MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA THURSDAY,
OCTOBER 25, 2001
The Council of the City of San José convened in Adjourned Regular session at 8:13 a.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall to consider issues pertaining to the City Council’s Policy Priority Setting Procedures.
Present: Council Members - Campos, Chavez, Cortese, Dando, Diquisto, LeZotte, Reed, , Williams, Yeager; Gonzales.
Absent: Council Members - Shirakawa, Jr. (Excused)
Documents filed: (1) Informational memorandum from City Manager Del D. Borgsdorf, dated August 6, 2001, establishing a “Policy Priority Setting Session and Process” in preparation for the scheduled October 25-26, 2001 Council Policy Priority Setting Session. (2) Memorandum from City Manager Del D. Borgsdorf, dated October 17, 2001, transmitting the Staff binder entitled, Council Policy Priority Setting Session, October 25-26, 2001, containing the following documents: Agenda for the October 25-26, 2001 Council Policy Priority Setting Sessions; City Service Area Policy Recommendations Matrix; Council Policy Recommendations and Staff Analysis Forms; City Service Area Trends and Issues Reports; Council Prioritization Form; Council Referral/Status Report. (3) Memorandum from Council Member Reed, dated October 24, 2001, pertaining to Improvement of Police Staffing to Restore Services Levels. (4) Hard copies of overhead slide presentation given by Staff.
Mayor Gonzales stated the meetings today and tomorrow will be the first full Council Policy Sessions, following an initial session in February 2001 where efforts were begun to set priorities based on outstanding referrals sent to the Administration by either this City Council or a previous Council. He stated in this session Council will submit its list of policy recommendations, that tomorrow’s session will provide Staff the opportunity to align Council’s policy priorities with the budget and legislative process, the agenda process, and the City Service Areas (CSA) Action Plan Development, to provide a structure for developing City-wide policies prioritized across CSAs, City Departments and Council Appointee boundaries.
City Manager Del D. Borgsdorf stated the results of the priority rankings will be tabulated before the end of the day and Staff will use those rankings to prepare a proposed workplan that will come back to Council by December of 2001, to provide Staff’s timeline and process for addressing priorities via the budget and Council General and Legislative processes. He stated this process lines up with Staff’s work in projecting business plan modifications, budget proposals for next year, and efforts to stay apprised of issues before the 2002 Legislature in Sacramento. In light of the City’s revenue-sensitive budget, he stated the City is well positioned to respond to challenging economic times and declining revenue, in spite of the increased security requirements following the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York, and noted the City’s Capital Improvement Program, the largest in its history, acts as an economic stimulus. Regarding the proposed process, Mayor Gonzales stated the forms need to better clarify the elements for the issue to be studied, milestones should relate to when the study will return to Council for review rather than when it will be implemented, since at that point the question is what things should be studied, after which the issue will come back to Council for discussion and whether to accept the recommendation from Staff or from appropriate boards or commissions. He stated the box for the estimated amount of time required should mean how much time to bring the product back for Council’s decision about whether to move forward. Commenting on the repetitive information in different referrals, he recommended Council be concise in submittals, and Staff attempt to combine similar ideas and recommend low, medium or high priorities, reviewed and signed off by either the City Manager or his designee.
ECONOMIC AND NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT – Joseph Horwedel, Acting Director of Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement and Team Lead, reviewed trends and issues facing the CSA, i.e., the weakened economy, uncertain housing markets, unfinished industrial buildings, and reviewed the Policy Recommendation Overview for 14 Council referrals. He stated primary partners of the Economic and Neighborhood Development CSA are Planning, Building and Code Enforcement; Housing; Public Works; Fire; Convention, Arts and Entertainment; Economic Development and the Redevelopment Agency; and the Airport, Environmental Services, Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services; and Transportation are contributing partners.
