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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 1998-04-15 Mayor Eugene R. Mullin Council: James L. Datzman Joseph A. Fernekes --Karyl Matsumoto John R. Penna MINUTES City Council Municipal Services Building Community Room April 15, 1998 SPECIAL MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO APRIL 15, 1998 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 Wednesday, the 15th day of April 1998, at 6:00 p.m. in the Municipal Services Building, Community Room, 33 Arroyo Drive, South San Francisco, California. Purpose of the meeting is a Joint Study Session with the Planning Commission. Report and discussion of General Plan alternatives. Dated: April 10, 1998 City Clerk City of South San Francisco CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: AGENDA (Cassette No. 1) Report and discussion of General Plan alternatives. ACTION TAKEN 6:04 p.m. Mayor Mullin presiding. Council Present: Council Absent: Datzman, Fernekes, Matsumoto and Mullin. Penna. Mayor Mullin stated a study session is an informa- tion process, but the Council is willing to hear any questions from the audience. He asked if anyone would like to address the Council and Planning Commission relative to the general plan, if so, please step to the podium, which no one chose to do and asked the consultants to proceed. Chief Planner Harnish stated the primary purpose is to take the general plan process to the next step, and to his mind the most important step, is for the Council, Planning Commission and the community to begin to look at ideas of where the community is 4/15/98 Page 1 AGENDA ACTION TAKEN Report and discussion of General Plan alternatives. 4/15/98 Page 2 going in the next twenty years. There will be pre- sentations to all Boards and Commissions that are interested, and staff will bring a report back about the results of the public input. He stated that each of these meetings is being advertised in the newspa- pers to encourage people to come and participate. He stated that Mr. Rajeev Bhatia, Principal in Dyett & Bhatia, will go through the sketch plan and there will be a question and discussion period. Mr. Rajeev Bhatia related: this has been worked on for a year with several Council meetings; this report is the second key step in the process in the land use and transit alternatives for the City's future; none of the plans are superior alternatives and he will listen to the two bodies preferences, then he will go back and balance the land use and see how to make it work; in the next step he wants to narrow down the choices to one focus detail plan and then define the plan and the ideas; after the preferred land use is done he will prepare a draft general plan with poli- cies, a draft EIR and public hearings; S.S.F. has reached its limits in urban growth and land area; with Terrabay and other developments all the land has been taken up, other than County items in the City; he presented a power point map of the City with existing vacant space and stated there is very little land left with only isolated pockets; he cited projects from ABAG on population and housing in the next twenty years, changes in land use to high tech and R&D businesses; BART will be going to the Airport, which is doubling and that has repercus- sions in the City and challenges; he gave predic- tions, based on his analysis, on residential and job increases in the future; he has found it difficult to research the amount of people employed and living in S.S.F., and those living in S.S.F. and employed elsewhere; he spoke of City access from ferry service, Caltrain and BART; the bay area is increasing at a larger rate than S.S.F. Discussion followed: the vast majority of people live in Millbrae north to S.S.F. which is north County and when the City Manager thinks of trans- portation it is with MSTMA; are there reports on occupants of the new housing as to where they work; the City Manager could ask people like Bob Kent, for his group has monitors on people moving over here to get away from the commute; the State used to keep track of County to County movement; Planning Chairman would like to see a breakdown &~ENDA ~X!ON TAKEN R._..eport and discussion of General Plan alternatives. 4/15/98 Page 3 of residents who work by profession, then we can look at the make-up of the people living here and working outside and vice versa; perhaps some com- panies have software programs on their employees; there is a modest number of Genentech employees who live in S.S.F. and others who work in the hotel industry with more modest pay. Mr. Bhatia continued: summary of environmental constraints, such as soil issues which are manage- able; the most critical restraint is future airport noise contc)ur that goes through a large portion of the City; the alternatives are called Lindenville, East of 101 and the Transit; the Lindenville area needs a grocery store and a drug store for a small commer- cial center; north of downtown perhaps the housing density could be increased; East of 101 will have an expansion of the R&D and the focus is on transpor- tation improvements at 101, and several connections across going under and over the Caltrain station; there will only be three connections across ECR and more have to be found in the future; some increased density around Orange Park; the area labeled Orange Park is really Mayfair village; a big box retail operation would require 60 acres, a location with viability; moving to the north of downtown Lindenville does not have a grocery store or a drug store and usually you need ten acres for this use; housing units proposed for Sign Hill, but that is not East of 101; housing is not desirable within the 65 CNEL areas, for