HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.01 Draft Minutes 6-5-01 REGULAR MEETING - June 5, 2001
A regular meeting of the Dublin City Council was held on Tuesday, June 5, 2001, in the
Council Chambers of the Dublin Civic Center. The meeting was called to order at
7:13 p.m., by Mayor Houston.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Councilmembers Lockhart, McCormick, Oravetz, Zika, and Mayor Houston.
ABSENT: None.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Houston led the Council, Staff and those present in the pledge of allegiance to the
flag.
PROCLAMATION
7:13 p.m. 3.1 (610~50)
Mayor Houston read and presented a Proclamation recognizing Delbert Greet as the
2000~01 School Crossing Guard of the Year. Mr. Greet, a 23 year resident of Dublin, is
a Crossing Guard at Dublin Elementary School, stationed at the intersection of Shannon
Avenue and Vomac Road.
Mr. Greer thanked the City very much.
RECOGNITION OF 2001 DUBLIN PRIDE WEEK POSTER CONTEST WINNERS
AND "MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN DUBLIN" VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS
7:15 p.m. 3.2 (150~80)
The City Council formally recognized winners of the Dublin Pride Week Poster Contest,
and "Make A Difference in Dublin" activities.
Organizations recognized for "Make A Difference in Dublin" Projects, included:
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Creek Clean~Up: Dublin Rotary Club, Dublin High School Leadership Class, Many
Families and Individuals, and Dublin Women's Club
Heritage Center Painting: Dublin High School Leo Club
Storm Drain Painting: Dublin 4~H Club
Repair and Renovation Projects: Standard Pacific
Poster Contest First Place Prize Winners:
Jessica Schoefer Frederiksen Elementary
Priscilla Gunawan Frederiksen Elementary
Jennifer Louis Nielsen Elementary
Christine Gilbert Valley Christian Elementary
Arton Nguyen Valley Christian Elementary
Carli Jones Murray Elementary
Mimi Maghbi Murray Elementary
Quincy Lai Dougherty Elementary
Casey Harrington St. Philip Elementary
Ben Buserwani Dublin Elementary
Laura Buserwini Dublin Elementary
Amanda Pagan Wells Middle School
Poster Contest Grand Prize Winner: Zachary Pagan, 9th Grade, Dublin High School
CLOSED SESSION
7:28 p.m. 10.1
PERSONNEL ~ Government Code Section 54957.6(a) ~ Conference with Agency Labor
Negotiator Richard Ambrose ~ Unrepresented City Employees:
Administrative Aide Administrative SecretaryAdministrative Services Director
Assistant Civil Engineer Associate Planner Assistant to the City Manager
Assistant Planner Associate Civil EngineerInformation Systems Technician
Building Official City Clerk Community Development Director
Community Safety Assistant Engineer Technician I Engineering Technician II
Administrative Analyst I Finance Technician I Finance Technician II
Administrative Analyst II Finance Manager Planning Manager
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Senior Administrative Analyst Office Assistant I Office Assistant II
Preschool Instructor Public Works Inspector Recreation Coordinator
Senior Planner Recreation Supervisor Recreation Technician
Senior Civil Engineer Secretary Information Systems Manager
Economic Development Director Parks & Community Services Director
Parks &Facilities Project Manager Public Works Director/City Engineer
REPORT ON CLOSED SESSION ACTION
At 8:06 p.m., the Council meeting reconvened with all Councilmembers present. Mayor
Houston announced that no action was taken.
8:06 p.m.
Mark Breazeal stated he read in the newspaper about the Water District, Dublin San
Ramon Services District, and the rate hikes for water and sewer service. Some of the
candidates who ran in the last election were talking about lowering rates. There was a
big raging debate during the election. They will be talking about increasing revenue
today and he asked how customers feel about this. The Council technically runs the
water board. The charter comes through Dublin.
Mayor Houston stated his understanding was not correct. He should go to that meeting
where they are talking about the rate increases. The City has not been notified of any
rate increases. We do not have authority over them. They are an autonomous agency.
Mr. Breazeal stated they are proposing quite an increase over the next 2 years; up 13%.
He stated he wanted to get the Council's opinions about a potential increase.
Mayor Houston again stated they don't have the information and further, this is not the
forum to make comments about potential actions by another agency.
Mr. Breazeal stated he felt the Council should be more informed and deal with this issue.
He expressed his disappointment and stated he expected more comment. He suggested
getting a management consultant or task force together or have the City Attorney get
some retired judges to deal with these issues.
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CONSENT CALENDAR
8:13 p.m. Items 4.1 through 4.16
Mr. Ambrose indicated that Staff wished to pull Item 4.2 (TriMValley Janitorial Service
Agreement) from the agenda. This item will be brought back to the next City Council
meeting.
