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CC 04-07-97 CC-942 MINUTES Cupertino City Council Regular Meeting April 7, 1997 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE At 6:45 p.m., Mayor Bautista called the meeting to order in the Council Chambers, 10300 Tone Avenue, and led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL City Council members present: Mayor John Bautista, Vice-Mayor Lauralee Sorensen, Councilmembers Don Bumett, Michael Chang, and Wally Dean. Council members absent: None. Staff present: City Manager Don Brown; City Clerk Kimberly Smith; City Attorney Charles Kilian; Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood; Parks and Recreation Director Steve '- Dowling; Public Information Officer Donna Krey; Public Works Director Bert Viskovich; Associate Planner Colin Jung; Planner II Vera Gil; and Information Technology Manager Steve Toler. CEREMONIAL MATTERS - PRESENTATIONS Bautista said that speakers were requested to restrict their comments to 3 minutes. Mr. Leslie Nichols, Presiding Judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court, said that it was his intention as Judge was to make a community outreach, so he wrote to all 15 mayors offering to discuss the workings of the court and the administration of justice in the county, and how it fits into the broader scheme of things. He said that he had a prepared presentation of 15 minutes but could not sufficiently cover the material in the tiree available. Mayor Bautista presented Ms. Gertrude Welch with a proclamation honoring her for outstanding achievements in providing affordable housing in Santa Clara County. Mayor Baufista presenled certificates of achievement to members of Boy Scout Troop 476. Mr. John Cart, Assistant Scoummster with Troop 476 said the 40-year-old troop had produced 47 Eagle Scouts. This particular merit badge is called Citizenship in the Conununity, and scouts must acquire merit badges in community, nation, and world in order to fulfill their obligation. -- He thanked the council and community for their support. Baufista handed out the reerit badges to each of the scouts. April 7, 1997 Cupertino City Council Page 2 Info~ation Technology Manager Steve Toler gave a brief overview of City's World Wide Web page. Intemet users may access the site at www.cupenin0.org. POSTPONEMENTS None. WRITTEN COMMIJNICATIONS None. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR Chang moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar as presented. Dean seconded and the motion carded 5-0. 1. Resolution No. 9810: Accounts Payable, March 14, 1997. 2. Resolution No. 9811: Accounts Payable, March 21, 1997. 3. Resolution No. 9812: Payroll, March 21, 1997. 4. Monthly Treasurer's and Budget Report - February 1997. 5. Approval of minutes of March 17 regular meeting and March 22 regular adjourned meeting. 6. Approval of Fine Arts Commission recommendation for the award of Spring 1997 fine arts grants. 7. Resolution No. 9813: Authorizing execution of Cooperative Agreement Between the State of California, Department of Transportation, and the City of Cupertino, providing for relinquishment to city of a portion of De Anza Boulevard. 8. Acceptance of Municipal Improvements with the Exception of Hall Court Sidewalk--Sui Hwu, HM&T Limited Liability Co., Blaney Avenue/Rodrigues. 9. Resolution No. 9814: Approving Tract No. 8927, improvement plans, and agreement, _ Chalet Woods, Inc.; Gardenside Lane and Kingsbury Place. April 7, 1997 Cupertino/~ity Council Page '--' 10. Resolution No. 9815: Approving parcel map, improvement plans and agreement, Tomki Court Partners, Ltd.; Stelling Road and Highway 85. 11. Resolution No. 9816: Accepting quitclaim deed and authorization for underground water rights from Aram Askarinam, Khani Askafinam, Touran Askarinam; 10496 Byrne Avenue. 12. Resolution No. 9817: Accepting easement for roadway purposes from Arum Askari~am, et al.; 10496 Byrne Avenue. 13. Resolution No. 9818: Accepting grant of easement for roadway purposes from Ann M. Orem, APN 366-17-099, 1352 South Stelling Road. 14. Resolution No. 9819: Setting date for consideration of annexing "Lomita Avenue 96- 14", located on the south side of Lomita Avenue between Orange Avenue and Byme Avenue; (APN 357-15-010). 15. Resolution No. 9820: Setting date for consideration of annexing "Orange Avenue 97- 05", located on the west side of Orange Avenue between Granada Avenue and Hermosa Avenue; (APN 357-16-096). -. Vote Councilmembers Ayes: Bautista, BurneR, Chang, Dean, and Sorensen Noes: None. Absent: None. Abstain: None. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR None. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. PLANNING APPLICATIONS 16. Application No(s). 