HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 01/23/1978MINUTES OF MEETING
OF CITY COUNCIL
PETALUMA,, CALIFORNIA
JANUARY 23,, 1978;
ADJOURNED MEETING_ An.Adjourned Meeting of the Petaluma City Council was
ca -1 -led to order. by.Mayor Helen Putnam at 7:38 p.m.
ROIL ,CALL Present: Councilmen Balshaw, Cavanagh; Harberson,
Hlligoss, Perry.
and Mayor Putnam.
Absent: Councilman Bond.
PLEDGE OF'ALLEGIANCE Mrs- Jeanne Klose of 200 Thomas Lane led the Pledge of
Allegiance to the Flag.
CONSENT CALENDAR A motion was made by Vice -Mayor Perry, seconded by
Councilman Harberson, to adopt the resolutions, Agenda
Items #1 and #2, and introduce the ordinances for
publication, Agenda Items '#3 and A. Motion carried
unanimously.
Agenda Item #1
SUSPEND OPERATION
OF ORD #1233, NCS
EMERGENCY WATER
ORDINANCE
RES #81066 NCS
Agenda Item #2
AUTHORIZE MAYOR TO
SIGN. LIBRARY LEASE'
AGREEMENT
RES #8067 NCS
Agenda Item, #3
AMEND 'ZONING ORD;.
TO PREZONE
APPROXIMATELY'240
ACRES EAST OF
ELY BLVD.
ORD #1275 NCS
Agenda Item #4:
AMEND ZONING ORD. TO
RECLASSIFY 'PROPERTY
AT LINDBERG- LANE &
ST. FRANCIS DRIVE
PROM PUD TO
R 1 - 6.., 500
(PETALUMA VILLAS)
ORD 41276 NCS
Resolution #8066 N.C,.S. suspending the operation of R O 1r1 1/1
Ordinance 41233' N.C. -S. (_Petaluma Municipal Code, Chap-
ter 15.18), the Water Emergency Ordinance, was adopted.
Resolution #806.7 N.C..S. authorizing the Mayor to sign —
the Library Lease Agreement was adopted. 6? 3I
Ordinance #1275 N,,X.S, amending Zoning Ordinance,#1072
N X.S. by prezoning A.P. #136- 060 -01, 417= 050'02, #17-
06,0 -02',. and 417= 060 -03 (.consisting of approximately
240+ acres) located east of Ely Blvd. South, in the vi-
cinity ,of Caulfield Lane., from County Agriculture to
City P.C'..D. (Planned Community District) (Lands of
Atkinson; et al)', was introduced and .ordered published.
Ordinance #1276 N X .S. amending Zoning Ordinance #1072
by reclassifying A.P. #7- 47 -1 -03 and #7- 471 -04,
Lindberg'Lane A St. Francis Drive, from'a P.U.D.
(P.1anned .Unit District) t_o* =1- 6,500 (Petaluma Villas)
was 'introduced and ordered published.
MASTER E.I.R. -- Community Development and Services. Coordinator Frank V7,27
PRESENTATION_ BY. Gray stated he had been directed by the Council to /
COMARC,DESIGN 'SYSTEMS explore the. possibility of preparing a_ Master E.I,.,R.
f.or the City of Petaluma._and to look into.'two . distinct
approaches.,,, both, the traditional Master E;,I.R, and a .computer -aided system.
Both of these possibilities have been reviewed, and the proposal before the
Council this evening is :from COMARC Design Systems on a computer - assisted,
dynamically- gperat`ed Master Environmental Impact Report System,, The Council
would review,the. computer system this evening,' and, the traditional proposal,.'
prepared_ and submitted by Walt.Smith and Associates, would be heard by Council
on February 6.,,
Mr.� Gray, stated P . both proposals are complete, have time frames built into them
. P
and monetary amounts for the completion. He then introduced Mr. Ron Walters,
President of COMARC Design Systems. Mr -. Walters stated the reason his firm
would like to do the Master E.I.R. was, 'because. it Would speed up the K.I.R.
process for the City. Also, he referred to,the new requirement- under AB 8'84:
which 'makes it necessary to.comp,lete, projects w,thn:a one -year period. Their
proposal would enable the City to work within the guidelines of AB 884. Mr.