On motion of Vice Mayor Lockhart, seconded by Cm. Zika, and by unanimous vote, the
Council took the following actions:
Approved (4.1) Minutes of Regular Meeting of May 15, 2001;
Adopted (4.3 600-30)
RESOLUTION NO. 71 -01
AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE AGREEMENT
WITH ALL CITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC., FOR THE
PROVISION OF CROSSING GUARD SERVICES
Authorized (4.4 600-30) the City Manager to execute an Agreement with William Avery
& Associates, Inc., to provide labor and employee relations consulting services to the City;
Approved (4.5 600~40) a Purchase Agreement with the Alameda County Surplus
Property Authority for 1.001 acres of property for the new Emerald Glen Fire Station, and
authorized the Mayor to execute the Agreement;
Adopted (4.6 350-40)
RESOLUTION NO. 72- 01
DECLARING UNCLAIMED PROPERTY AND
SURPLUS VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT
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Adopted (4.7 600~30)
RESOLUTION NO. 73- 01
APPROVING AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT WITH A-1 ENTERPRISES
FOR STREET SWEEPING AND PARKING LOT SWEEPING SERVICES
Adopted (4.8 700-20)
RESOLUTION NO. 74- 01
AMENDING THE SALARY PLAN
FOR PART-TIME TEMPORARY PERSONNEL
Authorized (4.9 600~35) Staff to solicit bids for Contract 01 ~08, 2~Year Striping &
Marking Contract;
Adopted (4.10 600-60/410-40)
RESOLUTION NO. 75 - 01
APPROVING FINAL PARCEL MAP FOR PARCEL 7714
(COMMERCE ONE)
and authorized the Mayor to sign the Tract Developer Agreement;
Adopted (4.11 600-30)
RESOLUTION NO. 76- 01
APPROVING AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT WITH MK CENTENNIAL
FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES
and approved the Budget Change;
Authorized (4.12 600-35) Staff to solicit bids for Contract 01-09, Annual Street Ove~ay
Project;
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Adopted (4.1 :~ 600~30)
RESOLUTION NO. 77- 01
APPROVING CONSULTING ENGINEERING SERVICES AGREEMENT
WITH KIMLEY-HORN & ASSOCIATES, INC.,
TO PERFORM GENERAL TRAFFIC ENGINEERING SERVICES
FOR FISCAL YEARS 2001-01 AND 2002-03
and authorized the Mayor to execute the agreement;
(A revised page 2 of the Staff Report was a~tnbuted correcting 2 lines that were dropped from the original)
Adopted (4.14 600-30)
RESOLUTION NO. 78- 01
APPROVING FEE AMENDMENTS FOR APPROVED CONTRACTS
WITH CONSULTANTS IN THE BUILDING & SAFETY SERVICES DIVISION
RELATED TO BUILDING INSPECTION SERVICES
and authorized the Community Development Director to sign the Amendments on behalf
of the City;
Adopted (4.15 400-20)
RESOLUTION NO. 79- 01
ADOPTING A MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION FOR THE
DUBLIN CIVIC CENTER PUBLIC LIBRARY PA 01-001
Approved (4.16 500~40) the Warrant Register in the amount of $1,066,523.35.
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REQUEST FROM ALAMEDA COUNTY FIREFIGHTERS/IAFF LOCAL NO.
TO PROVIDE ENHANCED RETIREMENT BENEFITS (PERS 3% @ S0)
TO FORMER DOUGHERTY REGIONAL FIRE AUTHORITY EMPLOYEES
8:14 p.m. S.1 (540-I0)
City Manager Rich Ambrose presented the Staff Report and advised that the City has
received a written request from the President of the Alameda County Firefighters/IAFF
Local #55 to provide a change in the retirement benefits for those individuals who
worked for DRFA and became members of the ACFD or the SRVPD. Both the ACFD and
the SRVPD have adopted the 3% @ 50 retirement benefit.
All ACFD employees receive 3% @ 50 for their years of service with Alameda County
Fire. The Fire Union is requesting DRFA modify its contract with PERS so that former
DRFA employees receive 3% @ 50 for those years of service with DRFA and DSRSD.
Mr. Ambrose presented background information and a financial analysis which indicates
that if DRFA were to amend its PERS contract to provide the 3% @ 50 benefits, the
change would result in a decrease in plan assets of $1,304,706, which represents the
potential cost of such an amendment.
In conclusion, Mr. Ambrose advised that under the Government Code, amendments to
PERS contracts may not provide for retirement benefits for some but not all local
firefighters, and may not provide different retirement benefits for any subgroup of
members. Thus, DRFA must treat all of their former firefighters the same with regard to
retirement benefits. DRFA cannot provide different benefits for former employees now
employed by Alameda County, by SRVFPD, or other public agencies.
If the Council determines that there is an interest in discussing this request with the City
of San Ramon or should DRFA terminate its contract with PERS, Staff recommended that
an up-to-date independent valuation analysis be conducted to verify the financial
analysis provided by FELLS is accurate. The cost of this analysis would be authorized by
DRFA and split between the Cities of Dublin and San Ramon.
Cm. Zika stated he was confused. For some period of time, while DRFA was our fire
agency we had x number of firefighters and during that time we contributed to their
pension plan through PERS. If they were still with us, we would negotiate under the
Meyers~Milias~Brown Act. They now want us to pay into PERS a certain percentage for
those years they worked for DRFA, DSRSD and VCSD, all the way back.
