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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2015-04-08 @7:00 o,5xs�p MINUTES � ti CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO c9 REGULAR MEETING MUNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING COUNCIL CHAMBERS 33 ARROYO DRIVE SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER TIME: 7:00 P.M. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Councilmembers Gupta Matsumoto and Normandy, Vice Mayor Addiego and Mayor Garbarino. ABSENT: None. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Garbarino. AGENDA REVIEW The City Manager Recommended that Item 7 be postponed. Council agreed. PRESENTATIONS • Certificate of Appreciation presented to Police Sgt. Adam Plank (Councilwoman Normandy). Councilwoman Normandy presented a slideshow of photographs detailing the Safe Harbor Community Outreach Program, which was implemented by the Councilwoman and Sgt. Plank. She thanked the many community partners that participated in the Program, including, Best Western Plus Grosvenor Inn, Costco El Camino Real, Costco Airport Boulevard, CSCA, Lowes, Magnolia Senior Center, the Ramada, Everything South City, the Daily Journal, City staff, neighbors and other members of the community. Councilwoman Normandy proceeded to present a Certificate of Appreciation to Sgt. Plank for his dedication to the program. • Proclamation honoring National Library Week (April 12-18, 2015), accepted by Pat FitzPatrick, Library Board President. Councilwoman Matsumoto presented the Proclamation recognizing National Library Week as April 12-18, 2015. Library Board President Pat FitzPatrick accepted the Proclamation and thanked Council for its continued support of the Library and its numerous programs. • Proclamation recognizing William A. Nack presented by Mayor Garbarino. Mayor Garbarino presented the Proclamation to Mr. Nack in honor of his retirement and many years of service to working families in San Mateo County. Mr. Nack accepted the Proclamation with gratitude and thanked Council for championing policies supporting working families over the years. • Proclamation recognizing California Safe Digging Month (April 2015) and encouraging all excavators, homeowners, and professional contractors to call 811 in advance of all digging projects. (Brian McMinn, Public Works Director). Councilman Gupta presented the Proclamation recognizing Safe Digging Month as April 2015 to Public Works Director Brian McMinn. Director McMinn thanked Council for recognizing this important safety oriented campaign and introduced Mr. Hart of PG&E. Mr. Hart spoke of the importance of the 811 Program and encouraged contractors to use the number before digging in the local area. • Presentation on Smoke Free Multi-Unit Housing (Karen Licavoli, Breathe California. Requested by Mayor Garbarino.) Karen Licavoli from Breathe California gave a presentation to Council on the Smoke Free Multi- Unit Housing Policy. She encouraged Council to support the policy, which had already been accepted by several cities in the county. Olga Rodon,Natalie Andrade and Atillo Lambino spoke in support of the policy, noting the dangers of second hand smoke. In response to a question from Councilwoman Normandy, Ms. Licavoli advised that marijuana smoking was not included in the current version of the policy, but the City could choose to include it if it adopted such a policy. • Proposition 47 presented by San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. (Chief of Police Azzopardi) The Honorable San Mateo County District Attorney, Steve Wagstaffe, provided a presentation to Council on the implementation of Proposition 47, which affected criminal sentences and changed certain felony crimes into misdemeanors. District Attorney Wagstaffe advised the Proposition served its intended function as jail populations in the County were down substantially. He confirmed however, that the reduction in sentencing severity has led to issues of recidivism and untreated drug and mental health conditions. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 8,2015 MINUTES PAGE 2 Councilmembers stressed the importance of drug and mental health treatment programs to minimize the impact of the Proposition on the community. PUBLIC COMMENTS Resident Valerie Lambertson representing the North Peninsula Branch of the American Association of University Women announced the Equal Pay Luncheon that would take place on Friday, April 17th in Millbrae. The event would be attended by the Honorable Congresswoman Jackie Speier and would feature an original Rosie the Riveter as a guest speaker. COUNCIL COMMENTS/REQUESTS Councilmembers agreed to hold-off on comments until the end of the meeting in order to accommodate the large agenda. For the benefit of the Public, Vice Mayor Addiego updated time information for the Vietnam Memorial Living Wall Event at Golden Gate National Cemetery. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Motion approving the Minutes of meetings of March 25, 2015. 2. Motion confirming payment registers for April 8, 2015. 