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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 1998-10-07 Mayor Eugene R. Mullin Council: James L. Datzman Joseph A. Fernekes ---~aryl Matsumoto lohn R. Penna MINUTES City Council Municipal Services Building Community Room October 7, 1998 SPECIAL MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO OCTOBER 7, 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 7th day of October 1998, at 5:30 p.m. in the Municipal Services Building, Community Room, 33 Arroyo Drive, South San Francisco, California. Purpose of the meeting is a study session to discuss: General Plan Dated: September 24, 1998 City of South San Francisco CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: General Plan AGENDA (Cassette No. 1) ACTION TAKEN 5:45 p.m. Mayor Mullin presiding. Council Present: Council Absent: Datzman Fernekes, Matsumoto and Mullin. Penna. City Clerk Battaya stated Councilman Penna was out of the country and unable to attend tonight's meet- ing. Mayor Mullin stated he would be leaving the meet- ing at 7:00 p.m. to attend the Airport Roundtable meeting. Chief Planner Harnish related: the last time this subject was discussed there were three sketch plans, each of which illustrated a different approach; there 10/7/98 Page 1 AGENDA General Plan - Continued. 10/7/98 Page 2 ACTION TAKEN have been community meetings; the previously called "preferred land use plan", through some of the discussions, staff felt that conveyed the wrong meaning, so it was changed; staff wants to get spe- cific direction from the Council, at any event, we are at the step before going into preparing a draft policy plan and this step in the process is to get some basic direction on land use to build the policy plan; there were several discussions at the Planning Commission, part of them were delayed because the amount of time was limited and staff had to go back and look at several issues; staff is looking for essen- tially initial approval to go ahead with the plan; staff is completing the alternative steps and the land use plan and want to move on to step 3 and 4; he pre- sented the land use map. Mayor Mullin pointed out errors in the land use map: street names; schools; errors of omissions; Southwood School has not existed for years and Foxridge is closed; street names are incomplete on the map. Chief Planner Harnish asked the Mayor to forward the information to him for corrections to be made, for it is a work in progress and he expected to get comments. He continued: challenges in looking over the next years of growth, for there is not much vacant land, but how the existing land shall be used; there is only 4% of the land vacant and much of that has been approved for development; staff is expect- ing 12,000 people in the next 20 years; acres needed to accommodate the population growth that includes residential land; the key questions raised were how do we assure continued diversion of the economics for growing industries and how do we improve and revitalize the down town and Lindenville areas; he summarized the draft land use map in its entirety; all of the residential neighborhoods are being left essen- tially the same; when you get to Westborough and Gellert the mixed use reflects the existing map for the area; the El Camino Corridor is largely un- touched in terms of the land use and policies will be developed to update the existing policies to develop expectations; the area to the north west of the BART Station is commercial and there is mixed residential and commercial on either side and did not address the long term issues; the Terrabay Project remains the same in land use; staff tried to leave the East of 101 consistent with the Plan; the two areas that will be looked at over the next 25 years are _.QGeneral Plan - Continued. 10/7/98 Page 3 Lindenville and the downtown with medium and high density residential and mixed use with com- mercial; high residential down in Chestnut, Oak and Grand Avenues which is the direction of the existing General Plan; he believes there will be existing policies developed for the downtown because of a lot of small lots; staff is looking for consolidation of properties that would be higher density which ad- dresses the parking issues unique to the downtown; Council discussed improvements through changes in retail use and upgrading sign and code enforcement ordinances; Lindenville is in close proximity to major transportation; staff looked at the uses in the area which includes a whole variety of uses dominat- ed by freight forwarding, warehousing and manufac- turing; there is a lot of traffic in the area that comes up from Grand Avenue, which is a major problem with the downtown; he feels the area is dominated by blighted projects, is slow to change and the development standards are different; the setbacks and parking are problematic; the Planning Commis- sion agrees with staff to take advantage of emerging economic development opportunities; he feels the City needs to create conditions that will encourage an