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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTC Min 2002-01-02 ,..... TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES INTERVIEWS - (planning Commission) 7:00 - Molly Stadum 7:10 - Melvyn Mark 7:20 - Franco Mortarotti CALL TO ORDER Mayor Matthews called the regular meeting of the Tiburon Town Council to order at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 2, 2002, in Town Council Chambers, 1505 Tiburon Boulevard, Tiburon, California. ROLL CALL PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Fredericks, Gram, Matthews, Slavitz, Thompson PRESENT: EX OFFICIO: Town Manager McIntyre, Planning Director Anderson, Director of Public Works/Town Engineer Echols, Chief of Police Odetto, Assistant to the Town Manager McVeigh, Town Clerk Crane Iacopi -- CLOSED SESSION CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - ANTICIPATED LITIGATION (Section 54956.9(b)(3)(B) Claimant: MERA demand for antenna site approval from the Town of Tiburon CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - PENDING LITIGATION (Section 54956.9(a)) Claimant: State of California v. Robert L. Kleinert, Executive Officer, Tiburon Redevelopment Agency ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION. IF ANY Mayor Matthews said no action was taken in closed session on legal matters that were still pending. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS . David Hewitt, Falun Gong Practioner, read statement and asked for a Council proclamation in support ofFalun Gong. -. Town Council Minutes # 01-2002 January 2, 2002 Page 1 ,..... . John Lauer, 346 Karen Way, said he was appealing a $600 fine issued by the Tiburon Building Department for kitchen demolition which he started prior to the issuance of his building permit. . Robert Chandler, 695 Hilary Drive, said he was concerned that the Town's permit process was not adequate to address problems at the construction site on 30 Del Mar. . Joe Keller, 699 Hilary Drive, a) requested screening of 30 Del Mar, which he said should never have been approved, and b) urged Council to oppose "any further desecration of the streets and views of Tiburon" by allowing a proposed fiber optic wiring program as reported in the Marin Independent Journal. . Mr. Bruce Pendergrass asked ifItem No. 12 was being continued. Mayor Matthews affirmed this. CONSENT CALENDAR 1) Approval of Town Council Minutes - November 28,2001 2) Approval of Town Council Minutes - December 5, 2001 - AMENDED Mayor Matthews asked for the addition of the phrase "and private" to a paragraph on page 4 of the minutes pertaining to public and private funding sources for the new downtown fountain project. ,..... 3) Approval of Town Council Minutes - December 17,2001 4) Report by Finance Director - Monthly Investment Summary Report - November 2001 5) Recommendation by Town Attorney - Resolution regarding Amendment to Promissory Note a) A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town ofTiburon Approving Amendment to Town Manager's Promissory Note 6) Recommendation by Planning Director - Adopt Construction and Demolition Debris Policy to Encourage Reuse and Recycling of Materials Associated with Building Projects a) A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon Establishing a Construction and Demolition Debris Policy for Applicable Building Permits for a Trial Period of Six (6) Months 7) Recommendation by Town Manager - Adoption of a Resolution Revising Signature Authority MOTION: To approve Consent Calendar Items 1 through 7, above, as amended. -. Town Council Minutes # 01-2002 January 2, 2002 Page 2 ,..... Moved: Vote: Slavitz seconded by Thompson A YES: Unanimous APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS. COMMISSION & COMMITTEES 8) Planning Commission Appointment - One Vacancy Mayor Matthews commented on the high level of experience and qualifications of the (8) applicants interviewed on December 17,2001 and January 2, 2002. Councilmember Thompson said that Randy Greenberg had continued to follow the Town's land use issues since her last term on the Planning Commission and that she was familiar with upcoming projects. Vice Mayor Gram noted that Ms. Greenberg had helped draft the Town's current General Plan. Mayor Matthews said that Design Review Boardmember Dick Collins had made a strong showing, as well, with an extensive background in planning and development. MOTION: Moved: Vote: To appoint Randy Greenberg to the Planning Commission. Thompson, seconded by Slavitz AYES: Unanimous 9) Recommendation by Town Clerk - Adoption of Annual Appointments List and Notice of Upcoming Commission Vacancies (2002) - Mayor Matthews read the upcoming vacancies into the record. PUBLIC HEARING 10) Recommendation by Planning Director - Approval of Tiburon Court Precise Development Plan - (Continued without hearing from December 5. 