3. Resolution 23-2015 authorizing the acceptance of $15,000 in grant funding from the San Mateo County Human Services Agency to support digital literacy programming at Library and Parks and Recreation Departments' after school homework program sites and amending the Library Department's 2014-2015 Operating Budget. (Valerie Sommer, Library Director). 4. Resolution 24-2015 rejecting all bids for the Municipal Services Building Atrium Restroom Modernization Project (Project No. pfl 509). (Sam Bautista, Principal Engineer). Item 2: Council requested clarification with respect to an item paid to Group 4 Architecture. Library Director Sommer advised Group Four Architecture was being asked to adjust and modify certain plans that were outside the scope of the initial project. Item 3: At the request of Councilman Gupta, Library Director Sommer clarified that approximately 90 children would be helped by the Digital Literacy Program. Item 4: Council encouraged staff to stay on top of bid estimate practices so as to avoid this type of bid rejection circumstance in the future. Motion—Vice Mayor Addiego/Second—Councilman Gupta: to approve the Consent Calendar. Unanimously approved by roll call vote. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 8,2015 MINUTES PAGE 3 LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS 5. Motion to waive reading and adopt Ordinance No. 1499-2015 amending Chapter 11.24 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code to prohibit the intentional obstruction of pedestrian traffic upon sidewalks. (Steve Mattas, City Attorney). City Attorney Mattas presented the staff report recommending adoption of the proposed ordinance that had been previously introduced and vetted. He advised the ordinance was being brought back for adoption a second time after Council requested additional information pertinent to enforcement guidelines at the previous meeting where adoption was considered. Enforcement guidelines were included in Council's packet for review and staff was available to answer questions. In response to questions from Vice Mayor Addiego, Sgt. Plank advised the ticket for a violation would be an infraction. Incidents and fines would continue to mount until the person committing the violation ceased the intentionally interfering condition. Sgt. Plank also responded that he believed this ordinance would provide the Police Department with a necessary tool. Vice Mayor Addiego expressed regret that conditions in the City had come to the point where such an Ordinance was necessary but determined to support the Police Department. Motion— Vice Mayor Addiego/Second— Councilman Gupta: to waive reading and adopt Ordinance No. 1499-2015. Unanimously approved by Roll Call vote. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS 6. Resolution No 25-2015 authorizing the City Manager to execute a Consulting Services Agreement with CSG Consultants, Inc. of San Mateo, California, in an amount not to exceed $126,556 for design of the Junipero Serra Boulevard and King Drive Intersection Improvements (Project No. tr1501). (Lawrence Henriquez, Assoc. Civil Engineer). Associate Civil Engineer Henriquez presented the staff report recommending approval of a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Consulting Services Agreement with CSG Consultants, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $126,556 for design of the Junipero Serra Boulevard and King Drive Intersection Improvements. Engineer Henriquez advised that some of the services that would be provided included the preliminary design tasks, bidding assistance and construction support services. In response to Council questions regarding plans for the intersection, Engineer Henriquez advised design services and improvements were expected to include a change to lay out, removal of islands, removal of traffic signal poles and obstructions in order to improve pedestrian and traffic flow. Councilmembers encouraged staff to seek design consistency along Junipero Serra Boulevard and specifically referenced the Hickey Boulevard intersection. Motion— Councilman Gupta/Second— Councilwoman Normandy: to approve Resolution No. 25- 2015. Unanimously approved by Roll Call vote. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 8,2015 MINUTES PAGE 4 7. Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute plan review and inspection services agreements with 1) CSG Consultants Inc., in the amount of $400,000 and 2) West Coast Code Consultants Inc., in the amount of$200,000. (Alex Greenwood, ECD Director). Item not Heard. 