CC 07-21-69
CITY OF CUPERTINO, State of California
10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California 95014
Phone: 252-4505
MINtI'rES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL HELD JULY 2l,
1969 IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, CUPERTINO,CALIF.
The ~eeting was called to order at 8:00 p.~ by Mayor Dempster, who
subsequently led the assemblage in the flag salute.
Councilmen present: Beaven, Noel, Stokes, Dempster. Absent: Councilman
Fitzgerald. Also present: City Attorney Anderson; City Manager Storm;
City Clerk-Finance Director Ryder; Director of Public Works Yarborough;
Senior Planner Laurin, Assistant Planner Eng; Recording Secretary Lucie
M. Matzley.
Councilman Stokes requested that the minutes of the July 7, 1969 meeting
be changed; on page 3, second to last paragraph, the roll call vote to
read " . . passed by 3 - l,· etc. "
Councilman Noel moved for approval of the minutes as corrected, Councilman
Stokes seconded and it was passed unanimously.
City Clerk ~der advised the Councilmen of receipt of the following written
communications:
1. Létter from Daniel Donovan, Attorney at Law, appealing the Planning
Commission denial of Applications l7-Z-69/l0-U-69/l1-U-69;
2. Two separate claims filed'by P. Brian Wilson, Attorney at Law, on
behalf of one Christopher Reid for medical expenses and injuries
allegedly sustained by falling from a structure at Portal Park;
3. A number of letters in connection with the realtor proposed land
exchange of City-owned park site for other sites.
Councilman Stokes moved to schedule the public hearing for the appeal of
denial of Applications 17-Z-69/1l-U-69/l0-U-69 for the August 18, 1969
meeting. Councilman Noel seconded and it was passed unanimouslY.
Councilman Noel moved, Councilman Stokes seconded and it was passed
unanimously to refer the injury claim to the insurance carrier.
Councilman Stokes moved to accept the letters in connection with the park
land exchange proposal and directed that these letters be read into the
record when the public discussion fór this matter commences. Councilman
Noel seconded and it was passed unanimoùsly.
In this connection, City Manager Storm advised the Council that an answer
was imminent fr()m the Federal Government advising about the legal aspects
()f exchanging land pùrchased with Federal funds.
cC-18
call to order
flag salute
roll call
minutes
approved
public
hearing
scheduled
claim
referred
Councilman Stokes moved, Councilman Noel seconded and it was passed unani-
mouslY to schedule the land exchange proposal for public hearing for hearing
August 4, 1969. scheduled
page 2
Minutes of the City Council July 2l, 1969
cC-18
Written communications cont'd
City Clerk Ryder advised the Council that he had received a telephone call
from W. G. Dunn of California Lands, requesting postponement of the public
hearing on Application 16-z-69 so that this matter C9uld be heard at the
time the tentative map was being reviewed by the City Council.
Councilman Stokes moved, Councilman Noel seconded and it was passed unani-
mously to authorize the continuance.
l6-Z-69 Councilman Stokes moved, Councilman Noel seconded and it was passed unani-
coatiaued mously to file the balance of the correspondence.
oral
cl'JIUIuni-
cations
planning A.
14-TM-69
continued
apptoval
h control B.
When Mayor Dempster called for oral communications, Mr. B. D. Koenitzer
read a letter as written by the President of the Oakdell Ranch Homeowners
Association, commending the City Council for enacting a weed abatement Ordinance
and asking that the Council intervene in the unsightly appearance of a strip
of land on Stevens Creek Boulevard between Mann Avenue and Foothill Boulevard.
Councilman Noel moved, Councilman Stokes seconded and it was passed unanimously
to refer this matter to the City Manager.
Mr. Erney presented a proposal for a stained glass window to be placed in the
Library, stating that the window would be 10' high and 8' wide and would cost
in the vicinity of $2,000 or less. Councilman Noel queried if the architect
had been contacted in this regard to ascertain if such installation would
interfere with his plans.
Councilman Stokes moved that the applicant be authorized to contact the City
Manager through whom he could make arrangements to meet the architect for the
library, and that ~e City Maaager be directed to report back to the Council
at the next meeting in this connection. Councilman Nole seconded and it was
passed unanimously.
Report of Commissions
. Planning
Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Puetz presented the minutes of July 14, 1969
and briefly explained Application 14-TM-69. Discussion emsued ort the fact that
this application was only one portion of a feur-request application and
Councilman Stokes stattld that it would be impossib],.e to decide upon this
application until all four portions of Sallie would be submitted at the same time.
