August 16, 2007

City council meets late to determine flea market’s fate

Passes decorum measure for chambers

By Carol Rosen
Editor

Tuesday was a long day for city council members as they moved through several issues during the day and into an evening session that stretched far into the night.

Among the issues at hand was the fate of the nearly 50-year-old 120-acre flea market on Berryessa Road, which will close in 2010 to make way for more than 2,800 new homes. Under the measure, the extended time period will allow the city and the Bumb family, which owns the property, to find a new area to house the outdoor bazaar.

However, the cost of land coupled with the low vendor rents currently paid to the Bumbs could hamper efforts to find a new site. The council made several suggestions as to possible sites for the market including Singleton Road landfill, the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, which has been mentioned previously but is owned by the county, and southern Coyote Valley.

Among the attendees were a large number of vendors who carried signs asking council members to “Relocate, Don’t Terminate,” the flea market. The vendors are concerned that they could lose their incomes if the city and the Bumbs are unable to find a large enough area to replace the current site.

It was nearly 1 a.m. before the council voted 10-1 for the plan the Bumb family filed. The lone dissenting vote came from Councilmember Pete Constant, who felt there were too many additions to the plan for relocation, green building and affordable housing.

Etiquette rules
Earlier in the day, the council adopted a resolution stipulating a code of conduct for meetings in the council chambers and committee meeting rooms. The discussion concerns the proper behavior of the public and was especially concerned with disruption and food and drink.

The city has been using the rules for a long time. This resolution puts it down in black and white, said Mayor Chuck Reed.

Much of the discussion centered on what constitutes abusive language and whether it infringes on the right of free speech. City Attorney Rick Doyle, who wrote the new rules, explained that language that “impedes or disrupts” a meeting is no longer allowed.

The council rewrote the wording from the initial resolution, which had read “abusive language will not be tolerated” to “abusive language is not appropriate” but still held that if it disrupts or impedes the meeting, those responsible will be forced to leave.

“It’s still OK to say that Sam Liccardo is an idiot,” said the District 3 councilman who is also an attorney. “I don’t encourage it, but that is their right,” he added in answer to a question from Councilmember Forrest Williams that the new measure ”ensure that everyone still has freedom of speech except when they are disruptive. So a person can still boo as long as it doesn’t disrupt the meeting.”

Discussion then moved into the area of food and drink. Because people booking a committee room must fill out a reservation form that includes a question about food and drink, the committee rooms were deleted leaving only the council chambers.

Up to now, the public was banned from bringing food or drink into council chambers. However, Councilmember Judy Chirco asked that the public be allowed to bring bottled water with a top into council meetings.

Council members unanimously passed the measure. Among the changes, banners must be 2 feet by 3 feet and no larger; booing and hissing are allowed unless they disrupt or impede the meetings; shirts, shoes and other proper attire is required. In addition, the public must address the entire council and not single out one member, the new rules state.

In the past, some members of the public have singled out specific people with what could be termed embarrassing statements that had no actual connection to the council discussions.

Two public speakers came out opposed to the new rules. William Garbett, who often speaks “for the public” and whose dumping of dirt and mold on the chamber floor spurred the new rules, called them “uber-decisions from the fuhrer.” The second speaker, Stephen Hazel, said the new rules are “ridiculous” and that he can call on any council member he wants to.

The council also unanimously approved, with no discussion, a resolution enabling development at Sycamore Terrace, a 32-unit housing development located at the northeast corner of Almaden Expressway and Coleman Road. The zoning for the development passed in January but Barry Swenson Builder, the developer, could not make the project work. The council approved a funding commitment of up to $1.6 million to fund second mortgages for 16 moderate income buyers.

The resolution will bring more money into city coffers, said Lee Wilcox, staff director for Councilmember Nancy Pyle. In addition, the configuration of the development leaves land open for a trail connection between Almaden Lake Park and Los Alamitos Trail.