undermining. APPROVE APPLICATION FOR SPECIAL EVENT - BICYCLE RACE IN DOWNTOWN BURLINGAME AVENUE AREA ON JUNE 28. 1998 City Manager's memo of March 2, L998 recommended council approve this application for the Peninsula Velo Bicycle Club's annual race. This event has been held for the last nine years with few complaints. d. WARRANTS & PAYROLL Finance Director recommended approval of Warrants 56510 - 56964 (including Library checks 56720 - 56783), duly audited, in the amount of $926,642.36, Payroll Checks 104017 - t04777 for the month of February 1998 in the amount of $1,177,399.60 and Electronic Fund Transfers for February 1998 in the amount of $336,352.48. Councilman Galligan moved approval of the Consent Calendar. Seconded by Vice Mayor Janney and carried unanimously 5-0 on voice vote. Councilwoman Knight attended Transportation Authority meeting; also the Chamber coffee and Arbor Day. Vice Mayor Janney reported on the JPA meeting. Councilwoman O'Mahony reported on attending CCAG meeting. Councilman Galligan had attended the Chamber board meeting where the proposed farmer market was discussed; also walked the tracks vrith BART, reported there will not be a "car-wash' in Burlingarne. OLD BUSINESS Councilwoman Knight reported a large sidewalk sign on Broadway in the second block. NEW BUSINESS Mayor Spinelli set an appeal hearing for the next meeting, April 6, 1998, for the special permit and variance for the restaurant project located in the Broadway Train Station site, 1L90 California Drive. Councilwoman Knight commented on a member of the JPB staff coming to the commission meeting and speaking in favor of this project. t- III March 16, 1998 312 Burlingame Ciry Council a, b ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Commission Minutes: Senior, February 19; Planning, March 9, 1998. Department Reports: Police, February 1998; Treasurer, February 28, 1998. The mayor asked the police chief about some numbers in his report. Four letters: from Pat Healey; the Nagata's; Sara I-angford; and Fhilip Kahn and Marilyn Elperin; regarding a proposed condo project at L424 El Camino and drainage from that site onto Capuchino which has inadequate drainage. d. Leffer from Dina Matteuci regarding flooding on Paloma Letter from John Martin, Director of San Francisco Airport, regarding an increase in non-San Francisco taxicab trip fees. Proclamations: TV Turnoff Week, April 22-28; Professional Secretaries Week, April L9-25 Convention & Visitors Bureau Report for February 1998 Letter from Hollis Stahl complaining of street sweeper noise daily at 4 a.m. which awakens residents on Donnelly. t.Several form letters faxed to the city opposing the proposed changes at the Broadway Train Station restaurant. CLOSED SESSION Mayor Spinelli adjourned the meeting at9:53 p.m. to a Closed Session regarding consideration of initiation of litigation regarding 1512-1,51,6 Ralston Avenue. Council gave direction to the City Attorney. The open meeting reconvened at 10:14 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Spinelli adjourned the meeting at 10:15 p.m. Judittr A. Malfatti City Clerk u e f. (,b' h Burlingame City Council 313 March 16, 1998