HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/11/1977City Council Minutes
October 11, 1977
Page 2
C. Solid Waste Committee - Councilman Dunin reported that the committee was
no longer functional now that the County -Wide Solid Waste Management Plan
had been adopted. The City Clerk was directed to drop this from the activ-
ities report.
E. Whale Rock Commission - Mayor Schwartz stated there had been no meeting
since the last report to the committee.
F. Zone 9 Advisory Committee - Councilman Gurnee had been the representative
but due to his resignation, no one attended the meeting, and Councilman
Petterson was assigned to replace Mr. Gurnee until the Council had a chance
to reassign Council committee members.
2. Appointments to the nine.Policy Committees of the Channel Counties Division
of the League of California Cities were continued to the October 18, 1977
Council meeting.
3. The City Council held.a_ public hearing..on the recommendation of the-Planning
Commission to rezone.property.in the Foothill - College Area in.-order to have the
zoning conform to,the recently adopted General Plan of the City and to receive
.proposals for future changes to the City's General Plan.
' Terry.Sanville presented the.recommendation.of the Planning.Commission.for the
rezoning in the Foothill- College.Neighborhoods.as part.of.the City -wide rezoning
program. New zoning recommended by the-Planning Commission for the Foothill Blvd. -
Cal Poly area-would-reflect the General.Plan.and what existed today better than
present zoning. .The major changes.in the.zoning recommended were: 1) schools,
parks and Sierra Vista Hospital would be zoned as public facilities; 2) the University
Square Shopping Center would be rezoned as a major retail area instead of a neighbor-
hood shopping area; 3) some slopes of San Luis Mountain, an area on Santa Rosa Street
at the City limits, and a hillside next to Cuesta Park, all now undeveloped, would
be.zoned for agriculture conservation (A /C) zone; 4) zoning in some apartment
areas would be changed to more closely match the apartments that were there now
such as in the North Chorro - Boysen Avenue areas; 5) several.apartment zones would
be created, most of them relatively small = the largest would be on the west side
of the Southern Pacific tracks between Foothill and Murray Street where apartments
had already been developed in an.office zone;. 6)..some areas zoned for apartments
would be rezoned for houses.such.as.the_area.between Loomis and Hope. Streets. Finally
the.Planning Commission.had spent_a.lot.of time trying to determine the most appro-
priate zoning. In some cases they had proposed zoning which might require amendments
to the City's General Plan.. In.other.cases, they wanted to satisfy the desires of
residents in a specific area and were recommending zoning_which would permit less
density than allowed by in the General Plan, that is, R -1 vs. R -2, etc.
Terry Sanville brought to the.Council'_s attention,..the_ matter of..one major
problem property in the Foothill - College area. This involved property located
' on the hillside north and west of Buena Vista Avenue.. The existing zoning of
the property was R -1, low.density.residential.. The-majority of the area was
undeveloped. The 1977 General Plan showed portions of property as agricultural
conservation and a portion of the property was R -1 residential. Access to the
area was from Buena.Vista.Avenue, Slack-Street and.Hays...Street......The Planning
Commission recommended that.the.por.tion.of..the property above..460'..elevation.
be zoned A/C 10 and that remained R -1 but the staff recommended that the entire
property be A/C 10 due-to problems of steep ..slopes,..fire.pr.otection, water service
and disability. He-continued that the slope was over.30% and that the water
service limit line was in the area at 460'. He reminded the City Council that
the existing R -1 homes in the area already had low water pressure. He felt
D. County Water Advisory Board - Mayor Schwartz reported that the committee
had.met „and had received a verbal-report that the County of Santa Barbara
was seriously proceeding on the implementation of the California Water Plan
the Coastal Aqueduct through San Luis Obispo County -to Santa Barbara County
'
and-that as soon as he received more information as to the commitments made
by.the Santa Barbara County Water agencies, he would so inform the Council
but he said now that the Council should start thinking very seriously about
preparing-an advisory ballot item for the next election either in March or
June, 1978 to give the people an opportunity to make their selection on this
program.
