HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2020-06-10 @7:00�So�zxNF MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
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c�LIFO RN`P CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020
7:00 p.m.
Teleconference via GoToMeeting
City Council conducted this meeting in accordance with
California Governor Newsom's Executive Orders N-25-20 and
N-29-20 and COVID-19 pandemic protocols.
CALL TO ORDER Mayor Garbarino called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL City Clerk Govea Acosta called the roll. The meeting was
streamed online, and broadcast live on Astound, Channel 26
and Comcast, Channel 27.
Participating Remotely: Councilmembers Matsumoto,
Nagales, and Nicolas, Vice Mayor Addiego, and Mayor
Garbarino.
AGENDA REVIEW
No changes.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM STAFF
Police Chief Azzopardi extended his condolences to the friends and family of Santa Cruz County
Sheriff s Deputy Sergeant Damon Gutzwiller recently killed in the line of duty. He indicated that
the South San Francisco Police Department reviewed the "8 Can't Wait" policies/procedures
recommendations and presented a report on the following:
• Require de-escalation: Require officers to de-escalate situations, where possible, by
communicating with subjects, maintaining distance, and otherwise eliminating the need to
use force. The South San Francisco Police Department fully complies with this
recommendation.
• Require use of force continuum: Establish a Force Continuum that restricts the most
severe types of force to the most extreme situations and creates clear policy restrictions on
the use of each police weapon and tactic. The South San Francisco Police Department
policy fully complies with this recommendation
• Ban chokeholds & strangleholds: Allowing officers to choke or strangle civilian's results
in the unnecessary death or serious injury of civilians. Both chokeholds and all other neck
restraints must be banned in all cases. The South San Francisco Police Department fully
complies with this recommendation and has temporarily banned the use of the carotid
restraint hold until further guidance by the state legislation.
• Exhaust all alternatives before shooting: Require officers to exhaust all other
alternatives, including non -force and less lethal force options, prior to resorting to
deadly force. The South San Francisco Police Department fully complies with this
recommendation.
• Duty to intervene: Require officers to intervene and stop excessive force used by
other officers and report these incidents immediately to a supervisor. The South San
Francisco Police Department fully complies with this recommendation.
• Require comprehensive reporting: Require officers to report each time they use force or
threaten to use force against civilians. Comprehensive reporting includes requiring officers
to report whenever they point a firearm at someone, in addition to all other types of force.
The South San Francisco Police Department policy fully complies with this recommendation
• Require warning before shooting: Require officers to give a verbal warning in all
situations before using deadly force. The South San Francisco Police Department agrees
with this policy but allows exceptions in extreme situations.
■ The South San Francisco Police Department policy mandates that where feasible,
officers shall, prior to the use of force; make reasonable efforts to warn that
deadly force may be used. Examples when a verbal warning may not be
feasible include but are not limited to: active killer situations, terrorist
activity, hostage rescue situations, or any other situation where the violent
activity of the perpetrator is so immediate that mitigation by verbal warning
may not be feasible. This is a very rare exception.
• Ban shooting at moving vehicles: Ban officers from shooting at moving vehicles in all
cases. The South San Francisco Police Department agrees with this policy but allows
exceptions in extreme situations.
■ An example of such a circumstance would be the imminent threat of death or
great bodily injury by a perpetrator intentionally using a moving vehicle as a
weapon or shooting at people from the vehicle such as a drive-by shooting;
although police do not shoot even in these circumstances if the danger from
shooting outweighs the likelihood of stopping the driver. This is a very rare
exception.
In closing, Police Chief Azzopardi indicated that the South San Francisco Police
Department is always open to dialogue about ways to improve police policies, and is very
transparent about the policies in effect. Community members can find additional
information on the Department's website at https://powerdms.com/public/SSFPD/tree.
Assistant City Manager Ranals announced three food programs available to the community:
1. South San Francisco Drive -Through Food Distribution event scheduled on Friday June 12,
2020 at 10 a.m. at Mills Montessori School in SSF (no documentation required). Contact
Christina Fernandez at (650) 829-6619.
2. Great Plates Delivery, a program administered by San Mateo County, provided 241 meals to
South San Francisco residents. Contact the San Mateo County Office of Aging and Adult
Services at (800) 675-8437.
3. South San Francisco Senior Food Box program, partnership with Rockos Produce, delivered
45 boxes to seniors. Contact Kelli Jo Cullinan with the Magnolia Senior Center at (650) 829-
3822.
