A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Ramon was called to order on August 22, 2000 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 2222 Camino Ramon, Mayor Kinney presiding.
PRESENT: Councilmembers Hudson, Raab, Tatarka, Wilson and Mayor Kinney
ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Herb Moniz, City Attorney Bob Saxe, Police Chief Brian Lindblom, Parks and Community Services Director Jeff Eorio, Planning Director Phil Wong, Administrative Services Director Jim Randall, City Engineer Joye Fukuda, Transportation Director John Dillon, Administrative Analyst Kevin Carunchio and City Clerk Judy Macfarlane

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Cm. Tatarka led Council, staff and those present in the audience in a pledge of allegiance to the flag.

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After calling the meeting to order Mayor Kinney said the Council had met in closed session to discuss the following:

1. Pursuant to 54957.6 of the Government Code for Personnel Evaluation of the City Clerk
2. Pursuant to 54956.9© of the Government Code to consult with City Attorney to determine whether or not to initiate litigation. A motion was made and passed 3-2 to join Brentwood and possibly Antioch in litigation against Contra Costa County challenging the recent decision of the Board of Supervisors regarding the urban limit line. (Cms. Raab and Tatarka dissenting).
3. Pursuant to 56956.8 of the Government Code for the purpose of discussing acquisition of the remainder parcel of Bishop Ranch 1, (a portion of APN: 213-120-004) and giving instructions to the City Negotiator, Herb Moniz
4. Pursuant to 54956.8 of the Government Code for the purpose of discussing the terms and conditions of possible acquisition of real property located at 3250 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon (APN: 209-350-136) and giving instructions to the City Negotiator, Herb Moniz

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The City Clerk said the August 23 Tri Valley Transportation Council meeting had been cancelled and the next meeting would be September 27. She also said on September 6 a joint Parks and Community Services Commission/Library Advisory Committee meeting was scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Community Center.

Mayor Kinney said a dedication ceremony for the new Coyote Creek Elementary School would be held on August 24 at 3:00 p.m.

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SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

The Parks and Community Services Director gave on overview of the Parks Department’s Summer 2000 program activities. Some of the events he described were the 25th Birthday Celebration of the Olympic Pool and its remodeling, swimming lessons, water safety programs and recreational swimming attended by over 44,000 participants, sports camps at all of the park sites including tennis, soccer and other sports, teen trips, the skate park, family fun nights and the summer concert series.

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Cindy Post, Sunny Glen Homeowners Association, said there was an average of one accident a week at the intersection of Fircrest and Alcosta. She said going from west to east it was hard to see the stop sign because of the curve and the overgrown trees at the fire station. She asked for help from Council in mitigating this problem.

Cm. Hudson confirmed Ms. Post was talking about line of sight problems heading east on Alcosta.

Kim Gallagher, Youth to Youth advisor, introduced students from the program. The students told about the history of the Youth to Youth program and described the benefits received from participation in the events. The students thanked the Council for supporting the youth of the Valley and believing in the Youth to Youth program from the very beginning.

Cm. Hudson complimented the students on their excellent presentation.

Cm. Tatarka said the students spoke from the heart and that was probably why they appeared so comfortable. She confirmed the Youth to Youth group met Tuesday nights from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Iron Horse School.

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Cm. Raab’s motion to approve the minutes of the August 8 Council meeting was seconded by Cm. Hudson and passed 5-0.

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Mayor Kinney asked on item 8.6, agreement for the Cal High Track, if funding for the project was coming from a private donation and the school district.

The Parks and Community Services Director confirmed that the City was also involved in the funding for the track. He said the district was providing approximately $50,000 of asphalt and fencing work and they had also agreed to do the long term maintenance of the track which would run about $60,000 to $70,000 every seven to ten years.

The Parks and Community Services Director confirmed the public would still have access once the track was built and said staff was working on an agreement where people during school days would check in at the swim center and be issued a pass to use the track and that the track would be open on weekends and after school.

Cm. Hudson’s motion to approve the following Consent Calendar was seconded by Cm. Tatarka and passed 5-0.

