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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-11-1995 Adopted CC MinutesREGULAR MEETING - July 11, 1995 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Dublin was held on Tuesday, July 11, 1995, in the Council Chambers of the Dublin Civic Center. The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m., by Mayor Houston. ROLL CALL PRESENT: ABSENT: Councilmembers Barnes, Burton, Howard, Moffatt and MayOr Houston. None PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Houston led the Council, Staff and those present in the pledge .of allegiance to the flag. PROCLAMATION 3.1 (610-50) Mayor Houston read a proclamation acknowledging July as Women Suffrage Diamond Jubilee Month in the City of Dublin. The proclamation was presented to Virginia Woy, representing the Dublin Women's Club. CONSENT CALENDAR 7:05 p.m. On motion of Cm. Burton, seconded by Cm. Moffatt, and by unanimous vote, the Council took the following actions: Approved Minutes (4.1) of Regular Meeting of June 27, and Adjourned Regular Meeting of June 28, 1995; Approved the Warrant Register (4.4 300-40) in the amount of $259,118.29. Cm. Burton pulled Item 4.2 from the Consent Colendor. He stated he was g/od to see we ore combining deportments 'under o Community Development DeportmenL With regard to quolificotion$ of the opplicont, he questioned the foci thor computer ond vorious so#wore CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 14 REGULAR MEETING July 11, 1995 PAGE 372 know/edge was preferred. He felt in today's marke & this should be required, not just des/robie. He also questioned how this department w/lire/ate to Engineering. Mr. Ambrose stated the Public Works Deportment performs functions in odd/lion to/and use. We have a number of other functions under Engineering such os copilol project design and it is not feasible to include the relevant portion of Engineering in the Community Development Deportment with our smalls/off. Planning and Building work most often together os port of the development process. Cm. Moffaff fell that computer ski/Is are o given. In order to go to higher universities, you hove to have these skills. Mr. Ambrose slated Staff con look ct making this change. On motion of Cm. Burton, seconded by Cm. Barnes, and by unanimous vote, the Council adopted (4.2 700-20) RESOLUTION NO. 73- 95 and AMENDING THE CLASSIFICATION PLAN (Community Development Director) RESOLUTION NO. 74 - 95 and ESTABLISHING A SALARY PLAN FOR FULL-TIME PERSONNEL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PERSONNEL RULES RESOLUTION NO. 75- 95 AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 142-90 ESTABLISHING MANAGEMENT POSITIONS EXEMPT FROM COMPETITIVE SERVICE AND PRESCRIBING LEAVE BENEFITS FOR THE POSITIONS Cm. Howard asked with regard to Item 4.3 if when/hey do the search they will concentrate on California or go out of state. Mr, Ambrose explained that typically recruitments Of this nature are done nationally. They will probably focus in California or at/east the western part of the LI. $. They usually have candida/es they may tap. Betty He#er, 7211 Burton Street, an 18 year res/dent, stated she read tho/we are considering spending ~181( to get this person. Our City has decided not to put money inlo teen programs but CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 14 REGULAR MEETING July 11, 1995 PAGE 373 instead put money into head hunting. We are a sma//community, Danville did the same thing and the person did not last long. This money would be better spent on other things, It means nothing to the rest of the City for the City Council to be spending money on economic this and economic that. On her street, Burton Street, res/dents do not agree that 584K should be spent on this person. L//tie money is spent on the residents. ?his is a town o/intelligent people who realize we should not spend this money for another person. Residents are concerned about their tax dollars, they want to see some concern for the individual person, nat just/he political interests in this City. Ma/jorie Labor, 11707 Juarez Lane, stated she hoped tha! we can concentrate on pulling someone who is familiar with the ins and outs of California planning law and especially CE(2A. California is on the leading edge. We have a Iai to do in East Dublin and ff would be good to have someone faro#/ar with the quirks of California law. If we can improve the liaison among the deparfmen/s and the community so there is a Defter understanding of wha/'s going on, Ibis could prove useful and might save us some money in the tong run. On motion of Cm. Howard, seconded by Cm. Burton, and by unanimous vote, the City Council authorized (4.3 600-30) the City Manager to execute an agreement with Ralph Andersen & Associates to conduct a recruitment for the position of Community Development Director (not to exceed $12,000) and authorized Staff to commence the recruitment. Le.qislative Procedures (610-20) Mayor