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CC 03-06-00 APPROVED MINUTES CUPERTINO CITY COUNCII. Regular Meeting Monday, March 6, 2000 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE At 6:45 p.m. Mayor Statton 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 John Station, Vice-Mayor Sandra James, and Council members Don Bumett, Michael Chang, and Richard Lowenthal. Council members absent: None. Staff present: City Manager Don Brown, City Attorney Charles Kilian, Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood, Community Development Director Steve Piasecki, Parks and Recreation Director Steve Dowling, Planner Veto Gil; Public Information Officer Donna Krey; Public Works Director Bert Viskovieh, and City Clerk Kimberly Smith. CEREMONIAL MATTERS - PRESENTATIONS ~ 1. Report from city committee or commission: Library Commission Ms. Sheila Mohan, Chairperson of the Library Commission, said they were very optimistic about tomorrow's election on Measure A regarding the library. She said the Commission's accomplishments had been to educate the community regarding library expansion through town hall meetings, at community events, and by developing and disseminating information. They had also strengthened ties with their sister city in Hsinchu City, Talwan, improved the commission web site, followed fundhag legislation, and supported Proposition 14. Their future goals include working with staff, council, and the library on expansion, pursuing interim solutions to overcwwding, and improving services. She thanked Council for the additional funding to extend the current library hours, and said they were doing all they could to implement Council member Lowenthal's suggestion to increase the use of automated checkout. POSTPONEMENTS Item No. 10 was r¢i~oved from the agenda. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS Council received copies of a letter dated February 29, 2000, from Mr. Chun Pong Ng regarding Item No. 7, requesting exemption from Ordinance 1834 for the home on 22170 Berkeley Court. There was also a letter dated February 17, 2000, fi'om Salfu and Cecilia Angto regarding the same property, also asking for the exemption and for annexation to Cupertino. March 6, 2000 Cupertino C' ty Council Page ORAL COiVIM'UNICATIONS Mr. Floyd Meyer, 10186 Westacres Drive, said that he now gets from the Internet about 90% of what he used to get from the library, and wondered if the library expansion was necessary. Mr. Meyer also discussed the traffic gate on Kim that was not operating. Since staff was not operating the gate manually, then tickets should not be given. He spoke about the amount of student traffic in the area and said that the only way to relieve that would be to allow Bollinger Road to go all the way through. CONSENT CALENDAR James moved to adopt the Consent Calendar as presented, with the exception of Item No. 10, which was removed. Lowenthal seconded and the motion carded 5-0. 2. Minutes: February 7, 2000. 3. Accounts payable: February 18 and February 25, Resolutions 00-074 and 00-075 4. Payroll: February 18, 2000, Resolution No. 00-076 5. Treasurer's Budget Report: Jan, sry 2000. 6. Making dctei-ihinatious and appwving the reorganization of territory designated "Festival Drive 99-13," approximately 6.85 acres located on the east side of Festival Drive between Kenmore Court and Orogrande Place; Eubanks, Ware, Argenti, Dixon and Perusina (APN 362-17-067), Resolution No. 00-077. 7. Making determinations and approving the reorganization of territory designated "Berkeley Court 99-I 1," approximately 0.444 acre located on Berkeley Court between Creston Drive and the Cupertino city limits; Angto (APN 326-12-033, Resolution No. 00- 078. 8. Making determinations and appwving the reorganization of ta'ritory designated "Byrne Avenue 99-10," approximately 0.234 acre located on the west side of Festival Drive between San Feruando Avenue and Alcazar Avenue; Holt (APN 357-12-029), Resolution No. 00-079. 9. Electing to be subject to the provisions of Section 22873 of the Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act (domestic partners medical and hospitalization insurance coverage), Resolution No. 00-080. 11. Improvement agreement, Nan Yin Ku, 10112 Camino Vista Dr., APN 342-14o065, Resolution No. 00-081. 12. Quitclaim Deed, Nan Yin Ku, 10112 Camino Vista Dr., APN 342-14-065, Resolution No. 00-082. March 6, 2000 Cupertino City Council Page 13. Authorizing execution of Program Supplement 006-M, Federal aid projects (Rt. 85, Stevens Creek Boulevard), Resolution No. 00-083. Vote Councilmembers Ayes: Bumett, Chang, James, Lowenthal, and Statton Noes: None. Absent: None. Abstain: None. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR- Item No. 10 was removed from the agenda and was not discussed. 10. Leadership Cupertino/Tomorrow's Leaders Today- Agreement between sponsors to share equally in liability. PUBLIC HEARINGS 14. Ordering vacation of roadway easement, Rainbow Drive, Resolution 00-084. Lowenthal moved to adopt Resolution No. 00-084. Chang seconded and the motion cam'ed 5-0. PLANNING APPLICATIONS 15. Consider approving or denying a use permit to demolish three single-family dwellings and construct eight townhomes totaling 17,112 square feet on a 23,170 square foot lot. Application 16-U-99 (31-EA-99), Stanley Wang (applicant), at 10060 S. Stelling Road, 10051 Bianchi Way. A negative declaration is recommended and this item is recommended for approval. Planner Vera Gil reviewed the Staffreport and explained that staff had recommended denial of the project. After the first hearing before the commission, the applicant had made some revisions to the plan, including reducing the height of the buildings, changing them all to face Stevens Creek Boulevard, and using tandem parking. The density remained the same at 8 units. The Planning Commission recommended approval by a 3-2 vote. The applicant, Mr. Stanley