Item 11 Staff Report Accept Planning Commission Recommendation on West Valley Hillside Joint Planning Review Draft Work ProgramTOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
DATE: August 24, 1995
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT:
COUNCIL AGENDA
DATE: 9/5/95
ITEM NO. /
ACCEPT PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION ON WEST VALLEY
HILLSIDE JOINT PLANNING REVIEW DRAFT WORK PROGRAM.
RECOMMENDATION:
Accept Planning Commission recommendation on West Valley Hillside Joint Planning Review Draft Work
Program.
BACKGROUND:
The Planning Commission, at its meeting of July 26, 1995, recommended Council approve the West Valley
Hillside Joint Planning Review Draft Work Program.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS:
Is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
PREPARED BY: LEE E. BOWMAN
PLANNING DIRECTOR
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Attachments:
Reviewed by:
Treasurer
Revised: 8/24/95 9:49 am
1. Planning Commission minutes for July 26, 1995.
2. West Valley Hillsides Joint Planning Review Draft Work Program.
Clerk Finance �1
COUNCIL ACTION/ACTION DIRECTED TO:
Form: 6/21/95
•
t
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES - PAGE 22
July 26, 1995
Motion passes unanimously, 6-0.
AYES: Commissioners Abkin, Decker, Morgan, Nachison, Pacheco and Rud
NOES: None
ABSTENTIONS: None
ABSENT: Comm. Jensen
MOTION Comm. Rudolph moves, seconded by Comm. Decker, to co i,' e meeting to 11:45 p.m.
Motion passes unanimously, 6-0.
AYES: Commissioners Abkin, Dec , organ, Nachison, Pacheco and Rudolph
NOES: None
ABSTENTIONS: None
ABSENT: Comm. Jen
MOTION Comm. Abkin mo - , seconded by Comm. Rudolph, to continue this matter to September
13, 1995.
M. passes unanimously, 6-0.
YES: Commissioners Abkin, Decker, Morgan, Nachison, Pacheco and Rudolph
NOES: None
ABSTENTIONS: None
CONTINUED OTHER BUSINESS
None
NEW OTHER BUSINESS
ITEM 5 Sub -Committee Reports
Comm. Rudolph reported that General Plan Committee on July 12, 1995, spent time
discussing Missions, Goals and Objectives for Los Gatos Boulevard and made a few minor
changes. Will not come back to Commission, but will go directly to the Town Council. The
Committee discussed various issues and came to conclusion they need to go out and take
pictures of what Committee likes and doesn't like about major boulevards to more precisely
determine what nodes are, etc.
ITEM 6 West Valley Hillside Joint Planning Review
Bowman stated this is proposal where West Valley cities and the County will get together and
develop a set of standards and improve the review of items in the unincorporated areas as
well as incorporated areas to try to get some standardization on what happens in our
hillsides. Town is participating because we feel important, but don't expect to be making any
changes in our policies. We're agency that has the strongest hillside policies and also has
strong policy with the County. Risked tonight to approve the work plan. Trying to cooperate
with other cities involved.
ATTACHMENT 1
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES - PAGE 23
July 26, 1995
Comm. Decker asked if there was staff available to do this.
Bowman said that's why no changes proposed. Attend one meeting a month, that's all we're
compelled to do at this time. Will come back to Commission periodically.
Comm. Decker asked if this was redundant to what we have in fact already done.
Bowman said this is opportunity to see our procedures extended to other communities.
Comm. Pacheco noted that some things approved by County have impacted our viewscape.
This brings together all jurisdictions. When doing Hillside Architectural Standards will be
more of a complete package.
Comm. Abkin wondered if there will be some role for Hillside Committee.
Bowman said could bring anything we get from group to the Hillside Committee first.
MOTION Comm. Morgan moves, seconded by Comm. Rudolph, to recommend approval of Draft Work
Program to Town Council.
Motion passes unanimously, 6-0.
AYES: Commissioners Abkin, Decker, Morgan, Nachison, Pacheco and Rudolph
NOES: None
ABSTENTIONS: None
ABSENT: Comm. Jensen
ADJOURNMENT Vice -Chair Sandy Decker adjourned the meeting at 11:37
p.m. The next scheduled Planning Commission meeting
will be held on August 9, 1995.
