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CC 02-16-10CUPERTINO PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVED ]MINUTES CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL Regular Adjourned Meeting Tuesday, February 16, 2010 At 6:00 p.m. Mayor Kris Wang called the regular adjourned meeting to order in the Council Chamber, 10350 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California, and led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Kris Wang, Vice -Mayor Gilbert: Wong, and Council members Barry Chang, Orrin Mahoney, and Mark Santoro. Absent: none. CLOSED SESSION - None CEREMONIAL MATTERS — PRESENTATIONS 1. Presentation from the Teen Commission on the "Walk One Week" program. Teen Commissioners Anna Kathryn Sengupta and Shailee Saamar presented a PowerPoint presentation called, "Walk One Week" (WOW) regarding safety around schools and ways to encourage youth to walk or ride their bikes to school. Council received the report and no action was taken. POSTPONEMENTS Deputy City Clerk Grace Schmidt said that staff wished to table Item No. 6 regarding a playground at Sterling Park. Wong moved and Mahoney seconded to table the item. The motion carried unanimously. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS Deputy City Clerk Schmidt distributed the following written communications: • Staff PowerPoint presentation for Item No. 1 regarding the Teen Commission presentation • Amended staff report for Item No. 16 :regarding the Alcoholic Beverage License for Target • Staff report for Item No. 16a regarding the City Attorney contract February 16, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 2 • 23 emails from residents commenting on the alternative project options for Item No. 17 regarding Scenic Circle • Amended draft ordinance and staff PowerPoint for Item No. 18 regarding the Heart of the City Specific Plan ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Daniel Pak, Sharon Babu, Allen Cheng, and Albert Chu, students from Harker School, gave a PowerPoint presentation about a science competition. The goal of their team was to raise awareness about the dust released by the Lehigh quarry when limestone is crushed to make cement, which released mercury that can end up in local bodies of water, and could harm the fish and those that eat them. They tested water samples from four different locations and found that the levels are below the EPA standard limits for mercury, but still 10 times higher than others locations. Their door to door surveys showed that most neighbors were aware of the quarry and concerned about the pollution, but were uninformed about the whole situation. The group recommended that official testing be done on the dust that falls in residents' backyards and to inform the residents of the results either through mail or email. Marilyn Howard from the League of Women Voters explained that they will conduct a forum for the County District Attorney and the County Sheriff races, which effect Cupertino and all of the cities in the County. Cathy Helgerson showed pictures of the Stevens Creek Reservoir and pond around the quarry, noting the pollution that was going into them frorn the quarry. She talked about an operating well next to her property that is contaminated and that this same contaminant is at Apple, Lehigh, and the quarry. She asked to be able to speak with Council and staff and noted she is working on a paper about how she has been ignored by the City and other organizations. She urged Council to take care of the residents' health and safety. CONSENT CALENDAR Wong moved and Mahoney seconded to approve the items on the Consent Calendar as recommended, with the exception of Item Nos. 2 and 14 which were pulled for discussion. Ayes: Chang, Mahoney, Santoro, Wang, and Wong. Noes: None. Abstain: None. 3. Adopt resolutions accepting Accounts RVable for January 29 and February 5, 2010, Resolution Nos. 10 -028 and 10 -029. 4. Adopt a resolution accepting Payroll for February 5, Resolution No. 10 -030. 5. Accept the Treasurer's Investment & Budget Report for December 2009. 6. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a contract with KaBOOM! Inc. in the amount of $76,800 for the construction of a playground at Sterling Park February 16, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 3 7. Approve a fee waiver request from the League of Women Voters of Cupertino - Sunnyvale of approximately $300.00 in facility use :Fees for the use of the Cupertino Community Hall for a candidate forum for the District: Attorney and the County Sheriff on May 12, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. 8. Accept a donation from Cupertino 2004 L a s Madres Playgroup in the amount of $392.85 and appropriate it to purchase new bike racks for Blackberry Farm Park 9. Adopt a resolution adopting the Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS) Public Agency Post - Retirement Health Care P:'Lan Trust, to fund retiree medical benefits, Resolution No. 10 -031. 