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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTC Minutes 2017-10-18 TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL & REGULAR MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING—6:30 P.M. On October 18, 2017, the Council held a special meeting as follows: CALL TO ORDER Councilmember Fredericks, Councilmember Kulik,Councilmember Thier,Vice Mayor O'Donnell, Mayor Fraser CLOSED SESSION 1) Conference with Legal Counsel—Anticipated Litigation Significant Exposure to Litigation Pursuant to Paragraph (2) of Subdivision (d) of Government Code Section 54956.9: (1 Potential Case) ADJOURNMENT—to regular meeting REGULAR MEETING— 7:30 P.M. Mayor Fraser called the special meeting of the Tiburon Town Council to order at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 18, 2017, in Town Council Chambers, 1505 Tiburon Boulevard, Tiburon, California. ROLL CALL PRESENT: COUNCIL,MEMBERS: Fraser, Fredericks, Kulik, O'Donnell, Thier PRESENT: EX OFFICIO: Town Manager Chanis, Town Attorney Stock, Chief of Police Cronin, Director of Community Development Anderson, Associate Engineer Lashkevich, Town Clerk Stefani ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Patricia Woeber, Bartel Court, asked the Town Council to bring goats to Tiburon for vegetation management and fire prevention. Bahram Seyedin-Noor,Hawthorne Drive,spoke about the Hawthorne Undergrounding District and urged the Town Council to scrutinize the Preliminary Engineer's Report to find a price that will make the project affordable to the community. Town Council Minutes #21-2017 Octobet-M, 2017 Page I Ken Wyle, Hilary Drive, echoed Mr. Seyedin-Noor's comments, asked the Council to urge Pacific Gas & Electric to be more cooperative during future undergrounding projects, and spoke about the safety factors of undergrounding to consider. CONSENT CALENDAR CC-l. Town Council Minutes — Adopt minutes of October 4, 2017 special and regular meetings (Town Clerk Stefani) CC-2. Resolution — Adopt Tiburon Chamber of Commerce Business Citizen of the Year Resolution (Town Clerk Stefani) CC-3. Special Vacancy on Planning Commission — Announce special vacancy on the Planning Commission (Town Clerk Stefani) CC-4. Mayor's Proclamation — Authorize Mayor's Proclamation in honor of Tiburon Peninsula Little League All Star 2017 teams (Mayor Fraser) CC-5. Run for Reed Schools Special Event Permit— Consider approval of revised Special Event Permit with new date (Department of Administrative Services) MOTION: To adopt Consent Calendar Items 1-5, as written. Moved: Thier, seconded by Fredericks VOTE: AYES: Unanimous PRESENTATION P-1. Tiburon Peninsula Little League All Stars — Congratulate the local All-Star teams, their coaches, and the Tiburon Peninsula Little League President on a winning season Mayor Fraser congratulated the Tiburon Peninsula Little League All-Star teams on a great season,for their diligence and hard work bringing a victory to Tiburon, and for being outstanding representatives of the community. He presented the president and coaches of both all-star teams a proclamation, and the players with souvenir bats to commemorate their winning season. ACTION ITEMS AI-1. Town Special Event—Consider fund allocation to a Tiburon holiday festival and closure of Ark Row in December 2017 (Department of Administrative Services) Town Manager Chanis said the Town's prominent holiday event is the annual tree lighting festival, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. He said staff and the Chamber are working together this year to expand this event into a "Festival of Lights", which will integrate the tree-lighting festival Town Council Minutes#21-2017 Octobei•18, 2017 Page 2 into a weekend event with more holiday lighting around the downtown area, and the closure of Ark Row for a festival. Ile asked the Council to consider this request, and consider authorizing a$5,000 expenditure to help offset the cost of the event. Mayor Fraser opened the floor for public comment. There was none. The Council praised the project and thanked the Chamber of Commerce and Town staff for proposing a unique holiday event for the community. MOTION: Approve the Special Event Permit and allocate an additional $5,000 toward the festival. Moved: Fredericks, seconded by O'Donnell VOTE: AYES: Unanimous AI-2. Bicycle,Pedestrian and Automobile Education Safety Training Program—Consider adoption of education report and safety implementation plan for bicycle,pedestrian and automobile safety (Department of Public Works) Associate Engineer Lashkevich introduced the report. He said the Town Council directed the Parks, Open Space and Trails Commission to develop an ongoing and sustainable training program and community education program focused on bicycle, pedestrian and driver safety. Councilmember Thier said this report was part of a vision to improve the safety of everyone who lives,works and plays in Tiburon. She said the POST subcommittee worked with the community to develop a sustainable program and implementation for bicycle, pedestrian and automobile safety. Lashkevich gave an overview of the implementation plan, and highlighted the new"Safety Corner" on the Town's website. He said the Town Council had allocated