1-U-97 and 7-EA-97 - Hewlett-Packard Company - Use Permit to construct a three-story, 304,100 sq. ft. office building and ancillary improvements on an existing office-campns site. The project is located on the southwest comer of Homestead Road and Tantau Avenue. Environmental Determination: The Planning Commission _ recommends the granting of a negative declaration. Recommended for approval. Aprl! ~, I0~}7 upe no ~ou~c;l Page Burner announced that he would abstain from participation on this item because of a potential conflict of interest, and left the dais. Associate Planner Colin Jung reviewed the staff report. Mr. Rick Phillipe, the applicant's architect, gave an overview of the project elevations, the landscaping, and setbacks. Hewlett Packard is requesting that the requirement for 36- inch box trees planted when construction is finished be changed to allow the planting of 26-inch box trees at the start of construction. Mr. Phillipe said that one other issue was that of bicycle parking on site. As the levels of cars are at a lower level than zoning would anticipate, the level of bicycle use is also lower. He suggested that they initially put in 20% of the requirement for the bicycles, and identify areas for growth if more lockers are needed. Bautista suggested that the decision about the size of trees and when to plant them should be left to the Planning Commission. Sorensen moved to approve a mitigated negative declaration. Dean seconded and the motion carried 4-0 with Bumett abstaining. Sorensen moved to approve the application per Planning Commission Resolution No. 4827 with the additional conditions recommended by staff, as listed below; with a condition that the bicycle parking shall be reduced to 20% of the Class I requirement; and to amend section 3, item 7, to reflect a detailed landscaping plan showing the use of 24- inch to 36-inch box trees, as determined by the planning commission. Dean seconded and the motion carried 4-0 with Bumett abstaining. SECTION III. CONDITIONS ADMINISTERED BY THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPT. A) CORRECTION OF SITE PLAN DATA Pending resolution of the amenity space discounts, the applicant shall correct the parking and development data shown on the plan set. SECTION IV. CONDITIONS ADMINISTERED BY THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT B) TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS The applicant shall pay a proportional share to extend the left-turn pocket at the intersection of Wolfe. Road and Pruneridge Avenue. The payment amount will be negotiated between the Director of Public Works and the applicant and based on the .- proportional amount of traffic generated. C) BUS STOP IMPROVEMENTS Aprll 7, 1007 Cupettlno City Council Page The applicant shall contribute to the funding of the development of a one-bus duck-out at the Tantau Avenue bus stop adjacent to the project site. The payment amount shall be negotiated between the applicant, Public Works Director and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 17. Report from ad hoc committee on Campaign Finance Reform. (Continued from March 17 meeting.) Ms. Nadine Grant, representing the Campaign and Ethics Committee, said they applauded council's attempt to deal with campaign financing issues. Their committee did not address this issue because of lack of counsel, but they did feel that campaign spending in Cupertino seemed exorbitant for a city this size. Another issue was the anonymity of the political action committees and the indirect method of supporting a candidate. The proposed measure would eliminate anonymous contributors to PACs and also place individual responsibility back on the candidate to publicly denounce unethical behavior on the part of the main supporters. Buruett asked whether there was an impartial reviewer for the 1995 election. Ms. Grant explained that the League of Women Voters would have received the complaints, if any were filed, and an ethicist was available to review them. Bob Hendrickson, 10535 Mira Vista, said that most people appreciate knowing as much as possible before they vote. The problem occurs with contributions from people who are not listed in the campaign brochures. This ordinance will go a long way toward improving campaign procedures. Barbara Koppel, 7967 Folkestone, said that people in the community voted for Proposition 208 by a 2-1 margin, and against Proposition 212 by a 2-1 margin, so there certainly is concern for campaign reform. However, it is not possible to legislate ethics. It is up to individ-als to complain about unethical practices and to follow up to make sure the violators are taken to task. She asked that council fomx a citizens committee to review the ordinance, or at least consider putting it on the ballot. She felt that this kind of legislation is not in everyone's best interest. Mr. John Statton, 20095 Northwind Sq~mre, said he was speaking in a private capacity. He felt that the majority of the reforms proposed are excellent, but the limits should be the same for both independent expenditure committees and candidates. He urged council to seek additional advice on this to see if there is really a divergent opinion in the legal community. Chang said he was very supportive of campaign finance reform in general but had some reservations about certain parts of the proposed ordinance. He felt it would give an April 7, 1997 Cupertino City Council Page advantage to candidates who have more personal funds. He supported the proposal to limit all contributions to $100. He felt the requirement to disclose all donations over $50 was too strict, and the existing requirement to disclose at $100 would be sufficient. He also felt that an automatic audit of the reports was not necessary because it is done by the press when they analyze and publish the sources of contributions. He was concerned that penalties for