HomeMy Public PortalAbout1998-05-21 Town of Truckee
TOWN COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
May 21, 1998, 6:00 P.M.
Truckee Donner Public Utility District Board Room
11570 Donner Pass Road, Truckee, CA
The Closed Session scheduled at 5:00 p.m. to discuss labor negotiations between the Labor Negotiator
(Town Manager) and the Town of Truckee Employees Association pursuant to Government Code
Section 54957.6 was cancelled due to a lack of quorum.
1. CALL TO ORDER - Mayor Florian called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
PRESENT:
Councilmembers Councilmember Drake, McCormack, Susman, and Mayor
Florian
ABSENT:
Councilmember Schneider (excused)
ALSO PRESENT:
Tony Lashbrook, Director of Community Development; J. Dennis Crabb,
Town Attorney; and Vicki Soderquist, Deputy Town Clerk
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was let by Juanita Schneider.
PUBLIC COMMENT
4.1 Steve Frisch, Resident/Business Owner, stated that on May 12th the proposed
development plan had been submitted for PC-2. The document was approximately 200 pages and
was available only at the front counter for review. The submitted plan was a public document and
he felt that it should be immediately presented in a usable format for the public. He wanted to study
the plan thoroughly before making any determinations but it was a fairly complicated plan which
would take time to study and one third of the public review time had passed. He was incensed that
the plan sat on the shelf while members of the community requested it on a daily basis. He
requested that the Town make it available Friday at 9:00 a.m.
4.2 J'uanita Schneider, Donner Lake, expressed concern regarding the water standing at the
intersection of Hwy 267/Pallisades. She felt it was a safety hazard and would cause road
deterioration. Water was also backing up from a manhole at Donner Lake State Park/Donner Pass
Road. Donner Pass Road had deteriorated and there were large chuckholes and a bad drop off from
the shoulder.
PRESENTATIONS
5.1 Certificates of Appreciation in Recognition of Participation in the Used Oil Recycling
Program. Certificates will be presented to Jeff Collins representing Tahoe Truckee Sierra Disposal
and Brad DeBoer representing Donner Park Unocal and Truckee Unocal. Certificates were
presented to Brad DeBoer and Jeff Collins by Mayor Florian.
5.2 Proclamation Declaring June 28, 1998 as San Francisco Giants' Day. The proclamation
will be presented to Brent Collinson. The proclamation was presented to Brent Collinson by Mayor
Florian. Mr. Collinson thanked the Council for their support. The 5th Annual Truckee Day was
sponsored by the Truckee Rotary and the Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District. Northstar
and Boreal had donated tickets in order to lower prices. The proceeds would go to "Our Truckee
River Legacy Project".
5.3 Presentation on Personal Watercraft Use. The presentation will be made by Captain Ken
Duncan, Nevada County Sheriff's Department.
Captain Duncan gave a brief report on proposed regulations which would ban 2-cycle engines over
ten horsepower that would go into effect 2003 (phased through June 2004) on lakes that held water
for domestic use. His staff was aware of the new laws and would issue citations when/if the
legislation took effect. He felt the Town could consider legislation requiring mandatory education
for vessel operators and increase the number of educational presentations by Boating Officers within
the community.
Councilmember Susman questioned how mandatory education would be regulated. Captain Duncan
stated it was mandatory in several jurisdictions but he was unsure of the process.
Councilmember Susman felt the proposed legislation was treating the symptoms and not the
problem. He did not want to do anything premature that would jeopardize the recreational aspects
on the local lakes, as work was underway to address the pollution problem. Councilmember
McCormack agreed, up to the present time the Council's concern had been safety. There were
aspects of the legislation that would have negative impacts on the community/recreation.
5.4 Presentation on Fire Safety Day, June 6, 1998. The presentation will be made by Jon
Lander, Town Engineer.
Jon Lander, Town Engineer, stated that A Fire Safety Day had been scheduled for removal of
vegetative materials outside of the regular trash pickup service. Five locations would be provided
for drop off. The advantage of separating materials was that the material would be processed at the
Eastern Regional Landfill for chips and pine needle bales and not taken to the landfill in Lockwood,
NV, therefore, reducing the waste stream.
