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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 04/25/1977MINUTES OF MEETING�y OF CITY COUNCIL PETALUMA,, CAt:IFORN'IA APRIL 25, 1977 ADJOURNED MEETING r ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF M114UTES PU BLIC HEARING An adjourned meeting of the Petaluma City Council was called to order by Mayor Helen Putnam at the hour of 7:30 p. Present: Councilmen Brunner *, Cavanagh *, Harberson, Hilligoss, Matted, Perry.; and Mayor Putnam. Absent: None. *Councilman Brunner arrived at 7:40 p.m., Councilman Cavanagh arrived at 7:45 p.m. The minutes of March 28, 1977, were approved as amended,. CERTIFY EIR -- Planning Director Ronald Hall advised the Council is F(- -, 4� PROPOSED HILLCREST first Considering the Environmental Impact Report for HOSPITAL the H l.lcrest Hospital, which is an amendment to the RES #7647A NCS Environmental Impact Report prepared for the Qantas Development Corporation's' Planned Community Develop - ment. The draft EIR-for the.hos;pital was first con - sidered by the Planning Commission on March '21, 1977, without the benefit of responses by State agencies.. The hearing was continued until April 19, 1977, in order for'thes`e responses 'to be included in the final draft EIR. Mr. Hall advised the amendments to the.report are designated by�an "A" in the outer margin of the report, which has been submitted and filed with the City Clerk. The Planning Commission minutes of April 19, 1977 (a copy of which is on file with the City Clerk), are a part of the record for 'the. Council's consideration. The final draft 'measures the mixed use development, including 444 residential units estimated by the 'consultant,, which will be a part of the Qantas Develop - ment. The estimate by Qantas is 495 residential units.. This estimate would be within the allowable density s;pelled,out in the original development plan, or a total of 6 units per gross acre. The hospital and, the related professional offices.are included in this Environmental Impact Report. The Environmental Impact Report indicates the General Plan, the Environmental Design Plan and the Zoning kap.'will require amendments to accommodate the ,proposed project. Even though 'the Zoning Map will have to be changed to accom- modate the,.hospital use at this location, such facilities are usually located in residential areas, therefore would not be in conflict with the General Plan and the Environmental Design Plan. The conclusion.is that there are no apparent legal conflicts in locating the proposed project at this site. Mr. Hall advised the final EIR includes responses to the State Clearinghouse comments. Only one comment, had been received, and -that was from the Air Re- sources Board to which the consultant preparing the EIR had responded. The consultant indicates no significant adverse impacts for the proposed use, with the exception that a significant adverse traffic impact is expected without improved traffic circulation. Updated traffic count',has been developed which indicates the critical level of '1,200 average daily' traffic counts will be exceeded at the peak hours at the intersection of .McDowell and East Washington Street.. There is expected to be a,shift in peak hour level, which would normally occur between 5:00 and 6 :00 or 4:0 and 5::00 in afternoon, to 3:00 to 4:00 o'clock because of the hospital traffic patterns. Mr. Hall advised at the Planning Commission hearing under Site esign, an addition was made to address the matter of routing traffic to the Maria Drive area, rather than north on McDowell, by placing directional signs guiding traffic to this alter - nate street. -This was to try to take part of .the. traffic away from the main entrances to the hospital. Mr. Hall advised, in addition, the consultant had addressed the other question raised by the Council.regarding the Economics, and a copy of the resolution `adopted by the Pet'al-uma . Hospi•tal District Board of Directors indicates it is not their intent to use property tax revenues for financing and construction of the project. Be April 25, 1977 CERTIFY EIR -- Mr. Eric McGuire from De -1 Davis and Associates, and the PROPOSED HILLC REST Project Manager for the BIR, then reviewed the.pro- HOSPI,TAL jetted traffic increases chart prepared by his firm RES #76471NCS which,was an update to the 1975 traffic figures incor- (Continued) porated,in the previous report. A copy o€ the report is on .file with the City Clerk. Mr. McGuire explained the new chart reflects traffic counts taken by the firm between, April 12 and April 15, and includes not only the pro;pos.ed hospital, but other development which may occur along McDowell Blvd -. Nor;th,. Mr. McGuire advised the intersection at East Wa'shingt'on Street and McDowell Blvd..is ap- proaching peak capacity of 1,760 per hour. The report mentions-that between 1,700 and 1,800 p.ei hour exceeds the capacity of the intersection. He advised the report indicates mitigation. for 7thi condition would be the extension