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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2012-03-28 (2) 0� MINUTES U CITY COUNCIL � O CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO c`4LIFO1 REGULAR MEETING MUNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING COMMUNITY ROOM 33 ARROYO DRIVE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012 CALL TO ORDER: TIME: 7:09 P.M. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Councilmembers Addiego, Matsumoto and Mullin, Vice Mayor Gonzalez and Mayor Garbarino. ABSENT: None. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by Mayor Garbarino. PRESENTATIONS • Proclamation honoring National Library Week 2012 accepted by Betty Battaglia, President, Library Board of Trustees. Presented by Councilwoman Matsumoto and accepted by Library Board of Trustees President, Betty Battaglia. • Certificates of Recognition in honor of El Camino Boys Basketball Team's CCS Accomplishments. Mayor Garbarino read aloud a Proclamation drafted in honor of the El Camino High School Boys Basketball team. Team Managers John Collins and Nick Reinke accepted the proclamation. John Collins spoke about the team's accomplishments and thanked Council, team staff, team members, team parents, school faculty, and City residents for their hard work, dedication and support. Councilwoman Matsumoto presented Certificates of Recognition to: players Brandon Halal, Alex Huerta and Francisco Serna. Councilman Addiego presented Certificates of Recognition to: players Truman Lee, Jason Rattaro, and Blake Turner. Councilman Mullin presented Certificates of Recognition to: Scorekeeper Kristina Wong, Mike Reilly, Athletic Director Jeff Cosico and Matt Azzopardi. Vice Mayor Gonzalez presented Certificates of Recognition to: players Michael Smith, Jalen Bitanga, and Anthony Knight. Mayor Garbarino presented Certificates of Recognition to: Head Coach Archie Junio, Assistant Coaches Mark Turner and Sonny Lau, and PAL MVP Elijah White. AGENDA REVIEW No changes. PUBLIC COMMENTS Wynn Gercich shared the website fluroideactionnetwork.com and talked about links between fluoridation, obesity and diabetes citing the book "The Slow Poisoning of America," by John & Michelle Erb. Bea Phillips, South San Francisco resident asked Council to reconsider its membership in the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives, now known as Local Government for Sustainability. ITEMS FROM COUNCIL • Announcements. • Committee Reports. Councilwoman Matsumoto first thanked the CERT team for their performance in the Silver Dragon Drill. She reported attendance of a region wide Graffiti Program with Parks and Recreation Director Sharon Ranals and Vice Mayor Gonzalez. She also attended the Senior Health Fair, where she learned of the RotaCare Clinics. The weekly clinics at Seton Medical Center and Shoreline Station provide free urgent care, X -rays, prescription drugs, immunizations, and healthcare referrals for patients with no health insurance. For more information, call (650) 991 -6046 or (650) 992 -4000. Also at the fair, she learned about a program called Muttville that rescued senior dogs from being euthanized. At SAMCEDA's Innovators: Awards of Excellence event, local biotech company Achaogen was a winner. Achaogen develops small molecule therapeutics to treat multi -drug resistant bacterial infections. LS9, Inc., also located in the City, was recently chosen as the winner of the Sustainable Biofuels Technology Award presented at the World Biofuels Markets Congress and Exhibition 2012 taking place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. She had hoped representatives from these companies could be invited to attend a council meeting and be formally recognized. She informed the public that El Charro Restaurant on Grand Avenue was closing and being replaced by a high -end Japanese restaurant. Lastly, Councilwoman Matsumoto asked to adjourn in memory of Fire Captain Anthony Ottoboni's brother -in -law Michael Casella and in memory of longtime resident John Masio. Councilman Addiego started his report by thanking Councilwoman Matsumoto for organizing the Third Annual Jazz by the Bay event. The Councilman, along with Mayor Garbarino, had REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 28, 2012 MINUTES PAGE 2 attended the ribbon cutting for the new Grocery Outlet located on Hickey Boulevard. He reported the owners were committed to the City and had already selected St. Vincent de Paul as a local charity they would be donating to. Councilman Addiego noted the shopping center, which had once been one of the saddest located in the City, was well on its way to becoming a destination for shopping and keeping with the neighborhood growth. Lastly, Councilman Addiego reported on attending a prep meeting for the upcoming Oversight Board Meeting scheduled for April 3. Councilman Mullin