madera, larkspur or san anselmo

7.IV

DRAFT MINUTES OF DECEMBER 6, 2016 1 2

REGULAR MEETING 3 OF THE 4

CORTE MADERA TOWN COUNCIL 5 AND THE BOARD OF SANITARY DISTRICT NO. 2, 6

A SUBSIDIARY DISTRICT TO THE TOWN OF CORTE MADERA 7 8

9 Mayor Bailey called the Regular Meeting to order at Town Hall Council Chambers, 300 10 Tamalpais Drive, Corte Madera, CA on December 6, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. 11 12

1. ROLL CALL 13 14 Councilmembers Present: Mayor Bailey, Vice Mayor Furst and Councilmembers Andrews, 15

Condon and Lappert 16 17 Staff Present: Town Manager Todd Cusimano 18 Town Attorney Randy Riddle 19 Director of Public Works/Town Engineer/Assistant Town 20

Manager David Bracken 21 Director of Planning and Building Adam Wolff 22 Senior Planner Phil Boyle 23 Parks and Leisure Services Director Mario Fiorentini 24 Senior Civil Engineer Nisha Patel 25 Captain Jim Shirk, CMPA 26 Town Clerk/Assistant to the Town Manager Rebecca Vaughn 27 28 7:00 PM CLOSED SESSION: 29 30

PUBLIC EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENT 31 Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957 32 Title: Town Attorney 33

34 7:30 PM OPEN SESSION: 35

36 SALUTE TO THE FLAG: Mayor Bailey led in the Pledge of Allegiance. 37

38 1. REPORT OUT OF CLOSED SESSION 39

40 Mayor Bailey announced that the Town Council appointed Teresa Stricker from the same 41 consulting law firm of Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai, LLP as the Town Attorney effective 42

Corte Madera Town Council and Sanitary District No. 2 Minutes

December 6, 2016

2

March 2017. The Council also appointed an interim Town Attorney, Judith Propp, who is 1 currently the Assistant Town Attorney. 2 3

2. OPEN TIME FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION 4 5 Captain Jim Shirk, CMPA, announced the start of a Citizens Police Academy beginning 6 February 9, 2017, meeting every Thursday night for 8 weeks. Classes will be provided by 7 officers, with ride-alongs and visits to various Marin agencies in an effort to establish 8 relationships and educate participants. He then distributed materials announcing the 9 program, stating they hope to keep the first class to 15 participants with a mixture of all 10 three communities. Participants must be at least 18 years old and work or live in Corte 11 Madera, Larkspur or San Anselmo. 12 13 Mayor Bailey asked and confirmed that Captain Shirk will be retiring at the end of 14 December and the Council and staff congratulated and voiced best wishes. 15 16 PEGGY BURNETT, Laurel Drive, stated the Town’s Capital Budget for 2015/16 and again in 17 2016/17 budgeted $20,000 for the Tamalpais at Sanford Congestion Improvement Project. 18 She and others have been told that a traffic study first needs to be done and asked when 19 this would occur in the hopes it would be done prior to the new home construction on Casa 20 Buena Drive. She also recommended Corte Madera incorporate department goals into their 21 Capital Budgets and report which were and were not met. 22 23 PAT RAVASIO, Oakdale, spoke about the Corte Madera Inn rebuild project and said the 24 Planning Commission indicated unanimous approval of the plan. If the Council makes the 25 findings that the pond should be filled in, 79 mature trees are proposed to be removed 26 which currently provide sound protection, carbon sequestration and bird habitat. Two 27 architectural firms have offered pro bono services to meet with the applicant’s architects to 28 increase environmental sensitivity of the plan and she urged the Council to request the 29 applicant provide a model of the project, cited sea level rise, and asked to mitigate the 30 project’s environmental impacts and enhance the design. 31 32

3. PRESENTATIONS 33 34 3.I To Randy Riddle, Town Attorney: For Service to the Town of Corte Madera 35

36 Mayor Bailey presented Randy Riddle with a Certificate of Appreciation which he read into 37 the record, and a round of applause followed congratulating him on his accomplishments 38 during his tenure as Town Attorney. 39 40

3.II To Julie Kritzberger, Executive Officer for the Corte Madera Chamber of 41 Commerce: For Service to the Town of Corte Madera 42

43


December 6, 2016

3

Mayor Bailey and Councilmembers presented Julie Kritzberger with a Certificate of 1 Appreciation which they individual read portions of into the record. A round of applause 2 followed congratulating her on her accomplishments as Executive Director of the Corte 3 Madera Chamber of Commerce. 4 5

3.III To the Community Volunteers of the Various Local Youth Sports 6 Organizations for Their Contributions to the Community. The following 7 organizations will receive Certificates of Appreciation: Corte Madera FC, St. 8 Patrick’s CYO Basketball, St. Patrick’s CYO Volleyball, Twin Cities Girls Softball, 9 Twin Cities Little League, Marin Highlanders Rugby, North Bay Wildcats 10 Rugby, Tidal Waves Swim Team, Southern Marin Lacrosse, Ross Valley 11 Lacrosse 12

13 Mayor Bailey recognized and called forward volunteers supporting the various local youth 14 sports organizations and presented Certificates of Recognition in appreciation of their 15 volunteerism for the benefit of youth in Corte Madera and neighboring communities, and a 16 round of applause followed. 17 18

3.IV Golden Gate Bridge District Presentation on Corte Madera Marsh Restoration 19 Presentation by Ewa Bauer-Furbush, PE, Chief Engineer, Golden Gate Bridge 20 Highway & Transportation District 21

22 The presentation regarding the Corte Madera Marsh Restoration was deferred to a future 23 meeting. 24 25

4. REORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL 26 27

4.I Election of Mayor 28 29 MOTION: Moved by Condon, seconded by Andrews, and approved unanimously by the 30

following vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Andrews, Condon, Furst, Lappert and Bailey; Noes: 31 None) 32

33 To elect Vice Mayor Furst as Mayor 34

35 4.II Election of Vice Mayor 36

37 MOTION: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Furst, and approved unanimously by the 38

following vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Andrews, Bailey, Condon, Lappert and Furst; Noes: 39 None) 40

41 To elect Councilmember Condon as Vice Mayor 42

43


December 6, 2016

4

Mayor Furst offered thanks to Mayor Bailey for his work as Mayor in 2016. She said the 1 Council had many interesting items and Mayor Bailey did a great job in his role as Mayor 2 ensuring transparency and decorum. She also thanked him for his work as emcee during 3 the Town’s Centennial celebrations. She then recognized and thanked her father, husband 4 and daughter for attending tonight. 5 6 A round of applause followed. 7 8

5. COUNCIL AND TOWN MANAGER REPORTS 9 10

- Town Manager Report 11 12 Town Manager Cusimano gave the following report: 13 14 Regarding the Sanford and Tamalpais intersection and concerns, staff is in the 15

process and will in early January seeking proposals for the traffic study, and he 16 will keep the Council updated. 17

He received positive comments about Snow Day and he suggested the Council 18 consider making this an annual event in Town, and he recognized Parks and 19 Leisure Services Director Mario Fiorentini. 20

21 - Council Reports 22

23 Councilmember Andrews had no report. 24 25 Vice Mayor Condon gave the following report: 26 27

She echoed comments regarding Snow Day, recognized Mr. Fiorentini as well as 28 Julie Kritzberger, the Recreation and Public Works departments. 29

She attended the Chamber of Commerce Board meeting and reported: 30 31 o The Christmas Mixer will be held on Thursday, 5:30 p.m. at the Best Western. 32 o The Chamber Board will vote on its new Slate of Officers for 2017 which she 33

briefly announced and thanked Jim Parrott who served as President this 34 year. 35

Age-Friendly Corte Madera and Twin Cities Village have partnered with the 36 Parks and Recreation Department for a speaker series and the next event is at 37 1:00 p.m. January 11th, “Fun with your IPhone and IPad” at the CMPA Community 38 Room. The event is being given by a woman who has provided classes for Apple 39 and also provides free video tutorials on-line for seniors. 40

41 Councilmember Bailey gave the following report: 42 43


December 6, 2016

5

As the Town’s representative to the Town’s Legislative Committee, he attended a 1 meeting last Monday attended by Congressman Jared Huffman who was just re-2 elected. He is ready to defend the state and prepare for the next election. 3

He recognized the Town Manager, Town Clerk and Parks and Leisure Services 4 Director for their work in hosting a meeting of the MCCMC. Very nice 5 complements were received from members present. 6

7 Councilmember Lappert had no report. 8 9 Mayor Furst gave the following report: 10 11

She attended the TAM Board meeting and reported: 12 13

o TAM approved an agreement with SMART regarding the SMART right-of-way 14 and the ability of TAM and the County to move forward with the pathway 15 along that right-of-way. She did not succeed in getting support for changes in 16 the language that would have protected the pathway in the future from being 17 removed should SMART ever extend rail south of Larkspur. 18

o The right lane of southbound Hwy 101 between Corte Madera and Mill Valley 19 will be closed through December 19th for drainage pipe work. 20

o To learn more about construction on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge 21 including the third lane and bike lane on the top deck, an Open House will be 22 held Friday, December 9th from 6-8 p.m. at the San Rafael City Hall. A similar 23 Open House will be held on Thursday, December 8th at Richmond City Hall. 24

o TAM will be holding an Innovation Workshop on February 24th. 25 o The Central Marin Ferry Connector Pathway over East Sir Francis Drake won 26

the Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering 27 Companies and it is in running for a national award. 28

o The Council had placed a proposed project for the Nellen/Wornum/Tamal 29 Vista area in for funding which includes mostly bike/pedestrian projects 30 along with roadway improvements and opening Nellen to southbound traffic 31 from Larkspur, and unfortunately the Town did not receive the grant. No 32 Marin projects won and of the 456 statewide applications, only 40 received 33 funding and these 40 applications that did receive funding were in a 34 “Community of Concern” category. 35

o A SMART train will be on display and open for public tours on Saturday, 36 December 10th at the Novato-San Marin Station. Toys will also be collected 37 for the Toys for Tots program. 38

39 6. CONSENT CALENDAR 40

41 Mayor Furst stated she has been asked to remove Item 6.VII from the Consent Calendar. 42 Councilmember Andrews requested removal of Item 6.II. 43 44


December 6, 2016

6

6.I. Waive Further Reading and Authorize Introduction and/or Adoption of 1 Resolutions and Ordinances by Title Only. 2 (Standard procedural action – no backup information provided) 3

4 6.III Second Reading and Possible Action to Adopt Ordinance No. 962, a Zoning 5

Ordinance Amendment amending Section 18.31 by adding Section 18.31.100 6 related to Junior Accessory Dwelling Units consistent with recently adopted 7 State Law (AB 2406) and making findings that the proposed Ordinance 8 Amendment is Within the Scope of the Program EIR for the 2009 General 9 Plan, Certified by the Town Council on April 21, 2009, and that No 10 Subsequent EIR or Negative Declaration is Required. 11 (Report from Doug Bush, Associate Planner) 12 13

6.IV Adopt Resolution No. 49/2016 Approving the Corte Madera Chamber of 14 Commerce 2017 Budget and Accept the Financial Statements (Audit) For the 15 Years Ending December 31, 2015 and 2014. 16 (Report from Todd Cusimano, Town Manager) 17

18 6.V Approval of Event, AVON 39: The Walk to End Breast Cancer 2017 19

(Mario Fiorentini, Director of Recreation and Leisure Services) 20 21 6.VI Adopt Resolution 50/2016 Authorizing the Filing of an Application for PCA 22

(Priority Conservation Area) Grant Funding Assigned to MTC, Committing 23 Matching Funds, and Stating Assurance to Complete the Paradise Drive 24 Multiuse Pathway Gap Closure Project (Project No. 15-025). 25

(Nisha Patel, Senior Civil Engineer) 26 27 6.VIII Approve Warrants and Payroll for the Period 11/10/16 through 11/30/16: 28

