HomeMy WebLinkAboutTC Minutes 2015-08-19TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Doyle called the regular meeting of the Tiburon Town Council to order at 7:30 p.m.
on Wednesday, August 19, 2015, in Town Council Chambers, 1505 Tiburon Boulevard, Tiburon,
California.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Doyle, Fraser, Fredericks, O'Donnell, Tollini
PRESENT: EX OFFICIO: Town Manager Curran, Town Attorney Stock,
Director of Community Development Anderson,
Director of Public Works/Town Engineer Barnes,
Chief of Police Cronin, Associate Planner
O'Malley, Planning Manager Watrous, Town Clerk
Crane Iacopi
Prior to the regular meeting, the Council met in closed session, beginning at 7:00 p.m., to discuss
the following:
CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL --ANTICIPATED LITIGATION
Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (d) of Section
54956.9: Three potential cases
ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION, IF ANY
Mayor Doyle said no action was taken in closed session.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None.
CONSENT CALENDAR
1. Town Council Minutes — Adopt minutes of July 1, 2015 regular meeting (Town Clerk Crane
Iacopi)
Town Council Mi,nites #16 -2015
August 19, 2015 Page 1
2. Town Council Minutes — Adopt minutes of July 15, 2015 regular meeting (Town Clerk
Crane Iacopi)
3. Town Investment Summary — Accept report for month ending June 30, 2015 (Director of
Administrative Services Bigall)
4. Town Investment Summary — Accept report for month ending July 31, 2015 (Director of
Administrative Services Bigall)
5. Solar Panel Permits — Adopt ordinance amending Chapter 13 (Building Regulations) of the
Town Code establishing streamlined review procedures for small, residential roof -top solar
energy systems (Director of Community Development Anderson)
6. Grand Jury Response — Authorize Town response to Grand Jury report on Civic Openness
in Negotiations (COIN) (Town Manager Curran/ Town Attorney Stock)
7. Transportation Funding — Adopt League of California Cities model resolution urging support
of sustainable funding source for transportation infrastructure (Councilmember Fredericks)
Vice Mayor Tollini asked how this funding plan would treat the use of electric vehicles for road
upkeep (since the drivers do not pay a gas tax). Councilmember Fredericks said that there was an
idea for the users to make some sort of contribution, perhaps a flat fee, toward the upkeep of the
roads they are using.
Councilmember O'Donnell asked if other cities were adopting this resolution. Councilmember
Fredericks said that the County had passed it, and that other cities in Marin, as well as throughout
the state, were adopting the resolution.
Fredericks went on to say that some cities had included local roads in the resolution, but she said
that because Tiburon had a relatively high Pavement Management Index (PMI), it was not
included in the draft Tiburon resolution.
MOTION: To adopt Consent Calendar Item Nos. 1 through 7, as written.
Moved: O'Donnell, seconded by Fredericks
Vote: AYES: Unanimous
Urgency Item.
Mayor Doyle said that before turning to the Action Items, staff had presented the Council with an
urgency item that needed to be considered at tonight's meeting. He said that in order for the item
to be placed on the agenda, it needed a 2/3 vote of the Council showing a) that there is a need to
take immediate action and b) the need for action came to the attention of the Town subsequent to
the agenda being posted.
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015 August 19, 2015 Page 2
In regards to the first finding, Mayor Doyle said that the staff report details the construction work
currently being undertaken and that to wait to place the change order on the next meeting agenda
would expose the Town to potential claims and further complicate the work of other contractors
working in the same area. Secondly, he said that the Town only recently became aware of the
need to take action; he said the staff report says that the Town learned of the need for the
potential change order on August 17, after reviewing video footage.
Mayor Doyle asked for a motion to place the item on the agenda.
MOTION: To place the urgency item on the agenda.
Moved: Fraser, seconded by Fredericks
Vote: AYES: Unanimous
Director of Public Works/Town Engineer Barnes said that the Town was in the midst of a project
to replace storm drain piping on Stewart Drive. The project was designed based on older videos
to get it out for bid quickly. An alternate bid item to line two of the pipe segments had resulted
in cost savings and the project was awarded with the lining option. Videos taken prior to lining
indicated significant deterioration and the Town now needed to go back to the base bid order to
replace the pipe.
Director Barnes said this would require a change order in the amount of $107,000, which he
noted was less than the contingency on the project. He suggested that the Council allow staff to
transfer money from another storm drainage fund (the "flushing" fund) as a contingency for this
project. He said this would be a more convenient way to handle the funding, at this juncture.