of Maria 'Drive. This extension would relieve some of the left turn movement at the McDowell/Washington intersection. Mr. McGu.te advised the, cumulative projects, including the hospital, the pro- fess oral office buildings, Qantas Development, and other devel''o,pment expected along North McDowell Blvd.., would' generate an ADT of .20., 59 which exceeds the capacity of the intersection at East Washington and McDowell Blvd',. Councilman Mattei indicated he felt the report was lacking in that it did not include a study of the impact on East Washington Street-, as well as incoming traffic from ,other areas in the district which would use the Washington_ Street off -.ramp from the _freeway. Mr. McGuire.agreed it would have been helpful to do a complete study of East'Washington Street'; however,. the report does mention one mitigatng: measure which would be to construct another overeross'ing - north of Washington Street. Some discussion was then held,regarding' the proposed widening of East Washing- ton.St.reet 'and the timetable for the project. City Engineer David Young ad vised the EIR has been approved. He estimated it would take 'a:year to obtain the right -of -way„ and another six months for- the undergrounding of utilities. When these 'functions have been accomplished,, the project could.b'e let out for bid and it would take about four ,months for construction. Councilman Mattei felt even with the widening of East Washington Street,, the intersection would still create problems., as it was difficult when coming-off the freeway to get into the proper to make a left ' hand turn for North McDowell Blvd. City Engineer David Young advised this is the most critical part of the pro ject. The consultant had made,the only recommendation they could in their Environmental Impact Report to relieve some of the pressures. He further advised Petaluma is faced with a traffic problem at this, intersection., no matter whether the hospital is approved or not. The only way it can be solved is to extend McDowell Blvd. North to Old Redwood Highway' in order !to take advantage of the use of the Denman :Interchange. Mr. Young also advised the General.Plan projects an additional overcrossing of the freeway at'Corona Road. The County's propo'se'd 'trafficways element of the General Plan,, although it has not been adopted as yet, indicates they plan to bring Skillman.Lane into Corona Road. `Mr. Young advised any construction of a structure over the fr-,eeway "would need the cooperation of Caltrans, and no funding is available at= this level and none seems to be projected in the near future from the State. The subject of the economics of the project was: then discussed. Councilman Matted indicated he had raised the question previously when the Council studied the draft Environmental Impact Report. Mr. McGuire responded by s. I tating there is a policy resolution of the Hospital District indicating they would" not levy the $.2'0 tax rate. It is also his understanding the contractual agreement between the-Hospital ' District and' Hospital Affiliates in'd'icates the hospital is to be built without levying a property tax.. Councilman Mattei, felt this did not make any guarantees for the future that the tax rate would not be exercised. There was a brief discussion.regarding the use.of Caulfield Lane as an alter- native route for travelling from east to west. . Mr. Young indicated Caulfield is becoming more successful each six-month period, and residents living on the valley side of the .community are becomming more accustomed to using this route. 7 ' April 25, 1977' Mm .CERTIFY -sEIR Also discussed •was the current condition of Maria PROPOSED HILLCRES;T Drive. Councilman Cavanagh questioned the feasibility HOSPITAL of using this street as an access route to the hospital RES #7647ANCS because of the bumps at 'the intersections.:: City Eng - (Continued) neer David Young the reason for the bumps at the intersections was when the subdivision was built, the least expensive means for, storm drainage was to use this system. The solution to this problem would be to`.run a drain pipe from Washington Creek back north on Maria and install catch basins and remove the valley gutters. A brief discussion was held regarding 'landing helicopters at the hospital site However,.Mr. Hall advised thi had been deleted from the:Hospital's plans because of the proximity of the airport to the hospital. At the conclusion of the Council's discussion of the Environmental Impact Report, Mayor Putnam opened the public hearing. The City Clerk reported no. written comments had been received. Mayor Putnam then invited comment's from the audience. Mr. Ernie Curtis spoke in opposition to the hospital. He indicated he felt the Environmental Impact Report, to be effective, should address the economics of the hospital. He also stated when the matter was put before the electorate and turned down by a 9 to 1 vote, he felt this ended the discussion. Mr. Curtis stated he felt Hillcrest may be inadequate, but it is not