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Deputy Director of Economic and Community Development Selander provided an update on the
Small Business Relief Fund Business Loan program and indicated that four businesses are currently
in underwriting. She also reported that two additional businesses awarded declined funding. Mayor
Garbarino inquired about the businesses and requested the names of those businesses. Deputy
Director Selander will seek authorization from the businesses and provide names to Council.
PRESENTATIONS
1. Presentation of a Certificate of Appreciation to Ken Taylor of The Wine Vault for celebrating 20
years of business at 216 Linden Ave. in South San Francisco. (Richard Garbarino, Mayor)
Mayor Garbarino read into the record a Certificate of Appreciation to Mr. Taylor of The Wine Vault
and congratulated him on their 20d' year celebration. South San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
CEO Normandy accepted the certificate on behalf of The Wine Vault and expressed Mr. Taylor's
gratitude for the Council's recognition and support.
2. Presentation of a Certificate of Recognition to Helen Wilborn, student at South San Francisco
High School, as the 2020 Jack Drago Cultural Arts Commission Youth Art Scholarship Award
Recipient. (Rich Garbarino, Mayor)
Cultural Arts Commissioner Campagna presented the award to Ms. Wilborn and gave the history of
the Jack Drago scholarship award. Councilmember Matsumoto read into the record the Certificate
of Recognition.
3. Report regarding development of a shared streets pilot program in the City of South San
Francisco to enhance physical distancing during COVID-19. (Christopher Espiritu, Senior
Planner and Sailesh Mehra, Planning Manager)
Planning Manager Mehra provided an overview of the development of a shared streets pilot
program in the City of South San Francisco to enhance physical distancing during COVID-19.
Senior Planner Espiritu provided an overview of the San Mateo County revised shelter in place
order, which aligned with the Governor's Phase 2 modifications to the statewide stay-at-home order.
Cities around the world begin recovering; one way to meet the challenges ahead is to explore
shifting how public space is allocated or shared and which uses are prioritized, as a way to mitigate
COVID-19's mortality, health, economic, and social impacts.
Exploration of a shared streets program (also known as slow streets or friendly streets) would
support the gradual re -opening of a city's economic activity centers by allowing defined spaces in
the public right-of-way for businesses and restaurants to use sidewalks and/or adjacent parking
spaces for outdoor dining areas, or allocating dedicated spaces to queue for take-out. Some shared
streets efforts to support businesses also include diverting vehicles from specific streets to create a
car -free plaza or market space and emphasize a safe and accessible area for the public.
In addition, the shared streets programs provides residential neighborhoods with extended open
spaces by temporarily limiting through traffic from certain neighborhood streets. This would
enhance residents' capabilities for physically distant socialization that complies with social
distancing protocols, and residents can more comfortably use these low -traffic streets for physically
distant walking, wheelchair rolling, jogging, and biking in neighborhoods throughout the city.
Shared streets programs are temporary in nature and can be implemented on the public right-of-way
using various methods, depending on the needs of each city. This effort is not intended to result in
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negative effects to emergency vehicle access, transit service, the ability for residents on shared
streets to receive deliveries, nor prevent a resident or business owner from accessing their property.
Councilmember Nagales was pleased with the proposed plan. He requested clarification on the
survey responses, signs, and hours of operation. Planning Manager Mehra provided an overview of
the survey and the proposed signage. He indicated that the interim proposal would allow dining in
the right of way, with little cost to businesses, including the use of indoor furniture if removed at the
end of the day. At the request of Councilmember Nagales, Planning Manager Mehra will provide
the Council a cost analysis for barriers, trash receptacles and staff costs.
Councilmember Nicolas expressed her concern with funding and downtown cleanup. Planning
Manager Mehra provided an overview of funding, cleanup efforts, and lessons learned from
neighboring cities.
Councilmember Matsumoto inquired about participating restaurants and business locations.
Economic Development Coordinator Lappen indicated that the survey was conducted informally
with downtown businesses via phone calls and emails (23 responses submitted from the SSF
Chamber of Commerce). South San Francisco Chamber of Commerce CEO Officer Normandy
indicated that the survey was conducted informally due to the timing of the presentation. She
expressed her support of the temporary pilot program.
Vice Mayor Addiego expressed his support of the pilot program option 3 without street closure and
proposed expanding the program to additional areas of the City.
Mayor Garbarino expressed his support of the pilot program option 3 without street closure. He
thanked the staff for the concept design and their hard work. He is hopeful that the program will
help merchants and restaurants during these difficult times.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Members of the public wishing to participate were encouraged to submit public comments in
writing in advance of the meeting to all-cc@ssfnet 6: 00 p. m. on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
City Attorney Woodruff informed the community that the Council received voluminous comments.