MARCJENSEN, JCHAIR
TOW OF LTOS PLANNING COMMISSION
ATTEST:
F
LEE E. BOWMAN
Planning Director
N:\DEVISHARONIMINUTESIPC7-26
6/14/95
DRAFT
WORK PROGRAM
for a proposed
collaborative planning project
involving:
• The City of Cupertino
• The City of Saratoga
• The City of Monte Sereno
• The Town of Los Gatos
• The County of Santa Clara
ATTACHMENT 2
WEST VALLEY HILLSIDES JOINT PLANNING REVIEW:
PROPOSED WORK PROGRAM
BACKGROUND
The City of Cupertino, Town of Los Gatos, City of Monte Sereno, City of Saratoga and County
of Santa Clara have long looked for common strategic methods to address issues that
transcend political boundaries. The western hillsides, in particular, are a resource of
subregional significance and concern whose preservation will require interjurisdictional
cooperation and coordination. In order to address this issue, the localities of the area must
work together to develop a subregional hillside preservation strategy.
A proposal for a "Western Santa Clara County Foothills Subregional Planning Project" was
submitted to the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) for staff and financial support
in November, 1994. ABAG did not award the grant to this project, although there is a
possibility for future grants. Staff members of the participating jurisdictions met in January
1995 and determined that since joint planning goals remain the same, efforts should proceed
regardless of the ABAG decision.
The following is the proposed approach.
GOAL OF PROJECT
The goal of the project is to develop a subregional "Hillside Preservation Strategy," which will
protect the natural character of the hillsides by:
1. confining urban uses to flatland areas most appropriate for urban development, and
2. allowing in the hillsides only development appropriate to rural, hillside areas.
PLANNING AREA
The proposed joint hillside planning area includes those hillside and ridgeiine areas of the
Santa Cruz Mountains outside city urban service areas that are most visible from the valley
floor within the West Valley cities of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, and Cupertino. This
boundary may be subject to refinement and revision as the study proceeds.
ORGANIZATION
Staff members from each jurisdiction will provide the organization, research and
recommendations for the project.
Major decisions, including adoption of the final "Hillside Preservation Strategy" will be
referred to the four City Councils and the Board of Supervisors. The West Valley Mayors'
DRAFT 1 6/14/95
i
group will serve as a forum for receiving progress reports and coordinating activities arnong
the cities, when appropriate.
Final recommendations will come directly to each jurisdiction, since action will need to be
taken.
TASKS
The basic tasks of the project are:
1. Develop and review draft work program for project
2. Review hillside policies of all jurisdictions and identify overriding principles common to
all jurisdictions
3. Identify hillside issues
4. Propose actions to resolve issues
5. Prepare and review draft outline for subregional "Hillside Preservation Strategy"
6. Develop detailed recommendations for subregional "Hillside Preservation Strategy"
7. Review and adopt final subregional "Hillside Preservation Strategy"
The following sections describe the basic tasks in greater detail:
1. Develop and review draft work program
Staff representatives from the five participating jurisdictions have developed this draft
work program which is proposed to provide the overall framework for this joint project.
Before substantive staff work begins, this work program will be submitted to the four City
Councils and the County Board of Supervisors for their review to assure that each of the
jurisdictions understands and supports the project's proposed scope and work activities.
An initial presentation to the West Valley Mayors' group will facilitate coordination of
review by the four cities.
2. Review hillside policies of all jurisdictions
Each participating staff representative will provide hillside policies relevant to the joint
planning area. These will include policies which directly affect the hillsides (e.g., density,
allowed uses) and those which indirectly affect the hillsides (e.g., existing and future
urban growth boundaries, urban development policies).
This information will be provided in a standard format and will be available to all
representatives so that everyone will be aware of others' policies. The staff
representatives will identify overriding principles common to all jurisdictions which will
provide the basic framework for the development of the joint hillside preservation strategy.
DRAFT 2 6/14/95
3. Identify hillside issues
Each participating staff representative will identify what issues exist in the joint hillside
planning area for his/her jurisdiction.
For example, a major county issue may be uncertainty regarding the potential future
extension of urbanization by the cities' into hillside areas; substantial further expansion of
urban development into the hills would be in conflict with county hillside preservation
policies which promote non -urban, low density hillside uses.
A typical city issue may be how to assure that any future changes in the county's current
hillsides policies are compatible with the city's policies, i.e., that more intense
development would not occur without the city's concurrence.