In Council discussion of the Environment and Neighborhood Development CSA, it was determined that Policy Referrals #1 and #3 could be included in a proposed consultant’s analysis of the impacts of using land downtown for housing instead of office buildings and these items could be dropped from the referral list. Regarding Policy Referral #4, Council Member LeZotte stated issues involving the so-called “monster homes” is broader than the issue of solar technology, and includes noise, privacy and other quality of life issues affecting neighbors of such remodeled or rebuilt homes, and along with Council Member Dando, recommended Staff review the issue, including neighborhood impacts from single family remodeling projects since the building permits do not require public notification, which precludes neighborhood comment and mitigation of anticipated impacts. Commenting on Policy Referral #6, Council Member Dando suggested reviewing the entire group home policy, focusing on the parking ratios and other impacts, such as the ratio of residents per home, growing out of the trend for group homes to become big businesses. Council Member Williams expressed similar concerns about parking problems in communities where businesses are run out of private homes, and suggested review of possible restrictions to mitigate impact to the neighborhoods. In discussing Policy Referral #7, which recommends construction mitigation plans to address the impacts to businesses from adjacent construction projects, Mayor Gonzales stated he is generally supportive of reviewing this issue; however, he stressed there are reasonable limitations to how much construction impacts can be mitigated, and suggested researching what impacts neighborhood improvements have on rents in an area. Policy Referral #9 was dropped from the referral list, since the Housing Department has procedures in place to meet the Council’s 30% goal for development of Extremely Low Income units. Referencing Policy Referral #10, Council Member Yeager stated his intent was for Staff to review any measures to expedite the undergrounding of utilities in the City, and Council Member LeZotte requested Staff provide lists by Council District of the projected schedule over the next five years. On Policy Referral #11, Council Member LeZotte requested expanding Council Member Yeager’s request to include review of noise levels from motorized scooters and possibly working with manufacturers and sellers; Council Member Reed raised the issue of noise levels impacting residents adjacent to heavy industrial areas; and Council Member Williams suggested including review of lawn mowers, blowers, street sweepers, motorcycles, and other industrial noises. Acting Planning Director Batra stated Staff is working with the City Attorney’s Office in light of existing case law on how the City can enforce noise standards. Policy Referral #13 – Council Member Williams suggested reviewing whether current City park policy hampers developers who want to upgrade a park near their project, and Mayor Gonzales cautioned that there needs to be consistency in the Level of Service which the City provides in parks throughout the City. City Attorney Doyle stated Staff will review the issue consistent with requirements of the City Charter. Council discussion on Policy Referral #14 focused on how the City could require developers or utilities, etc., to remove sidewalk markings after projects are completed; suggestions included penalties, requiring water soluble paint and/or requiring deposits when encroachment permits other service providers which are not removed in a timely manner.
RECREATION AND CULTURAL SERVICES – Mark Linder,
Director of Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services and Team
Leader, stated primary partners of the Recreation and Cultural Services CSA are
Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, the Library, Conventions, Arts and
Entertainment, and General Services; and the Redevelopment Agency and Public
Works are contributing partners. He stated key issues are operation and
maintenance of existing parks and community facilities, implementation of
various approved Master Plans, including Green Print, Library Master Plan, 2021
Cultural Plan, and the newly approved blueprint for Bridging the Digital
Divide. He stated a work force with the capacity, confidence, and skills can
meet the needs of the 21st century customer, address current trends
of economic uncertainty and face the challenge of increased demand for services
resulting from population changes and greater diversity, and the increasing
needs of an aging Baby Boom generation. He stated the synergy resulting from
creating the CSA approach and innovative planning ready the organization to
meet those challenges and achieve the vision of a strong community that
celebrates life and learning.
Policy Referral #15 – Council Member Reed’s comments on the need to create a full-time position titled Trails Coordinator and to establish a multi-department Trails Completion Task Force to work on implementation of the Trails Master Plan were echoed by Council Members Williams and Yeager, who cited similar needs in their respective districts. Council Member Yeager stated a comprehensive report on trails implementation prepared for his district may be helpful for other districts as well. Mayor Gonzales suggested Staff provide Council with copies of the report for District 6 and if desired by Council, a similar report for each district be provided in advance of the projected joint meeting with the Board of the Santa Clara Valley Water District. He recommended Policy Referral #15 be referred to next year’s budget process to be ranked and analyzed with other budget requests, and the item be dropped from the Referral list.