2001) a) A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon AmplifYing and Supplementing Provisions of the Tiburon Zoning Ordinance with Respect to Planned Development #18b By Approving the Tiburon Court Precise Development Plan and Adopting a Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring Program - Assessor Parcel Nos. 39-061-80 & 86 Planning Director Anderson gave the report. He said that applicants had presented various plans at four Planning commission meetings, the final results of which was approval of the project before the Council for four single-family lots on 13.4 acres with access from Trestle Glen Boulevard. -. Town Council Minutes # 01-2002 January 2, 2002 Page 3 _ Anderson said that the project would be surrounded by an Open Space Easement, representing 85% of the parcel, and that an additional public benefit would be the installation of a public trail to Porto Marino Drive to replace the Hacienda portion of the Ridge Trail which was not "user friendly." Anderson said that the proje~t dedication ofland adjacent to Trestle Glen Boulevard to allow for future road widening and/or a bike path. Additional parking, other than the spaces for each home, would be available on the proposed cul-de-sac and access road. Planning Director Anderson said that Staff had proposed revisions to the original application, and the Planning Commission had directed the applicant to either reduce the number of homes originally proposed, or drastically reduce the visual impact of the current (4) homes to the surrounding areas. In response to this direction, Anderson said, the applicants had lowered and "shrunk" the homes and reconfigured how the houses would fit onto the lots. He said that Staff believed the project was greatly improved as a result and concluded that it was a good example of a project that fit within the guidelines of the Town's General Plan. Anderson said that in its approval of the project, the Planning Commission resolution set extensive conditions to ensure that deviations from the project appearance would not occur. He said the Planning Commission had concluded that all the adverse impacts would be mitigated _ and had endorsed the Mitigated Negative Declaration. Planning Director Anderson noted that there had been a lot of opposition to the project from neighbors and that some sentiment remained to reduce the density. He said that good faith efforts were made by the applicants to address the neighbors' concerns. Finally, Anderson said that Staff had further amended the Planning Commission resolution to include the Commission's direction to the Design Review Board that the floor areas of the proposed homes could be reduced if the homes seemed to closely clustered. The actual language of the resolution would require the first applicant to show a site simulation model of surrounding homes if all the applications did not come in at once. In reviewing the next steps in the process, Anderson said that the Planning Commission would need to approve a tentative subdivision map and that the Council would need to approve a parcel map before recordation. Planning Director Anderson said Staff recommended approval of the project as set forth in the resolution. Councilmember Thompson asked how far the footage for a bike path on Trestle Glen would extend. Planning Director Anderson said it would it be a 10-foot section of frontage along the -. Tiburon Court property only. Other frontage would need to be obtained later. Town Council Minutes # 01-2002 Jonuary 2, 2002 Page 4 ,....,. Councilmember Thompson asked about the replacement section of the Tiburon Ridge Trail. Anderson said it would be constructed by the applicant and would have a crushed granite or dirt surface, but it would not be paved. Councilmember Thompson asked what the setbacks were between the proposed Tiburon Court homes. Anderson said there was approximately 50 feet between the residences, and noted that the Planning Commission had asked the Design Review Board to "keep an eye on this." Mayor Matthews and Councilmember Slavitz asked questions about the required landscaping for screening. Slavitz asked if the landscaping contractor could be liened ifhe did not comply with the project requirements. Planning Director Anderson said that this would be a "first" for Tiburon; that in the past the Town had bonded commercial projects but never residential projects. He said each individual homeowner would also be obligated to maintain the trees by recorded agreement with the Town. Councilmember Slavitz commented that actual finished projects do not always look like