Warrant Check Numbers 214978 through 215028, Payroll Check Numbers 29 5354 through 5369, Payroll Direct Deposit Numbers 30862 through 30977 30 Payroll Wire Transfer Numbers 2086 through 2093 and Wire Transfer of 31 01/03/17. 32 (Report from George T. Warman, Jr., Director of Administrative 33 Services/Town Treasurer) 34 35

MOTION: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Lappert, and approved unanimously by the 36 following vote: 4-0-1 (Ayes: Andrews, Bailey, Condon, Lappert and Furst; 37 Noes: None) 38

39 To approve Town Consent Calendar Items 6.I, 6.III, 6.IV, 6.V, 6.VI, and 6.VIII 40

41 Items Removed from the Consent Calendar: 42

43


December 6, 2016

7

6.II Second Reading and Possible Action to Adopt Ordinance No. 961, a Zoning 1 Ordinance Amendment Amending the Existing Second Unit Ordinance 2 (Section 18.31) Consistent With Recently Adopted State Laws (AB 1069 And 3 SB 2299) and Making Findings that the Proposed Ordinance Amendments 4 are Within the Scope Of The Program EIR For The 2009 General Plan And 5 That No Further Environmental Review is Required Pursuant to California 6 Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Sections 15167 and 15162. 7 (Report from Doug Bush, Associate Planner) 8

9 Councilmember Andrews stated he is voting against the ordinance not because he is 10 against secondary units but because he believes the ordinance as drafted advocates what 11 little authority the Town retains under state law to manage the creation of secondary units 12 with adequate on-site parking. 13 14 Mayor Furst opened the public comment period and there were no speakers. 15 16 MOTION: Moved by Lappert, seconded by Bailey, and approved unanimously by the 17

following vote: 4-1 (Ayes: Bailey, Condon, Lappert and Furst; Noes: Andrews) 18 19

To approve Town Consent Calendar Items 6.II 20 21

6.VII Receive and File Annual Listing of Expiring Terms on Town Boards, 22 Commissions and Committees During 2017 in Compliance With Maddy Act 23

(Report from Rebecca Vaughn, Town Clerk) 24 25 Town Clerk Vaughn requested this item be pulled because this is an annual notice staff is 26 required to post by December 31st listing the Board and Commission seats that will expire 27 this coming calendar year. It was brought to her attention after publication of the agenda 28 that she had left a newly appointed member off of BPAC and she requested making this 29 amendment. She reported that Tom Nofziger was appointed to BPAC this year and there is 30 not a vacancy as listed on the list. 31 32 Mayor Furst opened the public comment period. 33 34 MOTION: Moved by Lappert, seconded by Bailey, and approved unanimously by the 35


38 To approve Town Consent Calendar Items 6.VII, as amended, to add Tom 39 Nofziger to the Annual Listing of Expiring Terms on Town Boards, 40 Commissions and Committees during 2017 in compliance with Maddy Act 41

42 43 44


December 6, 2016

8

7. PUBLIC HEARINGS 1 2 7.I Marin Country Day School Project: Consideration of a Mitigated Negative 3

Declaration, General Plan Amendment, Rezoning, Design Review, and 4 Conditional Use Permit Amendment for proposed improvements at Marin 5 Country Day School located at 5221 Paradise Drive. 6 (Report from Phil Boyle, Senior Planner) 7

8 Senior Planner Boyle introduced the Marin Country Day School (MCDS) project, and gave a 9 PowerPoint overview of the project process. The project came before the Planning 10 Commission in November 2015 for a preliminary review and to receive general input. In 11 October 2016 an Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) was prepared 12 by environmental consultant Amy Skews Cox and a notice was sent out to all properties 13 within 300 feet of the project site and interested parties per CEQA requirements. In 14 reviewing all environmental issues, it was determined that all issues could be mitigated. 15 16 Mr. Boyle said on November 10th the Planning Commission unanimously recommended 17 approval of the CEQA documents and all entitlements of the project to the Council and the 18 Council will be making the final decision. 19 20 Regarding the various entitlements, as follows: 21 22

1. A General Plan Amendment and rezoning is proposed to increase the size and area 23 of land designated as “School” and to decrease the size of the land dedicated as 24 “Residential”, and he displayed a map with the change in designation; 25

2. Design review for construction of the new classrooms and remodeling of existing 26 buildings; 27

3. Amendment to the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for modifications to the main 28 campus and to the northern parking lot; and 29

4. CEQA analysis 30 31 In summary, the project is new construction of two new classrooms of approximately 32 11,000 square feet in area, a performing arts building of approximately 7,500 square feet, 33 upper and lower bathrooms and offices, renovations of some of the existing buildings, and 34 Phase 2 of a creek restoration. He noted that Phase 1 of the creek restoration was done in 35 2008 which went through all appropriate environmental regulations and requirements, 36 and the school is embarking upon Phase 2 at this time. Temporary classrooms are also 37 proposed to be erected on the northern parking lot north of Paradise Drive which is their 38 parking lot and soccer field, as well as a revised pick-up and drop-off area. 39 40 Mr. Boyle presented the site plan and briefly explained its location along Paradise Drive 41 and pointed to the existing buildings and proposed buildings, and the proposed creek area 42 to be enhanced, the existing soccer field, parking lot and bus parking. He said the project 43 includes relocating portable buildings, reconfigure the soccer fields to the west and create 44


December 6, 2016

9

additional parking. He said the configuration is designed to allow the school to operate 1 during construction. He then presented a detail of the Creekside classrooms and the new 2 performing arts building and other improvements, and renderings looking east and west. 3 4 The IS/MND identified impacts and mitigation measures that would make those impacts 5 less than significant. The Draft Initial Study was circulated and on the Town’s website from 6 October to November and various subjects where mitigation measures were proposed 7 were agreed to by the applicant. 8 9 He presented the rezoning and said the proposal would increase the area zoned and 10 General Plan designation of “School” to accommodate the buildings proposed. He said the 11 entire campus will have the correct zoning and correct General Plan designation including 12 playfields at the southern end. He then presented a diagram of the north parking lot today 13 and the lot proposed. 14 15 Since the Planning Commission meeting, there have been a number of discussions by staff 16 and comments from the public at the meeting and these are addressed in the memo 17 distributed by him. Through discussions with the school, officials have created; a new 18 drop-off and pick-up protocol, and discontinuation allrentals to community groups as of 19 January 1, 2107 If they revisit the rentals , they have agreed to go through a CUP 20 amendment process. 21 22 The Conditions of Approval include a post-construction traffic study once the MCDS and 23 Marin Montessori projects are completed. The goal of the traffic study is to determine 24 whether the situation has changed after expansion of the two facilities. MCDS is a K-8 25 private school, and with this expansion, the school is not proposing additional students, as 26 they have a cap on the number of students through an earlier use permit. 27 28 Another condition requires annual reporting on the number of students, faculty, any 29 transportation issues and solutions to any issues. A new condition of approval, proposed 30 by staff is a near-term traffic study which will be conducted shortly after approval which 31 will identify current issues, how they can be mitigated, a plan for physical improvements, 32 timelines and costs for improvements. 33 34 Mr. Boyle concluded and said before the Council for consideration is three resolutions and 35 introduction of an ordinance, which he briefly described. 36 37 Vice Mayor Condon asked for clarification regarding staff’s comment on the decrease in 38 residential zoning. Mr. Boyle stated the zoning designation shown as purple is “school” and 39 what is green is “open residential” which is the lowest density residential designation in 40 the town. In approving the General Plan Amendment and rezoning, the school area is being 41 increased by approximately 7 acres and decreasing the rural residential area by 7 acres. 42 The land is owned by MCDS and they have indicated no plans to build homes or sell the 43


December 6, 2016

10

property. 1 2 Councilmember Andrews referred to the slide showing Paradise Drive and asked if there 3 were plans to put in sidewalks on the property. Mr. Boyle said there are no plans at this 4 time, but the Town does have a proposal to have a multi-use pathway west of MCDS. 5 6 Councilmember Andrews asked if the Town could require MCDS to install a path on the 7 opposite side, and Mr. Boyle said this is something the Council can discuss and consider. 8 9 Mayor Furst called upon the applicant. 10 11 LUCINDA LEE KATZ, Head of School, MCDS, said their school turned 60 this year and they 12 have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the Town. She discussed students’ learning of 13 Corte Madera’s history, current enrollment of 590 students and their CUP allows for 650 14 and feels this is the perfect division for K-4 and 5-8 graders, with 135 full-time faculty and 15 staff. 16 17 Ms. Katz stated they worked on campus improvements in 2006 and completion in 2009 18 which included a new administrative building, 3 new 2nd grade classrooms, 3 art 19 classrooms, a new multi-purpose room and 8 new redesigned middle school classrooms. 20 Today, they hope to make more campus improvements and asked the Council to consider 21 12 new science spaces which have not been touched in 45 years. 22 23 They also wish to restore the upper creek and make improvements to the upper field, as 24 one-third of the field is very soggy. They have resized the upper school to 14 students per 25 classroom in all academic subjects and currently the overflow classroom spaces are in 26 modules. Preparing students for their futures as scientists, engineers, design thinkers, 27 good communicators and helping make the world a better place are the school’s mission 28 and part of their strategic vision and she briefly described student learning experiences, 29 focus on Ring Mountain, commitment to environmental sustainability, their bus program, 30 receipt of the Green Ribbon School Award, and the school’s platinum and gold LEED 31 achievements through collaboration with EHDD. 32 33 Ms. Katz highlighted 3 issues facing the community, stating that because their CUP is not 34 written in a way that permits rental of their spaces, they are discontinuing rentals 35 beginning January 1, 2017. They know parking and traffic are problems but they have no 36 plans to increase enrollment, have 109 parking spaces in the lower lot, and Scott Hardester 37 will be speaking to the additional 9 visitor parking spaces. 38 39 They are aware of traffic along Paradise Drive which has been increasingly more difficult 40 and they are researching longer term solutions with partner schools, with parents, and 41 understand the Town’s bicycle committee is also working to assist. 42 43


December 6, 2016

11

Finally, during the construction period, they are looking at alternative parking. They are 1 working to have their buses parked at the Preserve and recently they placed speed bumps 2 along their own internal driveway to slow vehicles down for pick-up and drop-off. They 3 realize this is a tough corridor having pedestrians and bicyclists moving through and they 4 want to be part of the solution. 5 6 Regarding the environmental focus, they have always had a natural focus of preserving the 7 beauty of Marin and have a strong K-8 environmental education program. In 2008 they 8 began restoration of the lower creek and will now start restoration of the creek on the 9 upper part adjacent to the new creekside buildings. They would like to move forward with 10 this and hopefully break ground June 9, 2017. She invited Scott Hardester to speak and 11 thereafter, Scott Shell. 12 13 SCOTT HARDESTER, Assistant Head of School for Strategic Implementation, MCDS, 14 displayed their parking lot of 109 spaces and another 8 spaces in the circle and said there 15 are some people who park along the north side of Paradise Drive and they cross the street 16 even though there is a foot bridge, creating a safety issue. They have increased messaging, 17 added signs and added two pedestrian gates there, as well as use of traffic coordinators. 18 19 Other issues include parking along both sides of Paradise Drive, which occurs daily by 20 volunteers and tutors coming to the school. Event parking can be during the day or on 21 weekends, and he pointed to an impacted area. He said congestion occurs during pick-up 22 in this area and if the multi-use pathway is added, they will have to find solutions for this. 23 24 He said they will be hearing from the Preserve by the end of the week and they would like 25 to move buses during the day which could add 20 additional spaces. Also, there is some 26 green space not used for the field and they can use it during construction. They hired a 27 security firm for those crossing the street, enforcement of parking standards, and ensuring 28 the lot gets filled up first, which was required by the Planning Commission. Currently, he 29 and the Director of Safety and Security are triaging morning and afternoons until Monday. 30 31 They have focused greater emphasis on their event parking and they hired their own staff 32 to manage a large event on Sunday and they emphasized no parking along the street which 33 worked well. He formulated a traffic committee to review drop-off and pick-up solutions. 34 More importantly, he spoke with David Parisi yesterday, contacted Sam Shapiro of Marin 35 Montessori School to partner with them, and they would like to hire someone for the long 36 term. 37 38 Scott Shell, EHDD Architects and Corte Madera resident on Golden Hind Passage, said he 39 has been very pleased to be able to work with representatives from MCDS and said the site 40 is special. He presented a hydrology diagram, stating the lower part of the creek was 41 already restored and they are now proposing to restore the upper part. About 100 years 42 ago a farmer blasted the hills to level the terraces for farming and ranches. Clear and flat 43


