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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 071294CC 07/12/94 Page 1 Approved as Submitted Meeting Date: 7/26/94 ATASCADERO CITY COUNCIL JULY 12, 1994 MINUTES The Mayor called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Councilperson Johnson led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmembers Carden, Johnson, Luna and Mayor Bewley Absent: Councilmember Highland Also Present: Muriel "Micki" Korba, City Treasurer and Lee Price, City Clerk Staff Present: Andy Takata, City Manager; Henry Engen, Community Development Director; Art Montandon, City Attorney; Brady Cherry, Director of Community Services; Russ Scotten, Interim Finance Director; Mike McCain, Fire Chief; Bud McHale, Police Chief and John Neil, Assistant City Engineer COUNCIL COMMENTS:  Confirm City Council Committee Assignments (Mayor Bewley) Mayor Bewley indicated that the Council Committee assignments had been made and noted that a list of the appointments was included in the agenda packet. PRESENTATIONS:  Plaque of Appreciation to Harold Lee Carden, III - Planning Commissioner Mayor Bewley presented a plaque to Hal Carden and extended gratitude for his service on the City's Planning Commission.  Tom Walters, Wil-Mar Disposal, Inc., of California Redemption Value Refund (from Curbside Recycling Program). CC 07/12/94 Page 2 Tom Walters, Wil Mar Disposal, Inc., provided copies of the City of Atascadero Recycling Update dated July 1994 (see Exhibit "A"). Michele Velasco presented a check to the Mayor for $5,239.45, representing California Redemption Value refunds. COMMUNITY FORUM: Lanny Dugar, 8330 Santa Rosa, described a situation that occurred at the Atascadero Lake Park on July 4, 1994. He reported that he was offering free pony rides when he was asked to leave by event organizers. He complained that he was then ordered to leave by security guards who used abusive language and who also threatened him with deadly force. Mr. Dugar asked the Council to consider controlling security guards with weapons in the parks. Connie King, San Luis Obispo YMCA representative, introduced herself and mentioned that she had been working with Brady Cherry and the Community Services Depart-ment in an effort to develop a community-wide recreational needs assessment. She commented that she hoped that the "Y" could unite with the City in a joint venture to develop programs. Ray Jansen, 6655 Country Club Drive, spoke regarding social philosophy and asked what is the soul of community life. He suggested that it is high time that society to support and strengthen a social contract that guarantees that every person has a place in society and a right to be there. A. COMMITTEE REPORTS (The following represent ad hoc or standing commit-tees. Informative status reports were given, as follows.): 1. S.L.O. Council of Governments(COG)/Regional Transit Authority(SLORTA) - Councilman Carden reported that SLORTA would meet July 13, 1994 at 9:00 a.m. in San Luis Obispo. 2. Economic Round Table - Councilman Johnson announced that the round table would meet Wednesday, July 20 at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall. 3. Highway 41 Realignment Community Advisory Committee - Henry Engen noted that staff would schedule results of a neighborhood survey regarding cul-de-sac design options for Magdelena and Magnolia Avenues for Council consideration July 26th. The Committee's next meeting, he added, is July 14th. B. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1. RESOLUTION NO. 42-94 - Placing the Annual Payment for Assessment District CC 07/12/94 Page 3 No. 8 (South San Gabriel) on the Property Taxes for the 1994-95 Fiscal Year 2. RESOLUTION NO. 67-94 - Recommending Continuation of Current Developer Fee Schedule 3. RESOLUTION NO. 68-94 - Annual Ratification of the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments Joint Powers Agreement for Fiscal Year 1994-95 4. FINAL APPROVAL OF THE AGREEMENT TO CONVEY REAL PROPERTY AND THE JOINT OCCUPANCY AGREEMENT RELATING TO THE ACQUISITION OF THE MASONIC TEMPLE 5. PAYMENT OF BILLS AND AUDITED PAYROLL FOR JUNE 1994 There were no questions or comments from the City Council or from the public. MOTION: By Councilman Luna, seconded by Councilman Carden to approve the Consent Calendar; motion carried 4:0 by roll call vote. C. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. RESOLUTION NO. 63-94 - Authorizing Placement of Delinquent Solid Waste Charges on Property Taxes for Fiscal Year 1994-95 Russ Scotten provided the staff report and recommendation to approve. Public Comments: George Zidbeck, 1869 San Fernando Road, indicated that he was upset that City and County governments are joining forces to collect fees for a private agency and complained that the costs are too high. Robert Carsley, 1215 Camino del Roble, complained that there are no limits on what services tenants can order and yet the landlord is responsible for the bill. He asserted that part of his delinquent bill is from a former tenant. Michele Velasco, Wil-Mar Disposal, explained the billing process and emphasized that arrangements can be made for payment. Wil-Mar, she said, was willing to work with tenants and property owners. In addition, she noted that delinquent charges for this year are substantially less than they were last year. Councilman Johnson inquired if Wil-Mar notifies owners when a tenant is behind. Ms. Velasco indicated that they do try, but noted that it