CITY OF PACIFICA
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
Council Chambers
2212 Beach Blvd
Pacifica, CA 94044
Mayor Tygarjas Bigstyck
Mayor pro Tem Sue Vaterlaus
Councilmember Sue Beckmeyer
Councilmember Mary Bier
Councilmember Christine Boles
City Council Regular Meeting 1 February 27, 2023
SPECIAL and REGULAR MEETING
February 27, 2023 (MONDAY)
www.cityofpacifica.org
Mayor Tygarjas Bigstyck called the meeting to order on February 27, 2023 at 6:20 PM 6:15 PM CLOSED SESSION
Mayor Bigstyck called the meeting to order at 6:20 p.m.
A. Conference with Real Property Negotiations (Government Code § 54956.8). Property: 1220 Linda Mar Boulevard, Pacifica California. Agency Negotiation: Kevin Woodhouse, City Manager and Michelle Kenyon, City Attorney. Negotiating Parties: North Coast County Water District. Under Negotiation: Price and terms of payment for Right of Entry Agreement. 7:00 PM OPEN SESSION
Call to Order
Mayor Bigstyck reconvened the meeting at 7:05 p.m.
Attendee Name Title Status Arrived
Tygarjas Bigstyck Mayor Present
Sue Vaterlaus Mayor pro Tem Present
Sue Beckmeyer Councilmember Present
Mary Bier Councilmember Present
Christine Boles Councilmember Present
City Clerk Coffey took a verbal roll call.
Staff Present: Kevin Woodhouse, City Manager; Michelle Kenyon, City Attorney; Lisa Petersen, PW Director; Yulia Carter, Asst. City Manager; Christian Murdock, Planning Director; Chris Clements, Acting Police Chief; Roland Yip, PW Dep. Director; Ryan Marquez, Project Manager; Bob Palacio, PB&R Director; Jason Bustria, IT Analyst; Sarah Coffey, City Clerk; Emily La, Dep.
City Clerk.
Reading of Land Acknowledgment
City Council Regular Meeting 2 February 27, 2023
Mayor Bigstyck read the Land Acknowledgement.
Salute to the Flag led by Councilmember Bier
Closed Session Report
City Attorney Kenyon stated there was no reportable action.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Bigstyck asked if any Councilmembers wanted to pull any item from Consent and, seeing no one, opened public comments.
Kathleen Manning, Pacifica, stated she wanted to inform them on the progress of the railroad car, with the projected goal that it will be a historical item that will be visible from Highway 1 and be a big tourist attraction.
Mayor Bigstyck closed public comments. He then thanked Marc Berman for introducing Assembly Bill 612 and Senator Josh Becker for co-authoring it. He stated that their unwavering support for Pacifica was deeply appreciated. He was also excited to see the next steps on the railcar project.
Councilmember Beckmeyer wanted one clarifying statement regarding the STR item No. 9. She stated her question was regarding the number 150, and she wanted to understand for the public and be clear in her mind as to why they can’t limit 150 units versus permits.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that one aspect of the program related to administering it is that, if they already have almost 150 STR permits, they would have to figure out a process and a regime to eliminate people or grandfather them in the program, and they haven’t studied that.
He stated that there are a lot of legal implications for how that would roll out for people who are already permitted in the program. City Manager Woodhouse added that, if the cap is below what is already permitted in the program, they didn’t study that possibility and they would have to spend more time to figure out how it would roll out and be implemented to achieve the cap.
Planning Director Murdock stated that staff offered a cap above the number of short term rentals they believe to be operating. It was something within their means with current staffing and workload that they could prepare as a near term fix without going into further extensive analysis that might affect the rest of Council’s identified work plan. They have taken that feedback and, if Council directs them, and they are able to work on more extensive regulations for this coming fiscal year, that is an area they can focus attention on and figure out if there are other regulatory approaches that an ordinance could take.
Councilmember Beckmeyer thanked him for the clarification. She wanted to make it clear that, while it may seem like it is changing one word, permits vs units, it is not that simple.
Councilmember Boles stated that she was going to follow up on that also as there were a few letters from public comments asking that question again. She has been telling people that they analyzed that there were currently 136 permits plus 25 additional units because units and permits don’t relate. She stated that two weeks ago, there were ten more being legalized so 161, which is already over the cap. She stated that, if they went back, they would slow down the cap and might have more permits come up in the meantime. She thought it was important to get the process moving and they will definitely have it at goal setting. She stated that she City Council Regular Meeting 3 February 27, 2023
was looking at the new language added on 9-4-4907, which is the section entitled permit revocation and enforcement. She then read what was added, and she wondered if they want to add language regarding accepting, prioritizing, and revoking.
City Attorney Kenyon stated that the city administrator does not have unilateral authority to revoke, and it would have to go through a due process hearing to revoke. She stated that the language does allow the administrator to promulgate rule and regulations that will deal with renewal as renewal is not automatic.
Councilmember Boles concluded that the language would allow permits to be revoked but not certain processes.
City Attorney Kenyon stated just not renewed.
Mayor Bigstyck asked if he was correctly understanding that in a worst case scenario, if they go over the cap, it would not take much more than a year before they would say they are at the cap so they will not renew them.
City Attorney Kenyon responded affirmatively. That would be a basis for not renewing the permits.