PUBLIC SAFETY – Police Chief Bill Lansdowne, Team Leader, stated primary partners of the Public Safety CSA are the Office of Emergency Services, the Independent Police Auditor, and the Police and Fire Departments; and the departments of Public Works, Airport, Transportation, City Attorney, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, Human Resources, General Services, Finance, Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, and Information Technology are contributing partners. Chief Lansdowne stated the tragic events of September 11, 2001 changed the way the City views public safety and these historic times challenge management skills during budget cutbacks. He stated the Public Safety CSA is working on a 5-year strategic plan, that trends pertaining to population, density, Smart Grow, and in-fill development put additional demands on existing resources, as well as the economic downturn and State and Federal mandated training and emergency support and, for these reasons, stated Police and Fire need to be part of long range planning. He commented on increased security planning and response times, the need for self-sufficiency in times of national disasters, and localized mandated training, and stated the Automated Information System (AIS) will be fully implemented by October, 2001.
Policy Referral #16 - Council Member Reed inquired whether a proposed study on the Future of Police Service Delivery will cover the nine issues raised in his memorandum dated October 24, 2001. Chief Lansdowne stated the department’s short and long term program, including the study of future staffing needs, should address Council Member Reed’s questions. Mayor Gonzales recommended directing Staff to include those questions in the scope of the study and dropping the item from the referral list. Policy Referral #17 – Mayor Gonzales suggested Council Member Campos’ questions about community policing centers and policing substations and hours of operation be included in the staffing study and recommended dropping the item from the referral list.
Policy Referral #18 – Council Member Williams stated the Independent Police Auditor (IPA), Teresa Guerrero-Daley, currently reports to the City Council once a year and his referral would give her the ability to give Council Members advance notice of differing opinions relating to police matters or issues of paramount importance to their district or the City, or to request a policy review. Council Member LeZotte commented that the prior City Council deliberately chose the IPA model over a civilian review panel and stated that reviewing complaints is the role of the IPA and one in which the City Council should not be involved, due to confidentially issues, requirements of the Brown Act and any other legal restrictions. Mayor Gonzales stated the IPA’s annual reports to Council, which consist of data only and not information on individual cases, could be increased to twice annually. Council Member Williams stated he was not requesting details on individuals cases or personnel, but rather to alert Council on major issues facing the City, such as hate crimes or discrepancies in policy interpretations, of which she thinks Council should be apprised. Mayor Gonzales stated those are legitimate points, however, the IPA already has the ability to inform Council of trends or general issues, as does the Police Chief, by requesting to be placed on the City Council agenda. Expressing concerns about Council becoming involved in individual cases, Council Member Dando stated the IPA already can report to Council more than yearly if she deems necessary, and suggested adding a mid-year report consisting of similar data. Responding to Council Member Williams’ question about whether she could report an urgent matter to Council, Independent Police Auditor Teresa Guerrero-Daley stated the referral would provide guidelines for notifying individual Council Members of general information about a high profile complaint in their district, which she cannot now do. Council Member Williams stated his particular concern is about addressing interpretative, policy or process problems in order to prevent the eruption of major problems. Mayor Gonzales stated he relies on the Police Chief and the City Manager and other public safety personnel to bring those issues to Council in a broader area. He stated he could support directing the IPA to report to Council twice yearly, but does not support changing the process, which is controlled by law and labor agreements, and he is unwilling to make fundamental changes in a process that works well. To clarify the current process, City Attorney Doyle stated if the Police Chief and the IPA cannot come to an agreement, the issue goes to the City Manager, who has the final say on whether or not there needs to be a revisiting of the decision. He commented on issues such as the Brown Act, confidentiality, and personnel issues, especially regarding Police Internal Affairs matters. He stated the Charter limits the City Council’s involvement in personnel matters generally, that there are Police Officer Bill of Rights’ issues to consider, as well as labor agreements, and the referral would require the City Attorney’s Office to work with the IPA to try to accomplish the request within the limitations of the law. City Manager Borgsdorf stated when disagreements between the IPA and the Police Department are referred to him, which is rare, all three take the process very seriously, that he monitors the individual points of disagreements and assumes personal responsibility to report to Council any trends or issues of a unique nature that might require City Council action, intervention or addition resources, and would present Council with an action plan to address those issues. He stated the Police Department responds very competently, thoroughly and aggressively to recommendations for systems or training changes, and he shares the Mayor’s view that the system works well. Responding to a question by Council Member Chavez about the process for a Council Appointee to report to Council, IPA Teresa Guerra-Daley stated some issues are difficult to report in open forum and she was unaware of opportunities to report in closed session.
