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PC 02-15-67 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, Calif,, 9501� 252-�505 PC-3------------------------------------------------- 80,000.� C I T Y 0 F C U P E R T I N 0 California MINUTES OF THE CONTINUED MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION Wednesday, February 15 1967 - 8 :00 P.M. I SALUTE TO THE FLAG II ROLL CALL Comm, present: Bryson, Frolich, Horgan, Buthenuth Comm. absent: Chairman Hirshon Staff present: Director of P�.�blic Works, Frank Finney Director of P1.anning, Adde Laurin Recording Secretary, Lois Inwards III MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING, January 23, 1967. Moved by Comm. Horgan to approve the Minutes of January " 23 1967 This motion was withdrawn, and it was decided to present the January 23rd Minutes together with the February 15th Minutes at the next regular meeting. IV ANNOUNCEMENTS: A. CONGRESS FOR COMMUNITY PROGRESS: To be held at Cupertino High School, Wednesday, February 22nd, registration at 8:30 A.M. B. The Planning Director announced that the next regular Planning Commission meeting would be an extremely long one, due to the exceptionally high number of applications, the most important of them filed during last week. Comm. Horgan feels they should be handled at two meetings, as it would be impossible to give proper attention to each one when the hour is late and everyone is tired. Since the legal notices are posted, a brief hearing is necessary, but it would be appropriate to continue the first hearings on several items until next session. The Planning Director is to notify each of the appli- cants of this before the meeting. Vice-Chairman Buthenuth asked the staff to get the preliminary information out as soon as possible, to give the Commissioners ample time to digest it. -1- PC-3 Minutes of the 2/15/67 Planning Comm. Con��nued �eeting -----------------------------------�--------------------- V WRITTEN COMMUNICATIO�S A. The Planning Director distributed copies of "Prelimi- nary Regional Plan" by the Assoc:iation of Bay Area Governments. He would like to digest this plan more thoroughly before making a report to the Planning Commission. VI DISCUSSION OF ITEMS 8 AND 9 OF COMMI�SI�NER HORGAN'S MEMO OF JANUARY 9 ig67 Comm. Horgan i.ntroduced a letter he has received from Channing B. Chrisman, Town Cer.t.er Developere �`The prompt consideration and assistance �f a11. city departments has been a genuine help to us in developing the Town Center. It is a pleasure to build in Cupertin�.`� Comm. Horgan asked the Director of rl.arining who gree�s the applicant when he comes to City Hall. '�he Director said the receptionist first greets the people coming in the front door and directs them to the proper department. The secretary of each department then directs them to the proper person. If the applicant comes to, say, the Plan- ning Department when he actually should be seeing the Building Department, he is personally escorted to the proper department. The City Hall's new receptionist is starting on the 16th, and �aill be informed of key questions to ask visitors in order to quickly and properly direct them. The City Tr�ill shortly print a generalized brochure to help guide the people. The Planning Director went on to say that planning, by definition, is looking ahead an.d. trying to influence the future in a direction desired by the people. Planning is mainly concerned with land use,, r�ot building. However, most people think of planning �ti a police function, con- nected with building, such as checking side yards on a site plan, etc. Therefore, thEy confuse the functions of the Planning Department and. the Building Department, which functions should be quz.te separate. To coordinate work, both on applications and otherwise, the Planning Department has a staff m.eeting r.egularly on Wednesday; the Dir.ector. of Public Works and Planning Director meet on Thursdays; and all department heads meet with the City Manager every Monday. In addition, there are meetings for discussion of specific applications, etc., when problems arise. Comm. Horgan asked how quickly the applicant is informed if he has a problem. The Planning Director said that some applicants wish to discuss their plans with the Planning Department. This is much preferrab:le, and the staff ac- commodates applicants to the fullest extent, even if this means burning midnight oil for other work. In other cases, -2- PC-3 Minutes of the 2/15/67 Planning Comm. Cont�nued�M�ating however, the applicant just leaves his application and exhibits in the office. We would like to invite all ap- plicants back in order to find out and discuss all prob- lems with them, but we just don't have the manpower nor the time between submittal of the application and the Planning Commission meeting to communicate with all