Jeff Collins, Truckee Sierra Disposal, reviewed the locations and times for the drop off sites. No
garbage would be accepted and he requested that residents wait for assistance in dumping out bags
and cans.
5.5 Presentation on Summer Transit. The presentation will be made by Tom Covey, Director
of Public Works.
Tom Covey, Director of Public Works, stated the Truckee fixed route trolley would tie into the
North Lake Tahoe Resort bus with funding from the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association. Dial-A-
Ride would run from 7 am-7 pm, six days a week but would not be operating on Sunday due to low
ridership. Staffwas working on that issue. A special beach bus to West End Beach would run from
June to September (while beach remained open) from the Regional Park, Coachland, Community
Center, and Tahoe Donner Clubhouse.
Town of Truckee
May 21, 1998 Regular
Page 2
Funding sources for the transit system came from the Transportation Development Act, North Lake
Tahoe Resort Association, Northstar, Truckee Donner Parks and Recreation, Tahoe Donner, and the
Crystal Bay Club. The Crystal Bay service was fully funded by the Crystal Bay Club and the Tahoe
Biltmore. The transit system was running 60/40 private/public funding. Homblower Yachts would
be sponsoring service from the North Shore Marina to the South Shore clubs. TNT/TMA was
working on shuttle service from the Reno Tahoe Airport to Truckee.
Councilmember Susman stated the assumption in the General Plan was that there would be no
increase in general transportation. The Town's transit system had phenomenal growth and he
thanked Mr. Covey and all the participating agencies for providing a consistent transportation
system. Councilmember McCormack agreed that there had been major strides in the last 2-3 years.
Councilmember Drake also commended Mr. Covey, TNT/TMA, and participating agencies.
CONSENT CALENDAR (One motion approves all of the following actions.)
Motion by Councilmember Drake to approve the Consent Calendar, Seconded by
Councilmember Susman, passed 4-0-1 (Schneider absent), with Items 6.5, 6.9, and 6.11 pulled.
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
Minutes of April 8, 1998, Special Meeting. Recommendation: Council approve.
Minutes of April 30, 1998, Special Meeting. Recommendation: Council approve.
Minutes of May 7, 1998, Regular Meeting. Recommendation: Council approve.
April Treasurer's Report. Recommendation: Council approve.
Award Bid for Brush Chipper. Recommendation: Council award the bid for the purchase
of a Brush Bandit Model 250 to CalLine Equipment in the amount of $30,855.36.
Councilmember McCormack stated he was not satisfied with the process being utilized for purchases
of capital expenditures, i.e. no specific detail included. The proposed item was clearly a profitable
item and would result in a savings in time, but he was not satisfied that Council had decided properly
on how they should take advantage of those savings. The Council had the choice of taking the
money or increasing the level of service by assigning the crews to other projects. He was not going
to vote for another capital expenditure until he could see justification for an increased level of
service and detail on how the dollars could be saved.
Motion by Councilmember McCormack to award the bid for the purchase of a Brush Bandit
Model 250 to CalLine Equipment in the amount of $30,85536, Seconded by Councilmember
Drake, passed 4-0-1 (Schneider absent).
6.6 CDF Wildland Fire Annual Agreement. Recommendation: Council adopt Resolution 98-
19 authorizing the Truckee Fire Protection District to execute an agreement for protection
of wildland within local agency for a term of one year.
6.7 Authorizing the Town Manager to Enter into Agreement with the State Board of
Equalization. Recommendation: Council adopt Resolution 98-18 authorizing the Town
Manager to execute agreement for preparation to administer and operate Transactions and
Use Tax Ordinance and agreement for State administration of Transactions and Use Taxes
with the State Board of Equalization.
6.8 Claim for STA 5311 Funds. Recommendation: Council adopt Resolution 98-20
authorizing the claim for $21,000 of State Transit Assistance (STA) funds.
6.9 Authorization to Advertise for Downtown Alley. Recommendation: Council authorize
the Town Engineer to advertise the alley repaving with bid opening on June 10, 1998 at 3:00 p.m.