obsolete,. He referred to a report prepared by Stone and Youngberg, dated May 23, 1 -975, which indicated the cost for a 100 -bed hospital to be $12,000,,,000,- or. $120,000 per bed. Mr, Curtis stated he did not feel the hospital could possibly be built without exercising the tax rate of $.89, and that the tax override would be needed to build the facility. He suggested the matter of economics be.more fully explored. Mr. Franklin Burns, Director of the Petaluma Ho "siptal- District, next spoke to the Council. Mr. Burns advised Palm Drive Hospital,, which was completed last Spring, employed the same architects which are.proposed for the new Petaluma facility, and the hospital was completed at a cost of $100,000 per bed. Mr. Burns advised the Board has studied very carefully how they could afford to build and pay the debt service without utilizing the $.20 tax override and without raising the daily rates out of proportion. The Hospital District, at the completion of last year had x.$_260,000 surplus. The District does not speak in terms of profits,, but speaks in terms of surpluses. They feel the surplus is part of what is going to pay the debt. Mr. Burns also advised that government reimbursement programs which pay costs, or a percentage costs, cannot be used for building funds, but once the facility is completed and a debt service has been incurred, Medicare and State- related hospital care will help to ,pay the debts. This, is somewhere between '$250,000 and $300,000 per year. The third point brought out by Mr. Burns was an anticipated normal eight percent increase in.hos,pital rates annually, which is still one percent under the proposal recommended by President Carter. Mr. Burns indicated they also expect some increase in- business at the new facility and feel they will have ample funds to service the debt. Councilman Cavanagh again brought ; up the matter-. of the $.20 ad valorem tax mentioned in the Environmental Impact Report. Mr. Burns advised the tax is granted to hospital dist'ricts.under State law. It has not been levied in Petaluma since about 1972. He further advised' there is no way the.Hospital District can dispose of the. tax is mandated by the State. He indicated the Board does not expect to need this tax. in the future, but he could not promise they would not need it, because they ar'e unaware of what government programs,,such a Medicare and Medical, will require of them in the next two years. Mr. Norman Durrant, Project Manager from Hospital Affiliates, advised the firm is involved with about 15 public hospitals such as this one, and in no case is a tax being used. Some discussion was held then -on the various sites cons' - idered by the Hospital District to place the new .facility. Councilman 'Harberson asked Mr. Burns, in view of the discussion regarding the traffic and the mitigating circumstances„ would the Board still feel this is the proper place for the hospital. Mr. Burns responded by stating they had looked at approximately 19 sites, all of which had some drawbacks. At this particular location, however, traffic seemed to be the most important issue. April 25, 1977 Wa CERTIFY EIR -- Next to. speak to the Council was Mr.. Ralph D. Weeder. PROPOSED HILLCREST Mr. Weeder indicated much discussion ha's been given to HOSPITAL the traffic problem at the intersection of East Wash - RE'S #7647ANCS ingt Street and McDowell Blvd., and no apparent (Continued) solution has been reached. If traffic is routed- to Maria Drive,, the residents in the area. would be paying. the price. Mr. Weeder suggested before such an im- portant project is permitted in the area, complete planning should be done for the entire area because the project would have a long- lasting effect on the area, on Petaluma, and its people. Mr. Ernie Curtis again questioned the possibility of building the facility for less than $120,000 to $140,000 per bed. He felt a more-realistic figure would be $10, Mr. Durran't ind'ca:ted the project will cost '$8.5 million, exclusive of the financing costs. Financing charges may make the project $9.25 million dollars.: Mr. Durrant indicated this would include the purchase of the land, the building, the equipment, including moveable equipment.. At this point,, Planning Director Ronald Hall advised the Council the new'guide -- lines for certification of an EIR make no mention of f inanciig as•a criteria for certification. City Manager Robert Meyer suggested a ,let-ter directed to the Board of- Directors of the Hillcrest Hospital, dated April 18, 1977,.by Mr. Gil Wordworth,, Chair- man, Petaluma Chapter, Sonoma County Taxpayers' Association be read. The City Clerk read the letter, a copy of which 'is on-file. Councilman Hill'igoss asked Mr. Du,r.rant when completion of the hospital was expected. His reply was if construction began this. June, the target date would be 18 months, or by the end of 1978.. Councilman Hilligoss also questioned if there,wo.uld be any possibility the State might require the hospital district to use t'h'eir taxing