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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 1994-06-06 Mayor Joseph A. Fernekes Council: Jack Drago John R. Penna '--Roberta Cerri Teglia Robert Yee SPECIAL TOWN HALL MEETING CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO JUNE 6, 1994 MINUTES City Council Martin School 35 School Street June 6, 1994 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Section 54956 of the Government Code of the State of California that the City Council of the City of South San Francisco will hold a Special Meeting on Monday, the 6th day of June 1994, at 7:00 p.m., in the Martin School, Multi-Purpose Room, 35 School St., South San Francisco, California. Purpose of the meeting: Discussion of matters of public interest. City of South San Francisco Dated: June 2, 1994 CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: AGENDA (Cassette No. 1) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Discussion of matters of public interest ACTION TAKEN Mayor Fernekes presiding. Council Present: Drago, Teglia, Yee and Fernekes. Council Absent: Penna. The Pledge was recited. Mayor Fernekes stated this was the first of a series of Town Hall meetings and thanked everyone for attending. He proceeded to introduce staff, who he said would respond to any questions. Mr. Neill Hannon, Esq., stated he was legal counsel for the Oldtown Homeowners Assn. and was look- ing forward to Council responding to residents concerns. 6/6/94 Page 1 AGENDA _A CI!Q_N TAKEN 338 Law Enforcement and Police Services 6/6/94 Page 2 Mayor Fernekes stated that he and Vice Mayor Yee had developed the format that would be followed, that each question would be addressed by staff and the meeting would wind up at 8:30 p.m. Ms. Willa Alvarez, Village Way, stated there were many problems on Village Way - each resident has four cars and there is limited parking, also they play loud music in their homes and in their cars. She related that she had lived there for 36 years, the neighborhood had changed and she no longer felt she belonged when the different groups congregated. Police Chief Raffaelli stated Mrs. Alvarez had valid concerns, in that there had always been a problem with the u-shaped street, however, the police needed to be called in order to deal with the problems. He suggested she see him after the meeting to set up a neighborhood watch program. Ms. Alvarez stated many people work on their cars in the area, there had been a very bad fire in the basement of a home - due to gasoline fumes getting to the water heater when working on cars, and the man's grandmother had died from the fire. Police Chief Raffaelli stated that people could not repair cars on the streets, but could in their drive- way, unless this was a business. Mr. Pedro Gonzales, 804 Olive Ave., stated the noise problem was also on Olive and other streets. He felt that the car problem was a matter of enforce- ment and did not understand how these people could afford insurance for 4 and 5 cars. He felt the City should educate people on existing ordinances and then enforce the ordinances. Mr. George Bugnatto stated his concern over the increased shootings, stabbings and assaults in the neighborhood. Police Chief Raffaelli related: if you compare S.S.F. to Daly City and other cities - we look pretty good; there were two gangs in the area with ages between 16-20 years old; there were problems with kids gathering in Cypress Park; police call in gang members if they hear there is going to be a fight and, often times, prevent the fight; on-going pre- vention and enforcement programs are in effect with Recreation Dept.; have County grant monies for A~ENDA ACTION TAKEN .--mown Meeting - Continued. b) Planning and Code Enforcement Issues 6/6/94 Page 3 339 jobs for youth. Mr. Emmet O'Brien, Spruce Ave., expressed his concerns: speeding on Spruce Ave. and suggested putting in speed bumps to slow down the vehicles; gang fighting could be stopped by having boxing smokers. Mr. Paul Tognetti, Olive Ave., felt that the loud radios and double parking problems could be solved by sending out unmarked cars with police officers to park in various neighborhoods. Mr. Rafael Portillo, Pine Ave., felt that the biggest problem was gangs and they had to be done away with. He felt the police were not hard enough in their treatment of the gang members and should place and enforce curfews. He felt that the police should separate the gang members during regular pa- trols on Cypress Ave. Police Chief Raffaelli related: police could not enforce moral laws; other cities had followed this City's lead on the treatment of gangs, which goes back to 1981; police played with the younger kids to build good relations; police call the parents when the kids