Town of Tmckee
May 21, 1998 Regular
Page 3
Councilmember McCormack questioned how staff arrived at $4,000 for each of the utilities share.
Jon Lander, Town Engineer, replied that it was the cost of the paving divided by the four agencies.
The remainder of the costs were curbs/gutters/drainage which were Town costs.
Councilmember McCormack questioned if the Town was paving from property line to building. Mr.
Lander replied that the alley currently existed north of the alley line and it was staff's intent to obtain
right-of-way agreements with the property owners where the alley encroached. On the south side
staff proposed paving to the buildings to avoid drainage problems or hazards.
Councilmember McCormack questioned if that was typical. Mr. Lander stated that finishing offthe
project was appropriate and that the majority of all work being done was the 14 feet of the alley.
Staffhad met with the Downtown Merchants and they felt it was an appropriate way to deal with
the alley.
Motion by Councilmember McCormack to authorize the Town Engineer to advertise the alley
repaying with bid opening on June 10, 1998 at 3:00 p.m., Seconded by Councilmember Drake,
passed 4-0-1 (Schneider absen0.
6.10
Authorization to Advertise for Donner Pass Road Reconstruction Project.
Recommendation: Council authorize the Town Engineer to advertise the Donner Pass Road
reconstruction project with a bid opening set for June 25, 1998 at 3:00 p.m.
6.11 Engineer's Report Recommending Parcel Charges for Town Special Service Areas &
Permanent Road Divisions. Recommendation: Council accept the Town Engineer's Report
Recommending Parcel Charges for Town Special Service Areas & Permanent Road Divisions
(TSSAs and PRDs) and set a public hearing On June 18, 1998 to consider adopting the
recommended charges.
George Robertson, Glenshire, stated that every Council had recognized the inequities of parcel
charges, but had not done anything. As the Council went into budget hearings he hoped they would
consider alleviating the charges to Glenshire and Tahoe Donner.
Councilmember McCormack replied that the parcel charge for Tahoe Donner was for road
maintenance and that he did not believe they had any disagreement with the continuation of that
charge.
Motion by Councilmember McCormack to accept the Town Engineer's Report Recommending
Parcel Charges for Town Special Service Areas & Permanent Road Divisions (TSSAs and
PRDs) and set a public hearing On June 18, 1998 to consider adopting the recommended
charges, Seconded by Councilmember Susman, passed 4-0-1 (Schneider absent).
COUNCIL IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES
7.1 Planned Community-2 Public Involvement Program. Recommendation: Council direct
staffto organize three neighborhood workshops followed by a joint Planning Commission/Council
workshop in accordance with recently established Council policy regarding Planned Communities.
Mr. Lashbrook stated the major function of the public involvement program would be getting the
word out to the public which would be done through the Town newsletter which would include
graphics, proposed development, and key general plan policies. The newsletter would be distributed
Town of Truckee
May 21, 1998 Regular
Page 4
to all box holders, i.e. approximately 9,000. Staffwas also working with Tahoe Donner regarding
their newsletter to reach second homeowners. The next element would be three neighborhood
workshops which would include on-site tours. The program, if adopted, provided for a Town
Council/Planning Commission workshop after the neighborhood workshops were held where all
Councilmembers/Commissioners and staff would collectively report back on input received and
issues raised. It was anticipated that the outcome would be direction to staff and the project
proponents regarding changes, alternatives, etc. Staffexpected the process to take 60 days. Staff
and the proponent would make presentations to organized groups. The processing of the application
would start after the public involvement program was complete. Two meeting dates had been
scheduled at the Recreation Center on Saturday, June 27th, and Tuesday, July 14th. Staff was still
working on a date for the third workshop.
Mayor Florian questioned if consideration was made regarding the time of day the meetings would
be held for citizen's convenience. Mr. Lashbrook replied that they hoped the scheduling on a
weekend would accommodate mom citizens. There was concern that early Saturday would conflict
with other family activities.