Mayor Doyle asked for public comment. There was none.
Councilmember O'Donnell said this was the logical step to take to address this unforeseen
circumstance, and that the condition on Stewart Drive warranted action.
MOTION: To approve the staff recommendation for this project.
Moved: O'Donnell, seconded by Fredericks
Vote: AYES: Unanimous
ACTION ITEMS
1. Appointments to Boards, Commissions & Committees — Consider appointment of
Council representative to MCCMC ad hoc committee on Sea Level Rise (Town Manager
Curran)
Town Manager Curran reported on the formation of an ad hoc committee of the Marin County
Council of Mayors & Councilmembers (MCCMC) to facilitate reliable information conduits
among the jurisdictions on the issue of sea level rise in Marin County, and how to plan for it.
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015 August 19, 2015 Page 3
She said the committee was seeking representation from all jurisdictions, including Tiburon, and
said that a position was open to an interested Councilmember.
Councilmember Fredericks said that she had been working on this issue for several months. She
pointed out that as with all MCCMC ad hoc committees, the committee has no decision-making
authority on issues of implementation. She said the committee's mission did not extend beyond
exchanging information and reporting to interested councils.
Fredericks said that in late 2014, the Board of Supervisors had approved the launch of a
countywide sea level rise vulnerability assessment that would involve the collaboration of
various towns and cities adjacent to the Bay. In addition to the county effort, she said individual
jurisdictions are also taking on the task of vulnerability assessment.
In June of 2015, Fredericks said the State Coastal Conservancy awarded $250,000 to the County
Community Development Department to support a countywide vulnerability assessment.
MOTION: To appoint Alice Fredericks to serve on the ad hoc committee.
Moved: Fraser, seconded by O'Donnell
Vote: AYES: Unanimous
The Council thanked Fredericks for her willingness to serve on the committee on behalf of the
Town.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
1. 25 Gilmartin Drive Precise Plan (PD #28) — Consider request to amend the Tiburon Shores
Precise Plan to expand the primary building envelope on Lot 3 (Community Development
Department)
Owners: Darol and Tara Ryan
Applicant: Mohamad Sadrieh
AP No. 055-253-30
In her report, Associate Planner O'Malley said that the applicant proposed to expand the primary
building envelope for the property to provide a more appropriate location for future construction
of a new single-family dwelling. She said the existing secondary building envelope would be
reduced in size, with a portion of the envelope changing to the primary building envelope, as part
of the proposal.
O'Malley said the Planning Commission held a public hearing on this application at its July 8,
2015 meeting. She said the Commission supported the proposed request and found it was in
conformance with the overall intent of Tiburon Shores Precise Plan and the Tiburon General
Plan. She said the Commission voted 4-0 to recommend the application for approval.
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015 August 19, 2015 Page 4
Planner O'Malley said there was no public comment on the application at the meeting, and as of
the date of this report, no letters have been received regarding the subject application. She said
that staff had preliminarily determined that the subject application is categorically exempt from
the requirements of CEQA per Section 15303 of the CEQA Guidelines, and she recommended
that the Council hold a public hearing, and adopt the draft resolution conditionally approving the
application.
Mayor Doyle opened the public hearing.
Mohamad Sadrieh, architect representing the applicants, spoke briefly and described the project
in more detail. He said the new building envelope would allow them to spread out the upper
level of the house, out of the view of the neighbors, while allowing the lower level to step down
per the Town's Hillside Design Guidelines. He also described a more logical placement of the
garage which could be dug into the hillside and reduce the need for a [fire] turnaround and
retaining walls. He said that the envelope still remained the smallest in the vicinity.
There was no further public comment.
Council concurred with the Planning Commission's recommendation. Vice Mayor Tollini said
the design set the home tastefully into the hillside.
MOTION: To adopt the resolution approving the amendment to the Precise Development
Plan, as written.
Moved: Fredericks, seconded by O'Donnell
Vote: AYES: Unanimous
2. Seasonal Rental Units — Consider amendments to Chapter 16 (Zoning) of the Tiburon
Municipal Code to prohibit seasonal rental units (Community Development Department) —
Infroduction and first reading of ordinance
In his staff report, Planning Manager Watrous said the Town had initiated amendments to the
Tiburon Zoning Ordinance that would prohibit seasonal rental units in Tiburon. The amendments
would amend Section 16-40.040 of the zoning ordinance to replace the current provisions for
issuing seasonal rental unit permits with a prohibition of such uses.