first thanked Councilman Addiego for serving on the Oversight Board. He reported on attending the Metropolitan Transportation Commission ( "MTC ") meeting. They had previously provided $1.5 million in early investment plan for the electrification of the Cal Train corridor by 2015 for the High Speed Rail system ( "HSR "). The investment was moving forward in spite of the fate of HSR. Improvements were said to make the system quieter and cleaner, a benefit for the entire corridor. Trains would not run faster but commute time would lessen due to start and stop times. Grade step funding was a big topic of discussion. Upgrades were of huge interest and importance to South San Francisco and Councilman Mullin wanted to assure the community that he would continue to advocate for the City. He and Councilwoman Matsumoto had participated in a conversation with the MTC regarding passing tracks and came away with a strong feeling they would wind up in Brisbane, South San Francisco and Millbrae as opposed to the southern side of the County. He wanted to be proactive about the situation and identify the different pots of money available to achieve the various modifications and upgrades needed. Councilwoman Matsumoto noted the grade set would definitely be needed if the plan goes through to shut off the Grand Avenue exit. Councilman Addiego felt it had been pointed out successfully that the other two (2) grade separations had been accomplished and the City was just looking for help with the one (1). Councilman Mullin expressed concern about a grant received from MTC which required matching funds from what was then RDA. A resolution was passed but no contract was signed and now the County was expecting the match to come from the General Fund. He had alerted County Supervisor Tissier about this and made it clear that some relief was wanted whether it be from the MTC or the County. It was his opinion the County had interest in cities developing in the right way and had the intent to work together with the cities to see this happen. That being the case, it was important to maximize the relationship and not lose momentum on the important projects the City has moving forward. Councilwoman Matsumoto could not stress enough how important it was to get out there right now and maximize the relationships with C /CAG, MTC and the County. If the City was not in on it the right way, North County may get shortchanged, as tends to be the case. Vice Mayor Gonzalez attended the Council of Cities business meeting with guest speaker Jim Arnette of the California HSR Authority. He reported other cities had no interest in having passing tracks in their city so, it seemed apparent the tracks would be located in the north part of the county. The report out of the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust ( "HEART ") meeting was a continued conversation about how to help cities who had lost RDA personnel. HEART was also trying to contract with an agency to help continue with affordable REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 28, 2012 MINUTES PAGE 3 housing efforts. 2012 -2013 dues for membership were proposed at $20,932 and hoped the City would continue its participation. After attending the program Stop Urban Blight, he thought perhaps the City could purchase more cameras to place in various locations as a way to deter crime. He mentioned an increase in email scams being perpetrated in the City and questioned if something could be done, some way to educate the people. Information Technology Director Hollis reported over 40,000 spam emails are transmitted. The best advice he could offer was to encourage people to research the emails within their circle before acting on it. Vice Mayor Gonzalez announced the upcoming Annual Easter Egg Hunt being held on March 31 at the Orange Park Playground. He also noted that registration for the Junior Giants Summer Program would begin on April 28. Schedules and one way faires for the ferry were announced by WETA and were reported as: adults $7, youth (5 -12) $3.50, seniors (65 +) $3.50, and children under 5 free. Lastly, he congratulated City Attorney Mattas and his firm Meyers Nave on being featured in Western City Magazine. Mayor Garbarino attended a meeting with Councilwoman Matsumoto, School Board President Judy Bush, and Board Trustee Liza Normandy where Mr. Steve Samuelian of California Consultants gave an excellent presentation on grant writing. Having noted his securing of several millions of dollars for many different entities, Mayor Garbarino and Councilwoman Matsumoto asked Mr. Samuelian if he could put something together for the City. He congratulated and thanked Councilwoman Matsumoto, Chief White, Elaine Garbarino, Donna Ochoa and other staff for their hard work on Jazz by the Bay; this year's event was the tops. Also attended was a student art show at Ponderosa