Councilmember Susman questioned how staff would respond to the concern that if the first
workshop was on the 27th and it was already May 21st, that time was rapidly disappearing for the
pubic to assimilate the document. Mr. Lashbrook replied that their goal was to allow 3-4 weeks
before the first hearing from the time the summary plan was broadly available. Staff had not had
time over the last nine days to look at the plan other than develop the public participation program.
It was not unusual for a plan/project to wait for staff review. Both the summary plan and draft
specific plan would be available at the Copy Center, but staff did not have a reproducible copy at
the present time. The newsletter would have summary information, the summary plan had a more
complete summary and, the specific plan was highly detailed.
Councilmember McCormack hoped the summary plan would be widely distributed. When the
Council discussed the requirements for a summary plan they had a list of 8 items they felt may be
appropriate. He was concerned that a lot of material in the 8 items were not in the summary. People
wanted to have that information ahead of time. The phasing plan was included in the summary, but
the estimated timing to begin each phase and triggers were not included. It may not be possible to
include those, but there should be at least a comment regarding the concept. Conceptual elevations
for major components were not included, there were only examples which he felt was a shortcoming.
It was essential that renderings or computer simulations for critical locations be included. They had
to have to something better than a plan view from 30,000 ft. He felt the plan was very inadequate
and questioned how they could get the additional information in a timeframe to distribute and have
prior to the workshops.
Mr. Lashbrook replied that staff felt the renderings or computer simulations were particularly
important due to scenic corridor policies. Staff had asked the proponent for a proposal on how they
would deal with that. The proponents felt unprepared to provide finished elevation details for
various areas of the property because they did not have developers ready to step in and build, i.e. it
was premature. Staff felt that was a valid issue with a plan of such scale, however, they did have
the ability to comply with computer simulations. The public process could be delayed until that
information was received.
Councilmember Susman stated that he shared a lot of the same concerns. He questioned if the
specific plan application was deemed complete by staff. Mr. Lashbrook replied that the specific plan
was not subject to the Permit Streamlining Act where being deemed complete was important, staff
Town of Truckee
May 2 l, 1998 Regular
Page 5
felt the plan was incomplete at the present time. It would take longer than nine days for staffto
review the plan and no clocks were running.
Councilmember Susman felt the Council needed to discuss how the parameters of the proposed plan
would interface with the General Plan and Development Code. They needed to make sure there was
consistency. He questioned the timeliness of the project coming before the Council prior to the
adoption of the Development Code.
Councilmember McCormack questioned if once the specific plan was adopted if it became the
zoning ordinance. Mr. Lashbrook stated the PC designations were applied to three areas because
they had a great deal of development potential and required a closer look than provided by standard
zoning and development standards. That implied that there could be a higher standard of
architecture, infrastructure, etc. The benefit of a specific plan was the ability to provide a
comprehensive regulatory scheme for development of the property. There were issues in the
Development Code that could be appropriate to apply to the project. There had never been a
direction on any project to wait until the Development Code was either submitted in draft form or
adopted. He was uncertain how they could apply a Development Code that was going through initial
public review to a specific plan.
Councilmember Susman stated the issue had been raised with the Downtown Specific Plan which
was held to a different standard. He expressed his concern with the dual track of PC-2 and the
Development Code. Mr. Lashbrook felt if the program stayed on track, the Development Code
would be adopted before any formal hearings on PC-2.
Mayor Florian questioned how the second homeowners in the Donner Lake area would be notified.
Mr. Lashbrook responded that the only way to contact them would be through a newsletter for the
homeowners associations or a property owner mailing which was very expensive. The project was
getting tremendous coverage with the Town newsletter.
Juanita Schneider, Donner Lake, stated that Donner Lake homeowners had mailings throughout
the year and felt staff should pursue that option. Mr. Lashbrook replied that it was good idea to
extend the information to all the homeowner associations.
Stefanie Olivieri, representing MAPF, stated she spoke with Mr. Lashbrook regarding their
concerns. She thanked Council on behalf of MAPF for recognizing the need for early participation.