Watrous said that the ordinance was considered by the Planning Commission on July 8, 2015. At
that meeting, he said that several Tiburon residents opposed prohibiting seasonal rentals and
instead suggested possible amendments to the existing ordinance. He said other residents
expressed support for the proposed ban.
Watrous said the Planning Commission, after extended discussion, voted to recommend to the
Town Council that a ban on seasonal rentals not be enacted, and instead offered specific
suggestions for regulatory amendments to address problems and concerns raised by these uses.
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015 August 19, 2015 Page 5
He said the Commission recommended that the Town Council remand the item to the
Commission for fine-tuning of the revised regulations. Watrous listed the specific regulatory
provisions suggested by the Commission to be considered:
1. Change the term "seasonal rental unit" to "vacation rental."
2. Require adequate on-site and/or off-site parking as a condition of approval.
3. Require a 7 -day minimum for any vacation rental.
4. Do not allow permits to be issued for properties with commingled rights (common
areas, pools, access, parking, etc.) with neighboring units, unless there is
unanimous consent among property owners or there are written CC&Rs in the
case of a condominium or townhouse complex.
5. Require permittees to submit an annual reporting statement to the Town.
6. Require courtesy notices to be sent by the Town to neighboring property owners
prior to issuance of a vacation rental permit.
7. Increase fees and penalties to recover ongoing costs of enforcement.
8. Allow permits only for homes that are the "primary residence" of the property
owner.
Watrous said that staff sees two primary options available to the Town Council: 1) proceed with
prohibition, or 2) remand the ordinance to the Planning Commission for further study and
wordsmithing.
In order to get a better understanding of the current extent of local seasonal rentals, Watrous
described how staff had reviewed the AirBnB and VRBO websites in July for listings in Tiburon
(summarized in an exhibit to the staff report). He said a total of 38 listings were found on
AirBnB and 18 listings on VRBO, although some properties appeared to be listed on both sites.
Analysis of the listings revealed that:
• Most of the homes were available for short stays, with only 7 of the 56 listings requiring a
7 night minimum stay;
• Few of the homes were very large, with only 8 of the 56 listings showing more than 3
bedrooms;
• Similarly, most listings did not allow large groups, with only 10 of the 56 listings
allowing more than 6 guests at a time.
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015 August 19, 2015 Page 6
Based on these listings, Watrous said it appears that a 7 -night minimum requirement for rentals
would either eliminate the vast majority of these listings or force them to rent only for longer
stays. The previously suggested limitation that would not allow rentals for units with more than 3
bedrooms would only affect a minority of these listings, according to Watrous.
The Planning Manager also said that code enforcement was an issue. He noted that an article
about enforcement that had been prepared by the League of California Cities and distributed to
the Council by the Town Attorney (public copies were also made available at the meeting).
Watrous said the Planning Commission recommended more enforcement while acknowledging
that adding regulations could potentially add to staffs enforcement burden and the difficulties in
monitoring compliance with the Town's regulations.
Watrous said it is unclear whether prohibition would require substantially more staff enforcement
time than creating additional regulations. Additional regulations would create more details to
review for compliance for each rental. Although prohibition is a more definitive regulation that is
easier to interpret, such an action would likely drive rentals underground, providing fewer
property details on website listings or other deceptive actions to avoid enforcement.
In either case, he said the Town's limited staff availability would continue to be an impediment
to thorough enforcement of these rentals. The City of San Francisco, which has adopted new
vacation rental regulations in consultation with AirBnB, has had to create a new staff division
just to handle permitting and enforcement of these regulations, according to the Planning
Manager. And although the scale of this issue is much smaller in Tiburon, he said the ability of
Town's small staff to actively enforce this ordinance will continue to be a limiting factor in
effectively policing vacation rentals.
Watrous said that comments from Tiburon residents have been effectively split between those
who support a prohibition of vacation rentals and those who would like them to be regulated but
allowed. He noted the letters on the subject attached to the staff report.
Watrous said staff recommended that the Town Council: 1) hold a public hearing on the item
and hear all testimony from interested persons; and 2) either move to read the ordinance by title
only, waiving any additional reading, and pass the motion by a roll call vote, or b) remand the
item to the Planning Commission for its further review and recommendations, providing any
desired direction to assist the Commission with its future deliberations.
Mayor Doyle opened the matter to Council questions.
Councilmember Fredericks asked why the name was changed from "seasonal rentals" to
"vacation rentals" in the proposed ordinance. Watrous said the latter was a more common term
which appeared to be more understandable to the public. Fredericks asked whether it would
preclude uses other than vacation rentals. Watrous said it would not.
