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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-02-15 - MINUTES - ADJOURNED MTG (2)ADJOURNED MEETING OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA CITY COUNCIL February 15, 1988 7:30 p.m. Those people attending the adjourned council meeting announced for 8:00 a.m., February 15th, assembled at the end of the pavement on Lost Canyon Road east of Sand Canyon Rd. in Canyon Country, City of Santa Clarita. At 8:07 a.m. the assembly left the meeting place by car pool to the property in question. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor McKeon at 8:18 a.m. at the above location. ROLL CALL The Acting City Clerk, Mayor McKeon, called the roll; all councilmembers present except Councilman Koontz. The total of thirty-six were present, with Mr. Ed Bolden of Andel Engineering; Hope Briggs and another property owner; Mr. Rossberger, L. A. County Forester and Fire Warden; Mr. Shanahan, Oak Tree Consultant being among them. The working press was represented by Ruth Newhall of The Signal, Pat Aidem of the Daily News, and Jim Bates of the Los Angeles Times as well as photographers. The remainder were interested citizens. PURPOSE The purpose of the meeting was to walk through the area and look at the oak trees for which permits were being requested. MINUTES Councilman Boyer, having been named Acting Deputy City Clerk, took notes of the meeting. Mr. Ed Bolden described the property. Mayor McKeon raised a question about the flexibility of the road location, with Boyer asking why the road had to be sixty-four feet wide. Mr. Bolden answered that this was a county requirement for a collector road. Mayor McKeon asked whether the City could change the road alignment or the lot sizes to facilitate saving some of the oak trees in question. Mr. Bolden answered that this would require more engineering work and a re-recording of the tract. Boyer suggested that if this were done through the City, it could be done more quickly than had been the case with the County. McKeon and Heidt discussed the Possibility of allowing the lots to average two acres each instead of meeting the County requirement of a two acre minimum. Boyer asked where the City limits were and whether the planned street could be moved south. Adjourned Meeting February 15, 1988 Page 2 Bolden answered that such a move would cut into existing lots. Mr. Rossberger pointed out tree #21 (as labeled on the map), stating that is was regrowth after having met extensive damage, that it was probably rotten inside, thus making it weak enough that a windstorm could take it down; however, our grandchildren might be able to enjoy it. Bolden identified tree #15 as a tree having five trunks. He stated that the road would consist of a forty foot pavement width, a twelve foot dirt parkway on either side and with a four foot concrete inverted shoulder on each side. The adjoining property owner to the north, Mr. Greer, being ill and not wishing to be disturbed by building activity, would not grant'a right of way on the north. All of this mandated the construction of a temporary cul-de-sac, but Hope Briggs and other owners of this property had put up the money to extend the road through Lost Canyon when the right of way could be acquired. McKeon noticed a manzanita near tree #15 and questioned whether it would be cut down, removed, or transplanted. Mr. Rossberger said he would have an answer on Tuesday, February 16th, but suggested that new manzanita would grow better in the changed environment. Mr. Shanahan recommended against planning to transplant trees into the changed environment. Rossberger noted the small size of the manzanita root system. As the assembly progressed towards the Sand Canyon Road end of the property, Mr. Bolden observed that tree #4 must be cut to avoid the construction of an unsafe kink in what would be a narrow road. Tree #8 would be in a fill area. A tree labeled in pink near #4 is presently surrounded by a stone wall. Mayor McKeon observed that building a wide road over the cut into Sand Canyon would create, during rainstorms, a river going into Sand Canyon Road, with the paving increasing the problem, and suggested the Possibility that access could be via Lost Canyon. Adjourned Meeting • February 15, 1988 Page 3 The group then retraced the route back towards the northeast. McKeon asked Bolden why the houses planned for the site could not be clustered. Boyer asked why a condominium arrangement of ownership could not result in the undeveloped portions of the land being cared for, insofar, as brush clearance is required. Jack Butler, a nearby resident, raised the problem of access to the north being one lane under the railroad trestle, which is subject to flooding. Mayor McKeon asked for flexibility, stating he believed the City "could do a better project." Bolden said he wanted to abide by necessary safety standards. Boyer asked again what could be done if the two acre lots were averaged instead of being minimum in size. Bolden said there would be problems with the gas line easement and with the hills indicating that unstable soils existed away from the planned building sites. Owner Hope Briggs said the County had already granted an oak tree permit and it was vital that construction be allowed to proceed by the end of this year. Bolden said they still had to go to the architect prior to building, that Ms. Briggs had put up a great deal of money. McKeon asked if smaller lots would facilitate in relocating the road and in allowing access from Lost Canyon only. Bolden answered there would be trouble selling houses with only a trestle access. McKeon and Bolden discussed the safety issue of allowing a division of the road to go around the oak trees, as was done for other subdivisions. Bolden thanked the Council for giving him more than two minutes. McKeon asked if naming Comet Way after Mr. Greer might help. Ms.Briggs said timing was critical, "We won't make it with more delays." Her family was running out of money to put into the project with payments of $1800 per month just on the house on lot one. Bolden said the engineering bill alone had run to $200,000 to date. Adjourned Meeting February 15, 1988 Page 4 Boyer asked how long it would take to redraw the road(s) to go around the trees. Bolden said that could be done in a month, but there would have to be compensation for the additional work. He suggested more lots would be needed, and, among other things, another $50,000 would have to be spent on bonds if the project were to be started again. ADJOURNMENT At 10:11 a.m., Mayor McKeon adjourned the meeting to Wednesday, February 17, 6:30 p.m. at Arroyo Seco Junior High School. Howard "Bucg - McKeo� - Mayor Attest: E. Fredric Bien C City Clerk