Mayor pro Tem Vaterlaus made a motion to approve the consent agenda as written; seconded by Councilmember Bier.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Sue Vaterlaus, Mayor pro Tem
SECONDER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
AYES: Bigstyck, Vaterlaus, Beckmeyer, Bier, Boles
1. Approval of Minutes
PROPOSED ACTION: Move to approve the minutes of the City Council Special and Regular Meeting held on February 13, 2023.
2. Quarterly Financial Report for the Quarter ending December 31, 2022.
PROPOSED ACTION: Review and accept the Quarterly Financial Report for the Quarter ending December 31, 2022.
3. Quarterly Treasurer’s Reports for the quarter ending December 31, 2022.
PROPOSED ACTION: Review and accept the Quarterly Treasurer’s Reports for the quarter ending December 31, 2022.
4. Letter of sponsorship for Assembly Bill 612 (AB 612), introduced by Assemblymember Marc Berman with principal co-author Senator Josh Becker, to authorize the purchase of excess Caltrans property in the Pedro Point neighborhood for state parks purposes.
PROPOSED ACTION: Authorize the Mayor to send a letter of sponsorship on behalf of the City Council for AB 612 related to the purchase of excess Caltrans property for State Parks purposes in the Pedro Point neighborhood.
5. Adopt Resolution revising job description, title and salary for Associate Civil Engineer in PW Wastewater to Senior Civil Engineer
City Council Regular Meeting 4 February 27, 2023
PROPOSED ACTION: Recommended Resolution revising the job description, title, and salary for the Associate Civil Engineer in Public Works Wastewater Division to Senior Civil Engineer
6. Approval of Purchase, Including Demolition, of a Walk-in Refrigerator/Freezer for the Pacifica Community Center
PROPOSED ACTION: Approve the following action to:
A. Approve Purchase Agreement with Bay Area Mechanical LLC for $104,956.23 plus a 10% contingency to purchase a newly onsite constructed walk-in refrigerator/freezer for a total of $115,451.85
B. Adopt the Resolution to Approve Agreement to purchase a new onsite walk-in refrigerator/freezer for the Pacifica Community Center main kitchen C. Authorize the City Manager to execute all documents related to these agreements.
7. Storage License Agreement For Railcar #1409 (Salada Ave & Francisco Blvd) - Portion of Parking Lot (APN 016-060-100).
PROPOSED ACTION:
A. Approve the License Agreement with "The Pacifica Historical Society" to temporarily store Ocean Shore Railcar #1409 at Salada Ave & Francisco Blvd Parking Lot B. Adopt the Resolution to Approve Agreement with the "The Pacifica Historical Society" to temporarily store Ocean Shore Railcar #1409 at Salada Ave & Francisco Blvd Parking Lot
C. Authorize the City Manager to execute all documents related to this agreement
8. Resolution Approving Agreement with Universal Building Services for Janitorial Services PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to approve a Vendor Agreement for Products and/or Services for Janitorial Services for Citywide Facilities with Universal Building Services and Supply Company in an amount Not to Exceed $18,563/month.
9. Adoption of an Ordinance to amend Article 49, “Short-Term Rentals” of the City of Pacifica Zoning Regulations (Title 9, Chapter 4 of the Pacifica Municipal Code [“PMC”]) to establish a cap of 150 short-term rental permits issued citywide and various other conforming amendments (File No. 2022-036 – Text Amendment TA-123-22).
Recommended California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) status: Exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines § 15061(b)(3)).
PROPOSED ACTION: Move to waive the second reading and adopt “An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Amending Article 49 (Short Term Rentals) of Chapter 4 of Title 9 of the Pacifica Municipal Code (Text Amendment TA-123-22) and Finding adoption of the text amendment exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).”
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE POSTED AGENDA
Dan Stegink, Pacifica, referred to the Coastal Commission hearing on Pacifica’s LCP on March 8 and he encouraged anyone interested in the issue to attend, sharing some historical information. He then expressed his concerns regarding the Anza sanitary sewer overflow.
City Council Regular Meeting 5 February 27, 2023
Anita Rees, PRC Director, updated information on the PRC’s hours, the next grocery distribution scheduled for March 22 at the American Legion Hall, and several other programs that are activated, such as outreach to the unhoused, tax prep services, etc.
Robine Runneals, Pacifica, referred to the Coastal Commission hearing on the LCP, and she shared her disagreement with their thinking on the issue and suggested citizens attend the meeting to advocate for the city.
Jeff Guillet, Pacifica, thanked Council for their work on the sea wall project, and he also read the Coastal Commission’s response and was also disappointed in the Coastal Commission’s managed retreat agenda, sharing his concerns on the issue and supported the city’s efforts.
Chris Redfield, Pacifica, stated he was reiterating Mr. Guillet’s and Ms. Runneals’ comments, and specifically shared his concerns on this issue.
COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS
Councilmember Boles stated she met with the Pacific Beach Coalition and announced their upcoming beach cleanups and habitat restoration project. She attended her first meeting with the Emergency Preparedness Commission, and they had beginning discussions on emergency evacuation routes. She attended the Commute.org meeting and she plans to try and meet with them individually. She stated that they approved their two-year project with a lot of cities, but Pacifica is not on the list. She will try to find out what it will take to get on the list. She attended the Pacifica Democrats and had a great presentation by Josh Becker. After the Half Moon Bay shooting, she attended an event there called Brews and Views which had Joaquin Jimenez and representatives from MidPen and an ADU company. After the meeting, she spoke with Serena Ip from MidPen, and they were complaining about how slow approval processes were for affordable housing, such as the one in Moss Beach. She wondered what their procedures were on looking at new state laws that take away local control, as Ms. Ip stated that they weren’t planning to use those procedures as it would cause more turmoil and ill will in the community and not good for low-income residents. She stated they had the League of Cities dinner in Hillsborough, with Jackie Speier as a speaker, and mentioned Jackie Speier’s upcoming foundation. She met with some of the businesses and residents at Manor Plaza to bring some possible improvements to the parking lot. She stated that the last time she met Len Materman of OneShoreline and walked with him to the Sharp Park sea wall area and explained the issues and they drove to Manor to see the recent erosion and site of the two proposed projects on Esplanade. She stated that their agency works across jurisdictions, and she mentioned that they had trouble working with San Francisco and he offered to help with that. She met with Joe Simitian who is considering running for Anna Eshoo’s seat if she doesn’t continue. They talked about airplane noise as he was on a committee with Ms. Eshoo and he is connecting her with his staff to get more information on what we can do.
Councilmember Beckmeyer attended several meetings. The CCAG Committee Resource Management and Climate Protection Committee met on February 15, and they discussed ongoing changes by lifting the emergency statewide. All the committee meetings are going to be in person with strict remote rules and regulations on the coast, which are challenging as they are encouraged to work to reduce greenhouse gases and reduce vehicle miles traveled. She is hoping for some movement and softening of that over time because it is problematic. She stated that they had a presentation from Bay Area Air Quality Management District. It is about recommendations that they have and seeking around appliances for residential and small commercial, and they are laying out the game plan of what they are seeking to change in the City Council Regular Meeting 6 February 27, 2023
future regarding replacement of appliances. They have had presentations in conjunction with PCE with a pilot model study of ten different homes in the county and took them where they are now and what it would take to electrify. She met with Coastal Cities group and they talked about upcoming legislation; she thought at the Democrats meeting someone provided them about legislation that possibly be brought forward and how it would work i.e., the state would purchase properties and rent them back and different thinking to address properties in danger and she was looking forward to more information on that. She referred to the statewide sea level rising working group that has coastal commissioners, county organization representatives, and League of Cities - they spent a lot of time doing the local government workshop recap she attended on June 27, and one of the themes that came out in preparation for that meeting that was underscored at the state level working group meeting last Friday were issues and themes about building trust. When they have people’s property at stake and the future of our planet at stake, the challenge is to listen to each other and look at what is short term, medium term, long term and how do we go as a community integrating change and how do they make that work.
She stated a good place to start is in building trust. She stated that it is identified as a key component. She stated that regarding vision, it has to be a big picture to bring it down to small picture and they are looking at when there will be a next meeting, what opportunity is there for the public to engage, and are they looking at existing conferences happening in all kinds of different venues. She has to follow up with staff on a planning directors meeting as there are ways to engage and get on the agendas for the meeting. They are trying to identify how they describe a neighborhood approach or some kind of regional approach to sea rise and how they take like properties, not individually but together that are affected by the same conditions and treat that, and how they benefit from other communities that have done that. She thought a term for planners is properties that have a similar landscape. She enjoyed the Council of Cities meeting and looked forward to hearing more about the forthcoming foundation that Jackie Speier is launching off the ground.
Councilmember Bier attended the housing endowment and regional trust meeting, the HEART board, and they elected a new chair and vice chair and she will be scheduling a one on one meeting with Armando Sanchez, Director of HEART, and learning about their operational budget and upcoming projects and the various committees. She felt it was good to be a part of that board and sitting with leaders from around the region. She stated they had the Pacifica Pride planning meeting, and she encouraged our community to participate in that event on the first weekend of June where they will have a parade and a family festival at IBL; they will be looking for volunteers and people who want to do activities for the festival and be in the parade.
They will also be doing fundraising with partners at Pedro Point Brewing and Winters, etc. She stated that they need to raise money to get it done, but they are excited as they have a great planning committee. She thanked staff member, Alyssa Barranti, for showing up and leading and guiding them through the process. She stated that they had the meeting with North Coast County Water Department. She stated that she and the mayor are trying to create a collaborative relationship with the water district and they can understand where their projects and our project intersect and how they can be a partner in all the things coming forward. She was proud to be a part of that as it is going well. She attended the Pacifica Democrats meeting and was able to talk to Senator Becker about some issues she has around substance use and some funding issues and she is going to have a meeting with him to talk about that more and see about authoring a bill. She thanked Councilmember Boles for explaining the Council of Cities so well. She thanked Horace Hinshaw for the Pacifica Sports Hall of Fame and everything he does for our community. She thanked Project Manager Marquez, and she felt he has been an asset to our community by going out there and talking to people to get information.
She stated that it will be hard to replace him and she will miss him. She reminded everyone about goal setting on Saturday and stated it was an opportunity for the public to come and let City Council Regular Meeting 7 February 27, 2023
them know what they are passionate about.
Mayor pro Tem Vaterlaus stated that she did what others did, such as Council of Cities and Pacifica Sports Hall of Fame. She attended the Fog Fest committee where they are already planning for next year. She attended the police department swearing in for new officers and staff. She enjoyed listening to Josh Becker at the Democrats meeting. She attended the Asian American Association of Commerce Lunar New Year’s celebration. She attended the memorial of one of our people who was active in rent control, Tom Thompson, and it was a sad event.