funds toward safety outreach this year, and reviewed several projects those funds can be used for: self-service bike repair stations or speed monitoring signs. Mayor Fraser asked who will be responsible for implementation. Town Manager Chanis said items will fall into different departments and any projects with requests for funding or significant budgetary impact will be brought to the Council for approval.Chanis added the Council is only being asked to accept the report,and individual implementation items will be brought back to the Council as necessary. Vice Mayor O'Donnell asked how the data collected by speed signs is utilized. Chanis said the data gives the Town an understanding of driver behavior and would be helpful on the Old Rail Trail because the Town does receive complaints about bicyclist speed. O'Donnell inquired about a bicycle lane on Tiburon Boulevard. Ile said that given the speed on Tiburon Boulevard, bicyclists are safer on the Old Rail Trail, and expressed concern about advertising the boulevard as the way bicyclists should traverse to downtown because it is not a safe Town Council Minutes #21-2017 October18, 2017 Page 3 environment for them. He believed this safety issue deserves more consideration. Fredericks agreed with the Vice Mayor,and said the Council needs to find a balance with making the boulevard safer for the people that use still it. Kulik added that bike lanes were discussed extensively during his time on the Plaluiing Commission, and it was determined that Tiburon Boulevard was not a favorable place for one. Director of Community Development Anderson said bike lanes on Tiburon Boulevard are included in the list of improvements to consider with the intention to make it clear which path to use based on specific use, i.e. fast cyclists on Tiburon Boulevard and casual bike riders on the Old Rail Trail. Councilmember Their added the bike lanes were included because cyclists are already using the boulevard, and the improvements are meant to make that existing behavior safer. Mayor Fraser opened the floor for public comment. Kathy McLeod agreed Tiburon Boulevard is dangerous for bicyclists, and supported the proposed projects. She also spoke in favor of increasing bicycle education. Angela McInerney praised the report, and said she would like to see the Town. the Police Department and the schools all work together on bicycle safety education and implementation. Vice Mayor O'Donnell said he supported the plan, but asked for more consideration to be given to Tiburon Boulevard. He said the connections between Hwy 101, Strawberry and Tiburon were unsafe, especially for children going to afterschool recreation programs in Strawberry. He said making it possible to ride bicycles to and from Strawberry would have enormous safety value for Tiburon residents. Mayor Fraser asked if the Parks, Open Space and Trails Commission could review the Vice Mayor's suggestion and return to the Council with a recommendation. Town Manager Chanis agreed, and said staff had recently met with the County of Marin to discuss signage and the County of Marin's version of a bicycle and pedestrian plan will soon be released for draft review. MOTION: To accept the report and implementation plan. Moved: Fredericks, seconded by Thier VOTE: AYES: Unanimous PUBLIC HEARINGS PH-1. Tiburon Tourism Business Improvement District Dissolution —Consider amendments to the Tiburon Municipal Code to disestablish the Tiburon Tourism Business Improvement District—Introduction and first reading of ordinance Town Manager Chains said the Town created the Tiburon Tourism Business Improvement District in Town Council Minutes#21-2017 October 18, 2017 Page 4 2007, and gave some historical background on the district,the creation of Destination Tiburon, and said the lodging establishments had recently expressed interest in dissolving the district due to staffing changes. Chanis said the Council took the first step in disestablishing the TTBID at its last meeting by adopting a resolution of intent. However, the hotels have since had a change of heart, and Destination Tiburon has hired a staff member. He said the lodging establishments are now asking that the Town Council not adopt the proposed ordinance. Mayor Fraser opened the floor for public comment. There was none. MOTION: To not adopt the proposed ordinance, and direct staff to return to the Council with proper actions to authorize the TTBID assessment. Moved: Fredericks, seconded by O'Donnell VOTE: AYES: Unanimous PH-2. Appeal of Encroachment Permit—Consider appeal of denial of an Encroachment Permit for a fence within the public right-of-way at 31 Apollo Road (Department of Public Works) Address: 31 Apollo Road Assessor Parcel No.: 034-262-31 Owner: Richard Greenberg Town Manager Chanis said Richard Greenberg submitted an application for an encroachment permit to legalize a portion of replaced fence in the public right-of-way.I Ie said staff could not find records that indicated the original fence was legally permitted, and therefore, the application was denied. Chanis also gave the Council background on the property: the Building Division had approved plans for work to be performed on the property, but the plans stated the existing fence was to remain unaltered. The