January 23, 1978
MASTER E'.I.R. --
PRESENTATION BY'
COMARC 'DESIGN 'SYSTEMS
(Continued) Walters stated'in order for a Master Environmental
Impact Report to be effective it would need constant
updating. He felt the best approach to keep the Master E.I.R. current would be
to'base'I on some type of systems approach so it can bed ynamic, easily
updated and "flexible. He stated several years ago, the City of Petaluma was
very forward thinking, and ,developed a data base for planning.. Their firm.had
prepared. the data base, and since that time, has been involved in. two -different
projects. 'At the.,present time., the -City has a comprehensive base ;in place,
which makes; it an ideal situation to go ahead' with the implementation of a
Master E.L.R. to minimize the amount of work involved in reviewing proj'ects;.
M. Walters then showed slides; to review the data base the City currently has,
and to illustrate how the City of Santa Rosa has taken the concept of the"
program begun by the City of Petaluma and expanded it to an on- going;, day -:to-
day process for reviewing projects:
In his slid_e,pres;entation, Mr. Walters indicated what .types "of information
woulld be ava fable *from the computers, including slope maps, persp.ective,,, view
studies,, drainage view, earthwork, land disturbance, impact of grading,, flood:
plains, wild fire.,. rs lope stability and seismic, hazards- He also reviewed some
of the map's already stored by the' City of:.. Petaluma, in the system. - - Mr. `Walters
stated all of the parcels in the'City have been digitized and stored, into'the
system. 'He :illustrated how a "single parcel can'be retrieved'from the" system
and a.histo_r=y of the parcel given by the computer in approximately four minutes
time,. The system is also linked into: the County Assessor's data so that at the
same time a report is prepared on the, environmental aspects of a parcel, all of
the Asses."sox's data on the.same would be given. The Assessor's data has,
already'been setup for the City of.'Petaluma. Their firm is maintain'i'ng a file
of city actions for the,City of Santa_ Rosa. Every time an action is taken,on a
parcel, it is typed into the system so when a parcel is retrieved 'from the
system the complete history, including variances and other actions' on.tle'
parcel, is .lis.ted.
The system. will be able to. store' actions on a cumulative basis which' will.
affect the impacts on streets and;,intersections.' Mr: Walters stated they are
proposing to utilize the.data base already implemented but will take`it one
step further, so it becomes the type of. process Santa Rosa is currently using.
Secondly, they,propose a Master E.L.R. document be prepared based, on the data
base, utiliz'ed•by.;the data base, and updated by'the data base, so the Master
E. L. R., .even though it is document;, ,will.'be dynamic and will never get out of
date..
In the discussion following:.Mr,-_ Walt'er:s' presentation, City' .Manager Robert'
Meyer, asked if a. Master E.L.R. document would be printed and presented' to the
Council in order for hearings to be held. 'Mr. Walters stated' a. document would
be presented.
Councilman Har:berson asked when the history on the parcel maps would start,.
Mr. Walters indicated he felt it was important to start immediately and, if
possible, to go back in time. Mr. Walters suggested' if there was any particu-
lar- project which would create an impact by a lot.of different developments .-, it
probably would be wise -,to go into that one area and create a history for it.
.In Santa Rosa, this, is being done as "stafsf time, is available..
Councilman Cavanagh :questioned the type of personndl. a system
and, "if any 'training, was involved.. Mr- 'Walters stated the process is a''simple
one and those'' who would be involved would not need to know anything about
computers. 'A part of the proposal' includes `a training and operationSJ manual..
Councilman Hilligoss questioned whether there would be any additional: cost :for
terminals necessary'y to run the system. Mr. :Walters :indicated the firs,t' 'imple-
mentation would be run on a similar basis as the City of. Santa Rosa on a' "mail
order " basis. Their firm is prepared: to give 24 -hour service. In answer'to
Councilman,Hilligoss' question whether there would be on -going costs, Mr.
Walters indicated only when a summary was requested. Councilman.Hlligoss also
asked whether more staff' would be needed:. Mr. Wa'lters,suggested� th'e use of the
system would save a tremendous amount of staff time.