authority and impo'se.the $.2'0 ad valorem tax Mr. Joseph Sheeks., Attorney for the Hospital District., responded_ He advised the State does riot have the authority to require: the District to levy the tax'rd,te,. The Hospital District is created by the State of California. It is given the power to tax. It is also ;given the power of eminent domain ' advised the. taxing power cannot be removed, other- than by the 'State Legislature, which gave it the taxing poWer'to begin. with. Mr. SheekS adviS:ed, that in addition to being Attorney•for this District,, he is the attorney for the As!oci'ation of Cali - fornia Hospital Districts, of which there are.approxmately 70 to 75 throughout the State of California. Of all the 'districts he has seen in his association as Attorney for the Association of California Hospital Districts, there are none which are more succes'`s'-fiil, financially than this district here in Petaluma. Petaluman's have the advantage of having the lowest rates in the Redwood Em- pire as well as' a district which is very well managed-and makes money. He. felt this was the reason the consultant could say from the beginning the hospital could.be financed without the tax rate. Councilman Cavanagh questioned if the residents of the City of Petaluma deter mined to withdraw from the District„ what,would be the effect,. 'Mr. Sheets indicated the District probably could, • function, but withdrawal from the Ds- tric;t would have an adverse effect. Ci.ty:Manager''Robert Meyer pointed out the expected growth for the community will t'a'ke place on the valley, side of the community as the General Plan in- d cats residential development to Corona Road -and Fly Road, and many of the new residents would be located on the same side of town the hospital proposes to build .ts-facility. Since a great deal 'of the growth would be east of the ... intersection at McDowell and East Washington Street and additional arterial streets would be planned to accommodate the growth, some of this traffic would not utilize the intersection. The next person to address the Council was Mr. Roy Hyatt. Mr Hyatt pointed out even though- "the`pre'sent Hospital Board has passed a resolution .of: intent not to levy the, $.20 tax _rate,-this resolution does not bind future boards. He also expressed concern regarding the fact if the Board is able to finance construc'ti- from revenue, he f'el't they should go to a straight bond' issue, rather than to lend lease. If, in fact; 'the hospital can be financed_ through revenue bonds, he.feels the people should have an- o:pp'ortunity to express them- selves and under these circumstances', he does not feel a bond issue would fail. April 25, 1977 CERTIFY EIR -- The next person to; speak,at the,public hearing was Mr.. PROPOSED HILLCREST Donald 'Waite,, 542 Amber Way. Mr. Waite indicated he HOSPITAL can understand the Council certifying the EIR, but RES , #7647gNCS asked when the rezoning for the property would take (Continued) place. He wondered how'the Council could rezone the property when the Environmental Impact Report was so short on mitigating circumstances. Mr. Waite was advised the consideration for rezoning is one of the items to be considered at this meeting. Vice -Mayor Brunner stated he felt the Environmental Impact Report pointed out the mitigating measures which need to be taken to.r.elieve the traffic problems, and he would have no d- ifficulty in certifying the EIR, but when it comes to the _rezoning, he felt some conditions should be added:., City Attorney Larry Klose, advised the EIR identifies the the impact. The adoption of the report does not signify the Council is going to adopt the project in its present form. Mr. Klose advised he did not feel the Council could place conditions on the rezoning, but this would have to come at other phases in the development process.. The Council may find there are certain social benefits that outweigh the adverse impacts at the time the rezoning is approved. Mr. Klose indicated the Envi- ronmental Impact Report process and the public hearing is to determine whether or not the report contains all the information necessary to make a decision based upon all the environmental factors. It says nothing about the wisdom or, desirability of the project. Mr. Klose advised the Council has the option to deny the zoning, but conditions cannot be placed on the zoning. The next person to speak at the public hearing was Harold'Wojciechowski. Mr. Wojciechowski indicated nothing had been said during the course the public hearing about the railroad crossing which bisect's the City. He felt this matter should be addressed. There being no further comments from the public, Mayor Putnam closed the public hearing. Resolution #7647 N.C.S'., certifying the Environmental Impact Report for Hill - crest Hospital and medical related facilities located on North McDowell Blvd. within the Park Place Subdivision, adjacent to Lynch Creek and Lucchesi Park, was introduced by Mayor Putnam, seconded by Councilman Harberson, and