the artist renderings and wondered if the required landscaping would be sufficient. Planning Director Anderson said that he thought the plan called for enough landscaping, but that the DRB would have the final say. He also said that the Town would have authority over future maintenance of the landscaping, as well. ,...., Councilmember Slavitz asked iffences would be allowed. Anderson said that a condition of the resolution was that they be "low key, minimal and blended to the surroundings." He also said they would only be allowed in the "residential use area" of each lot and not in the open space easement. Slavitz asked about basements, which could be up to 1600 square feet. Anderson said that they would have to be substantially below grade, and not visible from the outside, so they would not add to the mass and bulk of the building. He said a basement room was limited in its use, as it would have no direct egress to the outside. An example of a basement use would be for a wine cellar, laundry room, storage area, or home theater. Planning Director Anderson commented that the below-grade design of the homes made them appear to be one-story instead of two from Trestle Glen Boulevard. He noted that the height of the homes was measured by the Town from the "finished" grade versus existing grade. Finally, Slavitz asked whether a three-house plan had ever been presented to the Planning Commission. Anderson said it had not. Councilmember Fredericks expressed concern about the mechanism of the first applicant being required to present a "simulation" of the to-be-built homes. She said that the placement of future homes could very well change from that model. -. Town Council Minutes # 01-2002 January 2, 2002 Page 5 _ Planning Director Anderson said that the condition actually gave the DRB greater flexibility to ask that homes be redesigned or repositioned in the building envelope. Councilmember Slavitz asked if the placement of the proposed homes, which Councilmember Fredericks referred to as a "wall of construction," was constrained by geology. Planning Director Anderson said that a great number of factors dictated the placement of homes, including environmental factors such as an existing stream through the center of the property, grassland and other habitat, off-site landslides, and policy issues, such as the proximity to Tiburon Boulevard. Mayor Matthews asked if the Planning Commission thought that four homes were justified. Anderson replied that the Planning Commission thought that the applicant had gone "far enough" in addressing its concerns. Mayor Matthews opened the public hearing. Don Henderson, one of the applicants, showed slides of the proposed project. He said that they had initially envisioned a project something like Turtle Rock Court or the end of Gilmartin Drive in design. Henderson said that the homes were initially larger with slate roofs, but that in response to the concerns of the Belveron neighbors who said they wanted a more "rural look," they went from two-story to one-story, below grade, bungalow style homes with a maximum _ height of 18 feet. He said the landscaping was moved in closer to the houses and that the bulk of the elevations were in the center of the buildings with flat roofs in the outer areas. Henderson said the slides showed different stages of landscape growth, from 0 to 7 years. Mr. Henderson said that four units (homes) were needed to finance and project, along with the infrastructure improvements such as bringing in utilities to the site, installing trails, etc. Karen Halsey, 14 Juno Road, Belveron, said the neighbors still wanted three instead offour houses, and that even though most people were pleased with the changes to the project to date, some still thought there was too much mass and bulk. Ms. Halsey later clarified that she was speaking on behalf of a larger group called "The Friends of Trestle Glen." Mayor Matthews closed the public hearing. Councilmember Thompson said that he had never seen so much design detail presented at this stage of an application, and that this was very positive. However, he said there was still "one -. house too many." Town Council Minutes # 01-2002 January 2, 2002 Page 6 _ Thompson said that Lot 3 just did not fit and looked "shoe-horned in." It said it appeared that the houses were "sitting on top of each other" and that this would become even more problematic as time went by. Thompson concluded that the mass and bulk seemed to be inconsistent with the General Plan, and that the success of the project was contingent upon the success of the landscaping which might not be well maintained or cared for. Thompson said he would eliminate Lot 3 and shift Lot 2 uphill. He requested more time to study the