The comments were distributed to the Council, uploaded to the website for public viewing, and are
part of the record. The Mayor chose to limit the total amount of time for public comments as
allowed by the Brown Act. Deputy City Clerk Rodriguez read into the record an email from the
Mendieta Family of Daly City and a voicemail from a community member inquiring about the
reopening of restaurants.
COUNCIL COMMENTS/REQUESTS
Councilmember Nagales expressed his support of hosting a virtual interactive Town Hall with a
panel of experts to hear community concerns. Vice Mayor Addiego expressed his support of a
virtual interactive Town Hall. Councilmember Nicolas expressed her support for solution -focused
dialogue.
Councilmember Matsumoto expressed her concern of holding in person Council meetings that do
not follow the SMC Health Officer's social distance protocols that protect the community from
COVID-19. She suggested that the Council limit in person meeting and follow the Health and
Safety protocols.
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Vice Mayor Addiego thanked Joe Zemke, President of the South San Francisco Historical Society,
for including a newspaper clipping of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic in their newsletter. He read
into the record an excerpt from the article.
Mayor Garbarino requested to adjourn in memory of Isidore Camou, father of Francois Camou of
the Basque Cultural Central Center.
CONSENT CALENDAR
The City Clerk duly read the Consent Calendar, after which Council voted and engaged in
discussion of specific item as follows: Items 96 and #7 pulled for further discussion.
Item 6: Councilmember Nagales requested information about the upcoming election and the process
for pulling and filing papers during the election and shelter in place due to COVID-19. City Clerk
Govea Acosta provided an overview of the election process and indicated that she would continue
to work with the San Mateo County Office of Election and would follow the guidance issued by the
Secretary of State, which allows for the distribution and submittal of nomination papers
electronically. The information is available on the City's website at www.ssf.net
Item 7: Councilmember Nicolas inquired about the increase of consultants and requested
clarification. Associate Civil Engineer Chou provided an overview of the proposed increase due to
the rise of CIP projects. City Manager Futrell provided an overview of the pre -approved consultants
and the proposed verified consultant increase. Public Works Director Kim indicated that staff would
be able to move projects forward with a pool of qualified consultants. At the request of Vice Mayor
Addiego, Public Works Director Kim will provide information to the Council on the number of
contracts issued, in-house resources and contract managing process, including city resources and
consultants. Councilmember Matsumoto thanked staff for their time and thoroughness to address
her questions. She shared her concern with the number of consultants and the large turnover of staff,
encouraged staff to hire staff to build a stronger department with intuitional knowledge to make the
department stronger.
4. Motion to approve the Minutes for the meeting of April 22, 2020.
5. Report regarding Resolution No. 73-2020authorizing the acceptance of $41,895 in grant funding
from the California Public Utilities Commission to support the South San Francisco Digital
Literacy Project at the Community Learning Center and approving Budget Amendment 20.047.
(Valerie Sommer, Library Director)
6. Report regarding Resolution No. 74-2020 calling for district -based elections to fill City Council
District 2 and 4, setting candidate statement requirements pursuant to section 13307 of the
California Elections Code, requesting: (1) that the Board of Supervisors of San Mateo County
consolidate the district -based election with the regular election to be held on November 3, 2020;
and (2) that the County Registrar perform certain election services in connection with such
election including conducting the November 3, 2020 district election for the City of South San
Francisco; and (3) authorizing the City Manager to reimburse the County for election service
costs associated with the November 3, 2020 Election (Rosa Govea Acosta, City Clerk).
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7. Report regarding Resolution No. 75-2020 approving and authorizing the City Manager to
execute various Consulting Services Agreements for On -Call Architectural, Engineering and
Other Professional Services for various approved City -funded projects in the amount not to
exceed $300,000 per fiscal year per agreement with selected consultant. (Jeffrey Chou,
Associate Civil Engineer)
8. Report regarding adoption of Ordinance No. 1601-2020 amending the contract between the
Board of Administration, California Public Employees' Retirement System and the City of
South San Francisco to implement the ability for Classic Miscellaneous members in the
Executive Management Unit to pay a portion of the employer share of their CaIPERS pension
costs. (Leah Lockhart, Human Resources Director)
Motion—Vice Mayor Addiego/Second--Councilmember Nicolas: to approve Consent Calendar
items 4-8, by roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Matsumoto, Nagales and Nicolas, Vice Mayor
Addiego and Mayor Garbarino; NAYS: None; ABSENT: None; ABSTAIN: None.
PUBLIC HEARING
9. Report regarding Resolution No. 76-2020 approving the report of stormwater management
service charges, approving the stormwater management service charges for the fiscal year
2020-21, and directing the county to collect stormwater management service charges on the
official tax assessment roll. (Andrew Wemmer, Environmental Compliance Supervisor).