10. Adopt a resolution authorizing execution of a Quitclaim Deed Hatco Associates, LLC, 10495 N. De Anza Boulevard APN 326 -33 -110, Resolution No. 10 -032. The Owners of the property at 10495 N. De Anza Boulevard have asked that the City quitclaim a Development Agreement that was signed between the City and the owner of the property in 1977. All conditions of the Agreement have been satisfied and the City has no further interest in the Agreement. 11. Adopt a resolution accepting a Quitclaim Deed and Authorization for Underground Water Rights, David K. Kaneda and Stephania Wong Kaneda, 21350 Vai Avenue APN 362 -05- 029, Resolution No. 10 -033. The property owners of this residential development agree to grant to the City the right to extract water from the basin under the overlying property. 12. Adopt a resolution accepting a Quitclaim Deed and Authorization for Underground Water Rights, Tsai Zong Lin and Shih Ling Chen, 10150 Lockwood Drive APN 342 -14 -111, Resolution No. 10 -034. The property owners of this residential development agree to grant to the City the right to extract water from the basin under the overlying property. 13. Accept municipal improvements Evershine VI, LLC, Marketplace Shopping Center, 19620 -19780 Stevens Creek Boulevard APN's 369 -06 -009 and 369 -06 -010. The applicant has completed City - specified improvements in the City right -of -way including sidewalk, curb & gutter, and driveway approach as required by the improvement agreement with the City. 15. Accept an application for an Alcoholic Beverage License for Harumi Sushi 19754 Stevens Creek Blvd., On -Sale Beer & Wine — Eating Place (41). 16. Accept an application for an Alcoholic Beverage License for Target 20745 Stevens Creek Blvd., Off -Sale Beer & Wine (20) aid Off -Sale General (21). February 16, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 4 16a. Adopt a resolution amending Resolution No. 09 -171 and requesting the California Public Employees' Retirement System (Ca1PERS) Board of Administration to approve the extension of the temporary appointment of retired annuitant Carol Korade beyond 960 hours in Fiscal Year 2009 -2010, Resolution No. 10 -036. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR (above) 2. Approve the minutes from the Jan. 12, 19, 25, 27, and Feb. 2 City Council meetings. Council member Chang asked to have the following added to the Jan. 12 minutes on the Lehigh Cement Plant: 1) He asked Mr. Broadbent from the Bay Area Quality Management District whether the District is allowed to have more stringent rules than the EPA and Mr. Broadbent responded, "yes "; 2) He also asked the District to require the cement plant to put in a central stack at the plant; 3) He noted that resident Dave McLeroy had talked about knowledge of a. spontaneous inspection at the plant where the inspector was held at the gate for more than an hour before being allowed to come in for inspection. Council member Chang also said that the minutes from Jan. 19 incorrectly stated that Richard Lowenthal was speaking on beha'.,f of the Cupertino Rotary Club. He was only speaking for the Cupertino Rotary Housing, Corporation. Chang moved and Wong seconded to approve this item with the amendments noted. The motion carried unanimously. 14. Adopt a resolution accepting a Quitclaim Deed and Authorization for Underground Water Rights, Martha Shan Ping Kang, 20874 Hanford Drive APN 326 -30 -059, Resolution No. 10 -035. The property owner of this residential development agrees to grant to the City the right to extract water from the basin under the overlying property. Cathy Helgerson asked about what the water would be used for because she said she was concerned about pollution in the wells. Public Works Director Ralph Qualls explained that this authorization is a standard practice which only gives the City the rights to the water in case it does need to be extracted for any reason. Ms. Helgerson asked the Council to have the water tested for contamination. Mr. Qualls said they had been previously by an independent water testing laboratory and nothing was found. Mahoney moved and Chang seconded to adopt the resolution. The motion carried unanimously. February 16, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 5 UNFINISHED BUSINESS 17. Scenic Circle access to Stevens Creek Corridor Park A. Approve the design and construction of an additional public access point to Stevens Creek Corridor Park and Blackberry Farm from the west side of the Creek near Scenic Circle B. If approved, consider three alternative project options and approve Alternative B as a new capital improvement project and budget in the amount of $235,000 to design and construct the ADA modifications to the existing maintenance footbridge and a code compliant access trail from Scenic Circle to the east side of Stevens Creek in Blackberry Farm Public Works Director Ralph Qualls reviewed the staff report and each alternative via a PowerPoint presentation and video of the area. Jill Moody