In light of the fact that all had agreed that public participation was important they were very
concerned that the summary came out 10 days ago and they had not seen it. It was a public
document and she hoped that could be corrected with the document being made available on Friday
for copying. MAPF was very disappointed in the plan. The community presented many ideas for
public participation and they felt the proposal for public participation was business as usual and was
not suited to engage the public to participate. The neighborhood outreach was inadequate, as well
as, getting the word out and the site tour. The formation of a committee on public participation
would have saved time. MAPF made the following suggestions: update newspaper weekly, utilize
HOA newsletters which were free, utilize the PUD bills which would reach second homeowners and
was free, television to advertise Council/Planning Commission and neighborhood meetings,
Chamber newsletter which was also free, utilizing posters all over Town, copies of the plan at Tahoe
Donner Clubhouse/Library/Glenshire Clubhouse/Recreation Center/Senior Center/Tahoe Forest
Hospital/High School Library and make public aware where the documents were available.
Neighborhood workshops should be increased and held at the Glenshire Clubhouse, 1-2 meetings
at the Recreation Center 1-2, and at Donner Village. The Chamber requested that they be considered
Town of Truckee
May 21, 1998 Regular
Page 6
as a neighborhood on an on-going basis. Site tours should be expanded to 2-3 and should precede
the meetings. They felt it had been made clear that it was a concern of the community that the
developer should not make the presentations at the neighborhood workshops. The Town staff should
make a presentation similar to those made to the Council/Planning Commission. Staffshould not
act as an advocate or proponent. The developer should be present to answer questions or clarify
concerns. They were very concerned with fact that the community was facing two issues at same
time that were impactful on community, i.e. PC-2 and the Development Code. They believed that
the Development Code should be in place first utilizing the public participation process. It was
patently unfair to do both at the same time and impossible for the public to give meaningful input.
A project the size of PC-2 should not be considered until a Development Code was thoroughly
examined by the community and set in place.
Councilmember Susman stated that there was specific language for the neighborhood workshops and
that staff would facilitate them. It was also his understanding that it would definitely be a staff
presentation vs. developer presentation. One of the issues he had raised at a prior workshop was to
have flipcharts at the meeting and brainstorming any ideas for the public outreach/process. They
had to distribute the information and staff needed to follow-up on any suggestions made.
Councilmember Drake stated that he agreed with Ms. Olivieri. Council had set up a new process
but the "control" was a joint hearing of the Planning Commission/Council. He felt they should go
ahead and try the proposed process. If at the end there was public, Council, or Commission
dissatisfaction they could then say it did not work. He did not feel they should stop the process and
redesign it before even starting.
Mayor Florian agreed that they were just starting the process. As evidenced through the Southwest
Gas issue, Council could stop anything at any time or could call special meetings. He wanted to see
the first go-around of workshops and get a feel from the public as to whether they were working and,
if so, they could proceed as normal.
Councilmember McCormack stated he had trouble with proceeding as recommended. Several
workshops had been held and the Council developed a specific list of information needed for the
public process. If they did not provide good information they would not have a successful meeting.
Council could not expect the community to comment effectively unless the plan could convey what
the developer had in mind.
Councilmember Susman agreed with Councilmember McCormack. He also agreed with the sense
of where Councilmember Drake was going but there was an adopted a list of items that were not
met. There were areas in the plan that could address the concept. They needed to have tangible
information which was the purpose of having guidelines without having to read a 200-300 page
technical document. Without that they would lose the public interest and not receive the input they
were looking for.
Mayor Florian questioned how far offthe plan was from the adopted process. Mr. Lashbrook stated
that he agreed with every point raised about the information that was not included. Some was a
matter of putting it down on paper, including the summary plan, but some would take work. He
referred the question to the developers.
Dale Creighton, Project Proponent, stated the submitted plan provided what staff requested and
they had expected changes. They had difficulty developing a phasing plan because they were subject
to an independent economic analysis and phasing would be based on impacts to retail development,
Town of Truckee
May 21, 1998 Regular
Page 7
existing market, and fiscal impacts. They had tried to capsulize into to a reasonable approach as to
how they saw the market at the present time. The EIR and economic analysis that had to be done
would be the acid test. He could reiterate that component, but it was difficult to predict. If it did
not sell they would not go to the second phase. The specific plan was a diagram for development
of a property not an approved project. Once approved them was some surety that development could
occur and it would be reviewed against those standards. Mr. Lashbrook asked them to provide
computer simulations of development and trees, especially the Highway 89 corridor. They hoped
that within the next couple of weeks they would have simulations from a view standpoint. They
hoped to use the review time to develop a criteria on how to approach that issue.