December 6, 2016

12

plains now exist and the creek was channelized partly in concrete culverts, and they want 1 to restore it to its natural condition. They worked with CMG Landscape Architects and WRA 2 Environmental to get the biology of this right and bring the ecology of Ring Mountain down 3 to the edge of the school and make it a feature. 4 5 Mr. Shell then presented an enlarged picture of the creek and riparian plantings, stating the 6 school’s glass of its science classroom building faces the creek. He displayed the existing 7 science building, the garden and a new greenhouse which does not show up in the photo, 8 an existing classroom building which will be removed and the existing performing arts 9 building which will be replaced with a larger building. 10 11 He then displayed another view of the science building and said the footprint is the same as 12 the existing building and they tucked the other side of the creek back in the hill. One of the 13 strongest things about the campus is that it is created around a series of spaces for 14 students, made up of a grassy circle for youngest children, the playground and middle 15 school play area for active uses, the ceremonial step up courtyard for graduations, and the 16 design is about creating places rather than building as objects. Once at the top, there is no 17 sense of place, and the new design does this by creating a place there. 18 19 Mr. Shell said the performing arts center uses the shingles that are dominant on most of the 20 campus. The sun shades on the east are used to control glare and heat gain. The building 21 will create all of the energy it will use through solar panels, and the Creekside classroom 22 building will have a deck for performances and classes. He then displayed the classroom’s 23 sliding glass doors for project-based, hands on learning and this will be their science lab 24 outside. He concluded his presentation and said they were all available to take questions. 25 26 Councilmember Andrews asked why the entire parcel was being rezoned to “School”. 27 28 Mr. Shell said he believes it recognizes reality. The zoning is wrong and there are buildings 29 and a field, and this corrects what has been there for years. 30 31 Tracy Hanna, Equity Community Buildings, project manager, said primarily the rezoning 32 was to make sure there was still access to the open residential area in case it ever were to 33 become a separate lot and not owned by MCDS. They looked at many options with Town 34 staff and did not want to block access to the southern part of the parcel. Therefore, they 35 decided to recognize what the school really uses knowing they are not planning to expand 36 beyond that area. 37 38 Senior Planner Boyle added that the applicant proposed this configuration instead of 39 another blob. They could have chosen to do something differently, but there is no 40 requirement. 41 42 Director of Planning and Building Adam Wolff commented that staff had discussed this with 43


December 6, 2016

13

the applicant and asked the same question about different options, but ultimately it is their 1 application and they proposed what works best for them. 2 3 Kent Powelson, EHDD, added that one consideration was really the extent of the site that 4 the school intended to use for school buildings. There was some recognition that there 5 might be some concern in the community if, by including the entire lot, it might be believed 6 that the school was intending in the future to build classroom buildings all the way up Ring 7 Mountain and on the ridges of the surrounding hillsides, which is not the school’s intent. 8 They decided to maintain a narrower boundary, reflecting the exact school uses, and not 9 raising the possibility that the school would plan to build in areas that would be readily 10 visible from other parts of the town. 11 12 Mayor Furst opened the public comment period. 13 14 JOHN MILLER, Paradise Drive, said he believes there is an accident waiting to happen. He 15 has seen the number of vehicles and near misses of children and parents being hit year 16 after year. He did not think signs or volunteers will save lives or the Town from lawsuits 17 waiting to happen after an accident happens and asked to ban parking on Paradise Drive in 18 that area. 19 20 SUE DURIE, Paradise Drive, said some of the things heard sound like nice solutions to what 21 is a serious problem and she asked that solutions be implemented. She highlighted her 22 concerns in writing and read them into the record: She voiced concerns with the school 23 returning to operate rentals of the facility and asked the Town to ensure that parking 24 infrastructure is enhanced and remains in place. Her comments in her letter regarding the 25 lack of parking at MCDS, parents parking on Paradise Drive and doing a U-turn 26 disregarding pedestrians and bicyclists, accidents waiting to happen, double parked cars, 27 cars parked in the red zone, parents and children darting across the street in and out of 28 traffic, and she asked for a permanent solution. 29 30 She thought all problems would disappear if parents parked in the lot. She said the problem 31 occurred 3 years ago when the school moved their buses to the north parking lot to 32 accommodate a new building on campus. They have 109 spots, but a few Sundays ago she 33 visited the school and they had 86 spaces. They said they have 135 employees plus part-34 time employees and this means 50 cars must park on Paradise Drive every day, and she 35 asked that the school provide sufficient parking. 36 37 VANESSA ALO, Paradise Drive, said over the years increase in enrollment, faculty and staff 38 has also contributed to the parking problem. In 1995 MCDS increased their use permit to 39 650 students. They are now at 590 students, plus 135 employees and this is too many for 40 the current parking configuration. She asked that the use permit be reduced from 650 41 students to its present enrollment of 590 students at least until the parking issue has been 42 resolved. The goal should be to get 100% of cars off of Paradise Drive and for pedestrians 43


December 6, 2016

14

to use the bridge. She asked that a permanent parking solution be built into the project as a 1 condition of its approval and that it be implemented as soon as possible. Currently, MCDS 2 has the ability to restore both Paradise Drive and the creek. 3 4 Councilmember Bailey asked how many parking spaces should be incorporated into the 5 design to provide a solution. 6 7 Ms. Alo said there should be many more. Ms. Durie interjected that the school needs at least 8 51 additional spaces. 9 10 DR. JIM SIMON thanked the Council for the work making Corte Madera a great place to live. 11 He voiced concerns with school rentals and noted there is a multi-use pathway that could 12 be implemented and he asked that the Council consider this pathway be extended to Robin 13 Drive which would allow continuity for the pathway system all the way to the west. 14 15 DAVID MCPHEARSON said in 2007 when he served on the initial BPAC the then Public 16 Works Director had indicated to the committee that sufficient funds were in place to study 17 and begin construction on a multi-use path that would extend westward all the way to 18 Robin Drive; however, he may have indicated it extend just to MCDS. There were delays 19 and indication that additional funding would come from the new Preserve project that 20 would help implement that path, but it did not. He thinks this is a great opportunity now to 21 ensure that the multi-use path gets planned properly and gets built whether a condition of 22 approval by the Council or not. The school has agreed to study this in conjunction with the 23 town but he suggested the Council ensure the path gets built. 24 25 One of the design problems is that there is a canal that runs in front of the Ring Mountain 26 access from westward to the school. He encouraged the town to look at the Tam Valley 27 multi-use path which is built up above the water to avoid the existing drainage canal and 28 avoiding the utilities. 29 30 ALLEN SANDER, Paradise Drive, echoed neighbors’ concerns and said with pressure to 31 expand coming from three different business entities a permanent solution for pedestrian 32 safety needs to be found. The town needs infrastructure for public safety and he suggested 33 a pedestrian sidewalk on one or both sides of Paradise Drive possibly connecting 34 neighborhoods to the west, more off-street parking and making it mandatory for any 35 project expansion, traffic flow and management of cars, no car line on roadside, no parking 36 on one or both sides of Paradise Drive, other issues and proximity, fast moving bikes, 37 school bus stop in close proximity at Robin Drive, and he asked the Council to consider 38 these issues before any expansion for MCDS or any businesses along this stretch of road. 39 He personally has seen 4-5 accidents with cars and 3 with bikes over the years. 40 41 STEPHANIE BROWN, Paradise Drive, said she has never seen parking so atrocious. There is 42 a 25 mph zone in a school zone and no one drives it. No one has pointed out that once a 43


December 6, 2016

15

driver gets off of Paradise Drive to park, they are parking in dirt, as there is no sidewalk or 1 cement and when the rains come, it is a quagmire and all of this should be taken into 2 consideration. She thinks parking should be on one side, there should be a sidewalk and 3 more police control patrols, as people rarely see them. It has only been within the last 2-3 4 weeks have people noticed them. 5 6 PHYLLIS METCALFE, Parkview Circle, said when this item came to the Planning 7 Commission, the fact came up that the Montessori School is often allowed to use the 8 parking facilities of MCDS as a neighborly favor. She wants to be sure that Montessori 9 School will have a parking guard there just as MCDS will for events. 10 11 CINDY WINTER, Larkspur, said she bicycles a lot in Corte Madera and she supports the idea 12 of a path from westward along Paradise Drive to MCDS. She said when the phrase, “from 13 westward” is mentioned, it is not defined where the area is located. There is a west side of 14 “westward” and an east side and the crosswalk across westward is way too long, down a 15 steep hill, and it does not conform to the Highway Design Manual. She suggested it needs a 16 median refuge island and asked that the Council take this into consideration. 17 18 HUNTLEY GORDON, Paradise Drive, voiced his support of some kind of solution for 19 pedestrian issues. He has two small children who attend The Cove School and he would 20 love to be able to walk them to school, but it is simply too dangerous in the morning. 21 22 Mayor Furst closed the public comment period and returned discussion to the Council. 23 24 Vice Mayor Condon said she lives close to the school but not 300 feet and came tonight with 25 an open mind to hear comments. In looking at the plans submitted, she thinks the design is 26 beautiful but she noted that many Paradise Drive neighbors do not live within 300 feet of 27 the project and she asked that they be noticed on all documents moving forward. 28 29 She said obviously having 135 full-time employees, plus volunteers, part-time employees 30 and parents who work in classrooms, having 109 spaces on one side and 8 on another is 31 significantly inadequate. In 2003 there was supposed to be a parking plan developed but it 32 was insufficient because since that time, cars have lined up along Paradise Drive. Even 33 though the buildings were described in detail in the plan, she found no satisfactory parking 34 plan delineated. 35 36 Additionally, what seems to have been forgotten is that Paradise Drive is supposed to be a 37 scenic corridor and on one side is Ring Mountain, the other side the Bay and right in 38 between there are cars lined up for blocks on both sides of the streets. Therefore, this does 39 not fall within the General Plan guidelines and said she is happy to see that the school’s 40 buildings will not be rented out. 41 42 Two weeks after the item was heard by the Planning Commission, something occurred at 43


December 6, 2016

16

the school where cars were parked on both sides of the street and people were coming out 1 walking straight onto Paradise Drive and in the middle of the street decided they would 2 have a conversation while traffic was backing up. She appreciates the school’s efforts to 3 educate parents but problems exist. 4 5 Another concern is taking away the rural residential zoning. She said what the Town is 6 slowly doing is taking away the character of this part of Corte Madera where there are Bay 7 views, Ring Mountain, and proposed ‘creep’. She said it has nothing to do with MCDS, but 8 just across the street there will be an effort to rezone a single family dwelling to be part of a 9 school. These are both private, for-profit schools and she does not think it is fair or 10 appropriate that these efforts will change the character of the east side. 11 12 Vice Mayor Condon added that given comments made, she thinks the Town is putting the 13 cart before the horse to approve the project tonight. There is talk about post-construction 14 studies for traffic and for parking issues which will not address problems now. She 15 questioned how much worse could safety be than having cars double-parked during the 16 day on both sides of the street. She suggested investigating the situation, consider widening 17 the road, build a boardwalk or something over the ditch so kids can get out of vehicles on 18 what would be a sidewalk instead of getting out of cars on the street side. 19 20 She thinks the CEQA report which identified no impacts is wrong and she asked to see the 21 focus being on constructing, designing a good solution to get cars off of Paradise Drive and 22 onto the school property and then revisit this plan. Currently, the plan does not address 23 the serious safety issues the Town is dealing with right now. 24 25 Mayor Furst asked Councilmembers to read the memorandum from Senior Planner Boyle 26 which included 3 recommended additional conditions of approval. She said number 3 is an 27 assessment of current conditions and a current study by a licensed traffic consultant to 28 identify physical and operational improvements on Paradise Drive and the MCDS campus: 29 30 “The study shall include the effect of the proposed multi-use path on the south side 31

of Paradise. The study shall include defined implementation programs including 32 funding mechanisms and timelines. The study shall be completed and a presentation 33 to the Planning Commission reviewing the study’s conclusions shall be conducted 34 prior to a Certificate of Occupancy of the first new building permitted pursuant to 35 this approval. The Town will choose and manage the licensed traffic consultant, and 36 the cost of the study will be the responsibility of MCDS. The Town and MCDS will 37 encourage the participation of Marin Montessori School in such study.” 38