project application. Councilmember Fredericks commented that the project looked to her like "one structure" as she drove up Trestle Glen Boulevard and observed the orange netting. She expressed concern that even though Condition No.5 seemed workable at the time the Planning Commission heard it, she now wondered whether the presentation of a model by the fIrst applicant was viable. Councilmember Slavitz said he was impressed by the changes made by the applicant in response to neighborhood concerns, but said he was still not happy with all the contingencies that had to be met. He said that the four homes seemed "forced" into a small area, and he agreed with a remark by Councilmember Thompson that the project could be seen from other areas of Town, in addition to the Belveron neighborhood. Vice Mayor Gram said he relied on the wisdom of the Planning Commission and that unless that Commission had done something wrong, he would vote to uphold their recommendation to _ approve the current project. However, he noted that two of his fellow Councilmembers were previously on Planning Commission and wondered how they would vote now. Councilmember Slavitz commented that he would send the application back to the Planning Commission for review of a three-house option which had never been fully explored. Councilmember Thompson concurred. Councilmember Fredericks said that the Planning Commission wanted to "work with the developer" to see if a four-house project would work on the site, and that Condition 5 was offered as a mitigation in the event of non-simultaneous applications. Councilmember Thompson called it a "passing the buck" condition, which might generate many appeals in future to the Town Council. Mayor Matthews said that financial hardship was not justification for approval of a project, but commented that he thought this was a "decent project." Matthews said there had been ample community input over an 18-month period, but he indicated that he would go along with the decision of former Planning Commissioners Slavitz and Fredericks if they voted in the majority. '" Town Council Minutes # 0 1-2002 January 2, 2002 Page 7 _ Applicant Henderson responded that the clustering of the houses could be "loosened up" in the design of the project. However, he commented that the clustering approach was traditional and a model in most communities. He noted that in the Turtle Rock Court subdivision, the setback between homes was 35 feet and that in Belveron it was 15 feet. Councilmember Slavitz concurred that the design as presented was a good one for the four homes, but wondered if a three-house project would make a more "self sufficient" project and one that would not rely on so many contingencies. Mr. Henderson responded favorably to Councilmember Thompson's suggestion to move Lot 2 uphill. He asked what kind of setback the Council wanted to see, for instance, 60 feet between the houses. Henderson noted, however, that the houses in a three-home project would have to be larger for it to be viable. Councilmember Fredericks said that resolving the set-back issue would not address the other concerns. Vice Mayor Gram asked Ms. Fredericks if Condition No.5 could be reworded to be workable. Fredericks said she did not think the Condition could be modified to her satisfaction. She also commented that she thought the project should better fit an environment (Trestle Glen Boulevard) that served as a gateway to the "rural side" of Tiburon. - Mayor Matthews asked his fellow Councilmembers whether the landscaping was being discounted altogether as a mitigating factor. Councilmember Thompson replied that there just seemed to be "too much weight" on this factor to make the project work. Moved: Vote: To remand the Tiburon Court application to the Planning Commission for Review of the a three-house project and recommendation for approval of the current application or a new, three-house project for the site. Slavitz, seconded by Thompson AYES: Unanimous MOTION: Council elected to hear Item No. 13 out of order. REGULAR AGENDA 13) Recommendation by Public Works Directorfrown Engineer - Approval of Final Concept Plans for Ferry Dock Access and Safety Improvements Project and Authorization to Solicit Contractor Bids Director Echols summarized the revisions to the project since Council's conceptual approval on August 15,2001. He said an ad hoc committee, comprised of Council members Matthews and -. Gram, Pt. Tiburon Lagoon and Bayside representatives, the design consultants (Jim McLane and Town Council Minutes # 01-2002 January 2, 2002 Page 8 _. Stephen Wheeler) and Staff, met to address the loss of screening currently provided by the trees in the area next to Guaymas restaurant. Mr. Echols said that arborist