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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2021-07-26 @6:00H SAN MINUTES H SPECIAL MEETING U O CITY COUNCIL c�UFOR��P CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO MONDAY, JULY 26, 2021 6:00 p.m. Hybrid In-PersonNirtual Meeting City Council conducted this meeting in-person and remotely via the ZOOM virtual meeting platform in accordance with California Governor Newsom 's Executive Orders N-29-20 and N-63-20 and COVID-19 pandemic protocols. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Addiego called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Councilmember Coleman, present in Council Chambers Councilmember Flores, participated via Zoom Councilmember Nicolas, present in Council Chambers Vice Mayor Nagales, present in Council Chambers Mayor Addiego, present in Council Chambers AGENDA REVIEW No changes. PUBLIC COMMENTS Members of the public were encouraged to submit public comments in writing in advance of the meeting via eComment or during the meeting via Zoom. None. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS Study Session regarding the Outdoor Dining Pilot Program as authorized under the current proclamation of a local health emergency (adopted pursuant to Resolution No. 35-2020). (Christopher Espiritu, Senior Planner and Tony Rozzi, Chief Planner) Director of Economic and Community Development Greenwood provided an overview of the Outdoor Dining Pilot Program. Senior Planner Espiritu provided an overview of the program and indicated that the City Council established the Outdoor Dining Pilot Program in July 2020 to allow restaurants to maintain some level of revenue and activity while Shelter -In -Place (SIP) regulations prevented indoor dining. The Council approved two revisions on October 14, 2020, and March 10, 2021. Due to the second SIP restriction in winter 2020, these adjustments were granted to give businesses more time to operate outside dining spaces. California retired its Blueprint for a Safer Economy (Color -Tiered System) on June 15, 2021. It reopened all business sectors, including restaurants, retail malls, movie theaters, and most everyday places, with no capacity limits or physical distance constraints. Since the Program's approval, staff has reviewed 12 applications from Downtown eateries, and ten locations have been approved for outdoor dining on the public right-of-way; all ten approved public right-of-way locations commenced outdoor dining operations shortly after. The Application Packet contained information on the conditions and insurance requirements. The city used a total of 77 water -filled barriers and fences to create outdoor dining areas for ten companies on the public right- of-way. There are 22 parking spaces available for these ten businesses, although only 16 of them are metered. He suggested that the current Outdoor Dining Pilot Program be extended through the end of 2021, as it is still helpful to businesses and has low costs. Current applicants would be given the option of continuing to participate in the city's existing Outdoor Seating Permit program with objective design standards after December 31, 2021 or terminating their participation and removing the temporary construction. Businesses who want to keep or open a new outside dining area after January 1, 2022, will need to apply for an annual Outdoor Seating Permit and would pay a minor use permit fee (about $500 per year) that would include some of the revenue from the unoccupied meters (roughly $70 per month). City Manager Futrell provided an overview of funding opportunities and shared his concern with the underutilization of outdoor spaces and supports reducing fees. Councilmember Nicolas requested clarification on the participating restaurants and the cost for each to participate in the program. She suggested that staff oversee the program to ensure the outdoor dining space is being used efficiently and expressed her support in extending the program to December 2021. Senior Planner Espiritu indicated that businesses would pay $500 to participate in the program, which many have expressed support for, as established in the city's use permit. Councilmember Coleman expressed concern with the cost of the permit and the potential lack of participation. He requested clarification on the fee and revenue source. City Manager Futrell indicated that the fees collected are deposited into the Parking District fund, which restricts use to parking -related issues in the downtown area. Councilmember Coleman suggested reinvesting those funds back to the downtown businesses to encourage participation. Councilmember Flores requested clarification on outreach efforts and expressed his concern with the financial hardship that businesses are facing. He expressed support of extending the program beyond the winter months to take into consideration weather impacts. He requested that staff solicit feedback from participants for the Council to review. Senior Planner Espiritu expressed concern for the financial hardship all businesses in the city face and provided an overview of the city's outreach efforts. He indicated that the city is following suit to neighboring cities such as San Mateo and San Francisco. