HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 01/13/1992January 13, 1992
Vol. 27, Page 1
~ MIriUTES ®F A REGULAR.ADJOURNED MEETING
2 PETALUMA CITY C(JUNCIL
3 1VI®1VDAY, JANUARY 13, 1992
4 RGLL CALL 7:00 p.rti.
5 PRESENT: Read, Davis, Cavanagh, Vice Mayor Woolsey, Mayor
6 Hilligoss, Sobel, Nelson
7 ABSENT: None
s PUBLIC C®NIMENT
9 Pam Torliatt, 1017 GStreet -What is the status of the public education workshops on the
to wastewater plant.
11 Who is responsible for maintenance of the Auto Plaza sign? There are
12 unlighted letters.
13 The walk button on the Highway 10.1 overpass traff c light is broken.
14 Congratulations to Vice Mayor Lynn Woolsey on her election campaign
15 for Congressional in the 6th District.
16 Vince Landof, 12 Cordelia Drive -questioned what the City of Petaluma has done to
17 generate the 5 % reduction in flood insurance rates. He fails to see where there is any
1s flood fix.
19 City Manager John Scharer advised the audience on January 21 the Council will consider
20 dates for the wastewater plant workshops.
21 The Auto Plaza sign upkeep is the responsibility of the automobile dealer.
22 The traffic light controls at the Highway 101 overpass are the
23 responsibility of CALTRANS. The City will contact CALTRANS.
24 Assistant City Manager Warren Salmons advised the flood insurance rate reduction is the
2s result of the City's Zoning Ordinance amendments which recognize the revised Federal
26 Emergency Management Agency Flood Map, the result of the emergency preparedness
27 planning activities on the part of City staff, and the result of information programs. It is
2s anticipated the Petaluma flood insurance policy holders will experience another rate
29 reduction in 1993.
3o C®UNCIL C®MMENTS
31 Brian Sobel requested an update on the Army Corps of Engineers flood control project.
32 City Manager Scharer advised the Council that there will be a report on the Army Corps
33 of Engineers project at the January 21 meeting.
34 Michael Davis -congratulated Vice Mayor Woolsey on her candidacy for the 6th District
3s Congressional .seat.
36 He noted there is a business in town that will contract to clean up a homeowner's
37 yard of doggie stool.
3s World Watch, an environmental group, says there will be an environmental
39 revolution within the next decade.
4o Detroit automobile manufacturers are beginning to produce small numbers of
41 alternative energy vehicles.
Page 2, Vol. 27
January 13, 1992
1 Nancy Read -regarding Cable Television, she requested the Council subcommittee look
2 into and keep the Council informed as to; (1) progress regarding cable de-regulation; (2)
3 the use of fibre optic telephone lines ..for cable television delivery systems;. (3) the use of
4 satellite dishes; (4:) whether or not the cable company serving. the area would be
5 amenable to selling some of the equipment that is available by zental .only ;(such as the
6 remote control. device); and, (6) whether or not the cabae company would -make limited
~ service available gat a reduced rate.
s Jack Cavanagh - requested a status report on the Marina including progress with the
9 fueling facility.
io Vice Mayor Woolsey - .complimented Jennifer Barrett on her Rainier :project report. She
i i asked ahe .City:"Manager to explain more -about the. packet schedule so the Council knows
12 what to expect. She thanked everyone for their congratulatory remarks.
13 Bonnie Nelson -the homeless have shelter this cold 'night;. she is grateful for that.
14 Mayor Hlligoss -called :Don LaCerte from the: American Legion ..and Private Mary Keill
15 to the microphone to recognize Private Keill for her service in Operation'. Desert Storm.
~6 She was presented with a key to the City, a City the and a United States flag.
1~ FIREPLACES AND WOOD'BUItNING HEATING APPLIANTCE5
~g As: a result of a successful public information campaign to reduce the use of fossil. fuels
19 several years. ago, an .increasing number of households in the Bay .Area Air Quality
20 Management District (BAAQMD) have installed wood burning appliances for .heat.
21 Air Quality 'Regulations - The'Cty was advised. recently ghat the'BAAQMD :is developing
22 regulations for ahe use of individual automobiles in order to reduce air pollution.
