Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1999.02.17BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA February 17, L999 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 Mary Janney. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG Led by Will McGowan, chairman of the Beautification Commission. ROLL CALL COUNCIL PRESENT COUNCIL ABSENT: GALLIGAN, JANNEY, KNIGHT, O'MAHONY, SPINELLI NONE MINUTES The minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 1,, 1999 were unanimously approved 5-0. PUBLIC HEARING - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE 1609 TO CLARIFY MEASURE- MENT OF DECLINING HEIGHT ENVELOPE FOR RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION City Planner reviewed the City Attorney's memo dated February 9, 1999 which recommended council hold a public hearing and take action on this ordinance to clarify the method of measurement of the declining height envelope for residential construction. The Planning Commission has reviewed this and recommended adoption. Mayor Janney opened the public hearing. There were no comments and the hearing was closed Councilwoman O'Mahony moved adoption of ORDINANCE 1609. Seconded by Councilman Galligan and carried unanimously 5-0 on voice vote" PUBLIC HEARING - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE 1610 TO INCREASE COUNCIL MEMBERS SALARIES Acting City Manager reviewed the memo of February 2, 1999 which recommended council hold a public hearing and take action on this ordinance increasing council member salaries from $400 per month to $590 per month effective November 1999. At the last meeting council discussed this issue. State law allows a 5 percent increase each year since the last increase which would result in a salary of $590 and could take effect after the next election. The total costs of increasing salaries to $590 monthly for the full council would be $13,I77 per year including PERS. Mayor Janney opened the public hearing. There were no comments and the hearing was closed. Councilman Galligan moved adoption of ORDINANCE 1610. Seconded by Councilwoman O'Mahony and carried 4-1 on voice vote, Vice Mayor Knight voting no. 477 PUBLIC COMMENTS Dr. Andrew Soss, business owner at lI59 Broadway, said he preferred to speak after council had discussed the issue of the new streetscape on Broadway ; recofirmend council listen to the Beautifica- tion Commissioners regarding preserving the Magnolia trees; he was circulating a petition to save the Magnolia trees and it has been signed by many people; requested that council reverse its decision to remove the trees. Ken Castle, l4ll Drake, thought people should be allowed to speak at the time an issue was being discussed by council; he supports Dr. Soss and the comments of the Beautification Commission and urged council to hold a public hearing on this issue; felt council's point of view had changed from two years ago, need public hearing to get input from residents. Clarence Cravalho, 1265 Yancouver, said a Magnolia tree had have been removed from in front of his daughter's home where it uprooted a neighbor's foundation and her sidewalk and fence; Magnolia trees should not be planted near sidewalks because of their invasive root system and the need to protect our sidewalk investrnent; he said it would not be a disaster to take down the trees on Broadway; favored replacing them with a different type tree. Will McGowan, chairman of the Beautification Cornmission, said the commission put this on their agenda after being approached by the public, after discussion the commission recommended council reverse its position on removing the Magnolias; some of the trees are of a protected size and because of the number of trees they are a significant grove; public should have been given notice about this; he was part of the Broadway streetscape committee and he was not aware the trees were going to be removed; should have trees evaluated by a tree expert; felt there should have been a public notice and a public hearing about whether to keep or remove the trees. BEAUTIFICATION COMMISSION REOUEST FOR COUNCIL TO RECONSIDER THE DECISION ON REMOVAL OF MAGNOLIA TREES ON BROADWAY Acting City Manager reviewed the memo of February 9, t999 which recommended council consider the commission's request to reconsider removal of the Magnolia trees on Broadway. Councilman Galligan said he was very concerned about all the puhlic outcry regarding removal of the trees; he wasn't on the council in 1996 but he listened to the tape recording of the September 1996 city council meeting and it was obvious there was a full house at that meeting; there was lots of public input and also presentations to the Homeowner's Association; the public was well informed, there were public committees and charrettes; he said he has done a complete turnaround on this matter; council is trying to create a pedestrian friendly atmosphere on Broadway and the sidewalks must be replaced; don't think we have to go back to the public to replace sidewalks, we should move ahead. Councilwoman O'Mahony said she was on the Broadway Streetscape committee; said the Beautification Commission needs to read the first sentence in the city code defining the commission's duty to advise; the trees on Broadway belong to the city, they are not protected trees which are on private property; when she first ran for council her goal was to help improve Broadway; we have installed a new parking lot and Broadway is entrance to the city; need to improve the sidewalks and to do that we have to remove the trees; the Wells Fargo site tree wells and trees had to