4. Propose actions to resolve issues
The participating jurisdictions will identify potential actions and appropriate implementors
to resolve each issue. Some actions may require joint action by all jurisdictions, some
only action by individual jurisdictions, and others bilateral actions by a particular city and
the county. Discussion of solutions proposed for any issue held in common with other
jurisdictions will involve those jurisdictions.
5. Prepare and review draft outline for subregional "Hillside Preservation Strategy"
Taking into account the list of proposed solutions and the summary of land use policies
common to all the jurisdictions, the participating staff will assemble a draft outline for a
subregional "Hillside Preservation Strategy." The draft strategy outline will identify the
basic components to be included in the final "Hillside Preservation Strategy."
The strategy is intended to build upon and reinforce current county and city land use
plans — not to replace or modify them. It may include items such as the following:
a. A set of basic planning policies and principles shared by all the jurisdictions to
guide hillside land use and development
b. A map showing:
• Current city urban service area boundaries
• Current County General Plan land use designations
• Long term urban growth boundaries for each of the cities indicating the hillside
lands they anticipate may be needed for urban development within the next 15-
20 years
c. Agreements to abide by the policies and procedures proposed in this hillside
preservation strategy.
Such agreements could, for example, take the form of:
• Agreements enforceable only through the good will of the parties involved
• Agreements enforceable via creation of a joint powers agreement (JPA)
• Agreements enforceable via some other mechanism, (yet to be determined)
DRAFT 3 6/14/95
d. Agreements regarding future procedures for resolving interjurisdictional hillside
land use disagreements, should such disagreements arise between or among the
jurisdictions
e. A report (or series of reports) describing County and city policies, guidelines, and
procedures for reviewing hillside development proposals in order to maintain the
natural appearance of the West Valley hillsides
f. Recommendations regarding open space lands that should receive consideration
for acquisition by public parks and open space agencies
Suggestions regarding procedures for resolving certain existing West Valley
hillsides land use issues (if it is determined that this joint planning program is not
the appropriate forum for resolving them)
The draft outline for the hillside preservation strategy will be distributed for review and
comment to the cities, the county, and other interested parties. Included with the draft
outline will be estimates of the amount of time and the resources required to complete
each of the outline's components.
g.
6. Develop detailed recommendations for subregional "Hillside Preservation Strategy"
Once consensus has been reached among the participating jurisdictions regarding the
outline for the subregional "Hillside Preservation Strategy," work will proceed to prepare
the detailed components. This may include such activities as delineation of long term
urban growth boundaries by individual cities, development of the language for proposed
interjurisdictional agreements, etc.
7. Review and adopt final subregional "Hillside Preservation Strategy"
The proposed final subregional "Hillside Preservation Strategy" will be distributed to the
decision making body of each jurisdiction for review and adoption.
Some components of the Strategy may be adopted by all jurisdictions (for example, basic
hillside planning and development policies and principles common to all jurisdictions);
some by individual jurisdictions (for example, each city's long term urban growth
boundary), and some on a bilateral basis by the County and individual cities (for example,
agreements regarding how to resolve specific hillside issues affecting only the two
jurisdictions).
TIMELINE
Estimating specific timelines for completing work tasks in a multi -jurisdictional project such as
this is very difficult. Contributing to these uncertainties are factors such as:
1. the additional time required to coordinate the efforts of the five participating jurisdictions,
2. the overall project delays that can ensue if one or more of the jurisdictions falls behind
schedule in their production and/or review activities, and
DRAFT 4 6/14/95
3. the limited amount of staff time available within each of the participating jurisdictions for
working on this joint project.
A tentative target would be for the draft outline for the subregional "Hillside Preservation
Strategy" to be ready for review by the participating jurisdictions and the public within
approximately 6 months after all of the jurisdictions have given conceptual approval to the
proposed work program
Accompanying the draft outline for the Strategy would be a more definitive schedule for
completing the various tasks it proposes.
BUDGET
All of the participating jurisdictions have staff time budgeted for the project. No significant
material expenses are anticipated, except copying (which can be done individually by each
jurisdiction).
OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC INPUT
Opportunities for public input to this project will be provided by each of the jurisdictions as
they:
a. Review the draft work program,
b. Review the draft outline of the "Hillside Preservation Strategy",
c. Adopt the final "Hillside Preservation Strategy."