adopted by 7 affirmative votes. DENY MODIFICATION Planning Director Ronald Hall, by means of the view- Fco&a l GENERAL DEVELOPMENT fol,'outlined the most recent modifications to Park PLAN- -PARK PLACE Place Subdivision which realigned the Planned Community g SUBDIVISION Development to allow for a new street configuration, RES #7648ANCS 3.2 acres for a day care center, multiple family hous- ing and single- family residential units. The area indicated for multiple family'housing is the area,to be considered for modification to accommodate the hospital on a 15 -acre site and a 6.3 -acre site designated for p.rofessio.nal offices. The remainder of the pro- perty for single- family residential units is 82.5 acres, which Qantas would develop. Mr. Hall advised the only change to be considered is for the hospital and the professional offices site. Vice -Mayor Brunner questioned why the Council would be considering- modification to the plan before it was decided "whether or not a hospital would be permitted on the site. Mr. Hall explained the sequence which would be required prior to zoning property. The entire area had been approved as a Planned Community District. The second modification of property was still zoned PCD. The third phase would require the planned un =it district zoning for the individual projects. The hospital would have to come in for PUD zoning, which is scheduled for this meeting. 'Subsequently, when Qantas Development Corporation intends to proceed with the professional o- ffices, they would likewise have to apply for PUD 'zoning. The °matter under consideration at this meeting is the zoning for the hospital site only. The Council would approving the conceptual °layout for the pro- perty, which includes the.Qantas Development Corporation's portion of the property and interest of the hospital district. d 0 April 25, 1977 DENY MODIF.I',CATION. Councilman Mattei indicated he felt tf the Council GENERAL DEVELOPMENT approves the three specif -ic parcels, this is the way PLAii-- PARK'PLACE they will be built. It was his concern that the big - SUBDIVISION gest traffic generator would be the professional office RES #764 sites. Mayor Putnam asked if the Council approved the (Continued) concept, would they still have an opportunity to reject Park has - always been their second any portion of it at a later date. Mr. Hall advised out there were various the Council ,could reject the professional offices at this time, they could approve.the hospital but not the prafe'ssional :offices. He also stated it was his understanding there was some kind of contingency that the hospital has with Qantas Development Company for the professional offices. Mr. Hall stated there is a natural tendency, however, for professional offices and med'ical-related facilities to be located adjacent to or in the immediate " vicinity of hospitals; however, the Council does have the opp.o;rtunity to reject the professional offices until they have 'an opportunity to look at the miti- gating measures,. Mr. Charles Cowan,, Administrator of Hillcrest Hospital, stated there were two reasons they want the medical office buildings located adjacent to the hos -' p ital : One was to eliminate the duplication of medical,services by providing laboratory and other ,,an'cillary facilities located adjacent to the hospital. His second point concerned -the economics and patient care, and the reduction of patient trips to various hospital - related facilities. Councilman Cavanagh questioned whether or not the professional buildings could not be located somewhere else in the area, across the.street,for instance. Mr. Cowan stated that would be convenient also; however, patients would •have to cross a busty four -lane street and he felt it would be easier to. walk underneath a canopy without fear of cars,or ambulances. Mr. Cowan also stated.in their' option with Qantas Development,, one of the conditions which the Hospital D,istrict must meet in conjunction with the City is that the two surrounding, parcels designated, C-0 must be rezoned'by the City at least to a Planned Community Development. Their optioi envisions the 21 -acre parcel being zoned ar least preliminarily for a hospital and neighboring medical office buildings. Councilman Mattei started with this concept, the logical progression then would be to have every medical office in.'Petaluma•surxounding the new hospital facility: Mr. Cowan indicated although this would be convenient, this can be cont,rol'led by the.City through the Planning Commission arid. the City Council by limiting the number of units in the PUD to be developed. Mr. Cowan further stated a number of busy practitioners in the City fully intend to stay where they are now located. One of, the reasons ;for building the new hosp- i -tal, in addition to being overcrowded was to attract new physicians to the area,. With the prospect of the new hospital, five new physicians have come to.P'etaluma and more are expected.. Councilman Mattei indicated.he felt the same logic for