E. Whale Rock Commission - Mayor Schwartz stated there had been no meeting
since the last report to the committee.
F. Zone 9 Advisory Committee - Councilman Gurnee had been the representative
but due to his resignation, no one attended the meeting, and Councilman
Petterson was assigned to replace Mr. Gurnee until the Council had a chance
to reassign Council committee members.
2. Appointments to the nine.Policy Committees of the Channel Counties Division
of the League of California Cities were continued to the October 18, 1977
Council meeting.
3. The City Council held.a_ public hearing..on the recommendation of the-Planning
Commission to rezone.property.in the Foothill - College Area in.-order to have the
zoning conform to,the recently adopted General Plan of the City and to receive
.proposals for future changes to the City's General Plan.
' Terry.Sanville presented the.recommendation.of the Planning.Commission.for the
rezoning in the Foothill- College.Neighborhoods.as part.of.the City -wide rezoning
program. New zoning recommended by the-Planning Commission for the Foothill Blvd. -
Cal Poly area-would-reflect the General.Plan.and what existed today better than
present zoning. .The major changes.in the.zoning recommended were: 1) schools,
parks and Sierra Vista Hospital would be zoned as public facilities; 2) the University
Square Shopping Center would be rezoned as a major retail area instead of a neighbor-
hood shopping area; 3) some slopes of San Luis Mountain, an area on Santa Rosa Street
at the City limits, and a hillside next to Cuesta Park, all now undeveloped, would
be.zoned for agriculture conservation (A /C) zone; 4) zoning in some apartment
areas would be changed to more closely match the apartments that were there now
such as in the North Chorro - Boysen Avenue areas; 5) several.apartment zones would
be created, most of them relatively small = the largest would be on the west side
of the Southern Pacific tracks between Foothill and Murray Street where apartments
had already been developed in an.office zone;. 6)..some areas zoned for apartments
would be rezoned for houses.such.as.the_area.between Loomis and Hope. Streets. Finally
the.Planning Commission.had spent_a.lot.of time trying to determine the most appro-
priate zoning. In some cases they had proposed zoning which might require amendments
to the City's General Plan.. In.other.cases, they wanted to satisfy the desires of
residents in a specific area and were recommending zoning_which would permit less
density than allowed by in the General Plan, that is, R -1 vs. R -2, etc.
Terry Sanville brought to the.Council'_s attention,..the_ matter of..one major
problem property in the Foothill - College area. This involved property located
' on the hillside north and west of Buena Vista Avenue.. The existing zoning of
the property was R -1, low.density.residential.. The-majority of the area was
undeveloped. The 1977 General Plan showed portions of property as agricultural
conservation and a portion of the property was R -1 residential. Access to the
area was from Buena.Vista.Avenue, Slack-Street and.Hays...Street......The Planning
Commission recommended that.the.por.tion.of..the property above..460'..elevation.
be zoned A/C 10 and that remained R -1 but the staff recommended that the entire
property be A/C 10 due-to problems of steep ..slopes,..fire.pr.otection, water service
and disability. He-continued that the slope was over.30% and that the water
service limit line was in the area at 460'. He reminded the City Council that
the existing R -1 homes in the area already had low water pressure. He felt
City Council Minutes
October 11; 1977
Page 3
that this was a sensitive.area.and.that the commission should use its control
to provide for residential development in more suitable areas. The Commission
felt that the property owner could pursue a rezoning in the future when he
had an opportunity to submit development plans showing as to how he would address
the concerns listed by.the.city.staff and also with various city ordinances. The
Planning Commission unanimously agreed to zone the property A/C 10 and recommended
to the City Council. The planning staff stated that the property in question
was similar to other steep hillside areas where both the Planning Commission
and City Council felt that A/C zoning would promote the.most appropriate use '
of the land. Based on the site constraints affecting the property, such as
steep slopes, access problems, lack of fire flow and domestic water pressures,
visability of the site, slope stability, the planning staff supported the Planning
Commission's recommendation to zone the area A/C 10.