Wang, showed a chart that compared the city standards to his original plan and revised plan, as well as a chart that compared the comments of the City's contract architect, Mr. Cannon, with his revised plan. Mr. Wang discussed in detail the issues of density, setbacks, tandem parking, and setbacks. Y ¢h 6, 1000 CupertLno City Counc' l Pa e 4 Community Development Director Steve Piasecki said this is a difficult parcel to design, as well as to provide privacy screening with landscaping. StatT felt the design was very plain, that the tandem parking in all locations will cause circulation problems, and the density should be lowered. The council members commented individually and Piasecki s~_~rnmarized their input as follows: The absolute density, whether it is seven or eight units, is not as material to the council as getting a very high-quality project. The density may impact the amount of open space in the project. At least two of the Councilmembers prefer the front of the units facing Stelling. That would result in parking in the back and the loss of private spaces, but in exchange the units may have decks offthe second floor, or front patios. Council has indicated that tandem spaces will be acceptable if they solve a circulation problem. Staffwill probably encourage the applicant to keep tandeiii parking along the panhandle. Council prefers through access, and that would work well on the panhandle because it would require thc least amount of modification from the Heart of the City standards. Having the units front on Stelling will also meet some of the privacy objectives by moving the windows farther away, and there will only be a side-up relationship with the neighbor to the south. The applicant agreed to work with the staff on additional redesign. Council referred thc item back to the Planning Commission with their comments. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None NEW BUSINESS Mayor Statton reordered the agenda to hear item No. 17 next. 17. Consider endorsement of Tri-County Apartment Association's (TCAA) "Moving in for Less" program and direct staffto send attached letter to Cupertino apartment owners inviting them to attend an informational meeting, scheduled for April 3, 2000, and participate in the program. Council members were given a revised staffreport. Planner Vera Gil explained that this is project was an application from city staff. It is proposed that the Tri-County Apartment Association work with the city staff and Chamber of Commerce to introduce the "Moving in for Less" program in Cupmtino. This program was originally introduced in San Jose in April 1999 and has worked very well. About 39 teachers have utilized program in that city. Ms. Jeannie Bradford said she chaired the Cupertino Chamber's Business-Education Link Committee. She said this committee supports education and educators in Cupertino without duplicating or reinventing any of the existing programs. There are multiple goals within this program, and she highlighted three in particular. The first is the "Moving in for Less" program. The committee is very familiar with this program and they thanked Sandra James for being the point person. Councihnember James and Linda Asbury have had several discussions with Tri-County association regarding the program coming to Cupertino, and thc committee encourages thc city to approve the proposal and accept the Chamber of Commerce as its partner. Thc second goal is a discount program offered to educators and employees of the Fremont Union High School and the Cupertino Union School District. The businesses in Cupertino will receive recognition for their various contributions and support, and teachers will be encouraged to do business in Cupertino. Ms. Bradford referred to the package of materials, which had been provided to city council, which included a letter and flyer about the program. The letter was sent out a week ago and the committee has received many responses from businesses eager to participate. The third program is the creation of a web site on the Chamber home site that specifically addresses educator friendly-programs. Ms. Bradford also discussed other projects the committee has been working on, welcome packages to the teachers, a shadowing pwgram, and participating in the Principal for a Day program. Brown said it is logical for the city to be a pa~h~er in this program. There are preferential situations for residents of Cupertino and it may be possible to add some fee discounts for teachers as well. The staff will need to investigate the impact on the demand for service and it is possible that existing programs could be changed to benefit teachers. Ashlin Cherry, Government Relations Director for Tri-County Apartment Association, said it was thc tradc association representing rental property owners the/n San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties. She said that the high cost of housing can be a determining factor whether a teacher takes a job in the community. Participating pwperty owners have agreed to requ/re no more than 20 percent of one month's rent as a security deposit. California state law allows the collection of up to 200 percent of one month's rent. TCAA maintains a list of available properties on their Web site and they will be updating the site to include Cupertino and the other communities new to the program. Chang moved to endorse the "Moving in for Less" program and direct staffto send a letter inviting Cupertino apartment owners to participate in the program. Burner seconded and the motion carded 5-0. 