Councilmman Balshaw stated the problems the City has to.deal with most frequent-
ly are the impact on schools and on 'traffic. ,Ile questioned whether , the City
could ge maps of traffic, projecting, existing: st`r-eet network or a modified
street netwo would show the impact. 'He also questioned whether the
1
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January 23, 1978
MASTER Lf:.R.-- firm could take: the existing Envir_onmerital Design Plan
PRESENTATION BY ' using the overall density and project the traffic ion
COMARC DESIGN'SYSTEMS all the existing or streets. s:eets. Mr. Walters
(Continued) ' indicated the system ,.is capable of' producing this
information. With regard to:the school data, Council-
man Balshaw questioned how the firm would get the information to determine the
impacts on schools'. Mr. Walters - stated there would have to be a factor derived
and they could start to deal with these +;matters in a flexible manner by using
different factors of the number of, school children per unit.
There °was some discussion regarding the format of the;Environmental Summary as
illustrated on Page 9 and 10 of the - proposal submitted by COMARC. Frank Gray
stated such a summary would have references to sections' -of a Master E.I.R.
document; and with these two documents, an E.I.R. for the'site would'be avail-
able. Councilman Balshaw indicated he: - f'elt this .would take additional staff
time, as under the present system, environmental impact 'reports are prepared by
consultants and the final draft given to the;.Planning staff. Mr. Gray indi-
cated he 'felt there would still be staff analysis needed. Staff would, however,
only have to work with those sections which would have an impact. Mr. Gray
felt the staff time would. be the same as required now for the initial review of
an environmental project.. 'At the present time'., when the staff receives an
inquiry which may be subject to environmental review, the project is, reviewed
for potential impacts; but under the COMARC Design Systems, the computer would
complete this'work to this stage. Mr. Gray indicated there would be three
levels which would -have to be considered. First, a'Negatve Declaration would
be'filed. The second determination would be that °there are'impacts, but they
are covered by the E.I. . The third level would be there are impacts
not covered.by the Master These impacts would be- marked by the computer
system, - and - it would then be necessary to have the.focused'environmental review
and'those items which are'indicated as,having an impact.
The question was asked whether a sample 'environmental"impact report prepared
COMARC Design Systems would be available for the Council's review. Mr. Walters
indicated, to'his no other community has made this step, and'Peta-
luma would - be the first in field of preparing a Master E.I.R. on a dynamic
basis. The biggest part of the project is preparing the Master E.I.R. The
E.I.R. would be referenced to the various types of data presently in the sys-
tem, and the information could be retrieved and printed out on the
summary environmental report. The computerized information would also advise
when the .E.I.R.. needs to be: 'updated.
Councilman Harberson questioned, assuming'the system 'had already -been set up,
how would it have'helped.o .ih'e proposed projec.ts'east of Ely'Blvd .Mr'. Gray'
stated as the parcels of land came in,'the'Cty would have requested a parcel
inventory of the land. It have produced the various types of environ-
mental constraints on the land. The City would have referred to the Master
E.I.R. and fourid'that about 60 percent of the material prepared in the tradi
tional'E.I;.R.'was.'not necessary, as it woirld' have'Already been adopted in the
Master E.I.R. There wou,ld.have been certain'items, such as the airport and the
traffic, pinpointed for additional information instantly. The biggest advan-
tage of'havirig the Master E.I.R. would be saving time;
Mr'. Walters was asked how'the Master E.I.R. would be updated, and he stated as
new information became such - as better soils data, this would be fed
into the computer: The main iteriis for updating', which are always difficult,
are impacts on 'projects'sudh as traffic.' A project' is adopted, and`ihe'traffic
is established. - Th'is'automatically becomes a part of the Master'E.I.R. Master
traffic files would• be, set - up -so that. the next time a project is considered
which would impact the same'street, the system, using the'data already estab-
lished for the'area plus ttie fact another project'is planned; would show the
total' impact' on- the street::
Some discussion was'held on. the fact the'Master Environmental Impact Report
would be an'advantage f:or'the developer. There was concern regarding the cost
for the report and how the developers would share in the cost. Frank Gray -
stated an environmental review free should be established., which is a normal
procedure. Additionally, fee's for special maps or reports would be charged to
the developer on a per acre basis,
City Manager Robert Meyer he City could arrive'at a figure so
when the land 'is developed; the City receive its money'back for the Master
Environmental Impact Rep.ort.' 'Mr. Meyer "als.o stated` lie i a Master E.I.R.