violation could frighten away potential candidates. He was supportive of the Prop. 208 guideline which sets the voluntary spending limit at $1 per person in the community, which would be about $43,000 in Cupertino. He asked if the proposal could be voted on in different sections, so council members could be on record as opposing certain portions. Bumett said he agreed with Chang's comments. He questioned whether a special law was needed in this community. There were abuses that have justifiably concerned voters on a national level, such as contributors giving very large donations and then obtaining legislation obviously focused on their interest, but he was not aware of anyone in this community making those kind of charges. Prop. 208 will address that problem with the $100 limit. Bumett also felt that contributors should have confidentiality up to the $99 limit because of possible threats of retaliation. He felt this proposal would favor incumbents and those who can afford to pay for their own campaigns. He felt that committees should be held to the same standards as candidates. He was concerned that the city would run a risk of adopting an ordinance which would not be found acceptable -. in the courts, as well as setting up another level of bureaucracy for a candidate to deal with. There is a sizeable expenditure involved with this process, and a risk of a fairly lengthy legal action if the ordinance is challenged. He wanted to see what changes Prop. 208 would effect before implementing this ordinance. Sorensen said that Prop. 208 won't be heard in the courts until October, which will be too late for this year's election. She agreed that independent committees should be held to the same standard as candidates. She said it was incumbent upon the candidates to be ethical, and to speak out against people who are not as ethical. She commended the Mercury News on the editorial in today's paper. Sorensen suggested that the disclosure reports also be made available on the City's web page. She was in favor of a voluntary expenditure limit of $15,000. Dean said it is apparent the political process at all levels needs some help. Poor voter turnout, ethics committee statements, and observations made in the community all illustrate that. He would like to be more stringent on independent committees, but there is also the potential for positive action to be taken by them. It is impossible to legislate against the hit pieces or personal wealth. This ordinance would result in the voter knowing who contributed to the candidate. Dean said that the press review was not sufficient to replace an audit, and candidates must be held to a higher standard. ._ City Attorney Chuck Kilian explained that all ordinances, except for a few which are infractions, contain the same enforcement and penalty. The max'unum penalty is 6 months in jail and a fine of $1,000. He noted that Proposition 208 is now in effect. Its April 7, 1007 euperf~no ity eouncll Page legality will be decided in October by a federal judge, but there is currently no restriction on it and the FPPC plans to enforce it until it is declared invalid or enjoined in some fashion. Bautista said the overriding purpose of this ordinance is disclosure and Prop. 208 does not adequately address that issue. Council may wish to consider a voluntary spending limit as well. He read the definition of independent committee and independent expenditure, and said that Prop. 208 did meet its goal of closing the loopholes associated with committees. Bautista then addressed the concerns raised by the other council members. He felt a voluntary spending limit would address the concern that wealthy candidates or incumbents would be favored. He felt an auditor is necessary so the process is as neutral and unbiased as possible. He discussed the differences in cut-off dates for fund-raising, and said the change in fund-raising amounts at the 12-day mark for independent committees creates the incentive for the independent committee to register and declare its existence. Kilian said voluntary campaign expenditure limits were not discussed by the committee but he wished to clarify that if they were to be adopted, he did not think it was council's intent to create the automatic escalator situation for contribution amounts which exists in Prop. 208. Bautista said he would want that reflected in the ordinance, even though it is voluntary. He confirmed it should not have the escalating effect. Kilian said the ordinance's primary purposes are: (1) To limit the size of outside campaign contributions from someone who wants to effectuate a vote; and (2) To establish a troth-in-voting measure, which says that voters have a right to know who is financing a campaign before they vote. Bautista said that the ordinance will also specify fOtl~S that must be filed with the city clerk, and perhaps there could be a box to indicate if the candidate voluntarily agrees to the spending limit. Kilian further clarified why independent committees would be treated differently under this ordinance. Not ail independent committees are negative, and they do have a purpose in the election process. Unlike candidates, however, independent committees often sprout up in the middle of a campaign. It would be a difficult to limit an independent committee, which started