39 Vice Mayor Condon stated again, MCDS is opposite Marin Montessori School. She said if 40 there were parked cars to the extent there are now on Paradise Drive anywhere near Neil 41 Cummins, the Cove School, or Hall Middle School it would truly be an issue. Therefore, she 42 does not want this ignored, given it is a serious safety issue. 43


December 6, 2016

17

1 Councilmember Lappert said he has no problems with the design; however, he will not 2 approve anything that will not have a parking space for every single employee, as well as 3 parents and volunteers, and absolutely no rental of buildings. He asked for a permanent 4 parking solution and not something that will be studied in the future. 5 6 His children attended a private school in Mill Valley and parents were not allowed to get 7 out of their cars. They drove into a circle, dropped off kids and left immediately. He thinks 8 the school is causing a big problem and he echoed Vice Mayor Condon’s comments, given it 9 is her neighborhood. After comments heard tonight, he believes it is an issue that he is 10 surprised the school has not answered adequately here. The neighborhood is very upset 11 about parking and he asked the school to address it. 12 13 Councilmember Andrews said he agrees with Councilmember Lappert that the building 14 designs are very nice. For as long as he has been on the Council he has received complaints 15 about parking, traffic, the inability to walk along Paradise Drive, and he cannot believe that 16 MCDS did not address it when developing their plans. 17 18 He noted that a developer is building a complex on Casa Buena and he is required to put in 19 sidewalks. The school’s plan did not even consider this, and he suggested MCDS think about 20 how to work with neighbors in the future if they want to have a successful project, and 21 therefore, he was not in favor of it at this time. 22 23 Councilmember Bailey said he thinks there are insufficient votes for the project to be 24 approved. He did not think the applicant would have any difficulty in finding that all 25 Councilmembers believe it is an attractive project; that the school is a benefit to the 26 community, and what the future design provides, but those are outweighed right now by 27 two significant problems. 28 29 It seems almost unquestionable there is insufficient parking provided on-site and there 30 seems to be an unsafe condition for ingress and egress, and he was not sure how in good 31 conscience the Council could approve something without addressing those issues very 32 specifically. In fact, he did not think he fully appreciated until tonight’s meeting that the 33 safety issue is apparent right now and unrelated to the proposal for an additional project 34 and improvements, it would be appropriate to immediately focus some attention so that 35 tomorrow there is an effort to make the existing area safer for children and the community. 36 37 He was not sure it was a police matter, but as the property owner, MCDS enjoys the right 38 and obligation to make the situation as safe as possible and he encouraged the school to do 39 it. He also thinks MCDS would find a warmer reception from not only the Council but 40 neighbors if they immediately demonstrated a very proactive approach to making the 41 situation safer. There are many people who are suggesting a multi-use pathway, 42 pedestrian overcrossings, where parking should be and he thinks people would be willing 43


December 6, 2016

18

to help improve the project in such a way it would be more amenable. However, parking 1 and safety must be explicitly addressed before the school could receive approval from the 2 Council. 3 4 Mayor Furst said she agrees there are very serious safety and parking issues in that area. 5 She lives on the east side of town and drives along Paradise Drive during drop-off and pick-6 up times as well as evening events and it is not very safe. She has seen people making 7 illegal U-turns and people dashing across the street with small children. 8 9 She appreciated Mr. Boyle’s memo and read aloud most of the content of the proposed 10 Condition No. 3 which asks for an assessment of current conditions, but she feels there is 11 no “teeth” in it. She suggested something more specific about how these concerns will be 12 addressed. 13 14 She heard comments about how the pathway needs to move forward and she noted the 15 Council this evening adopted Resolution 50/2016 authorizing the filing of an application 16 for a Priority Conservation Area grant for this portion of the pathway. It is partial funding 17 and the Town is attempting to secure all funding to complete the pathway which would go 18 westward to the driveway at MCDS. Therefore, when this does happen, it will make the 19 traffic and parking situation potentially even worse and so she cannot support the request 20 at this time without some kind of plan to deal with parking and safety issues along Paradise 21 Drive. 22 23 Town Attorney Riddle suggested one possibility would be to continue the matter for some 24 period of time and ask the applicant to return to address concerns. If the Council denies 25 the matter, it would be prudent at the next meeting to have a formal resolution making 26 findings about why the denial was made. 27 28 Councilmember Lappert stressed that the design and concept is fine but if MCDS can leave 29 here with an approval tonight conditioned on one parking space for every person who 30 works there and absolutely no parking area in the front, this would address the problem. 31 No study is needed and the problem is that the school is not handling parking well. 32 33 Mayor Furst questioned the fact that parents are lining up on Paradise Drive. 34 Councilmember Lappert said what the school has proposed with monitors to ensure traffic 35 keeps moving and kids must leave, he thinks it is fine. It is the double parking and kids 36 running across the street which is causing havoc. There has been a lot of work put into the 37 project, it is a good design but it does not address the problem. 38 39 Vice Mayor Condon said when talking about the number of parking spaces needing to be 40 required and some change about the double parking all days of the week on Paradise Drive, 41 it is very likely it will affect the design; that they will have to add parking somewhere. She 42 thinks this is what has happened in the past and it never works. She thinks what the 43


December 6, 2016

19

Council should do is rather than approve the project conditioned upon parking is see a 1 revision in the design which addresses parking and safety. She said this problem has come 2 before the Town for years and in a month’s time, there will be no solution. It will take some 3 study and the solution is not built into this plan. 4 5 Councilmember Lappert said he would like to approve the project subject to MCDS meeting 6 the conditions. 7 8 Councilmember Andrews suggested continuing the matter. 9 10 Councilmember Lappert voiced opposition to continuance of the matter, recognizing all of 11 the work put into the project. 12 13 Vice Mayor Condon said she did not think in one month’s time the school would be able to 14 develop a multi-use path design or find 51 more parking spaces. 15 16 Councilmember Bailey supported continuance to a date certain and provide an opportunity 17 for MCDS to provide solutions. He did not agree the Council should micromanage the 18 project or delegate it to staff to find solutions. The applicant has qualified architects to 19 figure it out and return with a solution. 20 21 Councilmember Bailey asked MCDS representatives how much time was needed for them 22 to address parking and safety solutions. 23 24 LUCINDA LEE KATZ, Head of School, MCDS, said she appreciates members of the 25 community meeting and said they had a consultant come out who said they can double 26 park cars and assign spaces one behind the other. It just means every car will have a space 27 but they must coordinate the parking issue by having everyone leave the campus parking at 28 the same time. She said she would guess sometime in mid-January would work for them to 29 address concerns. 30 31 Mayor Furst said the next Council meeting is January 17, 2017 and she confirmed the 32 consensus to continue the item until that meeting. Vice Mayor Condon asked that MCDS 33 understand that the direction be clarified so that cars remain off of Paradise Drive. 34 35 MOTION: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Andrews, and approved unanimously by the 36


39 To continue the matter to January 17, 2017 for the applicant to address the 40 comments and questions as voiced in the record 41

42 8. BUSINESS ITEMS 43

44


December 6, 2016

20

8.I Approval of Plans and Specifications and Authorization to Bid Tamalpais 1 Drive Complete Streets Project 2 (Report from Nisha Patel, Senior Civil Engineer) 3

4 Town Manager Todd Cusimano acknowledged Ms. Patel and Mr. Parisi’s work over this 5 past year on the project, as well as involved community members. 6 7 Senior Civil Engineer Nisha Patel stated the project was initially proposed to construct 8 pedestrian safety improvements at 6 uncontrolled intersections along Tamalpais Drive 9 from Madera Boulevard to Redwood Avenue and Redwood Avenue to Corte Madera 10 Avenue. She said the preliminary design which proposed rapid flashing beacons at 11 Sausalito Street and Chapman Drive, removal of a crosswalk at Sausalito Street, a 12 refreshing of crosswalk striping, yield striping, advanced warning signage and other 13 additional associate striping and signage and bulb-outs as future improvements. 14 15 She displayed a PowerPoint graphic showing the preliminary design and said the plan was 16 submitted for a Measure A Safe Routes grant in early 2015 and the Town was awarded a 17 grant in the amount of $90,000 for this project. 18 19 The Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) and staff reviewed the project at 20 several BPAC meetings and the Chair is present as well as David McPhearson. Staff and 21 BPAC decided there was a need to expand the scope of the work because initial 22 improvements did not fully address safety issues for pedestrians and other users. They 23 maintained the rapid flashing beacons at Chapman Drive and Sausalito Street and they 24 added a rapid flashing beacon at Lakeside Drive. 25 26 One consideration in determining the locations was the fact that pedestrians needed to 27 cross multiple lanes in each direction rather than a single lane. The BPAC recommended 28 encouraging slower driving speeds along the corridor and travel lanes were narrowed. This 29 would calm traffic as well as improve stopping distance. There was width available to 30 include bicycle lanes and the BPAC had requested staff look into accommodating bike lanes 31 but they did not want to include them if this imposed additional safety hazards such as 32 dooring. 33 34 BPAC also wanted a bike lane going up the hill eastbound from Pixley Avenue to Redwood 35 Avenue because bicyclists travel slower than motorists. The Town was not able to 36 accommodate that bike lane as well as an eastbound lane from Eastman Avenue to 37 Chapman Drive. Staff added an edge line and parking T’s which guides motorists to stay in 38 their lanes as well as those wanting to park in their lane and keep them as close to the curb. 39 This allowed for additional width in between the #2 lane which is the outer travel lane and 40 the parking lane so if bicyclists were to choose to ride to the right of motorists they had 41 that ability and extra width without easily getting doored. 42 43


December 6, 2016

21

Since travel lanes were moving from narrowing the lanes, the Town would need to grind 1 out existing striping which would create uneven pavement for bicyclists, pedestrians and 2 other users. Therefore, the Town plans to have the entire corridor from Madera to Corte 3 Madera Avenue not including Madera slurry sealed which requires a temperature of 65 4 degrees, and this is why staff proposes to start the project as originally planned in the 5 spring. 6 7 The project will include bulb-outs to increase pedestrian visibility from motorists and also 8 more visibility of rapid flashing beacons and to provide additional clearance for 9 accessibility from the new rapid flashing beacons, as well as any additional signage. Since 10 bulb-outs are included, they are removing existing handicapped ramps and upgrading them 11 to current ADA compliance. She then described and displayed the locations of the rapid 12 flashing beacon locations, the upgraded ADA ramps and bulb-out locations with upgraded 13 handicapped ramps along the corridor, replacement of pavement at sidewalks because of 14 deep cracks, deterioration of lines and deterioration of the pavement, refreshing of 15 crosswalks with new striping, yield striping and advanced warning signage, striping for 16 bicycle lanes, new red curb locations which she will return to the Council with to increase 17 visibility of pedestrians, and removal of parking spaces in front of the fire station to 18 accommodate the bicycle lane and legal clearances and she stated there is no change in the 19 number of parking spaces. 20 21 Ms. Patel said due to expansion of scope, staff is requesting additional appropriation of 22 $270,000 to completely fund the project. She explained there is a budget of $120,000 for 23 the Tamalpais Drive Complete Streets project which is $90,000 from the grant and $30,000 24 from sales tax, an approved budget from the BRIP improvement projects which is $335,000 25 and needed is $725,000 to construct. 26 27 She also requested the Council approve the project, plans and specifications and 28 authorization for the project to go out to bid. Construction is planned in April 2017 and the 29 Town can go out to bid in February 2017 for 4 weeks and it will return to the Council for 30 award of bid. The project will likely be completed in June and the Notice of Completion will 31 return to the Council. During that time, she has time to return to the Council for approval 32 of the red curbs and removal of the crosswalk at Sausalito Street. 33 34 Additionally, Coastland Engineering was the engineering firm that completed the civil 35 design and handicapped ramp design. Parisi Transportation Consulting had performed the 36 traffic engineering and Andrew Lee is the traffic and civil engineer who designed the 37 signage and striping plan and he is present tonight to answer any questions. 38 39 Vice Mayor Condon asked if the project will be completed for the 4th of July parade up and 40 down Tamalpais. Ms. Patel and Mr. Bracken both indicated that the Town could work to 41 arrange to have the project completed before the parade. 42 43


