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Home My WebLink AboutTC Min 1999-01-20 c_ _ ..-' " ,..-., TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Mayor Bach called the regular meeting of the Tiburon Town Council to order at 7:35 p.m. on Wednesday, January 20, 1999, 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, Finance Director StranzI, Superintendent of Public Works Iacop~ Town Clerk Crane B. ANNOUNCEMENT OF CLOSED SESSION ACTION at any) Mayor Bach said no action was taken in closed session. C. PUBLIC OUESTIONS AND COMMENTS None. r- D. 1) COUNCIL. COMMISSION & COMMITTEE REPORTS TOWN TREASURER'S ANNUAL REPORT - (Bill Osher) Treasurer Osher said that the Town had invested its funds (approximately 4.7 million dollars) in LAIF (Local Agency Investment Fund), created by statute in 1977. He said there was lots of oversight, and that LAIFs policies, goals and objectives were primarily capital preservation, diversity, liquidity and return. In response to a question from Councilmember Matthews, Osher said that LAIF did not use derivatives. Osher said that the 1998 overall return on investment was 5.6%. 2) TOWNS 35th ANNlVERSAY (June 23, 1999) CELEBRATION - (Mayor Bach) Mayor Bach said it had become a tradition to celebrate the Town's anniversary every five years since No. 25. He proposed combining the date with the Grand Opening of the new Tiburon Police Building, and possibly to hold a dinner dance at the Corinthian Yacht Club. Mayor Bach agreed to serve on the committee to plan the event. ,...., 3) MCCMC IT. SERVICES COORDINATION PROGRAM - (Councilmember Matthews) Councilmember Matthews said there were 35 different joint powers authorities in Marin County, and that he had been selected to serve as the Town's representative on a committee formed to make recommendations to the Master JP A and oversight authority. He asked Council to reaffirm Town CouncilMinules #1156 January 20, 1999 Page I .- ........ its support of the Master JP A, and for the proposed recommendation to hire one person to act as the director of the JP A. Council concurred. E. CONSENT CALENDAR 4) TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES # 1151 - January 6, 1999 - (Approve) 5) TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES - January 12, 1999 - (Accept) MOTION: Moved: Vote: To approve Consent Calendar, Items 4 & 5 above. Hennessy, Seconded by Thompson AYES: Unanimous F. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 6 & 7) TRAFFIC & PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ISSUES - (Councilmember Thompson) A) Reed Ranch Road/Tiburon Boulevard Intersection Improvements B) McKegney Green Access Improvements A) Councilmember Thompson said there had long been a problem for traffic attempting to turn left off Reed Ranch Road onto Tiburon Boulevard. He proposed moving the existing "merge" lane near Blackie's Pasture further west and creating a dedicated "turn into lane" for traffic coming from Reed Ranch Road. r-- Vice Mayor Gram said it would be helpful to see drawings of the proposal first, and Town Manager Kleinert said he would invite representatives from CALlTRANS to the February 17 Town Council meeting for a public hearing on the proposal. B) Council acknowledged the "dangerous situation" created when people walk on Tiburon Boulevard in order to take a shortcut to McKegney Green. Superintendent of Public Works Iacopi presented a drawing which would create a new, more direct path, while integrating it with the existing path near Pine Terrace. Iacopi said the existing path would have to be refinished at the same time. Mayor Bach also suggested asking the School District to fence off the Del Mar school side of Tiburon Boulevard to prevent people from illegally crossing Tiburon Boulevard at that location. Item continued. G. 8) NEW BUSINESS MARIN RENTAL HOUSING CRISIS - (Report by Marin Continuum of Housing and Services) ........ Town Council Minutes # 1156 January 20. 1999 Page 2 < : 1'...... Betty Pagett, Community Education Director for the Ecumenical Association for Housing, spoke on behalf of the Marin Housing Council and the Marin Continuum of Housing and Services. She said the Marin County Board of Supervisors had endorsed a paper describing the current rental housing crisis in Marin County, which she said was first noticed in Tiburon. Pagett noted that the median rent for two-bedroom apartments was $1330 and the vacancy rate was below 1 %, making rental units virtually unaffordable for many working families. According to Pagett, the median ~ paid in Marin County is $28,000, even though the County median income is listed at $48,000. She also noted that for seniors, the median income is $18,000, and said that 30% of Marin County senior rent. She asked the Town to take three steps in addressing the issue: 1) to recognize the crisis; 2) to prepare and implement plans to make affordable housing available [i.e. talk about 2nd units, new designs in architecture, and re-use of existing stock]; and 3) consider interceding in unreasonable rent increases by local landlords. ~ In response to a question from Town Manager Kleinert, Ms. Pagett said there had been a decrease in rental stock in the last 10 years, along with gentrification, so that even though 20,000 jobs had been created in that time, only 7,000 housing units had been created, of which only 700 were affordable. Wendy Buchen, Belvedere resident and member of the Marin Commission on Aging, said the Marin Housing Authority is closing its waiting list for housing to the elderly and disabled, thereby reiterating the nature of the shortage oflow-income and affordable housing. 