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CC 11-16-98 MINUTES Cupertino City Council, Regular Meeting Monday, November 16, 1998 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE At 6:48 p.m. Mayor Chang called the meeting to order in the Council Chambers, 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California, and led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL City Council members present: Mayor Michael Chang, Vice-Mayor Wally Dean, Councilmembers Don Burnett, Sandy Jomes, and John Statton. Council members absent: None. Staff present: City Manager Don Brown; City Clerk Kimberly Smith; City Attorney Charles Kilian; Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood; Community Development Director Bob Cowan; Parks and Recreation Director Steve Dowling; Public Information Officer Donna Krey; and Public Works Director Bert Viskovich. CEREMONIAL MATTERS - PRESENTATIONS Mr. John Kolski, representing the Cupertino Host Lions Club, presented a $1,000 donation to the City of Cupertino to be used at Blackberry Farm. This donation represents their gratitude for being able to use the facility for funclraising events. POSTPONEMENTS Item 13- Second-story addition-Use permit application 14-U-97, Ji-Mai Chen. Continuance requested to December 7, 1998. The City Clerk distributed the following letters which were received just prior to the meeting: A letter from Joe Van Epps objecting to the construction of a large two-story addition and the continuation of this item; A letter from Samantha Van Epps objecting to the postponement since this item has been under discussion since March of 1998; and a letter from Mabel McFarland stressing that ail resident homeowners had signed a petition resulting in a single-story zoning of this street, and that a workable compromise has been identified. The City Attorney said this item has been continued many times. However, it is customary to liberaily grant continuances to applicants so they can gather more information. If council does wish to grant continuance, the applicant should be notified that Council would not consider any further continuances. Cowan said that this item was appeaied to council and was sent back to the Planning Commission for a report. It has gone back and forth severai times with new plans. The Planning November 16, 199g Cupertino City Council Page 2 Commission recommended a plan that had two bedrooms upstairs and the applicant still wants to pursue three bedrooms upstairs. Ms. Ji-Mai Chen, applicant, said she needed the contimmnce to finish preparing her documems. She is a single parent and is also working. There are still some missing items in her documentation and she wanted those to be complete before presenting for proposal to the city council. Dean asked whether the yard was now being maintained. The applicant said she and her daughter are now living in the house. Periodically a gardener cleans out the yard, and she rakes the fallen leaves. The backyard is not in good condition, but she was hoping to have the con.~ixaction finished before replanting the landscaping. Mrs. Mabel McFarland, 10567 John Way, said the request from Council was to receive a report · from the Planning Commission. She did not understand what other materials the applicant must get together. The zoning on John Way has been designated as single story, and it seems that if someone is going to live there they should follow the zoning guidelines. Mrs. Samantha Van Epps, 10525 John Way, said that the maintenance of the front yard has been marginal. There is not a lot of evidence that the house is occupied. There has been ample time to prepare documentation, and the applicant does not want to scale down the size of her second- - story addition as requested by the Planning Commission. The applicant has had sufficient time to deal with this, and has even received some assistance from the city. Mrs. Van Epps did not see a reason for the continuance. Bumett agreed that discussions on this item have gone on long enough. He was in favor of the Planning Commission's recommendation and wanted to deny the continuance and resolve the matter this evening. Dean agreed that it is important to come to the decision on the item. However, since it is being maintained now and it is still a one-story house he did not see the need to rush the decision. He was willing to wait 30 more days. Statton said this is a major decision for the neighborhood and the applicant, and he was willing to allow one more contin~!or~ce. James said that nothing would be lost by allowing a little more time for the applicant to work on the proposal, but that she would not be in favor of any more continuances. The City Attorney said that if the applicant comes back to Council with a new plan which has not been seen by the Planning Commission, that would be grounds for immediate denial. James moved to continue this item to December 7, and this will be the last continuance on this - project. Dean seconded and the motion carried 4-1, with Bumett voting no. November 16, 199g Cupertino City Council Page WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS -None ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - None CONSENT CALENDAR Dean moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar as presented. Statton seconded and the motion carried 5-0. 1. Accounts payable - October 30, 1998--Resolution No. 98-273. 2. Accounts payable - November 6, 1998--Resolution No. 98-274. 3. Payroll - OcWber 30, 1998--Resolution No. 98-275. 4. Minutes of the November 2, 1998, regular meeting. 5. Fine arts grants - Acceptance of Fine Arts Commission recommendation for the award of Fall 1998 grants. 6. Designating permit parking along the north side of Hyannisport Drive between Fort Baker ~ Drive and Bubb Road--Resolution No. 98-276. 