Town Council Minutes #16-2015
August 19, 2015 Page 7
Councilmember O'Donnell asked how the Town's [administrative] citations were enforced; he
said that some had suggested penalties for non-compliance. Also, he asked how the fines would
be collected.
Town Attorney Stock said that the citation process unfolded as follows: levy, hearing, and
collection of fees. He said that penalties could be considered but that they were separate from the
citation process. He said the citation process was also different from the civil action process. In
the former, once an action had been reduced to a judgment, a lien could be placed on the
property. He said in the civil process, a citation can create an administrative lien, but that it
would take many steps to effectuate. This was followed by a discussion about the judicial
process to enforce a lien.
To put the discussion into perspective, Mayor Doyle noted that the amounts being discussed were
in the range of hundreds of dollars. Director of Community Development concurred, saying that
at $158 per day, the amount would not begin to cover the cost of enforcement; he said the fines
would have to be raised substantially to cover these costs.
Councilmember Fredericks said that she would rather see compliance than revenue. Vice Mayor
Tollini said that a lien is the recourse for contractors, for instance. But she said that most
responsible homeowners would not want a lien on their property.
Councilmember O'Donnell asked what kind of enforcement could actually be enacted, for
instance, when the police came to a home in response to a noise or loud party complaint. He
asked if the police would be allowed to ask for a rental agreement, or the like.
Planning Manager Watrous said that the police could knock on the door and ask the occupants
for a copy of a rental agreement; he said staff could then follow up by mailing a letter to the
property owner and wait for a response. He said the Town would have to decide how to proceed
thereafter.
Chief of Police Cronin added that the occupants also would have the option to close the door and
not talk to the police. He said the police could not enter the house because they would not have
probable cause. But he noted that the police could enforce a civil code section if the noise was
"loud and unreasonable".
Councilmember Fraser asked how many vacation rental permits were currently on file with the
Town. Watrous said that there had been nine applications, and seven permits had been issued.
Councilmember O'Donnell noted there certainly is a market, and an underground economy, if
there are 58 listings on AirBnB and VRBO.
Councilmember Fredericks asked about "house swaps" for vacation use and how they would be
tracked if not through permits. Watrous said that staff had not looked at any of these websites,
nor had they received any complaints.
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015 August 19, 2015 Page 8
Mayor Doyle opened the matter to public comment.
1. Rachel Justis, who said that she and her husband both worked for non -profits, said that
this was the only way she and her family could afford to travel and to keep their home;
she said that they had applied for a permit and had not heard from the Town, but that they
had received all "A's" from a Fire Department inspection; that they limited the number of
guests and cars; she said the majority of these rentals were not "party homes" and that
there should be a way to regulate these and not put the burden on people like us;
2. Courtney Anderson, applauded the Council for their work on this subject; distributed a
chart that showed the amounts spent in town by short-term renters which he said averaged
$150 per day; said this could result in several million dollars in revenue for local
businesses; said he had surveyed local business owners who said they supported vacation
rentals and that he was worried that there would be an adverse impact on the town's
downtown area if these rentals were banned;
3. Kim Fox -Yoder, said she grew up in Tiburon and would like to be able to rent out her
mother's home now that she had moved into assisted living; she said that she would like
to spend time here, too, along with her mother, on holidays and the like and that VRBO is
a way to allow her to do this; said she had a successful business renting condos in Maui
and that she would not allow "trashy" renters here, either;
4. Ulrik Binzer asked the Council to keep the VRBOs legal in Tiburon because it was an
important part of the housing stock; said that he had been doing it for 2 years and it
allowed him to travel; said that he rented to people who perhaps could not afford a hotel
and wanted to take part in local activities, such as regattas and the like; said it was a great
way for a family to see the world and that they should not be penalized because of "party
houses"; suggested that the Council consider limiting the number of guests, cars, and the
like but to not get "hung up" and simply address the core issues of noise and parking, etc.