are on the street causing problems; police arrest the kids, get a non-association order and the Judge tells them they cannot associate with any gang members; the Courts do not act on curfew viola- tions. Ms. Dolores Hurley, Beach Ave., wanted a beautifi- cation code for new businesses, such as the car wash on Spruce and Hillside which is an eyesore. Chief Planner Solomon stated that, when a business opens, it requires a use permit and the City can apply standards, however, if they were only apply- ing for a business license - the City could not apply standards. Councilwoman Teglia questioned if an ordinance could be passed to address inadequate parking and weeds. Interim City Attorney Nave did not think that could be done, however, an assessment district could be set up for street lighting and the like. Vice Mayor Yee felt it was logical for code enforce- AGENDA .-W. own Meeting - Continued. (Cassette No. 2, Side A) Councilman Perma Arrived at the Meeting: 6/6/94 Page 4 AC_T_IQ N TAKEN ... ment to abate the problem. Mayor Fernekes requested the Chief Planner inves- tigate the problem and report back to Council. Mr. George Bugnatto felt that code enforcement was a joke, because it was under staffed and the codes were not being enforced. Interim Director of Economic & Community Devel- opment Beyers related: code enforcement had re- ported a once a week code violation in this area; on 6/2/94 17 violations were issued in conjunction with the police; need to talk about specific violations, such as narrow streets, weeds and parking. Mr. Jack Stewart, Linden Ave., wanted code en- forcement to regulate service stations with use per- mits, because the requirements were not being fol- lowed and disabled vehicles are being stored and worked on at the site. He stated only one station was investigated, because Councilman Drago inter- ceded and finally the City Attorney prosecuted the station at Hillside and Linden. However, again they are fixing cars and tires are piled up against the building, as well as wrecked cars. He stated he had not received help from code en- forcement and another service station is working on cars outside of their bay. He stated the produce market next door to him, which had been a service station, now has a mobile fruit truck and a burrito catering truck parked on the site under his window - and the smell is offensive. Councilman Penna arrived at the meeting at 8:02 p.m. Mr. Stewart stated the fruit stand has a business license, however, knowing he cannot park those vehicles on the lot, he moves them from one part of the site to another. He talked to Planner Padovan and was told the truck is exempt, yet he goes out every morning and the stink is terrible. He related that Planner Padovan was supposed to talk to the City Attorney, however, he was still waiting for an answer. Interim Director of Economic & Community Devel- opment Beyers stated these two are existing, non- conforming uses and are not under a use permit, AGENDA _ 'V_own Meeting - Continued. c) Fire and Paramedic Services 6/6/94 Page 5 ACTION TAKEN however, one had been cited. Mr. Portillo stated there was a car repair station at Linden and Pine Ave. and he had called code en- forcement because they were piling cars up by the dozens on the street. He stated that the owner of apartments next door had also complained to Plan- ning. Mr. Bugnatto stated that the Oldtown Homeowners Assn. had the City repave most of old town, but he did not understand why they had not done Armour. Director of Public Works Parini agreed that Armour was falling apart but, with budget problems, there would only be some resurfacing and he would rec- ommend that Armour be included in the next bud- get. He stated that the City did not use speed bumps because of the liability factor, however, they were looking at wide bumps. He stated the issue is to not create another problem. Mr. Lou Matteucci stated that behind his office on Grand was a problem with La Tapatia's hand trucks and trucks and he felt some day someone is going to be killed. Mayor Fernekes asked the City Manager to investi- gate the problem behind La Tapatia. Ms. Alvarez stated the residents on Village Way are very grateful for the paramedic service, however, with the parking problem, it was difficult for the fire trucks to get to the hydrants. Director of Public Works Parini reiterated that speed bumps don't work and suggested doing cuts in the roadway with little knobs and signs to reduce speed. He stated there was a problem using the lanes for delivery with La Tapatia and he would try to make the trucks park further away. Mr. Portillo stated his father owned Alfredo's on Linden and Aspen, had called the City two years ago about the sidewalk being dangerous - because it sank