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PC 07-14-75CITY OF CUPERTINO - STATE -OF CALIFORNIA 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California. 95014 Telephone: 252--4505 MINUTES OF -THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION HELD ON JULY 14, 1975, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, CITY HALL CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chairman Gatto called the meeting to order at 7e33 p.m. with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Comm.. present: Adams, Cooper, O'Keefe, Woodward, Chairman Gatto Comm. absent: None. Staff present. Director " of Planning and Development Sisk_ Assistant Director of Planning Cowan Associate Planner Laurin Assistant City Engineer Whitten Assistant City Attorney Kilian APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting of June 2, 1975. Page 5, last sentence should read: "Mr. Whitten o > - .not sure if it was still an open question." Moved by Comm. Woodward, seconded by Comm. Cooper to approve the June 2nd Minutes Minutes of June 2, 1975, as amended. approved as amended Motion carried, 3-0-2 Comm. Adams & O'Keefe abstained June 9th Minutes approved as recorded II - - f IPC-198 Page 2 June 12 Minutes approved as recorded June 23 Res. approved as recorded June 26 Minutes approved as corrected 9-Z-75 and 9-TM-75 continued to July 28th MINUTES OF THE JULY 14, 1975 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting of June 12, 1975. Moved by Comm. Adams, seconded by Comm. Cooper to approve the Minutes of June 12, 1975, as recorded. Motion carried, 4-0-1 Comm. O'Keefe abstained !Minutes (Resolution) of Regular Meeting of June 23, 1975. 'Moved by Comm. Woodward, seconded by Comm. Cooper to approve the Resolution of June 23, 1975, as recorded. Motion carried, 5-0 ;Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting of June 26, 1975. Page 5, second paragraph, first line: Change "much" to "must". Moved by Comm. Adams, seconded by Comm. Cooper to approve the Minutes of June 26, 1975, as corrected. Motion carried, 5-0 POSTPONEMENTS Upon recommendation of the staff, it was moved by Comm. Woodward, seconded by Comm. Adams to continue applications 9-Z-75 and 9-TM-75 to July 28, 1975, due to the fact that the application was incorrectly advertised. Motion carried, 4-0-1 Comm. O' Keef e abstained WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS: None. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None. It was noted by Chairman Gatto that no public hearing would be initiated after midnight. MINUTES OF THE JULY 14, 1975 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING PC-198 Page 3 PUBLIC HEARINGS i 1. Applications 4-Z-75 and 4-TM-75 of LAMONT E. WILLIAMS: ? PREZONING 13.:4 acres from Santa Clara.County A to City of Cupertino R1-80 (Residential, single-family, 80,000 sq. ft. per dwelling unit) or whatever zone may be deemed appropriate by the Planning Commissions TENTATIVE MAP to divide 13.4.acre„ into five residential, single-family lots. Said property is located at the western terminus of Lindy Lane. FirstHearing.. continued. The Assistant Director of Planning identified the property on the suggested road system = Regnart Canyon and Lindy Canyon area map. The zoning is consistent with .the 19b4 General Plan in regard to density. It was suggested the slope/density formula be utilized here. On that basis, 6 dots instead of 5 lots could be developed here. He said, the Planning Commission has been discussing some type of loop system road for this area. In addition to deciding upon the loop system, the extent of required improvements. should 4 be discussed. The road width will be reduced from 40' to 24`. Some type' ,of development agreement should be devised for minimal improvement of certain portions of the roadway. Some cut and fill i seems warranted, from an engineering point of view. He noted that the>staff`s suggestion of conditions of approval are a departure from normal policy. It was suggested the H-Control Committee re- j view individual developments to ensure minimal grading. It appears that in the hills, it may be practical to serve 5 or 6.lots from 1 driveway. The proposal meets the Fire District's criteria. At this point, colored slides of the area were displayed on the screen. The road would ,go up the draw and follow the'ridge line of the hill. Chairman