9) CORTE MADERA HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE - (possible Impacts on Town of Tiburon) Planning Director Anderson said the Town of Corte Madera had been required to update its Housing Element as the result a lawsuit filed by Legal Aid of Marin. As a result, Anderson said several sites had been proposed for possible affordable housing developments, including a I5-acre parcel adjacent to Robin Drive. Anderson said that until the draft housing element report was completed, and the Town of Tiburon was able to see that Corte Madera was proposing, Staff could not comment on any particular plan. In response to a question from Councilmember Matthews, Planning Director Anderson said the report might be available by mid-February, and that a public hearing had been scheduled in Corte Madera for February 25, 1999. I'" Before opening the public hearing, Mayor Bach commented that a flyer [referred to by The Ark newspaper as a "hate flyer"] which was part of the Staff report exhibits, was "mean-spirited," and Town Council Minutes # 1156 January 20, 1999 Page 3 , ; ,,-... that the author would not be invited to speak tonight. Ann Thull, Taylor Road Homeowner's Association President, agreed that the above-mentioned flyer had "hurt us all," but stated that she and her neighbors still had concerns about the proposed housing density and traffic issues. She said that there were no sidewalks nor shoulder on Paradise Drive, and that even if the proposed housing was "expensive condos," they would be opposed. Councilmember Hennessy said the flyer had sent her into a "rage," and she asked those members of the audience "not to be afraid of people who don't make as much money as you do." Hennessy noted that she used to live in The Hilarita, a low-income housing development, and that she now lived at Pt. Tiburon Marsh in affordable housing. She said examples of others who lived there in affordable housing units were an employee of Sanitary District No.5, the City Clerk of Belvedere, and the Tiburon Building Department Secretary. A resident of Paradise Cay, 118 St. Thomas Way, read a letter from the President of the Paradise Cay Homeowner's Association, which opposed the rezoning of the Robin Drive area parcel, claiming it would increase the [current] low density population by seven fold. The letter challenged the Town of Corte Madera to make subsequent modifications to Paradise Drive if it went forward with the proposal. """ Belle Holden, Taylor Road, thanked Staff for taking the time to review the issue and prepare a report. Mayor Bach closed the public hearing. Council directed Planning Director Anderson to write a letter to the Town of Corte Madera expressing the voiced concerns, and to keep Council informed of progress on the issue. Councilmember Hennessy asked that it not be a unanimous message opposing the project, since she had long supported low-income and affordable housing. 10) REVIEW OF LAFCO POLICIES - (planning Director) Continued to February 3, 1999. 11) 1999-2000 MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW - (Finance Director) Finance Director Stranzl said the Town's General Fund was "healthy" with projected revenues up by approximately $147,000. He also noted that expenses were higher but would still be outstripped by revenue, resulting in a net operating budget figure of $90,000 by year end. Concerning Capital Improvements, Stranzl noted that the Town would complete $600,000 in street repairs by year-end, in addition to almost $800,000 of drainage repairs, the latter through Flood Control grants funds. I'" Town Council Minutes # 1156 January 20, 1999 Page 4 I . I'~ 12) SELECTION OF NEW TOWN AUDITOR - (Consider Committee Recommendations) Council waived the staff report, and voted 5-0 to select Odenberg, Ullakko & Muranishi as Town auditors. 13) TOWN HALL FRIDAY AFTERNOON CLOSURE - (Consider Change in Current Closure Policy from Thursday to Friday P.M.) Council waived the Staff report, and voted unanimously to adopt the recommendation, in keeping with the majority of Marin cities. H. STAFF & TOWN MANAGER REPORTS 14) TffiURON MILLENNIUM CELEBRATION - (Town Manager) Town Manager Kleinert said a select committee was working on ideas for the celebration and he would keep Council informed. Councilmember Hennessy asked that the proposed ticket price s be kept affordable. 15) TOWN COUNCIL/STAFF RETREAT - Consider Date & Location Recommendations - (Town Manager) Council chose Tuesday, February 23, location to be determined. In addition, March 9 was selected as the date for an Employee Recognition dinner. ,- 16) MCCMC - TOWN OF TffiURON HOST MEETING, May 1999 - (Town Manager) Town Manager Kleinert asked Council to consider topics and speakers. 17) TOWN COUNCIL/HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATIONS WORKSHOP - March or April, 1999 - (Town Manager) Council selected Tuesday, April 27 as the tentative date. L ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon, Mayor Bach adjourned the meeting at 9:35 p.m., sine die. M~SB~4 77L DIANE L. CRANE, TOWN CLERK -. Town Council Minutes # 1156 January 20. 1999 Page 5