23 Regulating, emissions from wood burning appliances is also on the BAAQMD regulation
24 horizon.
25 Staff presented a draft ordinance regulating chimney particulate emissions on new and
26 replacement installations of wood burning appliances to those which emit no more than
27 7.5 grams per hour of particulates. That is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
2s standard' for "enclosed" heating appliance chimney emissions. Speakers were:
~(h i I ~o n
29 ~4irr-Feldstein; of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District spoke in support of
3o regulating the types of wood. burning. appliances to be allowed in new construction. He
31 suggested all new and replacement wood burning appliances should be EPA approved.
32 He noted where have been 10 days in the last year when the atmospheric conditions -have
33 been such that the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued "Do Not Burn"
34 alerts to try to alleviate the amount of smoky air that results from atmospheric inversion
35 layers. He noted they have a telephone number for people to call'the BAAQMD to report
36 chimney smoke on "Do Not Burn" days. The BAAQIVID has staff on duty ,at night to
37 respond to the telephone complaints. Sixty five calls have been received so far.
3s At this time there is no Bay Area municipality that has. adopted this type regulation
,i
January 13, 1992 Vol. 27, Page 3
~ Lloyd Becket of Sebastopol represented the fireplace insert industry. The company he
2 represents manufactures the only fireplace insert that can meet the stringent EPA emission
3 standards. However, due to interesting wording of the EPA regulations, fireplaces
4 cannot be approved because they utilize more than a 35:1 air ratio.
5 Sarah Kidd, representing the Wood Burning Appliance Industry, noted the EPA will not
6 test certain units even though those units may be very clean burning appliances as
7 certified by the same testing laboratories that are used by the EPA. The wood burning
s appliance industry is evolving in terms of using waste products, such as rice stalks, to
9 make pelletized fuel. She referred to the Woodburning Handbook distributed by the Air
1o Pollution District Districts. This document incorporates consumer data on choice and
11 drying of wood and efficient wood heating.
12 Charles Carson, representing the Building Industry Association (BIA), expressed BIA
13 support of clean burning heating appliances. He asked that the ordinance become
14 effective for each subdivision at a time in the building/planning process prior to incumng
15 costs related to fireplace/heating appliance design selection. They would like to continue
16 to install fireplaces in some form.
~~ Jack Balshaw, 1680 Kearny Court - it would have been great to have this information ten
1s days ahead of time in order to digest it all. .Everyone here from the industry speaking to
19 you tonight would benefit from this proposed regulation. He is not sure there really is a
20 major air pollution problem and is concerned about Mr. Feldstein's (Bay Area Air
21 Quality Management District) news about neighbors turning in neighbors for using a
22 fireplace. It also appears that we are setting up a situation in preparation for retrofitting.
23 Who is going to test his fireplace for compliance and efficiency? The industry has told us
24 they are working on cleaner burning appliances and fuel. He feels the Council should put
25 this aside for a while.
26 Michael DeLongis, Amber Way -opposed to ban of open hearth fireplaces. He asked
27 how this could go to the voters for the decision.
2s Jack Arnold, 622 Second Street -this is an education issue. You can create a clean
29 burning fire with green wood, if you know how to do it; and, you can create a polluting
3o fire with dry wood. Log placement and timing are key elements.
3~ It was suggested the staff be given sufficient flexibility to approve installation of heating
32 appliances that have been tested to emit up to 7.5 grams of particulates per hour. That
33 would include more units ware on the current EPA approved list.
34 Assistant City Manager Warren Salmons asked the Council for time to revise the
35 ordinance to incorporate the comments received this evening. Amendments would
36 include the following, acceptable appliances would have particulate emissions no greater
37 than 7.5 grams per hour; the regulations will be effective. for new construction and for
3s replacement of existing units or fireplaces; the effective date of the ordinance would
39 recognize the timing of the development community cost development cycle for
4o subdivisions which are in process so as to avoid incurring additional cost factors.