Gatto asked if the draw carries any water in the rainy season. The Assistant Planning Director will check with the Water District on that question. The Assistant City Engineer answered Chairman Gatto, in regard to Condition 16, that this is in Reglan Water Company area; however, the City has chosen to serve this property if this is legal. It will have to be purchased from Reglan. It is felt that at some point in time the City will have to take over Reglan Water.Company The Assistant City Attorney answered Chairman Gatto that if Reglani Water Company chooses to not cooperate in this regard we would. hav4 to change Condition 16. The City is having a master water study made at this time. In regard to Condition 21, the Assistant City Attorney answered Chairman Gatto that this is the first time that he has seen a .condition like this. It would have to be reworded. i PC-198 MINUTES OF THE JULY 14,, 1975 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Page 4 The Assistant Planning Director stated that Cupertino does not at the present time have a zoning ordinance to reflect the slope/density formula. In this particular case, in order to ensure that the owners of the larger lots do not subdivide at a later date, the staff recommended 40,000 sq. ft. zoning on lots 2 and 3 and 2.5 acre minimum lots for'parcels 5 and 6. The Assistant City Attorney questioned whether the City could legally put a restriction on any lot that it can never be subdivided. Chairman Gatto suggested the staff, rather than the H-Control, review the grading plans for the lots since these are technical documents. If this is to be the case, then the Assistant Planning Director would like a clear definition from the Planning Commission. Chairman Gatto said he was concerned about infringing on private freedom when H-Control starts reviewing Rl development plans. In terms of impact from the valley floor, Comm. O'Keefe asked if combining of lots 2 and 3 would have more or less impact. Chairman Gatto noted that keeping the structures away from the ridge line would have less effect on the valley floor. Mr. Lamont Williams, Sunnyvale resident and owner of the property in question, said that in principle, he is in agreement with the staff's proposal; however, there are some minor problems to be worked out during the stages of development that follow. By putting the homes on the lower portion of the properties, they will be less visible from the valley floor. Probably no more than 3 of the homes will be visible from the valley. Lot 1 is hidden by the trees. Lot 6 is completely over the hill. Mr. Williams answered Comm. Cooper that there is a top soil mud slide at the bottom of lots 4 and 5. This is more of an erosion problem. He would have to confer with the geologist in regard to Comm. Cooper's suggestion that construction of the homes only take place on bedrock. Mr. Williams said his concept of this proposal is to sell individual lots, to be constructed as the individual sees fit, in conformance with City regulations. It is his opinion that his visual impact on the valley floor will be much less than the valley's visual impact on his lots. Mr. Williams assured Comm. Cooper that every effort will be made to save the mature oaks on the property. They are an asset to the property. Mr. Williams answered Comm. Adams that, due to the financial situation. and the expense of the roads, he would like to have 6 rather than 5 lots. In this regard the tentative map would then have to be readvertised. He agreed with Comm. Adams that it would be wise to consider the rezoning along with the tentative map. MINUTES OF THE JULY 14, 1975 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Comm. Woodward noted that consideration of 6 individual lots is a different matter from a PD for these ,properties. He would be in favor of the Assistant Planning Director's suggestion of approving lots 19 2, 3 and 4 and putting a 2.5 acre minimum lot size on the development of lot 5. At tentative map time the applicant could indicate his desire to divide lot into 2 lots.. He asked if the proposed extension of the road would interfere with lot 6, The Assistant Planning Director said this could be worked out. Chairman Gatto asked for comments from the audience. Juanita McLaren, 22101 Lindy .Lane, asked the staff to take picture: before the next hearing of this property