Councilmember Susman stated he understood the problems of the fiscal analysis, but he felt the
Council was asking for compliance with the resolution. He questioned if they would have an
executive summary that was consistent with the resolution. Mr. Creighton replied that in his view
the plan was consistent with the resolution. He was hearing new criteria for drawings of buildings
going into the development. Their mutual goal was to provide the executive summary, but was
trying to get an agreement on how best to do that. As he understood the process, the workshops
would be the format to start with, if additional information was needed they would have another
workshop.
Mr. Lashbrook stated the assumption he was working on, one reason there had not been broad
distribution of the current draft documents, was to have a summary that met the criteria for public
review prior to the start of the public process. The project proponents needed to propose in the
summary plan what it was that they proposed to do, based upon their understanding of the market
and the Truckee General Plan. That had not been fully done. There would be a series of tests of the
proposal, i.e. public involvement, economic study, environmental impact report, and a series of final
hearings. Mr. Creighton stated they would mm that in with the understanding that there could be
amendments regarding phasing and simulations.
Mr. Lashbrook summarized: there were a number of new ideas presented by MAPF; MAPF had
raised another issue which deviated from the policy regarding scheduling of additional workshops,
the Town was a resource to go out to other groups and he assumed the proponents were also
available; in formal workshops the Town would be facilitating the meeting; the applicant would
make a presentation regarding the proposal as part of the meeting; and the summary plan would meet
the established criteria to the extent possible and be done in time to be distributed prior to
workshops, i.e. next week with possible exception of the computer simulations.
Councilmember McCormack stated that MAPF had good ideas and he felt staff should consider
them. Council may find that they wanted extra meetings, but he felt they should wait and see what
happened. He disagreed completely with Ms. Olivieri's comment that it was not business as usual.
His major concern was related to the Development Code. If pursuing the public process on PC-2
at the same time as the Development Code would pose a problem, then it needed to be delayed. If
the public did not have time to participate in the Development Code process then the Council had
stumbled.
Councilmember Susman stated that if there was a discrepancy between the two there would be a
controversy. He was concerned regarding the overlap.
Town of Truckee
May 21, 1998 Regular
Page 8
Mr. Lashbrook stated the Development Code workshops (10o 12) would be small, deal with specific
target areas, and involve one on one interaction. The Development Code would affect everyone in
Town. PC-2 workshops would involve similar information at each workshop. The staff load was
an issue but staff was prepared to deal with it. If delayed it would just defer it to a later time.
Cathy McAnine, Resident, stated she did not understand why there was such a rush, she felt the
public should be given time to read the documents.
George Robertson, Glenshire, felt fortunate to be at the meeting and listening to the interaction
taking place.
Councilmember Susman stated they were talking about a tight time frame, i.e. getting the amended
executive summary out as soon as possible. Council may have to reevaluate the schedule in the
future.
Mr. Lashbrook stated the first neighborhood meeting was scheduled on June 27th and he did not
believe the proponents would object to delaying the first meeting to July.
Steve Frisch, Resident/Business Owner, stated it was critical that the information be made
available to the public because the intent of public participation was to get the community to buy
in. He saw several things in the plan that he liked but had a problem with the Council referring to
the plan and it not being available to the public, it was a significant issue. Councilmember Drake
agreed with Mr. Frisch's comments but stated that the reality was that the majority of the public
would not attend the meetings.
Rich Griese, Resident/Business Owner, stated a lot of people were concerned regarding access to
the documents and the question as to how to get the information out to the public. He recommended
the use of the Internet.
Mr. Lashbrook stated it appeared that there was a consensus to go forth with the public involvement
process, modify the summary plan to reflect the requirements contained in the Council resolution,
begin the workshops on July 14th, schedule another public meeting, and pass around a sign up sheet
for the Council/Planning Commission regarding attendance at the public meetings. Their goal was
to get every Councilmember/Commissioner to at least one of the meetings.