Public Hearing opened. 8:34 p.m.
Environmental Compliance Supervisor Wemmer presented the report and indicated that the
Environmental Protection Agency imposes regulations that mandate local government to control
and reduce stormwater pollution runoff. The Clean Water Act of 1977 and the Water Quality Act of
1987 grants regulatory authority to state government. The framework for regulating stormwater
discharge exists through a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit. The
NPDES Municipal Regional Permit (MRP) regulates stormwater compliance. Approval of the fees
requires a four-fifths vote from the Council.
On July 19, 1993, the City Council adopted a stormwater fee that, at the time, represented an
equitable distribution of stormwater regulation costs. The City established fees in 1993, taking into
consideration the size and use of the parcel and the estimated amount of stormwater runoff
generated by the parcel. Over the last 26 years, the MRP compliance requirements have increased,
while the funding mechanisms for stormwater management have not increased. The fee continues to
remain the same since its inception in 1993. Under the City's Municipal Code requirements, the
Finance Director has filed with the City Clerk a report containing a summary of the annual charges
of real property, computed in conformity with the schedule of charges.
In October 2017, the State Assembly passed Senate Bill (SB) 231. Previously, stormwater was not
included under the definition of "sewer" in Proposition 218, so approval of new or increased
charges for stormwater management services would have required voter or property owner
approval. The Legislature's intention with SB 231 was for stormwater fees/increases to follow the
same path through Public Notice and Hearing as the sanitary sewer service charges. As a result,
very few (if any) municipalities have implemented this process to increase stormwater fees.
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Expected revenue from the fiscal year 2020-21 stormwater fees was approximately $430,667. The
proposed program budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 was $1,243,966. The remaining funding
supplemented with the gas tax and general funds, stormwater fees collected continue to fall short of
the total service cost by roughly $814,000 per year. There is a need to increase the fee in order to
make the fiscal shortfall whole.
Councilmember Nicolas inquired about the stormwater bill increase. Environmental Compliance
Supervisor Wemmer indicated that the charge would remain the same, no increase proposed. He
explained that the funding shortfall is due to MRP regulations and fees collected. City Attorney
Woodruff provided an overview of Proposition 218 and indicated that at the time the City is
restricted in fees.
Motion — Vice Mayor Addiego/Second — Councilmember Nagales: To approve Resolution No. 76-
2020, by roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Matsumoto, Nagales and Nicolas, Vice Mayor
Addiego and Mayor Garbarino; NAYS: None; ABSENT: None; ABSTAIN: None.
10. Report regarding Resolution No. 77-2020 to update the City of South San Francisco's
transportation impact analysis thresholds, as required by the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA), to comply with state -mandated change from level of service (LOS) to vehicle
miles traveled (VMT), pursuant to Senate Bill 743 (2013) and new 2019 CEQA Guidelines.
(Chris Espiritu, Senior Planner and Billy Gross, Senior Planner)
Senior Planner Espiritu presented the report and indicated that Senate Bill (SB) 743 requires
changes be made to the method by which agencies analyze transportation impacts under the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). It modifies the environmental review process by
removing automobile delay (as described by Level of Service (LOS)) or similar measures of
vehicular capacity or traffic congestion, as a significant impact on the environment pursuant to
CEQA. Instead of LOS, SB 743 requires that CEQA assessments for transportation impacts
completed after July 1, 2020 be based on Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), a measure of how much
driving is generated by a project, to better align with state greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals.
In keeping with SB 743, staff is recommending appropriate VMT thresholds to allow the City of
South San Francisco to transition to the VMT metric to assess environmental impacts.
South San Francisco has a work VMT per employee that is higher than the regional average, a
residential VMT per resident that is lower that the regional average, and a total VMT per service
population that is slightly lower than the regional average. This means that most employment
projects in South San Francisco will have a significant VMT impact while many residential projects
will likely have a less than significant impact. The biggest practical effects and changes to the
CEQA process are the ability to screen projects and the type of mitigation measures that will be
required for a proposed project with VMT impacts. Under current CEQA LOS standards, an
employment project that was determined to have a significant impact would be required to provide
typical LOS -related mitigations, such as roadway widening (which is typically infeasible in South
San Francisco), turning lane or traffic queuing improvements, or other roadway infrastructure -
related projects.
