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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTC Min 2000-04-05 ,...... TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Mayor Gram called the regular meeting of the Tiburon Town Council to order at 7:35 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5, 2000, in Town Council Chambers, 1505 Tiburon Boulevard, Tiburon, California. . A. ROLL CALL PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Bach, Gram, Hennessy, Matthews, Thompson PRESENT: EX OFFICIO: Town Manager Kleinert, Town Attorney Danforth, Planning Director Anderson, Associate Planner Theriault, Senior Planner Watrous, Superintendent of Public Works Iacopi, Police Lt. Aiello, Town Clerk Crane Iacopi B. ANNOUNCEMENT OF CLOSED SESSION ACTION (If aRv) Mayor Gram said there was no closed session. ,,-.. C. PUBLIC OUESTIONS AND COMMENTS None. D. REDWOOD ffiGH SCHOOL & POLICE DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION 1) "EVERY 15 MINUTES - (prevention and Education Program with the Goal of Reducing Alcohol-Related Incidents among Youth) Officer Mike Mourgos of the Tiburon Police Department introduced Detective Patty Monge of the Larkspur Police Department who described the program. Redwood High School student Ellie Sherman said the program was a very effective tool. She invited Council to attend the next session, set for April 26 and 27 at Redwood High School. E. COUNCIL. COMMISSION & COMMl"lTEE REPORTS Councilmember Hennessy said she would be attending a LAFCO meeting in Novato on April 25. Town Manager Kleinert informed Council that Boy Scout Troop 48, longest running scout troop in Marin County, was in the audience. Mayor Gram handed out certificates to the scouts. F. 2) 3) 4) CONSENT CALENDAR TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES - #1186 - March 1,2000 & #1187 - March 15, 2000- (Adopt) TOWN COUNCIL MONTHLY INVESTMENT SUMMARY - As of February 29, 2000 - (Accept) TAMALPAIS HIGH SCHOOL STATE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS - (Adopt Resolution of Commendation) "'-.. Town Council Minutes #1188 April 5, 2000 Page 1 -- 5) 6) FAIR HOUSING OF MARIN - April 2000 as Fair Housing Month - (Adopt Proclamation) MARIN GRAND JURY REPORT - CONSLIDATION OF EMERGENCY DISPATCH SERVICES - (Authorize Mayor Gram's Response) MOTION: Moved: Vote: To approve Consent Calendar Items 2 through 6, above Matthews, Seconded by Bach AYES: Unanimous G. PUBLIC HEARING 7) 1864 CENTRO WEST - Modification of Design Review Approval & Request for Variance for as -built Deck and Retaining Walls - AP #59-061-37 - (David & Diane Williams, Applicants) Senior Planner Watrous gave the Staff Report. He said the applicants sought as-built approval of a deck and retaining walls at 1864 Centro West which were not constructed in conformance with the design drawings approved by the Town Council (pursuant to a settlement agreement with the Williams') in 1996. Watrous said that a neighbor and the Town's Building Official had noticed the discrepancies during construction, and when brought to the Williams' attention, they subsequently filed for Site Plan and Architectural Review and Variance applications. ,- Watrous said the deck extending off the master bedroom on the third floor of the house was constructed four feet further to the rear of the property than previously approved, thereby impacting the privacy of the neighbor at 1868 Centro West. Watrous also said that the retaining walls constructed along the rear property line reached a maximum of nine feet, which was greater that the six foot maximum wall height previously approved, as well as exceeding the maximum wall height required by the Tiburon Zoning Ordinance for walls within required setbacks. He said Staffhad measured from the base of the wall to the top of the wall to determine its height. Council posed some questions for Staff concerning the report. Mayor Gram asked if there was any question about the [retaining] walls being engineered properly. Councilmember Bach commented that the increased height might well require re-engineering and raised questions about the wall's integrity. CounciImember Matthews referred to a letter from the Williams' attorney and asked Staff whether the questions raised in it carried any weight. Senior Planner Watrous stated that in his opinion they did not. Mayor Gram opened the public hearing. Dave Williams, applicant, said the approved plans for the project said the [retaining] walls could __ be up to