Councilman Stokes moved to continue discussion of this application until such
time as the remainder of the four applications can be discussed at the same
time. Councilman Noel seconded and it was passed unanimously.
Applications l5-TM~69, 9-TM-69 and 6-V-69 were briefly discussed and unanimously
approved upon the Úl:dividual motions by Councilman Stokes and the individual
seconds by Councilman NoeL .
Architecture and Site Approval Committee
H Control Chairmu Small presented the minutes of the July 9, 1969l11eeting
and briffly explained the actions taken at that meeting.
Minutes of the City Ciuncil July 21, 1969
H Control cont'd
Councilman Stokes moved for approval of Application 408-HC-69, Councilman
Noel seconded and it was passed unanimously.
Counci~n Noel moved for approval of Application 425-HC-69, Councilman
Stokes seconded and it was passed unanimously.
Councilman Noel moved for approval of Application 424-HC~69 with the
stipulation that such approval does not include approval of the signs.
Councilman Beaven seconded and it was passed unanimously.
C.
Parks and Recreation Commission
It was the consensus of the Council that the minutes of the July 15, 1969
special meeting be taken up at the public hearing scheduled for the next
Council meeting.
Public Hearings
A. Application 16-z-69 had previously been postponed at the request of
the applicant.
B.
Resolution No. l8l4 declaring intention of the City to order vacation
of a portion of e City street, approximately 0.106 acre on Mary
Avenue. (resolution No. 1832 under agenda listing "Resolutions")
There were no audience comments, Councilman Stokes moved, COIlì1cilman Noel
seconded and it was passed unanimously to close the public hearing.
Councilman Stokes moved for adoption of Resolution No. 1832, Councilman
Noel seconded.
Ayes: Councilmen Beaven, Noel, Stokes, Dempster
Noes: None
Absent: Councilman Fitzgerald
C.
Resolution No. 1815 declaring certain private properties within
the City to be a public nuisance under the provisions of Ordinance
No. 405 (Res. No. l84l under agenda listing "Resolutions")
cC-18
page 3
408-HC-69
approved
425-HC-69
approved
424-HC-69
approved
parks
,
Res. l8l4
legend
p. h.
closed
Res. 1832
adopted
Res. 1815
legend
There were no audience comments. Councilman Stokes moved, Councilman Noel p. h.
seconded and it was passed unanimously to close the public hearing. closed
Councilman Stokes moved for adoption of Resolution No. 1841. Councilman
Noel seconded.
Ayes: Councilmen Beaven, Noel, Stokes, Dempster
Noes: None
Absent: Councilman Fitzgerald
Ordinances
1.
First reading of Ordinance No.445 had previously been disposed of.
Res. 1841
adopted
Ord. 445
Minutes of the City Council July 21, 1969
Resolutions cont'd
6.
No. l836: accepting grant deed of easement from Del Oro Develop-
ment Co., Inc.
Councilman Stokes moved for adoption, Councilman Noel seconded.
Ayes: Councilmen Beaven, Noel, Stokes, Dempster
Noes: None
Absent: Councilman Fitzgerald
7.
No. 1837: accepting dedication of real property for roadway
purposes from Joseph Evulich
Councilman Noel moved for adoption, Councilman Beaven seconded.
Ayes: Councilmen Beaven, Noel, Stokes, Dempster
Noes: None
Absent: Councilman Fitzgerald
8.
No. 1838: approving boundaries common to the cities of Cupertino,
Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto and Saratoga
Councilman Noel moved for adoption, Councilman Beaven seconded.
Ayes: Councilman Beaven, Noel, Stokes, Dempster
Noes: 'None
Absent: Councilman Fitzgerald
There were audience comments relative to the reasons for the City's apparent
desire to trade this portion of land to another City. Mayor Dempster adviser
that the City~s not doing so by this resolution and that, should any
trading be done, it would be preceded by public hearings of which all effec ed
parties would be notified.
9.
No. 1839: approving final map of Tract No. 4746, West Valley
Indûstrial Park, Unit 2, and authorizing signing of agreement.
Councilman Stokes moved for adoption, Councilman Noel seconded.
Ayes: Councilmen Beaven, Noel, Stokes, Dempster
Noes: None
Absent: Councilman Fitzgerald
Items No. 10 and No. II had previously been disposed of.
12.