orderly process of succession to bring about the highest and best use; staff believes with firm policies and selective participation will enhance and they want the change in Lindenville to support the down- town revitalization; they want to encourage an or- derly change in land use from older use; staff sug- gested several potential roadway conditions that staff will study if Council feels they are worth study that will enhance and improve the areas; create, along the extension of Railroad Avenue along the right-of- way, for there is enough space to create an initial roadway that keeps the tracks in tact, otherwise we must use interchange or the Airport underpass; the consultant believes that if that change is not made Lindenville will be limited in access, rather than providing access to the BART Station; etc. Discussion tbllowed: where is the train station; this concept needs further study for adequate right-of- way tbr accommodation; there needs to be traffic relied in this area and limited access; another con- nection is essentially an extension of Oak across El Camino; there is also the extension of Mission Road; part of the right-of-way is where the play- ground is; improving the circulation is critical; staff cannot come up with any suggestions with improve ing the circulation in Westborough, because there is AGENDA , General Plan - Continued. 10/7/98 Page 4 ACTION TAKEN one major way in and out; staff is going to spend time with the property owners to identify what seems to be realistic and doable and still accommo- date the viable businesses in Lindenville; the con- sultant feels we can support large regional facilities; they are suggesting a regional center off Airport Blvd. that is currently the produce mart; the land use designation would be consistent with what is there today; this is based on access to an inter- change; a power center requires 50 acres with stores like Target, with substores like Ross' and Marshall; the Tanforan Center is a power center; when you talk about an auto center, are you talking about a parking lot; the existing use there today is the Air- port related long term parking lot and any change would require a change in the land use; any car storage facility would require a use permit, and in some zones the use is not permitted; staff will work with the consultant team for a draft policy and do substantial outreach in the community, Chamber of Commerce, and neighborhoods to alert the busi- ness and property owners in Lindenville and the down town to talk about their expectations for their areas and come back to the Commission and Council with a recommended plan with hearings for final adoption; this will take six weeks to two months to get the plan together after the beginning of the year for a study session; Mayor Mullin was concerned that the Lindenville boundaries go far beyond his under- standing of the area in question; staff expand- ed it because of the usage that comprises the area; what are the conditions that will encourage bringing the highest and best use of each parcel; there are changes as property values and land use changes; staff is looking at the General Plan to facilitate this kind of change as was seen in the East of 101 Plan; Vice Mayor Datzman has no problem with what is happening East of 101, going from meat packing and ship building to biotec over a period of time and the Council encourages the campus environment, however, he has a problem with the terminology to move something rather than it being a natural evolu- tion; Chief Planner Harnish suggested improving the circulation to make the area more accessible and desirable to businesses or investors and upgrade the property or tear it down and rebuild; Vice May- or Datzman noted, in walking the area, there were a great number of freight forwarders employing a large number of people; there are many freight forwarders and manufacturers in the area because of modest rents and the property being in close proxim- AGENDA AC!IQ~ IAS~N General Plan - Continued. Mayor Mullin Left the Meeting at 6:44 p.m. to Attend the Roundtabe meeting. ity to the Airport; Consultant Bhatia feels the area is somewhat isolated from the rest of the City; the Vice Mayor does not want to encourage rapid change in the area; when he looks at the Airport and us surrounding the Airport and historically being a city with an industrial base, and saying isn't that what we are about; we are not a big campus com- munity, it is a mixed use and that is the reason a lot of those businesses are there; the Chief Planner feels this would not drive those businesses out, but limit the opportunity for a freight business, for it would still be in the East of 101 area and on South Linden; the question is can we foster change in upgrading the South Lindenville area and negate the negative impacts and still maintain the mix we have there; he questioned what changes the Council would be comfortable with; Mayor Mullin stated he was gen- erally appreciative of this Lindenville area; he read the comments with interest, many