said that she doesn't agree with connecting Scenic Circle to Blackberry Farm and especially doesn't like Alternative B since it is directly across from her house. She didn't think that residents' views should be blocked because of intrusive noise and cars. Steve Moody (also speaking on behalf of :Bill Hawkes) said that he is glad Alternative C is being ruled out because it would be intrusive to the neighborhood; the entrance to the park in Alternative B would be directly across from his house; and he felt another Alternative D should be proposed which would use the Simms property. He was unhappy about the idea of looking across the street and seeing cars instead of trees and noted that children's safety is the reason for this issue, but he doesn't think too many kids would use the access. He asked Council to leave things the way they are and let people find their own way to the park. Suman Ganapathy, President of the Monta Vista PTA, said that any of the alternatives would be fine with them and urged Council to accept the staff's recommendation to approve the access through Blackberry Farm. She noted that their concern is safety to the children getting to school and the high volume of traffic on McClellan and Stevens Creek Blvd. She said that the school would try to coordinate with the bike /walk to school week with the Walk One Week program to be sure students take advantage of the trail once it's opened. Deborah Jamison said that the community has discussed this issue, and Council has made a decision, many times in the past. She noted that it would be difficult to construct a handicapped- accessible trail that would also accommodate bicycle traffic, and the intrusion would impact wildlife in the zxea. She said that no native plants would be destroyed in the alignment of Alternative A and that the trailhead wouldn't be directly in front of anyone's house; Alternative B would require removal of habitat, impact the creek habitat, and puts the trailhead directly in :Front of a resident's house; Alternative C is out February 16, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 6 as already discussed. She said she has been waiting for Simms renovation and wants to be sure there is money for that, hoping that people would actually want to go through that area once it's restored. She urged Council to schedule a site visit and walk each alternative before making a decision. Jim Bodwin spoke against an Alternative D through the Simms Property because no one would use it. He said that Alternative A would be more visible from the street and would discourage teenagers from hiding and drinking. Bob Hoxsie said he supports the staff recommendation to create access to the park He noted that Alternative B would be have more impact on the residents and the goal is to be cost effective while still preserving the environment and not impacting residents. Janet Trankle urged Council to open access from Scenic Circle to Blackberry Farm. She said that her son rides his bike everyday to school and he must ride on either McClellan, which has lots of traffic, or go on Stevenc3 Creek to Orange Ave. She said that the kids would use the access and that Scenic Circle: is a public street into a public park. She noted that she didn't think many cars would drive down Scenic Circle to access the park that way and that most people would walk or bike to the area. Judy Wilson, Vice President PTA Monta Vista, said that it's the stated goal of the Council to encourage alternative transportation whenever possible and keep kids safe. She urged Council to support opening up the access. Carol Stanek urged Council to open the access. She showed names from the minutes of a past Council meeting of all the people who were for opening access. She also showed pictures of car traffic and bikes on McClellan Road noting the unpaved areas. She said that Alternative C is not viable; Alternative B would have additional meandering of the trail and not a straight access for the kids; Alternative A is the cheapest, has the least environmental impact and the money is already allocated. Anne Ng, speaking on behalf the Friends of Stevens Creek Trail, said that they support access wherever possible, have no opinion. on where the access is located, and would like the access to be available during park hours. Speaking on her own behalf, she said that this would definitely be a safer route to school and that Alternative A is the least disruptive to the environment. She did not think people would drive down Scenic Circle to reach the park. Max Bokelman said that he lives on Scenic Circle and is disappointed with the proposal because it departs from the stated problem of concern for safety of students and now extends to provide unrestricted access from Scenic Circle to the trail and park. He said the fence now in place is a result of many public discussions and Council decisions to preserve the character of the neighborhood and protect it from disturbances experienced in the past. He urged