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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.01 Draft Minutes 6-2-98 • REGULAR MEETING 2; 1998 A regular meeting of the Dublin City Council was held on Tuesday,June 2, 1998, -_ _ - in the Council Chambers:of the-Dublin-Civic Center. -The meeting was called to ._ _ order at 7:03 p.m., by Mayor Houston. _ _ - - ROLL-CALL - - - PRESENT: Councilmembers Barnes, Burton, Howard, Lockhart 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. • Mayor Houston announced that it was a•good day in Dublin. At 7 a.m. this morning, his wife had their third child, a baby girl. Glynnis Rose weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz. He reported that Mother and Child are doing good. PROCLAMATION - - - 7:04 p.m. 3.1 (610-50) Mayor Houston read a Proclamation declaring Lois Humphrey recipient of the 1997-98 Outstanding School Crossing Guard award. A plaque was provided from All City Management Services, Inc. She was also presented with a tape of Dublin's City song. Ms. Humphrey stated it was her privilege and pleasure and thanked everyone. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 17 REGULAR MEETING 06( June 2, 1998 PAGE 258 ITEM NO. _ e� - - e CONSENT CALENDAR _--.__.-_-- ----_ _ 7:07 p.m. On motion of Cm. Burton, seconded by Cin._Lockhart arid-by unanimous vote,the ‘. ' - - Council took the following actions: Approved (4.1) Minutes of Regular Meeting of May 19, 1998; - Approved (4.2 .290-20) a budget appropriation of$1,750 from Unallocated Reserves to the Park Maintenance Budget, and approved a Change Order to the Dougherty Fence Painting Purchase Order to include the painting of the Alamo Creek Park fences with the Dougherty Fence-Painting project; Rescinded (4.3 420-30) the City Council's January 7, 1997 action initiating a General Plan Amendment Study for the Nielsen Ranch property; _ Authorized (4.4 600-30) Staff to undertake an evaluation of the Dublin Ranch Area Financing District Proposal,,and authorized the Mayor to execute agreements with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Project Finance Associates (PFA), and Jennifer Lin; Approved (4.5 300-40) the Warrant Register in the amount of$538,628.93. ITEM ADDED TO AGENDA - POTENTIAL STATE LEGISLATION 7:08 p.m. _8.1A (660-40) - Mayor Houston asked if a new business item could be put on the agenda related to the issue of the Vehicle License Fee situation going on in the State's budget. The issue may be settled within a couple of weeks and we should be heard. City Attorney Silver stated he would need a 4/5 vote of the Council and the finding would be that the need arose to discuss this after the agenda was posted. Mayor Houston stated information he received from Lynne Leach was information that we had not previously received. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 17 REGULAR MEETING )une-2, 1 998 •- PAGE 259 • . On motion of Mayor Houston, seconded by Cm. Burton, and by unanimous vote, because information was received from Assembly Member Leach after our agenda was already in place and because of the possibility that the State may act before the City Council's next meeting, the issue was placed on the agenda as Item 8.1. .. PUBLIC HEARING JEFFERSON AT DUBLIN DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT PA 97-018 7:09 p.m. 6.1 (600-60) Mayor Houston opened the public hearing. Senior Planner Jeri Ram presented the Staff Report and advised that a proposed ordinance is being presented which would approve a Development Agreement between the City of Dublin and Alameda County Surplus Property Authority for the Jefferson at Dublin project. The DA is required by the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan. Items included in the DA include, but are not limited to, the financing and timing of infrastructure and the payment of traffic, noise and public facilities impact fees. . Ms. Ram explained that the Agreement provides for the dedication of 2.84 additional acres of land (above the Public Facilities Fee Requirement of 3.68 acres) for the future City Park to be located east of Tassajara Creek. This additional acreage will be dedicated early to enable the City to move forward on a new park at that location. The 2.84 acres will be credited to the developer and used as a credit for future projects towards their parkland dedication requirements. Ms. Ram summarized that the eity of Dublin and Alameda County have agreed on the sequencing of infrastructure construction, the payment of impact fees as well as other items required by the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan. No public testimony was entered by any member of the public relative to this Issue. Mayor Houston closed the public hearing. On motion of Cm. Burton, seconded by Cm. Howard, and by unanimous vote, the Council waived the reading and INTRODUeED the Ordinance. +- CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 17 REG U LAR MEETING June 2, 1998 PAGE 260 . PUBLIC HEARING PARK SIERRA APARTMENTS PHASE II MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION AND PLANNED DEVELOPMENT REZONE PA 98-010 . 