ap- plicants. Also, a f ew applicants may prefer not to dis- close their hand until the public hearing, as in a court proceeding, and may find staff inquiries impertinent. The Commissioners may even remember cases where the applicant would have liked to hold back until the City Council hearing. Vice-Chairman Buthenuth asked if the applicant is given a format to use as a guide for his presentation. The Planning Director said that there is an explicit list of required exhibits on the back side of the application form. However, most applicants ask for a verbal explana- tion rather than reading the form. In many cases, we even fill out the form for them. Comm. Horgan noted that the Planning Director said the 17 daysai� �ust about enough time to get the application around to all the departments. He asked how the other Commissioners felt about having two hearings all the time for each application. Comm. Bryson was in favor of one hearing, if possible. Comm. Frolich noted that in many cases, the applications have been running to four hearings, and each hearing runs at least half an hour. He said we should strive to finish it up in two hearings, and refrain from asking irrelevant or unnecessary ques- tions. The Planning Director said the staff can't possibly fore- see all questions that might come up. Some problems come to light only by the applicant's verbal presentation, or by questions asked by the Commissioners. Planning is a Science, but not one of the Exact Sciences, so opinions of the public, their feeling about their environment, etc., is a valid part of the evaluation of a planning matter. As a consequence, the Planning Department's final report and recommendation in a complicated or con- troversial case frequently cannot be written until after the first hearing. The Director of Public Works explained that, until we moved into the new city hall, the staff was working under very cramped and inconvenient conditions. There may have been some lack of communications between departments, but this has been pretty well taken care of since moving into desirable quarters. -3- PC-3 Minutes of the 2/15/67 Planning Comm. �on�inue.d Mz�ting ----------------------------------------------------- The Director of Public Works said the Building Department now has its own separate entrance and counter. Planning and Engineering share an entrance and counter, but each has its own secretary. All thi.s has contributed to a smoother operation. The effects of the new C�ty Hall and the new procedures will be very beneficial. Although the developer is not now given a check list to follow he will be per- sonally guided through the proper channels. Comm. Frolich feels that somehoW, the applicant should be informed that his presentation will be enhanced by brevity. Comments from the audience were requested. Mr. Walter Ward, General Manage�• of Vallco Park, feels things are materially better r_o�w because there is now more communication between departments. He said, however, that perhaps the Planning Commission and the staff are not aware that there is a point at which a developer starts to spend considerable amounts of money and changes in plans become very expensive. It would help a developer if a discussion were held with the staff �nd time estimates were made by the Building Department and the various agencies. There has also been a probl.em that the Vallco signs have been held up unti.l the new Sign Ordinance is approved by the City Council. Vallco needs its identifi- cation sign. Mr. Ward .raised another point: When they bring in a landscape architect like Lawrence Halprin, it presents some difficulty to have the Architectural and Site Control Committee require the approval of the City's "tree man". Comm. Horgan asked Mr. Ward how he feels about an appli- cation approval with a conditio��.requiring: "...to the satisfaction of the City Engin.ecr. �' Mr. Ward felt this was reasonable. The Director :>�: �ublic Works said this term is used very seldom, a.nd.:�:rlly as a time saver. Mr. Jim 0'Brien, of the Builder.s' Association for Santa Clara-Santa Cruz Counties, said they are planning to be more regularly represented at these meetings from now on. Their staff thinks check lists and brochures are very good. The City of Santa Clara has put out an extremely good brochure. The C�unty is also preparing one. The presence of the City Attor.ney or sorr,eone from his c�ffice is a must at any of these meetings regular or study sessions, to advise when a legal question comes up. Comm. Horgan asked Mr. 0'Brien if he could recommend any specific city's check list for Cupertino to use as a guide. Mr. 0'Brien did not have this information at this time. -�+- . ' PC-3 Minutes of the 2/15�67 Planning Comm. Continued Meating ------------------------------------------------------------------ Mr. Ward Crump said he has seen check