Meeting Minutes
January 23, 2001
PRESENT: Council Members Chavez, Cortese, Dando, Diquisto, LeZotte, Reed, Shirakawa; Williams, Yeager; Gonzales.
ABSENT: Council Members – None.
VACANT: District 5.
STAFF: City Manager Del Borgsdorf, Aviation Director Ralph Tonseth, Assistant to the City Manager Deanna Santana, Deputy City Manager Jesus Nava, City Attorney Richard Doyle, Mayor’s Budget Analyst James Webb, Jr., Assistant to the Mayor, Jennifer Phillips, Assistant City Clerk Nancy Alford, and Legislative Secretary Doris Casey.
Documents filed: Refer to Item 8.1 in the minutes of the January 23, 2001 City Council meeting for documents filed for this item.
STUDY SESSION ON A PROPOSED MINOR AMENDMENT TO THE
AIRPORT MASTER PLAN
Mayor Gonzales convened the Council of the City of San José in a Special Study Session at 7:05 p.m. to discuss the Administration’s proposal for a Minor Amendment to the Airport Master Plan to modify the description and scheduling of terminal area development projects and discussion of making technical amendments to the San José Municipal Code to conform the description of terminal area improvements in the Master Plan to the Minor Amendments that have been approved to date, and to replace reference to “chapter” with “part” to clarify Council intent to obtain voter approval for amendment of the Airport Traffic Relief provisions specified in Part 4 of Chapter 25.04 of the San José Municipal Code.
Mayor Gonzales stated the only item for discussion tonight is the proposed amendment to the Airport Master Plan and the purpose of the Study Session is to hear the Staff presentation on its proposal for a new facility configuration, to hear Council’s questions and to receive public comments, after which Council will follow up on issues raised by the speakers. He stated that questions have been asked by Council Members and by the community regarding the compliance of any construction plan with the City’s Airport Traffic Relief Act (ATRA) which was adopted by Council in December 1999. Based on his past commitments and of that City Council as embodied in the ordinance, he stated he cannot support any improvement plan unless he believes it conforms with that ordinance. To ensure moving in that direction, he recommended that any final action on this item be deferred from the scheduled January 30, 2001 meeting until Staff can return to Council with an implementation plan that allows the City to build any new airport facility in compliance with the City’s ATRA ordinance. In the future, when Staff is ready, he stated Council will hold a Special Study Session that focuses on the construction plans, related issues and its conformance with that ordinance, and to allow further public comment. He stated this approach will allow all concerned parties more time and information to hear and better understand the proposed changes at the airport before Council makes any decisions and will allow Staff more time for development of a construction implementation that is in compliance with the City ordinance. He stated Council is committed to listen to the concerns of the public as the City works through the difficult and important issues related to the necessary improvements at the airport, and will result in making the best possible decision on this complex and sensitive issue for the benefit of the airport and its neighbors, airport passengers and the entire community.
The Staff presentation was given by Direction of Aviation, Ralph Tonseth, with assistance from Project Design Manager Douglas Jones, who presented the Strategic Vision for the Airport Terminal Plan, with the aid of overhead slides.
Council Member Dando expressed concerns about the level of service pertaining to transportation at the airport and requested Staff report back with an analysis at the main entrances to the airport. Council Member Dando stated she likes the single terminal concept, however, questioned the adequacy of space for holding lounges and for the Airport People Mover (APM). Responding to questions by Council Member Dando, Director Tonseth stated the APM sits above the terminal and does not count against the square footage total and the holding lounges will be tighter than would be ideal, however, the 775,000 square footage approved by Council for this project case in the Master Plan will all be used by the 31 gates and construction also must comply with the additional requirements of the ATRA ordinance. Responding to questions about any additional future expansion, he stated 1,250,000 square feet was environmentally approved for the project case originally presented to Council and any future considerations beyond the 775,000 approved for the current project would be at the discretion of the City Council.
Council Member Yeager asked Staff to explain how the proposed project qualifies as a minor amendment and conforms to the ATRA ordinance. City Attorney Doyle stated there is on-going discussion about what is meant by the term “expansion” in the ATRA ordinance, that the focus from City Staff in their report is on the number of gates, and that additional information will be coming forward on the issues that still have to be addressed.
Council Member Chavez questioned whether aircraft changes warrant reassessment of the curfew weight restrictions and implications to the noise factor as it pertains to the original Environmental Impact Report (EIR). City Attorney Doyle stated the entire EIR is based on assumptions that the existing curfew is in place and will remain in place, that the curfew was “grandfathered” in under Federal law and changing it would be extremely difficult if not impossible. Aviation Director Tonseth stated a larger aircraft does not automatically imply a louder aircraft and because this is a point which is much in contention today, Council has encouraged the Administration to work aggressively with national organizations and other agencies to facilitate the early phase out of the older technology Stage 3 aircraft and the hush-kitted former Stage 2 aircraft which now operate as Stage 3 and that the airport industry is making progress in that regard.
Council Member Chavez expressed concerns about giving the broadest possible exposure of the proposal to those who use and live around the airport, and about operationalizing the triggers as related to traffic mitigation. Aviation Director Tonseth stated the next step is to present the minor amendment proposal to Council, that after receiving direction from Council and evaluating input from this session, the conceptual idea will go into the design phase, where the individual components will be developed and modeled to present to Council, and before Council is asked to award the project or authorize the budget and the Capital Improvement Program, detailed information will be provided. In response to questions from Council Member Dando, Aviation Director Tonseth stated the proposal has been before the Airport Commission, which supports the proposal. Stating that Staff will come back at a future date for another Special Council Study Session where there will be opportunity for further public comments, as well as conducting meetings in various neighborhoods; Mayor Gonzales opened the meeting to public testimony and the following individuals spoke on the subject proposal: Jonathan Keim, Plumbers Local 793; David Pandori, Airport Traffic Reliance Alliance, William Garbett, Scott Soper, Yolanda Reynolds, Carl Honaker, Airport Commissioner; Pamela Tsiqdinos, College Park Neighborhood Association; Noel Tebo, Airport Commissioner, Shirley Lewis, Hyatt San José Hotel; Joseph J. Fota, David Wadley, and Jim Harper, San José Chamber of Commerce.
Mayor Gonzales stated as is normal in discussions about the airport, issues are wide ranging, and he emphasized the discussions today have concerned the configuration of the facility and the proposal brought forward by the Administration, and that Council is committed to seeing that improvements at the Airport are consistent with the Master Plan and with the City ordinance approved in December 1999. He stated Council is asking Staff to defer action on this item from the January 30, 2001 Council agenda and return to Council with an Implementation Plan that allows the City to build a new facility in a way that is in compliance with the City’s ATRA ordinance. He stated while there is no timeframe for when that plan would come back, Council is aware of the great amount of interest in the community and is asking the City Manager to ensure that Staff makes every effort to be sensitive to and support the community surrounding the airport, and to take an active role by making public outreach in both the neighborhoods and at the airport a top priority.
The Study Session was adjourned at 8:38 p.m.
NANCY ALFORD
ASSISTANT CITY CLERK