She stated Ray Muelller presented at the Realtors meetings and she heard Ray Mueller talk again. She was interviewed for Home for All public convening. She met with former state senator, Joe Simitian, and they did preparation for the upcoming goalsetting.
Mayor Bigstyck shared his thoughts with Ukraine and his condolences to Paisanos who had the fire on Valentine’s Day. He had his first OSPAC meeting. There was a presentation from regarding the 570 Crespi development. He stated that it was nice to hear about the development more laid back setting and he expressed gratitude that he was willing to be a part of that meeting and telling his story a bit more. He stated that, at the meeting, Jim Sullivan was voted recipient of the 2023 preservation award. He stated that there was an update on the trail cattle hill workday that was held by OSPAC and he was grateful to be present for that workday.
They were installing water bars and learning how to install them. He thanked Public Works for supporting their effort. He thanked everyone who came out. He was looking forward to the next volunteer workday. He stated that the swearing in ceremony for promoted officers and congratulated everyone for their promotions. He stopped at the Coast Pride Happy Hour held at Table Wine and was happy to check that out and say hi to some people, apparently one of a series of Pride happy hours they are doing up and down the coast to establish comradery and raise awareness. He was present at the Pacifica Democrats to hear Josh Becker speak. He enjoyed attending the Chinese American Association of Commerce, lunar new year dinner in South City with Mayor pro Tem Vaterlaus and other local electeds from the area. He stated that there was a lot of entertainment and a good time. He had an orientation meeting with the directing officer of LAFCO, the local agency formation commission. He attended Council of Cities and it was good to hear Jackie Speier talk about her initiative addressing poverty where women and children are concerned, and he was looking forward to watching her bring that off the ground and getting involved. There was a Peninsula Clean Energy meeting and they started by mentioning the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. There is a meeting on March 15 around possible rules vis a vis electrification to bring down not just natural gas emissions and it seemed that all agencies are starting to get involved in planning the best ways to electrify our society and he thought it was a good thing in terms of having better quality of air and bringing down the greenhouse gases. He stated that, as far as PCE work, they have been pushing out a lot of information on the 24/7 work they have been doing to make sure that not merely having clean energy but clean energy on a constant basis. He stated that there is a PG&E rate increase coming down on March 1 and generally they match PG&E’s rate and undercut them by 5%; we opted not to change our prices this round as it would have increased our prices by .002 cents which doesn’t sound like much but for us that is $2 million and we are going to take the loss rather than continuously following in constant price changes from PG&E and the public is getting a slightly better deal than normally would if they are a PCE customer.
He stated that they rolled out a phase 2 of electrifying public sites with solar. They have a Pacifica project putting solar on the Community Center and there are 107 sites that are going to be looked at among 22 agencies in Pacifica and they will be checking out if they can do it on the Community Center or the wastewater sewer plant and there might be another location they will be investigating. He stated that they are going back to in person hybrid meetings on March 23.
They talked about a pilot to electrify low-income homes they already had underway and they City Council Regular Meeting 8 February 27, 2023
increased that budget by $1.5 million so everyone on the waitlist can get off the waitlist and hopefully, from what they learned from this pilot, they can scale it to help a lot more low-income families than they have been able to so far with this project. He stated that they received a report from the citizens advisory committee and reviewed some survey results. He congratulated the Sports Hall of Fame inductees at the dinner and he thanked Horace Hinshaw for making sure we are aware of our sports people in Pacifica. He stated that he had lunch with Joe Simitian and has been hearing a lot about the Santa Clara County supervisor for some time.
He stated he was a nice fellow and it was interesting in their conversation with him, that in his district there was a mass of quarry issues going on which eclipses ours substantially but in conversation with him, he was able to get a deeper insight about what the quarry reclamation processes look like and felt he has a better orientation. He stated that Council goal setting will be Saturday at the Community Center for 2023-2024 year, and if the public has any interest in what they are going to be doing in the coming year, he suggested that they attend the meeting on Saturday to share their thoughts. He stated that there is a Planning Commission meeting on March 6 regarding the quarry reclamation project and there are a lot of strong feelings and will get messy but it is important for people to show up to share their thoughts and remember that there are multiple perspectives and through sharing them, the city can figure out the best approach is going to be. He stated that there is the Coastal Commission meeting coming up in Half Moon Bay and they are presumably talking about the LCLUP.
Councilmember Beckmeyer stated that she wanted to mention thanking staff and Gino Assereto for supporting the Rotary Club cleanup at the Rotary Plaza area outside the Sanchez Art Center as that was very productive, and as in the trail maintenance, it is helpful to have such a responsive staff in delivering wood chips and picking stuff up and a huge thanks to Alyssa Barranti and Asst. City Manager Carter for the work they have done in the Economic Development space around helping the businesses affected by the fire. She also thanked the mayor for the morning of the minute after the fire, reaching out to Congresswoman Eshoo’s office. She stated that this is why we have relationships, to reach out when we need help. She stated that the support has been forthcoming and wonderful.
STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
City Manager Woodhouse stated that the Pacifica Sports Hall of Fame event on Saturday night was fun and he enjoyed MC-ing that event. He referred to upcoming goal setting and provided details on time and location. He stated that this year’s process will be slightly different as it is a strategic planning workshop with Council spending time on talking about mission, vision and values and developing those statements, then talking about goals and strategies to achieve the mission, vision and values. He stated that it is a bit different from the normal Council priority setting, but will be worthwhile. He stated that the public review draft of the housing element was distributed on Friday and on March 21, there will be a joint study session with Planning Commission and City Council in Council Chambers to go over the housing element. He stated that there is a 30-day public review period. He stated that there is an upcoming community workshop meeting, led by PW staff, related to the Manor Drive overcrossing project and Saturday, with flyers to more than 3000 residents around the area. He stated that information on that meeting will be distributed on social media as well. He stated his last item is something the mayor mentioned, i.e., our solar purchasing agreement with PCE. For clarification, they have entered into an agreement for the Community Center and the feasibility of solar at the newly renovated Civic Center and P&P building will be evaluated as well as the feasibility of solar at the Calera Creek water recycling plant. He tried to get a column in the Tribune this week but there wasn’t space, but they will get out the information, probably through the city’s for the record page. He also referenced a recent article in the Tribune that discussed a major City Council Regular Meeting 9 February 27, 2023
priority for Council, i.e., updating our climate action plan, and it will be on the work plan to be revisited to tee off this spring. He stated that planning and measuring is critically important, and implementing actions is also critically important. He then turned the communications to Acting Chief Clements.
Acting Police Chief Clements stated that, on February 16, they recognized seven employees, four of them new hires. He stated that, in addition to police officers, they have four full time support staff members, three hired last year. He stated that they recognize Suzanne Camargo, hired as their evidence technician; Kim Soo, as a records clerk; Lucie Braun as a new administrative assistant; and a new officer, Audie Meehleib. They were also recognizing three officers who were promoted: Eric Martinez, hired in 2017 and promoted to the rank of Corporal; Corporal William Smith joined the police department in 2016, and was promoted to the rank of Corporal; and Jesus Aranda joined the police department in 2008, and was promoted to Sergeant. He stated that they are excited to recognize those employees and their accomplishments this past year.
PUBLIC HEARINGS - NONE.
CONSIDERATION
10. Beach Boulevard Infrastructure Resiliency Project Phase 2 Engagement Plan PROPOSED ACTION: Receive a presentation on key elements of a Communication & Engagement Plan for the Beach Boulevard Infrastructure Resiliency Project Phase 2A, provide input on the key elements, and appoint a Council ad hoc subcommittee to continue to give input to the staff and consultant team in finalizing and beginning to implement the plan.
Project Manager Marquez stated he was joined by PW Director Petersen and consultants Aaron Holloway and Katie DeLeuw. He then began the staff report.
Kearns & West Consultant DeLeuw and GWD Consultant Holloway continued the staff report.
Project Manager Marquez completed the staff report.
Councilmember Beckmeyer asked about the project team office hour concept, which addressed what they were imparting the need for the community to engage and have an opportunity to ask their questions on a deeper level. She asked if they know where they are going to do that.
Mayor Bigstyck stated that he also wanted them to elaborate on what the office hours mean, and Councilmember Beckmeyer agreed.
Project Manager Marquez stated that the office hours were envisioned to be online/virtual so someone can sign online and say they would like to talk to the team on a specific element.
They are envisioning them to be aligned with project milestones and being 1-2 hours virtual where you sign up and give them specifics of what you want to talk about to be sure the appropriate staff and project team members are there to discuss that.
Consultant DeLeuw added that she used them on other projects to spend some one on one time with people who have more interest and want to dig deep into the technical components.
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Mayor Bigstyck asked if she said it was just virtual.
Consultant DeLeuw stated that virtual is the plan.
Mayor Bigstyck thought they might want to consider adding one in-person session for our community members.
Councilmember Boles stated that she attended all the Beach Boulevard meetings and she is a little confused on where they are in the process and what decisions they can still be looking at on moving forward. She remembered there was a good deal of public interest in one of the survey questions on looking at the Plaza and moving the sea wall inland and having a bigger beach. She also mentioned the ideas of having double walls so they don’t have to be as high and, if they are still open to considerations that the community might want input on.
Project Manager Marquez believes that a lot of how they deal with the transition behind the sea wall with eye changes are still very much in play for design and they can make sure that is something the community agrees with how they are handling that. He thought the actual placement, east and west, is something that is going to be harder to get public feedback on as it will be driven a lot by regulation.
Consultant Holloway thought they need to take a closer look at the different segments of the sea wall; in Phase One, they were looking across the whole reach and what are some of the general strategies that they think can be effective. He stated that now they want to take a closer look at different areas, such as north or south of the pier, including where the wall goes relative to the existing wall and in some cases it may make more sense to relocate it in a more landward position for regulatory and cost reasons. He stated that those strategies mentioned are still part of the design process.
PW Director Petersen added that it highlights the beauty of these office hours. She stated that the public who want to get into some of those technical details, that would be a great opportunity for them to talk about that. She thought, with others, it might be beyond what they want to comment on, which was the whole point of the office hours.
Councilmember Boles referred to beach nourishment, stating that is something the Coastal Commission would prefer in terms of being able to maintain access, and at the meeting where Council approved this particular hybrid option that included the sand nourishment, there was a lot of concern expressed about the ability to get sand, how often they would have to replace it, and how much that would cost the city over the life of the wall. She asked if those will be analyzed in more detail so they will understand it.
Project Manager Marquez agreed that it will be looked at a lot closer in this sub phase.
Councilmember Bier wanted to clarify what they are talking about at this time, which is the community engagement piece or outreach, and if the ad hoc committee is going to specifically be working on community engagement.
Project Manager Marquez responded affirmatively.