two inches, however, he had never heard any- thing more from the City. AGENDA Public Works and Maintenance Services Parks and Recreation Services (Cassettee No. 3) 6/6/94 Page 6 ACTION TAKEN 342 Mr. Pedro Gonzales stated the same thing had hap- pened at Holly and Armour and the City needed to take care of the situation. He stated that some months back he had asked code enforcement to address the Oldtown Homeowners' Assn., however, they had not come to a meeting but the need was still there. Mr. Bugnatto suggested owners take care of strips in front and in back of their houses. Ms. Imogene Hicks, 616 Hemlock, complained that the house next door had weeds up to the windows, she had notified the Fire Dept. but nothing had been done. Councilman Penna stated the City could do a weed abatement, however, there were limitations in City revenues. He stated it was sometimes difficult to enforce clean-up of the area in front of a home, because it is the responsibility of the property own- er, even though it belongs to the City. Mayor Fernekes stated that some concerns did not pertain to laws, however, all of the items were being referred to staff. Councilwoman Teglia stated she had heard panning of code enforcement but felt they work very hard. She stated years ago neighbors would talk to neigh- bors but today there are owners that don't care - the City Attorney goes after the owners and then it takes time before a Judge takes care of the problem. She stated, on the gang issue and the police being soft on them - we do have strategies for dealing with them, yet all of those kids belong to someone who is responsible for them. Councilman Penna stated his children are 9, 16 and 18 and all children in this town know the gang members, who usually are the children of working parents. Ms. Benny Gianoli, 232 California Ave., stated the City used to send out a notice that it was a resident's responsibility to clean the Lane or there was a fine. She complained that people are keeping garbage in bags in their backyards and not having Scavenger service and she had called code enforcement and AGENDA .-T. own Hall Meeting - Continued. 6/6/94 Page 7 A(~TION TAKEN 343 took the risk of having her nose broken by the resi- dents. Mr. Portillo was concerned that the old part of this City had low property values, as no one wants to live there because it is not too clean, but we have some good people who keep property very clean. He felt the Homeowners' Assn. should put out literature and ask what the problem is why they cannot keep their property clean. Mr. Paul Tognetti stated the Council was here to find out our complains - not make excuses, try to solve the problems and, if they can't, give their alibis. Ms. Alvarez felt the kids should be given jobs to clean up yards and was sorry to see the police pres- ence leave Maple Ave. Police Chief Raffaelli stated there were problems in the downtown, but the absence of the police station will not make a difference because there were police patrols. Councilman Drago felt 90% of the problems were in enforcement and he did not feel that it was beyond the City's control. He stated that Berkeley was starting to put bumps back on the streets. He stated that the Council has to deal through the City Manager. He stated the City could set up boxing gyms or send kids to the libraries, because people have the right to walk down the street and not be intimidated. He stated he appreciated the turnout and sympathized with the people. Vice Mayor Yee wanted to see the Town Meetings continue, so Council could listen and take the con- cerns back to City Hall. Councilman Penna stated that, from 1954 through 1980, the development in this area had been apart- ments from Railroad/Hillside/Orange and then the density had changed - so we have apartments next to residential units. Councilwoman Teglia stated she tried to be a realist, as these problems had plagued us for a long time, ~ Wown Hall Meeting - Continued. ADJOURNMENT: and it was important to work together. She spoke of the good work this homeowners' group had done in cleaning up the area. Mayor Fernekes thanked everyone for coming and for all their questions. M/S Teglia/Yee - To adjourn the meeting. Carried by unanimous voice vote. Time of adjournment was 9:10 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Barbara A. Battaya, City City of South San Francisco APPROVED. $~eph A. Fer[eke~ayor (~:y of South S~n Francisco he entries of this Council meeting show the action taken by the City Council to dispose of an item. Oral communica- >ns, arguments and comments are recorded on tape. The tape and documents related to the items are on file in the Office of the City Clerk and are available for inspection, review and copying. 6/6/94 Page 8