5. Joe Haraburda, noted a section of the staff report that referenced enforcement through
CC&Rs but said that some consideration should be given to properties with shared
easements who could not use this tool; told the Council that he would support the
exclusion of residences with co -mingled resources, such as pools and driveways, if they
allowed seasonal rentals; gave an example of six people leaving his property yesterday
and eight more arriving today, and the disruption it caused; said that 7 -day rentals might
also help eliminate the weekend banter; that he would prefer the 31 -day rentals but
preferred that his type of property should be excluded from vacation rentals;
6. Bryan Chong, said that he had met a good number of short-term renters near his home
and that he himself had benefitted from short-term rentals in other areas of the world; said
that after discovering this, he and his family had also opened their home and would hate
to see the short-term rentals banned;
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015 August 19, 2015 Page 9
7. Bruce Powell, sympathized with Mr. Haraburda and said his suggestion sounded
reasonable; agreed that enforcement should be through an HOA unless there wasn't one;
said he held a permit and had been renting out since 2009 without a single complaint; said
their neighbors supported them in this and that 99% of the renters were families with
children, both small and grown; said he did not allow parties and put that in the rental
agreement; said he would hate to see the Town punish all renters for one or two "bad
apples"; went on to say that banks would not give loans to people who want to simply
buy houses to rent out; that a 7 -day stipulation would serve no purpose; that weekend or
week doesn't matter because people simply want to come here to "check out" Tiburon;
8. Fran Wilson, said she was in favor of prohibiting short-term rentals of under 30 days as a
way to keep our neighborhoods family -friendly and safe, free of extra traffic and litter,
and the like; said that if the rentals could be regulated then maybe there would be fewer
repercussions; that enforcement costs should be generated through application fees and
fines; she also noted that in order to keep bees in Tiburon, one has to obtain the
signatures of non -objection from owners of contiguous properties; said that short-term
rentals were a problem that would grow and get worse but that the primary focus should
be on the preservation of safe and friendly neighborhoods;
9. Magdalena Yesil, said that in Old Tiburon, there was only 10-20 feet between neighbors
and that they shared water rather than fences which limited privacy; said she had
experienced the problems with short-term rentals first-hand when her neighbors moved
away and rented out their house; said that people's behavior change when they are
"anonymous" and not long-term residents or renters, and that socially, we behave
differently if we have to face our neighbors in the morning; suggested that short-term
rentals, such as 4 days, not be allowed and that the problems with the neighboring
property had been resolved when the owners went back to longer-term rentals;
10. Galena Powell, 20 -year resident, said that her husband had died a couple of years ago,
and that this type of rental would allow her to return to Europe a couple of times a year,
and would be a support for homeowners like her.
Council deliberation.
Vice Mayor Tollini said that she had been approached by young families who favored these types
of rentals because it was easier to travel with kids and not have to eat out, and the like. She said
it was also a way to offset the expense of travel.
Tollini said that she also understood the arguments against because of unfortunate instances
which had created "churn" in some neighborhoods. She suggested that it there was a citation
process and penalties in place, the cost of enforcement could be offset. She said that she was
against an outright ban and that a "Next Door" poll in her neighborhood showed a 75% vote in
favor of allowing short-term vacation rentals.
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015 August 19, 2015 Page 10
Councilmember Fredericks said that she, too, understood the benefits of short-term rentals.
However, she said that this is not the only place to find rentals in Marin. But she also noted that
two other cities in Southern Marin had already voted to disallow them (the cities of Sausalito and
Belvedere).
Fredericks said she was not optimistic about the ability of the Town to enforce an ordinance
allowing such rentals; that the system could be "gamed" quite easily. But she said that greater
question was, why do we have a permit process? And she said the answer was to protect our
neighborhood character; to keep them safe and free of strangers.
With regard to enforcement, Fredericks said that enforcement on a complaint basis could actually
be easier than other forms of regulation. She said that under the proposed ordinance, house
swaps would continue to be allowed. She said that there might be a way to gain compliance from
a hosting platform but that one could not always tell where a rental was located. She said that a
proposed law in the State Legislature would require hosting platforms to send information to
local jurisdictions. She also noted that the disadvantage of prohibiting rentals versus permitting
them was that the business would go underground.
Fredericks said that the advantages of permitting would be: to create a stream of revenue for
compliance and enforcement, creating regulations to avoid rentals that are obvious problems
(such as those with shared easements), limiting numbers of guests or days, enforcement of quiet
hours, exclusion of neighborhoods or a collection of homes that objected to such rentals,
requirements that information be shared with neighbors and towns, requirements that landlords
address complaints, etc.
But the Councilmember said that such an intense package of regulations would be unenforceable,
did not give the Town what it wants, and does not justify allowing short-term rentals.
Councilmember Fraser said that he had no argument with anything he had heard from the public
speakers. He said this was a great community with a long history; a community of residents and
approximately 4,000 residences. He said that 58 of these advertised online and only seven had
permits; he said this represented less than 2% of the housing stock, and he asked whether this
represented the tail wagging the dog.