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 26, 2021 MINUTES PAGE 2 2. Report regarding possible ballot measure to support public health and emergency response. (Mike Futrell, City Manager, and Jess Magallanes, Fire Chief) City Manager Futrell presented the report and provided an overview of the current Fire Department emergency response and the proposed restructure to continue to offer a first-rate service to the community. Fire Chief Magallanes indicated that South San Francisco is the only city in San Mateo County that runs its own ambulance service, allowing citizens to obtain speedier emergency medical care at a lower cost than the county's commercial ambulance service provider. The city has two advanced - life -support (ALS) ambulances and one basic -life-support (BLS) ambulance for non -emergency medical transport. In the event of a large-scale crisis, the city additionally keeps one additional ALS ambulance and one BLS ambulance in reserve, ready to replace front-line ambulances if needed or to provide surge capacity. Two paramedic/firefighters who are dual -certified as paramedics and firefighters staff ALS units. Emergency medical technicians staff BLS ambulances, which do not offer paramedic -level care. In addition to responding to car accidents, hazardous material spills, technical rescues, water rescues, and fire suppression, paramedics/firefighters working ALS ambulances are also responsible for responding to other sorts of emergency calls. As the number of ambulances transported grows, paramedic/firefighter availability for other crises and non -emergency jobs such as training, pre -fire planning, report writing, and equipment and facility maintenance declines. The Fire Department expects a continual rise in calls for service as the city grows, as well as increased complexity for those calls involving new types of occupancies (e.g., multi -story commercial buildings, laboratories, and multi -family dwelling units). The risk profile for crises is rapidly changing; emergencies that used to happen on the ground floor or the street level with relatively easy access points are now happening in places that take more time and money to manage. In addition to the medical, fire, and other emergency calls mentioned above, South San Francisco firefighters spent 177 days in 2020 fighting 14 wildfires across California, totaling 379 staff days. Deployments to other parts of California, including Oregon, have resumed in 2021 and are anticipated to expand as climate change and drought conditions shift "wildfire season" from a few months to a year-round fire response. Restructuring objectives include maintaining ambulance response times and provide a less expensive ambulance transport service relative to the rest of the county. Evolve and meet the needs of emergency response from an increasing construction risk profile. Strengthen the city's ability to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of natural disasters by providing a proactive branch focused on improving overall community health, reducing chronic emergency transports, and addressing behavioral health and substance abuse -related emergency calls. Chief Magallanes recommended the creation of a new Health and Emergency Transport Division. The division would be staffed with paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and mental health professionals allowing the department to adapt and provide enhanced service. Finance Director Salisbury provided an overview of the program's cost, which is expected to be approximately $3.7 million per year. She indicated that the preliminary assessment with Matrix Consulting Group found that the increased Health and Emergency Transport program would result in a revenue offset of around $700,000, necessitating a total revenue requirement of $3 million via parcel taxes. She indicated that approval of this measure would require a majority vote. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 26, 2021 MINUTES PAGE 3 Councilmember Flores requested clarification on the cost, proposed parcel tax, and public input. City Manager Futrell indicated that staff would work with the City Attorney to solicit community input and recognizes that there may not be support for the proposed voter -approved tax measure. He will work with staff to research additional funding models and return to Council with findings. Councilmember Flores suggested reaching out to the County of San Mateo for possible funding. Councilmember Coleman inquired about the cost to operate ambulatory services and behavioral health services. Fire Chief Magallanes provided an overview of the current cost of approximately $3.5 million and indicated that the average cost is $2400-2500 per transport compared to San Mateo County's roughly $3500. He discussed the need for behavioral health technicians to augment services for the community. City Manager Futrell provided an overview of the city's revenue and collection fees and noted that the city would need to increase funding to approximately $7 million to provide services free of charge. City Manager Futrell will provide an update to the Council via a Thursday memo. Councilmember Coleman expressed his support of a community survey for funding options. Vice Mayor Nagales expressed his concern about the proposed tax measure and community reliance on services. He supports a community survey. Fire Chief Magallanes provided an overview of medical services and the follow-up process for patients requiring medical attention and discussed the current mental health services model in collaboration with the South San Francisco Police department. Vice Mayor Nagales requested data from cities that have operated similar programs. Fire Chief Magallanes provided an overview of the program currently used in Oregon. Councilmember Nicolas expressed support for restructuring the department but noted her concerns for a parcel tax during these challenging times. After 45 years of operation, the department needs restructuring, but she suggested exploring alternate funding options. Mayor Addiego inquired about adding a fire truck unit and suggested that the Council receive service call reports to understand the department's needs better. He expressed concern with a tax measure and the responsibilities associated with implementing new services. Fire Chief Magallanes explained the need for an additional unit and provided an overview of mental health services. City Manager Futrell noted a consensus of the Council to explore other viable funding options and not a parcel tax. In addition, he will continue to work with Fire Chief Magallanes to explore department restructuring, increased service needs, and funding sources. 