No. 1842: changing the name of Park Avenue between Saich Way and
Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road to Alves Drive
Councilman Stokes moved for adoption, Councilman Noel seconded.
Ayes: Councilmen Beaven, Noel, Stokes, Dempster
Noes: None
Absent: Councilman Fitzgerald
cC-18
page 5
Res. l836
adopted
Res. 1837
adopted
Res. 1838
adopted
Res. 1839
adopted
Res. 184~
adopted
Minutes of the City Council July 21, 1969
cC-18
page 7
Unfinished Business cont'd
Item B. had previously been scheduled for a public hearing.
C.
Application 413-HC-69 for variances to sign ordinance and approval
for erection of signs by Key Chevrolet Company
4l3-HC-6
legend
Mrs. Paul Weiss reiterated some of the statements made at the last Council
meeting at which time the application had been continued with a request for
possible alternatives by the staff and the applicant. Mrs. Weiss related
that, in accordance with the Council request, the applicant had agreed to
make the following modifications to the originally submitted application:
l) to reduce the height of the main sign to 42' from 47'; 2) to eliminate
the service sign entirely; and 3) to lower the Used Cers sign sufficient¡y
to conform to the Ordinance, or 20'. Mrs. Weiss stressed the fact that, to
indicate the cooperation and willingness to operate in Cupertino, the applicant
had agreed to totally eliminate one sign, thus asking for approval of only I
two signs as opposed to the original request, and to lower the main sign as
well as the Used Cars sign, both of which would be removed 250 feet from one
another.
Discussions ensued among the Councilmen and Councilman Noel stated that,
although he would favor a sign even lower than that proposed as a compromise,
he would consider granting the 42' sign' with a time limitation and asked I
if the applicant would agree to such a restriction. Mrs. Weiss replied that
she would agree to a ten-year limitation as this was the period for which the
sign contract would remain in force. I
Councilman Stokes stated that, in his op1n10n, there had been no real attempt
to comply but that only an attempt to compromise the variation had been sub-
mitted and that there still remained three violations to the Ordinance; i.e.
height, number of signs, and allowable square footage and that he could not,
in good conscience, approve the application with three violations. Mr. Stokes
contended that, were this application granted on the basis of a big business
applicant, all other and smaller business applicants could appear before this
Council and expect to receive the exact same treatment and, subsequently, a I
variance to their signs. Mr. Stokes also took exception to the minutes of the
~ast meeting during which he had not been present and, by referring to a
portion of those minutes, stated that, in his opinion, the Ordinance was not
antiquated as it had only been in force some two years and had received many
hours of work and much effort on the parts of Planning Commission members as
well as Councilmen to be brought to fruition. Furthermore, that one of the
major provisions of that Ordinance was, and had been intended te be, that there
will not be a violation of this Ordinance. Mr. Stokes commented that everybody
in the adjoining municipalities knows that the Cupertino ~ign Ordinance is
strict and will not allow violations or variations.
Mr. Stokes agreed that certain new businesses would call for modifications,
but that this Key Chevrolet agency was not one of them and that the applicant
was dramatizing her case unnecessarily, as she had been in full knowledge of
the fact that the Ordinance would not permit BIr9 variations, and that it had
been the applicánt who had selected the site in Cupertino being aware of the
Ordinance restrictions. Mr. Stokes maintained that he could not find any
justification for approving this application in its present form.
page 8
Minutes of the City Council July 21, 1969
Application 4l3-HC-69 cont'd
cC-18
Councilman Noel expressed his gratifi~~tion of the spirit of cooperation as
demonstrated by the applicant' s attempt to compromise but stated that the 42'
height was still too much and that he would agree to this sign only if it
were accompanied by the time limitation. CounciJ.man Beaven stated that he had
not changed his opinion appreciably since the last meeting and he still felt
that the existing Ordinance afforded to the City a means of exercising tight
control over signs relating to commercial enterprises. He did, however, agree
with Councilman Stokes' suggestion that perhaps the Ordinance should be changed
to accommodate this application rather than allow the application to violate
three of its basic requirements in one application.
The applicant referred to a previous comment by Mr. Stokes by which the
applicant could choose to split the property and be allowed one sign each on the
ensuing lots. Councilman Stokes clarified that he had mentioned this method
only to show that there could possibly be a subterfuge for the applicant if
he chose to elect this avenue of approach but cautioned that the applicant would,
in any case, need the approval of the City Council for whatever way he elected
to pursue.