would only save the developers time but also money.: "
At the conclusion of the discussion,, Mayor the Council would
take no action until after hearing the ;proposal b,y Walt Smith and Associates .oil
February 6. { 1
` gol
January 23., 1978
PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY Police Chief Robert'Murphy gave some introductory
CIVIC.CENTER_COMPLEX re a ks regard c 'ing the publi safety facility,'stating
\ PRESENTATION BY t or a new facility was started.before Larry
V
ARCHITECTS',,ANSHEN,; &, Higgins retired as Police. Chief and`pror to the death
ALLEN o.f Fire Chief Joseph Ellwood;..
In January, 1976, the City Council established a.Public Facilities Committee,.
I't began: work with, the National Architectural Clearinghouse a, grant to
learn more about public safety facilities. Using the predictions ; made by the
Clearinghouse and City staff, the'Commi.t,te'e began to develop criteria for
selecting an architectural firm to design, the new public safety facility. The
Commit teeseect'ed the firm of Anshen and Allen, and the Public Safety Com-
mittee has been working with. them.. to f'inalize''what will be pre sented.to the
City.Council.. The presentation to be,given'hy the architects represenisihe
collective thinking of what- i's needed now and probably to about; the year 2000,
based ,',on the. best predictions of the , of Petaluma. The need for a new
f.acili;ty.becom_es apparent when it is realized the Police-Department.is_ now
operating . out of two buildings and a ,pant. of a third building, -making it
d,ifficul ,to. ma.intaid efficiency.. The Committee has now arrived at the time
when they, want to .present to the Council the, final schematic.,design..of the
public safety faci- lity,'and the architect's master plan for the Civic Center
C omp'l exy
Present . from the firm knshen.and'.Al,len were Mr-. Parker,, Mr. Hind, Miss Hansen
and. Mr. Leonard,. Derek 'Parker stated their firm was retained, in May of 19.77 to
develop. a master plan f or- the civic center and a schematic design concept -for_'
the, public , safety -facility:. They have. worked closely with the. City Manager and
his staff,to : establish ,space need's for each Of ty's functions through the
year 2000.. These needs for the County.func:tions , have : als'o been established on
the site. Working. in more detail on the. public .safety facility, the firm
developed a detailed program based, on the.standards set :by the National
Clearinghouse for Justice The,public:safety facility would provide-for the
Police Deepartment,, the administration-of the Fire Department, a-nd',an emergency
Operations center. In the Fall of .last year, the Council directed his °firm to
take one of the five options presented and.develop'it in more detail.
Mr. Parker then gave a slide presentation'of; the - propose& civic center complex,
showing the various phases of development.'and the proposal for placement of,
various buildings and proposed parking.
Miss Fani Hansen, the Project Director, then described the derma. design of the
public safety facility showing slides_of the proposal. At the conclusion of
h ; er presentation,_Miss Hansen invited the Council..and members of the audience
to view the scale.model which they 'had prepared.
RECESS A recess was called at 8 :55 p.m, in order - for the.
Council to view the model, and the Council; reconvened
at 9:07 p.m.
When the Council reconvened,, Mr. :Parker rev; ewed.. °the
cost estimates for the"p "roject. The proposal has been
designed to be in three phases , ., the first of which would be,the public
safety building itself , „ to.include the 17 secured parking spaces -for police
vehicles. The total project cost for this phase, including land acquisition„
construction costs.and other project costs, would be $2.5million,. `The second
and third phases could be built at the same time, or separately if preferred',.
The plaza and parking structure in.. - the vicinity of Howard. Street would cost
$'500 and the parking facility and plaza area of'the civic center complex
would be another $500,000.. These estimate's are based on going out for bid in
November, 1978. 7 If the City- goes out for bids in 1978 a substantial amount of
architectural and engineering development needs to take place', If this work is
delayed until funding; is obtained, there would be' a .10.-Month-delay.,- while the
drawings are `being develop:ed,, and this would add $200,000 to the cost of Phase
I'alone.