you can only insulate to a certain extent and then you have to open a window or enjoy your backyard which is impacted; the 65 CNEL contours are for freeways and factories. Discussion followed: El Rancho is not in the new footprint the City can allow it, but it is a health and safety issue in building in a 65 CNEL area; it makes sense to put jobs near BART. Ms. Jane Breistedt, Transportation Planner for Fehr & Peers, related: the infra structure improvements support the land use in the alternatives; in the trans- portation analysis they focused on the streets, for you have control over the streets and the specific land uses are not tied down; she looked at daily traffic locations and estimated the amount of traffic on the roadways and did an analysis on trip genera- tions and sketch plan alternatives and identified the roadway improvements that need to be added; a need for a new interchange at U.S. 101, and recon- AGENDA ACTION TAKEN ~Report and discussion of General Plan alternatives. 4/15/98 Page 4 struction of Airport Blvd. would cost $25,000,000- $35,000,000. Chief Planner Harnish asked for direction on the two Bodies desires and direction for them to take. Discussion followed: Commissioner Honan ques- tioned the health and safety issues with the noise contour; residents are concerned about the future and current flights going over the homes and there are incidents of parts falling off planes and the disruption of noise; there was a suit in the 1960s talking about airpline departures, but the pilot has the discretion of where they can fly over; Council- woman Matsumoto stated it will get worse because the planes are being loaded heavier and they fly lower to gain the power mementum to get off the ground and there is only only one runway they can take off on; Chairman Barnett stated there is also the problem of the prevailing winds; that accounts for only 10% or 12% of the flights, and they say they can save fuel by going out over our homes and the noise is increasing; the old aircraft is being phased out, the new planes are quieter, but that is not the case; Commissioner Baldocchi asked where the potential high school would be located; Mr. Bhatia stated they were working on the big picture and would come back later with answers to questions; Commissioner Romero addressed the Lindenville Alternative fi~r Magnolia and E! Camino - the City owned a portion adjacent to the back of the Basque Center and abandoned the easement and feel to reacquire a right-of-way will be disruptive to the neighborhood; his other concern is the East of 101 Alternative with Iow density housing - he feels that should be preserved as open space otherwise we would have to go through a process that could be dangerous; the connection to Railroad Avenue, that is like the Charrette we discussed and he supports that; in the Transit Alternative the areas described are primarily served by Samtrans and he wants to see a Samtrans plan to encompass the whole City with access to BART and East of 101 and not pursue the extension of the Airport because of the costs, but some connection by shuttle to transfer individuals to the Airport and to the BART station in San Bruno and get them oif of 101; Commissioner Masuda feels that in view of the School District selling off property there will not be land available for new schools; right now we are developing El Rancho with no projections on new schools, yet there is a AGENDA A~!ON TAKEN ~eport and discussion of General Plan alternatives. 4/15/98 Page 5 shortage of space which in five years will be greater because of the housing developments; Samtrans is saying they will eliminate buses running parallel to El Camino Real; if they put in a light rail and say, how about coming into the Caltrain station and fund part of it for we have the right-of-way; Commis- sioner Teglia stated one of the things choking off Victory is the flow and the connection to 101 would improve the access and then we could look at a power center or hotels, for right now it is auto repairs because of the poor location; that part excites him, but not to the extent they included in the Lindenville Alternative; he would consider this approach but on a reduced scale and not as many accesses; the concept in the East of 101, he thinks is important to continue improving 101 with high R&D development, for that is the direction we are going in; again an improved flow, but not to the extent they have it chopped up; do not consider the light rail, the Airport won't contribute to it and would cater to a small portion and not address the major concerns; he thinks there should be another meeting because we have a lot of information and he only received his packet last night; he is interested in the analysis and the increased revenues; Chair- man Barnett stated they need daily infrastructure East of 101 for the people down there could spend their money there; the density in the Lindenville area is too intense and they should not put in high rise apartments; he agrees with commercial outlets in Lindenville towards the Airport and some hotels and light commercial; as far as putting low density on the north slope of Sign Hill, he does not think that is a good idea; with the Transit Alternative, he likes the attention to detail and that is an important issue and it would be great to have light rail serv- ing everyone; he has a question on the table, the roadway, he wonders why a couple of key egress and ingress on Westborough to Chestnut to Hillside to Sister Cities Blvd. are not on the table, because that is going to be a major egress and ingress where Terrabay is built up; most of the Terrabay develop- ment is in the East of 101 quarter; Commissioner Sim stated he appreciates the three alternatives that give form and direction for the City to pursue and he fiflly endorses the Charrette concept; this will continue the organized growth of the East of 101; he asked if the staff or consultant thought about water transportation; as a resident and Commissioner he sees I01 and 280 as crowded, and understands that the Airport was at some point discussing a water A~ENDA ACTION TAKEN Report and discussion of General Plan alternatives. 