FINANCE     Register of Demands dated August 7, 11 and 18, 2000 in the amount of $1,175,594.27

ACCEPTING A GRANT DEED FOR A .53 ACRE PARCEL, A STORMWATER DETENTION BASIN LOCATED ON THE WEST SIDE OF WESTSIDE DRIVE ABOUT 600 FEET NORTH OF SUBDIVISION 7336, FROM THE LABORER’S PENSION TRUST FUND FOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FOR THE CROWN RIDGE DEVELOPMENT

AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AN ADDENDUM TO THE AGREEMENT WITH WHITE OAK LANDSCAPE, INC., FOR TURF MOWING SERVICES AT COYOTE CREEK NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL PARK IN AN ANNUAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $19,525

APPROVING A CHANGE TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL MINI-GRANT PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AS PROPOSED BY THE CITY OF SAN RAMON ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

APPROVAL OF FUNDING REQUEST FOR THE RAINBOW PROJECT IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $28,000 FOR THE 2000/01 SCHOOL YEAR

AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH SOUTHWEST RECREATIONAL INDUSTRIES, INC., FOR THE CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL SYNTHETIC RUNNING TRACK PROJECT (CIP 5308) IN THE AMOUNT OF $360,000

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CREE COURT ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 

Mayor Kinney opened a public hearing for the Cree Court Assessment District and asked if there were any ballots or written protests to be filed.

The Administrative Analyst said the public hearing and the approval of a resolution adopting the Engineer’s Report were the final City Council actions necessary to establish the Cree Court Assessment District. He said as part of the settlement of the Cree Court lawsuit, adopted by the City Council on February 9, 1999, the City was required to establish a special assessment district for the purposes of funding repairs to the homes damaged by a landslide under Cree Court. He said the formation of the district was initiated last September when three property owners petitioned the City to undertake special assessment proceedings. He said the boundary map for the district had been filed with the County Recorder’s office and the special assessment ballots along with a notice of tonight’s meeting and a notice of proposed assessment were mailed to all three affected property owners. He concluded by saying the proposed total assessment identified in the Engineer’s report is $374,127 and is composed of the City’s Bond Counsel fees and the individual funding requests submitted by each of the three property owners.

Mayor Kinney closed the public hearing and asked the City Clerk to give the tabulation of the assessment ballots.

The City Clerk said the result of the assessment ballot was unanimous approval.

Cm. Hudson’s motion to approve the resolution adopting the Engineer’s Report was seconded by Cm. Tatarka and passed 5-0.

DETERMINING CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY, ADOPTING THE ENGINEER’S REPORT, CONFIRMING THE ASSESSMENT, ORDERING THE WORK AND ACQUISITIONS AND DIRECTING ACTIONS WITH RESPECT THERETO

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GENERAL PLAN REVIEW/SPHERE OF INFLUENCE ANALYSIS 

Cm. Wilson said at the last meeting the Council’s February  workshop was discussed and he felt there had been different  interpretations of what was said and what was not said in reference to Tassajara Valley, i.e. the Supervisors 5-0 vote to not include Tassajara in San Ramon’s sphere of influence. He said one of the short-term goals and objectives that was discussed at the workshop was the City’s sphere of influence. He said at that time the Council confirmed interest in Tassajara Valley as part of its sphere of influence. He said knowing that the Council would appoint a General Plan Review Commission, he was aware of the fact that he did not want to prejudice the commission by stating there should or should not be a sphere of influence in Tassajara Valley and possibly that was where the confusion is on the Council. He continued to say at the last commission meeting Gordon Kimber, a member of the Contra Costa County Planning Commission, had urged the commission to not consider Tassajara Valley in its evaluation stating that since San Ramon was not contiguous with Tassajara Valley, a section of the Government Code prohibits moving San Ramon’s sphere of influence line and possibly its planning area into Tassajara Valley. He said that statement was not correct and there were many other statements made by the County Planning Commissioner that were also not correct. He said he would like Mr. Kimber to address the Council with his thoughts and ideas so that there could be a truthful evaluation of what we should and should not do. He said even though the Councilmembers may disagree he would hope that each one would always keep in mind what was good for San Ramon.