In answer to ,questions, raised by the. CO'uncil. Mr.. Parker stated''consaruciion of
ail three phases could be completed in 15 to 18 months -. There would. be only
about two or three ' months saved if the Council determined-'to..do only Phase. _I.
Mr. Parker was asked,whether the design had' been discussed with the, Catholic
Church. Mr. Parker stated,they had invited Monsignor Tillman to view the
design. He was, enthusiastic but advised Mr. Parker any negoi iat- ions*would.have
to be made with the Bishop.. The concept would mean removing the four -car .
garage presently used by the church and possibly assigning them parking spaces
under the plaza as a °replacements:
January 23, 1978
Councilman Harberson'suggested a committee of the Council should talk to the
Catholic Church and possibly with the Bishop regarding the proposed project.
Mayor Putnam asked what procedure the Councif would take from this point in
time. City Manager Robert'Meyer stated at the'next Council meeting, there
would be the matter of accepting the'architect's work and accepting the sche
matic'design of the bdilding' and referring both of these matters to the Plan-
ning Commission. Mr. Meyer started he would also like to have the Council
consider the next step by actually directing the architectural -firm to prepare
the working drawings and the. necessary documents to go out to bid. The reason
for the request to have'the working drawings completed is federal funds'
become available, the project would be'ready and there would be no delay:.
Mr. Meyer siated'if the, Jarvis Initiative is passed in June, a two- thirds vote
of the registered voters would be needed to'pass a bond issue in November. The
staff will try to determine if there are any other':alternatives. He.asked the
Council to give some :consideration about what they wanted to do with regard to
the phases of :the project,' If the City is able to At-least get the public
safety building underway, there maybe some -hope for getting federal assistance
for theretnainder'of the project: Mr. Meyer stated if"th'e working drawings had
been ready when the City received the E.P.A. Grant, this project may have been
eligible.
Some, discussion was.held on the cost of the.working drawings if they were
prepared by`the architect. Mr. Parker stated the project is. .a three- phase
development. "The first is.the'schemat c design, which has completed. The
second would be.design development which would cost between $25,000 and $30,000,
and the third, the working drawings for construction, which may cost between
$70,000 and $90 ',000.' "
RECESS Mayor Putnam called.a recess at 9:.22 p.m.,, and the
Council'reconveifed at' 9. :26.p.m.
DISCUSSION REGARDING Mayor P- utnam'stated since the City Attorney,•Larry V /` - i'
PROPOSED SIGN ORD.., Klose,, h`ad ,given. the' Council a sense of direction in a
letter. dated.January 23, 1978; a copy of which is on
file; she asked him to. comment on the matter.
Mr. Klose apologized to the Chamber of Commerce and the
Real Estate Association for not having received a.copy of.the draft ordinance
until last week. He, explained it was an oversight, in his.off.ice. Based on the
direction he was ; given in October,.he.took'the ,existing Sign Ordinance and,
with some changes, integrated` it into the.,exis:ting;Zoning Ordinance. The
existing physical standards for-the signs, i.e.,, planning area as they
exist now.in. the Zoning Ordinance, are virtually the same-. The changes'uade
are to "grandfather" or permit the continuance of :all non - conforming signs
which were erected. in a lega -1 way.and in conformance with the Sign Ordinance in
effect at the time the sign was constructed, as long as they are in good
condition and safe. He suggested establishing a time period to determine
whether signs which had been erected>'without a per mit'are legal and in con-
formance with the standards in effect when the signs were - constructed. This
would give the City an inventory of legal signs, and the inventory could be
used for enforcement purposes. Mr. K-lose suggested a 90- day.period of time for
people to seek permits.
With relation to, enf'orcement' =, Mr. Klos.e stated he has submitted a separate
ord- inance to °amend the Zoning Ordinance to reduce, the criminal penalties for
violation from a misdemeanor to-an infraction., Mr. Klose advised this was,
considered because courts will rarely impose a prison•sentence for violation of
a Zoning Ordinance_.. If the inf.r - -- action, procedure adopted, the. City would
have the rightrto, issue citations and have the matter settled in court
to a traffic ticket.