Councilman Beaven questioned if the Ordinance was flexible enough to permit the
approval of a use as the one presently under discussion, commenting that the
Ordinance had not envisioned an aut...mobile agency when it was enacted. Also,
that it was the concern and responsibility of this Council to assist all citizens
in problem areas and that he did not believe in a strict and to the letter inter-
pretation of the Ordinance. CounciJman Stokes di.sagreed, saying that he was most
anxious to assist in whatever was needed, iv fact, that the Ordinance had variation
provisions written into it as the City Council realized the potential need, but
that he would not be. instrumental in approving an application which is in violation
of this same Ordinance on three counts.
Mayor Dempster felt it difficult to understand the impact of this request when,
on many occasions, variances had been granted developers who had been allowed to
put in only half of the size of a sidewalk, the full size of which had been
requested of others. Mr. Dempster felt that a lot had transpired since the
Ordinance was originally enacted two years ago and that the very reason for the
Council's existence was the responsibility to equate and consider all facets of
applications. Mayor Dempster stated that he was in full agreement that there
are several much larger signs in existence in Cupertino at this time than the
one being proposed now, and that exceptions to the Ordinance had previously
been granted. The present application was one for a variance and that it did
not matter or make any difference whether the applicant was the owner of a large,
business or not.
motion
dies
Councilman Stokes moved for denial of Application 4l3-HC-69. The motion died for
lack of a second.
Councilman Beaven stated that he agreed with Councilman Stokes that perhaps the
Ordinance should be changed but that this would not change the substance of this
application. He said that the site had considerable frontage, the two signs are
not obtrusive and the City is concerned with the community being overrun by
improper signs. Also, that he did not like the Used Cars sign, but that the
design and forms of the signs was aesthetically pleasing.
Minutes of the City Council July 21, 2.169
413-HC-69 cont'd
Councilman Beaven moved for approval of the application with the following
conditions: l) that the main sign shall not exceed 42' in height; 2) the
Used Cars sign shall not exceed 20" ir height and that the signs shall be
placed not less than 250' apart; 3) tbre shall not be an application for a
third sign at any time; 4) ther" Rhall be a seven-year time limit on the
sign approval after the expiration of ,,,hich the main sign shall be dropped
to a height allowable within the then existin~ Ordinance. Councilman
Dempster seconded. The motion received the following tie-vote:
Ayes: Councilmen Beaven and Dempster
Noes: Councilman Stokes and Noel
Absent: Councilman Fitzgerald.
City Attorney Anderson rendered his legal opinion in cases of a tie vote
by which the tie has to be broken by a full five-member Council and that
the only practical solution would be to continue the matter to the next
Council meetingo
cC-l8
page 9
413-HC-69
motion to
approve
tie vote
Councilman Noel moved to approve Application 4l3-HC-69 with a main sign of 4l3-HC-69
30' height, the Used Cars sign of 20' height, both placed 250' apart, with approved
a ten~year limit on the approval after which time the signs shall be reduced with
to the height allowable within the then existing Ordinance. Councilman conditions
Dempster seconded. The motion was passed with a 3 - 1 vote with Councilman
Stokes dissenting and Councilman Fitzgerald absent<
New Business
Director of' Public Works Yarborough reported that Beven bids had been
received for the grading of the Linda Vista Hillside Park, with the low
bidder, LloyC. J. Rodoni & Son, submitting a bid for $6l,4Ql.OOo ,''1cording
to Mr. Yarborough, this bid amount included all of the following work to
be performed: grading the entire site, excavation from the top of the
hillside area to the parking lot, the parking lot surface to be graded
and compacted, walkways of 1" asphalt surface to be installed, etco
Councilman Beaven moved for approval of the Director of Public Works'
recommendation and acceptance of the low bid. Councilman Stokes seconded
and it was passed unanimously.
Report of Officers
A.
City Treasurer
There was no report from the City Treasurer
bid
accepted
treasurer
B. City Manager I manager
Mr. Storm stated that he had been approached with a request for an additional
extension of waiving the construction of a masonry wall for the Mobile Oil
Company station at Stelling Road and Stevens Creek Boulevard.
COÙDcilman Stokes moved to extend the waiver one year or 'mtil such time as the
adjoining property to this site is rezoned. Councilman Beaven seconded and
it was passed unanimously.
Minutes of the City Council July 21, 1969
CC-18
page 11
The meeting adjourned at 10:40 p.m.
adjournment
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