by Mr. Dell'Angela, particularly in failing to notify the people that a study was underway; concern at the Commission level for the impacts of high density; is a twenty year plan typical, for it used to be shorter when Mayor Mullin was on the Planning Commis- sion; the rule is an update every seven or eight years; the Council needs to look at more moderate housing as the City evolves, and some in the down- town core makes sense; is there a question on child care in that area, for there is talk about it being removed from the general plan, which he read in some undated minutes on comments from Commis- sioner Teglia; that is Heather's program; he feels there should be a spin out and create a study; Chief Planner feels the notices were properly sent accord- ing to the General Plan; Mayor Pro Tem Datzman stated it was not long ago we sat in a meeting and had a feeling that the community was doing every- thing possible to eliminate freight forwarders in the community, and it was a hard pull to convince them that was not the case; some agreements were struck, and the point was made this is still a large area of S.S.F. that was available; now we have a situation where the Airport is going to a full extension of passengers, of freight which will encourage more of that activity and trucks will go for shorter hauls and move by water; if that is the plan, do we have any idea that freight is going to be moved by water; none that staff is aware of; Mr. Bhatia stated there have been some discussions that Oakland is focusing on freight operations; Vice Mayor Datzman wants to talk about freight forwarding from a mixed stand- 10/7/98 Page 5 AGENDA ._QGeneral Plan - Continued. 10/7/98 Page 6 ACTION TAKEN point and talk about how we can improve the move- ment in the traffic corridors, but does not mean eliminating trucking, but maybe increase code en- forcement tools to allow them to move in a more orderly fashion; Councilwoman Matsumoto was afraid they were putting the cart before the horse by going to the public first when the decision rests with this Body; in reading the minutes, the questions asked by the Commissioners - well, she thinks there should be a policy decision made by the Council as to how we see the plan; she wants social equality, environmental quality and economics which is what a lot of her decisions are predicated; she is looking at a livable working community, wants a consensus for a decision to be given so the Planning Commis- sion knows where we are coming from and envision some of this growth; Mayor Pro Tem Datzman stated he does not disagree with that, but from the comments in the Commission minutes were no rill- different than the comments he registered in probing things he feels strongly about; Councilwoman Matsumoto states she agrees with some of Com- missioner Teglia comments, would like to revise our limit requirements and setbacks and look at other types of density in the area; staff is looking for feedback from the Council after getting feedback from the Commission; Councilwoman Matsumoto felt that by the time the La Quinta Project got to the Council it was a monstrosity; she is looking for a location for senior housing; staff wants a policy workshop with the Council; Mayor Pro Tem Datzman asked what changes the Council wanted to see - improvements, but that does not mean we are going to knock down buildings and should not be an alarm in the community; there are two things, mass transit and improving circulation, so that represents some guidelines to staff; he spoke of the importance of code enforcement in the neighborhoods, talking to the property owners to encourage high pride in their area; Councilman Fernekes has great concern with any development on Sign Hill; Chief Planner stated if you designate an area as no development that would result in inverse condemnation unless the City acquires the property; right now the area is zoned for one unit per acre; suggestion to make the area one unit for five acres; Councilman Fernekes wants that explored and does not want to see any develop- ment on that mountain; Councilman Fernekes was concerned that a property still belongs to the School District and he wanted that designation kept; Chief Planner Harnish stated he could do that, but staff AGENDA ACTION TAKEN ._General Plan - Continued. 