7:11 p.m. 6.2 (450-30) Mayor Houston opened the public hearing. Community Development Director Peabody introduced Consulting Planner Jerry Haag who presented the Staff Report and advised that this public hearing was for the Council to consider a Mitigated negative Declaration and PD Rezone for the Park Sierra Apartments Phase II. The Phase II project includes 74 rental apartment units with associated parking, landscaping and open space, located on a 5.7 acre site north of the Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way (future Iron Horse Trail), east of Alamo Creek and west of the Arroyo Vista Housing Complex. Phase II would be a continuation of the Phase I development approved by the City Counci11ast December. Twenty percent of the total units (57) will be available to low income households for 15 years, or income restricted for at least 15 years. These units will be disbursed among the project. . Cm. Burton asked for a description of what we are saving for the light rail or bus service in the future as he noted the swing around area that goes over where the transit line would go. He was concerned if we perpetually lock out the potential for it to be a transit line. Mr. Ambrose stated that transportation element is no longer in our GP for that roadway. It goes up the SP corridor and then turns north on Dougherty Road. This area is therefore not intended for transit. The plan was to go up Dougherty Road into eontra Costa County. This would be for trail and bicycle purposes only. em. Burton stated he was disappointed with this information. Mr. Ambrose stated conceptually we have talked about planning some type of right-of-way dedicated for transit purposes coming from BART up and then turning north on Dougherty Road. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 17 REGULAR MEETING June 2, 1998 PAGE 261 . . Mr. Haag advised that the Alameda County Transportation Department echoed what the eity Manager just said~ . . Mr. Haag poin~~ outtypographical.errors in the_Orqinance and sta~ed the correct information should reflect Section 8.32.050 070 typos were noted. Cm. Lockhart discussed the area where she had read about impacts on the marsh and existing riparian vegetation, and asked exactly what is protected in this riparian area. The weeds are pretty high and look bad. Would we be protecting them? Mr. Haag stated this pertains to the green growing things in the bottom of the creek. The weeds on top are a maintenance issue with Zone 7. No public testimony was entered by any member of the public relative to this Issue. Mayor Houston closed the public hearing. . em. Barnes stated she was happy to see that the 57 units will be mixed throughout the site and she would really like to see a longer time period than 15 years. She asked if this will do anything toward speeding along progress on the Iron Horse Trail. You reach Dublin and run into a fence. Mr. Haag stated the applicant has agreed to do some improvements and this will speed it up. Mr. Ambrose stated the eity had some TDA funding that was to be used to develop a trail parallel to the Iron Horse Trail in the Zone 7 right-of-way between the County line and 1-580. It looks like this year we will be able to get a good portion of this completed. From the City limit line to the north to Amador Valley Boulevard, we will be in pretty good shape and we currently have a trail that exists that will be improved. We will be working on this in 1998. Cm. Burton stated there is confusion on where the Iron Horse Trail actually goes. Mr. Ambrose clarified exactly where he was speaking about. On motion of Cm. Barnes, seconded by em. Lockhart, and by unanimous vote, the Council adopted CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 17 REGULAR MEETING June 2, 1998 PAGE 262 . RESOlUTfON NO. 69 - 98 ADO-PTlttJtfA--NEGATIVE" DEClARATION FOR -A 98-010, _PARK SIERRA APARTMENT PHASE II PROJECT, - - - PD REZONING AND SITE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW -. and waived the reading and with corrections mentioned, INTRODUCED the Ordinance: .. STATE LEGISLATION - VEHIeLE LICENSE FEE 7:2S p.m. 8.1 (660-40) Mayor Houston passed out copies of a proposed resolution he had drafted. He stated he had received a copy of a letter from Lynn Leach related to the proposed cuts by the State to the VLF and she is supportive of this only if there is a constitutionally supported backfill of this revenue being taken away from the cities. He read Assembly Member Leach's letter. AB 1776 would phase out the VLF over a period of 5 years. ACA 45 includes a constitutional guarantee for funds to replace the VLF. Mayor Houston stated from what he has read, the Governor is going in one direction and this may- be resolved by the end of this month. We should support our local elected official's efforts to protect our revenues. He stated em. Barnes brought this up in the past and it seems strange that the State is cutting our revenue instead of their own. It is imperative right now that we put something in writing. Let us decide how we want to cut our own taxes. If the State wants to cut taxes, they should cut their own rather than funds which go to local governments. . Mayor Houston read the resolution he had drafted. "A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF ACA 45 TO SUPPORT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT WHEREAS, The May Revision of the Governor's proposed State Budget for Fiscal Year 1998-99 contains revised revenue and expenditure forecasts indicating a General Fund surplus of $4.2 Billion, CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 17 REGULAR MEETING June 21 1998 PAGE 263 . .e- . . AND WHEREAS, the Governor"s May revision proposes ti; endanger local discretionary ~ev~f1~~~ byr~q!!pi!!g th~__S.!q~(}_Ye!!