Mr. Ambrose stated there are two components to what is paid into PERS and it varies
based on actuarial. The employee's share is 9% by statute. The employer's share varies.
From a PERS perspective, DRFA has no employees, they are inactive employees.
Vice Mayor Lockhart asked if DRFA is dormant, can we go back and modify the contract?
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Mr. Ambrose stated it can either amend its contract with PEPS or close out its contract.
Cm. McCormick asked if there is a precedent for this where former employees go back
and renegotiate their benefits.
Mr. Ambrose stated it occurred in San Leandro. They gave 3% @ 50 to their police
employees and then agreed to go back for their fire employees. He has spoken with other
City Managers in the state who flatly refused this.
Cm. Zika stated he would be willing to meet with San Ramon to see what they think.
Mr. Ambrose stated San Ramon has not been approached with regard to this issue.
Cm. Oravetz asked if it would require a unanimous vote by both City Councils?
Mr. Ambrose stated it would take a majority vote of both Councils and any actions taken
by DRFA has to be supported by both cities. There are a number of ways to reconstitute
the DRFA Board. We cannot do it as an individual city.
Brian McKenna, President of Alameda County Firefighters, gave some background
information related to consolidation. They are unique in that they had 4 separate groups
to try and resolve this. The City of San Leandro approved the enhancement.
Cm. Zika discussed the fact that employees under the 3% @ 50 are contributing 13% to
the pension fund. He asked, for those to be covered, would they be willing to contribute
the 13% for their DRFA years?
Mr. McKenna stated they are contributing 13% and they are asking that the DRFA
account fund their years. This reserve is super funded. There is no out of pocket cost for
the City of Dublin at this point but he agreed that it would be prudent to go back and do
an actuarial to determine the exact amount. They would agree to terminate the PERS
contract and any future costs to the City.
Cm. Zika stated he is an accountant and the numbers don't seem to add up.
Mr. Ambrose stated under PEPS law, in order for them to get the benefit, the City has to
pay for the benefit. We can't negotiate with them as part of an MOU because they have
no employees anymore. The assets belong to DRFA and the two cities.
Cm. Oravetz questioned the term super funded - does this mean maxed out?
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Mr. Ambrose stated based on PERS calculations to pay the retirement benefits for inactive
DRFA employees, there is more than enough money to take care of those benefits. Not too
many years ago, it was under funded. In this case, PERS raises your rates.
Vice Mayor Lockhart made a motion, which was seconded by Cm. Oravetz, that the City
meet with the City of San Ramon to discuss the request.
Mayor Houston stated he felt we should immediately contact PERS to get an up to date
valuation. He sees this as a win/win situation. We could then be out of the business.
Cm. Zika pointed out we still have workers compensation and retiring medical.
Mr. Ambrose stated the valuation was done based on information that is somewhat dated.
The entity that should authorize this and pay for this is DRFA. If you terminate the
contract, you won't get the money for quite some time.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated she felt it is prudent to find out about termination.
Cm. McCormick asked if there are issues on other benefits and if these will come into
play.
Mr. Ambrose stated we would have to look at our obligations. It doesn't make a lot of
sense to spend staff time on this unless San Ramon is also interested in pursuing it. The
first step is to write a letter and see if there is an interest. We will have to amend the JPA
first. We can look at 3% @ 50, distribution of remaining assets, and termination of the
contract.
Mr. Ambrose pointed out that Dublin's situation is somewhat different than San Ramon's,
because the City of Dublin still retains the ability to provide its own fire services because
we did not consolidate. We have a much different situation than what exists in San
Ramon.
On motion of Vice Mayor Lockhart, seconded by Cm. Oravetz, and by unanimous vote,
the Council directed Staff to write a letter to San Ramon asking them if they are interested
in meeting to reconstitute/change the JPA as the DRFA Board and look at the issue of 3%
~ 50, closing out the PEPS contract, and distribution of funds to both cities
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PUBLIC HEARING ~ ADOPTION OF ADJUSTMENT
OF RATES FOR GARBAGE COLLECTION, DISPOSAL AND
RECYCLING SERVICES PROVIDED BY LIVERMORE DUBLIN DISPOSAL
8:45 p.m. 6.1 (810-30)
Mayor Houston opened the public hearing.
Administrative Analyst Jason Behrmann presented the Staff Report and advised that the
City's current garbage rates became effective July 1, 2000. In accordance with the
Agreement with Livermore Dublin Disposal, the adopted rates were scheduled to be
reviewed for a rate adjustment July 1, 2001. The amount of the allowed adjustment is to
be calculated in accordance with a specific formula. The actual percentage of increase
depends on the type of service received. There is no proposed increase for residential
curbside service. A rate increase is proposed for commercial (6.25%) and drop-box
(8.05%) service.
Mr. Behrmann stated the proposed City of Dublin rates remain very competitive
compared to rates charged for similar services in surrounding communities. For most
rate categories, the proposed City of Dublin rates are well below the average of the Tri-
Valley agencies surveyed.
Cm. Oravetz clarified that our garbage rates will not be going up for our residents.
No testimony was entered by any member of the public relative to this issue.
Mayor Houston closed the public hearing.
