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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/06/20041 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2004 - 6:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBER, 990 PALM STREET SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA ROLL CALL: Council Members Present: Council Members John Ewan, Christine Mulholland, Allen K. Settle, Vice Mayor Ken Schwartz and Mayor Dave Romero City Staff: Present: Ken Hampian, City Administrative Officer; Jonathan Lowell, City Attorney; Lee Price, City Clerk; Wendy George, Assistant City Administrative Officer; John Mandeville, Community Development Director; Bill Statler, Finance Director; Monica Moloney, Human Resources Director; Deborah Linden, Police Chief; Wolfgang Knabe, Fire Chief; John Moss, Utilities Director; Mike McCluskey, Public Works Director; Paul LeSage, Parks and Recreation Director; Betsy Kiser, Principal Administrative Analyst; Carolyn Dominguez, Finance Manager; Shelly Stanwyck, Economic Development Manager CLOSED SESSIONS At 6:30 p.m., City Attomev Lowell provided the Closed Session announcements as follows: 1) CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS Pursuant to Government Code § 54957.6 AGENCY NEGOTIATOR: EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION: 2) AGENCY NEGOTIATOR: EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION: 3) AGENCY NEGOTIATOR KAREN JENNY, MONICA MOLONEY SAN LUIS OBISPO CITY EMPLOYEES' ASSOCIATION (SLOCEA) KAREN JENNY, MONICA MOLONEY INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS, LOCAL 3523 KAREN JENNY, MONICA MOLONEY UNREPRESENTED EMPLOYEES: DEPARTMENT HEADS AND OTHER MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL City Council Meeting Page 2 Tuesday, January 6, 2004, 6:30 p.m. The City Attorney reported on the Closed Sessions as follows: 1) No reportable action; action to be reflected on a future consent calendar, 2) No reportable action- action to be reflected on a future consent calendar, 3) Council provided direction to its negotiators. INTRODUCTIONS Parks and Recreation Director LeSage introduced Christine Wallace, Recreation Coordinator in the Parks and Recreation Department. Public Works Director McCluskey introduced Robert Horch, the new Parking Manager. PUBLIC COMMENT Gary Fowler. 777 Mill Street, asked for a list or map depicting underground districts and suggested that the area between Walnut and Olive at Santa Rosa may be scheduled for undergrounding but has been overlooked. Public Works staff will respond to his inquiries. He also suggested that a senior center be included in the San Luis Market Place project and noted typos in the new Parks and Recreation brochure. Sifu Kelvin Harrison, San Luis Obispo, reiterated claims of discrimination and harassment. The following local health care professionals voiced concerns about the lack of sufficient, suitably zoned property for medical office facilities in San Luis Obispo. They urged the Council to consider an interim solution to the problem and, further, to amend the General Plan to provide for less restrictive zoning and parking regulations for medical offices: Fred Vernacchia,1930 Valle Vista Place Karen Krahl, 1025 Pacific Street Gary Donath , 357 Montrose Dr. (President of San Luis Obispo Medical Society) James Gealy, 1304 Ella Street (San Luis Obispo Eye Associates) (via written communication) David A. Canvasser, MD (Central Coast Cardio. Surgical Associates). ACAO George provided a status report on efforts to survey local property owners and health care providers in response to this unmet need. Council directed staff to move forward, without further survey and as appropriate, to change zoning regulations to allow greater flexibility in providing medical office space in the community. Brett Cross. 1217 Mariners Cove, suggested that the Council review inclusionary housing ordinances from other communities like Los Angeles, Fairfield and Salinas during its consideration of the Housing Element Update. He also suggested careful review of the no-net housing loss policy and, further, that the Council ask Cal Poly to conduct a "peer review" of the document. Mary Beth Schroeder. 2085 Wilding Lane, complained about the Council's land use decisions. The following urged the Council to reconsider its December 2nd action on the Bridge Street Project: Andrew Carter, 1283 Woodside Dr. Dawn Legg, 2480 Parkland Dan Kallal, 835 Francis 1 Philip Novotny. 2557 Greta George Garcia (Garcia Architecture and Design) 1 City Council Meeting Page Tuesday, January 6, 2004, 6:30 p.m. Ali Semon, 245 Bridge St. Tracy Wills, Atascadero resident. (Note: see Council discussion about this matter on Page 9. Jerry Rioux, Executive Director of the SLO County Housing Trust Fund, summarized the status of the Trust Fund outlined in his letter dated December 17'h (on file in the Office of the City Clerk) and asked the Council to place the matter on an upcoming agenda for discussion. Council referred the matter to staff and asked for a report on February 17"'. Michael Sullivan, 1127 Seaward St., spoke regarding City rules about presenting written testimony to the Council and asked for a meeting with the city attorney. CONSENT AGENDA Council Member Ewan noted that he was okay with the changes proposed for the Advisory Body Handbook (Item C4). Other members of the Council concurred. Mayor Romero commented on Item C9. He remarked that he continues to struggle with the City practice of spending the majority of transportation impact fees on bicycle lane improvements and urged the Council to consider a better balance of expenditures. C1 C2. C3. C4. ACTION: Moved by Ewan/Settle to approve the consent agenda as recommended by the City Administrative Officer; motion carried 5:0. APPROVE MINUTES OF TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2. 