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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTC Minutes 2017-04-05 TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING —7:15 P.M. On April 5, 2017, the Council held a special meeting as follows: CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Councilmember Fredericks, Councilmember Tollini, Vice Mayor O'Donnell, Mayor Fraser; Councilmember Doyle was absent. INTERVIEW FOR VACANCIES ON TOWN BOARDS & COMMISSIONS (Marin Commission on Aging—One Vacancy for Tiburon appointee) • Kathleen "Sue" Kwentus, 6 Ned's Way ADJOURNMENT—to regular meeting REGULAR MEETING— 7:30 P.M. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Fraser called the regular meeting of the Tiburon Town Council to order at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5, 2017, in Town Council Chambers, 1505 Tiburon Boulevard, Tiburon, California. ROLL CALL PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Doyle (at 7:42 p.m.), Fraser, Fredericks, O'Donnell, Tollini PRESENT: EX OFFICIO: Town Manager Chanis, Town Attorney Stock, Director of Public Works/Town Engineer Barnes, Director of Community Development Anderson, Planning Manager Watrous, Town Clerk Stefan] ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT CALENDAR CC-1. Town Council Minutes — Adopt summary of March 3, 2017 special meeting (Town Clerk Stefani) Councilmember Fredericks requested the following change be made to page 1, paragraph 6: "...particularly as other regional agencies will be competing for available funds."She also requested Town Council Minutes #07-2017 April 5, 2017 Page 1 page 4,paragraph 5 to read as"...adding language to the guidelines to better define shared views as applicable to underdeveloped lots and borrowed views as applicable to vacant lots." Mayor Fraser requested the following change be made to page 2,paragraph 1:"Mayor Fraser asked if the Town should include the subsidy in the next budget as a line item while we continue looking for funding sources" and "...could be early renegotiation to the current First Student bus contract." CC-2. 77 East View Avenue — Consider adoption of resolution to grant appeal of Design Review Board approval of a site plan and architectural review for the construction of a new single-family dwelling (Community Development Department) CC-3. Library Fee Waiver — Consider request from Belvedere-Tiburon Library Agency to waive processing fees for time extensions for Library Expansion Project (Community Development Department) CC-4. Investment Summary—Adopt report for month ending February 28, 2017(Director of Administrative Services Bigall) CC-5. Ferry Dock Renovation — Recommendation to award the Tiburon Ferry Dock Accessibility Improvement Project to Massa Construction(Department of Public Works) A member of the public,Michael Heckmann,requested that Item No. CC-2(77 East View Avenue) be removed from the Consent Calendar for discussion. Motion: To adopt Consent Calendar Items 1 & 3-5, as amended. Moved: O'Donnell, seconded by Tollini Vote: AYES: Unanimous CC-2. 77 East View Avenue — Consider adoption of resolution to grant appeal of Design Review Board approval of a site plan and architectural review for the construction of a new single-family dwelling (Community Development Department) Michael Heckmann, architect for the applicant,did not feel the portion of the resolution referencing the proposed Floor Area Exception reflected the fair findings of the Council in their decision to uphold the appeal filed against a proposed home at 77 East View Avenue. Riley Hurd, attorney for the appellants, said the resolution does support the findings of the Council and asked that the Council adopt the resolution as drafted. Mayor Fraser closed the floor for public comment. Councilmember Tollini asked for clarification that when a new home is proposed, if a Floor Area Exception is included,the decision will fall to the Design Review Board.Planning Manager Watrous said the next step will be the submittal of a new application, which will likely include a request for Town Council Minutes 907-2017 April 5, 2017 Page 2 Variances and a Floor Area Exception. He said the FAE should be included in the resolution to reflect the denial of the entire application:the Site Plan and Architectural Review,the Variances and the Floor Area Exception, all of which were previously approved by the Design Review Board. Vice Mayor O'Donnell said that the Floor Area Exception did not play into the Council's decision for denial of the application, as long as the "bulk" of the home remained on the lower levels. Councilmember Tollini agreed,but commented that the inclusion of the Floor Area Exception in the resolution was procedural, and for the sake of consistency. She further commented that when a new proposal is submitted, if an FAE is included, it will be considered by the Design Review Board. Councilmember Fredericks believed the Council should adopt the resolution, as drafted, because there had been Council discussion and concern over the size of the home. She said the new application, and perhaps