Council to give consideration to the concerns of the residents of Scenic Circle and any contain any action to address the stated problem of safety for students to and from school. February 16, 2010 Cupertino Citrl Council Page 7 Mark Burns said that in 2005 it was decided to not open the access and this discussion has been going on since 2001 for many reasons stated again tonight. He urged Council to give more weight to residents who have a house in front or down the street from the gate because their properties would be devalued. He urged Council to spend the money set aside for capital improvement for safety of the routes already in existence and to not try and solve the safety issue by opening access and hurting the neighbors who live on the street. He said the Alternative E would be to do nothing at all. Craig Lee said that he supports building a gate and path into Blackberry Farm and the budget for the necessary improvements, but doesn't support approving a design now. He urged Council to approve a task force to advise the City on the design and other issues such as parking, biking on a steep street that contains a blind curve, pedestrians impacted from bicycles, safety of walking across the bridge, risk of personal and property crime in the area, and would the City provide enhanced enforcement leading to more sheriff costs. Shani Kleinhaus, speaking for the Audubon Society, said she they are not voicing an opinion regarding access but want to focus on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process. She said that they support a shorter design through the meadow which should be kept as natural as possible. Speaking on her own behalf she urged Council to remove the bridge to keep the integrity and beauty of the park. Norm Donovan said that he has two children who will bike to Kennedy Middle School. He noted that the new alternative of providing access through the park is safer and urged Council to move ahead as quickly as possible with Alternative A, and he would be willing to tell people the new gate is open to create awareness. He felt that Alternative D through the Simms Property is unsafe. JK Tsai said the Scenic neighborhood is quiet right now and he doesn't want to promote that people use the street for access because it would damage the community's safety. He said he opposes any option to open access and that the decision was already made to keep the gate closed and to not spend any money on this. Julie Wing said that she is a block leader adjacent to Scenic Circle and that many neighbors wanted to be here tonight. She said that the residents of Scenic Circle are taking a narrow approach to community in not wanting people to go down their street to get into the park. She said it would be a nicer use of the neighborhood to be able to ride into the park rather than drive. She also noted that most people don't know about Scenic Circle and would use the main entrance for access anyway. Daniel Nguyen, Chair of the Public Safety Commission, but speaking on his own behalf, said that he supports opening access for all the reasons already stated. He said that people could walk to the park in two minutes instead of driving five minutes and Cupertino is trying to promote walkability. He said that he would advertise this access as a safer route to school; supports adding additional patrols by the sheriff; and parking issues should be mitigated by possibly limiting who can park there with permits or by striping. February 16, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 8 Phil Pflager said that providing safe access; to students is a good idea but other residents would also like to have access to the park which is supported by City tax dollars. Chang moved and Mahoney seconded to open the gate for access to the park. Santoro added a friendly amendment to design the access to be something between Alternative A and Alternative B leaving that up to staff to decide; have the gate be opened during park hours and coordinate with the schools to see if additional time is needed to get students to school; and authorize staff to proceed using the money already budgeted. Chang and Mahoney accepted the friendly amendment. The motion carried unanimously. Council recessed from 8:40 p.m. to 8:55 p.m. PUBLIC HEARINGS 18. Consider Application No. SPA - 2008 -01, City of Cupertino, Stevens Creek Boulevard between Highway 85 and eastern City limits - Heart of the City Specific Plan Amendments to achieve conformance with the General Plan. Conduct the first reading of Ordinance No. 10 -2055: "An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Cupertino amending the Heart of the City Specific Plan to update the Heart of the City Specific Plan and achieve conformance with the General Plan." Senior Planner Aki Snelling reviewed the staff report via a PowerPoint presentation. At 9:27 p.m. Mayor Wang opened the public hearing. Jennifer Griffin said that the Heart of the City makes sure the City has the same look and feel from one end to