Mayor Kinney said there seems to be some confusion as to whether or not the Council was in favor of a sphere of influence and he would like to have the Council polled to see if they would rather have the Tassajara Valley under San Ramon’s sphere of influence or under the County’s sphere of influence.

Brent Parker, member of Tassajara Citizens for Property Rights, said they had been fighting with the County for over two years to have the urban limit line remain as is. He said most of the people in the Tassajara Valley want to have San Ramon take the initiative and include them in its sphere of influence. He said their members would like to work and improve the relationship with San Ramon.

Cm. Raab asked would changing the urban limit line change the Tassajara Valley zoning.

Mr. Parker said their zoning had not changed but their right to rezone had. He said with the urban limit line where it was they had the right to petition the county to change zoning and with the change that right was taken away. He said that right was worth a lot of money to people who live in Tassajara and their property values could go down as much as 40% to 60%.

Cm. Hudson asked Mr. Parker if he could refinance to do anything like buying feed and would his property have the same value if the urban limit line was moved.

Mr. Parker said he felt it was too soon to address that issue and the Tassajara Valley was mostly a grazing area.

Cm. Hudson said the major complaint expressed by Mr. Parker was there was no one in the Tassajara Valley monitoring traffic conditions and there was a speeding problem and traffic was increasing.

Bob Ingalls, said he appreciated Cm. Wilson’s comments about not trying to sway or influence the General Plan Review Commission because sometimes it seemed like that was what was happening. He said the Commission at its September meeting was going to discuss the matter of Tassajara Valley being in San Ramon’s planning area with input from the City Attorney because they have to know how the urban limit line move, the planning area, the sphere of influence and the urban growth boundary, that the Commission is charged to handle, all come together. He said the Commission was supposed to be setting up an urban growth boundary and it was up to the Commission to find out how they could do that.

Cm. Hudson said for years and for several years to come we are going to be planning traffic patterns that are going to affect Tassajara and San Ramon as we build around Tassajara. He said if the zoning had not been changed with the move of the urban limit line and we are not doing any building out there we have an obligation, in writing, to change Tassajara Road to a four-lane road. He asked Mr. Ingalls if he felt that was something that should be considered by the Commission.

Mr. Ingalls responded he felt there should be more discussion and he was a little disappointed that there had been very little discussion when the planning area was proposed at the first meeting of the commission. He said he felt all of the information needed to be brought forward and sometimes with the fast track of the commission that was not happening.

Mayor Kinney said there was an 18 month timeline in which the Commission was charged with specific instructions on what to look at and the City Attorney would tell the Commission what they could look at legally. He said within that 18 month period the Commission was to draft a proposal for presentation to the residents on the November 2001 ballot.

Mr. Ingalls said with the timeline in mind everything seemed to be coming more compressed. He said he realized the Commission was under the gun but he wished there was some way they could sit down and have a back and forth discussion.

Cm. Hudson said he thought what Cm. Wilson was saying was for the Commission to talk about everything but the time limit was set and could not be changed. He said he felt that Cm. Wilson did not want the Council or anyone else unduly influencing the Commission.

Lora Warner, said during the process of the urban limit line discussions and meetings she spoke with different supervisors and at that time she expressed concern about the identity of her property being changed. She said a change in the urban limit line does affect the Tassajara Valley residents and they need help.

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The City Attorney said the Brown Act allows the Council to add to the agenda any item that comes up after the current agenda was fixed and for which action is immediately required. He said in this case it involved the possible acquisition of a building for office purposes for the City. He said the Council earlier that evening had voted, on a four-fifths vote, to hear a report that had come to the City Manager’s attention that morning.

Cm. Hudson’s motion to go into closed session to continue the discussion of that report was seconded by Cm. Raab and passed 5-0.

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There being no further business to come before the Council, at 8:30 p.m. the meeting adjourned to closed session.

Curt Kinney, Mayor
Judy Macfarlane, City Clerk

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