Houston explained that in the future the City will be using speaker slips for anyone wishing to address the City Council on items other than the Consent Calendar. The slips should be completed and given to the City Clerk. TRUMARK HOMES GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT STUDY REQUEST 7:16 p.m. 8.1 (420-30) Associate Planner Ram advised that Trumark Homes is requesting that the City Council authorize a study to determine if a General Plan Amendment should be made to designate a site as medium density residential which is presently designated as a transportation corridor. The medium density residential designation would allow for residential development at approximately 12 units per acre. The site is located on the old Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way northwest of Dougherty Road. Ms. Ram explained that the City is allowed to make 4 amendments to the Land Use Element of the General Plan in any one year. The City Council recently approved the Hansen Ranch GPA and additionally, a GPA study has been authorized for Schaefer Ranch. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 14 REGULAR MEETING July 11, 1995 PAGE 374 Ms. Ram displayed slides of the proposed project area and explained that the Applicant has agreed to pay for the GPA study. Ms. Ram stated if the City Council approves the study, staff requested that a priority be given. Cm. Burton asked if we could hire somebody to do the GPA study since we don't have the Staff time. He asked if we have a policy related to this. Mr. Ambrose stated this is certainly an option, although it would be more expensive. When we bring in a contractor, they have to get up to speed and understand our policies. Applicant Michael Maples, 6375 Clark Avenue, Suite 205, felt they have a unique opportunity on a long narrow piece of property that has been an eyesore for a long time. They have looked at all kinds of solutions for the property.. A new land use concept they would propose is taking a townhouse and splitting it apart. There would be air space and light all around the residence. It feels a lot more private to people. It would typically be cheaper than a detached home but more expensive than a townhome. This would provide another level of home prices. This would also place homes close to BART. His company does a lot of infill projects and has a good understanding of the issues. They feel they can mitigate the concerns. The pipeline runs all along the Iron Horse Trail. They will construct a soundwall to mitigate the various uses surrounding the project. They have worked out a land swap with the property owner at the back of the site for secondary access. Their major access will be from Dougherty Road. Cm. Burton asked if time is a serious problem for them. Mr. Maples stated time is always a major concern. Cm. Burton clarified that this is just a GPA study and they won't be getting into all the nuts and bolts. Mr. Maples explained two different approval processes and stated they are willing to go either way; as separate or concurrent studies. Cm. Burton asked if they were to have to pay a consultant that would cost more, but possibly save time would they be willing to discuss this with Staff. Mr. Maples responded certainly; they would be open to having a consultant do the study all the way throUgh. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 14 REGULAR MEETING July 11, 1995 PAGE 375 Cm. Howard indicated she had a problem already in that there isn't enough parking. We have areas in the City where we have some problems and she wouldn't like to see them repeated. Mr. Maples stated they looked at this and will treat it like a townhouse project. By having a homeowners association they can control the parking issues. They will use the townhouse parking requirements. They understand that th'is is a big concern. Cm. Howard felt that a lot of people do not use their garages for parking and felt it would be difficult if there is inadequate parking. The development on the corner of Silvergate Drive and San Ramon Road now has some on-street parking on Silvergate. This project, however, would have no on-street parking. Cm. Moffatt questioned the comment that it would offer the City another option for pricing and asked if it would be affordable housing. Mr. Maples stated it doesn't necessarily mean affordable, but rather they will be priced a little less than single family homes and a little more than condos. They plan to start in the neighborhood of $190K to $230K and the homes will be about 1,150 to 1,500 square feet. Marjorie LaBar, 11707 Juarez Lane, questioned the location. She was glad to see someone come in with some realistic pricing for children growing up in the community. With regard to the corridor, the City of San Ramon ended up with housing much too close to the light rail corridor. They have put aside a second light rail corridor as part of the Dougherty Valley development. If that corridor has to come down through