December 6, 2016

22

Councilmember Bailey asked and confirmed that Coastland Engineering prepared the 1 Engineer’s Estimate as well as Parisi Transportation Consulting. 2 3 Councilmember Andrews asked for the widths of the narrowed traffic lanes, the bike lanes 4 and parking spaces. 5 6 Andrew Lee, Senior Transportation Engineer, Parisi Transportation Consulting, responded 7 stating the lanes are generally between 10 feet wide and 11 to 11 ½ feet wide. The 10 foot 8 lanes are generally in the left turn pockets where cars are already slowing down and 9 between 10 ½ to 11 ½ feet along the through lanes. The bicycle lanes vary by about 6 feet 10 near the Community Center and Park and going uphill. They did not want to design to a 11 minimum 4 foot wide standard because they felt these might be a bit too uncomfortable 12 particularly in the uphill direction. The parking lane is striped to be with a “T” outward 13 facing. The width from the base of the “T” to the curb is 7 feet wide and most vehicles are 6 14 to 6 ½ foot wide range. The “T” points outward to people that if they are riding bicycles. A 15 car door could be opening in that direction, but legally, the width of parking is 8 feet wide. 16 17 Mayor Furst confirmed the design plans by Parisi designs have the striping plan with 18 dimensions towards the end of the packet. 19 20 Councilmember Andrews said given there are delays in installing flashing beacon, he asked 21 if it would be possible to install a temporary stop sign along an intersection that would act 22 as traffic calming and provide kids with a safer path to school. 23 24 Mr. Lee said stop signs are completely different from yield signs because there needs to be 25 sufficient crossing volumes by either vehicles or pedestrians. Unfortunately, the industry 26 dictates that stop signs are not an appropriate tool for traffic calming purposes. 27 28 Mayor Furst asked that Mr. Bracken address the idea of Mr. Lee’s comments regarding stop 29 signs and how they do not work for traffic calming, the limitations of having some sort of 30 temporary stop sign and she also said there is a crossing guard at Eastman which is where 31 kids are actually supposed to be crossing. 32 33 Mr. Bracken stated a stop sign especially one which is temporary or not expected can 34 actually cause accidents. What he has seen in the past is that the first car stops. The 35 pedestrian will start walking and the car behind will hit the back of the first car and push it 36 into the pedestrian, and he would not recommend doing this. He said staff recognizes the 37 sense of need for improvements here and the Town plans on getting the project completed 38 as quickly as possible, but guarded against a temporary stop sign. 39 40 Councilmember Andrews asked what the procedure was for staff to return to Council to let 41 them know that previous assumptions were obsolete. Mr. Bracken said this is the reason 42 there is a contingency. 43


December 6, 2016

23

1 Councilmember Andrews added that the project was re-written in March, April and June of 2 2015 and it did not return to the Council. Mr. Bracken said this project has been to the 3 BPAC many times and this is part of the design process; to develop a plan that works and 4 that everyone is appreciative of and accepts. He apologized for not returning on an interim 5 basis but the project is now before the Council and it has been vetted by BPAC. It costs 6 more than originally contemplated but noted that the concept plan and budget process is 7 difficult to estimate without having a firm design. 8 9 Mayor Furst thanked Mr. Bracken for his response. She understands the dissatisfaction 10 with Councilmember Andrews and she recommended that such comments could be better 11 addressed after the public comment period. 12 13 Mayor Furst opened the public comment period. 14 15 BOB RAVASIO, Oakdale Avenue, Chair of BPAC, stated they were asked to solve the problem 16 and were not given a specific deadline. The Town can either do things very quickly and not 17 necessarily get much public input and possibly not get it right. BPAC received public input, 18 revised plans, received more public input and consultants’ input and there was a lot of 19 work and time that went into getting to the final plan which is why it got more complex, 20 and also the reason why it is a lot better than where it was when it started. It is safer, has 21 more components, and undersold is the issue of speed. The speed limit cannot just be 22 changed arbitrarily and what they are doing in the plan to slow people down is narrowing 23 the lanes which make people slowdown, which was critical. The plan is very 24 comprehensive and he asked for the Council’s approval. 25 26 GENE SEVRINGHOUSE, Greenbrae Boardwalk, Marin County Member at Large to the 27 Caltrans Bicycle Advisory Committee for District 9, commented that this is a fabulous 28 project and she congratulated staff and consultants for their work. Tamalpais Drive was 29 designed in 1939 and laid out by Hugh Porter. He also laid out where the two malls are on 30 either side of the freeway and this is the first re-design since that time, so she supported it 31 taking a bit longer to get right. 32 33 MELISSA HARMS, Chapman, said she has 3 children who ride bikes and walk to school. 34 There is a crossing guard at Eastman for 30 minutes during the day, but her children go to 35 the park for soccer games, ride their bikes to friends’ houses, and this has been a very 36 unsafe crosswalk, particularly at Chapman for years. Her son was almost hit by a car 37 traveling well over 30 mph on Tamalpais Drive and she is passionate about the project. 38 39 She recognized BPAC has made some great revisions; however, when she first got involved 40 it was last October and was told by staff it would go out to bid last spring. She would like to 41 see temporary measures occur so this does not wait until next June because she has seen 42 about 4 close calls in that crosswalk and did not want to see something happen. She thinks 43


December 6, 2016

24

the flags work well but suggested the flashing lights be put in ahead of the slurry sealing or 1 something before June. She also wants to ensure that safety of children during school times 2 is not impacted and she suggested starting it after school lets out. 3 4 DAVID MCPHEARSON, Corte Madera Avenue, Vice Chair of BPAC, said Ms. Patel and Mr. 5 Bracken have gone above and beyond in working on the project. They could have simply 6 slurry sealed, put up signage and restripe the project but instead they immersed 7 themselves in getting to know modern design guidelines for complete streets safer for 8 motor vehicles, fire and emergency vehicles, parking, pedestrians and bicyclists. There 9 were many people that attended BPAC meetings who agonized over every little detail and 10 he acknowledged BPAC and Safe Routes to Schools as well as Chair Ravasio’s leadership. 11 12 He stated Tamalpais Drive is gorgeous to drive by, or walk by foot or on a bike but he has 13 also hated it because of so many close calls he has even experienced. The design ensures 14 the Town has not only the most beautiful gateway city in all of southern Marin and the 15 safest. He encouraged the Council’s support of approval. He asked Councilmember Lappert 16 during his election as to whether he would support a study to look at re-designing 17 Tamalpais Drive so it was safer. He scoffed and said he was not a fan of government 18 spending money and if it was not broke, not to fix it. However, with modern design 19 guidelines, it will be a legacy project for this Council. 20 21 PHYLLIS GALANIS, Prince Royal Drive, said she works on the west side and is back and 22 forth on Tamalpais Drive quite a bit. Regarding narrowing of lanes, drivers are supposed to 23 maintain a distance of 3 feet from a bicyclist. This puts drivers close to or into the lane of 24 on-coming traffic or the next lane and she wondered whether narrowing of the lanes would 25 cause an impact. She understands having safe crossings, but people will still drive vehicles 26 and she asked to give drivers consideration as well as those walking and biking. 27 28 JENNIFER HARRISON, Larkspur, said she is a parent volunteer for Safe Routes to School for 29 Neil Cummins and is excited about the project and what is proposed. She is concerned it 30 has been a long time for the project to get started, given safety concerns and said she has 31 also had a near miss crossing the street. She asked to see temporary measures occur so 32 people can feel safe crossing as well as consideration for construction after school hours 33 and consideration of sporting events. 34 35 JONATHAN MURRY, Chapman, said he passionately supports the efforts both as a parent of 36 2 small children and also as a driver. He thinks Tamalpais is a tough road and could use 37 help with visibility when people cross the intersection. He has personally witnessed 10-12 38 close calls and he appreciated the Council’s consideration to approve the project. 39 40 CINDY WINTER, Larkspur, said she thinks the Town’s BPAC is wonderful and the Council 41 should be proud of them. She is especially pleased that the medians have been retained 42 because they help to calm traffic, they provide more pedestrian safety, and pedestrians can 43


December 6, 2016

25

use them to make one decision at a time. The American Association of State Highway and 1 Transportation Officials (AASHTO) say even if they are old-fashioned medians to keep them 2 because they are useful. She thinks the project is wonderful and the Council should 3 approve it. 4 5 ASHTON RICHARDS, Oakdale, said he is the father of active 9 and 10 year old children who 6 cross the street on a regular basis. He said about 5 years ago a stop sign was put at Oakdale 7 and Chapman and he publicly thanked Mr. Bracken because it has changed the situation 8 there dramatically. He also thanked the Town Council for consideration of this action 9 because it will help with the safety of children dramatically. 10 11 Not pointed out is that Chapman Park has changed dramatically as far as demographics are 12 concerned. Many kids are coming from that neighborhood crossing Tamalpais and using 13 the park on a regular basis. Anything the Council could do to fast-track changes would be 14 great and he echoed comments of Melissa Harms. 15 16 PAT RAVASIO, Oakdale, asked the Town to explore the option of making this a school zone, 17 given it is for all practical purposes the main road for Neil Cummins School. The school’s 18 property line is halfway across the park and legally it seems as if this area should be a 19 school zone with 25 mph speed limits. 20 21 GEORGE TOPOR voiced concerns with issues regarding staff’s skill set and the lack of 22 holding people accountable. He said this was the first time the Town has acknowledged 23 that safety should be a priority with the MCDS and this project. When staff worked on 24 supervised contingency funds for Spindrift Passage, they had to spend an extra $60,000 to 25 correct the mistakes. At present when it rains, all new handicapped ramps puddle and 26 flood and debris collects. 27 28 He said after sewer work was installed on Paradise Drive and replacement of the bike path 29 was done from Golden Hind Passage down to Westwood the area still floods and has not 30 been corrected. Approximately 14 months ago, staff sent a note stating final drawings 31 would be done in a few months. Two years ago, Mr. Parisi and his firm prepared a report, 32 gave it to the Town and there was $120,000 available and none of it was spent. He was told 33 construction would start this past summer. Some of the plans had modifications as flashing 34 lights proposed for intersections that do not exist in Corte Madera. 35 36 He therefore asked why flashing lights could not be installed without waiting for 65 degree 37 weather. Flashing lights were installed at Golden Hind Passage and Paradise Drive in about 38 two weeks and he asked that work begin at an increased pace. 39 40 Councilmember Bailey asked Mr. Bracken to response to why the flashing lights cannot be 41 installed right away. 42 43