Mayor Florian questioned if they needed a timeframe from when a document was received and the
first workshop was held. Mr. Lashbrook replied that it should be a minimum of one month.
Motion by Councilmember Susman to approve Mr. Lashbrook's recommendation to go forth
with the public involvement process, modif3, the summary plan to reflect the requirements
contained in the Council resolution, begin the workshops on July 14th, schedule another public
meeting, and pass around a sign up sheet for the Council/Planning Commission regarding
attendance at the public meetings, Seconded by Councilmember McCormack, passed 4-0-1
(Schneider absent).
7.2 Development Code Review Process and Outreach Program. Recommendation: No
action required.
Town of Truckee
May 21, 1998 Regular
Page 9
Duane Hall, Senior Planner, stated that the public review dral~ of the Development Code would be
available the first week of June and, would also be ready to start the public review process. Their
objectives for the review process were to maximize public involvement; get the public involved and
interested early; go beyond the ordinary and what was legally required; make learning and
commenting on the Development Code easy and friendly; venture out to the neighborhoods and
interest groups and stay away from Town Hall. There were two phases of the project. The informal
phase was not required by State law or local ordinances and phase two was required by law which
would include formal public hearings at Town Hall. He then reviewed the phase one timeframes.
The kick-off meeting for the Town Council/Planning Commission was proposed for June l0th.
Twelve to fourteen neighborhood meetings or open houses had been scheduled.
Mr. Lashbrook stated that staff would be documenting all comments, concerns, and
recommendations received at the open houses.
Councilmember McCormack questioned if the neighborhood meetings would have an overview or
introduction. Mr. Hall responded that staff would be at the meetings early to meet with those in
attendance, there would be a formal presentation, and staff would address specific issues for that
neighborhood.
Councilmember Susman requested that staffschedule Development Code updates on future agendas.
Ms. Olivieri questioned if minutes or notes from the open houses would be available to the public.
Mr. Lashbrook replied that a summary of each workshop would be produced but due to the number
of meetings scheduled he was uncertain of the time schedule for availability.
It was the consensus of the Council to hold a special meeting on June 10, 1998 at 6:00 p.m. for
a kick-off meeting on the Development Code.
STAFF REPORTS
8.1 Update Regarding Review and Comments on TROA EIR/EIS. Recommendation:
Council authorize the Mayor's signature on official Town comments on TROA EIRJEIS.
Mr. Lashbrook stated that the review period closed on March 1 st. The comments would focus on
those issues, get into details regarding the adequacy of the project description, concerns regarding
the model, and the concept of mitigation measures and monitoring. Costs for special expertise would
not exceed $7,500. A great deal of benefit had been received from former Councilmember Eagan's
participation.
Councilmember Susman questioned what leverage the Town had to get TROA to consider the
Town's needs as far as the upper Truckee River and fish flows. Mr. Lashbrook replied that the
limitations of the model was a key issue related to the Town's concerns. The model could not look
at day to day river flows or lake levels. No one but the consultant that prepared the model
understood how the model worked. Even with less complicated models, the Town built in checks
and balances, tests in order to take measures to fix it so it would continue to work. The concern was
that the process to fix the model if it was wrong was too indirect. They wanted a more direct key to
environmental issues. They did have a CEQA leverage, but the State Department of Water
Resources was the entity that certified the EIR and was also the chief negotiators so there was
political leverage following the EIR process. The major issue that the area would face was that no
one knew what the final product would be. The baseline issue one-year from now would be whether
the Town was better off with it or without it.
Town of Truckee
May 21, 1998 Regular
Page 10
Councilmembers Susman and McCormack thanked Mr. Lashbrook and Ms. Eagan for their efforts.
Motion by Councilmember McCormack to authorize the Mayor to sign a letter on official
Town comments on TROA EIR/EIS, Seconded by Counciimember Susman, passed 4-0-1
(Schneider absen0.
8.2 Southwest Gas Status Report (Oral Report). Recommendation: Council provide
direction as desired.