Floor Area Exception, would then be considered by the Design Review Board, in the context of the new design. Mayor Fraser and Vice Mayor O'Donnell agreed. Motion: To adopt Consent Calendar Item 2, as written. Moved: Fredericks, seconded by O'Donnell VOTE: AYES: Fraser, Fredericks, O'Donnell, Tollini ABSENT: Doyle ACTION ITEMS AI-1. Annual General Plan Status Report— Consider acceptance of Annual General Plan Implementation Status Report (Community Development Department) Director of Community Development Anderson gave the staff report.He said Town staff attempts to update the Council each year on the programs that were set forth in the General Plan. He also commented that the General Plan, adopted in 2005, has "withstood the test of time", but will be in need of a comprehensive update in the next three to five years. Councilmember Fredericks asked if Tiburon has housing by-right zones. Director Anderson said the Town's housing by-right zones are the Neighborhood Commercial Affordable Housing Overlay Zones. Mayor Fraser opened the floor for public comment. There was none. Councilmember Tollini thought the report was well-done and thorough. She said it was helpful to see progress presented in this manner. Vice Mayor O'Donnell wondered why the downtown flooding issue was not included in the report. Director Anderson said that the flooding issues downtown had intensified since the General Plan was developed, and the Town is attempting to address the issue through the Capital hnprovement Town Council Minuies #07-2017 April 5, 2017 Page 3 Program. He added that it could certainly be included in the next General Plan revisions. Town Manager Chanis added that a study had been done to fix the flooding problems, and funding will be included in a future budget to address the issues at the specific intersection in question. Mayor Fraser referred to the project"Review and Revise Parking Regulations for Downtown". He said he was disappointed more progress had not been made,and asked to raise the priority to"High". Vice Mayor O'Donnell volunteered to assist Mayor Fraser in his work on parking projects. Mayor Fraser requested that the downtown farmer's market should be added to the report. He said this project had brought about great positive change to Tiburon's downtown. MOTION: To accept the Annual General Plan Implementation Status Report, as amended. Moved: Fredericks, seconded by Tollini Vote: AYES: Unanimous AI-2. Town Undergrounding Policy—Consider rescission of current policy&discuss general benefit Town Manager Chanis gave the staff report. He said the Council has expressed interest in making revisions to the Town's undergrounding policy. He said the sub-committee formed to revise the policy has met, and has requested that the Council rescind the current policy to allow the sub- committee time to revise the policy and come back to Council with a recommendation.He added that the two currently proposed undergrounding districts will not be affected by the rescission. He said the sub-committee is considering revisions to several parts of the policy including: contribution by the Town, if any, the necessary level of neighborhood support of the district, and how to fund biddable plans for the proposed district. Chanis said the Council may provide direction to the sub-committee tonight on any of these points. Mayor Fraser asked how the current policy defines the necessary level of neighborhood support. Town Manager Chanis said the threshold is driven in part by state law(at least 50%of all land area must be in favor), and in part by the Town's policy (60% of all parcels must be in favor). Vice Mayor O'Donnell also clarified that tonight's discussion was also a request for authorization to hire an attorney to assist in drafting the policy. Chanis confirmed. Mayor Fraser opened the floor to public. Jack Ryan, 757 Hawthorne Drive, introduced himself as one of the proponents of the Hawthorne Undergrounding District. He said one of the key obstacles to successful undergrounding is the upfront cost, and showed a comparative schedule of similar municipalities in California and examples from their undergrounding policies.He believed that the Town should contribute funds to the startup of potential districts to support undergrounding. Mr. Ryan also argued that proponents should contribute more as well, so they feel invested in the project. Town Council Mimics 907-2017 April 5, 2017 Page 4 O'Donnell said he was in agreement with Mr. Ryan on two other points: that the Town should implement a new petition process, and to ensure that the undergrounding process is "neighbor- friendly". He said the latter was an important issue to consider, because these issues can and do create tension in neighborhoods. Councilmember Fredericks thought the future policy should include a greater degree of engineering so the initial estimate is more accurate, both a legal and policy definition of general benefit, an increase in the required number of proponents(who sign the petition),and an increase in the required contribution. She thought these points would add to the goal