in relation to hers and to her 20-year-old water tanks. She does not object to this development, but she wants assurance that her property is pro- tected. The road will be looking directly into her pool area. She now has one street light from Candy Rock shining directly into her living room. She wanted.to make sure there is no slide area near her water tanks. There have been fires up there recently and she.believes it is critical that the Fire Department have access up there. She would prefer to see 5 lots but, due to the road expense, she agreed to 6 lots. She would like to have all propert, owners 'notif ied of these plans. The Assistant Planning Director said that in Mrs. McLaren's"pool area the road will be recessed some 10'. The Assistant City Engineer said that at the time this property is developed there. will have to be a complete drainage study. The Assistant Planning Director answered Comma Cooper that the City does have enough guidelines at this point to proceed with this application Comm. Cooper said she was uncomfortable approving a proposal with- out knowing the safety in terms of stability. The Assistant Planning Director stated that the problem of the, slide area is addressed in the Rose Report; thegeologist`s report will contain a more detailed soils report. The Assistant City Engineer said it is possible to build anywhere in that area, although it would be cheaper to build in some areas than in others. It can be engineer- ed to take care of any problem. Chairman Gatto noted there were.two major concerns here; geologi- cal conditions and visual intrusion along ridge lines, PC-198 Page 5 PC-198 Page 6 I4-Z-75 approved 4 -TM- 7 5 advertised for Aug. llth 10-V-74 taken off calendar ,MINUTES OF THE JULY 143, 1975 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Moved by.Comm. Woodward, seconded by Comm. Adams, to approve application 14-Z-75 with parcels 1, 2,-3 and 4 at 40,000 sq. ft. minimum lot size and 'parcel 5 at 2.5 acre minimum lot size, as shown on the map displayed at ;this meeting. Comm. O'Keefe felt it would not be good to leave one lot in such a nebulous manner. Chairman Gatto said this motion is a way of acting on the proposal, de facto. Comm. Cooper said this proposal would give Mr. Williams a variety of lot sizes, which gives flexibility to the purchaser of the lots. She would prefer to leave it at 5 lots. AYES: Comm. Adams, Woodward, Chairman Gatto NOES: Comm. Cooper, O'Keefe Motion carried, 3-2 Koved by Comm. O'Keefe, seconded by Comm. Woodward to reopen the public hearing on application 4-TM-75. Motion carried, 5-0 Koved by Comm. Adams, seconded by Comm. Cooper to readvertise the public hearing on application 4-TM-75 for August 11, 1975. Motion carried, 5-0 :'fr. Williams asked that application 4-Z-75 not be heard by the City 'ouncil until 4-TM-75 is also ready for that body. 2. Application 10-V-74 of HOWARD E. MALLETT: VARIANCE from Section 16.28.010 of the fence ordinance to allow a 6' hedge across the front property line. Said property is located at 20699 Rodrigues Avenue in a residential, single --family zone. Second hearing continued. 1hairman Gatto asked if there were any comments from the audience. There aere none. Moved by Comm. O'.Keefe, seconded by Comm. Adams to take application LO-V-74 off the calendar since we now have a new fence ordinance. kYES : Comm. Adams, Cooper, O'Keefe, Woodward, Chairman Gatto JOES : None Motion carried, 5-0 4.. Applications 8-Z-75 and 7-TM-75 of PETER GACHINA: REZONING 1v4 acres from Al-43 (Agricultural, single-family residential, 1-acre lots) to R1-7.5 (Residential, single-family, 7,500 sq. ft. per dwelling unit) and TENTATIVE MAP (7-TM-75) to subdivide 1.4 acres into three lots having a minimum square footage of 7,500. Said property is located westerly and adjacent to Rae Lane, 430 feet southerly of McClellan Road. First Hearing. The Assistant Planning Director outlined. the property on the transparencydisplayed on the screen. This zoning request is consistent with the General Plana The'staff recommended these applications be approved with no special conditions. Since there were no comments.from the audience, it was moved by Comm. Coopers seconded by Comma Adams, to close the public hearing, Motion carried, 5-0 Moved. by Comm. Cooper, seconded by Comm. O'Keefe to approve application 8-Z-75. AYES: Comm. Adams, Cooper; O'Keefe, Woodward, Chairman Gatto NOES: None Motion carried, 5-0 Moved by Comm. Cooper, seconded by Comm. O'Keefe to approve .0 application 7-TM-75 with standard conditions 1 through 14. AYES6. Comm. Adams, Cooper, O'Keefe, Woodward, Chairman Gatto NOES., None Motion carried, 5-0 PC-198 Page 7 9-Z-75 and 9-TM-75 cont'd to July 28th 8-Z-75 approved 7-TM-75 approved PC-198 Page 8 MINUTES OF THE JULY 14, 1975 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING 5. CITY OF CUPERTINO: Public Hearing to consider 1973 Comprehensive General Plan. a. Hillsides Chairman Gatto explained this was a continuation of the study session of July loth, since it was felt all Members of the Planning Commission should contribute to the decisions on slope/density formula, policy statement in July 8th memo, hillside fire right-of-way, character of .road in the hills, and standards for urban service area for roadway. Comm. O'Keefe said his feeling is that there must be a relationship between housing in the hillsides and housing on the valley floor• He is not for excessive inspections. This can be achieved with minimum overhead. Where a developer would be required to put 10 or 20% into low income housing, this would retard development. He would be more din favor of putting the emphasis on refurbishing of existing homes. 'Comm. Cooper said this problem should be addressed in the Housing Element rather than in the Hillside Element. She said we are not talking about something that does not already exist; there is already old, high-priced housing in the area. The person of moderate or low income cannot buy new or refurbished housing in Cupertino; he has to look elsewhere. She does not believe we are looking for quotas. We should look at supply and demand. The Cupertino Goals Report says we are going to provide all kinds of housing. She feels it is very important for the City to take steps to provide all kinds of housing or else specifically say we are not going to do this. Comm. Woodward said the City is not in the business of building houses. One big problem not yet faced is administration of these policies. Larger cities than ours are having problems. He said we don't want industry in our City that employs low income people. We want scientific !type industrial. Some standards would have to be set for resale of jrefurbished and/or low income housing. !Comm. Adams acknowledged there are difficulties in making Comm. Cooper's !proposal work. He would like to encourage about 10% low to moderate income housing. Comm. O'Keefe was thinking in terms of $5,000 added to older, existing homes. The first thing to do is try to upgrade what is already here. Some methods should be achieved to provide homes for all income levels. !Chairman Gatto asked for comments from the audience. U MINUTES OF THE JULY 14, 1975 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Mr. Harold Ashton, representing Kaiser -Pacific 138 acres in the hills, recommended against a mandatory portion of the property being used for the low -moderate income housing. Based on the road costs, you can't get low or moderate income homes in the hills. Because of the larger number of units involved, perhaps this can be achieved on the Catholic Church property and Seven Springs Ranch property. �PC-198. Page 9 Mrs, Ann Anger, Monta Vista, said she has been working for low income housing and has been working for cleaning up slums for many years. The biggest problem is homeimprovement loans for this purpose. The interest rates are 2 to 4% higher than for new construction and the terms are for 5 or 7 years.. She said U.S. Representative Don Edwards is going to introduce to Congress her plan in regard to long term home improvement loans. Mrs.. Angel said she'would like to see expensive homes in the hillsides. She said we are discriminating against the people who can pay $100,000 or $200,000 for their homes. The low income housing should be considered for the sphere of influence, not only within City limits.. Mr. Don Gaubatz, 10033 Hillerest Road, wanted to comment on item 6 on page 31 of the "Hill Area General Plan". Current tax assessmen comes::ant.o:,.p�ay; here...,The .tax. ls:;,:based on surrounding properties, With a housing mix it is difficult to do this fairly. Mrs. Anger said that in her meeting with Supervisor Steinberg the Tax Assessor was. present. This will have