TOWN of PORTOLA VALLEY 7:30 PM – Regular Meeting of the Town Council Wednesday, October 8, 2014 Historic Schoolhouse 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028
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Page 1 TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY 7:30 PM – Regular Meeting of the Town Council Wednesday, October 8, 2014 Historic Schoolhouse 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028 _____________________________________________________________________________ REGULAR MEETING AGENDA 7:30 PM – CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Councilmember Derwin, Councilmember Hughes, Councilmember Richards, Vice Mayor Aalfs and Mayor Wengert ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Persons wishing to address the Town Council on any subject may do so now. Please note however, that the Council is not able to undertake extended discussion or action tonight on items not on the agenda. (1) PRESENTATION – Senator Jerry Hill presenting a Proclamation to the Town in Honor of its 50th Anniversary (3) (2) PRESENTATION – Paula Stinson, Development and Communications Director of Housing Endowment and (4) Regional Trust (HEART) with the Homeowner Downpayment Assistance Loan Program CONSENT AGENDA The following items listed on the Consent Agenda are considered routine and approved by one roll call motion. The Mayor or any member of the Town Council or of the public may request that any item listed under the Consent Agenda be removed and action taken separately. (3) Approval of Minutes – Regular Town Council Meeting of September 10, 2014 (5) (4) Approval of Minutes – Regular Town Council Meeting of September 24, 2014 (19) (5) Approval of Warrant List – October 8, 2013 (31) (6) Recommendation by the Conservation Committee – Proposed revision to Committee Charter (44) REGULAR AGENDA (7) Recommendation by Town Attorney – Introduce an Ordinance Amending Chapter 15.16, Fire Protection District (47) (a) First Reading of Title, Waive Further Reading, and Introduce an Ordinance of the Town Council of the Town of Portola Valley Amending Chapter 15.16 [Fire Protection District] of Title 15 [Buildings and Construction] of the Portola Valley Municipal Code (Ordinance No. __) (8) Discussion and Council Direction – Staff Recommended Hazardous Tree and Shrub Removal Policy (52) COUNCIL, STAFF, COMMITTEE REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS (9) Reports from Commission and Committee Liaisons (89) There are no written materials for this item. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS (10) Town Council Digest – September 26, 2014 (90) (11) Town Council Digest – October 3, 2014 (131) ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION (12) CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR (155) Government Code Section 54957.6 Agency Designated Representative: Nick Pegueros, Town Manager Unrepresented Employees: Town Staff REPORT OUT OF CLOSED SESSION ADJOURNMENT Agenda –Town CouncilPage 2 Meeting October 8, 2014 Page 2 ASSISTANCE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Town Clerk at (650) 851-1700. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the Town to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION Copies of all agenda reports and supporting data are available for viewing and inspection at Town Hall and at the Portola Valley Library located adjacent to Town Hall. In accordance with SB343, Town Council agenda materials, released less than 72 hours prior to the meeting, are available to the public at Town Hall, 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028. SUBMITTAL OF AGENDA ITEMS The deadline for submittal of agenda items is 12:00 Noon WEDNESDAY of the week prior to the meeting. By law no action can be taken on matters not listed on the printed agenda unless the Town Council determines that emergency action is required. Non-emergency matters brought up by the public under Communications may be referred to the administrative staff for appropriate action. PUBLIC HEARINGS Public Hearings provide the general public and interested parties an opportunity to provide testimony on these items. If you challenge any proposed action(s) in court, you may be limited to raising only issues you or someone else raised at the Public Hearing(s) described in this agenda, or in written correspondence delivered to the Town Council at, or prior to, the Public Hearing(s). Page 3 #1 There are no written materials for this agenda item. Page 4 #2 There are no written materials for this agenda item. Page 5 PORTOLA VALLEY TOWN COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING NO. 885, SEPTEMBER 10, 2014 Mayor Wengert called the Town Council’s regular meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Ms. Hanlon called the roll. Present: Councilmembers Maryann Moise Derwin, Craig Hughes and John Richards; Vice Mayor Jeff Aalfs; Mayor Ann Wengert Absent: None Others: Nick Pegueros, Town Manager Brandi de Garmeaux, Sustainability & Special Projects Manager Howard Young, Public Works Director Leigh Prince, Town Attorney Sharon Hanlon, Town Clerk ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT AGENDA (1) Approval of Minutes: Regular Town Council Meeting of August 13, 2014 [Removed from Consent