Dublin to get close to BART and this area becomes a cork in the bottle, this would be a real disservice. She questioned if our portion of the SP right-of-way was meant to be a continuation of the iron Horse Trail or the light rail corridor? She hoped this project would make some overtures toward getting the trail built. She also expressed concern about the proximity to the industrial area in terms of toxic fires. A fire and our winds coming from an unusual direction could be really messy. She was glad to see that the developer is willing to do away with the gaseous chlorine. The use of that particular corridor should be carefully considered before we box ourselves out of good transit. This corridor is too important to take out any possibilities at this time. Cm. Burton asked about the width of the right-of-way and what will be left. Mr. Tong stated the original right-of-way was about 400' wide and the applicants will be utilizing 300-350' that is owned by Alameda Co'unty. The last we heard from San Ramon is they have eliminated the use of light rail adjoining to Dublin. We are pursuing extension of the Iron Horse Trail to the BART lot. Industrial compatibility will need to be studied further. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 14 REGULAR MEETING July 11, 1995 PAGE 376 Mr. Ambrose clarified that the bulk of the length of the SP right-of-way is 100' so there is a large wide strip on the west side of Dougherty Road and a smaller strip on the east side. It is very thin through Danville, San Ramon, etc. The County owns 50'. This is the SP property. Mr. Tong stated the applicants have an option to purchase all of the SP property. Cm. Moffatt commented that the TVTC at one time proposed light rail going down Dougherty Road from Camp Parks to Bishop Ranch. This would be a potential. They looked at it 3 or 4 years ago. Betty Heller's written comments were read, "Current homes A/omo Creel(run 12~,000, condos ore less then Is/c) 200,000, I don't th/n/( they con use Amczdor Vc~//ey B/vd c~s o trc~ffic thru fore os # fi too conguested [sic]." Carolyn Morgan, 5184 Doolan Canyon, stated she went ballistic when she got her agenda. She did not think anyone would be stupid enough to build on the Iron Horse Trail. Something pretty would be applauded on this site as it's a very ugly site. She was concerned about odors and pointed out that families are moving out of Crockett because of odors. She spoke with Adolph Martinelli about the project. She questioned if the City could ask as a condition of approval that maybe the developer would be willing to put that segment of the trail in and landscape it. Also, the developer should start working with East Bay Regional Park District right now. Cm. Moffatt stated he had a few problems with it even though it looks like a great project. It looks like it is in the wrong place. All 85 people will be coming to the City complaining about noise or smells, etc. He felt the City could potentially have a lot of problems with this. There are a lot of problems that have to be mitigated or solved before any houses can go in there. Mayor Houston asked if there were any documented odor studies. He commented that he routinely jogs by there and doesn't notice anything. Does such a thing exist? Mr. Ram stated as part of the studY they will look at what businesses are there and what odors they create. It will be part of the study. Cm. Howard stated Pleasanton had a problem with an industrial cleaner and houses moved into the area. She was concerned about noise. Ms. Ram stated they will also look at this as part of the study. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 14 REGULAR MEETING July 11, 1995 PAGE 377 Cm. Moffatt asked if they had considered something like apartment houses instead of individual homeowners. New owners don't always read CC&R's and don't realize this until something happens. Another thing for consideration would be a mobile home park. Cm. Burton felt it was interesting in trying to find affordable housing, Environmentalists say "infill - infill". Granted, this is not the most ideal location and is about the ugliest area you can find. Arroyo Vista will be a factor. He wanted to be sure there is a second access. He agreed with Cm. Howard's comments about parking. They will have to meet code. They are only looking at a study to determine whether to change the zoning to allow this project to go in. The applicant will pay for the cost of the studies. Cm. Barnes reiterated that they are just authorizing a study. This is indeed an ugly area. Ms. Ram questioned the priority. Mayor Houston felt they could speed it up by hiring a consultant. If City Staff has to do it, we need to consider it in terms of the comprehensive zoning ordinance revision study. Cm. Burton felt what they will be looking at is pretty standard stuff. Let's see what happens. The City Council should let them pay for a consultant who will get it done in a hurry. Mayor Houston summarized the