Vice Mayor Lockhart asked if we have had more discussion on the food composting
component to help us get to our goal of 50% and then 75% reduction. She asked where
we are on this process.
Annette Borges, LDD District Manager stated they are interested in doing a pilot program
and they should hopefully be putting this together within the next couple of months. The
Altamont Land fill will now be doing composting and it will be another year and a half to
get food waste permitted at the Altamont. They will expand the green waste to include
food waste for residential.
Vice Mayor Lockhart spoke about Dr. Sing's study.
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Ms. Borges stated she spoke with him yesterday, and this program has turned out very
well. They will establish the new base year and methodology and put together report.
Our number will be up over 50%. Our neighborhood curbside recycling has been
phenomenal.
Vice Mayor Lockhart congratulated LDD for retaining the City of Livermore. We were
happy to see this.
On motion of Vice Mayor Lockhart, seconded by Cm. Zika, and by unanimous vote, the
Council adopted
RESOLUTION NO. 80 - 01
AMENDING THE SCHEDULE OF SERVICE RATES
FOR INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE SERVICES
,q~l~~
PUBLIC HEARING ~ AMENDMENT TO RESOLUTION NO. 57-97 ESTABLISHING
THE METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE AMOUNT OF IN-LIEU FEE;
AND STATUS OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
8:54 p.m. 6.2 (390-20/430~80)
Mayor Houston opened the public hearing.
Senior Planner Carol Cirelli presented the Staff Report and advised that this issue deals
with the method established for determining the amount of fees developers can pay in-
lieu of providing housing. In May of 1997, the City Council adopted a Resolution
whereby a fee was established of $1.00 per habitable square foot for singledamily
(detached unit) developments and $ .75 per habitable square foot for multidamily
(attached unit) developments.
Ms. Cirelli stated in February, 2001, the City Council was presented with a draft AHIP
that consisted of guidelines for implementing specific housing programs, program
funding options, and target group designations. After discussion, the Council adopted
the AHIP which includes a funding option of increasing the in-lieu fees to $2.00 per
square foot for single-family developments and $1.50 per square foot for multi-family
developments.
Ms. Cirelli presented an update on the status of AHIP Housing Programs. Staff is
currently preparing guidelines and procedures for all the programs listed under the AHIP
and will present this information either at a future City Council meeting. At the next
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Council meeting, the City Council will also consider the requests of two organizations
that provide rental assistance: Allied Housing, Inc., has requested $36,000 of inqieu fees
for the Tri~Valley Housing Scholarship Program (the City did not receive approval of the
HOME Investment Partnership Program grant request that the City submitted on behalf
of Allied for the program); and ECHO Housing has requested $20,000 of inqieu fees for
their Rental Assistance Program.
Cm. Zika asked if the in lieu fee is based on the increased cost of building a house.
Ms. Cirelli stated no, the fees that we currently implement are in lieu of constructing
units. In order to reflect current economic conditions locally and regionally, the
methodology includes a stipulation that the in~lieu fee per habitable square foot shall be
adjusted annually on July 1 st to reflect the greater of the percentage change either in (a)
the Bay Area urban Consumer Price Index (CPI) as of March of each year, or (b) the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fair Market Rent
Limits for the Oakland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) that are in effect at
the time.
Cm. Zika stated the automatic adjuster does not reflect the CPI, so he questioned why we
don't fix it at cost of land or construction? If we are going to put in an escalator, put it at
something that means something. Why not base it on cost of construction?
Mayor Houston felt we should be careful what we ask for. The price of homes is down.
He asked who will be the manager of the various indexes.
Cm. McCormick referenced several indicators mentioned in the Staff Report.
Ms. Cirelli stated we get the Oakland PMSA index from Alameda County every year.
Mayor Houston stated he felt if we are going to make some kind of reference with
historical track record, the CPI can be determined by looking in the newspaper every
day. With the others, how can they make an evaluation?
Ms. Cirelli stated the HUD fair market rents will match income levels. Rents are based on
income and they look at the various Alameda County levels. Staff can research this and
look at the historical trend.
Cm. Zika stated he felt there must be some kind of index that reflects and shows what
units rent for that would be a more appropriate basis on which to index this fee. CPI is
one index. What we're dealing with here is housing and we should encourage
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developers to build affordable housing or give us an adequate amount of money so we
can build units. We do this with our parks and road fees.
Ms. Cirelli referenced the provision in the Resolution that says it can be adjusted based on
conditions in the City.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated she felt there is more to this than just raising the fee. We're
looking at the foundation of what we will be using to get affordable housing in the City.
She has been working on this 4 years and doesn't feel she has done a thing. Not one
person in this community has been helped. We need to get a move on and get something
done. She artended the Tri-Valley Interfaith Forum and some interesting results came
from this meeting. We look to where our neighbors are to determine where we are.
Some of the numbers shocked her. From January 1988 to 1999 in the very low income
category of units built, Livermore produced 180 (32%) of their very low housing,
Pleasanton produced 125 (16%), San Ramon produced 55 (5%) and Dublin produced 15
(2%) Danville produced 4 (1%). Just collecting this fee is not doing this for us.