nine feet, although they had agreed to no more than six feet. He stated that they had not Town Council Minutes #1188 April 5, 2000 Page 2 __ raised the height of the walls and that they had submitted "lots of documents to the town to prove it." He also said their surveyor who had measured the walls to grade had said they were no more than an inch or two too tall in some places. Mr. Williams said the impression that they had raised the height was not so because, in fact, they had had to dig deeper in some areas in order to reach bedrock and therefore the walls just went deeper, not taller. He also said problems were encountered during the pool excavation, such as debris caving into the excavated area, which forced them to keep digging deeper. Mr. Williams acknowledged that the wall was nine feet tall in one area but [the surrounding area] had since been regraded and compacted to accommodate it. He also said the formboards they had used during the [ concrete] pour were 14 feet tall which may have given a wrong impression. Williams said one side of the wall was tied to the house structurally so that it was important for its integrity. He also said he was unaware of a Town rule concerning measuring the combined height of two walls within three horizontal feet of each other. Williams said they had attempted to keep the dust and truck impact on Town streets to a minimum. He said it would be a hardship to change the walls now, because the yard area had already been filled and compacte4 as part of the drainage plan. ,- With regard to the deck modification, Mr. Williams said they could look into the neighbor's window [at 1868 Centro West] from any place on the deck even if the disputed section was removed. He said it "looks like we tried to sneak in a bigger deck" when in fact they had "knocked off 1500 square feet" during the planning process. Alice Strauss, 1819 Mar West, said the retaining wall was definitely higher than six feet, and that it struck her as not being in the best interests of the Town to allow variances after the fact. Dave Slate, 1865 Mar West, said the wall looked like it was more than six feet and asked why the Williams would apply for a variance if it were not so. He said many of the neighbors were not happy to begin with since the project had gotten "approved through a loophole" in the first place, which resulted in a much larger house than originally planned. Mr. Slate also expressed concern about whether the wall would hold. Jeff Kaiser, 1857 Mar West, directly below the house and the wall, expressed concern that the houses below might be in jeopardy due to the 50% increase in the height and the amount of backfill. Winston Franklin, 1805 Mar West, said his concern had always been the steeply sloping lot with too much construction on it. He said the Town and Design Review Board had'turned down the project but the court had reversed the decision and allowed a much bigger project. ,- Town CouncilMinules #1188 April 5, 2000 Page 3 r-- Mr. Franklin echoed the concern about the "hazard" of a 50% increase to the wall and said that the Town should not tolerate defiance of its laws. Councilmember Hennessy asked Staff about the approved grade. Senior Planner Watrous said the survey done by the applicant showed that the top of the wall matched the approved plan, but noted that the grade had been lowered. Councilmember Bach asked theoretically what a person should do when they find themselves in the situation described by Mr. Williams, requiring him to dig deeper than expected. Senior Planner Watrous said one solution would be to build more than one wall and create a separation. Mayor Gram asked what should have been done in this instance. Senior Planner Watrous said the applicants should have come to the Town with a different design in order to comply with the Town's rules prior to construction. Vice Mayor Thompson asked whether the wall was higher than six feet and/or at the proper elevation. Watrous said the Building Official had inspected the project on several occasions and had determined that the wall was higher than six feet. He also said that elevation was not relevant to the [requirements of the] Zoning Ordinance. r- Councilmember Hennessy asked whether the area could be back-filled more in order to cover the lower portion of the wall. Senior Planner Watrous said that the Building Official had determined that such fill would slough off or would, by default, have to be placed on a neighbor's property. Mr. Williams