Ray Moritz was retained to study the trees. Moritz reported that some were dead and all were in decline and he recommended that they be removed and replaced. The following concepts for replacement trees were introduced: 1) Six 48" box trees 2) Two (72") box trees and four smaller ones Echols said that larger trees (72") would need to be held in place with guy wires. That problem, as well as other issues, led him to state his preference for the concept No. 1 above. Jim McLane, design consultant, briefly recapped the project since April 200 I. He agreed with Director Echols that design concept No.1 was preferable and would follow the rhythm of the bike rack in that area. He also said it was important not to impinge on the width of the plaza given that the purpose of the project was pedestrian access to transportation. McLane said that the 48" box trees would obscure 70% of the view of Guaymas within five years. However, Mr. McLane pointed out that Pt. Tiburon did not face Guaymas nor did it include a view of Guaymas. He reminded Council that the original plans for the plaza area did not include trees at all. - Steven Wheeler, landscape design consultant, described the two species of box trees from Australia, the "Victorian Box" and the "Brisbane Box." He said he recommended the Brisbane Box and said the trees would grow 18 inches per year. Councilmember Slavitz asked about the lighting of the area in the original plans. He said he thought they were low and asked why they were now shown in the drawings to be pole lights. Mr. McLane said that the change in concept had come about during the subcommittee meetings and the 12-foot lights would follow the line of the trees. He said that the addition of trees would cause the loss of 10 bicycle parking spaces and that people might starting locking their bikes to the rails of the trees rather than place them in the racks. Councilmember Fredericks asked whether a slower growing tree could be used with a wider canopy in order to reduce the number of trees. Mr. Wheeler said the height and width of a Victorian Box could go to 25 x 25 feet and a Brisbane Box could be as high as 30 feet and 20 feet wide. However, he continued to recommend the Brisbane Box because the other tree had a fruit which could drop off and clutter the area. ,- Town Council Minutes # 01-2002 January 2, 2002 Page 9 ~ Councilmember Thompson expressed concerns about the locking ring on the ground in the bike rack design. He asked if it was a tripping hazard. He also suggested that the bollard lights be put back into the plan. Councilmember Slavitz asked if the lights could be placed directly into the rail of the bike rack like they were on the rails of the wooden deck. McLane said the bollard lights were originally set 18" out in order to prevent tripping over (the rings of) the bike rack, but the new design showed the lights at the line of the rail. However, he said that they could be moved back. Councilmember Thompson agreed that a portion of the plaza would be lost in order to add the trees. He said he would like to see an "opening up" and connecting of the plazas. Mr. McLane concurred with Thompson's assessment and said that the trees would constrict the view of the Bay which is traditionally open in a natural setting. He said he would prefer a compromise of four, instead of six, trees. During the public hearing, John Kern, Stewart Drive, asked how much it had cost to further study the tree issue. He asked if anyone in the community, other than Pt. Tiburon residents, was in favor of adding trees to the plans. Director Echols estimated about the cost of adding the trees to the project at $25,000 which would include the cost of adding grates, guards, and preparation to plant the trees. - Mayor Matthews commented that he thought that Council had decided to keep the trees in the plans in April 2001. Vice Mayor Gram said that Pt. Tiburon residents they had a right to approve any [Town] improvements in that area by agreement. Mayor Matthews commented that Pt. Tiburon did not oppose removal of the two trees further to the west of Guaymas. . Councilmember Thompson concurred that Pt. Tiburon residents had come up with good ideas regarding the Plaza design and that they were an important part of the community. However, he said the proposed "line of trees" created a ''wall'' and defeated the concept of an open plaza. He proposed keeping trees 1, 3 & 5 and bringing the lights back down to the rail height and to "dump the bollards and rings." In response to a question from Council, Director Echols said that improvements to Fountain Plaza area across the street would be included as a bid alternate. Council approved the proposed revisions to signage in the plans. ~ Town Council