Elementary and a Badge Ceremony for the South San Francisco Fire Department. He congratulated all of the promoted and noted William "Willie" Lemp, who had received badge number one (1), a badge number of great importance and significance. Lastly, Mayor Garbarino was informed AB 1585, sponsored by Assemblyman Perez, had passed the Assembly. This was a clean up bill from the RDA closures and was strongly supported by the League of California Cities. City Attorney Mattas confirmed and added the bill was set to be taken up by the Senate when they return from recess. So far, the Governor has not indicated his position on it. Councilwoman Matsumoto asked to adjourn the meeting in honor of Harry Cullen, a longtime resident and one of the original founders of the Police Athletic League ( "PAL "). CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Motion to approve the minutes of meetings of March 14, 2012. 2. Motion to approve expense claims of March 28, 2012. 3. Motion to cancel the regular City Council Meeting of April 11, 2012. 4. Resolution approving Amendment No. 7 to the Employment Agreement between the City of South San Francisco and Barry M. Nagel for service as City Manager. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 28, 2012 MINUTES PAGE 4 5. Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute the Funding Agreement with the San Mateo County Transportation Authority for construction of the South San Francisco Sharrow and Stripping Program, amending the 2011 -2012 Capital Improvement Program to include the South San Francisco Sharrow and Stripping Program and appropriating funds for the project in the amount of $116,000. Motion - Vice Mayor Gonzalez /Second - Councilman Addiego: to approve the consent calendar. Unanimously approved by voice vote. PUBLIC HEARING 6. Minor Amendments - Zoning Ordinance City of South San Francisco /Applicant/ Owner Citywide P07 -0036: ZA11 -0009 City -wide Zoning Ordinance - Consideration of Planning Commission's Recommendation on Proposed Amendments to South San Francisco Municipal Code Chapter 20 - Zoning Ordinance - to provide regulations for retail establishments selling tobacco products and tobacco paraphernalia as their primary business, in accordance with the provisions of SSFMC Chapter 20.550. Motion to waive reading and introduce the ordinance Public Hearing opened at 8:08 p.m. The staff report was presented by Associate Planner Linda Ajello. The purpose of the regulation was to address concerns of the compatibility of "significant tobacco retailers" with current permitted uses and the City's long term planning goals. Furthermore it was intended to reduce exposure and illegal sale of products to minors and the threat to public health, safety and welfare. Option "A" included regulations and Option `B" was to prohibit the opening of further establishments. Planner Ajello went over the specifics of each option. Mayor Garbarino asked for public comments. Being none, he closed the public hearing at 8:14 and called for Council discussion. Councilwoman Matsumoto confirmed there were only two (2) such establishments in the City, one in the Brentwood area and the other on Grand Avenue. Her questions was about the definition of "significant tobacco retailer," and why the percentage needed to be considered such was so small (20 %). Attorney Mattas stated if he understood correctly, it was setting a lower threshold. Councilwoman Matsumoto understood, realizing she had the figures transposed. She also questioned the significance of the sales tax revenue. What was the high and low end? Assistant City Manager Van Duyn reported it as being in the low five (5) figures, at the maximum. Councilwoman Matsumoto asked about the ability to charge an additional fee during licensing to help with the clean up of tobacco related litter. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 28, 2012 MINUTES PAGE 5 Attorney Mattas said that matter would have to be taken to the voter, as a business license is considered a tax. The Councilwoman thanked staff for their work on the ordinance and voiced her support for Option A. Vice Mayor Gonzalez questioned the distance requirement of 600 feet and asked why it could not be larger, perhaps 1000 feet. Based on the map, the Vice Mayor's concern was that there was still a lot of available space for stores using the lower distance requirement. Planner Ajello said the distance was set to remain consistent with other regulations used in the City. The map was reviewed again; orange areas represented "not permitted," yellow areas represented "permitted." Councilman Mullin asked if the 600 ft distance had been used in other ordinances as an anti - clustering effort. Planner Ajello noted the areas that could still have shops included the lower Lindenville area, but not too much more than that. If Council wanted to modify the distance, it could be