4/15/98 Page 6 related access to the Airport, if so, he wants to hear more about that; Skyline and Westborough are gateways to the City and are major transportation hubs, yet there is no proposal on Gellert; because that is a steep slope; Commissioner Sim was talking about the westerly part and the response was on the easterly part of the City which Mayor Mullin feels is important and he knows there are cultural arts things things that are going to bridge the gap between east and west; Councilwoman Matsumoto stated her con- cern is the quality of life, and she is very much con- cerned about preserving open space with no develop- ment on Sign Hill, meeting the housing needs of the residents and supporting the mid-management people that will be working here and have high density town houses around the BART hub for them; she wants to concentrate on the Lindenville area and the Charrette, 101, the Caltrain station, retail and res- taurants; her concern is transportation; developments are coming up scattered and their effect on egress and ingress and she wants to see concentration on some of the access roads; Councilman Fernekes stated we have real difficulty in transportation and unless there is improvement, this is not advanta- geous; the power concept should be looked at, for we are doing the sewer plant, but on some days the odor is not conducive; the big concern is transporta- tion in the industrial park; he was at a meeting of the Council of Cities when Samtrans spoke and we have 4 lines coming in and they are talking about reducing that - and that is a bigger concern; the lith rail is expensive and it is important for transporta- tion gets people from the hub to work; he is op- posed to any housing development on Sign Hill; he is also concerned about additional access roads especially into the industrial park; on the school issue, he is not sure we can find 30 acres; talking about density in the Lindenville area - he is willing to explore the type of density that should go in there; as we have seen from the Charrette and your projections there is a need for more housing and would explore town houses and condos; Vice Mayor Datzman complimented the planners on a quality document; the new focus on Lindenville for we would have twice the police if it still existed; he is not so sure about a focus on those areas and going full circle; the notation on page 8 about schools and parks, yet we have maximized the parks; we need to find a way to work with the School District, School District, step back and reexplore because it is not going to happen any other way; we have to take AGENDA ACTION TAKEN Report and discussion of General Plan alternatives. advantage and make ways for the benefit of the residents; the issue of high density, our whole histo- ry is promoting .job growth and transportation - we are getting there with BART and Caltrain; he is concerned about meeting the needs of the moment, and what this suggests is we look at the whole chart and find things to offset the negatives in density; hotels are the kind of businesses that get into trouble if the economy changes; he is in favor of water transportation; Mayor Mullin asked why Commis- sioner Teglia received his packet only last night; Chief Planner Harnish thought the Clerk would distribute the packet, she didn't, so his Department did it; Mayor Mullin does not agree with another school, for all the demographics point to a drop; he does not want to develop on Sign Hill; wants to pay for one interchange before looking at another, and he is not sure how the City would qualify for anoth- er; the Lindenville Alternative he likes better than the others; he does not like commercial centers East of 101; the Council must do what is necessary to get people back and forth from the East of 101; he likes fairly dense housing north of Grand for the mid- managers near the BART center and maybe with the relocation of the Caltrain station; he would revitalize the downtown but does not think light rail service is doable; there is no parallel route to BART; the four lines of Samtrans to our City will decrease; there is a proposed decrease, but no indication of cutting our City lines; Mayor Mullin wants the Council to think about this, come back and give direction; think about a policy that goes neighborhood by neighbor- hood; Chief Planner stated the next step is the pre- sentation to Boards and Commissions, bring the results back and ask for further comment in early June on draft plan and policies; Mayor Mullin di- rected any further points be forwarded to the Chief Planner; Commissioner Teglia asked what was going to be done with Belle Aire Island, behind the Treat- ment Plant; it is used by Samtrans for bus storage. M/S Teglia/Sim - To adjourn the Planning Commis- sion meeting. Carried by unanimous voice vote. M/S Fernekes/Datzman - To adjourn the City Coun- cil meeting. Carried by unanimous voice vote. 4/15/98 Page 7 AGENDA ACTION TAKEN ADJOURNMENT: Time of adjournment was 8:07 p.m. _e, ESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, City of South San Francisco APPROVED. ncisco The entries of this Council meeting show the action taken by the City Council to dispose of an item. Oral communica- tions, 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. 4/15/98 Page 8