8. Resolution No. 26-2015 authorizing an application for the City Council of the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program in the amount of $7,728,625 to support Pedestrian and Bicycle Linkages from Downtown to the relocated Caltrain Station. (Alex Greenwood, Economic and Community Development Director). Director of Economic and Community Development Greenwood presented the staff report recommending that Council approve a Resolution authorizing submission of a grant application for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program in the amount of $7,728,625 to support Pedestrian and Bicycle Linkages from Downtown to the relocated Caltrain Station. Director Greenwood advised receipt of the grant would permit bicycle and transit improvements on Airport Boulevard and in the Downtown. Councilwoman Matsumoto requested quarterly reports on grant applications city-wide. Motion— Councilman Gupta/Second— Councilwoman Normandy: to approve Resolution No. 26- 2015. Unanimously approved by Roll Call vote. 9. Resolution No. 27-2015 authorizing the City Manager to execute a Consulting Services Agreement with Helio Energy Solutions of San Francisco, California, for the South San Francisco/San Bruno Water Quality Control Plant Web-Based Monitoring and PredictEnergy Advance Analytics Upgrade Project in an amount not to exceed $219,728.00. (Brian Schumacker, WQCP Superintendent). Superintendent of the Water Quality Control Plant Schumacker presented the staff report recommending that Council approve a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Consulting Services Agreement with Helio Energy Solutions of San Francisco, California, for the South San Francisco/San Bruno Water Quality Control Plant Web-Based Monitoring and PredictEnergy Advance Analytics Upgrade Project in an amount not to exceed $219,728.00. Director Schumacker advised future energy project proposals would include photovoltaic and solar options. He advised that while an RFP for the project was issued, Helio was the only company that submitted a bid. Councilman Gupta requested that staff proceed with caution in matters such as this where one company submits the sole bid. Motion— Councilman Gupta/Second— Councilwoman Normandy: to approve Resolution No. 26- 2015. Unanimously approved by Roll Call vote. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 8,2015 MINUTES PAGE 5 PUBLIC HEARING 10. Consideration of a Negative Declaration (ND14-0001) and an Amendment to the General Plan (GPA14-0001) to adopt the 2015-2022 Housing Element, and acceptance of 2014 Housing Element Annual Progress Report, in accordance with South San Francisco Municipal Code Chapters 20.460 and 20.540. (Tony Rozzi, Senior Planner). Senior Planner Rozzi introduced key features of the new Housing Element focusing on state required updates to the General Plan, Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), new zoning capacity, and housing opportunity sites. Planner Rozzi expanded on his presentation touching on local assessment and direction from the Airport Land Use Commission, Planning Commission and City Council, as well as the Department of Housing and Community Development's evaluation. Given the positive progress report from the existing Housing Element, staff recommended to proceed with a Negative Declaration and amendment to the City's General Plan to update the Housing Element accordingly. Public Hearing opened: 9:03 P.M. Tracy Choi, a representative from the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County, communicated her appreciation for staff's efforts to bring the new Housing Element to fruition. Resident John Penna addressed Council and encouraged lowering the minimum lot size in order to accommodate the growing community. Paul Stewart of the San Mateo County Association of Realtors, expressed support for accepting the Annual Progress Report, proceeding with the Negative Declaration and incorporating the Amendment to the General Plan. Stewart encouraged the production of housing in innovative and organic ways to promote more housing stock and home ownership, while discouraging punitive measures such as rent control and rent stabilization. Public Hearing closed: 9:10 P.M. Councilman Gupta stated he supports creating new housing supply and consequently lowering the number of condominium units for new housing developments. He highlighted the focus on supply and demand, noting the economy's growth and pricing. Gupta mentioned the difficulties surrounding insufficient supply, and stated the City needs to accommodate this with innovative solutions to existing housing stock such as home sharing programs. Councilwoman Matsumoto asked for clarification regarding the Housing Element sites. Senior Planner Rozzi replied with the zoning specifications and density requirements for certain districts. Councilwoman Matsumoto encouraged parking reduction to utilize space more efficiently and make the new BART Station as accessible as possible. Vice Mayor Addiego expressed his concern over ownership to rental statistics. He encouraged staff to study the possibility of converting properties into different types of affordable housing for young families. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 8,2015 MINUTES PAGE 6 Councilman Gupta added to his previous statements that after some consideration he believes that a higher number of condos could have a positive impact on the community. He also discussed rental properties and measures other cities are taking to encourage home ownership. Mayor Garbarino requested that staff conduct a study investigating ramifications of increased and decreased condominium unit numbers, in addition to taking another look at the lot size recommendation. Planner Rozzi clarified that there is some flexibility to study this, but noted that it gets very complicated with smaller lots. Garbarino concluded the discussion stating that although he appreciates the idea of it, there are lingering issues surrounding parking space reductions such as efficient public transportation juxtaposed with a consistently high volume of car ownership and daily usage. Motion — Councilwoman Matsumoto/Second — Councilwoman Normandy: to adopt Resolution No. 28-2015. Unanimously approved by roll call vote. Motion—Councilmember Gupta/Second—Vice Mayor Addiego: to adopt Resolution No. 29-2015. Unanimously approved by roll call vote. 11. Zoning Text Amendment to SSFMC Chapter 20.360 to revise regulations and permitting for signs citywide in accordance with South San Francisco Municipal Code Chapter 20.550. (Billy Gross, Senior Planner). CONTINUED TO A DATE CERTAIN FROM REGULAR MEETING OF MARCH 11, 2015. Senior Planner Gross presented the staff report detailing the proposed regulations concerning special circumstances sign revisions, revisions to the allowable area for awning and wall signs, usage of sandwich board (A-frame) signs, and other clarifying language changes. He stated that staff recommended that Council adopt an Ordinance amending the Zoning Code regarding signs. Public Hearing opened: 9:55 P.M. Small business owner Meredith Lance from Bitters and Bottles on Grand Avenue implored Council to support small businesses by supporting the sandwich board ordinance. She explained that these types of signs are an accessible, affordable, and efficient way to communicate with consumers in the community. She expressed confidence in the Permitting Process standards and regulations outlined by the Planning Department, stating that it would ensure a tidy, navigable street environment. Small business owner Joe Barwin, co-owner of Bitters and Bottles, highlighted the importance of this sign ordinance to independent businesses in the Downtown Area. He referenced statistical information supporting the request for sandwich board signs and said that this is imperative to business and community growth. Public Hearing closed: 9:59 P.M. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 8,2015 MINUTES PAGE 7 Vice Mayor Addiego asked about the fees for the three (3) different sign types and classifications, noting that they seemed a bit high considering the prices of the proposed sandwich boards. Councilwoman Matsumoto questioned the feasibility of sandwich boards against the proposed regulations and processes in addition to the potential issues, dangers and lawsuits. City Attorney Mattas clarified that the business owners' insurance would be responsible, and that the City is indemnified from responsibility. Mayor Garbarino agreed that the fee structure should be adjusted and that the process should be made a little easier for business owners. Councilman Gupta stated he did not support sandwich boards due to the pedestrian impediments posed. Motion — Vice Mayor Addiego/Second — Mayor Garbarino: to waive reading and introduce an Ordinance to revise regulations and permitting for signs citywide in accordance with South San Francisco Municipal Code Chapter 20.550. Ayes: Vice Mayor Addiego and Mayor Garbarino. Noes: Councilman Gupta, Councilwoman Matsumoto, and Councilwoman Normandy. Abstain: None. Absent: None. Motion —Councilman Gupta/Second — Councilwoman Normandy: to waive reading and introduce an Ordinance to revise regulations and permitting for signs citywide in accordance with South San Francisco Municipal Code Chapter 20.550 excluding A-frame signs (sandwich boards). Unanimously approved by roll call vote. 12. Appeal of the Planning Commission's denial of use permit and design review to allow the substitution of a legally established nonconforming use (auto repair) with another nonconforming use (service station convenience market) within an existing service station at 221 Airport Blvd in the Downtown Core (DC) Zoning District in accordance with SSFMC Chapter 20.570.004. (Billy Gross, Senior Planner). MOTION TO CONTINUE HEARING TO MAY 13, 2015. Public Hearing opened: 10:31 P.M. Public Hearing closed: 10:31 P.M. Motion—Vice Mayor Addiego/Second—Councilwoman Normandy: to continue hearing to May 13, 2015. Unanimously approved by roll call vote. ITEMS FROM COUNCIL—COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Vice Mayor Addiego expressed concern over the amount of Police Department resources being used to attend to issues related to homeless persons, which issues he believes are best addressed by County Health and other health professionals. Councilmembers agreed the issue had risen to concerning levels. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 8,2015 PAGE 8 MINUTES Councilwoman Matsumoto requested that staff submit its short term strategic plans for the next few years along with the next budget cycle. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, Mayor Garbarino adjourned the meeting at 10:55 P.M.AS : i es by Approved b•Ai Amor Ai Krist- art' City 2 Ri Garbarino, Mayor ity of So 4 th San Francisco City of South San Francisco REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING PAGE APRIL 8,2015 5 MINUTES