suggested that Council go up to the project and measure the wall which he claimed was not offby more than an inch except where the curved wall split off from the other wall. He also said he would not do anything until "an expert" gave an opinion as to the wall height and slope. Vice Mayor Thompson said the wall was obviously taller than he was as he looked down on it and not in the area Mr. Williams was discussing. Mayor Gram asked how the Town measured the heights of separate walls constructed close to each other. Senior Planner Watrous said the Town's internal administrative policy stated that the walls within three feet of each other were considered to be one wall for purposes of calculating waU height. Senior Planner Watrous said it was the Town policy, not an ordinance, which had been sent in writing via a letter from the Town's Building Official to the Williams. He also said Mr. Williams' own section drawings showed the wall height as more than six feet. Mayor Gram asked how an engineer or contractor would know about the Town's [height measurement] policy. Senior Planner Watrous indicated that Staff would inform them of it as /"' part of the application process. Town Council Minutes # 1188 April 5, 2000 Page 4 r"' Planning Director Anderson said the soil engineers hired by the Williams' had originally planned retaining walls up to nine feet, but that the Town Council had placed a specific condition to limit the height of the walls to six feet during the 1996 approval hearing. Council concurred that further clarification was needed regarding how the walls were measured. MOTION: To continue the hearing regarding the retaining wall to the May 3,2000 Council meeting. [No action was taken regarding the as-built deck.] Council directed Staff to have the Building Official present at the meeting. Mr. Williams was asked to have his engineer available as well, if possible. 9) ZELINSKY P ARKIRAILROAD MARSH FLOODPLAIN LANDSCAPE PROJECT - Consider Adoption of Mitigated Negative Declaration and Approval of Landscaping and Related Improvements for Area behind 1501 & 1505 Tiburon Boulevard - AP #58-171-62 & 85 - (Adopt Resolution) r Planning Director Anderson reviewed the project drawings which called for no new lighting to be added, the removal of non-native plants, filling in the flood plain, and the addition of screening landscaping to the Pt. Tiburon/Marsh side. Anderson also said that there was a suggestion to add low shrubs or plants to keep people from coming and going through the Town HalI/Library parking lot, and that an entryway would be added away from that area. Vice Mayor Thompson commented that he thought the existing (straight-line) path would continue to be used through the area, rather than the proposed "loop" path. Allan Littman, Library Agency President, told Council what a privilege it had been to work with Town Manager Kleinert over the past 25 years. With regard to Zelinksy Park, he said the Board liked the plan, but said they had suggested a written policy to require parking on Mar West Street (rather than the Libraryrrown Hall lot) for events held at Zelinksy Plaza. Councilmember Hennessy commented that similar accommodation might need to be made to ensure public parking at Town Hall during events held at the Library. During public hearing, Maureen Miekle, Harbor Oak Drive, commented that the plan was "sufficiently peaceful and quiet." MOTION: To adopt Resolution Adopting a Negative Declaration and Approving the Project Proposing Improvement to the area located behind 1501 and 1505 Tiburon Boulevard (Zelinksy Park) Bach, Seconded by Matthews AYES: Bach, Gram, Matthews, Thompson ABSTAIN: Hennessy Moved: Vote: -- Town Council Minutes #1188 April5, 2000 Page 5 r-- Planning Director Anderson said that if detailed working drawings were developed, they would be bro,:!ght to the Council for final review. 