Mayor Gonzales stated that to report general issues but not specific cases to Council, the IPA would go to the Rules Committee and request to be placed on a future agenda, and at his request, City Attorney Doyle clarified the function of Council Executive Sessions, which are closed to the public. He stated when concerns result in litigation, those cases come to Executive Session but the potential of litigation is the only circumstance where an actual case can be heard by Council; otherwise, issues of thematic or general concerns can be presented to Council in open session on an annual or more frequent basis. Council Member Cortese asked if there are any means by which the IPA can alert an individual Council office to general issues in their district to assist them in representing their district. City Attorney Doyle advised that in Internal Affairs investigations, the names of officers and what is at issue are clearly confidential matters that have the potential to compromise the investigation or violate the law. Mayor Gonzales suggested that questions from constituents on these types of matters should be referred to the IPA or Police Chief’s Offices. Council Member Williams stated he questions that the current system works as it should, but based on the testimony heard, he consents to dropping his referral with the understanding that the IPA will be asked to report to Council twice a year and when she deems necessary can come to the Council about general issues. Mayor Gonzales stated the IPA will report data to Council twice a year and include basic trends in the mid-year review, and the item will be dropped from the referral list.
Policy Referral #19 – Council Member Dando explained her request for review of the City’s truancy program based on her concerns about truancy and drop-out issues and their impact on youth, and there was no Council discussion.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND UTILITY SERVICES – Carl Mosher, Director of Environmental Services and Team Leader, stated the primary partners of the Environmental and Utility Services CSA are the departments of Environmental Services and Transportation; contributing partners are Public Works, General Services, Planning, Building and Code Enforce-ment, and the Redevelopment Agency. He addressed the emerging trends of uncertain revenues and fund balances, volatility of energy supply, reliability and costs, increased recycled water use, and increased recycling, and recapped the South Bay Water Recyling Program’s (SBWR) average dry weather flows, average effluent flows of the Water Pollution Control Plant, San José landfill diversion rates, and the top energy consuming accounts. Current issues he presented are: Renewal of treatment plant and storm water permits, increased cost for storm water permit compliance, start-up of Recycle Plus 2002, SBWR Phase 2a projects and pipeline extension to Metcalf Energy Center, storm sewer improvements in the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative, and the Municipal Water System RFP.
Policy Referral #20 – Council Member Yeager stated the referral questions how the issue of trash in different corridors which may not be under City control could be addressed. Transportation Director Tanda stated Staff is working with the State Department of Transportation (Caltrans) on non-City arterials and Acting Planning Director Horwedel suggested that the blight ordinance could be used in some circumstances. Mayor Gonzales recommended using enhanced efforts to raise that level of service pertaining to blight, and Council Member Williams suggested using aerial photography to identify problem areas. Council Member Chavez suggested Staff examine how the San José Beautiful program might fit into Strong Neighborhoods Initiative (SNI) to leverage funds and empower neighborhoods and volunteers to address their area’s needs. Regarding blight from businesses, she suggested Conditional Use Permits might be a mechanism to address the impacts from both old and new businesses. Council Member Dando suggested reviewing the policy of spraying weeds but not removing the residue, and stated landfills should be held responsible for residue from their uncovered trucks; and Council Member LeZotte suggested enhancing the neighborhood cleanup program.