7. Review of application for Alcoholic Beverage License for Route De Champagne. 8. Quitclaim Deeds & Authorizations for Underground Water Rights: (a) Shun-Lung and Wa-Lee Yirm Chao, 22464 Palm Avenue, APN 35%04-070-- Resolution No. 98-277. (b) Sue Lee Yinn, 22460 Palm Avenue, APN 357-04-071--Resolution No. 98-278. 9. Grants of Easement, Roadways: (a) Shun-Lung and Wa-Lee Yirm Chao, 22464 Palm Avenue, APN 357-04-070-- Resolution No. 98-279. (b) Sue Lee Yinn, 22460 Palm Avenue, APN 357-04-071--Resolution No. 98-280. 10. Improvement Agreements: (a) Shun-Lung and Wa-Lee Yinn Chao, 22464 Palm Avenue, APN 357-04-070-- Resolution No. 98-281. (b) Sue Lee Yinn, 22460 Palm Avenue, APN 357-04-071--Resolution No. 98-283. (c) GB Estate Homes, LLC, 10370 South Stelling Road, APN 359-13-066-- Resolution No. 98-284. overnber 16, l OOg Cupertino City CouncilPage 4 11. Parcel Map and Improvement Plans, Liberty Properties, LLC, Rainbow Drive (End), APN 366-03-029--Resolution No. 98-282. Vote Councilmembers Ayes: BurneR, Chang, Dean, James, and Statton Noes: None. Absent: None. Abstain: None. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR - None PUBLIC HEARINGS 12. Fire station - Use permit application 9-U-96 and 13-EA-96 granting approval to construct a new 11,900 +/- sq. ft. fire station on the northeast comer of Vista Drive and Stevens Creek Boulevard expired in September, 1998. Purs-ant to Cupertino Municipal Code section 19.124.100, a public hearing will be conducted by the City Council to consider the revocation of or modification of said conditional use permit. Community Development Director Bob Cowan reviewed the staff report. He said that the pemfit was inadvertently allowed to lapse, although the fire district has made progress in clearing the site and removing tanks. There are no design changes anticipated. Fire Chief Douglas Sporleder said that the tanks had been used in the past as fuel tanks for a car dealership, and those had been removed and the baTardous materials were ameliorated. Dean moved to approve a one-year extension to the conditional use permit (to November 16, 1999), based upon the finding that the Fire Department is continuing its efforts to build the station and intends to construct it in 1999. The approved plans are not being changed by the applicant, and staff does not recommend any modifications. James seconded, and the motion carried 5-0. 13. Second-story addition - Use permit application 14-U-97, Ji-Mai Chen, 10580 John Way, APN #359-18-005 - Use permit to construct a second story addition to an existing residence. Categorically exempt. (Applicant requests continuance to December 7, 1998.) After discussion under the "postponements" section of the agenda, this item was continued to December 7. PLANNING APPLICATIONS - None November 16, 1998 Cupertino City Council Page 5 UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None NEW BUSINESS 14. Business License Revision - Changing the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) date for fee adjustments from September to October. (a) First reading of Ordinance No. 1801: "An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Cupertino Amending Section 5.04.460 of the City's Ordinance Code Substituting the San Francisco/Bay Area Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area for the Month of October in Lieu of the Month of September." Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood reviewed the staff report. The City Clerk read the title of the ordinance. Burner moved and Dean seconded to read the ordinance by title only, and that the City Clerk's reading would constitute the first reading thereof. Motion carried 5-0. 15. Symantec Corporation Interpretation - Request from Symantec for interpretation of or amendment to the General Plan and Heart of the City Specific Plan relative to the occupation of the new building located at 10200 South De Anza Boulevard. The City Clerk distributed a letter from Symantec which was received just prior to the meeting. It proposed that if Symantec sells or exchanges the City Center 5 building (CC5), they would commit to the city that they would work with the Finance Depariment to consider a sales tax sharing agreement. If that is not completed within 3 months, Symantec would make a $100,000 cash contribution to the city to improve De Anz_a frontage or the Four Seasons park at the comer of De Anza and Stevens Creek Blvd. Community Development Director Cowan said this is a request from Symantec to interpret the general plan, the Heart of the City specific plan, and zoning and use permit actions regarding occupancy of the City Center 5 (CC5) building. It was approved with the understanding that the space would be occupied by a company with their headquarters in this city and that it would house 1500 employees, so an additional 50,000 squ_~_re foot bonus was allowed. The building is now finished, although tenant improvements have not yet been made. Symantec worked with the city in good faith but the company's plans have changed. They have purchased building CC1, and wish to swap it with building CC5 so they can develop a campus for their employees. Cowan said that one alternative is to interpret the general plan to allow construction of space by major company without specifically stating that it has to be occupied by that company. Another approach would be to amend the general plan, specific plan zoning, and use permit. November 16, 1998 Cupertino City Council Page Mr. John Sorei, Senior Director of Worldwide Facilities for Symantec, explained that Symantec originally intended to occupy the new building when they proposed its construction. Shortly thereafter CC1 came on the market and Symantec purchased it. Construction continued on CC5, but it became dear that the