Minutes # 01-2002 January 2, 2002 Page 10 _ Councilmember Thompson said he still favored a wooden bench versus the benches proposed by the designers. Council concurred that no more than four trees should be incorporated into the plans, and designer McLane agreed to place them appropriately. He agreed, at Council's direction, to remove the rings as part of the bike rack, and to move the bollard lighting on drawing SK-2 into line with the plane of the railing. McLane had explained earlier the difficulty of putting the lights directly into the rail as there due to problems with conduit. In response to a question from Mayor Matthews, Director Echols said that the Town was waiting only for the CAL/TRANS permit in order to go to bid. Moved: Vote: To approve the final conceptual drawings, including changes to the lights and rail, as discussed, and reducing the number of trees to four; authorization to Director Echols to go to bid with revised plans. Gram, seconded by Slavitz AYES: Unanimous MOTION: (Taken out of order in public hearing) - 11) Recommendation by Planning Director - Amendment to Town Code Chapter 13 (Building Regulations) to reduce the number and length of building permit extensions and increase the penalties therefore; and to revise sections dealing with permit conditions, violations, and expired permits (Introduction and 1st Reading of Ordinance) a) An Ordinance of the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon Amending Provisions of Chapter 13 of the Tiburon Municipal Code (Building Regulations) Planning Director Anderson said that the proposed ordinance would address the issue of overdue building projects, by shortening the time of permit extensions to six month intervals while substantially increasing the penalties required to secure such extensions. Anderson said that the penalties would only apply to new permits issued after adoption of the ordinance. In adopting the progressive penalty approach, Anderson said that an issue remained for Council consideration. He said that the "five times the full original fee" requirement (subsections 6 and 7) in the proposed ordinance left the Council with no discretion to reduce the penalty. He proposed alternate language, that "the Council may, in its reasonable discretion, reduce the penalty based on the project's nearness to completion and/or the cause of the delay." - Town Council Minutes # 01-2002 January 2, 2002 Page 11 """" Planning Director Anderson also recommended passing on similar discretion to the Building Official when enforcing subsection 5 that would require payment of "three times the full original fee." He said the Building Official exercised this discretion now but that memorializing it would give him clearer authority. Councilmember Fredericks asked whether the penalties would apply to a person holding an existing building permit if he/she applied for an extension. Planning Director Anderson said the penalties would not apply unless the permit had expired. Vice Mayor Gram suggested revising Anderson's proposed language in subsections 6 and 7 further to state that Council could "in its sole discretion" (rather than "reasonable" discretion) "reduce the penalty for such reasons as..." and continue the paragraph. Gram recommended that similar language be added to subsection 5. Anderson said that this was an "elegant" solution. MOTION: Moved: VOTE: To read ordinance, as amended above, by title only. Thompson, seconded by Slavitz AYES: Unanimous Mayor Matthews read, "An Ordinance of the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon Amending Provisions of Chapter 13 of the Tiburon Municipal Code (Building Regulations)." - MOTION: Moved: VOTE: To pass first reading of above ordinance, as amended. Gram, Seconded by Thompson A YES: Fredericks, Gram, Matthews, Slavitz, Thompson 12) Recommendation by Planning Director - Amendment to Kulms Precise Development Plan - 1, 5 & 9 Stevens Court - AP Nos. 58-111-25, 26 & 27 - Ben Barnes, Applicant- (Applicant's Request for Continuance to February 6, 2002) . CONTINUED COMMITTEE AND COMMISSION REPORTS None. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS Town Council Weekly Digest - December 7, 2001 Town Council Weekly Digest - December 14,2001 -. Town Council Minutes # 01-2002 January 2, 2002 Page 12 ~. Town Council Weekly Digest - December 21, 2001 Town Council Weekly Digest - December 28,2001 Tentative dates were set for a farewell dinner for former Councilmember Bach and the annual Town Council/Staff retreat (January 24, 2002). ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon, Mayor Matthews adjourned the meeting at 10:45 p.m., sine die. hLL HARRY TTHEWS, MA ~OR fA WN CLERK -- -. Town Council Minutes # 01-2002 January 2, 2002 Page 13