2003 REGULAR MEETING. ACTION: Moved by Ewan/Settle to waive oral reading and approve as presented; motion carried 5:0. 03. ACTION: Moved by Ewan/Settle to grant final passage to Ordinance No. 1443 (2004 Series); motion carried 5:0. ACTION: Moved by Ewan /Settle to grant final passage to Ordinance No. 1444 (2004 Series); motion carried 5:0. RESOLUTION REVISING THE ADVISORY BODY HANDBOOK. ACTION: Moved by Ewan/Settle to adopt Resolution No. 9516 (2004 Series), as revised (see red file), revising the Advisory Body Handbook; motion carried 5:0. C5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS FROM THE ' ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT AND MITIGATION PROGRAM (EEMP). City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 6, 2004, 6:30 p.m. Page 4 ACTION: Moved by Ewan/Settle to adopt Resolution No. 9517 (2004 Series) authorizing staff to complete and submit an application for grant monies in the 1 amount of $250,000 from the Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program (EEMP), to be used in support of acquisition of the Ahearn property at Stagecoach Road and Highway 101; motion carried 5:0. C6. WATERWAY MANAGEMENT PLAN CONTRACT AMENDMENT, SPECIFICATION NO. 90013A. C7. C8. ACTION: Moved by Ewan/Settle to 1) approve and execute Amendment 1 to the Agreement with San Luis Obispo County Flood Control Zone 9 to fund additional engineering services on the Waterway Management Plan for San Luis Obispo Creek and authorize the Mayor to execute Amendment 1. 2) After the County Board of Supervisors approves the use of Zone 9 reserves for this amendment, transfer an additional $40,000 from Zone 9 Revenue to the project account. 3) Approve and execute Amendment 1 to the Agreement with Questa Engineering for engineering services on the Waterway Management Plan for San Luis Obispo Creek in the amount of $40,207.82; motion carried 5:0. ACTION: Moved by Ewan/Settle to adopt Resolution No. 9518 (2004 Series) approving an Addendum to the Memorandum of Agreement between the City and the San Luis Obispo Police Officers' Association; motion carried 5:0. ACTION: Moved by Ewan/Settle to adopt Resolution No. 9519 (2004 Series) approving an Addendum to the Memorandum of Agreement between the City and the International Association of Firefighters, Local 3523; motion carried 5:0. C9. ANNUAL STATEMENT OF DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES. ACTION: Moved by Ewan/Settle to receive and file annual statements of revenues and expenditures from development impact fees for 2002 -03 (water, wastewater and transportation); motion carried 5:0. BUSINESS ITEMS COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT FOR 2002 -03. Finance Director Statler, Finance Manager Dominguez and Auditor Niffenegger (Glenn, Burdett, Phillips and Bryson) presented the audit and responded to brief Council questions. Public Comments None. —end of public comments — ACTION: Moved by Ewan/Settle to receive and file the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and ending financial results for 2002 -03; motion carried 5:0. 1 1 1 i City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 6, 2004, 6:30 p.m. Break called at 8:40 p.m. The meeting resumed at 8:52 p.m. 2. PaM6 Council Member Settle stepped down due a potential conflict of interest (owns property located at 1610 Oceanaire, in the vicinity of the project). CAO Hampian introduced this matter. Economic Development Manager Stanwyck and Allan Kotin, Allan D. Kotin and Associates, presented an in -depth report. Applicant's representative Bill Byrd introduced Brian Wolfe, who provided a visual overview of the physical project proposed for the site, including the site development plan, infrastructure improvements, pedestrian and vehicular access and circulation. Dena Dimonria, Larkspur Hotels, provided a brief description of the hotel component of the project. Michael Morris, Dalidio Family spokesperson, summarized project benefits. Public Comments Andrew Carter, 1283 Woodside Dr., encouraged the Council to allow more residential development on the site. Nick Muick, 3731 Orcutt Road, asked for clarification from Consultant Kotin on revenue projections. Consultant Kotin responded. Mila Vuiovich LaBarre, 650 Skyline Drive, commented that while she is unconcerned about the proposed overpass, she remains vehemently opposed to the extension of the Prado Road at Broad Street. She urged the Council to prepare a comprehensive EIR for the Prado Road Extension. She also noted disappointment that a community/senior center is no longer proposed for the site and encouraged the development of affordable housing. Michael Sullivan, 1127 Seward Street, voiced concerns about the financing of the project, asserted that the project is inconsistent with the General Plan and is in violation of CEQA and urged the Council to complete the entire environmental process before adopting a specific development agreement. Additionally, he pointed out that the amount of open space proposed for preservation is only 42% and stated that it is not adequate, nor is designating property offsite as open space consistent with the General Plan. Lastly, he argued that the transportation impact fees (TIF) are not high enough and voiced concern about a race track proposed for the site. Bill Wilson, 1690 Southwood Dr., voiced concerned about the real cost of the Prado Road extension (see written correspondence on file in the Office of the City Clerk). Brett Cross, 1217 Mariner's Cove, issued caution about proceeding because the environmental review hasn't been completed. He also expressed concern that downtown businesses will be negatively impacted, that the TIF will not cover the costs and that a race track is inappropriate on the site. Steve Barasch, 225 Prado Road, spoke in favor of the project and commended the negotiating team for working out the deal points. City Council Meeting Page 6 Tuesday, January 6, 2004, 6:30 p.m. Alice Loh. 31 Hathway, urged the Council to ensure the inclusion of a Chinese Garden in the open space area of this development and added that there is a long history of community and City leader support for the concept. Paul Brown. President of SLO Property Owners Assn. (1214 Mariner's Cove), urged the Council to move forward with the project. He added that he was sorry to see the elimination of the senior center concept of the project. John French. 