By Larry Sacks 

 

All Council Members were present, although Council Member Kolstad arrived late as he was out of town on City-related business. 

 

The public hearing for the rezoning application for 1575 Pomeroy Avenue was rescheduled to the August 26 Council meeting.

 

Eddie Souza, the owner of the property at 1525 Pomeroy Avenue, addressed the Council and stated neither he, his mother nor his neighbors had received any notice of the continuance of the public hearing.  He also questioned the way the City Planning Department notifies people and handles other issues and questioned the professionalism and ethics of the department.  City Manager Jennifer Sparacino stated she would follow through on Mr. Souza’s comments and would look into the notification issues and give a report to the Council. 

Council Member Kevin Moore stated he had attended the Planning Commission meeting where the Commission had turned down the project by a vote of 6-0. He agreed to a one-time continuance, “…but the process and what I’ve seen here has been different from a lot of things I’ve seen, so I’m glad the Manager will be looking into it.” 

 

·         Kris Motyka was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Historical and Landmarks Commission for term ending June 30, 2012.

·         Interviews were held to fill a vacancy on the Planning Commission for the term ending June 30, 2012.  The appointment to fill the vacancy was continued to July 15 as the top three applicants each received the same number of votes.  On July 15, Council Member Kolstad will be present and will be able to break the tie.

The current residential recycling collection and processing agreement with Stevens Creek Disposal and Recycling (SCD&R) expires on December 31, 2009.  The current contract was entered into in February 1996 and will have a 14 year run at the end of December 2009.  The current cost of service (as of July 1) is $1.35 per household. 

The Council voted to authorize the City Manager to enter into contract negotiations with Stevens Creek Disposal and Recycling to provide services for the City’s Residential Recyling Program.  Stevens Creek Disposal and Recycling proposed the lowest price of $2.39 per household per month.  Under negotiation is the new agreement that calls for a 10-year term (January 1, 2010 – January 10, 2020).  The Recycling program will change, as instead of using an 18-gallon tub for beverage/food containers, bundled cardboard and bagged paper, a 96-gallon cart will be used for the same materials.  SCD&R will also use alternative B-40 diesel fuel (40% organic blend) and they will add scrap metal materials and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to the list of acceptable items for curbside pickup.  SCD&R also offered two annual Environmental Drop-off Days to include e-Waste – such as computers, monitors, televisions; universal waste (appliances and batteries, fluorescent and CFL bulbs and clothing; as well as the shredding/destruction of papers, documents, tapes, DVDs and CDs.  They also will offer an annual Coats for Kids (and Parents) Program. 

An appeal of a Planning Commission action approving a height variance for the new roller coaster ride at California's Great America Theme Park was discussed for just shy of 3 hours.  At issue is a proposed rollercoaster and the noise of rider’s screams coming from it.  The Council voted to refer this back to the City Manager for further information and analysis including the acoustical expert analysis; resolving the conflict between the Nortel EIR information and the acoustical studies; the CEQA issue and whether or not there is a need for some level of review; some opinion of whether or not this is categorically exempt and the cumulative impact of the variances and to report back to the Council on August 19.