16. Consider recommendation of Parks and Recreation Commission to install a pedestrian access at Kennedy Middle School along Hyannisport Drive (was continued at 2/22 meeting). Parks and Recreation Director Steve Dowling reviewed the staffmport and the Council watched a brief video illustrating the proposed locadon(s) for pedestrian access. He explained that two years ago the residents of Hyannisport asked for a restricted parking permit program which council endorsed, so there is currently a p¢,~,~it required 24 hours a day to park on the north side of Hyannisport. Some of the users then asked whether it - was time to reconsider providing access to the sports complex. Residents living on Fort Baker and Wilkinson, and some on Hyannisport, began to raise concerns about parking impacts based upon this new access point for sports and also school drop-off. The Parks and Recreation Commission unanimously recommended Option A as the preferred March/~, 2000 C'~uperfJno C~ity (~ouncll Page alternative, with a caveat that it bc reviewed six months after installation and impacts would be analyzed and brought back before the commission, and if nacessmy, the council, for further action. Viskovich said that during the six-month period, the first thing that staffwill find out is whether there is any parking overload in the adjacent neighborhoods, and there are options available such as permit parking. Staffcan also do some Iraffic counting to see if the volume has increased, although staff does not .anticipate a major increase from a traffic point of view. It may even spread out some of the traffic that is currently experienced on Bubb Road. Lowenthal asked that staff do a modal count to see if more students are walking to school during the six-month period, as well as the walking pattern between Kennedy and Monta Vista schools. The following individuals spoke in favor of opening one or more gates for access, as well the best location(s). They also commented on the changes that may occur in rega~l to increased traffic, reduced parking and increased litter. Other benefits of pedestrian access are that it would be more convenient for parents to drop off children and see them reach the supervision of a responsible adult; more convenient for coaches and parents carrying gear and food; students will no longer be climbing the fence. Also, there may need to be a barrier to keep out dirt bikes and motorcycles Ms. Cathy Gatley, 11510 Well Spring Ms. Susan Camilleri, 10812 Wilkinson Avenue Mr. Curtis Gatley, 11510 Well Spring Court Mr. Dana D~ysdale, 21767 Terrace Drive Mr. Bill Wilson, 11129 Clarkston, Carl Wanke, Cupertino resident Kareen Lambert, 777 Squirehill Court Natalino Camilleri, 10812 Wilkinson Avenue Ms. Alexandra Kao, a Cupertino resident Mr. Chris Gatley, 11510 Well Spring Ms. Gatley noted that the Parks and Recreation Commission had been given a petition of over 200 signatures from people in the community that were also in favor of opening an access. Mr. Leslie Bumell, Holly Oak Drive, said he was neutral about the gate but more concerned about encouraging the junior high school children to ride their bicycles. Ms. Kao felt that it was an unsafe area for children to ride bicycles because of all the traffic. She suggested the gate be put on a timer to better control the access. March 6, 2000 Cupert'mo City Council Page Robert Levy, 10802 Wilkinson Avenue, said that it would be okay to op©n a gate or even to remove the fence entirely, but Council should not set a precedent of changing traffic patterns m~rely for convenience. A letter was received from Vincent and Shirley Pisano, in opposition to another access. It included a photograph showing illegal parking near the proposed access. Lowenthal said he wished more people living on Hyarmisport had spoken tonight, and the city needs to acknowledge they pay a price for living there in terms of heavy traffic and a lot of noise on the weekend. He was in favor of opening both accesses, especially because he wants to encourage more walking and lower the traffic load. James said she though it was important to not remove the fence completely, because unlike a park, there are school security issues. She said she was generally opposed to permit parking around parks or playground areas, so this will help people to drop offtheir kids. She was in favor of two openings, and she thought that perhaps more students might walk to school if they can come through the back gate. Chang thought that it made sense to have a couple of openings. He said he appreciated the neighbors for their patience, and said he believed that the permit parking will keep the situation manageable and may spread out traffic a little bit better. Bumett said he agreed with the other council members, but would like a little bit more background about the general traffic problem. One of council's highest priorities is traffic safety, not only making it safe for children to ride their bikes and walk to school, but also that it is perceived as safe. He said that he has taught bicycle safety to several thousand students in the past several years. When he asks them how they get to school, the answer is usually that they are driven but they want to walk. The council is very anxious to work with the community and the school district to see if there's some way to overcome the fear that it is unsafe to walk or ride. Some ways might be street design, enhancing crosswalks, or expanding the crossing guord program. There are other programs where adults volunteer to escort groups of children to walk to school, so that there is a trusted adult present. sTATTON said he was in favor of opening both gates, but was concerned about unintended consequences. There may be some enforcement action necessary over the next 6 months as the evaluation is done. He asked if this would shift parking down onto Wilkinson or down onto Fort Baker farther than it is now, and whether additional parking pessiiit areas will be necessary. He also asked staff to track the citizen input on this issue. Burnett moved to provide access points to the sports fields at Kennedy Middle School at both locations that have been considered, with a review after six months. James seconded and the motion carried 5-0. ORDINANCES - None