~c--'e UCf!:-,!seJ;'-e~(YLF) by$4_billiol1 o,~er jive years, thereby eliminating a stable and constitutionally dedicated reverrue source on which counties and cities ~~pent! wi~h!!ut aCf!l1stif1!tional guarantee of replac~rnen.t funding. , AND WHEREAS, the City of Dublin will receive $1.1 Million in VLF funds during the current Fiscal Year for discretionary use, with the May revision of the Governor's proposed budget having no provision for back-fll! of constitutionally protected revenue sources for cities and counties NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED by the City of Dublin, as follows: The City of Dublin supports a reduction in the Vehicle License Fee if and only ~f there is a constitutionally guaranteed source of replacement revenue which will rise at the same rate as VLF; the City of Dublin supports ACA 45 which provides tax relief to citizens without punishing local governments. AND, the City of Dublin renews its request to the Honorable Members of the Legislature and the Governor for the return of local property taxes to discretionary use by counties, cities and special districts; AND, a copy of this resolution shall beforwarded to the Honorable Members of the Legislature representing the City of Dublin and the Office of the Governor. " Mayor Houston stated a protected revenue stream has to be something the Governor supports. Cm. Burton asked what the $1.1 million would be used for that would have to be cut by the eity of Dublin. Mayor Houston stated if we had to swallow a $1.1 million pill, there would be a degradation to any number of important items in the community such as public safety with police and fire services, how we maintain our parks, etc. This is just common sense that if you want to cut something out of your budget, you cut it out of your own budget, not someone else's. em. Barnes stated as the City's representative to the League of California Cities, she spent a lot of hours on the Internet today. Sixty five percent of our revenue is restricted. It's time to invest in local communities. With a $4.4 billion surplus, the State is going in the wrong direction. They should be building programs that strengthen services. They should take something out of their own pockets rather than ours. We are tired of having to say no to our people with our money. She CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 17 REGULAR MEETING June 2, 1998 PAGE 264 - ... suggested the resolution should be worded even stronger. Four hundred people .-..----f~~~-i!L~ab.. <?~da.mentoh:!a~~-~~~kd protesting this poten~i8J f"r the State taking money . rom our u -- get. . S e pomte out thafthe VLF was supposed to be constitution- _ _ __.. ally Pl'9_tect<:~d ~yen1:1~_~___ Mayor Houston stated he wanted to keep the resolution focused. Where the money comes from is not as important as making sure it is from a dedicated source. Cm. Lockhart stated she liked the phrase that "replacement revenue which will rise at the same level as we would receive in VLF fees." She suggested ending the sentence with VLF and deleting the rest of the verbiage. "The City of Dublin supports a reduction in the Vehicle License Fee if and only if there is a constitutionally guaranteed source of replacement revenue which will rise at the same rate as VLF; the City of Dublin supports A CA 45 which provides tax relief to citizens without punishing local governments. " Mr. Ambrose stated Staff had a copy of AeA 45. It was introduced by McClintock who is the sponsor. This measure would basically repeal the VLF over a 5 year period and transfer sales and use tax revenues and not provide for any growth. Cm. Barnes commented this is the source they plan on taking it from. In 1986, . California voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing funding and it is obvious the constitutional amendment is not worth the paper it is written on. Mayor Houston asked if this has to go back to the people to be voted on. Ms. Silver stated yes. It can go to a vote in 2 different ways; the legislature can put it on the ballot or it can be placed on the ballot through the initiative process. Mr. Rankin stated as our population grows, the revenue source through VLF also grows. The amendment doesn't deal with how it would be distributed. There's advantages to diversifying revenue sources. If the economy goes into a different cycle and a bigger percentage of the City's revenue is all tied to the economy, the downturns will be worse and the impacts greater. Mayor Houston expressed frustration in that we feel it is not theirs to take back. AB 1776 just phases out the VLF and has no backfills. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 17 REG U LAR MEETING June 2, 1998 PAGE 265 . . . . Mr. Ambrose stated this kills any growth. We will never have the opportunity for these revenues to grow as the state grows.. . . em~_ Lockhart. stated she had a tough time su pporting this in any form. " . . - - . Cm. Barnes stated we sent them the message already to knock it off. You can't be putting money in with a little hand and then taking it out with a bigger hand. They are taking away our public services. Cm. Burton suggested we go against the whole thing. Just say don't mess with it at all. We don't want AB 1776 or ACA 45. Mayor Houston felt the political reality is something is going to happen with this, so with this most current information we can either say something or not say something. We could stand by our prior Resolution. Cm. Burton asked who is supporting this. Mayor Houston felt the legislature is getting credit for this on somebody else's back. Cm. Barnes reminded everyone that this is an election year. It's up to the people to stand up and say no. Mayor Houston stated he felt em. Lockhart's idea of cutting out the one sentence would be appropriate. Cm. Burton suggested we say, given our choice, we don't like either, but if push comes to shove, we favor ACA 45 with the provision for a constitutional amendment to guarantee replacement revenues. Mayor Houston clarified if they are going to make cuts, then we want a protected source of revenue. Cm. Lockhart stated she had a hard time saying we support a reduction in the VLF at any time. Mr. Ambrose stated from the information Staff receives, the story changes continuously. It is being constantly negotiated. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 17 REGULAR MEETING June 2, 1998 PAGE 266 . .. On motion of Mayor Houston seconded by Cm. Burton, and by majority vote, the Council adopted . RESOlUTIO~ NO:-70-~ 98 -- . IN SUPPORT OF ACA45 TO SUPPORT LOCAL GOVERNMENT Cm. Barnes voted against the motion. .. OTHER BU SINESS 7:50 p.m. Farmer's Market (470-50) Mr. Ambrose reminded everyone that the Farmer's Market starts this Friday at 4:00 p.m. .. Library Task Force Report (940-50) . Mr. Ambrose reported that the Library Task Force culminated their responsibilities and a report will be coming to the City Council in the near future. .. ehi1d Care Pro.2;ram at Middle School (950-70) Cm. Howard requested placement on a future agenda the issue of considering daycare in the middle school. The liaison committee with Dublin Unified School District could bring back discussion on this. She and Cm. Barnes were able to participate in the round table discussion with Hillary Clinton last week. A lot of cities right now are going in and working with school districts to work out daycare programs at the middle schoo11evel. Daycare advocates that were there want this type of program. Mayor Houston stated he felt it would be best to bring this up at the liaison meeting and then come back to the City eounci1 with the School District's thoughts. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 17 REG U LAR MEETING June 2, 1998 PAGE 267 . -.,--.. ..- ..- . . - - em. Howard stated Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher is- a1soworkirig very hard in thevalley _on d~y~'!:re~ _" .C'_...'_ ..... ___- ..... - u'." --.--- Cm. Barnes stated a 6th grader is still young._ We seem to be worrying about up - to 5th grade and -then nothing. Between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. a lot of things go on. Mayor Houston stated this will be brought up at the next liaison meeting. em. Barnes stated it was really a privilege to be a part of the roundtable discussion with Ellen Tauscher and Hillary Clinton. .. Business e10sinS?; (470-60) em. Lockhart asked about the status of the BP Station on Amador Valley Boulevard and Village Parkway with regard to weed abatement. The weeds are getting taller and taller. Mr. Ambrose stated Staff was advised by Tosco Corporation that they have scheduled demolition of the station this month and claim they will have someone out this week to abate the weeds. This information was as of this morning. +- Fundraiser (610-85) Cm. Lockhart reminded everyone that on June 13th, the "Relay for Life" is being held at Dublin High School starting at 9 a.m. and it ends at 9 a.m. the following morning. There will be food from morning to night. A really nice thank you goes to the Urban Village Farmer's Market Association who will be doing Dublin's Farmer's Market each week, because they have donated all the fruits and vegetables. They are already getting involved in the community. Mayor Houston will make a little speech Saturday evening. If everything goes right, there will even be some fireworks. They have been working with the Fire Department. .. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 17 REGULAR MEETING June 2, 1998 PAGE 268 .. Announcement (61 0-05) . ,".,. .. ."~-C:m~--Bames~stafed she anauCrii.-LOckhEirl wiUbe7goirig"to LOCC meetings next .. week and today on the Internet she got information on where cities get their .u, -----maney-irid what we do with it. She stated she would be happy to provide a copy to anyone who wants one. +-. Illegally Placed Political Si~ns (400-30) Cm. Barnes offered a very big thank you to Staff for removal of signs for those candidates who seem to think that quantity was the name of the game; not where you put them. Both Mr. Ball and Mr. Place e-mai1ed her and discussed this with her. +- ADJOURNMENT 11.1 There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:02 p.m. Mayor A TrEST: City Clerk ~ CITY COUNCIL MINUTES VOLUME 17 REGULAR MEETING June 2, 1998 PAGE 269 .. . . .