Fraser described his own neighborhood and the sense of security and safety that existed when
people know each other, wave to each other, know where their cars are parked, and the like. He
said this kind of familiarity created a sense of neighborhood. He said that neighbors let each
other know when they were going to have a party, and that they looked out for each other. He
said that this was not a commercialized, urbanized area; that the Town already had good hotels
and indeed, wanted its visitors. What we don't want, according to Fraser, is the "churn" in the
neighborhoods.
Councilmember Fraser said that the business model for VRBO was great. He said that in San
Francisco, it was estimated that AirBnB had grown by 14% with 4400 units in 2014 to 5800 in
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015 August 19, 2015 Page 11
2015, online. But he said that only 700 were registered with the city. He acknowledged that this
was something the Town would have to get its arms around but he said that he couldn't find a
reason to turn our community into overnight rentals. Fraser said that in the big picture, this
would not be a good use of the taxpayers' dollars or staff time.
Fraser said that while he respects an owner's desire to rent out their home [for short-term rentals,
including one in his neighborhood], he does not think it's the right thing to do in our community.
Councilmember O'Donnell also agreed that there were valid reasons stated by the speakers. But
he said he agreed with Councilmember Fredericks that neighborhood homes should not be turned
into commercial establishments --this, he said, would change the neighborhoods.
O'Donnell said it was now known to the Town where the major complaints were corning from —
Solano Street, Sugarloaf Drive, Mountain View Drive, Mar East Street, and Vistazo East and
West Streets. He said he had concluded that there was no valid reason to support short-term
rentals, and that other landlords might not be as conscientious as some of those who spoke. He
asked where our sense of community would be if all of us turned our homes into rentals. He said
it created an obtrusive intrusion into residential areas. He said problems associated with this had
been well documented in the communities of Carmel and Santa Monica, and that the Town
needed to get a handle on it.
O'Donnell said that the proposed ordinance was crafted to prohibit short-term rentals and to
allow rentals of 30 days or more.
Mayor Doyle said his position was more closely aligned with the Vice Mayor and in support of a
younger demographic of families with kids who are corning here for the schools, etc. He said
that in this demographic, a mortgage is the biggest financial hit, and that it is, in general, a
struggle to live here. He said these families are not moving here to rent out their homes; that they
want to live here, and that this provides a little extra income.
The Mayor said he did not want to force people to break the law; he suggested that the Town
monitor the situation for a while, allow permits and pull them if there are complaints. He said
the Planning Commission model allows some wiggle room in permitting and regulation; he said
the less staff needs to get involved, the better. But he asked his colleagues not to shut the rentals
down altogether.
The Mayor said he was not in favor of creating laws for the lowest common denominator,
thereby punishing everyone for bad behavior.
Councilmember Fraser said that we have to think about neighborhoods; that we had no idea how
far this would go, and that the "churn" was unacceptable.
Vice Mayor Tollini said that everyone agreed that the "churn" is unacceptable but that there were
distinctions to be made. Also, she said that 75% of the people polled supported short-term
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015
August 19, 2015 Page 12
rentals. She said that people would be open to enforcement to allow them to do this responsibly.
Councilmember Fredericks said that there were over 3,000 residents in Old Tiburon and only 143
had responded to the Next Door poll.
Tollini also noted that there had not been a lot of complaints. Councilmember O'Donnell added
that the Council may simply not know about them.
The Vice Mayor said that increasing the fines would help. She said that having the permittees
pay transient occupancy tax would also create a budget for enforcement and regulation.
Councilmember O'Donnell said that increasing fines also sometimes drives people underground.
In addition, he surmised that many people would not want to open up their homes to Town or
Fire inspectors, and may not want to obtain a permit because of this.
Vice Mayor Tollini countered that the people who would be penalized (by the ban) are the ones
who want to follow the rules.
Councilmember O'Donnell conceded that a ban would not necessarily stop the rentals; however,
he said this ordinance would help the Town address the other issues, and complaints.
Councilmember Fraser said that it was "early in the game" but that it was timely for the Town to
adopt its ordinance. He noted that the City of Belvedere had also banned rentals of less than 30
days; he said he did not know that the City of Sausalito had also adopted a ban.
Mayor Doyle said that even if the Town adopted a ban, he surmised that people would continue
to rent. Councilmember O'Donnell said that there were people who own property in town who
rent all the time; four houses alone, on his street.
Mayor Doyle asked about enforcing a regulation requiring "primary residency". O'Donnell
asked how this would be enforced.
Councilmember Fredericks said that she would like to make a motion.
MOTION: To read the ordinance by title only.