Bruce Fiedler, Hemlock Street, stated an earlier question related to the HUD increase. He
stated the 5.9% is for all of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. We may find Dublin is
on the high end. He supports Resolution for change of in-lieu fees. He supports
matching the highest level of any other city in the valley and also supports commercial
linkage. He supports inclusionary work force housing on a permanent basis and the use
of prezoning to guarantee this. He supports development of second Units, this
community becoming a silent partner in seconds, increased maintenance at Arroyo Vista,
transit villages, residents above retail, and supports Dublin following the example of
neighboring cities by forming a department to concentrate on quality and quantity. For
the Bay Area, HUD was looking at a cost of producing a one~bedroom of about 600
square feet, at somewhere near $93,000, but stated he didn't know the exact source of
this information. They have a website www.hudclips.org which has all their forms and latest
notices.
Cm. Zika stated he is a little suspect of some of HUD's data.
Jennifer Mosel, 6653 Spruce Lane, stated she is the Tri~Valley Coordinator for CRIL, a
non-profit organization serving all ages with disabilities. Incomes levels vary greatly
with the majority being $712 - $950 per month. Her agency offers assistance with
finding affordable housing. Unfortunately, there is not much available in Dublin.
Affordable housing means anything below income of $71,000 for a family of four. Half
of our population qualifies for affordable housing. She applauded the effort to double in-
lieu fees, but would like to see them even higher. A developer told her that to build a
$700,000 home costs about $250,000. She encouraged the City Council to increase the
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amount to the inclusionary zoning. Dublin has the lowest at 5%. A much higher, 1 O%
minimum should be required. The reference is always to "those people" who are your
parents, or newlyweds, or injured, people you know, love, and people you see every day.
East Bay Housing Association brochures were given to the Council and Staff.
Cynthia Morse, Lake Drive, stated she was disabled, her husband was downsized and
they are raising a child here. They can't afford to live here. They have a decent market
rent at Amador Lakes. Affordable housing is very very difficult. She has had better luck
talking to other cities because they have someone responsible for housing. The inqieu fee
isn't the fee a developer would spend to build a unit. Even with this increase, Dublin's
fee is still about 1/3 of the next in~lieu fee. Dublin can use their money as seed money.
She has spoken with 3 banks and 2 non-profits and asked if they have a grant program
to work with cities. They do. We could use money for rehabilitation or in fill or
whatever Dublin decides it needs. The more Dublin has, the more Dublin can pull out
for making affordable housing. Renovating old stuff and making it affordable and
available is beautification. She and her husband cannot afford to live in Dublin raising
one child. This can be a real benefit for everyone.
Eileen Barr, Casa Linda Court, stated she is a 29 year resident and a Board Member of the
League of Women Voters and saw some of the Council at the affordable housing meeting
a couple of weeks ago. The League feels strongly that the City should not take in~lieu fees
instead of building a house. The cost should be for a 2-bedroom unit and based on 80%
of the median income. For every 10 homes built, one two~bedroom unit should be built
for occupants of 80% of the median income. The City has had a lot of lost opportunities
and she asked the City to put some teeth in the fees. There are people who really need
these units. Workforce housing is what is needed. Most people earning $50,000 cannot
afford to live in this community.
Maurine Behrend, Maricaibo Hace in San Ramon stated she supports the words that
Dublin residents have given. She is the coordinator of the Tri~Valley Interfaith Forum.
They have been around for 3 years giving service to low income. For most, there is a real
passion for this work because these are real people. Her phone number at her home
office has gotten out and most of her calls deal with Section 8. They are advocating that
each city do their share for affordable housing. SB910 was passed by the Senate, which
will have financial penalties for cities that don't have housing elements in place. She
relayed stories about people having to move out of the area. San Ramon just finished a
big review of their General Plan and the 33 commissioners that developed the plan really
listened to the housing sub-committee and were really determined to provide housing for
the workforce in San Ramon. They exceeded their requirements. She encouraged Dublin
to do the same.
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Richard Guarienti, 8279 Rhoda stated he had learned a lot here tonight. We have to start
to look at the requirement for the original requirement. What is the rationale for the
developer. He did not feel that doubling the fee will fix the problem. This is a band aid
approach. How will we catch up from the 2% we are at today with the other
communities. What is driving us? The basis of the fee, does it make sense to continue?
Mayor Houston closed the public hearing.
Vice Mayor Lockhart agreed that doubling the fee isn't doing anything. The rationale she
has had has been at least if we get some money in the bank we can look at some quick
fixes and getting people moved a little faster. This has started an action plan and this is a
good start. This is the fastest means to an end. She doesn't feel it will accomplish what
we need. She stated she would like to increase the inclusionary zoning fee to 10%
tonight and ask Staff to come back ASAP with a program that mandates a percentage of
construction. If we had a 15% fee and split it with housing or in-lieu, this would give us
a balance and help one segment of our community, but also provide some units for
people who need them. This helps us integrate affordable housing into and throughout
our community. This avoids pigeon~holing them into one area. We could get a little
more creative with ideas. We have some good opportunities with our transient villages
in providing housing to those who really need it. She would like Staff to talk to the City
Council about this - at least 30%, which is a lot higher number than they have talked
about. Why can't we take some of our funding and help subsidize apartments at Amador
Lakes for a period of time? We need to be creative enough to start a dialogue and
encourage groups that exist and have wonderful examples of things they can do in our
community. We should require landowners to look at some of these to satisfy
requirements in our community. She would like to increase the inclusionany zoning fee
to 10% instead of doubling the in~lieu fee.