Policy Referral #21 – Council Member Reed commented on the importance of the City participating with the EPA and the State in the early stages of research into the impact of endocrine disrupters on the environment and asked what progress has been made since the referral. Environmental Services Director Mosher stated the Staff has communicated the City’s interest in participating in research with the Universities of Wisconsin and Arizona and with the EPA and with the regional board in this important issue related to the City’s recycled water and the discharge of water from the Water Pollution Control Plant. Because of Staff progress in participating in this research, and with Council Member Reed’s consent, the referral was dropped, to be reinstated at a later time if necessary. Policy Referral #22 – Council Member Yeager stated this important issue should continue to be pursued and, although Staff intends to review new opportunities for Council’s consideration, he asked it remain as a priority item.
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES – Wayne Tanda, Transportation Director and Team Leader, stated primary partners of the Transportation CSA are the departments of Transportation, Police, and Public Works; and the Airport, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, and the Redevelopment Agency are contributing departments. Commenting on the impacts of the economic downturn, with no long-term solution evident, he identified specific issues and trends, stated one-time funding for key services is being exasperated by funding constraints, and noted reduced revenues affect local programs, State level programs such as BART, and key federally funded projects. He presented residents’ opinions of the most serious issues, and key trans-portation and street maintenance recovery issues.
Policy Referral #23 – Council Member Yeager advocated the promotion of bicycle use and ensuring that paths are safe. Director Tanda stated promotion and safety issues are part of the bicycle policy which is being implemented and Staff will report within the next month on an education/marking awareness program. With Council Member Yeager’s consent, the referral was dropped. Policy Referral #24 – In Council Member Campos’ absence, Mayor Gonzales inquired whether creating more Business Districts might be a way to fund the enhanced service in business district areas.
Policy Referral #25 – Council Member Williams expressed his concerns about the City being so far behind in providing this service. Mayor Gonzales suggested this item be referred to the budget process and, with Council Member Williams’ consent, the referral was dropped. Policy Referral #26 – With Council Member Yeager’s consent, this item was dropped because Staff is pursuing these issues and will report back to Council. Policy Referral #27/#28 – Because of previous problems with chip seal, Council Member Dando proposed alternatives such as slurry seal be pursued. With the consent of Council Members Dando and Yeager, Referral #28 was merged into #27 for ranking purposes and the number 28 dropped.
Policy Referral #29 – Mayor Gonzales suggested merging referral #32 with #29 for ranking purposes and the number 32 was dropped. Policy Referral #30 – Council Member LeZotte stated the referral is intended to solve problems where unscrupulous contractors illegally remove trees where no permit has been obtained, and proposed fining homeowner if a tree does not remain viable or is not replaced whether or not a permit was acquired. She and Council Member Dando both stated they have received complaints from legitimate contractors who were losing business in this way. Council Member Dando recommended doing educational outreach with tree removal companies and providing an enforcement incentive for them to require a permit from the homeowner before performing the work. Policy Referral #31 – Council Member Williams proposed improving median island appearance by increasing plant materials.
OPEN FORUM – The following individuals addressed Council: Joe Cavello, a construction and management dispute resolution consultant to public agencies; Mark Reslin, Executive Director, Engineering and Utility Contractors Association; Neil Struthers, CEO, Santa Clara & San Benito County Building and Construction Trade Council.
ADJOURNMENT
The Council of the City of San José adjourned at 12:20 p.m., to October 26, 2001, at 8:15 a.m. to continue discussion of the City Council’s Policy Priority Setting Procedures.
RON GONZALES, MAYOR
ATTEST:
PATRICIA L. O’HEARN, CITY CLERK