December 6, 2016

26

Mr. Bracken said they are integral with other parts of the project. To install them without 1 restriping, redoing crosswalks, etc. would not work well and could pose a liability to the 2 Town. He said the Town can rent and install electronic signage and while not rapid flashing 3 beacons, they can do this which will be part of the contingency cost, but he thinks the 4 project should be put out to bid and done under one contract. 5 6 Mayor Furst asked if it would be appropriate to ask the winning bidder to schedule the 7 rapid flash beacons and bulb-outs first, with slurry sealing later when weather improves. 8 9 Mr. Bracken said the concrete work needs to be done first before installation of the flashing 10 beacons so a construction procedure needs to be followed. Staff will add electronic signage 11 as best they can to achieve safety features. 12 13 Mayor Furst asked if there will be any requirements made to the contractor to provide 14 personnel to ensure there is adequate pedestrian safety around the areas where 15 construction underway. 16 17 Mr. Bracken confirmed and noted a construction management plan will be approved prior 18 to construction. 19 20 Councilmember Lappert said he is surprised by speaker’s comments, stating the street will 21 be completely redone correctly, and he recognized the work of staff, consultants and BPAC. 22 23 Councilmember Andrews supported the project but said procedurally, he asked if a project 24 is anticipated to be delayed that staff return to the Council and provide alternatives. 25 26 Vice Mayor Condon thanked Ms. Patel for going after the grant and said she will be happy to 27 see the project completed as soon as possible. 28 29 Councilmember Bailey echoed comments of Vice Mayor Condon and said he was prepared 30 to make a motion. 31 32 Mayor Furst thanked Ms. Patel and referred to a slide regarding the process. She 33 recognized that the Town started with something very simple, but the need expressed by 34 the community and BPAC members and staff really made it obvious that this corridor 35 needed more than what was originally envisioned. This is the reason why some things get 36 delayed which is precisely the reason why this project got delayed. She said she is thrilled 37 that staff, BPAC and consultants took the time to utilize the most recent modern 38 developments in safety and include some of those aspects in the plan. 39 40 She said the Town cannot simply design a road and install a stop sign anywhere. They 41 must follow regulations adopted by the state and federal governments. She thinks the 42 project also addresses ADA elements that were not in the first plan which are very 43


December 6, 2016

27

expensive. She asked staff to keep in mind about the need for immediate safety 1 enhancements and suggested a stepped up police presence during school time and when 2 there are games and activities at the park. 3 4 Mayor Furst asked that care be taken during construction, that pedestrians have safe ways 5 to travel and regarding the school zone, she believes it must be within so many feet of a 6 school and this is why Tamalpais Drive does not qualify. Mr. Bracken stated staff will 7 double-check this and make sure this in fact is the case. 8 9 Lastly, Mayor Furst thanked the BPAC for their work, as they put in a tremendous amount 10 of work. 11 12 MOTION: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Condon, and approved unanimously by the 13


16 To approve Plans and Specifications and Authorization to Bid Tamalpais 17 Drive Complete Streets Project and Approve the Supplemental Appropriation 18

19 BREAK 20 Mayor Furst called for a break at 10:23 p.m. and thereafter reconvened the regular meeting 21 at 10:30 p.m. 22 23

8.II Continuation, Discussion and Direction to Staff Regarding the Issuance of an 24 Encroachment Permit onto the Railroad Right of Way at 221 Willow Avenue 25 (Report from David Bracken, Director of Public Works/Town Engineer/ 26 Assistant Town Manager) 27

28 Director of Public Works/Town Engineer/Assistant Town Manager Bracken stated Mr. 29 Edward Conti, the owner of the property at 221 Willow Avenue has requested the Town 30 grant him permission to build a fence on the right-of-way behind his house. Mr. Conti 31 would like to place the fence where it would encroach into a portion of the old railroad 32 right-of-way which runs along Montecito Drive and that portion of it was purchased by the 33 Town in 2006. 34 35 The encroachment request is a triangular area approximately 85 square feet. Mr. Conti’s 36 intent is to build a fence that would connect to the corners of the neighbor’s fences on 37 either side of his house and he displayed an aerial photo of the location. Mr. Conti had his 38 property surveyed which cost approximately $5,000 and Mr. Bracken pointed to the aerial 39 photo and briefly described the request. 40 41 The Town Council heard this request at its September 20th meeting and at that time the 42 request was denied. The Council noted it could be reconsidered if more information was 43 provided. There were concerns about liability, required improvements that would occur 44


December 6, 2016

28

within the encroachment area, detailed information on the extent of the encroachment, 1 insurance requirements, whether the Town would be giving away rights by allowing the 2 encroachment, whether or not rent should be charged for use of the property and there 3 was discussion about other homes along Willow Avenue with backyard fences that 4 encroach onto this railroad right-of-way. 5 6 If the Town allows the encroachment, it would be done through a License Agreement to 7 Encroach on Town Property, which is an agreement the previous Town Attorney developed 8 in 2000. The Town Attorney reviewed the License Agreement form and he feels confident 9 that if the encroachment were to be granted, the Town would not lose title or interest to 10 the property; that allowing the encroachment would not constitute a gift of public funds, 11 and that the Town could charge a one-time fee and/or an on-going fee or rent for the use of 12 the land. 13 14 Mr. Bracken requested that the Council amend Section 6 of the License Agreement to 15 require that the licensee be required to maintain both property insurance and liability 16 insurance in the amount of $1 million and that the Town be named as an additional insured 17 on the policy. 18 19 He then referred to the staff report under Recommendations, Item 4, and he asked to 20 amend this to read, “Direct staff to issue a License Agreement for 1 and 3 2 and 3 above”. 21 The staff report also includes 4 options which include: 22 23

1. Direct staff to issue the License Agreement for what Mr. Conti is requesting. 24 2. Direct staff not to issue the License Agreement. 25 3. Direct staff to issue a License Agreement for less than the 85 square feet. 26 4. Direct staff to issue a License Agreement for 1 and 3 above with additional 27

conditions which are included in the Town’s standard agreement, which is attached 28 to the staff report. 29

30 Regardless of what is decided tonight, staff recommends the Council develop a policy on 31 encroachments and also by reviewing and amending the Town’s encroachment ordinance 32 in order for staff to determine when, where and how to issue encroachments. 33 34 Mr. Bracken stated at the previous meeting staff displayed an approximate property line on 35 MarinMaps. There are other backyard fences encroaching on Town property and the 36 Council could also direct staff to alert property owners of their encroachment, and he 37 would need to have a complete survey done of this area. If the Council directed staff to do 38 this, he was not sure it would be fair to Mr. Conti to allow him to install his fence and then 39 return later and ask him to remove the fence. Therefore, the Council should also consider 40 the entire scope of the matter. 41 42 Lastly, correspondences are attached in his staff report, which were negative as far as 43


December 6, 2016

29

allowing encroachment into this right-of-way. He also received emails today which were 1 positive about it, but the majority of responses were negative. 2 3 Town Manager Cusimano added that this issue was presented to the Town Council 4 previously and at the meeting the Council voted 3-2 to deny the permit based upon 5 information it had at the time and the item was continued. In clarifying what was directed 6 to staff at that Council meeting, additional information was requested to be presented 7 regarding liability requirements, improvements, property lines, insurance requirements, 8 survey of the property lines, encroachments that occurred without a permit, whether it is 9 improper use of public property and whether the Town would need to object now to obtain 10 its right to preserve the path for its intended purpose. He commended staff for the 11 significant research conducted to obtain this information; however, staff still does not have 12 answers to some of these items. 13 14 Mr. Cusimano stated he and Mr. Bracken met with Mr. Conti and discussed the project in 15 detail. Mr. Conti shared to them that he wants the project to move forward as presented 16 and he wants to be treated like everybody else. He respects this but also respects the fact 17 that Mr. Conti pushed staff to re-agendize the matter so it could be reviewed again by the 18 Council for a decision. 19 20 He thinks staff’s role is to position the Council in a way to make the best decision and 21 currently the Council is not. He does not feel that staff is in a position to recommend 22 anything other than continuing this or denying the application as it stands because given 23 research done on encroachments, typically they are shared easements with utilities, 24 excavation, curbs, driveways and gutters so it is a bit unique. Until the Town has a process 25 in place and a current ordinance and policy, he did not believe the Council was in a position 26 to make the best possible decision. 27 28 He thanked Councilmembers for researching this as well, and he recognized 29 Councilmember Andrews’ comments which provide information to consider on the matter 30 in moving forward. Truly, staff needs direction on whether or not the Council will allow 31 encroachments of fences on Town property, whether surveys should be mandated to be 32 done, definition of clearances for County easements, greenery along encroachments that 33 might be reviewed by the Beautification Committee, policy regarding damage of trees or 34 shrubs, or other policy related questions. 35 36 He said staff also continues to evaluate and make changes to the Town’s current License 37 Agreement involving liability, but this is not yet final as this could change when the Town 38 potentially joins in a risk pool with other agencies. He therefore thinks the Council was not 39 positioned at this time and recommended that the Council deny the request, that the many 40 options be further researched and answered, that the matter be returned for a more 41 comprehensive process for the Council to fully consider upon Council direction. 42 43


December 6, 2016

30

Mr. Bracken displayed another photo of where Mr. Conti would like to install the fence 1 facing north, which he said is a point that matches his property corner at his side fence. 2 There are rocks already encroaching into the Town’s property, and another photo shows 3 the opposite view facing south. At the end of the string line is where the 13 foot 4 encroachment could occur. He noted that the fences might have been already installed 5 when the Town purchased the property, but this is not known. 6 7 Mr. Cusimano added that in visiting the property and looking at the site, this is about 8 having something in place to make a decision which the Town does not have. This area 9 probably has the most space of the pathway of any other fence line along the path, so some 10 of Mr. Conti’s ideas are improvements and this is important to point out. However, he 11 returned to his comment about the Town not having a set process in place. 12 13 Vice Mayor Condon referred to the comment about the fences possibly existing when the 14 Town purchased the property and said in the early 2000’s she walked that area with 15 former Town Manager and Public Works Director, Supervisor Kinsey and the County Open 16 Space Director and the fences were there. The County had decided they would exercise a 17 taking of the property and they were going to demand that all of the fences be removed and 18 have the land reclaimed. Many people have enjoyed this area as their backyards and had 19 been maintaining the property. 20 21 The question she posed at that time is that if those fences were removed, who would 22 maintain the property as the County did not maintain the land and also did not want to. 23 She said the Town’s Public Works Department actually maintained the area and the County 24 might have come out at the most twice yearly. The same situation applied at Menke Park 25 which was County property, with the Town maintaining it all, along with the right-of-way 26 leading to Willow and Montecito. 27 28 The County claimed that they would not have the manpower to maintain it and she 29 suggested at that time that it would be of benefit to the County to quit claim it to the Town 30 up to a large portion prior to entering the Alto Tunnel. The Council verified that the Public 31 Works Department could maintain this area as well as Menke Park, given the fact they were 32 already maintaining it, so it took a few years to be approved by the Board of Supervisor and 33 the Town at the time, but a quit claim was exercised to benefit the Town. Had the property 34 been taken by the County what is inside the fences would have been a mess and not 35 maintained. It would have been up to the homeowners to maintain the County’s property. 36 Therefore, it was logical to quit claim it to the Town which, at any time can reclaim it. To 37 remove the fences would be impractical at this time and it would be counter-productive. 38 39 What she does think is necessary and what she agrees with the Town Manager is that the 40 Town does not have a process in place to follow to be consistent. 41 42 Councilmember Andrews said if someone wanted to plant a hedge along a proposed 43


December 6, 2016

31

encroachment line, he asked if this would require a permit. Mr. Bracken said yes, per the 1 Town’s ordinance. 2 3 Mayor Furst opened the public comment period and called upon Mr. Conti to first speak. 4 5 ED CONTI thanked the Council for dealing with this given more important discussions 6 regarding parking and safety of children and pedestrians, and said he proposed a fence 7 along an existing encroachment. He said just like Vice Mayor Condon has pointed out, these 8 encroachments have existed for a long time. The rock piles existed when he purchased the 9 house and he has been there for a long time. He thought he would simply connect his 10 neighbors’ corners and replace the rock wall with a fence. If he puts his fence up, clean up 11 the rocks and landscape and plant along the fence line further south, he will actually reduce 12 his existing unlicensed encroachment but also be putting a revocable license on his reduced 13 encroachment which he thinks is important. 14 15 He thinks the least aesthetic outcome would be for him to match the property line exactly 16 so it matches his southern neighbor’s fence at an awkward angle, where one or two trees 17 would need to be cut down and the weeds and rocks would be left. He also pointed out that 18 this is the only property without a fence along the entire path and it is also the widest point 19 of the path. Therefore, he completely respects the planning process and the need for 20 procedure and he asked the Council to consider how his fence along this existing 21 encroachment that would reduce the encroachment that matches his neighbors would 22 hinder that process in any way. He was also supportive of the grander process and 23 evaluation process in general and evaluation of the Alto Tunnel. He just does not think the 24 fence has a direct bearing on the outcome of that. 25 26 Additionally, when he saw the staff report it states on page 4, “In conclusion, staff is 27 recommending that the encroachment be granted through the issuance of a License 28 Agreement” and on page 2, the Town Manager’s recommendation was to support staff’s 29 recommendation, which is not what he heard tonight. Therefore, he requested the Council 30 allow him to build his fence and to either issue the License Agreement or encroachment. If 31 there is a decision tonight to direct staff to not issue the License Agreement and return with 32 additional information, he would like some clarity that the Council is not taking a single 33 action on his property to eliminate his existing encroachment but just is indicating he 34 cannot put a fence on it right now like all of his neighbors have. Regarding putting up 35 something temporary, he could do this if this somehow facilitated the process. He needs a 36 fence for his children, dogs and people who come onto his property with their dogs and he 37 will need to do something in this regard. 38 39 Mr. Bracken agreed the staff report was confusing and he apologized for this. He wanted to 40 elaborate on what Vice Mayor Condon said. He does not know the history as she does but 41 knows that prior to the property being purchased the Town has had many issues with the 42 County. Complaints were received from all neighbors along there regarding the cutting of 43