be srnaller in order to add traffic lane; received lots of letters in support of the Broadway project in i996; rvith these improvements, it will be a beautiful street. Vice Mayor Knight noted commissiors serve to advise the city council; in the Beauti- fication Commission minutes several of the members expressed different ideas about the commission's duties; said she felt good about this project two years ago; agreed trees should be replaced with larger February l7 " 1999 478 Burlingame City Council trees than those at Wells Fargo site; perhaps we should put up the drawings of the project again at city hall. Councilman Spinelli noted in 1996 drawings of the streetscape plans were placed in store windows all along Broadway; people were enthusiastic; the BID was in complete support; we are trying to attract more people to the street to patronize the merchants, widen sidewalks and put out tables; if we leave the Magnolias and put in new sidewalks we will have to replace the sidewalk in a few years; favor replacing the trees. Councilman Galligan was told the 213 of the BID favored keeping the trees, but that was only 4 out of 6 people; he could recall a time when there were no trees on Broadway; can't compare these trees to the Eucalyptus and Elm tree groves; also think council should meet with each of the commissions to discuss their role and do it before the end of the year. Mayor Janney said she had prepared similar comments but other council members have said it well. BURLINGAME AVENUE COMMERCIAL AREA PARKING STUDY Public Works Director reviewed his memo of February 8, 1999, which included a description of the proposed scope of work for a parking study of the Burlingame Avenue commercial area. The proposal is divided into two Phases: Phase I identifies the parking problem and possible solutions is three scenarios and would end with an interim report including type, location and cost of improvements necessary to address the parking problem for each scenario; Phase 2 would include developing a schematic improve- ment design and identifu financing options for the scenario selected by council at the end of Phase 1. The expected time frame for the Phase 1 of the study is 6 to 9 months and the expected cost about $75,000. Council comment: Councilwoman O'Mahony wanted to be sure that decking over Donnelly and a second deck on Lot A as well as double decking the new lot on Donnelly were considered in the solutions; she was interested to see where in the downtown area one could get the maximum capacity of parking spaces; also interested in what would be considered maxirnum build out for the downtown area because it needs to be considered in detennining an objective for parking need. Councilman Galligan noted that in the Goals session the parking problem was mentioned because the situation could cause us to tum business away; in the study should consider converting a portion of Donnelly Avenue into a parking lot which would connect to Lots A and C, realize some buildings on the street will need to retain street frontage so the whole block cannot be converted to a parking lot; know that the need to provide fire access creates a problem with decking in that area, but would like the feasibility investigated of using the street. Councilwoman O'Mahony noted property owners on Donnelly may object, but it would add a lot of parking to convert the street to parking. Councilman Spinelli noted that the post office has two good sized parking lots, and the nature of their employment has changed, would some of this space be available, it should be added to the list of potential parking sites and solutions. Councilwoman Knight noted that there is a high demand for parking in the post office area and on the first block of Burlingame Avenue so the post offrce site is worth investigating, the use of Donnelly is also intriguing but would not like to loose the old attractive building facades in the area and do not want to see a "hole in the ground" type of garage like San Mateo has, people will feel unsafe using it. Councilwoman Janney noted that there seemed to be a consensus to begin Phase 1 of the parking study and council gave staff some suggestions of things to include in the scope. Councilwoman O'Mahony noted that while it was possibly not a part of this study, the parking rates for long term parking should be evaluated again, a balance needs to be established to encourage employees to park further away and to get a better return for their parking investment. The Ralston lot should not conlinue to be free. Burlingame City Council 479 February 17, 1999 Councilwoman O'Mahony moved to give staff direction to complete the approved plans for the Broadway Streetscape. Seconded by Vice Mayor Knight and carried 5-0 on voice vote. Councilwoman O'Mahony moved to accept the scope of rvork as presented with the additions noted. Councilman Galligan seconded the motion. Comment on the motion: Councilman Spinelli commented on the possibility of installing the old meters in the long term lots now served with boxes which had been discussed earlier but not acted on. Acting City lvlanager Becker noted that there were some security issues related to using the old meters. Mayor Janney called for a voice vote on the motion to embark on Phase 1 of the parking study. The motion passed on a 5-0 affirmative vote. REORGANIZATION OF PERSONNEL DIVISION AND FINANCE DEPARTMENT Finance Director reviewed his memo of February 8, 1999 which recommended council approve the proposed reorganization of the Personnel Division and Finance Department in order to strengthen and stabilize