Mayor Schwartz announced that he would withdraw from the discussion of the property
due to the fact that he owned property immediately in the neighborhood of the sub-
ject property.
Vice -Mayor Petterson opened the public hearing.
fI
Don Stimson, 326 San Miguel Avenue and property owner, stated he'�protested the
proposed rezoning change recommended by the Planning Commission as he felt that
the area should remain in R -1 development. He continued that he had always been
aware of the special defined responsibility which ownership of this property
demanded and that the physical and regulatory constraints were all factors which
already'imposed rigid discipline to the land use. He felt that the City Council
could not just take away the R -1 zoning entitlement. He urged the City Council
to judge his development proposal at the proper time on its own merits and he
would provide responsible and creative solutions. He stated that that was his
style and his "pledge. He felt it was apparent that to attempt to reclaim the
R -1 zoning designation in the'future would be overwhelming and that any opponent
would have powerful arguments to prohibit the zoning. He concluded by saying it
was curious to him that several years of General Plan study and subsequent rezonin�
study always showed his property as R -1 as the proper use, yet the changes propose
and accepted at a's_ingle meeting were in conflict with published information to
alert.the property owners. He stated that the outrage was compounded when an
unpleasant meeting with city planning staff yielded absolutely no satisfactory
answers. He begged the City Council not to take this action but to leave the
property as R -1.
Rob Strong, planning developer, Buena Vista Avenue, supported the presentation of
Don Stimson as he stated that all similar constraints to developers and Stimson
were also faced by other neighborhoods in the same area and felt that Stimson could
overcome these problems. He felt the Council should rezone the property to R -1 -S
so that Stimson would be allowed'to develop the property with-the use permit.
Shannon Horn, Buena Vista Street, a.13 =year resident, felt the "problems. in the
area would be increased by further development. He felt the wat and
er fire pro -
tection problems were presently impossible to overcome and he would oppose develop-
ment anywhere on Buena Vista unless improvements were made to other facilities.
Starr Jenkins, Buena Vista, stated he would support.the development due to high -
class development in the past by Don Stimson.
Dennis Ahearn, realtor, stated he would support the rezoning to R -1 as requested
by Stimson. He felt that he was a good developer and anything he built would be
an asset to th'e city.
Ray Ek;ton, 388 San Miguel, stated he would support the R -1 =S rezoning and allow ,
Stimson to develop his property.
Michael Or.th;:, Paso Robles Drive, stated he supported the Stimson request for
retaining the R -1 zoning as he felt that Stimson.would do a good job on.development.
Mr. Binkele stated he would support Stimson request for R -1 -S, felt he was a good
builder, a good developer, and urged the Council to support what he felt to be a
good development.
City Council Minutes
October 11, 1977
Page 4
Andrew.Merriam, architect and planner.- stated he-was.in support of Stimson's
proposal for R -1 -S of this property because he felt that Stimson would make a
good development for the community.
Vice- Mayor.Petterson closed.the. public hearing.
Terry Sanville stated that in zoning the city, the city-staff had-treated all
hillside properties in the same manner when it involved grade, slope, utilities,
etc. without.any consideration as to who might own the property or might or might
not develop the land and he felt that without any development-schemes for the land
it was the staff and Planning Commission's proposal to keep the steep hillside
areas in A/C until complete development plans had been submitted for study by
the Planning Commission. Finally-, the-staff-looked to A/C as a holding zone and
would look to the property owner to submit development plans for city considera-
tion at which time the zoning could change.
Councilman Dunin stated-he would support a-zoning :designation of R -1 -S or R -1 -SP
for better city control. He would not support any action to zone -this property
A/C and recommended that the R -1' -S proposal be referred to the Planning Commission
for further study.
Councilman Jorgensen stated he would support the A/C 10 as recommended by the
Planning Commission, felt that any property over water service capabilities of
30% and any property with a 30% or larger slope should be left in A/C designation
until the developer or property owner could submit a plan to mitigate the problems
on the property. He felt that this had been the policy of the Council to date.