the ancillary facilities could be ineorp into the present hospital site. Additional medical facilities could be built and be connected to the hospital by canopy. Council- man Mattei further stated with the traffic situation predicted for- the inter- section at East Washington and McDowell Blvd,., he can see no immediate miti- gating circumstances that could be ,put into effect there.. Mr: Cowan responded by stating_ if the previous development proposed would be buil ;t,,'the` multiple family "units would generate far more traffic than the hospital. Mr. Cowan also ind-ica ted ;�inAl s.cuss1ngotheelocation of the hospital with various City of= fcials, including Fire Chief Joseph Ellwood, Lucchesi Park was determined to 'be the most centrally located. Access to the hospital from any point in the y would e between g" _ l planners feel from between12to15 minutes reasonable ;length of time. When asked by Councilman Ha_rber"son if he felt this was the 'best ,location for the hospital in the Petaluma area, Mr. Cowan replied ; iii the affirmative,. He said although they felt the Tro'udy Lane site was the most preferable, Lucchesi Park has - always been their second choice,. He pointed out there were various problems with the Troudy Lane site and Lucchesi Park is within the City's limits. Mayor Putnam asked the City Clerk to read the title of the legislation which had been prepared for the modification of the General Development Plan. April 25, 1977 DENY MODIFICATION' There was a, general. dis'cu`ssion regarding the modifi- GENERAL DEVELOPMENT cation and how . t would relate to Item 3 on the'Agenda - PLAN-- PARK an ordinance to rezone a portion of Park Place Subdvi- SIJBDIVISION, sion from PCD to PUD. Planning Director Ronald Hall RES #7648ANCS explained the rezoning was for the hospital site (Continued) exclusively'and did not include the medical related facilities. The agenda was :in error when it referred to "medical related.f'acilities "'. as only the hospital site is to be considered in the rezoning. Mr. Hall advised every unit in the Planned Community Development would have to apply for PUD rezoning as they were being developed. This would ;include the area designated for medical and pro- fessional offices. If the Council approved the modification presented to them at this meeting, they would be approving only.the concept. Councilman Cavanagh indicated once the Council votes on this issue, it is declaring its intention to proceed with the future project, including the professional office buildin "gs. He advised at this point, he did not feel he could approve the modification based on the immediate traffic problem. Councilman Harber:son stated he did not -know of any hospital site which did not have doctors' offices surrounding it, which he felt may be a legitimate group - ing of services. Mr. Harberson stated one thing the Council probably has learned this evening is Petaluma is faced with the problem of getting people from one side of town to the other. Resolution 47648 N.C.S. modifying the.approved General Development Plan for Park Place Subdivision was introduced by Councilman Hilligoss, seconded by Councilman Perry, and DEFEATED by 3 affirmative and 4 negative votes. Coun- cilmen Brunner, Cavanagh,, Mattei, and Perry, voted "no ". Mr. Jon Joslyn of Qantas. Development Company questioned whether or not it was ,the Council's decision to deny the modification of the General Plan based solely on the traffic situation or was it because of the land use. Councilman Matted responded by stating his decision was based 9:5% on the traffic situa- tion. He indicated he could have voted on the hospital by itself, but wanted to give further consideration to the professional offices. Councilman Perry indicated his decision was made because of the traffic. Vice -Mayor Brunner also indicated the traffic situation at the intersection was of concern to him. Councilman Cavanagh indicated the medical complex and the resulting traffic was one of the basis for his decision of denial. He further indicated he could have voted for the project if it was for the Hospital alone. Mayor Putnam indicated even though she voted in the minority, she felt it was logical to have medical and professional off -ices located next to a hospital, whether it be on the valley side of the community or on the west side of the community. She indicated the Council is well aware they are faced with the problem of trying to get citizens back and across the City and it is a problem which will have to be resolved. Dr. Frederick Groverman, President of the Petaluma Hospital District, spoke to the.Council and gave the history of the work.they have been doing trying to locate a site for a new ho'spi.tal. Dr. Groverman indicated the Troudy Lane site had been selected first because it seemed to create Tess of a.traffic problem; however, locating the hospital at this site would mean anybody who wanted to visit the hospital would_ have to go by automobile or other means of transit and not be able to walk to