of creating a neighborhood consensus with a greater degree of certainty for proponents, and less risk for the Town. O'Donnell asked if the Town is able to create a policy that precludes the Town from paying for general benefit. Town Attorney Stock said the Town cannot create a policy that states that there is no general benefit,but can create policy that states that the Town will not pay for the general benefit,or define how much it contributes. Fredericks said the new policy should include more definition as to how general benefit is handled. O'Donnell asked if the Town's financial contribution, if any,could be challenged legally,based on the engineer's estimate of general benefit or if the Town has paid for it in other districts. Stock said the Town's contribution could not be challenged. He added that the Town is not obligated to do any undergrounding assessment district or pay for it;it is all done at the discretion of the Town Council, and is not bound by precedent of previous districts. Mayor Fraser said the existing policy states that the Town does not contribute funds to any costs of an undergrounding assessment district, but for the first time,a general benefit has been determined. The question the Council must answer now is who will pay for it.Chanis confirmed.He clarified that the policy states that the Town will not contribute unless funds are available. O'Donnell said the Town did pay for a portion of a previous undergrounding district that had been assessed to the school district. Chanis confirmed, but said that assessment was not general benefit. O'Donnell believed that proponents of the district should invest more upfront; he said the current amount of fundraising required does not cover engineering or design costs. He thought it would be a good idea to include in the future policy. MOTION: To rescind the current Undergrounding Policy Moved: Fredericks, seconded by O'Donnell VOTE: AYES: Unanimous AI-3. Upcoming Town Council Vacancies—Receive report on options and requirements to fill unscheduled vacancies on the Town Council and consider clarifications to the Town Appointments Policy Town Council Minutes #07-2017 April 5, 2017 Page 5 Town Manager Chanis gave the staff report. He said that there were two pending vacancies on the Council, as a result of the resignations of Councilmembers Doyle and Tollini. He said that because both resignations will occur in the first half of their terms of office, the Town will hold a special election in November to elect two councilmembers to serve for the remainder of the two terms. Until November,the Council may opt to leave both seats vacant or make two interim appointments. He said the Town's Appointments Policy has been used in the past to guide the process for making appointments to the Town Council,but the policy limits the timeline of advertisement of the vacancy to no sooner than twenty days prior to the vacancy. He recommended the Council decide if it desires to make interim appointments to the Council, and if so,determine if advertising sooner than twenty days prior to the effective dates of the vacancies would be appropriate. Mayor Fraser opened the floor for public comment. There was none. Vice Mayor O'Donnell suggested the Council proceed with making interim appointments and begin advertising the vacancies now. The rest of the Council agreed. MOTION: To proceed with making two interim appointments to the Town Council, to serve until the November special election,and to direct staff to begin advertising and to set up interviews for interim appointment. Moved: Fredericks, seconded by Doyle VOTE: AYES: Unanimous AI4. Consolidate Municipal Elections with Statewide Elections — Consider adoption or amendments to ordinance amending Tiburon Municipal Code to change general municipal elections from November of odd-numbered years to November of even- numbered years Town Manager Chanis gave the staff report. He reminded the Council of the required changes to the Town's election schedule. He said the Council had previously voted to alter terms of office of 2017 and 2019 candidates for office to three-year terms to get on track with even-numbered year elections. Chanis said the Council has the opportunity tonight to either adopt the ordinance effecting that change, or reconsider the chosen plan to comply with SB 415. Due to the two resignations from the Town Council, the Town will be required to hold a special election to fill those two seats in November,to coincide with the general election for the remaining three seats on the Council.He said if the Council desires to avoid a five-seat election,it should consider instead extending incumbents' terms of office by one year. He said this option would maintain staggered election years,as the three Councilmembers whose terms would have expired in November 2017 (that of Councilmember Fredericks, Vice Mayor O'Donnell and Mayor Fraser),will remain in office until November 2018. Mayor Fraser opened the floor for public comment. There was none. Town Council Minutes 407-2017 April 5, 2017 Page 6 Councilmember Fredericks expressed her desire