December 6, 2016

32

weeds and the County would instruct them to contact the Town. It has been a maintenance 1 issue and having the homeowners maintain part of it is beneficial for the Town. Staff has 2 had the opportunity to receive comments and again, it is the Council’s decision. 3 4 DAVID MCPHEARSON, Corte Madera Avenue, said when this matter was denied previously, 5 there were no specific findings for the reasons it was denied. It concerns him that the 6 Council and the Town Attorney might reconsider this in light of threatened litigation seen 7 in Mill Valley. 8 9 PHYLLIS METCALFE, Parkview Circle, said after the September meeting, she and Planning 10 Commission Chair Peter Chase took it upon themselves to find out what is occurring with 11 encroachments in the Bay Area, met with the Town Manager yesterday and he placed a 12 copy of the report they compiled into the packet. There were 12 attachments providing 13 examples. The report identifies that, “Encroachment permits other than utilities usually 14 issued for semi-public purposes such as driveways, etc. and other improvements that 15 enhance the public use of the public street or right-of-way. Backyard encroachments have 16 no semi-public purpose nor do they enhance the public’s benefit of public property.” She 17 said also attached is information that indicates permits that have been issued can be 18 revoked and those that encroach without a permit are trespassing and these can be 19 removed. 20 21 She said the County resolution that gave the quit claim deed and the Corte Madera 22 resolution accepting the conveyance were very clear. Both made mention of the Town 23 continuing the then present use of the property and “in the future to maintain the property 24 for recreational purposes for use as a park, bicycle, equestrian and pedestrian corridor. If 25 encroachments are to remain, the Town should determine the current value of the public 26 property being encroached and the individual property owner should be responsible for 27 not only the upkeep but for paying an annual fee that is at least equal to the additional 28 property taxes one would pay if they owned that portion of the property.” She also 29 forwarded the Town Manager about wording for insurance requirements, as well. 30 31 She said other jurisdictions charge both an application fee, additional fee for the agreement 32 and an on-going fee for use of the property. San Francisco also charges property tax. She 33 said she and Mr. Chase could find no encroachment permits for backyards or back of 34 property sites and she asked to see staff develop an ordinance that comes before the 35 Planning Commission for recommendation to the Council to approve. Once it is approved 36 and becomes law, the individual agreements can be handled by Town staff. 37 38 She emphasized that no encroachment permits should be allowed on property without 39 noticing and charging appropriate fees, allowed encroachments must have legal 40 agreements that includes the revocability clause and have an insurance policy attached, on-41 going fees should be charged for the encroachment and an unpermitted encroachment 42 constitutes trespassing. 43


December 6, 2016

33

1 PETER CHASE, Montecito Avenue, said he thinks it is time for the Council to not approve 2 encroachments and to create a definition of types of encroachments, and direct staff to 3 create parkland and open space encroachments, street encroachments and be more 4 specific about this and create a new direction. He thinks the Town can then issue a 5 revocable right to use of land which is an action the Town can take without any 6 involvement by the land owner. The Town simply could take the legal description, record it 7 and issue it, and the Town can put property owners on notice to move their fence at such 8 time in the future they need to. This would solve the problem along Willow Avenue and 9 along the railroad right-of-way. With a map of encroachments, the Town could move in the 10 direction of deciding which ones are important for this purpose alone and have the Town 11 enjoy the use of the parklands in a few spots. He suggested creating the policy and to take 12 back the land owned by the Town. The Town could also apply for grants to landscape these 13 areas given it will be a future pathway. He thinks the area is turning into an alleyway and 14 he suggested the Town open it up and beautify it. 15 16 DON HERZOG, Mill Valley, said he has been involved with the Mill Valley lanes, paths and 17 steps for 20 years and has seen many problems that can occur with encroachments. The 18 problem is not just the fence but the improvements that go behind fences. Mr. Conti has 19 already spent $5,000 on a survey and the fence will cost thousands more. It is politically 20 difficult if not impossible to remove these things once in place. In Mill Valley, it has 21 resulted in a lawsuit which will cost that City money and much dissatisfaction. 22 23 He said the area is a linear park and the fences create the entire viewpoint and sense of it 24 being a backyard alley. The encroachments amount to a gift of public land with absolutely 25 no public benefit. It is bad precedent and a bad policy. He thinks the other fences have 26 improvements behind them and it will be very politically difficult to remove them once in 27 place, and he suggested not allowing them in the first place. Lastly, if maintenance is a 28 concern, if it is a problem for people then the Town would have to give away all public land 29 which is not advisable. 30 31 JONATHAN MURRAY, Chapman, said he and his family walks the path all the time and Mr. 32 Conti’s house sticks out like a sore thumb. The first conversation he ever had with him was 33 when Mr. Conti was in his kitchen and he was on the path. He thinks if Mr. Conti is willing 34 to take the risk that he might have to tear it down in 4 months when a larger project 35 ensues, he suggested allowing him to build a fence for the meantime. 36 37 JENNIFER LARSON said she also walks the path and echoed Mr. Murray’s comments. She 38 said when coming to Mr. Conti’s backyard, people walking the path can see him cooking, his 39 family doing things and she feels bad for him. It would be better for there to be a fence 40 there with some landscaping and she thinks he should be treated like the other neighbors. 41 42 JEFF VAUGHN, Willow Avenue, said he lives a couple of doors down from Mr. Conti and 43


December 6, 2016

34

echoed comments of the last two speakers. He said it does present an awkward feeling to 1 be looking in Mr. Conti’s windows when walking down the path. He believes Mr. Conti 2 would sincerely make the public side of his fence much nicer looking than any view of the 3 side of his house the way it currently is and thinks the rest of the neighbors living along the 4 right-of-way could enhance the greenery on their encroached fences as well. He said 5 neighbors have planted trees, rosemary and it is really about making it nice for everybody, 6 and he believes Mr. Conti would do the same. He therefore encouraged the Council to grant 7 him his permit. 8 9 KEITH HAGUE, Willow Avenue, paraphrased something former Mayor Bailey said at the 10 September 20th meeting which is that they should be able to find a solution that works for 11 everyone. It is unfortunate that some of his closest neighbors have turned this into such a 12 heated issue. They all know that people’s fences are encroaching along Willow Avenue but 13 as he stated in past meetings, in his and other people’s cases it is also for safety of their 14 families and for safety of those who walk that path, given steep slopes leading to these 15 backyards. In his case, there is an 8 ½ foot retaining wall that drops off. 16 17 Additionally, they have talked a lot about maintenance and he would support increasing 18 the greening along that path. When he was given his licensing agreement for his 19 encroachment, he suggested that he be allowed to install more plants by his fence and two 20 additional plants were agreed upon. He suggested a plan for all neighbors to green the 21 fences which would be nicer to look at versus people looking into Mr. Conti’s kitchen or 22 bathroom. 23 24 He said Vice Mayor Condon brought up the fact that the original intent was to help some of 25 the neighbors. The houses and property lines were built and determined so long ago and 26 Mr. Conti’s property line is 4 feet from the back of his house. Therefore, to give his children 27 a safe place to play and to delineate a small amount of space, he thinks it is important as 28 well. 29 30 JOHN MURRAY, Willow Avenue, said he thinks there has been a lot of mis-information in 31 the process of how this was developed. When he purchased his home in 1988 there was an 32 existing fence. The prior owner had a fence there since 1976 and he was taking care of the 33 land back there. He has bills for when he built the fence there and he also tried to purchase 34 the land directly from the County. He presented an abandoned railway right-of-way 35 document from the Department of Public Works, Marin County, CA behind Assessor Parcel 36 No. 25-041-08 which states: 37 38

“Dear Mr. Salmon: This letter is in response to your request to the Marin County Parks 39 and Recreation Department Open Space District to purchase a portion of the 40 abandoned right-of-way behind your residence at 239 Willow in Corte Madera. I am 41 sorry to advise you that the County only owns 50% of the underlying fee title to this 42 portion of the right-of-way which was acquired by a quit claim deed from the 43


December 6, 2016

35

Northwestern Pacific Railroad in 1983. The County presently has no immediate plans 1 to secure the remaining privately held interest of this right-of-way. We acquired the 2 rights to portions of the railroad right-of-way in Corte Madera and Larkspur as part of 3 a larger purchase of right-of-way along the Richardson Bay waterfront where the 4 railroad imposed the condition that we take all their right, title and interest in Corte 5 Madera portions and Larkspur as well.” 6

7 He said they did not ask for it but had to take it when they took another portion of land. He 8 said they received this as a quit claim right-of-way and this is why these properties were 9 slightly encroaching and the County could not sell the land to them. The Town received a 10 quit claim right-of-way from the County and the Town’s right is probably only 50%, but it is 11 one thing the Town will need to figure out because the County themselves did not own it. 12 13 DAVID MCPHEARSON interjected and asked that the Town Manager ensure his 14 correspondence with the litigation from Mill Valley and additional information regarding 15 insurance is part of the public record. He thinks the Town should adopt a fundamental 16 policy issue and the priority of the Town Council is to protect public lands which are park-17 like in nature for the public’s interest and not take any action that subjects the Town to 18 liability. He encouraged the Council to delay any action until an ordinance is adopted. 19 20 BRAD HOLDENBROOKE, Willow Avenue, said he wrote a late email that was not copied and 21 distributed and hoped the Council received it. He said his property is not encroaching; 22 however, when they were building their home at 323 Willow Avenue they are beyond the 23 jog and he thinks it is far enough beyond the line of encroachment. But their neighbor 24 complained about the fact that on one corner they were 3 feet over the property line. 25 Without complaining they pushed it back. His point is that he agrees there is a policy to 26 address here but does not agree that in building a fence that may be a bit back that it makes 27 any difference. His fence could have been adjusted so he was 3 feet farther into the railroad 28 on his property line which looks obnoxious, yet on one side it is 3 feet back behind his 29 neighbor’s fence instead of connecting the two fences. Therefore, he would rather see 30 neighbors cooperating to find a way to beautify the path they all use and love. 31 32 NICK JAVARIS, Willow Avenue, said he does not believe the request was denied. He 33 remembers that Councilmember Lappert wanted to vote on it positively as did Vice Mayor 34 Condon. Councilmember Andrews wanted more information about what Mr. Conti was 35 going to do so he thinks the direction was for staff to return with more information. 36 37 He said Mill Valley’s issue is that they are blocking off an entire path and in this case, Corte 38 Madera is not blocking anything. The fences have been in existence for 50 years and there 39 is no alleyway. On his property there is a 5 foot drop from the path down to his fence line 40 and nothing can be done with this. He said he can weed eat the area, but he suggested 41 using common sense as opposed to legalities. He suggested the property owners can take 42 the liability issue. He asked to leave the fences where they are until such time as the path is 43