personnel, finance, cash management and the manager's office. The annual cost of this change is $73,947 with a net addition of one new position. Last July council approved a trial reorgarization of the Personnel Division; Department Heads indicate the trial has worked well. He recommended the following staffing changes; reclassify the finance director to assistant city manager/ administrative services director; reclassify the personnel manager to employee & benefits administrator; reclassify the senior accountant to financial services manager; replace a vacant accounting technician with a new position of accountant; add a new account clerk II to assist the deputy treasurer; promote account clerk III to accounting technician to serve as lead payroll person; and replace a part time secretary in personnel with a full-time account clerk II. These changes will result in an 8.2 percent increase in the finance budget in the current budget year. Councilman Galligan noted the Finance Department is currently understaffed. Vice Mayor Knight said the Finance Department does an excellent job; council members agreed. Councilwoman O'Mahony moved to approve the reorganization of the Persomel Division and Finance Department. Seconded by Councilman Spinelli and carried unanimously 5-0 on voice vote. CONSENT CALENDAR a ORDERS Public Works memo of February 9, 1999 recommended council approve a resolution authorizing the city manager or his designee to approve change orders of up to 15 percent of a contract amount on the condition that sufficient funds are budgeted in the project account. b. REJECT CLAIM OF FRANCINE BLISTEIN FOR PERSONAL INJURIES City Attorney's memo of February 9, 1999 recommended council reject this claim for personal injuries from a trip and fall in the street. TENTATIVE AND FINAL PARCEL MAP I'OR REVERSION TO ACR COMBINATION OF STATE LANDS AT 430-480 AIRPORT BOULEVARD Public Works memo of February 9, 1999 recommended council concur with the Planning Commission and approve the tentative and final parcel map. c 480 Burlingame City CouncilFebruary I7, 1999 e Public Works memo of February 9, 1999 recommended council concur with the Planning Commission and approve this final map. WARRANTS AND PAYROLL Finance Director recommended approval of Warrants 62040 - 62453, duly audited, in the amount of $1,458,450.93 (excluding Library Checks 62094 - 62140): Payroll checks 113343 - 114086 for the month of January 1999 in the amount of $1,171,161.78; and Electronic Fund Transfers for the month of January 1999 in the amount of $392,333.24. Councilman Galligan moved approval of the Consent Calendar. Seconded by Councilman Spinelli and carried unanimously 5-0 by voice vote. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS Councilman Spinelli reported on an Airport Roundtable meeting. Councilwoman Knight told about a Transportation Authority meeting and the extension of the soundwall along Highway 101; the school liaison meeting; Roosevelt School event and Criminal Justice. Councilwoman O'Mahony reported on CMAQ and CCAG meetings. Councilman Galligan attended the North County Council of Cities with the Mayor; the school liaison meeting; Roosevelt event and Council of Cities. Mayor Janney also attended the CMAQ meeting, the Chamber Board meeting, an event at Roosevelt School, a Leadership panel, and the Chinese Spring Festival. OLD BUSINESS Vice Mayor Knight asked if staff could report on progress of the Safeway project. Staff reported the DEIR is now in the process of being prepared and that document should come to public hearing in June 1999. Councilwoman O'Mahony said she heard cornplaints about the poor quality of sound during our television broadcasts; perhaps we should consider doing something to improve it. NEW BUSINESS Mayor Janney asked that staff prepare a resolution in sr:pport of the school bond measure for the next meeting. Councilwoman O'Mahony said she would like to see a written report on the specific way this money would be spent. Vice Mayor Knight commented on the Nedwicks' letter opposing a parking lot on Laguna near Broadway; she also referred to a letter from Judy Love-Richmond about danger to pedestrians and cyclists in crossing the Broadway overpass. Council discussed briefly. Staff will research what has been discussed in the past to improve the crossing and report back to council. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS a CommissionMinutes: Beautification, February 4; Planning, February 8, 1999 Burlingame City Council 481 February 17, 1999 d. FINAL CONDOMINIUM MAP FOR SIX UNITS AT 1520-1524 FLORIBUNDA AVENUE b c d Department Reports: Building, January 1999; Treasurer, January 31, L999. Proclamation for Arbor Day - March 7, 1999 Letter from "Committee for Quality High Schools" requesting support of the high school bond measure Letter from the Nedwicks objecting to the Broadway merchants' suggestion that the city build a parking lot at 1140 Laguna. Letter from Vic Mangini announcing his retirement from the Senior Commission. Letter from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District with a model ordinance to reduce wood smoke from fireplaces. Letter from Judy Love-Richmond regarding danger to pedestrians and bicyclists crossing the Broadway overpass. i. Convention & Visitors Bureau Report for January L999. ADJOURNMENT IN MEMORY OF STEVE BUHS e f. (,b' h Mayor Janney noted with sadness the recent death of Steve Buhs, a city Park Department worker After a moment of silence the meeting was adjourned in his memory at 8:44 p.m. t A. Malfatti City Clerk February 17,1999 482 Burlingame City Council