Councilmember McCormack informed the Council that the CA Public Utilities Commission (PUC)
had met that morning to consider adopting the recommendation of Administrative Law Judge Wright
(Southwest Gas to proceed, complete the entire project, and bear all overruns). That item had been
continued for two weeks without discussion. The earlier item agendized was an alternative proposal
from the Office of Ratepayers Advocates (reduction of scope and increased surcharge) and had been
removed from agenda. Former Councilmember Eagan, Mr. Wright, Jim Simon, and he had
presented oral comments. He felt the Town could expect that Southwest Gas would be lobbying the
PUC. Any PUC Commissioner had the option to agendize another alternative proposal and the
Town would not know until 9:00 a.m. on the meeting date.
Councilmember Susman stated the Town had not seen the revised negotiated settlement from the
ORA. Councilmember McCormack replied that because it was pulled it was not available. He did
not know if there would be a new document, nothing was offered by the Commission as to why it
was held over. Councilmember Susman thanked everyone for carrying forward the Town's position
on behalf of the community.
Mayor Florian questioned if it was time to seek legislative support. Councilmember McCormack
responded that there was an active program to solicit legislative support. The community had
inundated the PUC with letters and they were well aware of the commtmity's position. He felt the
letters had an impact.
Jana Coughron, Resident, stated she had talked to Commissioner Conlon and felt the PUC had
already decided on what they were going to do (direct Southwest Gas to serve all of Truckee but
grant a rate increase) but stayed the item for two weeks due to the letters and comments received.
She expressed her concern that Southwest Gas had run out the competition (propane) and that the
costs for propane had increase 50% over the last year. She felt that should be brought to the
attention of the PCU, i.e. lack of competition. The Town needed to support the Judge's ruling and
keep Southwest Gas' feet to the fire and serve all of Truckee.
Juanita Schneider, Donner Lake, stated she sent a fax to the PUC. Donner Lake would be the last
to get gas, but the main thing was to get it. Southwest Gas made that commitment and the PUC
should make them stand by it.
8.3 Highway 267 By-Pass Status Report (Oral Report). Recommendation: Council provide
direction as desired.
Town of Truckee
May 21, 1998 Regular
Page 11
10.
Jon Lander, Town Engineer, stated that staffwas cautiously optimistic regarding the ramps. It was
evident in discussions that Caltrans was trying to find a way to make the ramps work. Direction
from the Federal Government back to the State was to articulate more clearly the tradeoffs between
the different options. The State agreed and stated that if the Federal Government needed a different
format they would fix it. Discussion had moved to the Federal arena which had to make certain
approvals for the 1-80 route, both the inclusion of the additional ramp system and the successive on
and offramps being proposed. The Federal Government seemed to be in a consideration mode and
had asked for specific information which was being provided. There was nothing for the Town to
submit; Caltrans would be putting in language to take the project further. The By-pass project itself
was on schedule, the design work for the highway was completed, structures were on schedule, and
nothing Truckee was doing was affecting the By-pass project. The Town's plans, in order to be part
of the construction project, had to be integrated by the first of the year. Staff felt there was still time
and was not concerned about delaying the project. It was a very deliberate process and the Town
did not have a lot of input at the present time.
COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS:
9.1 NCTC Meeting. Councilmember McCormack stated he had attended the NCTC meeting
for Councilmember Drake. A public hearing had been held regarding Trnckee's unmet needs and
no one was in attendance. There were no other issues on the agenda that were significant to the
Eastern County. Of general interest was the question of how to staffNCTC. Staffing had been on
a consulting basis and was officially being converted to employees of NCTC and not employees of
the County.
Councilmember Drake stated that NCTC had let out bids for the Deerfield Alignment Study from
the FY 1997/98 budget. He had encouraged NCTC to do that due to PC-2.
ADJOURNMENT. Mayor Florian adjourned the meeting at 9:13 p.m.
by:
Respectfully submitted,
STEPHEN L. WRIGHT, Town Manager
Vicki C. Soderquist, CMC~pgty Town Clerk
Town of Truckee
May 21, 1998 Regular
Page 12