isn't always clear if services are contracted by a tenant or owner. Mr. Carsley asserted that he has never heard from Wil-Mar. CC 07/12/94 Page 4 Renee Silberman, 9210 Lucinda, remarked that many homeowners will be affected and asked Wil-Mar to make an effort to contact an owner when a tenant is late. Councilman Luna commented that the authorizing ordinance does not specify that property owners will be notified if tenants are late paying their bill and asked Michele Velasco how owners are notified of delinquency. Ms. Velasco reiterated that Wil-Mar tries to contact owners when fees become delinquent, but pointed out that many times there is no communication unless the delinquent party contacts Wil-Mar. ---End of Public Testimony--- MOTION: By Councilman Luna, seconded by Councilman Johnson to adopt Resolution No. 63-94; motion passed 4:0 by roll call vote. 2. RESOLUTION NO. 64-94 - Authorizing Placement of Annual Sewer Service Charges on Property Taxes for Fiscal Year 1994-95 Henry Engen provided the staff report and recommendation to approve. There were no questions or comments. MOTION: By Councilman Carden, seconded by Councilman Luna to adopt Resolution No. 64-94; motion passed 4:0 by roll call vote. 3. RESOLUTION NO. 65-94 - General Plan Amendment to Extend Urban Services Line to Include the Neighborhood Commercial Zoned Corner at El Camino Real and Viejo Camino (City-initiated) 4. RESOLUTION NO. 66-94 - General Plan Amendment to Extend Urban Services Line to Include the Neighborhood Commercial Zoned Corner at El Camino Real and Del Rio (City-initiated) Henry presented the staff report and recommendations for both items, #C-3 & C-4. Public Comments: Jim Edwards, 2800 El Camino Real, pointed out that, if approved, Resolution No. 66-94 would not make sewer accessible to the east side of El Camino Real sourtherly of the subject site. Henry Engen clarified that the extension of the Urban Services Line does not allow for hook-up in Suburban Residential and clarified that there will be urban standards on one side of street and rural on the other. ---End of Public Testimony--- CC 07/12/94 Page 5 Councilman Luna asked if there was potential for requiring an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for any proposed major expansion of the Urban Service Line. Henry Engen reported that an EIR would be required to change large areas from Suburban Residential (2 1/2 acre lot standards) to higher density. He explained that the former City Council had not been interested in making a change in the density in the El Camino Real/Del Rio Road area. Councilman Johnson inquired whether staff was concerned about capacity. Henry Engen advised that there was not a substantial number of new lots that could be created in the northeast quadrant if the Urban Service Line were to include the whole area. Responding to inquiry from Councilman Carden, Henry Engen reported that extending the Urban Service Line to include Suburban Residential areas mandates a change in the present zoning and clarified that such a change could be done provided there were also a General Plan text change. He also noted that, under the current General Plan, it would not be possible for someone to tie into the sewer even if they chose to if they are outside the Urban Service Line. MOTION: By Councilman Luna, seconded by Councilman Carden to adopt Resolution No. 65-94; motion passed 4:0 by roll call vote. MOTION: By Councilman Luna, seconded by Councilman Carden to adopt Resolution No. 66-94; motion passed 4:0 by roll call vote. D. REGULAR BUSINESS: 1. LAS ENCINAS TRAFFIC SAFETY SIGNAGE - Recommended Revisions John Neil provided background and recommendation to approve changes to the existing signage in conformance with a modified version of the Level #1 recommendations made by Penfield & Smith (design engineer), as set forth in the staff report. Using overhead transparencies, he illustrated the proposed revisions. Councilman Johnson asked what the accident history was in the Las Encinas area. Chief McHale remarked that there has been a very light history of accidents. Councilman Luna noted that Penfield & Smith was not recommending a reduction in the number of signs but recognized that it may be desirable to accept a lesser level of safety in order to protect the visual aesthetics of the neighborhood. He asked the City Attorney if this statement was essentially releasing them from any liability. Art Montandon explained that it did and noted that the City would be considered liable in an incident if it could be determined that the road design was a trap to the unwary driver or if the City had been put on notice that there existed dangerous conditions. Accident history, he added, puts the City "on notice". Mr. Montandon advised that the liability for the City is quite low based upon the accident history and the signs that are proposed to remain. CC 07/12/94 Page 6 Councilman Johnson observed that it was difficult to envision how the area will look, based upon the maps. He suggested that staff set up a demonstration to give the neighbors and members of the City Council an opportunity to see it, provide input and reach a reasonable compromise. Councilman Luna asked the City Manager if this was possible. Andy Takata indicated that staff could produce demonstration corners as outlined in staff's recommendation. Public Comments: Ron Lindsay, 8505 San Gregorio Road, spoke on behalf of residents in the Las Encinas assessment district. He noted that the Chandler Ranch assessment district was to be the model for assessment districts and pointed out there are hardly any signs in that area. He suggested that the Council give consideration to removing all the signs and simply placing one sign stating, "Winding Road - next 2.2 miles". ---End of Public Testimony--- There was consensus to approve the staff recommendation as proposed. In addition, staff was directed to set up demonstration corners and meet with the residents. 