CITY OF LOS ALTOS
CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Sally Meadows, Mayor
Jonathan Weinberg, Vice Mayor
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2023 Pete Dailey, Councilmember
7:00 p.m. Neysa Fligor, Councilmembe.
1 N. San Antonio Rd. ~ Los Altos, CA Lynette Lee Eng, Councilmembe CALL MEETING TO ORDER - Sally Meadows, Mayor, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
ESTABLISH QUORUM - Councilmembers Dailey, Fligor, Lee Eng and Mayor Meadows were present and in-person, and Vice Mayor Weinberg was present virtually from his publicly- accessible, posted location of 3400 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV, 89109.
PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG - Sally Meadows, Mayor, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
REPORT ON CLOSED SESSION - There was no Closed Session meeting.
CHANGES TO THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA
Sally Meadows, Mayor, moved Special Items before Public Comments on Items Not on the Agenda.
SPECIAL ITEMS
Issue proclamation recognizing the week of October 7 - 15, 2023 as Compassion Week Sally Meadows, Mayor, presented the proclamation to Laura Teksler, Los Altos-Mountain View Community Foundation.
Issue proclamation recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month
Sally Meadows, Mayor, read the proclamation with Lindsey Hernandez, a Senior at Los Altos High School.
Swearing-In Ceremony for Incoming Commissioners
Melissa Thurman, City Clerk, administered the Oath of Office to recently appointed Commissioners.
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA
The following member of the public spoke during Public Comment:
• T.T. Ramgopal
• Lei Yuan
• Roberta Phillips
Joe Beninato
• Sander Vonk
City of Los Altos
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
October 10, 2023
CONSENT CALENDAR
Lynette Lee Eng, Councilmember, requested to pull Items 3 and 4 for further discussion.
Sally Meadows, Mayor, moved Items 3 and 4 to the end of Discussion Items on the agenda.
The following members of the public spoke on items on the Consent Calendar:
Shirin Cooper - Item 4 Tom Ferry - Item 4
Jerry Rice - Item 4 Nancy Martin - Item 4
Jeanine Valadez - Item 3 Roberta Phillips - Item 4
Motion by Fligor and Seconded by Lee Eng to approve the Consent Calendar, excluding Items 3 and 4. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.
1. Adopt Regular Meeting Minutes for the Meeting of September 26, 2023
2. Waive second reading and adopt an ordinance and the resolution of bidding procedures under the California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act; find that the adoption of the ordinance is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061
DISCUSSION ITEMS
5. Waive first reading and introduce an ordinance amending Los Altos Municipal Code Section 9.25 "Special Events" and "Special Events Appendix A" and adopt a resolution adjusting the Special Events fees
Anthony Carnesecca, Assistant to the City Manager, presented the report.
The following members of the public spoke regarding the item:
• Jerry Rice
• Roberta Phillips
The City Council took a recess at 8:42 p.m.
The City Council reconvened at 8:52 p.m.
The City Council provided the following amendments:
Incorporate consistent language for public property in 9.25.010 Remove "fax" from written notification section
Add 9.25.040.J.9 back into ordinance
Explicitly state there will be no cost for a block party • Explicitly state that there is no refund for an event cancelled for a reason within the control of the applicant
• Allow City Manager to refer appeals to Hearing Officer if City Council cannot do so in a timely manner
City of Los Altos
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
October 10, 2023
Motion by Weinberg and Seconded by Dailey to waive the first reading and introduce an ordinance amending Los Altos Municipal Code Section 9.25 "Special Events" and "Special Events Appendix A", as amended. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.
Motion by Weinberg and Seconded by Dailey to adopt a resolution amending Special Event Fees, as amended. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.
6. Discussion and Appointments to the Joint Community Volunteer Service Awards Committee and the Parks, Arts, Recreation and Cultural Commission Sally Meadows, Mayor, opened the item.
The City Council appointed Lindsay Carpenter to the Joint Community Volunteer Service Awards Committee to a four-year term.
The City Council appointed Yong Yeh to the Parks, Arts, Recreation and Cultural Commission to a four-year term.
3. Authorize the Mayor to sign a letter of support for the Stanford Community Plan Update (Previously Item 3 on the Consent Calendar)
Lynette Lee Eng, recommended proposed amendments to the letter of support. The City Council did not support the proposed amendments.
Motion by Fligor and Seconded by Meadows to authorize the Mayor to sign a letter of support for the Stanford Community Plan Update. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.
4. Adopt Zoning Ordinance Text Amendments which implement programs identified in the adopted housing element, Program 3.B: Modify building height in mixed-use zoning districts, Program 3.C: Remove floor-to-area ratio (FAR) restriction at Rancho Shopping Center and Woodland Plaza, Program 3.F: Reduce Conditional Use Permit requirement for residential mixed-use and multi-family, Program 3.G: Amend Conditional Use Permits findings applicable to housing Developments, Program 3.N:
Modify standards in the R3 zoning districts and consideration of the City of Los Altos Planning Commission's September 7, 2023 decisions; Action (1) on Program 3.C, PASSED (4-Yes, 1-No, 1-Rescue, 1-Absent); Action (2) on Program 3.B, 3.F, 3.G, 3.N, PASSED (6-Yes, 1-Absent) both recommendations approved the proposed amendments with minor modifications. The proposed amendments are exempt from environmental review pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines since there would be no possibility of a significant effect on the environment (Previously Item 4 on the Consent Calendar) Lynette Lee Eng, Councilmember, proposed continuing the item to a future meeting. The City Council did not support continuing the item.
City of Los Altos
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
October 10, 2023
Motion by Weinberg and Seconded by Meadows to waive the second reading and adopt the ordinance, as detailed in the description above. Motion carried 4-0-1 with Councilmember Lee Eng abstained by roll call vote.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS ONLY
7. Tentative Council Calendar and Housing Element Update Calendar
COUNCIL/STAFF REPORTS AND DIRECTIONS ON FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS • Lynette Lee Eng, Councilmember - Requested a future agenda item for compassion training for the City Council. (Request did not receive support) • Sally Meadows, Mayor - Requested a future agenda item for staff to bring a discussion item regarding city-sponsored events. (Dailey and Fligor supported the item) ADJOURNMENT - The meeting adjourned at 10:12 p.m.
The meeting minutes were prepared by Melissa Thurman, City Clerk, for approval at the regular meeting of October 24, 2023.
Sly Mish
Sally Meadows, Melissa Thurman, MMC
Mayor City Clerk
The October 10, 2023 City Council meeting recording may be viewed via the following external website: https://www.youtube.com/@CityofLosAltosCA
The City of Los Altos does not own or operate YouTube. The video referenced on these minutes were live at the time the minutes were published.