10) 11 VIA P ARAlSO WEST - Consider Amendment to Del Madera Precise Development Plan to revise Building Envelope to Construct an Elevator on the North side of existing Residence - AP #39-290-05 - (Todd & Diane Garrett, Applicants) Associate Planner Theriault gave the Staff report said the Planning Commission had approved the revised building envelope to accommodate the addition of an elevator for two members of the applicant's household. Part of the above approval included removal of three trees to help protect a neighbor's view at 12 Via Paraiso West. In addition, the Commission recommended that the Design Review board consider lower-growth [replacement] trees to be placed near the proposed location of the elevator shaft. Ms. Theriault said that the request to alter the configuration of the building envelope for the subject property would be generally consistent with the intent of the Del Madera Precise Plan. Mayor Gram opened the public hearing. There was no public comment. MOTION: To adopt Resolution approving Amendment to the Del Madera Precise Development Plan (PD#23) to adjust the Building Envelope for Property Located at 11 Via Paraiso West - Assessor Parcel No. 39-29-05. Hennessy, Seconded by Thompson AYES: Unanimous ,.... Moved: VOTE: 11) 4930 PARADISE DRIVE - Town-Initiated Prezoningof .27 acres ofIand to RO-2 Zone- AP #38-052-08; Jeanne Rizzo & Pali Cooper, Owners - (2nd Reading and Adoption of Ordinance) Planning Director Anderson said the Council held first reading of the ordinance prezoning the subject property to RO-2 zone at its March 15, 2000 meeting. Mayor Gram opened the public hearing. There was no public comment. MOTION: Moved: Vote: To read ordinance by title only. Hennessy, Seconded by Thompson AYES: Unanimous Mayor Gram read, "An Ordinance of the Town Council of the Town ofTiburon Prezoning Approximately .27 Acres of Property located at 4930 Paradise Drive - Assessor Parcel No. 38- 052-08. " ,.... Town Council Minutes #1188 April 5, 2000 Page 6 -, , -- MOTION: Moved: Vote: To adopt above Ordinance. Hennessy, Seconded by Thompson AYES: Bach, Gram, Hennessy, Matthews, Thompson H. NEW BUSINESS 11) TOWN MANAGER POSITION - (Consider Proposed Timetable and Retention of Search Firm for Recruitment Process) Council agreed to appoint a subcommittee comprised of Mayor Gram and Councilmember Matthews to review the executive search firm proposals and make a recommendation to Council. 12) DOWNTOWN DESIGN GUIDELINES SELECTION COMMITTEE - (Appoint Town Council Representative) Mayor Gram noted that the committee's purpose was to create guidelines for zoning and Design Review, not beautification. Vice Mayor Thompson said that he had previously agreed to serve on the committee, and would continue to do so. L COMMUNICATIONS 13) BUILDING ADVISORY COMMITTEE - (Letter from Jim Wilson to Town Manager regarding Dissolution of Committee and Termination of Project Management Contract) r- It was noted that the Building Advisory Committee would terminate, along with the project management contract, effective March 31, 2000. 14) "MILLENIUM ON MAIN" NEW YEAR'S EVE CELEBRATION - (Final Comments and Financial Summary) Town Manager Kleinert presented the summary and said the Committee had authorized the $6,000 surplus to be transferred to the Town to pay for beautification improvements to downtown Main Street. Councilmember Hennessy commended the Committee for their excellent work. J. STAFF & TOWN MANAGER REPORTS 15) RAILROAD FERRY MUSEUM (DONAHUE BUILDING) - 1920 Paradise Drive - (Consider Removal of Eucalyptus Trees for Safety Purposes) Town Manager Kleinert said the item was primarily informational. He said the trees were on the property leased from the Town by Landmarks Society, who wanted to remove all the eucalyptus trees because they were causing an unsafe condition. -- Town CouncilMinules #1188 April5, 2000 Page 7 r-- 16) DOWNTOWN MAIN STREET IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT - (Oral Progress Report by Town Manager) Town Manager Kleinert informed Council of the progress of the Main Street project, including a delay caused by the discovery by various building owners that some of their [building] foundations were so deteriorated they would have to be reconstructed before work could continue on the new street and sidewalks. Council discussed the addition of trees to the downtown landscape plan. Vice Mayor Thompson said he wanted to go on record as being opposed to the addition of trees. Town Manager Kleinert said that some of the property owners and merchants wanted the Town to start a beautification plan while the construction was underway, and there was not time to hold public hearings on the matter. He said the downtown business owners had met with CounciImember Bach, Mayor Gram and Staff to discuss the wider sidewalks, elimination of the parking, the loading and unloading zones, landscaping and trees. K. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon, Mayor Gram adjourned the meeting at 9:25 p.m., sine die. -- TOM GRAM, MAYOR ~. ~ DIANE CRANE IACOPI, TOWN CLERK ,....... Town CouncUMinutes #1188 April 5, 2000 Page 8