.i3'~W .;t~.s
Page 4, Vol. 27
January 13, 1992
1 RECESS 9:20 to 9:45 p. m.
2 ADJOURN -the Regular Adjourned Council
3 with the Petaluma Community Development C
pz =ti °W '
~?~~ ~iGy~lS
~ ~ ~:,ti'
ing was adjourned to a
~n .,
4 M. Patricia Hilligoss, Mayor
5 ATTEST:
r
6 Patricia E. Bernard, City Clerk
meeting
January 13, 1992
1 MINYJTES OF A d®INT MEETING
2 OF THE
3 PETALiJMA CITY COiJNCIL
4 AND THE
5 PETALiJMA COMMUlV1TY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
6 MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 1992
Vol. 27, Page 5
7 ROLL CALL 9:45 p.m.
8 PRESENT: Read, Davis, Cavanagh, Vice Chairman Woolsey, Chairman
9 Hilligoss, Sobel, Nelson
10 ABSENT: None
11 RIVER WALK DESIGN
12 Sandra Reed of ZAC Landscape Architects reviewed the decisions made at the two
13 planning workshops, made a slide presentation reviewing the design recommendations
14 and displayed a large model of the River Walk (formerly called Golden Concourse).
15 Color selections will be made at a later time. Colored banners with a seasonal theme and
16 ornamental lights will be hung. The workshop group is ready to develop working
17 drawings for Zones 1 and 2. $200,000 has been budgeted for River Walk improvements
18 this fiscal year.
19 Zone 1 (Keller Street Parking Garage to Kentucky Street) will be resurfaced. Zone 2
20 (Kentucky Street to Putnam Plaza) will have new ornamental handrails on either side of
21 the stairs.
22 Zone 3 (the crosswalk at Putnam Plaza and Petaluma Blvd.) There was considerable
23 discussion about the identification of the crosswalk and an overhead ornamental design
24 connecting both sides of the street.
25 Zone 4 (the area between Petaluma Blvd. and Water Street along the public parking lot)
26 will tie into the other sections of the River Walk with the same seasonally representative
27 colored banners and similar lighting.
28 There was discussion about the possibility of utilizing several business establishment rest
29 rooms with PCDC reimbursement for some of the maintenance and operation costs. Staff
3o will pursue this idea. It was suggested that a homeless person could be employed to assist
31 with the maintenance. Jim Schultz, representing the Main Street organization, noted the
32 merchants do not wish to have signs pointing to public restroom facilities in their
33 establishments. Jack Balshaw, 1680 Kearny Court, noted the Petaluma Area Chamber of
34 Commerce Promotion Committee is in favor of supporting the provision of restroom
35 facilities in the downtown area. The Council/Commission was advised that a hamburger
36 business was offering the use of their facility, but the Health Department "wrote the
37 business up" and required that permission cease because the people had to pass through
38 the cooking area to reach the restroom. The Council suggested that alternatives be
39 pursued before they look at a big restroom construction project.
4o Traffic Engineer Allan Tilton reviewed the pedestrian/vehicle collision experience of the
41 downtown area. Although there was a great deal of discussion regarding the pedestrian
42 movement in Zone 3, there was no staff direction at this time. Prior to actual installation
43 of banners and lights, the respective property owners will be obtained be asked to allow
44 these appurtenances to be affixed to their buildings.
Page 6, Vol. 27
January 13, 1992
1 The Chairman advised staff to proceed with the next step (complete the Zone 1
2 construction, and to the extent that funds are available, to work on Zone 2). There was
3 no objection from the Council/Commission.
4 At 10:55 p. m. the meeting recessed to a Closed Session to discuss litigation with t e City
5 Attorney.
A I . ~ `~ _
y~~~
6 M. Patricia Hilligoss, Chairman
7 ATTEST:
s Patricia E. Bernard, City Clerk