to resume four-year, staggered term elections as soon as possible. She said that prior to the resignations,there was a clear solution to shorten terms of office of future candidates to comply with the law. But based on the circumstances, she believed it was important to ensure continuity of leadership and to avoid a five-seat election. Vice Mayor O'Donnell commented that the Council had just taken action to pursue making interim appointments to the Town Council this year. He believed that many excellent and experienced candidates will come forward.He agreed that a five-seat election is not ideal,but did not believe that the Town Council would suffer. He further commented that he believes in the integrity of the electoral process. Mayor Fraser believed that the unusual situation would warrant the extension of the incumbents' terms by one year. He said the Tiburon community has operated well, in great part due to the mentoring relationships among the Town leadership,in which Councilmembers help each other learn and understand the Town's legacy and values. Councilmembers Tollini and Doyle expressed their intentions to abstain from the vote. Town Attorney Stock said that because the change was to be enacted by ordinance, a majority of the Council (three votes) would need to vote in favor for the amended ordinance to pass. O'Donnell expressed reservations about another year of service. He said he works to ensure he can dedicate the time necessary to the Town Council, and the various other boards and committees on which he serves, but personal circumstances might prevent him from doing the same next year. He argued that many qualified applicants will seek interim appointment to the Council, and the appointees will ideally run for those seats in November. He said he does not share trepidation of a five-seat election, and expressed confidence that those elected will still ensure continuity of leadership. He said he would not vote to extend the terms. Councilmember Tollini agreed that many qualified candidates will step forward, but there are still uncertainties. She believed the best route forward would be to adopt the amended ordinance, extending incumbents' terms by one year. Councilmember Doyle also agreed that qualified candidates will step forward,but still said he would not vote to extend his fellow Councilmembers' terms. Mayor Fraser called for a vote. MOTION: To effectuate the amended ordinance and comply with Senate Bill 415 by amending the Tiburon Municipal Code to change the date of general municipal elections to even- numbered years by extending all incumbents' terms of office by twelve months. Moved: Fredericks, seconded by Fraser VOTE: AYES: Fraser, Fredericks, Tollini NAYS: Doyle, O'Donnell Town Council Minutes#07-2017 April 5, 2017 Page 7 Mayor Fraser and Town Manager Chanis further explained that the ordinance will extend all incumbents' terms of office by one year. The three Councilmembers, whose terms would have expired in 2017,will instead expire in 2018,and their successors will then resume 4-year terms.The two Councilmembers elected in the special election in 2017,would have,prior to the adoption of the ordinance,served until 2019,will serve until 2020,at which time their successors will also resume 4- year terms. Mayor Fraser opened the floor for public comment on the amended ordinance. George Landau wondered if the Town Council will only consider making interim appointments to the Town Council from current Board or Commission members. Mayor Fraser said the Council will consider anyone who wishes to be considered for the interim appointments, with the hope that that person may have aspirations to run for the seat in the November special election. MOTION: To introduce the ordinance and read by title only, waiving further reading, schedule for adoption at the next regular meeting and motion to hold a roll call vote on the introduction of the ordinance, as written. Moved: Fredericks, Fraser Vote: AYES: Fraser, Fredericks, Tollini NAYS: Doyle, O'Donnell Mayor Fraser read "An Ordinance of the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon, California, Amending Title 1, Chapter 2, Section 2-3.3 of the Town of Tiburon Municipal Code to Change the Date of General Municipal Elections from November of Odd-Numbered Years to November of Even-Numbered Years". ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: Fraser, Fredericks, Tollini NAYS: Doyle, O'Donnell TOWN COUNCIL REPORTS Councilmember Fredericks gave a report from the Golden Gate Bridge District on the Tiburon ferry. She said the ferry has good ridership, and she said there will be extensive public outreach to study possible schedule changes. She hoped the Town would extend its thanks to the Bridge District for their service. TOWN MANAGER REPORT None. WEEKLY DIGESTS Received. Town Council Minutes #07-2017 April S, 2017 Page 8 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Town Council o 11e Town of Tiburon, Mayor Fraser adjourned the meeting at 8:50 p.m. JIM F R Y R ATTEST: r LEA STEFAM, TOWN CLERK Town Council Minutes #07-2017 April 5, 2017 Page 9