2. DEVELOPMENT REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE - Consideration of Communi-cations from the Planning Commission and Building and Construction Board of Appeals Henry Engen provided the staff report and asked for Council direction regarding the establishment of an Ad Hoc Development Review Committee. Councilman Luna inquired about how much staff time this type of committee might require. Mr. Engen suggested that approximately four meetings might be sufficient, adding that a year's worth of monthly meetings would start cutting into a lot of staff time. He recommended that staff walk the committee through the permit process, review problems and propose recommendations for streamlining the process. He emphasized that a clear purpose, input regarding membership and guidelines for reporting back to Council needed to be outlined. Councilman Johnson commented that it would be advantageous to evaluate all departments and services eventually. For now, he added, it appears timely to look at the building process and explained that he would prefer the committee narrow its' focus to just that subject. Councilman Luna agreed. Mayor Bewley suggested that membership include five to seven members appointed by the Council. Specifically, he proposed that the committee include one member of the Board of Appeals, one Planning Commissioner, a Council representative and two at-large citizens. He emphasized that the purpose should be to improve procedures. CC 07/12/94 Page 7 Public Comments: Jim Edwards, Vice-Chairman of the Planning Commission, explained the Planning Commission's position and noted that they were in support of a seven-member body. He stated that the proposed scope of the committee would be to review the permit and building processes as well as how these affect economic viability. Suggested membership, he continued, consisted of one or two members of the Planning Commission, a member of the Board of Appeals and a member of the Parks & Recreation Commission. He stated that he did not envision a councilmember on the ad hoc committee and was hoping that it maintain a "stand-alone" stance to remain objective. Mr. Edwards also mentioned that the direction of the committee should be left up to committee and proposed that the focus be formulated after the appointments are made. ---End of Public Testimony--- Councilman Johnson asserted that the focus should be determined by the Council and a councilmember should serve on the committee. Councilman Luna agreed and pointed out that the taxpayers are the customers and they should be represented. He indicated that he could support no more than a constrained review of the development process with a goal to seek improvement. Councilman Carden recommended that the chairpersons of the Planning Commission and the Board of Appeals meet with members of staff and develop a specific charter, time-lines and recommended list of members. Once done, he suggested, the matter could come back for two formal actions: 1) membership composition and 2) defined committee purpose. The City Manager asked for additional direction regarding the types of people the Council would like to serve as members-at-large. Mayor Bewley implied that there should be citizen representatives who actually use the system; i.e., developers, architects and builders. The Mayor also volunteered to represent the Council on the committee. There was Council concurrence that the Mayor would meet with staff and the Chairpersons of the Planning Commission and the Board of Appeals to design the committee and make recommendations for membership. 3. RETAINING THE EXISTING CURBARIL BRIDGE - Response from County Board of Supervisor Henry Engen requested direction from the City Council to propose to San Luis Obispo County staff that an agreement be entered into to equally share the maintenance costs associated with the Curbaril Bridge. He pointed out that two-thirds of the bridge is located in the unincorporated areas of the County. The City Manager added that emergency CC 07/12/94 Page 8 access to the unincorporated areas is for mutual aid (fire and police services). Councilman Luna pointed out that Supervisor Blakely had responded favorably to taking the matter to the Board of Supervisors. He declared that he would not like to see City staff involve County staff at this time when Supervisor Blakely has availed himself to take it to the Board and suggested that the Mayor, on behalf of the City Council, respond to the specific questions set forth in Supervisor Blakely's letter and ask him to work with County staff. There was consensus to direct staff to draft a letter to Supervisor Blakely for the Mayor's signature, as proposed by Councilman Luna. 4. RESOLUTION NO. 70-94 - Authorizing the Execution of an Agreement with Arthur Blankenship to Maintain Open Space (APN #56-352-004/Santa Rosa Road) Art Montandon provided the staff report and recommendation to adopt Resolution No. 70- 94 authorizing the execution of an agreement with Art & Betty