distance between the world headquarters building and CC5 was inconvenient fxom an operational standpoint. Also, many of the amenities planned for the CC5 already existed in CC1, such as a cafeteria and a large meeting room. Symantec had reached a tentative agreement with the owners of CC1 to swap buildings and at that time they realized that there may be issues regarding the 50,000 square foot bonus that had been awarded to CC5. Mr. Sorei said that Symantec proposed to work cooperatively with the city to address this issue. They are offering a sales tax sharing agreement, similar to the agreement that the city has with Apple Computer, and it will take about 90 days to review that possibility. If that does not work out, they would agree to provide a cash payment of $100,000 that the City could use for the Four Seasons park. Discussion followed regarding the time frame involved with the alternatives. Dean felt the goal should be to bring the sales office into the city. Bumett said he voted against this project when it was first proposed because he didn't think it was appropriate to allow a 50,000 square foot bonus in an area which is already the most densely developed area in the city. He suggested the council needs to review the General Plan wording about bonuses, because he did not feel it was a good way to plan land use. He was in favor of interpreting the general plan to allow this proposed swap of buildings to take place and allow someone other than Symantec to occupy the building. James said there is a process in place, which is the General Plan to which other people that are held accountable. Her concern was to do something that would benefit everyone but not set a precedent which will create different rules for different people. She asked for the city attorney's opinion. Kilian said it may be in everyone's best interest to change the general plan to remove those specific site restrictions. It may be a significant enough change that it would constitute a modification to the general plan. However, it can also be interpreted to mean that, when the council adopted the wording, they intended that any company can occupy the building once it was constructed. He felt there was sufficient argument to justify the interpretation option if that was Council's choice. Burner said he agreed that the general plan should not treat different people in different ways, which is why he would like to open it up to address these issues. James agreed that it makes no sense to mention a company by name when there are rapid changes in this business. Her concern was that the bonus was given to Symantec because of their world headquarters building and the number of employees, and that should not be changed without going back through the process. However, she believed that the end product would be the same. Kilian said that the City Council can make an interpretation tonight - that the General Plan allows this building to be used for general occupancy. The real question is whether sufficient notice was given to the public. It is unlikely there will be a November 16, 199g Cupertino City CouncilPage 7 protest in this case, but the process is designed to allow people to object to changes to proposed projects. Chang said that Council had always been aware that Symantec would not occupy the entire building. Kilian said that the history of this issue began with Apple Computer, and it is probably risky to tie land-use approvals to specific applicants. Symantec could move into this building, and then move out six months later and not be in violation of the general plan or specific plan. Dean felt that this may be a case of over-legislation. He discussed the history of Symantec's request for a sign approval, which was denied by the council because they did not at that time understand the proposed design. He was in favor of Symantec's proposal. Statton moved that the Council (1) Inte~ret the General Plan to allow the building to be used for general occupancy, which would encompass the General Plan, Specific Plan, zoning and conditional use permits; (2) Accept the commitment from Symantec to provide a 3-month period of review for their sales tax sharing, and at the end of that period of time the City would have the option of taking the $100,000 for the park dedication or accept the sales tax sharing proposal; (3) Direct that the Planning Director open the General Plan to review the bonus portion of that document, regarding the additional 50,000 sqnare foot bonus allowed for the Symantec building; and (4) Direct · - that during a regular review of the General Plan, delete'the Symantec designation. Burner offered an amendment to the motion that the examination of the General Plan be expanded beyond just the 50,000 square foot to all of the specifically allocated bonuses. Statton accepted the amendment. Dean seconded, and the motion carded 4-1 with James voting no. Cowan said that staff would return to the City Council on December 7 with a mechanism to incorporate the sales tax sharing agreement. ORDINANCES - None STAFF REPORTS - None COUNCIL REPORTS Chang reported that a delegation of 42 people visited Hsinchu City and had a very successful trip. They signed the agreement for Hsinchu City to become a Friendship City with Cupertino, and had an opportunity to learn about that community. November 16, 1998 Cupertino City CouncilPage g Counc. Station reported that the Santa Clara County Cities Association met last week and three people were elected to key local boards, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Bay Area Quality Management District, LAFCO, and ba~,ardous waste issues. CLOSED SESSION - None At 7:50 p.m., the meeting was adjourned to 5:30 p.m., November 19, Council Chamber, for swearing-in ceremony of new mayor. th City Clerk