Agenda] (2) Ratification of Warrant List: August 27, 2014 in the amount of $375,923.86 (3) Ratification of Warrant List: September 10, 2014 in the amount of $371,703.29 By motion of Councilmember Richards, seconded by Councilmember Derwin, the Council approved Items 2 and 3 on the Consent Agenda with the following roll call vote: Aye: Councilmembers Derwin, Hughes and Richards, Vice Mayor Aalfs, Mayor Wengert. No: None. (1) Approval of Minutes: Regular Town Council Meeting of August 13, 2014 Councilmember Richards moved to approve the minutes of the Town Council meeting of August 13, 2014, as amended. Seconded by Councilmember Hughes, the motion carried 4-0-1 (Wengert abstained). REGULAR AGENDA (4) Discussion and Council Action: Peter Drekmeier, Policy Director for Tuolumne River Trust, with Support of Sustainable Groundwater Management [7:34 p.m.] (a) Adoption of a resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Portola Valley in support of Sustainable Groundwater Management in the San Francisquito Creek Area to ensure its availability during droughts and emergency situations (Resolution No. 2633-2014) Mayor Wengert welcomed Mr. Drekmeier, who said 85% of the Town’s water supply, delivered by the California Water Service Company (CalWater) comes from the Tuolumne River. The remaining 15% comes from local watersheds, Calaveras and Crystal Springs reservoirs as well as Milagra Creek. With population and jobs growth, interest in groundwater has increased, he said, noting that the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) not only limits the amount of water available, but the 1 Page 6 water is getting more expensive. Climate change and environmental regulations also come into play. For example, he said that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife now requires Calaveras and Crystal Springs Reservoirs now to release extra water into creeks for steelhead, further reducing the supply available for distribution. Referring to a PowerPoint slide, he pointed out sources of groundwater in the Bay Area, explaining that the Santa Clara Basin, which extends into the East Bay and up to San Mateo. San Francisquito Creek is a major source of recharge in this area, he added; the water passes down through Stanford, Menlo Park and East Palo Alto. There’s an alluvial fan there. The creekwater and that from a sub-subbasin, the San Francisquito Cone, recharge, as does water from the aquatard, a surface layer above the aquifer, which reaches about 300 feet in depth. The Santa Clara Valley Water District taps into it as well when there’s not enough water in the system. In fact, Mr. Drekmeier said Santa Clara County has 300,000 acre-feet of storage in groundwater – almost as much as the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, with 360,000 acre-feet. Mr. Drekmeier said his interest in surface water began while he was serving on the Palo Alto City Council when a significant number of homes were being built with basements and they required pumping out groundwater when they hit it. In one instance, he recalled a property from which over 8 million gallons of groundwater were pumped out a period of several months. Noting that groundwater is a less-expensive alternative to reservoir water, Mr. Drekmeier discussed Palo Alto’s $4.7 billion Water System Improvement Program to retrofit the system to make it seismically sound, which has resulted in rates doubling since 2008 and likely to increase another 50%. A SFPUC study exploring the effects of climate change on the water supply in the future described one scenario of 30% less water available by the year 2100. Don Pedro Reservoir, downstream of Hetch Hetchy and much larger, provides a significant portion of the Central Valley’s irrigation water. Paying for nearly half of the San Pedro Dam gives the SFPUC a water bank there to supplement what’s available in Hetch Hetchy. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FER), however, requires higher flows to replenish and retain the salmon population. At the same time, the state water board is working on the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan. Designed to protect water supply while improving the dismal conditions in the Bay Delta, it would take more water – anywhere from 20% to 60% of unimpaired flow – from the Sacramento and San Joachin Rivers. Tributaries feeding the San Joachin include the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced Rivers. Mr. Drekmeier said the role San Francisco will play in providing that water isn’t yet clear, but it likely will diminish the amount available to Bay Area residents. Mr. Drekmeier said another challenge is the fact that the Hetch Hetchy pipeline crosses several major earthquake faults, including the Hayward Fault, where a significant seismic event hits about every 100 years and the US Geological Survey has estimated a 63% chance of one occurring by 2036. Although pumps in Palo Alto could supply emergency water, seismic upgrades are needed to minimize the risk of an earthquake cutting off the water supply from the Sierra Nevada that we rely on. At this time, the Palo Alto Mutual Park Water Company, the O’Connor Tract Cooperative Water Company and some irrigation wells in Atherton provide 500,000 gallons of groundwater daily, Mr.