only a few weeks before the election. Treating independent committees differently does create a problem in the ordinance, but if funding is cut off two weeks before the election, that becomes an inevitable problem. Bumett thanked Bautista for reviewing the definition of independent committees and agreed it was much more restrictive than in the past. He agreed with the proposal to put a cap on spending. Bumett said there was nothing in the proposal that he had any personal compunction about complying with. However, he was concerned about creating an ordinance that can withstand legal challenge. Chang suggested that the proposal be voted on in different portions. He supported the suggestion of putting this pwposal before the voters. Aprll 7, 1997 Cupertino City Council Page Bautista said that one weakness of Prop. 208 is that it couples the so-called voluntary spending limit with changes in contribution limits. The committee decided it was best not to have that kind of coupling, and he would support strictly a very straightforward voluntary spending limit. He suggested that they wait until the draft ordinance was available for review before they decided whether to put it on the ballot. Kilian discussed the administrative procedures that would be followed by an administrative law judge. Burner was concerned that that people wouldn't be able to object to the introduction of hearsay evidence. Kilian said that council could choose to apply the technical rules of evidence. Dean moved to direct the city attorney to prepare a draft ordinance including items A through H from the attorney's report to be presented to council at the first meeting in May. Sorensen seconded. Chang moved to amend the motion to remove the items regarding disclosure of donor information below $100 and the automatic audit of campaign reports. Burnett seconded. The amended motion failed 3-2 with Bautista, Dean, and Sorensen voting no. A vote was taken on the original motion, which carried 5-0. Chang explained that he -- voted yes because he felt that overall in this packet there are points that are very important. He felt that the additional disclosure and audit goes a little bit far, but nothing really hurts. It tends to harass citizens but council can always be extremely invasive, and therefore safe in that sense. NEW BUSINESS 18. Application 6-EA-97 - Amendment of Title 17 of the Cupertino Municipal Code to prohibit temporary signs on public property and in the public right of way. (a) First reading of Ordinance No. 1755: "An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Cupertino Amending Title 17, Signs, of the Cupertino Municipal Code." Planner II Vera Gil reviewed the staff report and noted that the ordinance shown in Exhibit B had been corrected to add a section B-7, which discussed temporary signs permitted in the public right-of-way for up to eight hours a day, and also specified where the signs were not allowed. Ms. Rebecca Elliot said she was the Government Affairs Specialist for the San Jose Real Estate Board, representing over 4,000 real estate professionals and affiliates in Santa Clara County. The Board supports the Planning Commission's recommendation, Exhibit B, which would allow temporary signs during the daytime. Open house signs are an important component of a successful real estate sale. A ban on them will have a negative April 7, 1997 Cupertino City Council page O impact on home sellers in Cupertino and on monies generated by businesses involved in real estate transactions. Mr. Tan Duong, President of the San Jose Real Estate Board, urged Council's support of the Planning Commission recommendation. If open house signs are not allowed in the public fight-of-way, the only option would be for realtors to disturb residents to get pem~ission to put a sign on their property. He asked that council not create a situation which would have a negative effect on housing sales in the community. Mr. Richard Calhoun, Chairman of the San Jose Real Estate Board Governmental Relations, also spoke in favor of Exhibit B. He cited a specific example of a person who found a home by noticing an open house sign, and ended up writing the high offer. That increases property taxes that come to the city, so there is a financial impact. If an open house sign was not allowed, that offer may not have been made. Mr. John Statton, representing the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce, said there is a similar ordinance in another city that supposedly bans all signs in the public fight-of-way. The real estate community flourishes there because there is a "wink wink, nod nod" on behalf of the city and the real estate community that those signs will not be picked up. That is a bad way to do public policy, and he urged council support of the Planning Commission recommendation. Mr. Eric Morley said he represented the Peninsula/West Valley Association of Realtors, a 3,000-member trade association with approximately 300 realtors who live and work in Cupertino. He urged support of the Planning Commission recommendation. He said that San Jose and Saratoga have comparable ordinances that are workable. Public Information Officer Donna Krey read an electronic communication, sent by an individual in the Century Medallion Realty Office. The message suggested allowing garage