Blankenship. The City Attorney mentioned that Mr. & Mrs. Blankenship have asked that they be allowed to pay off the amount at any time and indicated that this provision could easily be added to the contract. Public Comments: Art Blankenship, 8300 Santa Rosa Road, indicated that he was requesting the addition of a provision allowing for early pay-off, as outlined by the City Attorney. He also noted that he had agreed that the property will be maintained as a ranch but reiterated earlier comments that the land is a flood zone area and is unsuitable for development. Mr. Blankenship proclaimed that it was not fair to assess him for sewer when the land is a flood zone and not useful as a home site. Councilman Johnson asked the City Attorney for the rationale behind the fifteen-year provision. Mr. Montandon explained that it represents the same time-frame for payment on the property tax rolls. Councilman Luna commented that he had been opposed to the 15 year provision and had asked that it be deleted. Mr. Blankenship argued that he had originally proposed that the property never be assessed unless a building permit is issued and reiterated that the land is not suitable for a home. Lanny Dugar, 8330 S. Rosa Road, spoke in support of Mr. Blankenship's position. He urged the Council to be aware of how the situation came about and how the Blankenship's were ultimately included in the assessment district. He argued that the Blankenships should not have to participate in the district because they are not receiving a benefit from the sewer. Mr. Dugar implored the Council to do anything possible to relieve the Blankenship's of the burden of the district. CC 07/12/94 Page 9 Eric Greening, 7365 Valle, spoke in favor of the initial intentions of Mr. Blankenship. He emphasized that the agreement puts economic pressure on the parcel and asked the Council to relieve the Blankenships from participation. Mr. Greening also commented that the City lacks a coherent, overall policy for forming assessment districts and suggested that consistent ground rules be established. Rita Fernandez, Mountain View resident, also spoke in favor of the Blankenship's request to be removed from the district. ---End of Public Testimony--- Responding to inquiry from Councilman Carden and Councilman Johnson, Henry Engen reported that the land does, in fact, constantly flood but added that while it may be costly, every lot is buildable with the right engineering. He stated that there is an assumption that the parcel is a buildable lot because it is accessible to sewer and noted that the lot is included, as directed by the City Council, in the district and is part of the formula. Councilman Luna asserted that the agreement essentially forces the Blankenships to develop the lot. He contended that the agreement offers an opportunity to give the community the enjoyment of farmland/open space until the sale of, or development of, the property. He reiterated that he was not in favor of the fifteen years provision. Mayor Bewley proclaimed that he would not support the agreement and reiterated that he had voted against the matter before. He stated the land should be assessed like all the other lots in the district. MOTION: By Councilman Luna, seconded by Councilman Johnson to adopt Resolution No. 70-94 as amended by deleting provision #5(a); motion failed 2:2 (Councilman Carden/Mayor Bewley voting in opposition). No action. MOTION: By Councilman Carden, seconded by Councilman Luna to adopt Resolution No. 70-94; motion carried 3:1 (Mayor Bewley voting in opposition). (Note: The adoption included approval of amending the agreement to include a provision allowing the Blankenships to pay off the assessment at an earlier date, if so desired). E. INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATION AND/OR ACTION: 1. City Clerk The City Clerk mentioned that applications were being accepted for the Planning Commission, Parks & Recreation Commission, Traffic Committee and Community Services Foundation Board of Directors until Friday, July 15th at 5:00 p.m. and CC 07/12/94 Page 10 encouraged anyone interested to apply. 2. City Treasurer Micki Korba reported that a $1,300,000 Tax and Revenue Anticipation Note (TRANS) the following day and added that this would afford the City operating capital. 3. City Manager Andy Takata provided an overview of the agenda for the meeting of July 26, 1994 and announced that reporter Steve Whitely was leaving the Country News and taking a position with the Telegram-Tribune. F. CLOSED SESSION: The Mayor adjourned to Closed Session at 9:02 p.m. for the following purposes: 1) LIABILITY CLAIMS: Claimant: Rex Hendrix, Betty Hendrix and Darlene Frederick Agency: City of Atascadero 2) CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR Negotiator: City Manager Employee Organizations: Service Employees International Union, Atascadero Police Officers Association, Atascadero Sergeant's Service Organization, Atascadero Safety Technicians Organization and Mid-Management Bargaining Unit At 9:50 p.m., Closed Session was adjourned. The City Attorney announced that the City Council gave no authority to settle Item #1. In addition, he reported that on-going labor negotiations with the associations listed above were conducted. THE NEXT MEETING OF THE ATASCADERO CITY COUNCIL WILL BE TUESDAY, JULY 26, 1994 AT 7:00 P.M. MINUTES RECORDED AND PREPARED BY: LEE PRICE, City Clerk CC 07/12/94 Page 11 Attachment: Exhibit "A" - (Wil-Mar Disposal, Inc.)