10/7/98 Page 7 knows eventually that is going to be something other than a school; Councilman Fernekes had difficulties with identification on the agricultural land that has single family homes on both sides; potential for a senior day care facility; Council was talking about the other side of Mission Road for that, by the Court House towards Chestnut; Mayor Pro Tem reiterated his thoughts on water transport as an extension of freight forwarding; he wants to look at the downtown corridor where higher density housing might occur; Council wants data on light rail; there needs to be a high density of people to support light rail; maybe put it along Airport Blvd. to Oyster Point Blvd. and maybe there are general industry parameters to pay for it; Mr. Bhatia stated someone from his firm was working on the light rail from the Airport, but a bus or shuttle would be less costly; the Mayor said he would like to see more density in low cost homes and child care; City Manager Wil- son stated code enforcement is one small tool, if one looks at the Lindenville area we had a pretty sad maintained building, and the substandard for parking and adequate space because of the configuration of the lots it will never be brought up to Code; how does the Council correct that with a policy standard; maybe code enforcement can accomplish that; it makes sense to the City Manager to use it to protect our neighborhoods for a home in a nice neighbor- hood, but in Lindenville do you allow the substan- dard building to continue in that fashion or do you look at it to see if you can do a facade on a junk yard. Mr. Lou Dell'Angela, 222 Country Club Drive, related his concerns: that the City Council is being asked to endorse a direction that very few people would be impacted, but know nothing about the plan; do not take action - until the council has heard from the people; he thinks the study is wrong for Lindenviile and Spruce; he thinks it should be a light industrial, as it is today, with provisions for repair; he can't agree with the code enforcement being necessary; to put a special study that puts a cloud over the area - he disagrees that it is a blight- ed area; the problem with the process and your talking about a 20 year general plan; if you desig- nate the area, then the buildings are all non-con- forming - that is a cloud over the property; it sug- gests that some day there will be a capital improve- ment and the building is threatened; in the same vein you are going to make those uses non-conforming AGENDA ACTION TAKEN General Plan - Continued. 10/7/98 Page 8 and you will have a lot of non-conforming buildings; what has not been talked about is the regional as- pects of the plan for San Mateo County has in- creased congestion by a growth oriented plan and the Council has to look at the responsibility in hav- ing an active growth plan or a modest more reason- able plan; the quality of life of this area is being threatened by the growth plan; you have the oppor- tunity to look at the goal and say maybe S.S.F. shouldn't have major office space because it gener- ates more cars; that needs to be factored into this because you are responsible for the results; he per- sonally, in-house, did the last general plan in 1984, and unless a plan is realistic, a fantasy plan does not work; it is reasonable to have a ten year plan, for with a twenty year plan you get carried away with that and it will make non-conforming uses that the property owners have to live with; you need to get the word out to the people, those that are going to be affected otherwise you get a lot of angry people. Discussion followed: Councilwoman Matsumoto felt the City had done everything to notice the item on TV and to the surrounding neighborhoods; we had more Council and staff members at the Magnolia Center to answer questions, and asked what else could be done; many businesses east of the freeway live out of town and do not show up to meetings; Mayor Pro Tem Datzman stated there is a newsletter and on Saturday it was noticed in the newspaper, so his question is who doesn't want a plan that is real- istic and not fantasy, which Mr. Dell'Angela as a former planner should understand. Mr. Joe Mackel stated he represents the company that owns Zellerbach, and these last comments about notification well, he is here from Ohio and received the first notification last week on Friday. He ad- ministers 450 parcels around the country and the things that go on in the local newspapers he is not aware of because the property is leased and notices would go to the property. However, when situa- tions like this come up it has a dramatic effect and that piece of property we are involved in selling. The question Mr. Deli'Angela brought up about the uncertainty of the planning area presents different factors without which that property would have been sold two weeks ago. He stated the meat company sold the Zellerbach business unit in July and the new owners did acquire the property and do not intend to stay there. He stated that in a large corporation it is AGENDA ACTION TAKEN General Plan - Continued. ADJOURNMENT: difficult to get a notice to the right people. Discussion followed: staff will sit down with the community, either with organizations or ad hoc groups and continue to have meetings and will ad- dress Mr. Dell'Angela's concerns, etc. M/S Fernekes/Matsumoto - To adjourn the meeting. Carried by unanimous voice vote. Time of adjournment was 8:03 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Barbara A. Battaya, City Clerk City of South San Francisco APPROVED. Eugene R ullin, Mayor gene_ ~R~Mullin, M City of South San Francisco 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 uffice of the City Clerk and are available for inspection, review and copying. 10/7/98 Page 9