Mayor Bigstyck followed up by asking if this ad hoc was being considered only for sub phase 2A or is it being considered for the entire phase 2.
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Project Manager Marquez thought they were proposing it just for 2A at this time.
Mayor Bigstyck stated that they mentioned two surveys to reach a wider audience, and he asked if that was not the flash surveys, but a more regular style survey.
Project Manager Marquez stated that they haven’t committed to a platform but he didn’t believe they were looking at flash surveys at this point.
Mayor Bigstyck thought that would give him an opportunity for feedback when they have the deliberation portion of this item.
Mayor Bigstyck opened public comments.
Jim Kremer, Pacifica, stated, regarding the phase 2 engagement, he supported continuation of the ad hoc subcommittee and expressed his thoughts on considering Councilmember Boles.
Kimberly Finale, Pacifica, stated she would like to second Mr. Cremer’s opinion regarding Councilmember Boles having an opportunity to serve on the ad hoc subcommittee on this topic.
She then commented on a community engagement popup.
Mark Hubbell, Pacifica, referred to geologists who don’t think the sea wall is a good idea, and he questioned if they are engaging an independent qualified geologist for an opinion on the project as it is well-known that sea walls make a lot of changes.
Chris Redfield, Pacifica, stated that this is a fantastic idea, and expressed his thoughts on this critical issue.
Mayor Bigstyck closed public comments.
Mayor Bigstyck liked the popup idea and clarified that they are unable to have a 3-person ad hoc committee, referring to the City Attorney.
City Attorney Kenyon clarified that, if they want to delegate consideration of community engagement or other tasks for phase 2A, they can only do it by a 2-member ad hoc committee or a regular special meeting of the full Council under the Brown Act.
Councilmember Boles appreciated what they are bringing forth to Council today and she agreed that engagement is so critical. She referred to Councilmember Beckmeyer’s comments on having open and honest conversations to build trust among the community on these difficult issues. She heard from several people as they look toward grant funding of this important project; it is important for the agencies and government to see that there is consensus behind the project in the community. She stated that the whole city is being asked to pay for this and it was important to have the mailers to the whole city and communication with as many people as possible to help build consensus moving forward. She stated that she had some comments and suggestions about the engagement piece. She referred to the ad hoc committee, stating that she would like to be on the committee and she thanked for the speakers whom she met.
She stated that, when running for office, she had the district map and it was interesting that District 2 which she represents includes the first two blocks in Sharp Park, as well as past the pier and the Council Chambers to Birch Lane. She has been deeply engaged in the issues around it. She stated that her constituents in the Shore View neighborhood are concerned.
She stated that, when the first ad hoc committee was formed, we didn’t have district elections.
City Council Regular Meeting 12 February 27, 2023
She stated that, on other issues, she had offered to meet with neighbors near the sewage issues and Anza, and they concluded that the Councilmember who represented them was better suited to meet with them. She added that she was very involved and doesn’t need to do any catch up on the technical information. She would appreciate the opportunity to be in the meetings with a consultant to talk about the engagement. She stated that, as an architect, this is something she does in her work all the time to take things that are very difficult to understand technically and break them down to explain it to the public; thus, she thought she would be a valuable asset for that. She thought she was the most active Councilmember on social media and has been using multiple platforms to educate the public on a number of issues and she wants to continue that on this project.
Councilmember Beckmeyer referred to the project outline in the packet talking about additional engagement activities to consider; it looks like these were recommendations for the next phase and she wanted to zero in on the community working group suggestion and find out if there was thought about the appropriate time for such a group, as in this community there needs to be one. She knows the popups work well, but she wanted to hear more about the community working group and what it entails.
Project Manager Marquez stated that she is correct that this is the plan from phase 1 and they plan to update the plan as part of phase 2 and 2A. His recollection is that the community working group was possibly an advisory role group that could be undertaken in the feasibility phase, and now they are more focused into the design aspect of the actual alternative, the team did not see that as an appropriate measure at this time.
Councilmember Boles appreciated the addition of the project team office hours, as they have well-qualified people in our community who want to dig into the weeds. She is pleased to get them answered now on Council, but it would be nice for other members of the public to be able to ask those questions. She stated that, just because someone asks difficult questions doesn’t mean that they are necessarily against the project, but they want to make sure they understand everything as it is a big commitment and change to our community. She loves the idea of the popups on the berm. She asked if they could consider adding signage to other public buildings, i.e., city hall, libraries, flyers inside Chit-Chat. She referred to the postcards and thought, if they are having all of these meetings and only sending out one postcard, it would be important to make sure they are finalized on all the dates before they send that out, as there are a number of people in the community that don’t get email updates if they aren’t connected. She stated that part of the frustration she heard in the first section was that the renderings were nice but a bird’s eye view and the sections they say at this time aren’t easy for the general public to understand; she wanted to ask for renderings that are from the view of the people walking in different areas, such as Beach Boulevard, but also Palmetto. One of her concerns is that, if looking at a 5-foot high wall or taller, they are losing the visual connection from Sharp Park to the ocean and that might be a deterrent to some of the businesses because that is what attracts people. She also liked the idea of a community working group if possible to consider.