to be changed by legislation. The assessment should not be increased for a certain number of years or until, the property owner sells at a profit. Chairman Gatto asked for a consensus vote on deletion of item 6 and letting item 5 speak to the housing mix. Discussion followed. .Mr. Vic Maurantonio, 10291 Bonny Drive, Cupertino, said you can't build a cheap house anymore because the property costs too much. Construction costs are very expensive. We already have small condominiums and large homesg let the city form naturally. Moved by Comm. Adams, seconded by Comm. O'Keefe, to eliminate item 6 and allow item 5 to allow the developers to achieve City' support for a housing program. Item 6 deleted rc-198 Wage 10 Next Hillside Study July 24 MINUTES OF THE JULY 145, 1975 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Discussion turned to Table 11, Road Widths, in the Revised Report of ,April 10, 1975. Chairman Gatto wanted to get the feeling from the !Planning Commissioners as to character of the road. Following is the consensus. ,[Stevens Creek Blvd. at the end of #85 = 6 lanes. ;Foothill Blvd., north of Stevens Creek Blvd. = 4 lanes. (Foothill Blvd., south of Stevens Creek Blvd. = 2 lanes. 'Foothill Blvd., north of McClellan = 2 lanes. !Bubb Road, north of railroad tracks = 4 lanes. (Bubb Road, south of McClellan = widen intersection. !Bubb Road, north of Rainbow Drive = 4 lanes. ;Stevens Creek Blvd., east of Bubb Road = 6 lanes. `Stevens Creek Blvd., west of Bubb Road = 4 lanes. Stevens Creek Blvd., west of railroad tracks = 4 lanes. ,Stevens Creek Blvd., east of Foothill Blvd. = 2 lanes. !McClellan Road, east of Bubb Road = 4 lanes. !McClellan Road, west of Bubb Road = 2 lanes. !McClellan Roads east of Foothill Blvd. = 2 lanes. Rainbow Drive, east of Bubb Road = 2 lanes. Mrs. Lucien Hertert,San Juan Road, suggested another policy statement be added which addresses earthquake faults. Chairman Gatto said this is State Law, which preempts City policy. Mrs. Hertert, in regard to Policy 8 (a), asked if the fencing needs to be more flexible than "volley ball fencing". The Water District would be concerned about this. Chairman Gatto said to take "fence" out of the policy. Mrs. Hertert next wanted to address #3, indigenous vegetation. She said chapparel is a high fire risk; it explodes. It was decided to replace "indigenous" with "suitable". As to #5, Mrs. Hertert said you can prevent a person from fencing outside the urban service area, according to this. The Assistant City Attorney will research this. Mrs. Hertert noted that the policy statements do not address properties above and below a property. Mr. Gaubatz would like the phrase "shallebe utilized and maintained" to the policy regarding vegetation. Moved by Comm. O'Keefe, seconded by Comm. Woodward to continue the discussion on the Hillside Study to 7:30 p.m. July 24, 1975. Motion carried, 5-0 to s 9 MINUTES OF THE JULY 14, 1.975 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None. NEW BUSINESS 60 Request for initiation of change of zone to implement'General Plan involving land area generally bounded by Hillcrest Road and Crescent Road to the north, Stevens Creek to the east, Stevens Creek Blvd. to the south, and Foothill Blvd., to the west. So moved by Comm. Woodward, seconded by Comm> Adams. Motion .carried, 5-0 REPORT OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION: None. REPORT OF THE PLANNING DIRECTOR PC--198 Page 11 Change of zone initiated The Planning Director stated a representative from McDonald's Restaurant would like an indication of the feelings of the Planning Commissioners in regard to the possibility of a McDonald's Restau-I r. tatNn,e:ar. tb,, ,new. b. wIing.;.alley. at Stellin-g. and. Homestead Roads. They have changed their architecture and also provide inside seating. Mr. Larry" Dorsey 2471 East Bayshore Drive, Palo Alto, representing; McDonald's, said they are aware of all restrictions. and character-,,� istics of this shopping center and feel they can live within these; parameters. The 3400 sq. ft. building will have 125 to 150 seating capacity, and they encourage patrons to eat there. There is to be': no liquor or loitering. They pride themselves on their clean operation. The City Attorney advised a public hearing was necessary.. The Planning Commission said they would entertain a hearing on this proposal.