the_ site. He further indicated, the' site on North McDowell Blvd. was the second choice, and even though.they knew there were problems, they felt they had resolved. The area was indicated on the City's General Plan as a site for a hospital. He advised it will take two years before the hospital would be completed and indicated there would be other development along North McDowell Blvd. which is either.. proposed or being at the present time, which would a'd'd to the traff ic.problem. He urgently requested the Council to reconsider their motion on the modification of the General Development Plan. PROPOSED ORDINANCE An ordinance to amend -the Zon -ing Ordinance to rezone a TO RECLASSIFY A portion of the Park Place Subdivision from PCD (Planned PORTION OF PARK Community District) to'PUD (Planned Unit District) to PLACE SUBDIVISION accommodate the ro osed Hillcrest Hospital p P and medical (HILLCREST HOSPITAL related facili- ties, had been listed on the agenda for SITE) action by the City Council; however, in view of the fact the Council denied modification of the General Development Plan for the Park Place Subdivision, this legislation could not be considered. 9 4 April 25, 1977 PROPOSED ORDINANCE There.was some discussion regarding al•ternatves the TO RECLASSUF A : Council may be able to take at this meeting; however, PORTION OF PARK Councilman Harber son , suggested the instigation for any PLACE SUBDIVISION alternatives to approve the modification without the (HILLCRES•T"HOSPITAL medical facilities should be done .by the Hospital SITE) District,, not by the City Council. He further stated (Continued) this may be difficult for the Hospital District, as they had a contingency with.Qantas Development on the property, which may not make it possible for them.to apply for just the hospital site without the profes- sional and medical facilities. Mr. Charles Cowan spoke briefly to the Council. He felt the hospital was critical for the community to provide the much needed health services and, although he had not had an opportunity to confer with his Board, he.felt they could accept the Planned Unit Development for the hospital alone. He further stated it would b,e a better situation, however, if the medical office buildings would be permitted in the vicinity: It is-necessary for the hospital to be under construction by the end of June. Mayor Putnam then made a motion to modify the General Development Plan for Park Place Subdivision for the hospital site only', and eliminating the 6.3 acres• designated f'or professional office use. Councilman Cavanagh questioned'.the legality of the motion, and Mayor Putnam called a recess at 10•:00 p.m. in order for City Attorney Larry Klose to research the matter. The Council reconvened at. 10: 1.0 p.m. Mr. Klose advised it was his, opinion that Items 2 and 3 on the Agenda,,, i.e., the modification of the General Development Plan and the Ord'i- nancee rezoning the portion of Park Place from PCD to PUD, should be, referred back to the Planning Commission for their consideration of an ordinance for the hospital site alone.. Mr. Klose advised this would be the only action the. Council could take.this evening, unless one Council member who voted in the majority made a.motion to reconsider: Reconsider•.ation.on.the matter could.be taken at this meeting or the next succeeding meeting. Such a motion was I not offered. Mayor Putnam then moved that Items 2 and '3 on the Agenda„ relat -ing to the modification of °the Development Plan for Park Place Subdivision and the amend- ment to the Zoning Ordinance be referred back to the Planning Commission for their consideration, to include hospital site only. The motion was sec - onded by Councilman Perry, and adopted by 6 affirmative and l negative votes. Councilman Brunner voted "no". LETTER FROM HILLCRES -T In view of the action ;taken on Items 2 and a on ,.the. HOSPITAL RE BRTDGE ON Agenda, the letter was not read and no ;consideration of NORTH McDOW'ELL the item was given by the City Council.. DRAFT INDUSTRIAL City Manager Robert Meyer advised.t'he copies of the WASTE' ORDINANCE draft industrial waste ordinance were merely being presented.to the Council tonight and wo,uld'be studied '_t_C2. at a future date. PRELIMINARY BUDGET Manager Robert Meyer presented the Preliminary 19.77 -78 FISCAL YEAR Budget to the City Council for their review and read \� his submittal letter to the Council. A copy of the Budget and the letter is on •file with the City Clerk.. Mr,., Meyer commented this is the earliest date the Preliminary Budget has ever been presented to the City Council,, and thanked Finance Director John Scharer and Assistant City Manager David Breninger.f their a'ssistanc'e.. STATUS - -WATER City Manager Robert Meyer advised the.well on Stub:b EMERGENCY _S'ITUATION Street is p.rogressing.in a timely manner, and he should have a.report on the ;production'b'ack to, the .Council by the end of the week. The City is also proceeding with drilling other'-wells. April 25, 1977 WATERING OF PARKS City