Additional public information workshops may be held, if time and resources allow.
File: Prospectus 6/14/95 - Word
DRAFT 5 6/14/95
WORK PROGRAM FLOW CHART FOR
WEST VALLEY HILLSIDES JOINT PLANNING REVIEW
DRAFT
6/14/95
2:
3:
4-
7'
JOINT STAFF
WORK
Develop draft
Work Program
Review
Hillside Policies
Identify
Hillside Issues
Identify
Issue Solutions
Prepare Draft Outline
for Hillside
Preservation Strategy
Prepare Detailed
Hillside Preservation
Strategy
Adopt Hillside
Preservation Strategy
4 r - r!•� r ;C3
CITY
ACTIONS *
Review draft
Work Program
Review draft
Work Program
M Review
Draft Strategy Outline
Review
Draft Strategy Outline
Prepare City Components
of Hillside Preservation
Strategy
Adopt Final
Hillside Preservation Strategy
(including implementation)
54.:t
4 w:9hM. A.4. tifM'Ya. .V:�r-nylp
COUNTY
ACTIONS
Review draft
Work Program
Review
Draft Strategy Outline
Prepare County Components
of Hillside Preservation
Strategy
Adopt Final
Hillside Preservation Strategy
(including implementation)
* M indicates informational presentation to
West Valley Mayors' group
File: Wk Prog Flow Chart 2 - FH
September 5, 1995
Los Gatos, California
COUNCIL CALENDAR OF MEETINGS (04.10)
Informational item presenting future Town Meetings for Council and other Town Boards and
Commissions was received and filed.
PAYROLL RATIFICATION/JULY-AUGUST 1995 (05.V)
Motion by Mr. Blanton, seconded by Mrs. Benjamin, that Council ratify the check register for
the payroll of July 16 through July 29, 1995 paid on August 4, 1995, and for payroll of July 30
through August 12, 1995 paid on August 18, 1995, in the amount of $407,953.06. Carried
unanimously.
TREASURER'S REPORT (06.V)
Informational report submitted by the Treasurer to the Council as of June 30, 1995, was received
and filed.
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE/RATIFICATION/AUGUST 1995 (07.V)
Motion by Mr. Blanton, seconded by Mrs. Benjamin, that Council ratify the accompanying check
registers for accounts payable invoices paid on August 4, 11, 18 and 25, 1995 in the amount of
$1,125,752.72. Carried unanimously.
MINUTES OF AUGUST 7, 1995 (08A.V)
Motion by Mr. Blanton, seconded by Mrs. Benjamin, that Council approve the Minutes of August
7, 1995 as submitted. Carried unanimously.
MINUTES OF AUGUST 14, 1995 (08B.V)
Motion by Mr. Blanton, seconded by Mrs. Benjamin, that Council approve the Minutes of August
14, 1995 as submitted. Carried unanimously.
COUNTY GRAND JURY/POLICE DEPARTMENT REVIEW (09.09)
Motion by Mr. Blanton, seconded by Mrs. Benjamin, that Council authorize and approve
response by Mayor to the Santa Clara County Grand Jury Report entitled "Review of the Los
Gatos Police Department Facilities". Carried unanimously.
CHRYSLER REALTY/HALLOWEEN EVENT/BILLY JONES/RESOLUTION 1995-112 (10.20)
Motion by Mr. Blanton, seconded by Mrs. Benjamin, that Council adopt Resolution 1995-112
entitled, RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS AUTHORIZING THE TOWN
MANAGER TO EXECUTE A RENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CHRYSLER REALTY
CORPORATION, for use of property at 620 Blossom Hill Road for Police Department
Halloween activities storage/work site. Carried unanimously.
WEST VALLEY HILLSIDE JOINT PLANNING PROGRAM (11.47)
Motion by Mr. Blanton, seconded by Mrs. Benjamin, that Council accept Planning Commission
recommendation on West Valley Hillside Joint Planning Review Draft Work Program. Carried
unanimously.
NEWSRACK COMMITTEE/ORDINANCE IMPLEMENTATION (12.47)
Motion by Mr. Blanton, seconded by Mrs. Benjamin, that Council accept report from Newsrack
Committee regarding delay in implementation of Newsrack Ordinance. Carried unanimously.
TC: D7: MM090595
2