another including trees, wide boulevards, a rural feel, and includes both residential and high tech. She urged Council to be sure the eastern end of the City retains its character, including the double row of ash trees along Stevens Creek Boulevard and the 35 -foot setbacks. She said she didn't think it was a good idea to include South De Anza Blvd. in the plan since it's a unique area that needs its own document. Norm Hackford recommended removing reference to the Crossroads Streetscape plan because the plan doesn't exist, people don't like it, and it hasn't been approved. He urged Council to leave the reference on page 8 regarding a central area, but to remove it in other places. Darrel Lum referenced an article showing that other communities are trying to replicate what Cupertino has done. He said that the plan should include 2005 boundaries; should be a specific plan; agrees with staff's suggestion to not include South De Anza area but to have it be its own plan; agrees with the previous speaker's recommendations; a 35 -foot easement should be continuous along Highway 85 to Tantau; any developments could have an exception but they should come to Council through a public hearing. February 16, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 9 Bob McKibbin urged Council to strengthen the language on page 13 regarding mixed use to have substantial retail in the front along major roadways and not just a token amount; look into basing density calculations associated with the private ownership of the land and area only and not the street area, as discussed on page 13; emphasize parking to be in front of retail buildings and not behind or on the side, as discussed on page 16, in order for the retail to be more successful. Keith Murphy said he agreed with the two previous speakers that parking should be in front or at least have that option; make wa" kability an issue; provide street furniture to sit down on; and remove the Crossroads Plan since it doesn't exist. Tom Hugunin commented on page 17, number 2 and asked if a 5 -foot planting area was enough room for trees; noted that the language on page 17, numbers 2 and 4, talking about fencing to screen residential from buildings was redundant; proposed adding a number 6 on page 17 regarding lighting adjacent to residential to protect the residents in the Heart of the City area; asked that language be added on page 14B regarding front setbacks to say, "one to one or whichever is greater." At 9:44 p.m. Mayor Wang closed the public hearing. Council discussed each page of the Heart of the City Specific Plan and made amendments on the following pages: 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 26, 30, 31, 32, and 33. Wong moved and Mahoney seconded to approve the Heart of the City Specific Plan with the amendments discussed. The motion carried unanimously. The Deputy City Clerk read the title of the ordinance. Wong moved and Mahoney seconded to read the ordinance by title only, and that the City Clerk's reading would constitute the first reading thereof. Ayes: Chang, Mahoney, Santoro, Wang and Wong. Noes: None. NEW BUSINESS 19. Conduct the first reading of Ordinance No. 10 -2054: "An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Cupertino adopting Section 1. 18.040 of the Cupertino Municipal Code regarding exhaustion of administrative remedies with respect to claims against the City." The Deputy City Clerk read the title of the ordinance. Wong moved and Mahoney seconded to read the ordinance by title only, and that the City Clerk's reading would constitute the first reading thereof. Ayes: Chang, Mahoney, Santoro, Wang and Wong. Noes: None. February 16, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 10 20. Select an interview date of Tuesday, Marc]i 2 at 6:00 p.m. to interview applicants for the Financial Representative to the Housing Commission (No documentation in packet). The City Council set the interview date and time for Housing Commission applicants on Tuesday, March 2, at 6:00 p.m. ORDINANCES - None STAFF REPORTS - None COUNCIL REPORTS Council members highlighted the activities of their committees and various community events. ADJOURNMENT At 11:55 p.m., the meeting was adjourned to Tuesday, February 23 at 3:00 p.m. for a City Council Work Program study session. The meeting will be held in the Cupertino Community Hall Council Chamber, 10350 Torre Avenue. Grace Schmidt, Deputy City Clerk Staff reports, backup materials, and items distributed at the City Council meeting are available for review at the City Clerk's Office, 777 -3223, and also on the Internet at www.cupertino.org Click on Agendas & Minutes, then click on the appropriate Packet. Most Council meetings are shown live on Comca;3t Channel 26 and AT &T U -verse Channel 99 and are available at your convenience at www.cupertino.or . Click on Agendas & Minutes, then click Archived Webcast. Videotapes are available at the Cupertino Library, or may be purchased from the Cupertino City Channel, 777 -2364.