lists used by various cities. Frequently, they get out of date and sometimes create more problems than they solve. A current one would be most helpful, however. He then commented on the Planning Director's statement about waiting to hear what the public has to say about an issue. Mr. Crump feels the professional opinion of the Planner can be of invaluable aid to the Planning Commission, the citizens, and the developer. He suggested the Planning staff study an application and make a recommendation and include comments, both for and against. (Planning Director's comment to the minutes: We always do.) A phone call before the P.laryr�ing Commission meeting to the applicant to tell him there is no problem or if there is a problem would be most he�_t:;f ul, and perhaps the developer could meet with the staff ar�:� iron out these differences. Vice-Chairman Buthenuth asked Mr. Crump what his opinion was about one and two hearings on an application. Mr. Crump feels that the fact that the staff and applicant get things ironed out before the meeting is the best method. Comm. Bryson asked if it would speed procedures if the 17 days were expanded another 5 days, to enable the Planning Commission to digest all the material and handle more applications in one hearing. The Planning Director said that the policy of a deadline for applications 17 days before the hearing is a result of the State Code require- ment of publishing a legal notice 10 days before the hearing, and of the schedule of the weekly Cupertino Courier, the City's official newspaper. Advertising deadline is 16 days before the hearing, so there are only a few working hours for the Planning Department to check whether the applicant's exhibits are complete, before the application is committ�ed to the agenda. Increase from 17 to 21 days would g�..�,re the Planning Department � days for this formal checking. Of course, these � days would not be enough to sclve possible planning or � engineering problems. The application would have to be committed to the agenda in the hope that such problems would be resolved in the remaining 17 days, or prefer- ably in a shorter time, so a report can be mailed ta the Commissioners. A recess was called at 9:30 P.M. The meeting reconvened at 90�0 P.M. Counc. Fitzgerald feels the City should have a check list. It could be fairly simple. He commented that there has been a great improvement since moving into the new quar- ters. He does not think any building permit should be issued until it has been checked by Building, Planning and Engineering. He would like to see the applicant informed of any difficulties before the Planning Commis- sion meeting. -5- PC-3 Minutes of the 2�15/67 Planning Comm. �orxtin.ued Meeting -----------------------------------�_____------�- The Directo� of Fublic Works �aid tn�t� f�r the past two weeks, all plans have been going tr���c�ugn all three depart- ments, and we are not opposed to d c�leck iiste Engineer- ing has their own check list o� al1 th� th�ngs a developer. must do to put together � subc�� visi��r�e i,�mrr�. Horgan would like a copy of this check liste Counc. Fitzgerald believes in �tudy sessio��� between the Planning Commission, �i.ty Council ar:.�� passibly the Archi- tectural and Site Control Committee� �u�rt�rly, and more often if nece�sary. Mr. Noor Bi11a4,valla said he is in favor of joint meetings betwF-e�1 the �ity Council, Plar.ning Commission and Architectural. ��:1:�. �ire Cor_tr°ol Committee. He feels this would have helx'E}�� r:rle t�me lag in his Bonanza application. He askec� ' 1� �he �ity vaas considering increasing the Planning staf f o Lh� L�srector of Public Works said he could also use twc: Yr�<�r� pe�ple o The Directors of Public Works and P:ianning agreed that they were human, and consequently subject to making er.rors. In most cases, such errors w:;uld. be due t� pressure of work and deadlines, but ever� und.er the best conditions a person sometimes might .lip. T'he Dir�ctor of Pu.blic Works said that �rom time ta time, we �n�ould. appreciate comments and criticism from the Lommissioners. VII INFORMAL PRESENTATI��T OF SKETCHES �'�� N�IGHBORHOOD PLANS ENCOMPASSING THE �`OOTHILL AREA . , This presentation by the Pla�ni.Y�.g I?i �°ector was recorded on tape and will be forthci:rring z.n the forrn of a memo, with attached exhibits, together 5�:lth com�ents made d.urir�g the presentation. VIII NEW BUSINESS Comm. Horgan sa�.d he wi.il ag �. ��ltrcduce his Point #10 �t the next regular meeting, cti�:���e.crlir.�g how we go about pre- paring ordinances. He al�c �1ar�s to a�k what ordinances have priority and how this prior•ity is established. IX ADJOURNMENT Moved by Comm. Horgan, secor�ded by ��amm. Bryson, to adjourn the meeting at 1Uo55 P.M. APP o � �> �Tc��n W e Buthenuth V�ce-Chairman ATTEST: L,..�.��C�-�- �D��(.f�'.� Adde Laurin, Director of Planning -6-