Councilmember Bier wanted to highlight the fact that it is about community outreach and make sure it is understood that is what the ad hoc subcommittee is about. She thought, if the subcommittee thinks they will get all their technical questions answered during this time when they should be concentrating on outreach that could be a hinderance. She is happy in sharing leadership, but she thinks they need representation from across the districts. She wants to be sure that the parameters of the ad hoc subcommittee are super clear so the time is spent where it is supposed to be spent. She did participate before and she thought it was important for them to use the time spent together to make sure they give feedback so the engagement could City Council Regular Meeting 13 February 27, 2023
happen. She thinks that Councilmember Beckmeyer is always a good person to have on a subcommittee when you are talking about outreach because she is good at it.
Councilmember Boles hears her and understands her concern. She understood that there will be a different place for asking technical questions in the sense of making sure the information the community cares about is there and they have the proper drawings to show what they are communicating and how that information is getting out and understandable. She stated that there are technical decisions are part of it, but they need to make sure they are communicating them in a way that the general population without that training can understand.
Councilmember Beckmeyer stated that on the popups, she would like to incorporate the business community in West Sharp Park specifically, and she would add the non-profit library community who is probably the biggest employer. She then thanked Councilmember Bier for her kind words, and she was about to say the same thing about her. She believes that Councilmember Bier is the best outreach person in Pacifica. She then stated that she would like to echo Councilmember Bier’s statement about sharing leadership, and she would be willing to step back and allow another Councilmember to participate with her in this phase.
Councilmember Bier stated that she was going to say the same thing and was willing to step back as she thought they need representation from across the city.
Mayor pro Tem Vaterlaus was glad they are sending a postcard to everyone, as all this area is important to everyone in Pacifica as well as those coming from outside the city. She thinks the popups are good.
Mayor Bigstyck noted that they have two humble compromising councilmembers as well as a new voice on Council who should be spreading her wings. He is grateful to serve on a Council who has members who are very understanding and trying to be collaborative for the sake of our community so it will wind up being protected, safe and engaged in a fashion that the least damage can be done to our environment. He thinks that Councilmember Boles would work very well with Councilmember Bier.
Councilmember Bier thought two different styles are necessary. She felt what Councilmember Beckmeyer brings to the table is important because of a balance. She stated that it would be her motion that Councilmember Beckmeyer serve on the committee with Councilmember Boles as she thought it was a smart balance.
Mayor Bigstyck stated that he will articulate on why he thinks Councilmembers Boles and Bier would make a good pair. He stated that Councilmember Bier has articulated succinctly and adeptly a great deal of frustration that is shared by other members who have already gone through this process. He shares some of her articulated concerns and by doing that, she demonstrates that she is already communicating effectively with Councilmember Boles that, as she already has a robust understanding from engaging in the first part of the process of what the purpose of this process is, he thinks her ability to communicate that effectively along with Councilmember Boles’ desire to make sure the community feels heard and gets what they need in order to participate in the best way possible. He thought he was already hearing a mode of communication that can exist between them and that is why he puts forth that recommendation.
Councilmember Boles added that she would be delighted to serve with either of them.
Mayor Bigstyck asked if the other councilmembers have strong opinions or not.
City Council Regular Meeting 14 February 27, 2023
Councilmember Beckmeyer stated that Councilmember Bier, a communicator, organizer, educator, out-reacher, has a unique and strong ability to lead with her heart and say what needs to be said as demonstrated at this time.
Mayor Bigstyck moved to appoint Councilmembers Bier and Boles to the ad-hoc subcommittee; seconded by Mayor pro Tem Vaterlaus.
Mayor Bigstyck called a break and then reconvened the meeting.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Tygarjas Bigstyck, Mayor
SECONDER: Sue Vaterlaus, Mayor pro Tem
AYES: Bigstyck, Vaterlaus, Beckmeyer, Bier, Boles
11. 2022 Annual Progress Reports on Implementation of the 2015-2023 Housing Element of the General Plan, and the City of Pacifica General Plan PROPOSED ACTION: Move to adopt a Resolution approving the City’s 2022 Housing Element Annual Progress Report on Implementation of the 2015-2023 Housing Element and the 2022 General Plan Annual Progress Report on Implementation of Other Elements of the General Plan, and directing the City Manager to transmit the reports to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR).
Planning Director Murdock presented the staff report.
Mayor Bigstyck thanked him, stating it was important for Council to have this prior to the goal setting session. He appreciated the robust Housing Element process Planning has been engaging in, as well as quarry reclamation, LCLUP, and everything else.
Councilmember Boles echoed his comments and also appreciated getting this before goal setting and before their next discussion on the next Housing Element. She noted the land use element says no reportable action on implementation but she knows they have done a lot in the General Plan update to rezone and increase density and height in some areas as part of the General Plan and Sharp Park Specific Plan, and she thought those are good things to convey, i.e., doing the work to bring more housing in the future.
Planning Director Murdock stated that the perspective he took in preparing the report was that those were the baseline components and when they take actions to implement zoning to effectuate the General Plan or approve projects that might achieve those objectives in the land use element, those would likely be the types of activities that would be recorded under the land use element. He stated that the land use element aren’t necessarily reportable actions through the framework he used to prepare the report.
Councilmember Boles stated that the packet talks about the deed restricted units and in four years they have only approved four units that were deed-restricted. To inform her and the public, she wondered if he could explain the difference between deed-restricted properties and non-deed restricted properties, especially in relation to affordable units.