Moved: Fredericks, seconded by Fraser
Vote: AYES: Fraser, Fredericks, O'Donnell
NAYES: Doyle, Tollini
Mayor Doyle read, "An ordinance of the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon repealing
Title IV, Chapter 16, Section 16-40.040 (Seasonal Rental Units) of the Tiburon Municipal
Code and adopting a new Title IV, Chapter 16, Section 16.40.040 that prohibits Vacation
Rentals".
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015
August 19, 2015 Page 13
MOTION: To pass first reading of the ordinance, waive second reading, and adopt on Consent
Calendar at the next regular meeting.
Moved: Fredericks, seconded by O'Donnell
Vote: AYES: Fraser, Fredericks, O'Donnell
NAYES: Doyle, Tollini
3. Zoning Text Amendments — Consider amendments to Chapter 16 (Zoning) of the Tiburon
Municipal Code that would modify provisions regarding interpretation of Zone Boundaries
vis a vis Public Streets and Highways; clarify the separation of fences for purposes of height
measurement and modify certain provisions with respect to processing of permits for
Wireless Communications Facilities: Town -initiated amendments (Community Development
Department) — Introduction and first reading of ordinance
Director of Community Development Anderson said that the amendments pertained to three
sections of the Zoning Ordinance, and were non -controversial.
Mayor Doyle opened the public hearing.
Julie Shumelda asked what the term, "read by title only" referred to. Director Anderson said that
it was the method whereby the Council could introduce and pass first reading of an ordinance,
"reading by title only"; otherwise, he said the ordinance would have to be read in its entirety.
Mayor Doyle closed the public hearing.
MOTION: To read the ordinance by title only.
Moved: Fraser, seconded by O'Donnell
Vote: AYES: Unanimous
Mayor Doyle read, "An ordinance of the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon amending
Municipal Code Title IV, Chapter 16 (Zoning) regarding the interpretation of Zone
Boundaries and clarifying provisions related to the Separation of Fences and Fence Heights."
MOTION: To pass first reading of the ordinance, waive second reading, and adopt on Consent
Calendar at the next regular meeting.
Moved: Fredericks, seconded by O'Donnell
Vote: AYES: Doyle, Fraser, Fredericks, O'Donnell, Tollini
4. Fee Schedule Amendments — Recommendation to adopt revised fee schedules for the
Community Development Department and Public Works Department to reflect newly -created
permit and review processes (Director of Community Development Anderson)
Director of Community Development Anderson said that Town staff proposed revisions to the
fee schedules used by the Community Development Department and by the Town
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015
August 19, 2015 Page 14
Engineer/Public Works Department to reflect the creation of new permit types and processes
required by recently -enacted state and/or federal law.
Specifically, Anderson said a new fee is proposed to recover the costs of stormwater pollution
prevention plan review and inspection now required by Municipal Code Chapter 20A (Urban
Pollution Runoff Prevention) in response to recent changes in state and federal law. The fee
must of necessity appear on both fee schedules, but the fee will not be assessed twice if a plan
addresses all work (covering both public and private property) associated with a project.
Anderson noted that the new stormwater plan review process went into effect on July 1, 2015.
He said the Town intends to use the outside services of qualified firms and/or individuals, since
such plans must be reviewed and approved by a QSD (Qualified Stormwater Designer) and
inspected by either a QSD or QSP (Qualified Stormwater Practitioner); the proposed fees will
recover those outside costs.
The second amendment to the fee schedules resulted from procedures associated with wireless
communication facility administrative permits (a new process created in response to federal
regulations), and appeals of Building Official decisions associated with small residential rooftop
solar energy facilities (a new process created in response to state law).
Director Anderson said red -lined versions of the revisions were included in the staff report.
Councilmember O'Donnell commented that a whole new cottage industry of [stormwater]
inspectors was being created by the new regulations. He asked again about the definition of
major and minor projects, and resultant fees ($2,500 versus $500).
Town Engineer Barnes said that generally, an acre or more of disturbed area would be considered
a major project; he added that for normal construction, which would be monitored by Town staff,
the cost would be less.
O'Donnell asked whether the $2,500 fee was mandated by state law, or whether it was a fee to
cover Town costs. Director Anderson said that that the amount was based on an average of
estimated costs, and it would be an amount on deposit that could be drawn down, depending on
the project.
Councilmember Fraser asked whether the inspections would be done in-house or sent out.
Barnes said that the idea is to send out these inspections, as the inspections are needed after
grading and after rainfall and would be too much for the current manpower of the Town's
Building Department.