3. City Council study session to consider technical issues related to a potential tax measure on vacant property and provide direction to staff regarding additional research to assist in preparation of such a measure. (Sky Woodruff, City Attorney, Nell Selander, Economic & Community Development Deputy Director, and Tony Rozzi, Chief Planner) City Attorney Woodruff presented an overview of the Potential Tax on Vacant Properties and noted that the City Council expressed interest in placing a vacant property parcel tax item on the ballot in March 2020. Jurisdictions use vacant property taxes to generate income for programs such as affordable housing development, homeless assistance, and blight repair and discourage property owners from keeping their properties vacant. Residential, ground -floor commercial storefronts, stand-alone commercial or industrial structures, and undeveloped property are all examples of properties to consider taxing. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 26, 2021 MINUTES PAGE 4 Deputy Director of Economic and Community Development Selander provided an overview of the city's residential, industrial, office, and life sciences vacancy rates. She discussed the factors potentially limiting the effectiveness of a Vacancy Tax. Councilmember Flores requested an overview of the discussions held on October 22, 2020, when the Council initially discussed the measure and clarification on the critical elements of vacant property as presented. City Attorney Woodruff noted that there was no data available for vacant properties in the city and said it was difficult for staff to determine vacant properties without a database. Deputy Director of Economic and Community Development Selander stated that the team sent a survey to landlords requesting property vacancy data in 2021. After reviewing the data, staff did not identify an increase in vacancies. Councilmember Flores indicated that due to the pandemic, many companies are allowing employees to work from home, contributing to property vacancies due to relocation. He encouraged staff to implement a self -reporting data registry for vacant properties. Councilmember Coleman expressed support for additional vacant property data, including residential homes. He encouraged staff to create a self -reporting registry for landlords to post vacant properties and perhaps in the future use the data to incentivize landlords to assist with the city's housing needs. Councilmember Nicolas requested clarification on the vacancy rates and noted the need for additional data. Deputy Director of Economic and Community Development Selander expressed her concern with implementing a new data registry program due to the cost and staffing needs and noted that it could take several years to gather significant data. Councilmember Nicolas requested additional data before approving a vacant property tax. Vice Mayor Nagales shared his initial concern with the frustration of blighted vacant properties throughout the city. He stated that there was no substantial data to move forward with a vacant property tax at this time. He encouraged staff to gather additional data and develop a system to oversee blighted vacant properties without a tax measure. Mayor Addiego noted that the blighted property on El Camino Real and Spruce Avenue was designated as a Transit Village in 2006. The project faced many challenges due to the Council's attempt to manage the project, including the housing market collapse. Deputy Director of Economic and Community Development Selander provided an overview of the next steps and stated that staff would bring back their findings shortly for the Council's consideration. 4. Study Session regarding proposed amendments to the City Council Handbook. (Sky Woodruff, City Attorney and Rosa Govea Acosta, City Clerk) City Attorney Woodruff indicated that the Council handbook was revised to reflect policy changes and council direction. He noted that the City Clerk outlined the proposed changes to comply with recent resolutions and state laws that affect procedures. The proposed amendments bring the City's new election cycle up to date and the Mayoral and Vice -Mayoral succession, based on existing officeholders. As a result of the City's change from At -Large to District elections, and per Council policy. During his term on the Council, Councilmember Nagales could serve as Mayor twice during his tenure. In addition and at the request of former Councilmembers, the City Attorney's office made amendments to the City's policy on donations. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 26, 2021 MINUTES PAGE 5 The council discussed the proposed changes and provided direction to the City Clerk and City Attorney. The item will be brought back for the Council's approval at the upcoming meeting. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business Mayor Addiego adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m. ;Respect ully submitted by: 1,0a- ZLC osa Govea Acosta, CMC, CPMC City Clerk Approved by the City Council: 09 / Or SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Approved by: Mark Addiego Mayor nazi JULY 26, 2021 PAGE 6