Councilman - Petterson said he could not support -the A/C designation as recommended,
felt that it:could be easily developed :without damage to the environment. He felt
all the problems listed could --be- mitigated: He-stated he-would-support the addi-
tion.of the S.designation to.the R- 1.zoning.
On motion of.Councilman.Jorgensen, seconded by Councilman.Dunin,.that the.hillside
property
owned by Don
Stimson be referred to -the
Planning.Commission for
further
study to.R
-1 -S except.the
steep northern portion
of the-property'-to stay
as A /C.
Motion carried, all ayes, Mayor Schwartz absent:, -.
9:20 p.m. Vice -Mayor Petterson declared a recess. 9:32 p.m. -The meeting recon-
vened with Mayor Kenneth Schwartz presiding:
Mayor Schwartz stated that:the City Council..would now consider the various
areas being recommended for rezoning by.the.Planning Commission.starting at
the east end of the proposed Foothill Blvd.- College'Area going-westerly.
Dave Radkavitch,.476 Grand Avenue at Loomis, asked that his property and adja-
cent property be zoned to R -2.
On general consensus, the-Council decided-there.would be--no-change to that area.
Frances MacNamara suggested that the City Council extend the high density R -H
to Crandall Way, north of Foothill Blvd.
Mr. Pardoe, 1441 Slack Street, urged the City Council to keep the zoning to R -1
and -that it be enforced for-R -1 uses and.he-hoped - the City-Council "would -start
some type of-enforcement program iahen-:there:were three-or:more unrelated persons
in the R -1 zone. He then: submitted -a-- petition- signed-by 75-residents of the
neighborhood asking the City Council for strict enforcement of the restraints
inherent in-the R -1 zone, specifically..the part dealing with-.the number of persons
living in a single family:residence.
It was the consensus of the.City Council that the Planning Commission.be. asked
to initiate action to amend the.General Plan to R -3 for-that land at the end of
Foothill Blvd. north to Cal Poly from R -2.
The Administrative Officer was asked to prepare a study report for the City
Council involving the enforcement of the unrelated number of persons who could
live in a single family dwelling with a report to the City Council on enforcement
policy for some future study session.
City Council Minutes
October 11, 1977
Page 5
The Council discussed that portion of the proposed area:being rezoned from
Highland Drive north to- the -city limits.
Harry Busselen; 807 Skyline Drive, questioned the PF zoning on the Catholic Church
property on Daly Street. He felt it-should"be.rezoned R- l.as:the school was no
longer in operation and that if the church were to move out, PF would allow many
undesirable uses on-the` property.
Terry Sanville-felt the Planning Commission and City Council : had -sufficient
authority to-rezone-public property or other zones if-the-public use should ever
cease.
R.L. Maclntyre,.-128 Stanford- Street; supported conversion of PF zone to other
zone when the use was abandoned: -
Mayor Schwartz suggested that no action be taken on the school zoning on Daly
Street and leave the R- 1,- asking,the.Planning Commission to look..into the rules
for PF zoning. _ .. .. ..
On motion of Councilman Petterson, seconded by Councilman Dunin, that-the matter
of the Catholic - property on Daly Street be referred to the Planning Commission
and all other PF zones for study and recommendation of the Council of the action
of what to do with such public use.ceased.- Motion carried: - -
CUESTA AND HIGHLAND DRIVE
A. Lux, Felton Way, stated he was opposed to the R -2 -S zone on his property and
on the Bachelor property. -He.felt it-should-be left as R -2. -He stated that he
had been rudely treated by city design staff and the Architectural Review Commission
as to.what. was beauty and what was.bad and felt that the-property owner-should have
some rights. He urged the Council-to take-off the S"designation. -
Harry Busselen, 807-Skyline Drive, felt the.traffic on Highland Drive.was atrocious
and the city should. -be very.careful.in• allowing .:greater:density_development on
Highland Drive without 'making arrangements for other ways-of.-handling-traffic
Councilman Petterson stated he-owned property• -in -the neighorhood and therefore
would not take part in the discussion.
Councilman Jorgensen stated he was-in support-of-the S designation on the Lux',
Bachelor and Starkie property.