December 6, 2016

36

expanded and for the Council to impose whatever rules they see fit. He was not even sure 1 where his fence sits, but thinks it is where it is supposed to be except for one portion 2 towards Mr. Holdenbrooke’s house. The fact is that the property for Mr. Conti’s request is 3 not usable by anyone because it slopes off. 4 5 MIKE GASPARS, San Anselmo, said he thinks it sets a dangerous precedent for a public 6 entity to be giving away land that belongs to the Town it is supposed to protect and keep. If 7 given away or grant this request, other people along the right-of-way will also come 8 forward and request the same and public land will be taken. It is going on all over the 9 country and encroachment has also to do with privatization going on all over the country 10 and asked that the Council consider the broader issues. 11 12 Mayor Furst closed public comment and returned discussion to the Council. 13 14 Councilmember Lappert said before the Council is one property owner and one fence and 15 nothing else. The Council needs to address this and he thinks the Council does not have the 16 necessary information to make a decision. The only decision to be discussed is the one 17 request for one fence. Mr. Conti has a home that has no protection from the area, from 18 people walking along the path, from dogs off leash, and he is trying to maintain his and his 19 family’s safety. 20 21 He therefore supported him to put up the fence exactly as he has asked for it with the 22 necessary paperwork and he would ask that the Town send a letter immediately to 23 everyone on the street that does not have a License Agreement that they are trespassing 24 and that the Town will be in communications with them so the neighborhood understands 25 that the area belongs to the Town and it will work towards a proper resolution. He said he 26 did not think the homeowners should be charged for it and he believes Mr. Conti should be 27 able to put up his fence. 28 29 Councilmember Bailey said he thinks the Council needs a long-term solution to problems, a 30 process by which they get to those solutions and a short-term problem with Mr. Conti’s 31 request and property line. He thinks the Council all agrees that a long-term solution is 32 needed for an encroachment ordinance and criteria by which the Town grants, enforces 33 and/or revokes them. Secondly, a long-term solution to that specific former railroad right-34 of-way area along a potential bicycle path is needed. 35 36 A larger goal to encourage is that the community is supportive of a bike path and the Town 37 might not set itself in opposition to this, but one which satisfies property owners and the 38 goals of the paths. 39 40 Regarding the process, it is clear to him that the Public Works Department and Planning 41 Commission can provide the recommendations to the Council by which they can solve 42 those long-term problems which could include fees, specific insurance requirements, 43


December 6, 2016

37

license agreements, types of fences allowed, and landscaping, etc. The Commission can 1 require surveys, sponsor community meetings of the area and others where there are open 2 park issues, and give recommendations to the Council as to what the solutions should be. 3 However, he said he was cautious that the two Planning Commissioners are pre-judging 4 whether and under what circumstances the fences are appropriate and encroachments 5 generally and suggested not preconceiving this, given there has not been evidence 6 presented to the full Planning Commission from property owners and the Town. 7 8 He thinks there are many reasons why these could be good or bad things and it would be 9 inappropriate to reach any conclusion before hearing evidence. He implored Mr. Chase and 10 Ms. Metcalfe to keep an open mind, receive evidence and then make decisions. 11 12 Regarding the short-term problem of Mr. Conti’s fence line, it is obvious that Mr. Conti has 13 been “playing by the rules” and the Town should encourage this behavior. It is also obvious 14 Mr. Conti has potential safety issues given the yard is open. He takes issue with the idea 15 that the Town’s mission is to protect public property and avoid liability, as he thinks their 16 primary mission is to protect citizens and to serve the community. Along the way, the 17 Town should protect its parks and avoid lawsuits, but they should be worried about policy 18 concerns the law is trying to encourage. These deeper policy concerns are what they should 19 be striving for and not avoiding a hypothetical lawsuit, as this thinking can make the 20 Council so reactive that they fail to exercise their primary mission which is to lead. He read 21 the Mill Valley case and spoke to some attorneys about is factually different from this 22 situation and cannot fairly be a reason to dissuade the Council from whatever it wishes to 23 do with Mr. Conti’s fence. 24 25 With respect to the fence, it may be that the Town’s existing encroachment permit could be 26 expanded upon a bit, such as including sufficient insurance limits and he would delegate 27 this to staff to determine this. The larger goal of protecting public property is already 28 accomplished because it is legally impossible to adversely possess public property; 29 however, it is not clear to him what is and what is not public property, given tonight’s new 30 information. If a particular property owner is willing to acknowledge the fact that upon 31 agreement he can give up a fence line if it turns out that a future bike path will be put in or 32 a survey shows it was not his property to begin with, he thinks a property owner does so at 33 his own risk. If the benefit he is giving the town is insurance, landscaping, or protecting the 34 safety of those along the pathway or his own family, these seem justifiable bases for an 35 interim basis to allow interim permission. He wholly agrees that the Council should not be 36 so entrapped in theoretical policy concerns that they abandon their basic obligation to look 37 at specific problems. 38 39 In this case, the area is 13’ and it seems the matter is being expanded into a much larger 40 issue. Therefore, he said it is clear that on an interim basis subject to an appropriate 41 encroachment permit the Council should allow the encroachment permit that carries with 42 it a variety of things such as potential for revocation, proof of insurance and indemnity, and 43


December 6, 2016

38

other items, direct the Planning Commission to figure out the overarching matter 1 thoroughly and to have a better encroachment permit and process with a list of criteria 2 that Public Works does not have to burden the Council and the rest of the Town with the 3 next time. He said he was slightly apprehensive about whether the insurance is sufficient 4 and he did not know. 5 6 Town Attorney Riddle stated the Town has a risk management consultant and if it is the 7 pleasure of the Council to approve this fence, it should be on the condition that the 8 insurance and indemnification requirements are satisfactory to the Town Attorney and to 9 risk management representatives. 10 11 Councilmember Andrews said he will recommend issuing the encroachment but suggested 12 that Mr. Conti be authorized to plant a hedge along his proposed encroachment line and in 13 between he be allowed to put up a fence not to exceed 6’ as defined by Town standards. 14 15 Vice Mayor Condon thanked Ms. Metcalfe and Mr. Chase for their efforts in getting samples 16 of different jurisdictions’ policies. She thinks the Town needs to develop something which 17 will take time for staff and the Planning Commission to work on it. She wants to make it 18 clear regarding one comment; that the Town is not giving away property and the 19 agreement can include a revocation clause. She thinks the fence provides not only for 20 privacy but also for safety for Mr. Conti and his family and knowing the path is well-used, 21 there can be excess noise, littering, and she thinks he deserves the right to have some sort 22 of privacy. Since fences are already in place along that path, she supported providing him 23 with approval for a temporary fence and once the Town has definite policies in place for all 24 neighbors concerned, it might be subject to change. She would therefore support approving 25 the encroachment permit and would stress the fact it is for a temporary fence. 26 27 Mayor Furst said she is sympathetic to Mr. Conti’s situation and noted he is the only 28 property owner along the stretch without a fence and he wants to protect his family, keep 29 animals out and have privacy from those walking by. She also recognizes that if the Town 30 allows the fence on his property line, it would create an awkward zig-zag in the overall 31 fence line from the other properties. 32 33 That said she referred to photos of the fence line and it tends to have the feel of an alleyway 34 which she said she was also sympathetic to. But, obviously, some fences have been there 35 for several decades. She does not feel the need for the Town to acquire all property owners 36 to remove their fences; however, she supports the Town coming up with a comprehensive 37 policy about this and would like to thank Mr. Chase and Ms. Metcalfe for their hard work 38 and research. She thinks staff and the Planning Commission can work together to arrive at 39 a good plan moving forward. She also liked Councilmember Bailey’s phrasing this as a 3-40 part question; the long-term solution, how to get to the long-term solution and what to do 41 about Mr. Conti’s situation. 42 43


December 6, 2016

39

She has heard from most Councilmembers that they want to have a long-term solution and 1 she supported the Planning Commission working with staff to come up with that solution. 2 She would like to see things like insurance and indemnity requirements and other things 3 discussed, but she would also like to see a process for reverting property to bring it into 4 conformance to its original condition. She does not want to be left with things the Town 5 would have to pay a lot of money to remove, but rather shrubbery and other items that 6 could be installed that would not be directly difficult to remove. 7 8 The third issue was what to do with Mr. Conti’s situation and she believes there was a 9 consensus to approve a fence connecting the two fence posts of neighbors with certain 10 conditions. Vice Mayor Condon had indicated support for a temporary fence and while she 11 does not want to design the fence, she does not think Mr. Conti should have to spend a lot of 12 money on a fence. She asked that Mr. Conti simply be aware that when the time comes for 13 the Town to adopt a long-term plan they cannot guarantee his fence will be grandfathered 14 in and the Town has the ability to take it back when it is needed for some future project. 15 16 Mr. Bracken confirmed that staff has been given direction to issue the License Agreement 17 to Mr. Conti for the fence shown on the survey, to check with the Town’s risk consultant 18 and Town Attorney to approve the insurance and indemnity clause in the agreement and to 19 obtain detailed information as to what will be done regarding the encroachment inside of 20 Mr. Conti’s fence to be attached to the license agreement, and he asked whether or not to 21 amend the License Agreement from 6 month notice to 60 day notice. 22 23 Mayor Furst said she envisioned whatever approval and license agreement was entered 24 into would be an interim period. When the Town approves its ordinance and policy, the 25 Town can then ask all property owners to enter into the final version of the license 26 agreement. She asked to make clear to Mr. Conti that the license agreement is subject to 27 change based upon future approvals by the Town. 28 29 Mr. Bracken said staff will ensure this will be clear and will maintain the right to revoke the 30 permit and to have the property restored to its original condition, as documented prior to 31 the fence being installed. He recognized this was a difficult item for the Council to address 32 and he thanked the Council for their consideration. 33 34 MOTION: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Condon, and approved unanimously by the 35


38 To approve the request for issuance of an Encroachment Permit onto the 39 Railroad Right of Way at 221 Willow Avenue, direct staff to issue a License 40 Agreement as discussed by the Council to Mr. Conti for the fence shown per 41 the survey, determine legal circumstances at the railroad right-of-way, direct 42 staff to work with the Planning Commission to address encroachment 43 ordinance and policy revisions to the Town’s existing regulations, consult 44


December 6, 2016

40

with the Town’s risk consultant and Town Attorney to approve insurance 1 and indemnity clauses in the License Agreement, obtain detailed information 2 as to what will be done regarding the encroachment area inside Mr. Conti’s 3 fence and attach this detail to the license agreement, and to maintain the 4 right to revoke the permit and to have the property restored to its original 5 condition as documented prior to the fence being installed. 6

7 8.III Review of Draft January 17, 2017 Town Council Agenda 8

9 Mayor Furst referred to page 2 of the draft agenda, Item V.II.ii; adopt Resolution 10 authorizing the filing of an application for PCA funding for the multi-use path, and she 11 confirmed this was done under tonight’s agenda. 12 13 Mayor Furst suggested that items outlined on future draft agendas provide enough 14 information so as to convey the items are draft agenda items. Mr. Cusimano stated the day 15 after every Council meeting, staff meets and discusses the draft agenda based on input from 16 the meeting before, and changes will be made at these meetings. When the agenda is 17 revised he will email the Council with the updated agenda items. 18 19 Councilmember Andrews asked that an informational session be held in the future where 20 the Planning Director review the land use portion of the General Plan, compare it to the 21 Housing Element and then the Council could direct the Planning Commission as to where 22 the Council may want to make changes. 23 24 Mayor Furst suggested discussing this first with the Planning Director and then herself and 25 the Town Manager. She asked to carefully consider how can be structured and held, given 26 it most likely would be an extensive discussion. 27 28

8.IV Approval of Minutes of November 15, 2016 Town Council Meeting 29 30 Councilmember Condon requested that on page 1, the attendance reflect that “Lt. Jim Shirk” 31 be changed to “Captain Jim Shirk.” 32 33 MOTION: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Condon, and approved unanimously by the 34

following vote: 4-0-1 (Ayes: Andrews, Condon, Bailey and Furst; Noes: None; 35 Abstain: Lappert 36

37 To Approve Minutes of November 15, 2016 Town Council Meeting, as 38 amended 39 40

9. ADJOURNMENT 41 42 The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 a.m. to the next regular Town Council meeting on 43 January 17, 2017 at Town Hall Council Chambers. 44

madera, larkspur or san anselmo

Documents