unpermitted fence replacement, including the portion in the right-of-way, was discovered during the final inspection, and therefore, the Building Official did not issue an occupancy permit. So as to not further delay transfer of ownership of the property, the Town Manager authorized the Building Official to issue a temporary occupancy permit for the property, based on assurances from the real estate agent that the new owner, Mr. Greenberg, would be made fully aware that the portion of the fence in the right-of-way would likely need to be removed. Richard Greenberg,owner,said he and his family were new to Tiburon,and were not made aware of the situation. He said he knew there had been a problem with obtaining the occupancy permit, but knew nothing of the problems with the fence being in the right-of-way. He said he is only asking the Council for understanding that he inherited this situation with no prior knowledge. He expressed disappointment for losing a large portion of the yard his family thought they were purchasing. Councilmember Kulik asked Mr. Greenberg if the situation was ever disclosed.Mr. Greenberg said he had never been informed the fence was on public property and would need to be moved. Toivn Council Minutes #21-2017 Octobei-18, 2017 Page 5 Councilmember Thier asked if Mr. Greenberg was aware the fence was being replaced. Mr. Greenberg said the fence was already being built when he saw and purchased the property,and that it was never discussed. Mayor Fraser and Vice Mayor O'Donnell discussed the location of the previously existing and new fences, and questioned if the immediate neighbor's fence also encroaches on the right-of-way because they line up continuously. Chanis answered the neighbor's fence is on the property line,and only the portion of the fence encroaching in the right-of-way is in question. Kulik asked if the new fence is in the same location as the previously existing fence. Chains confirmed this point, but added the original fence may not have been permitted. Councilmember Fredericks asked if the encroachment permit could be rescinded ifthe Town finds a public need for that space. Town Attorney Stock said it could. In response to a question from Councilmember Thier, Stock also explained that this application for encroachment permit is not consistent with the policy or general encroachment ordinance, and therefore, the permit could not be granted. Kulik asked if there was a circumstance where an extended use of this property could be a right to that property. Stock said it could not. Mayor Fraser opened the floor for public comment. Kathy McLeod believed it would set a poor precedent to allow fences to encroach in the public right- of-way. In his closing comments,Mr. Greenberg said he respected public space. He asked for understanding from the Council and for them to allow him to keep the extra nine feet of yard space he purchased. Mr. Greenberg said if he would be required to move the fence, it would just create an empty space next to the road, where many of his neighbors have fences right up to the road. Councilmember Fredericks believed the previously existing fence likely would not have qualified for an encroachment permit,and she did not believe encroachments should be permitted on the basis of keeping fences on the street lined up equally.Fredericks said encroachments are permitted for public safety reasons, and this request doesn't serve the public or follow the Town's policy. Vice Mayor O'Donnell said he agreed with Fredericks, and would vote to deny the appeal. He said the Council has directed staff to be vigilant about the ongoing issue of private encroachments on trails and open space because the Town should not privatize public space and the public right-of-way should be protected. Councilmember Kulik said this was a difficult circumstance, particularly because it was not Town Council Minutes #21-2017 Octoberl8, 2017 Page 6 disclosed to the owner. Kulik said the original fence would have been allowed to stay where it was, so there is no functional change or incremental encroachment of public property. He added that imposing the requirement to remove this fence may create the potential for legal conflict for the owner. Councilmember Thier believed the fence should be removed,and said allowing the fence to remain would set a poor precedent for privatizing public space. Mayor Fraser said the Town approved plans that would have allowed the existing fence to remain, but the materials were replaced during construction. He agreed with the Council that they should not privatize public property, but he commented that this situation is seen in various areas of Tiburon. He said it was a difficult situation, but he would vote to accept the appeal. MOTION: To deny the appeal and direct staff to return to the Council with a resolution memorializing that decision. Moved: O'Donnell, seconded by Fredericks VOTE: AYES: Fredericks, O'Donnell, Thier NAYS: Fraser, Kulik TOWN COUNCIL REPORTS None. TOWN MANAGER REPORT None. WEEKLY DIGESTS Received. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Town Counci f e Town of Tiburon, Mayor Fraser adjourned the meeting at 9:30 p.m. JIM FI MAYOR I ATTEST: LEA STEFANI, TOWN CLERK Toivn Council Minutes#21-2017 October18, 2017 Page 7