Cm. Zika asked if this would be a mandatory 10%7
Vice Mayor Lockhart replied yes.
Cm. Zika commented on the 15% with new development rather than existing.
Mayor Houston asked about the impact on existing development agreements.
Cm. Zika stated he also wants us to keep the commercial fee linkage fee as commercial
brings the workers in. He is a little reluctant to spend money on rent subsidies. This
doesn't get us permanent units. He wants to see mixed projects and likes the 30% figure
on the County's property. He pointed out we are not the lowest one on the in~lieu fees,
Pleasanton is. We need to hire a part time or full time staff person to do something with
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this. He stated ABAG's figures are the most ludicrous thing he has ever seen in his life.
Affordable housing should be integrated throughout all the neighborhoods in the City.
We need a staff person to help us get this program going and we need to make a
mandatory statement, "we need the units or you don't build".
Cm. McCormick stated she has been very disturbed that we are so far behind. She stated
she felt the urgency of this to push ahead and do it quickly. She felt 10% is fine for a
start and would like to see staff look at the prezoning that Bruce Fiedler brought up. She
supports Janet's idea to start with the 10%, with idea that it will go higher. We've sat too
long.
Vice Mayor Lockhart asked staff to bring back idea of having priority areas for affordable
units and we can then let developers know ahead of time that this would be a priority
area or there is special attention or special fees attached to that area. She stated she
would like to hear how this might happen.
Cm. Oravetz stated he attended the two housing meetings over the last two weeks. We
haven't done a lot about affordable housing and back in the 70's, Dublin was the
affordable place to live in the Valley. In the last few years, prosperity has hit Dublin. It's
time for action. He stated he agreed 100% with Vice Mayor Lockhart's suggestions and
he would be willing to go even higher. His stated his son will graduate from Dublin
High School next week and hopefully in 4 years he will be able to live here, but not with
him.
Mayor Houston stated he felt it's real exciting to say we are going to solve all the
problems, but doubling or tripling the fees and having $6 million or $20 million will get
a limited number of units. He felt the idea similar to Livermore's that's getting units
built, and the whole concept of leveraging the dollars we have in many different ways,
up to 10 times - example Shea over on Dougherty Road produced 50 units and it didn't
cost us anything. We can get more units by leveraging and working with someone
rather than us building them. If you want something affordable, you build small 600
square foot units. He stated he liked Mr. Fiedler's comments. Smaller units around the
BART station makes sense. They have to be next to the freeway and we will have 2 BART
stations here in Dublin. Bigger houses won't work. With our current fees, at the end of
the day, we will have more units than Livermore and Pleasanton. It's real brave to raise
your fee when you're a built out community. We're only about 50% built out, so we will
be raising a lot more money. He felt leveraging is a better way to go. He felt coming in
with a 30% requirement for the County would be somewhat shocking to them and we
will have to talk about this. With regard to the strategy of leveraging or do you want to
build it, neither is right or wrong. The math isn't going to change with $291,000 for
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that 3-bedroom home. It is more to do with how we zone than how much we charge.
We have to make it smaller and more dense.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated she felt there is a place and a need for the 600 square foot
unit, but you can't put a family of 3 or 4 in these types of units. There's a whole group
that needs support outside of this particular strata. You can put them in half of a duplex.
They saw examples in Southern California of how this works. They fit in and integrate
into the community. We don't need to limit it. Not every development is going to build
units. We need a plan. We have a very creative staff that can get us there. She stands by
the 10%, but doubling the in~lieu fee isn't going to get us anywhere near what we need.
We need to let everyone know how serious we are about housing.
Mayor Houston stated the State is going to hit us over the head about our plan, but at
some point we need units.
Cm. Zika felt if we have a requirement that says 10% of your development has to be
affordable housing, this is a start. Can you translate this into what the fee would have to
be to make the in-lieu fee equate to a unit? They either build it or give us enough where
we can build it.
Ms. Cirelli stated we cannot make it more costly than what it would cost to build an
affordable unit.
Mr. Ambrose talked about the Council's direction to bring back a doubling of the in-lieu
fee, and clarified that there is no Inclusionary Housing Ordinance before the Council at
this time. A Zoning Ordinance modification would have to be brought back.
Mayor Houston suggested that perhaps another workshop was needed.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated she isn't going to go backward and change her mind.
Cm. Zika stated what we are looking for is an amendment to the Inclusionary Zoning
Ordinance to make 10% mandatory and a fee that is equivalent to that 10% requirement.
If we have someone come in to build 10 units then they have to make one affordable and
the cost is $300,000.