done. Attorney Mattas noted Council could ban them altogether and the situation was different from the marijuana issue dealt with prior. Vice Mayor Gonzalez stated if that were the case, then he felt two stores within the City were enough and he did not want any more. Councilman Addiego felt if the City was offended by the businesses it should go ahead and ban them outright. If Council wanted to be pure of heart we could walk away from that type of tax dollar. Councilwoman Matsumoto wanted to clarify the sale of tobacco products was not being prohibited, just the establishment of new significant tobacco retailers. Councilman Mullin felt it was sufficient enough to pursue smart regulation, keeping new establishments out of residential areas and relegated to industrial areas only. He did not support an outright ban. Attorney Mattas made two (2) points of clarification, 1) the 600 feet requirement stems from the Ordinance related to adult businesses; and 2) the proposed Ordinance only affects significant tobacco retailers as defined. Tobacco products would still be available at other retailers such as grocery stores. Councilman Addiego recalled how when a tobacco retailer had moved into a neighborhood in the past, you could sense a change in that neighborhood. He was fine with the two (2) locations we had, but was also fine with prohibiting any more from coming in. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 28, 2012 MINUTES PAGE 6 Councilwoman Matsumoto agreed about how such an establishment changes the feel of a neighborhood. Mayor Garbarino was of the opinion that the City already had two too many and agreed with a ban of future establishments. Vice Mayor Gonzalez restated his preference to ban them altogether. Mayor Garbarino stated if he was reading the map correctly there were areas still available in Lindenville, which is not on the east side of U.S. 101. Planner Ajello stated he was correct and that there were also areas east of U.S.101 available for further establishments. Councilman Mullin felt if regulatory action was taken this evening, the concerns stemming from the Brentwood neighborhood would be addressed and further shops would be prohibited from opening in residential areas. In his opinion, the regulations crafted by staff made sense to him. He asked Planner Ajello what the Planning Commission had decided. Planner Ajello said at first the Commission was split, but then favored regulation. With that, Councilman Mullin restated his position to uphold the Commissions decision and though he did not support the stores themselves, he would not support an outright ban on future establishments. Councilman Addiego felt tobacco companies were well oiled machines who, in the past, had offered stipends to retailers who displayed posters or placed cigarettes at the front counter, lending them to theft more easily and thus creating new smokers. Retailers did not care because they had already made their money. The statistics were that lower priced product would result in a 4% increase for adults and 6.8% for youth. Retailers push sale and it may be time for Council to push back. Councilman Mullin understood, but commented cigarettes were still available for purchase at numerous locations in the City; banning new stores would not alter access or behavior. Instead, what was being said was that we do not like businesses that cater to that need. Councilman Addiego saw it differently and thought that by allowing further establishments, we are allowing someone to come in and see cheaper cigarettes. Motion - Councilwoman Matsumoto /Second- Councilman Addiego: to waive read an Ordinance adding Chapter 20.420 to the South San Francisco Municipal Code, prohibiting the operation of new significant tobacco retailers. Unanimously approved by voice vote. Motion - Councilwoman Matsumoto /Second - Councilman Addiego: to introduce an Ordinance adding Chapter 20.420 to the South San Francisco Municipal Code, prohibiting the operation of new significant tobacco retailers. AYES: Councilmembers Addiego and Matsumoto, Vice Mayor Gonzalez and Mayor Garbarino. NOES: Councilman Mullin. ABSENT: None. ABSTAIN: None. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 28, 2012 MINUTES PAGE 7 COMMUNITY FORUM Councilwoman Matsumoto requested a report on HEART containing information about the advantages of continuing City involvement. Now that RDA is no longer, what is the advantage, what do the get back besides regional partnership? ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, Mayor Garbarino adjourned the meeting at 8:42 p.m. in honor of Michael Casella, John Masio and Harry Cullen. Submitted: Approved: / / 1,k , U..k7eL Iv/ dame Anna M. Brown, Deputy City Clerk Richard A. GarbarinI, Mayor City of South San Francisco City of South San Francisco REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 28, 2012 MINUTES PAGE 8