Councilman Duniti-gdestioned-whether-•the City-Council could initiate an investiga-
tion of the actions of the A:R.C. as'.brought to the Council's attention by A. Lux.
He stated he was unalterably opposed to.the S designation on these three properties
as he felt it was unfair and constituted-further hassling.of.a property owner by city s
staffr• in :atter�ptiugoto`.devdiop.- tis'.- property. -
Mayor Schwartz stated he would support the continuation of-the S designation on
these three parcels of land as established by the Planning Commission with no change
in the designation.
UNIVERSITY SQUARE
Mayor Schwartz stated''he was opposed to the CR designation as recommended by
the Planning Commission and would recommend an C -N -S as that was the intended
development of the.area and not as central - retail uses.
Councilman Petterson stated he:would-support-the-CR zoning with:an.S designation
for City Planning Commission control on developments.
Councilman Dunin stated he would also go along with the CR recommendation with
S added as recommended.
Councilman Jorgensen stated he too.would agree with the CR designation if the
S were combined.
City Council Minutes
October 11,.1977
Page 6
CITY,LIMITS:- FOOTHILL BLVD./BROAD STREET
Tom-Maple, consultant,.questioned the A/C 10 on the property-at-:the-west end
of La Entrada and Luneta Streets. He stated-.he saw no reason as water was
available,.the.slope was'not too great-(all under 30%): He felt that-this
property should be R -1 although the property was prone to landslides but that
the City Grading Ordinance mitigated that problem and 'asked -the Council to
' return this to the Planning Commission so that this property could be zoned R -1.
He had-.the question for. the property : zoned.A /C-at the South-Tassajara and.Rafael
Way and-the-city-limits-with the same request:-to refer it -back to the:Planning
Commission.- Additionally; he-had-a third parcel -on:an A/C 20 designation at the
city limits east to the 320' elevation line parallel to Broad Street. He felt
no responsible reason for such-designation and urged that this, too; be returned
to the Planning Commission for review and for new.designation.
Terry Sanville reviewed the criteria- used-by the Planning-Commission in recommend-
ing A/C zoning on these three parcels being brought to the Council's attention by
Tom Maples. He stated that the Planning Commission used the.same criteria on
these three parcels as all other A/C designations: 1) access; 2) slope; 3) avail-
ability of utility services and anything that could cause - landslides etc. but
..he would support the request to return this property back to, the Planning Commission
for study only.on the first item, the A/C 10 at the end of.La:Entrada and Luneta
Streets.
Paul Allen, 191 Luneta, felt the water service in this area was-very good and
additional development would further-reduce their water supply.and:he hoped the
Council would look at it very:carefully.
Michael Houston, 82-La Entrada, was in support of the comments made by Paul
Allen- regarding water pressure.:
The.Council referred the A/C 10 at the- end,of La Entrada and.Luneta to the Planning
Commission for restudy and also the A/C 20 above-the 320' line•parallel to Broad
.Street:for. the.same study by the - Planning Commission:
H. McElhinney, 461 Hill Street, asked the Council to consider returning.the property
adjacent to the KSBY television station to.R -2 rather than the R -1 as recommended
by the City Planning Commission.'-He-.said that,R -2 had.been.placed on the property
a number of years ago and some development could be made-of these large lots but
with-R -1 zoning,•it would be a complete loss:to the property owner.
Terry - Sanville stated that the entire area except for the TV station was shown as
low density residential in the General Plan and should:be: zoned R -1:
The matter was referred to the city staff for study of.development of a second
.unit on the McElhinney property through the deep lot ordinance provisions.
Councilman Petterson stated he would recommend staying with the Planning Commission
recommendation.
Councilman Jorgensen.agreed that it should stay R -1 as.recommended by the Planning
Commission:
Councilman Dunin stated he would reluctantly support the Planning Commission's
recommendation to leave the property as R -1.
Mayor Schwartz stated he would support the P.lanning.Commission's recommendation
' to zone the property R -1.