Mr. Klose explained there were three documents presented to the Council for
their consideration. The main document repeals the code section pertaining to
signs and places everything in the Zoning Ordinance, with the exception of
political signs. Mr.. Klose stated if the'Council makes a determination on
these documents, they will have to be referred .back to the Planning Commission
for'report and recommendation. A change to•,be made to the draft document dated
December 29, Section 26.910, is.to add that an encroachment permit,would
be necessary for projecting signs. Mr. Klose explained the document is a draft
and any comments or changes the Council may make would be appropriate._
Councilman Harberson expressed ,some concern on.how the business community- would
be made aware of the period of time within which they could register signs
January 23, 1978
DISCUSSION REGARDING already in use, The_''City Attorney suggested the news
PROPOSED SIGN ORD. media could carry the: information, or, if necessary,
(Continued)- individual letters could be- writtem to the various
. .. ,
businesses throughout the community. Councilman
Harberson suggested advising the Chamber. of 'C'ommerce would ;probably be the best
way to advertise the ,fact.. Mayor. Putnam referred to a letter-re:ceived by the
City Clerk from the Chamber of Commerce dated January 19,, 1978, signed by
S. Wi11..iams, President.. The.letter was read by the Clerk,and'i.s on.file. The
requ from the Chamber of . Commerce„ iS for, an additional 30 days..td respond, to
the document.and, schedule meetings accordingly:
Fred Schram, 'Manager, Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce, - was disturbed because
the Chamber of Commerce had not had an opportunity to review the draft ordi-
nance„ He also felt they should have been 'contacted for. input He expressed'
disappointment in the fact the.C'ouncil had not,adopted the ordinance, in October.
of 197,7., which -had been forwarded to them by the.Planning Department. He felt
the 'City Attorney should have contacted' them while preparing the drat t..
City Atto Larry Klose stated it was' h i$ understanding, he.:was to " dove tail"
the existing standards with the grandfather provisions discussed' At' the October-,
24,, 1977' Council meeting,,into - one document He felt he had fol'lowed.the.Council's
direction in the draft document forwarded,to them.on.December 29,, 1977. `
City Manager'`Rober_t Meyer stated at the meeting of October 24, 1971, the Coun-
cil spent a, :great deal of time .discussing the, Sign Ordinance. At.. that time it
was determined. not to -make major changes: to the ordinance ,bu to try to find, a
solution to the problem of non- conforming ;signs. He the document presented
B y the City.Attorney follows these direc:tions... There will ;still be an oppo,r-
tunity to try io reach a 'compromise 'on' . o,ther' sections., such as the square
footage of signs:,, etc., at a later date. The Council felt it was important for
those people who have non - conforming „signs to be advised whether or not those
signs can be "grandfathered'” and permit's issued for them.
After some discussion, it was determined to_ postpone the matter for the 30 -day
study period requested by the - Chamb'er of Commerce.
C� APPOINT JAMES; L. Resolution 480;6.8 N.C.S:'appointing James L. Harberso
HARBER-SON ALTERNATE, as Alternate. City Representative to the General Assem=
ABAG GENERAL ASSEMBLY bly of. the,Asso.ciaton of Bay Area. Governments'.:,, was:
RES 48068 - NCS.' introduced by Vice- Mayor Perry, seconded by Councilman
Hilligos`s, and adopted by 6 affir and ,1 absentee
votes.
WATER RATIONING Councilman, H'arb.erson,suggested.since: the City, has
terminated 'all water` ra't'ioning in= 'the community., and
the, citizens were so cooperative during this period, he would like to have the
Council thank. the resTdents':by some., means,, ,ei:ther by, putting° a message in. the
water bills or. taking oui.an ad in the newspaper..'
ADJOURNMENT° The'r.e'being.no further business to come before the
Couunc 1, the aneet ng was adjourned at 10:10 :p.m. in
memory of former Mayor Everett Matzen.:
`Mayor
Attest
CLty Clerk