discussion. Staff should Seriously consider hiring a consultant. If that is too expensive and unacceptable, it should be brought back to the City Council to decide priority. Mayor Houston stated he would rather decide on the priority at this time. Mr. Ambrose stated Staff will put together a package and try to utilize consultant services. On motion of Cm. Burton, seconded by Mayor Houston, and by unanimous vote, the Council approved Trumark Homes' request for a General Plan Amendment Study with costs to be borne by the Applicant. LANDSCAPING & LIGHTING MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 83-2 (TRACT 4719 STAGECOACH ROAD): PRELIMINARY ENGINEER'S REPORT 8:01 p.m. 8.2 (360-20) Cm. Burton announced that he would abstain from discussion relative to this item due to a conflict of interest. Public Works Director Thompson stated this assessment district maintains landscaping along StagecOach Road and on the interior slopes of Agate Way and Coral Way. This item would CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 14 REGULAR MEETING July 11, 1995 PAGE 378 approve the preliminary Engineer's Report for the District and set a public hearing date of July 25 regarding the proposed assessment. It is proposed that $55,659 will be assessed to property owners for the 1995-96 costs, which is the same as the 1994-95 assessment ($228.72 per single family home and $38.68 per Amador Lakes unit). The estimated June 30, 1995 reserve for this District is projected to be $22,925. Mr. Thompson stated Staff intends to continue the practice of holding an informational meeting with property owners in this assessment district in order to obtain comments and answer questions regarding maintenance costs and practices. This meeting is planned prior to the date of the public hearing and will be held at the Civic Center. In accordance with Council direction, Staff prepared in the Staff Report 3 options related to future assessments for this District. The options included: 1) increasing the assessment in accordance with Consumer Price index (CPI) increases; 2) recalculate the assessment on an annual basis so as to reflect the actual cost of District maintenance; and 3) freeze the assessment at the current level and utilize the reserve to pay any inflationary maintenance cost increases. Cm. Moffatt felt it would be appropriate to ask the homeowners how they want to have the reserves handled. The people who have to pay the bill should be considered. Mr. Thompson stated this was a good idea and. staff could send a survey prior to the neighborhood meeting. Mayor Houston was in favor of utilizing the reserves. We have a large percentage right now. It would take a long time to draw down these reserves to zero. Cm. Howard commented that she liked the idea of asking the homeowners what they think. Cm. Barnes stated she would be leery about spending the reserves all the way down to zero. Mr. Ambrose stated if a major property owner does not pay their taxes we could be in a difficult situation with the assessment district. Mr. Thompson stated the reserves also bring in interest each year which tends to keep the assessments down. On motion of Cm. Moffatt, seconded by Cm. Barnes, and by unanimous vote (Cm. Burton abstained), the Council adopted CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 14 REGULAR MEETING July 11, 1995 PAGE 379 RESOLUTION NO. 76 - 95 APPROVING PRELIMINARY ENGINEER'S REPORT, CONFIRMING DIAGRAM AND ASSESSMENT FOR LANDSCAPING & LIGHTING MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 83-2 (TRACT 4719) and RESOLUTION NO. 77 - 95 APPOINTING TIME AND PLACE OF HEARING PROTESTS IN RELATION TO PROPOSED ASSESSMENTS FOR CITY OF DUBLIN LANDSCAPING & LIGHTING MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 83-2 (TRACT 4719) LANDSCAPING & LIGHTING MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 86-1 (TRACT 5511 DOUGHERTY ROAD) PRELIMINARY ENGINEER'S REPORT 8:08 p.m. 8.3 (360-20) Public Works Director Thompson stated this assessment district maintains public roadside landscaping along Fall Creek Road, Wildwood Road, and the portions of Dougherty Road and Amador Valley Boulevard that are associated with the Villages at Willow Creek development. This item would approve the preliminary Engineer's Report for the District and set a date of July 25 for a public hearing regarding the proposed assessment. For 1995-96, the assessment to the property owners is proposed to be $84.72 per single-family home and $42.36 per multi-family dwelling unit. This is the same as the past two years' assessments and Staff proposes to utilize $10,414 of the accumulated reserve in this District in order to maintain the assessment at the same level. Mr. Thompson exPlained that this district has a very healthy reserve. Cm. Moffatt questioned the statement about revenues coming in which will exceed the expenditures. The $10K will be taken out of reserves. The reserv~ amount is about $125K. The folks that pay the bill should have