PROPERTY EAST-OF BROAD STREET TO SANTA ROSA - FOOTHILL.TO MURRAY
Robert L. McEntire, 128 Casa Street, questioned the change to R -0 zoning on Santa
Rosa Street between Foothill and Murray.
Vic Montgomery, planning-.consultant,. appeared before the City Council on.behalf
of Dr. Baring - Farmer for a.parcel next.to the freeway between Broad and Chorro
Streets and the creek. He asked that the City Council consider an R -0 zoning
City Council:Minutes
October 11, 1977
Page 7
instead of the staff.. and. Planning. .Commission'.s':recommended,R =l zone. He con-
tinued that he felt that. this was a poor.. location. f or.. residential development
due to-the•proximity ' of the freeway, the noise; fumes, etc : = He did not feel
that these problems-could-be mitigated on site:' -He also felt:-that,this' was the
only parcel adjacent to.the-..freeway-zoned- R -1:-' He :felt that the property'should
be zoned R -O -S from'.Stenner Creek east to -the freeway using'the,creek'as a boundary
between the R -1 and R =O =S.
Dr. Baring Farmer,-property owner,.spoke in- support =of changing the zoning on his
Property back to :the R =O =S - instead of- the-R-1 as recommended by.the = city planning
staff-and Commission. He stated that-he had -attempted toy develop his property
for-housing but that financial'establishments would not -loan funds for any resi-
dential uses adjacent to the freeway. Further, he felt office spaces were needed
in the city and he could finance this type of development ;' He also felt that the
creek was a good buffer between the R -1 and the proposed office uses. With the
new culvert on Broad Street, this property would no longer be suscept - ible'to flooding.
Terry Sanville stated-the Farmer Property was not under consideration this "evening
but was included in the Central-District Zoning Study which would be coming before
the City Council in November;'1977.
SANTA ROSA /FOOTHILL /CALIFORNIA /AND BOUNDARIES OF THE MAP
Terry Sanville stated the PO zone was the old RO zone with no change in uses, etc.
Nisar Ahmad stated that he was-the owner of-property at 204 and 208 Casa- Street.
off of Murray.and that the property was presently zoned.RO but the Planning
Commission had proposed a change to R -3 and the purpose of his letter was to
ask the City Council to-allow the--zoning to remain:R -O or PO as-the highest and
best use of the land as he had purchased this.property for a professional- medical
building. Further, all the property across the street (on Casa Street) was being
used-for professional offices. 'He.was.presently converting:the use'of'the'property
to a specialty; - chemistry laboratory for the purpose of :conducting tests related
to medical care and felt that the R =3 zoning would not-allow -him to continue with
his operation. He urged the Council to again rezone the property to RO or the
new zone P0.
Bert Polin, with-property at.the east-end of•Rougeot Place;'stated-he objected
to -the R -1 zoning recommended;'felt it should stay PO or some other use than
R -1. He felt that this property would.make'a good buffer between the property
on Santa Rosa Street and the R -1 on Chorro Street and the C -1 on Foothill.. He
stated he had prepared a plan'before' the Planning Commission to develop some of
this property to commercial uses using access on Foothill Blvd.-and if the- Council
changed the use to R -1 he would be unable to proceed with his plans.
Dr. Dean Robinson; Casa and Foothill Streets, objected to;the PO zone on his
property as he lived in the house and had an office adjacent thereto but paid
office taxes on all of his property. He felt that all his neighbors had student
dwellings and he would not be able to develop housing if the zoning stayed PO or
R0. He urged the Council to change the zoning to a residential use.
Dennis Ahearn, realtor, spoke in support of Bert Polin's appeal to'have his lot
at the end of Rougeot Place zoned from R -1 to allow higher uses.
Due to the lateness of the hour, the City-Council continued consideration of the
Foothill College Area rezoning in order.:to have the zoning conform to the General
Plan continued to,October 18;"1977 at 7:00-p.m.
There being no further business.to come.before the Council, the Mayor adjourned
the meeting to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 18, 1977.
APPROVED: January 3 1978
_ J Fitzpatrick, City Clerk