Ms. Silver discussed how many units are required right now. If there are 20 or more
units, a developer is required to build 5% broken down among low, very low, etc. The
amount of the fee is as previously determined by the City Council and the fee is in lieu of
the requirement of building the unit. The ordinance provides flexibility and the table in
the Staff Report gives the price.
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Mayor Houston asked why not just delete the fee and state the cost of the unit.
Cm. Zika stated he felt there may be instances when this could apply and he doesn't want
to lose the option.
Mr. Ambrose explained the rationale of how a previous Council established a situation
where an affordable housing unit may not be feasible.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated she felt we've set up no balance in the argument. What is
reasonable for us to collect in lieu of building an affordable house, or what's enough to
really do something with?
Cm. Zika stated he doesn't want to lose sight of the commercial linkage fee. We should
have methods to encourage people to be able to buy houses here.
Mr. Ambrose pointed out that the first home was built in eastern Dublin in 1997, so the
Council should not be too hard on themselves.
Vice Mayor Lockhart suggested continuing this item and give Staff an opportunity to put
together something to be brought back. This is an extremely important issue and she
stated she did not feel the City is doing enough.
Mayor Houston stated he felt we should allow people to swap credit and purchases
among property owners so units get built where it is appropriate, and get rid of the in~
lieu fee.
Cm. Zika stated he would like to leave the option open. He doesn't want to close any
doors. There's too much gray area in the middle.
Mayor Houston stated if they do that, the Council will not have to have this discussion
every 6 months. If we want units, just require them.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated she felt they should look at how this would play into our
numbers for the State and we should leave the door open for creativity on the part of
developers. Let them come to us with ideas that will accomplish the same thing.
Cm. Zika agreed they can do things we can't do. He would like to leave all the options
open.
Vice Mayor Lockhart suggested that they leave it open for their creativity but with a
minimum that we won't live without and that's housing or an amount to build.
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Mayor Houston felt we need to look at this Citywide.
Ms. Cirelli added that the City of Livermore requires a developer to build 10% below
market rate units or submit request to satisfy request by other means - dedicating land,
off~site construction, or building secondary units.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated she would like to see us look at a 15% total with 7 ½%
mandatory minimum which can be a combination of fee and units or credits, etc., so that
if someone has a big project, there is flexibility. She would like to see some discussion
from Staff on the issue of all inclusionary and a fee based on the cost of building, not a
flat rate or arbitrary fee, as well as commercial linkage.
Cm. McCormick reiterated that the Council will receive information on 7 ½% must build
and 7 ½% in lieu fee based on the cost of the unit and any combination that gets us to
15%.
Mr. Ambrose clarified that 7 l/z% is must build and this is half way and they can be
creative with the other 7 ½%.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated if we look at priority areas, it could be 15% must build.
Mr. Ambrose talked about what the practical impact will be on those areas that have
DA's but not PD zoning. The City Attorney will review this.
Cm. Zika stated if we raise the indieu fee to produce comparable units, they still have to
pay the existing fees. We may not get units from those developers where we have DA's,
but we will still get money to leverage to build affordable units.
The Council indicated it would like to also include zoning and density bonuses.
Ms. Silver stated the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance is the current ordinance and it
requires construction of inclusionary units. Prezoning is typically when you are
annexing property.
Mayor Houston stated he felt the City has done a fine job of providing a range of housing.
There are things we must look at such as no garages, and zoning wise, we could review.
Zoning and creative ways to help pay for these projects is real important.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated the community is going to have to support affordable
housing as well.
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Mr. Ambrose stated Staff will look at areas where you might have different affordable
housing requirements as part of the zoning; and also, to permit additional density with
mixed housing/retail.
Mr. Peabody commented that the question of priorities may be easy as we have a solid
General Hart now with readily identifiable areas. He asked if around the BART station is
where the Council wants to put an overlay district saying you shall have x% of affordable
housing. Some of the other issues may take a lot longer. You could reemphasize in
districts near transportation you have a certain percentage of affordable housing. There
are many sites in eastern Dublin designated for higher density that haven't been built yet.
The General Hart will have to be amended and zoning regulations added that give the
message loud and clear. How do you require affordable housing and under what
circumstances and when do you take a fee in lieu of. There are certain circumstances
where you may want to require the fee or buy the land or something else. This will take
longer for Staff to bring back information because our experience is very limited. We
haven't done any of this. With regard to projects already under construction, we will
need to be very careful.
Mr. Ambrose suggested we may need to take this in stages. Some of the ordinances could
be refined, but they can at least set the groundwork. He stated the Council can continue
the item and Staff can come back with a schedule of timing.
Mr. Peabody advised that Staff could come back with a schedule at perhaps the first or
second meeting in July.
APPROVAL OF FINAL PROMOTIONAL MARKETING BROCHURE
10:39 p.m. 7.1 (150~50)
The final draft was distributed of the City's proposed promotional marketing brochure,
entitled "Dublin - It's a Great Place to Grow". The brochure highlights the City's history,
location, business atmosphere, community, and quality of life. It also includes inserts
with pertinent business and community data.
Mayor Houston stated this item was being continued to the next or following Council
meeting. Questions or comments should be directed to Chris Foss.
