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M02-11-13 Town Council Meeting 3 /4 /13 Item #1b Page 1 MINUTES OF THE TOWN COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY MEETING FEBRUARY 11, 2013 The Town Council of th e Town of Los Gatos conducted a Special Meeting in the Town Council Chambers on Monday, February 11 , 2013 at 7:0 0 P.M. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER - 7:00 P.M. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Barbara Spector, Vice Mayor Steven Leonardis, Council Member Marcia Jensen, Council Member Diane McNutt, and Council Member Joe Pirzynski. Absent: None. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Spector led the Pledge of Allegiance. The audience was invited to participate . OTHER BUSINESS 1. Discussion of policy issues and direction regarding firearm sales in Los Gatos and consideration of regulations on the sale of firearms and ammunition (Continued from 2/4/13) Continued Public He aring Ms. Farwell - Expressed support for staff’s actions regarding Templar Sports. Mr. Martinez - Expressed support for Templar Sports. Mr. Alipe - Expressed support for Templar Sports. Mr. Stanley - Expressed support for Templar Sports. Ms. Enstrom - Expressed concern about firearm sales in Town. Page 2 Item #1 – Continued Ms. Cunningham - Expressed concern about firearm sales in Town. Mr. Bulea - Expressed support for Templar Sports. Mr. Towbar - Expressed support for Templar Sports. Closed the Public Hearing Council Questions - Requested clarification on the procedure for instituting an operating agreement with Templar Sports. - Requested clarification on discretionar y versus non -discretionary perm its. - Requested clarification about what would happen if a current retailer wanted to expand into firearms sales . - Requested clarification regarding a moratorium. Ms. Propp - Commented that Council could direct staff to explore options for a voluntary agreeme nt , but an operating agreement cannot be required, imposed, or mandated on Templar Sports. - Commented that discretionary permit s are any permit requiring a decision -making body to exercise judgment prior to its approval. - Commented that d epending on the specifics of a given application and its accompanying circumstances, discretionary permits may be approved, conditionally approved, or denied. - Commented that m inisterial permits are any type of permit for which the staff needs to determine only conformity with applicable ordinance s before issuing the permit. - Commented that a temporary moratorium would apply to any future uses regarding firearm sales, manufacturing, and retail sales of explosive devices. - Commented that a temporary moratorium would not apply retroactively . - Commented that an urgency ordinance requires a 4/5 vote and there are certain noticing requirements. - Commented that an urgency ordinance is effective imme diately and lasts for 45 days. - Commented that if the Council needs more time after the initial 45 days, the moratorium can be extended for another 10 months and 15 d ays and then one more extension , but never exceeding 2 years total. Page 3 Item #1 – Continued Mr. Larson - Commented that all retailers who wanted to sell guns would still have to go through federal an d state licensing requirements. - Commented that the Town changed its business license system in 2008 and since then there have been a few firearms sellers in Town including home occupation and e -commerce sites. - Commented that staff concur s with concerns regarding future firearms sales and therefore proposed consideration of a moratorium on new uses or expanded services. Council Questions – Continued - Requested clarification regarding the Design Review Committee (DRC) minutes and why they did not provide information for citizens to understand what is going on with the use of the building at 611 University Avenue (Templar Sports). - Commented that the DRC determined whether changes were consistent with commercial design guidelines. - Questioned what happens if a business goes beyond its allowed use at a site. - Requested clarification on what evidence is used to establish findings and whether anecdotal evidence is acceptable. - D irect ed staff to validate health , safety , and welfare concerns . - Requested clarification on the Town’s business license process . Mr. Larson - Commented that the DRC did not evaluate use; it only look ed at architecture and site specifications . Ms. Bailey - Commented that the zoning is light industrial, which allow s for incidental manufacturing. - Commented that if a business expands beyond its permitted uses then it becomes a code enforcement issue . - Commented that the LM zone has its own design guidelines . Ms. Propp - Commented that courts have allowed wide discretion on l egislative findings and staff would need to put together the requisite research and study to support its findings. - Commented that a business license tax is a ministerial permit, not a discretionary permit or license, so there are no hearings or further review. - Commented that staff would do additional study and research and draft a temporary ordinance; this process would include a public hearing. Page 4 Item #1 – Continued Council Questions – Continued - Questioned whether a moratorium would need to be placed on a future agenda. - Commented that Council cannot take any action tonight because the item on the agenda only direct s staff to study the issue. - Requested clarification on the notice requirements for an urgency moratorium. Mr. L arson - Confirmed that a moratorium would n eed to be placed on a future agenda ; staff need s direction to research and bring back documents findings on 4/5 vote on need and necessity for moratorium Ms. Propp - Commented that there are two processes to adopt a moratorium: through an urgency ordinance, if applicable, or to adopt a moratori um in the same way it adopts other ordinances - Commented that March 4 would be the first opportunity for C ouncil to consider a moratorium, given the notice requirement s. Mayor Spector questioned whether any Council Member had a conflict of interest to state for the record. Council Discussion: - Commented that the Town code needs an update regard ing this issue and there are competing values at play. - Commented that staf f should evaluate the importance of each of it s recommendations without assu ming that all are appropriate - Commented that Council's job is land use policy and what's appropriate here given constraints from state and federal laws - Commented that staff could have made a discretionary decision to br ing forward this issue for public input. - Commented that Council appreciate s the p ublic input - Commented that there are many issues involved and some are not Town issues - Commented that there was no malfeasance and the law was followed Page 5 Item #1 – Continued MOTION: Motion by Council Member Joe Pirzynski to direct staff to research and prepare a report considering with the following items and return it to Council at its earliest convenience : - an urgency moratorium for new and expanded uses - which land uses are appropriate for sales of firearms and ammunition - require a conditional use permit for sales of firearms and ammunition - restrict home occupation permits for sales of firearms and ammunition - establish a police permit requirement for dealers of firearms and ammunition - require identification checks for the sale of ammunition - require the reporting of lost or stole n firearms - proximity to othe r uses Se conded by Council Member Diane McNutt. VOTE: Motion passed unanimously. The following discussion occurred prior to the vote: - Commented that Council will use data to decide which, if any, of the options to implement in an efficient manner - Commented that the Town Code is voluminous and one would have thought that regulations on the sale of firearms would be in the Code - Commented that there are many state and federal constraints . - Clarified that a conditional use permit process would involve a public hearing . - Commented on local government’s rights to make land use decisions even when First and Second Amendment rights are involved. - Commented that there s hould have been a public process. Other S taff R ecommendations - Explore an operating agreement, one that Council would be the one to decide if there is a violation of the agreement - Commented that the Town cannot re troactively apply new laws, so T emplar will always have different guidelines than future gun shops Mayor Spector requested a recess at 9:12 p.m. The meeting resumed at 9:22 p.m. Page 6 Item #1 – Continued Council Member Jensen s uggested findings regarding the interim ordinance : o Adopt an ordinance in contemplation of zoning changes that woul d conflict with the Town Code o Find public health safety and welfare threat based on complaints about vandalism, threats, proximity to school and park, avenue used by student s , protests in front of the store and complex issues of state, federal an d local law. Council Questions - Commented tha t the Lafayette ordinance gave existing uses a certain amount of time to comply with the new ordinance and questioned whether staff can examine this issue. Mr. Larson - Commented that Lafayette passed a land use ordinance , and other cities have adopted police permitting ordinances. M s. Propp - Commented that the Town Code has certain sections that govern amortization and staff will study this issue . VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS There were no verbal communications for this meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:27 p.m. Attest: ______________________________ Mazarin Vakharia, Clerk Administrator