Los Altos beefs up claims ordinance
A one-year statute of limitations for all tort claims against the city of Los Altos takes effect April 14. The addition to the tort claims ordinance further requires the filing of an administrative tort claim for a previously exempted category, the taking of or damage to private property.
Compliance with the ordinance will be a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit against the city after the effective date. A tort claim not filed within the one-year statute of limitations will bar a lawsuit.
The city council last week unanimously passed the requirement at the recommendation of the city’s risk manager. The item was introduced on the consent calendar and further reading was waived. Human Resources Manager J. Logan’s report to the council stated that cities that have enacted such an ordinance “have avoided altogether or greatly diminished their liability for such tort claims.”
Planners seat new members
Ken Lorell and Kitty Uhlir took their seats on the Los Altos Planning Commission Thursday night. Randall Hull became the chairman, and Kate Disney, serving her eighth and final year, became vice chairwoman.
The commission’s six members are in search of a seventh as the city re-advertises to fill the seat the city council declined to pull out for Ken Girdley, vice chairman of the Historical Commission.
Hull said the deadline for new applications is April 14. The city clerk plans to schedule candidate interviews after that date.
LAH council approves riding ring funds
The town riding ring could benefit from nearly $50,000 in state park bond funds as a result of the Los Altos Hills City Council’s unanimous approval of the application at their March 9 meeting.
The Los Altos Hills Horsemen’s Association, which maintains the ring, has amended its agreement with the town, a requirement the council made after preliminary approval of the funding in November. The new agreement ensures greater public use and control of the ring, a qualification for projects seeking park bond eligibility.
The ring, threatened with closure only months ago, has now received active support from the city council. In a bid to expedite renovation of the ring, the council directed staff to see if the town could spend money now and receive park bond funds as reimbursement later.
State bond funding at the town’s other equine facility was a subject of heated debate at the same council meeting. Ineligibility for state funding was one of the primary reasons given by the council’s ad hoc committee when it recommended removing Friends of Westwind from leadership of the barn. Until governance of the barn is resolved, the council said that no public funds, or application for bond funding, would be approved for Westwind Barn.
School redistricting recommended for LAH
Formation of an independent school district in Los Altos Hills will be the hot topic at Thursday’s council meeting, scheduled for
6 p.m. at town hall.
The Public Education Committee plans to recommend forming a kindergarten through eighth-grade district that will feed students into Palo Alto Unified School District high schools.
An alternative, a kindergarten through 12th-grade district with the option of transferring to either Mountain View-Los Altos Union or Palo Alto high schools, may also be discussed.
LAH begins search for city manager
The Los Altos Hills City Council March 9 unanimously approved the selection of William Avery & Associates, an executive search firm based in Los Gatos, to assist with the search for a new city manager.
Los Altos used Avery Associates in 2000 to assist with hires, including Planning Director James Walgren and Public Works Director Jim Porter. The firm has also assisted with the search for other local city managers, including Atherton’s in 2001.
No signals planned at Arastradero Road
Arastradero Road in Los Altos Hills should remain free of traffic lights, according to the most recent traffic survey by Palo Alto.
Los Altos Hills City Engineer Henry Louie reported the results of the not-yet-finalized survey to the city council March 9. He said that Palo Alto is looking at other locations for the traffic mitigation required to ease the impact of Stanford’s Mayfield development project.
LAH initiates annexation
The Los Altos Hills City Council March 9 approved prezoning portions of the unincorporated San Antonio Hills area south of town and directed staff to begin the annexation process, contingent on a successful sewer agreement with Los Altos.
The 192 parcels of the San Antonio Hills area represent the largest of the town’s unincorporated satellites, and much of the land has already been prezoned.
The council voted to prezone 82 parcels with lot sizes averaging one-fourth of an acre despite the Planning Commission’s re-commendation against the proposal. The commission’s concern was that nonconforming lot sizes might conflict with the town’s
1-acre minimum ordinance.