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LOCATION OF FIRE STATION 18 ~ DUBLIN RANCH
10:40 p.m. 8.1 (540~70)
Economic Development Director Chris Foss presented the Staff Report and advised that in
April of 2000, the City Council approved the Emergency Fire/Medical Response Plan for
service, which concluded that the City needed to construct two new fire stations to serve
the Eastern Dublin Planning area. Fire Station No. 17 will be located at Broder and
Madigan, and Fire Station No. 18 is proposed to be located at the west side of the
intersection of Fallon Road and Bent Tree Drive.
Mr. Foss advised that Fire Station 18 was proposed for a. 75 acre site located near the
intersection of Gleason Drive and Fallon Road. The preferred location for Station No. 18
(Fallon Road and Bent Tree Drive) is presently part of the proposed 52 acre Sports Park,
but the developer has made accommodations in the park site planning to maintain the
necessary acreage for the park.
On motion of Vice Mayor Lockhart, seconded by Cm. Zika, and by unanimous vote, the
Council approved the location for Fire Station No. 18 at Fallon Road and Bent Tree Drive.
OTHER BUSINESS
10:42 p.m.
Mr. Ambrose advised that the City had received a letter from the Chamber of Commerce
related to participating in Tri-Valley Day at the Alameda County Fair on July 5%
Mr. Ambrose announced that plans were being made to have a ground breaking
ceremony for the new Library on June 11 th. He asked if the City Council was available
and to identify a time for the event.
Those Councilmembers who would be able to attend indicated a preferred time of 9 a.m.
Mr. Ambrose stated the Mayor indicated he would like to hold a Tri~Valley Council
meeting and Staff requested that the Council identify a couple of potential dates.
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The Council discussed the possibility of Thursday, July 19th or 26th. It was pointed out
that on the 19th, there is a fire meeting and the 26th conflicts with the League of
California Cities conference.
The Council selected the date of Thursday, July 12th, and indicated that the meeting
should be held at the Monarch.
Mr. Ambrose asked if there will be a full Council in attendance at the July 3~d City
Council meeting. No one indicated they would be absent.
Mr. Ambrose announced that the League of California Cities would be holding its annual
Mayors and Councilmembers Executive Forum and Leadership Academy Workshops in
Monterey on Wednesday ~ Saturday, July 25 - 28, 2001. Anyone interested in attending
should contact Kay Keck as soon as possible so that reservations can be made.
Cm. Zika advised that he had already confirmed his attendance with Kay.
Cm. McCormick stated she would like to attend the Executive Forum.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated she would be unable to go.
Cm. Oravetz stated he would be unable to go.
Cm. Oravetz asked if the City had received any comments from the Sharks since the last
meeting.
Mr. Ambrose replied no. A letter was sent following the meeting confirming their
withdrawal.
Cm. McCormick stated when she returned from her trip to Turkey, she read the news
and was concerned about a possible project coming into the area where the Plumbery is
and stated she hopes the Council can talk about this before the project gets too far along.
They should look at the overall historical significance of this area.
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Mr. Peabody advised that discussion will come before the City Council at its next
meeting. A project has been submitted. The Plumbery has moved to the space of the
former Super Crown Book site on Amador Plaza Road. All tenants, with the exception of
the Bank, have been given a 30 day notice to be out. Staff will be seeking direction on
whether the project should be delayed until an historical district study is completed. Staff
will bring a possible moratorium to the Council for discussion.
Cm. McCormick reminded everyone that she and Vice Mayor Lockhart will be there next
week participating in the Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society event. Captain
Thuman is chairing this event. She encouraged everyone to come down to Dublin High
School Saturday night. The firefighters will be providing breakfast for those walking.
Cm. Zika stated he had an opportunity Saturday to listen to a string quartet and the Parks
& Community Services Department presented a very nice affair, nice wine, cheese and
hors deouvres. It was very good.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated she also felt the Classical Affair was fabulous. City Staff
served food and they were there in every aspect and they made it very exciting. She
stated she hopes more people will be able to attend this event in future years.
Cm. Oravetz reported that he had gotten e-mail about the traffic situation at Willow
Creek & Dougherty Road. It is getting crowded there. It is becoming a public safety
issue.
Mr. Ambrose stated this project is included in our proposed CIP program.
Cm. Oravetz stated he wanted to give recognition to the Dublin High Girls Softball Team
and congratulated the coach and team. Our Boys Varsity Volleyball Team won the NCS
championship. He congratulated the coach and stated he has invited the team to come to
the next Council meeting. The Boys Baseball Team barely lost in the NCS finals. The
professionalism shown by the team was great and they were also invited to come to the
next meeting, but indicated they cannot come. He congratulated the entire DHS
graduating class of 2001, and all other graduates here in the City.
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Vice Mayor Lockhart commented we should extend an invitation to all the teams to get
the recognition for a job well done.
Vice Mayor Lockhart requested that Staff add as a future agenda item, a Council policy
discussion on day care in eastern Dublin. She stated she felt a determination needed to be
made by the Council if there is interest in supporting more daycare. This is such an
incredibly important issue.
ADJOURNMENT
11.1
There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned
at 11:00 p.m.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
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