In response to a question from Councilmember O'Donnell, Town Engineer Barnes said that the
inspections would be required anytime a person pulled a grading permit, whether or not the land
was flat. He said 50 cubic yards of earth movement on a site would trigger this — something like
the installation of a swimming pool, retaining wall, and the like.
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015
August 19, 2015 Page 15
Director Anderson added that simple site excavation would not likely trigger the need for a
permit, but moving earth around a site in quantity likely would.
Vice Mayor Tollini confirmed that the regulations were state, not Town, driven.
Mayor Doyle opened the public hearing. There was no public comment.
Mayor Doyle closed the public hearing.
MOTION: To adopt the resolutions, as written.
Moved: O'Donnell, seconded by Fredericks
Vote: AYES: Unanimous
TOWN COUNCIL REPORTS
• Discussion of proposed freeway ramp metering at the Tiburon Boulevard and Highway 101
interchange (see July 13-17 Digest memo) — Mayor Doyle
Mayor Doyle gave an update on a meeting of Senator Maguire and local officials. He said the
meeting was well attended and that there was a lot of agreement among the municipalities who
were in attendance that the metering lights were not a good idea and there was no reason to
install them in this location. Rather, Doyle said the electeds had suggested that CalTrans look at
the bigger picture problems, such as improving the merge lanes on northbound 101 and adding a
third lane to the Richmond Bridge.
Councilmember Fredericks said that the skepticism regarding the metering lights was a concern.
She said that 80,000 cars per day passed through this interchange, and the roads leading up to the
interchange were jammed, as well. She said that earlier this year, TAM had hired David Parisi to
do a study develop data on the use of local roads for approaches to the 101 interchange. She said
the counts would be repeated later this year.
Fredericks noted that the metering project is part of a statewide project, and includes the
interchanges from Sausalito all the way to Greenbrae. She said we have an interest in its success
and that it could be fine-tuned once it was in place.
Councilmembers Fraser and O'Donnell disagreed, and asked why money should be spent on this
in the first place. Councilmember Fraser commented that, in any event, he had heard there was
no funding in place for the project.
Fraser said that at the meeting, Senator Maguire had stated that no decisions would be made at
this time, and that the project would be sent back for review with CalTrans and come back to
local officials in October.
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015 August 19, 2015 Page 16
Councilmember O'Donnell maintained that ramp metering is not the issue; that the 580
interchange is the issue.
Councilmember Fredericks agreed that fixing the 580 interchange was part of a longer-term
solution; she said that the third lane on the bridge and the metering lights were interim solutions.
She said that TAM would continue to work with Senator Maguire on this matter.
On another subject, Councilmember Fraser reported that the Yellow Bus Challenge had exceeded its
goal of selling 1200 bus passes. He also reported that the Town of Corte Madera had agreed last
night to contribute $25,000 in funding for the effort.
Mayor Doyle commended Councilmembers Fraser and O'Donnell for their efforts, which he
described as "remarkable". He also thanked Town staff, commending Chief Cronin in particular for
his work on the bus routes and schedules.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT
None.
WEEKLY DIGESTS
• Town Council Weekly Digests — July 17, 24 & 31, 2015
• Town Council Weekly Digests — August 7 & 14, 2015
ADJOURNMENT - in inemoly offorrner Building Official, Dean Bloomquist
Councilmember Fredericks noted the passing and many contributions of Deb Hubsmith, who she
said had helped lead the development of Marin County Safe Routes to School, and served as the
first Executive Director of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition. Fredericks said that we had a lot
to thank her for.
Mayor Doyle said that he had met Ms. Hubsmith through his work on the CART committee; he
said she had a huge amount of dedication in the work she had brought forward.
Mayor Doyle said Dean Bloomquist worked for the Town for 20 years and served as the Town's
first building official for 17 of those years, from 1993 until his retirement in 2010. The Mayor
said that Dean was known for his excellent judgment and managing incredible workloads and
inspection schedules. He said he was also known for his sense of humor, a profound sense of
fairness, and was the champion of the frail, the elderly, and sometimes naive homeowners when
he thought they were being taken advantage of.
Town Council Minutes #16 -2015
August 19, 2015 Page 17
Mayor Doyle shared his own memories of the former Building Official who he said helped his
family, as well as other residents, achieve a successful result in the construction of their home in
Tiburon.
There being no further business before the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon, Mayor Doyle
adjourned the meeting at 9:56 p.m.
ATTEST:
fi
DIANE CRANE IPXOPI, TOWN CLERK
Town Council Minutes #16-2015
August 19, 2015 Page 18