265 South Street, spoke in support of the project and noted that there are no legal issues with adopting a Development Agreement at this stage. He suggested that the Council consider adjusting the numbers to reflect the lower residential component, and alerted the Council that the two separate transportation facilities that the City is currently looking at (the overcrossing and the extension of Prado Road) are regional in nature. Finally, he suggested that the Council direct staff to look at the principles of cost sharing to ensure the extension of Prado to Broad Street. Mary Beth Schroeder. 2085 Wilding Lane, spoke in opposition to agriculture land being destroyed for commercial expansion. —end of public comments— Staff and consultant responded to public and Council questions about financing, including the option of forming a Mello -Roos district. CAD Hampian added that it is a fully legal approach, but the Council would authorize the bond team that will ensure that the process is completed properly and lawfully. Additionally, clarification was provided about "freezing" in the development agreement the current TIF and the apportionment of shares. Finance Director Statler clarified that the difference in the cost sharing structure for the Prado Road overpass versus the extension is that there is "net -new" revenue from the commercial development proposed on the Dalidio property. City Attorney Lowell pointed out that the EIR will be certified prior to the actual entering into of the development agreement and assured the Council that the process is legal and proper. CAO Hampian clarified that no race track is planned for the open space, but rather the grandstand for the Sulky Racetrack is being proposed to be restored to its original location. He added that the concept will be researched and reviewed by advisory bodies. Additionally, CAO Hampian reported that the property owner once proposed the dedication of land for a senior center but noted that because the idea is not "cost free" to the City, staff is not promoting it. Council questions and comments ensued. Council Member Mulholland voiced numerous concerns, including issues regarding the overpass, open space dedication, TIF, traffic impacts and street naming. She also asserted that the fates of the existing farmhouse and Sulky Stadium should be considered by the Cultural Heritage Committee. Favorable comments followed by the majority of the Council. ACTION: Moved by Ewan/Schwartz to 1) review and conceptually approve major terms to be included in a development agreement and authorize staff to proceed with negotiations. 2) Authorize City Administrative Officer to hire the consultants necessary to comprise our "Bond Team" and enter into a third party reimbursement agreement with San Luis Obispo Marketplace Associates for the costs of these specialized consultants; motion carried 3:1:1 (Mulholland opposed, Settle recused). At 11:50 p.m. Council Member Settle returned to the dais. The Council reviewed the �- balance of the agenda and decided to complete it. City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 6, 2004, 6:30 p.m. Page COUNCIL LIAISON REPORTS Council Member Mulholland reported that she had attended the dedication of public art at Fire Station #1, the December 9 meeting of the Downtown Association and the December 17"' meeting of the Economic Vitality Commission. COMMUNICATIONS Council Member Ewan presented a memo for discussion regarding the possible reconsideration of the December 2, 2003 Council action to deny the Bridge Street project without prejudice (see memo on file in the Office of the City Clerk). A majority of the Council voiced no interest in reconsidering the previous action. Mayor Romero and Vice Mayor Schwartz presented a memo for discussion regarding earthquake safety and seismic retrofit in the downtown (see memo on file in the Office of the City Clerk). Staff reported that the Chamber of Commerce has re- formed the Seismic Task Force. The Council directed staff to prepare, for the Mayor's signature, a letter to property owners of un- reinforced masonry buildings encouraging them to proceed with retrofitting and informing them about the City's grant program. In addition, the Council appointed Council Member Ewan as the Council Liaison to the Task Force, and Mayor Romero as the alternate. Council Member Ewan voiced concern about fireplace chimneys during earthquakes and asked staff to review with the public how to repair and/or reconstruct fireplaces. He suggested to the public that if they have a damaged fireplace or furnace, that it be inspected by a certified professional before resuming use. Community Development Director Mandeville reported that the Building Department has already put together a handout informing the public about this important matter. There being no further business to come before the City Council, Mayor Romero adjourned the meeting at 12:30 a.m. to Tuesday, January 13, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. in a Council Chamber, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo. Lee Price, C.M.C. City Clerk APPROVED BY COUNCIL: 1/20/2004 LP:jo