Manager Robert Meyer reviewed two reports pre- AND GREEN AREAS sented to the. City Council;, one dated April 13, 1977, from Harold Jones, Assistant Public Works Superinten -- dent, entitled Emergency Watering Plan for the'Par.ks Department. Mr. Meyer pointed out three of the parks have wells located on the sites, i.e., McNear, Walnut, and Wickersham. He further reviewed a report dated April 22, 1977, on the average daily water usage for 1976 for City -owned parks and public land. Copy of both reports is on file with the City Clerk. Mr. Meyer advised other cities had been contacted to determine what action they would be taking during the drought season, and most of: them.have indicated they are going to endeavor to keep their park areas green with some type of water- ing. Mr. Meyer advised if the parks, especially the large ones on the eastern side of the community,, are al -lowed to die,, it would be a costly procedure to reseed these areas. By the , ame token, it is going to be costly to try to water the areas by tank truck. Mr. Meyer referred to a memo directed to him by Public Works Superintend'ent.Roy Kelly in which he advised it was not feasible to use the tank truck to water the large areas. due to the weight of the truck and the fear of breaking down sidewalks,, asphalt areas and damaging sprinkler .systems. Mr: Kelly's memo- recommended the ordinance be amended to permit the City to water the park areas with sprinkler systems. In the prior year, the City used approximately 105,000 gallons p;er day, and Mr. Kelly indicated this r probably could be cut back to 8 1 0,000 gallons per day. Mr. Meyer indicated if tlie:Council would the use of sprinkler systems in the parks, they would be very carefully watched and monitored. The sprink- lers around the edges of the lawns would be removed so there would be no run- off. Mr. Meyer advised the City of Santa Rosa had taken an informal poll of the public to obtain their reaction for maintaining,',p'ark areas, and the poll was favorable, in fact almost demanding, that the City maintain green areas in the parks. Mr. Meyer advised the well water which the City seems to be obtain- ing seems'to'be very favorable, and it may not be necessary to curtail citi- zens' use of watering lawns until later in the summer. If this is the case, he would be reluctant to have to replace and reseed park areas next year. Councilman Harberson indic he was very gratified with the report from th staff regarding the park situ ation. His concern was for parks located on adobe soil where the earth would crack and as a result, small children may be hurt. Councilman Mattei'indicated he felt the program could be followed if there was enough advance publicity given in the press to explain the City's program. Mr. Meyer advised if the Council approved, it would'b.e necessary to modify the existing Water Emergency Ordinance to permit this use. An amendment to the ordinance will be prepared for the Council's consideration. LEGISLATION AFFECTING CITIES 95 )'6 SB 12 Councilman Cavanagh reviewed the League of California Cities' Legislative Bulletin dated April 22, 1977. This bill deals with property tax reform and is only one of two Senate Bills which still remain, and the only bill supported by Governor Brown. Assistant City Manager David Breninger stated the League strongly urges opposition to the bill, as it provides no alternative reven'u'e sources. The hearing in the Senate Committee on finance on the bill will be held May 2, and the concurrence of the Council was to send a letter in opposition. . AB 764 The Council reviewed this bill, which would reduce the ability of cities to influence solid waste management plans by placing a specific time limit for action by cities. The League recom- mends opposition to the bill; however, the Council determined they would review the bill further before making any decision. SB 495 The proposed bill would mandate State duties on police chiefs,. The hearing is to be held Monday, May 2, by the Senate Committee on Local Government. It was the consensus of the Council a letter be written in oppo- sition to the bill. 3U April 25, 1977 SB 508 This bill' would re.qu-re a mandatory hearing before cities- could dismiss police chiefs. Assistant City Manage -r. David Breriinger indicated it would 'tend.'to preempt local. control over police ch e.f&. Although the Council had previously taken a stand in. opposition to this bill,, it was determined, to write an additional letter reaffirming the Council's. posit -ion. SB 570 Vice -Mayor Brunner suggested a letter;of support'be written regarding SB 570, which would allow local governments to pay judgment's entered against it with interest in ten annual installments when the judgment equals or exceeds 2 -1/2 percent of th'e local government's budgeted property tax revenue. The Council concurred. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business t:o come bef,or,e the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 10:50 p.m. Mayor Attest: City Clerk.