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Under the proposed VMT standards, projects that meet screening criteria would experience a
streamlined transportation analysis. Projects with VMT impacts would be required to consider
-� typical VMT related mitigations such as offsite bike lanes and trails to improve access to transit
stations, pedestrian improvements to provide a direct path to transit stops/stations, bus and shuttle
infrastructure or service improvements, TDM measures beyond the current requirements, or the
provision of on-site housing or amenities such as childcare, gym equipment and food service to
reduce off-site trips. However, full mitigation of VMT impacts for employment may not be feasible
since the City's VMT per worker is much higher than the regional average.
The mandate for using VMT thresholds for all CEQA analysis would begin July 1, 2020 the City
would have the ability to holistically evaluate projects for emissions related impacts. Large
employment developments that draw employees from the entire Bay Area region would be required
to include mitigations that support transit use and on-site amenities; most residential projects would
have a less then significant impact under the VMT metric and would not be denied for local
roadway impacts. If adopted, the proposed resolution would take effect on July 1, 2020, consistent
with the timeline under CEQA to update the City's traffic impact analysis threshold.
Councilmember Nagales requested clarification on the VMT threshold for proposed projects near
public transit. Public Works Director Kim and Senior Planner Gross provided an overview of the
amendments and indicated that staff would continue to review projects and request modification to
alleviate traffic impacts.
Motion — Councilmember Nagales/Second — Councilmember Nicolas: To approve Resolution No.
77-2020, by roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Matsumoto, Nagales and Nicolas, Vice Mayor
Addiego and Mayor Garbarino; NAYS: None; ABSENT: None; ABSTAIN: None.
11. Report regarding Resolution No. 78-2020 establishing sewer service rates for the fiscal year
2020-2021; amending the Master Fee Schedule to include the fiscal year 2020-2021 Sewer
Service Rates; adopting the Report of Annual Sewer Rentals Charges for the fiscal year
2020-2021. (Mike Futrell, City Manager & Brian Schumacker, Plant Superintendent).
City Manager Futrell informed Council and the community that there would be no increase of sewer
rates for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. He thanked staff from the Water Quality Control Plant for their
diligent work.
Plant Superintendent Schumacker presented the report and indicated that the South San Francisco -
San Bruno Water Quality Control Plant went into service in 1952 to meet the community's growing
need to protect public health and safeguard San Francisco Bay. The sewage collection and treatment
system operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week, and can process up to 62 million gallons
per day (MGD) of wastewater. The collection system conveys wastewater through a network of
over 165 miles of underground sewer lines and thirteen sanitary sewage pump stations in South San
Francisco to the Water Quality Control Plant (WQCP). This infrastructure serves 16,461 residential
and 1,584 commercial connections.
Plant Superintendent Schumacker praised his team for their recognition as California's 2020
medium Sized Plant of the year for outstanding leadership, efficiency and innovation by the
California Water Environment Association.
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He indicated that regulators continue to make discharge requirements more stringent since the
passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972. The Clean Water Act requires adequate plant upgrades to
meet new state and federal mandates. The most recent mandate required additional plant upgrades
and necessitated the adjustment of user sewer rates to fund the required changes. On June 28, 2017,
the City Council conducted a Proposition 218 process to set sewer rates. Subsequently, the
approved five-year rate plan increased sewer fees to fund the mandated sewer collection system and
treatment plant improvements. Revenues and expenses aligned with the staff's five-year rate plan
projections. At this time, staff did not recommend a 2% fee increase due to their success in securing
a low-interest rate with Clean Water State Revolving Funding, and a $4 million dollar principal
forgiveness from the CWSRF Green Project Reserve.
Council thanked Plant Superintendent Schumacker and his staff for their hard work and dedication
to the residents they serve. Good job!
Motion — Vice Mayor Addiego/Second — Councilmember Nicolas: To approve Resolution No. 78-
2020, by roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Matsumoto, Nagales and Nicolas, Vice Mayor
Addiego and Mayor Garbarino; NAYS: None; ABSENT: None; ABSTAIN: None.
Public Hearing closed.• 9:15 p. m.
ITEMS FROM COUNCIL — COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
None
CLOSED SESSION
12. Public Employee Performance Evaluation
(Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957)
Title: City Attorney
Entered into Closed Session: 9:16 p.m.
Resumed from Closed Session: 10: 00 p. m.
Report out of Closed Session by Mayor Garbarino: No reportable action.
ADJOURNMENT
Being no further business Mayor Garbarino adjourned the meeting in memory of Isidore Camou at
10:01 P.M.
Respectfully submitted by:
Rosa Govea Acosta, CMC, CPMC
City Clerk
Approved by the City Council: 4 � / Z 2 / Za %
Approved by:
Rich rd Garbarino
Mayor
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