sale signs and an a-frame type of sign to direct the public to a home. If the city insists that these type of one-day, one-time signs be included with the political signage, then the proposed ordinance should be re-addressed or things should be left as they are. City Attorney Chuck Kilian said that last November he had presented Council with a legal opinion regarding temporary political signs. Council was concerned with the litter that occurred as a result of temporary signs, particularly around election time. The opinion said that the content of signs cannot be regulated, whether political or commercial. There are First Amendment issues, and courts will review with strict scrutiny any sign ordinance that does not meet the goals of its own ordinance. In this case the purpose is to address litter in the public fight-of-way, and allowing signs in daylight would not solve that. Allowing some signs up during daylight hours, particularly real estate signs, makes the ordinance vulnerable to legal attack. It would .-. also be extremely difficult to enforce an ordinance which allowed signs for 8 hours. April 7, 1907 Cupertino City Council Page 10 Chang suggested that political signs could also be out for 8 hours, as long as they were taken down overnight. Kilian said that would not address the issue of litter. Bumett said that the Planning Commission recommendation would cancel out what Council was trying to do with this ordinance, and he would not support that. Sorensen said they are trying to eliminate sign graffiti in the city so she was in favor of Exhibit C. She suggested council review it later to see if there had been a negative impact on real estate sales. She also suggested adding a recovery cost to be collected from the candidates, as has been done in neighboring cities. Kilian said he agreed with the Planning Commission's recommendation to eliminate the provision that would have allowed candidates who won in a primary election to leave their signs up until the general election. Burner moved to approve a negative declaration. Sorensen seconded and the motion carried 4-1 with Chang voting no. The City Clerk read the title of the ordinance as shown in Exhibit C of the staff report, with the deletion of a sentence from Paragraph 4 of Section 17.32.040. The sentence to be deleted read "In the event that the election is a primary election, or similar preliminary election, the successful candidate for the later election may leave their signs in place to be removed within ten (10) days after the general or run-off election." Sorensen moved and Bumett seconded to read the amended ordinance by title only, and that the City Clerk's reading would constitute the first reading thereof. Motion carried 1 with Chang voting no. Sorensen moved and Dean seconded to bring this ordinance back for city council review in 12 months to evaluate the impact of its provisions. The motion carried 4-1 with Chang voting no. 19. Consideration of banning the sale of "Saturday Night Specials" (request from Councilman Burnett). Burnett asked that this item be continued to the next meeting when he could provide additional information. ORDINANCES None. STAFF REPORTS '- ~pr~l 7, 1 ~)~)7 Cuper~o Clf'y ~ouncll Page City Manager Don Brown reported on the success of Cupertino Day at Blackberry Farm and said about 1,500 people attended. COUNCIL REPORTS Bumett said that tomorrow evening would be the first meeting of the public dialog group that Kaiser Cement has arranged to discuss the tire burning issue. He noted that COPS money was used to fund additional training in bicycle safety, and the first of those classes were presented at Sedgewick School last Thursday. Similar bicycle safety classes will be given in all Cupertino schools, in addition to four bicycle rodeos. Bumett said there were three seminars last week on traffic calming and how they can help to set safe speed levels in neighborhoods. Chang thanked Sorensen for setting up the Cupertino Cross-Cultural Consortium, which will meet on Wednesday, April 9. He invited everyone to the Cherry Blossom Festival the coming weekend. On April 19 the Cupertino Historical Society will have a new exhibit on the Chinese people in Santa Clara County. Sorensen said that Council was invited to the Cherry Blossom Festival at 11:00 on both days for the welcoming ceremony. She asked that Judge Nichols be invited back so they could hear his presentation on the role of Superior Court. Sorensen noted that a League of California Cities publication includes a section called City Scene, and would like staffto submit some information about Cupertino, such as the Web page. Brown said they had not made that a priority in the past, but he would have the Public Information Officer follow up. Bautista said that April 29 at 8:00 a.m. will be'the Economic Development Summit at the Quinlan Center. He invited the council and community to attend. City Manager Don Brown reviewed the regommendations of the Legislative Review Committee. Chang moved and Bumett seconded to adopt the recommendations as listed below. The motion carried 5-0. Support AB 95 (Sweeney), property tax ACA 4 (Aguiar Sweeney), property tax (statewide ballot) Support SB 880 (Craven), return of property taxes, local agencies ADJOURNMENT At 9:30 p.m. the meeting was adjourned. City Clerk