some input. Mr. Thompson stated if you increase it a little bit each year, we most likely won't have to show a big jump at some future year. Mayor Houston stated you have to time value this out. He would rather see an increase way in the future. He favored keeping the assesSments the same and drawing down on the reserves. There is a very healthy amount. It is their money, not ours. Having no increase in CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 14 REGULAR MEETING July 11, 1995 PAGE 380 assessment for 2 years, he felt would not be the best thing to do. Bring it back when we get closer to where we want to be. Cm. Barnes stated she would hate to see us get into a position of saying woops, we figured wrong and then have to come back with a large increase. Mr. Ambrose stated Staff could figure it out carefully and project where the meeting point will be. Cm. Burton felt we should not raise a lot at a time. He did feel that $125K is too much for this reserve, however. It doesn't hurt too bad when you add a 2 or 3% increase. On motion of Cm. Burton, seconded by Cm. Barnes, and by unanimous vote, the Council adopted RESOLUTION NO. 78 - 95 APPROVING PRELIMINARY ENGINEER'S REPORT, CONFIRMING DIAGRAM AND ASSESSMENT FOR LANDSCAPING & LIGHTING MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 86-1 (TRACT 5511 DOUGHERTY ROAD) and RESOLUTION NO. 79 - 95 APPOINTING TIME AND PLACE OF HEARING PROTESTS IN RELATION TO PROPOSED ASSESSMENTS FOR CITY OF DUBLIN LANDSCAPING & LIGHTING MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 86-1 (TRACT 5511) OTHER BUSINESS 8:15 p.m. Meetinq Reminder (610-05) Mr. Ambrose reminded Mayor Houston and Cm. Barnes of the liaison meeting with the school district tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. Operation of Fountains (200-20) Cm. Barnes asked about the status of the fountains as the City Council voted to turn them back on. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 14 REGULAR MEETING July 11, 1995 PAGE 381 Mr. Ambrose stated some of the fountains need to be rewaterproofed and pumps repaired. Mr. Thompson stated they looked at the Civic Center fountain and we need to buy a new pump in order to cut down on the electricity. They just got started on this last week. Cm. Moffatt asked if the Gala pump and the Shannon Center pump could be turned on. Mr. Thompson felt they could be checked out and turned on pretty soon. Hansen Hill Ranch Project (420-30) Cm. Moffatt asked about the status of grading up at the Hansen Ranch project. Mr. Thompson stated the permit was issued a couple of weeks ago. The subcontractor has had broken down equipment a couple of times. The equipment they are using is quite huge; the tracks are about 8' high. There is apparently a lot of hard rock up there. Fireworks Complaint (650-60) Cm. Moffatt stated he received a complaint about fireworks sales. A nonprofit group offered a 10% off coupon. Price cutting, although it is legal, certainly hurts community organizations. He could see problems with this in the future and then nobody wins. Cm. Burton stated it was a bad marketing decision made by the Rotary Club. They had a very bad booth location until they took over the Soroptimist booth in front of the Work Bench. If the money wasn't raised by fireworks sales, people would probably be coming to the City asking for funds. The Soccer group and Briarhill booth was robbed. Apparently, the soccer team has insurance, and it looks like they will be covered. Street Closures for Block Parties (650-50) Cm. Barnes felt the neighborhood people on Burton Street and the new people on Cranford Lane were great with their 4th of July block parties. The City Council should encourage and promote these types of block parties. She stated next year, Dublin Pride Week will start in March and probably go through Labor Day. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 14 REGULAR MEETING July 11, 1995 PAGE 382 Mr. Ambrose stated Staff will look at helping people to do block parties the right way. There were some public safety issues with the Cranford Lane party as they had a large structure across the street that would have blocked a fire truck. Cable TV Proqrammin,q (1050-50) Mayor Houston reported that he had distributed a notice that the ABAG executive board will be broadcasting their meetings on cable tv. CLOSED SESSION 8:23 p.m. (640-30) The City Council recessed to a Closed Session for a Conference with Legal Counsel - Existing Litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9 subdivision (a): Name of Case Alameda County Superior Court # 10.1 Dublin v. Betty J. Woolverton, et al. V-009571-4 10.2 Dublin v. Liberty House Properties V-009573-2 REPORT ON CLOSED SESSION ACTION Mayor Houston announced that no action was taken in the closed session. ADJOURNMENT 11.1 There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. ~ ~ ~ty berk Mayor CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 14 REGULAR MEETING July 11, 1995 PAGE 383