Planning Director Murdock stated that most often deed-restricted affordable housing unit will arise through the city’s below market rate inclusionary zoning program, i.e., 15% of units of a City Council Regular Meeting 15 February 27, 2023
market rate project of 8 or more units that need to be set aside at affordable income levels under the city ordinance. He stated that they are required to have legal instruments and mechanisms that set aside those units under the law and recorded against the property to require that, in the event the property is sold or transfers ownership, those units are set aside at the designated income levels for the prescribed period, typically 45 or 55 years depending on whether they are ownership or rental housing units. He stated that non-deed restricted units could come up in any other way that identifies and sets them aside for affordable housing purposes but doesn’t have the same set of legal parameters that are recorded against the deed or property. He referred to the example in this report, which was shown in 2021 and 2022, is an important and exciting outcome for the city which are affordable units created at the Villages at Pacifica Apartment Complex pursuant to the affordability agreement that Council authorized in November 2020. He added that, due to the parameters of the law and the process used, those are not deed-restricted affordable housing units for purposes of this report. Even though they are affordable housing units that are restricted to affordability levels using the other mechanism of the affordability agreement.
Councilmember Boles concluded that there is not a chance of the owner of that project could go back and decide they want to rent those at market rate.
Planning Director Murdock stated that they could not during the term of the affordability agreement.
Councilmember Boles asked how long that was, and Planning Director Murdock stated that it is approximately 20 years, or slightly shorter than that. There is an option to renew.
Mayor Bigstyck asked similarly if the ADUs are considered low or moderate.
Planning Director Murdock stated that the affordability agreement requires that all units that existed at the time of the execution of the agreement and any future units constructed on the property to be restricted to 80% of area median income which corresponds to the low-income level. He stated that, at the time of executing the agreement, there were 170 units on the property; 168 were set aside for low-income occupants, two for managers’ units. The property owners contemplated constructing ADUs, as allowed by state law, on multi-family properties and carried through with that in two phases. The first phase in 2021 was of 20 ADUs and the second phase in 2022 was of 22 ADUs. He stated that a really great outcome on top of what Council committed in terms of city resources and support for the initial 168 units and a bonus of 42 more ADUs that will also be restricted to 80% AMI for low-income families.
Mayor Bigstyck confirmed that he said it was at the low level.
Planning Director Murdock responded affirmatively.
Mayor Bigstyck stated that we should be creating low housing and we got 44. He stated that he thought they would have had two units of low-income housing created if not for that.
Planning Director Murdock responded affirmatively.
Mayor Bigstyck stated he asked the question because we had zero units of 121 very low. He wants to think in terms of how Pacifica might be able to incentivize developers to create the very low-income level. He asked what the proper time was to talk about raising the percentage of our inclusionary ordinance and, when we do a deed restriction on that inclusionary ordinance, City Council Regular Meeting 16 February 27, 2023
making it in perpetuity rather than capping it at 55, etc. He asked if there was a process coming down the pipe where it will naturally fit or if they need to discuss it at goal setting.
Planning Director Murdock briefly stated that among the programs staff has put into the Draft Housing Element is to revisit the city’s below market rate zoning ordinance and explore opportunities to increase the percentage or make other modifications that might incentivize deeper affordability but lower shares of units or some combination of new options or tools to achieve Council’s desires. He stated that a lot of work needs to go into that but that would be the first opportunity in discussion of the Draft Housing Element on March 21 study session, i.e., to say it looks and feels like the right range of things to consider such as change or add something and they can program it into a plan as Councilmember Boles mentioned. He stated that, if properly staffed and resourced to carry out that housing implementation work, which he senses year after year is increasingly important to Council, that may be something that becomes a priority for future years with the new Housing Element.
Councilmember Boles referred to packet which talks about encouraging preservation of the mobile home park as an important source of low- and moderate-income housing, and the notes say it has been preserved. Her understanding is that, when the park was remodeled a few years ago, the rents were raised substantially. She thought it seems they might have lost a fair amount of affordable housing.
Planning Director Murdock thought it was important to remember the time in which this was drafted, which was late 2014 or early 2015, before that substantial park renovation. At that time, it was providing what is called naturally affordable housing where the rents on their own are at levels that are affordable to people of low and moderate incomes, and that was the case as they drafted this. Shortly after the Housing Element was adopted, the landlord undertook evictions and significant park renovation and increased rents, and it may not be the case that it provides that same function for the community any longer.
Councilmember Boles stated that the report just says that the housing has been preserved but doesn’t address the affordability.
Planning Director Murdock thought the city’s tools to do that are limited and whatever tools the city had weren’t used at that time. He stated that, from the state housing law context, preservation of mobile homes generally is important, as however expensive the mobile home park may be, very often it is less expensive than traditional site-built housing; as a category of housing, they are typically more affordable, and for those reasons, preservation of them is encouraged under state law and that was why the action program was structured and phrased in that fashion.
Councilmember Boles stated that Sue Digre had asked about housing for our disabled community and she wondered, other than the senior housing, whether we have any housing in the city is accessible to the disabled community.
Planning Director Murdock stated that he didn’t have full knowledge of that, but he thought there was a convalescent housing which may provide those services to disabled residents off of San Pedro Terrace Road and there may be other limited facilities in the north end of town but he didn’t have a full understanding of that housing type now.
Mayor Bigstyck opened public comments and, seeing no one, closed public comments.
City Council Regular Meeting 17 February 27, 2023
Councilmember Boles stated that they are looking at this to inform their goal setting and the packet stated there were new ordinances suggested that were never brought before Council before. She stated that, as they look at the new Housing Element, they might want other ordinances or funds to consider, and she would like to understand the process. She wanted to understand how this would happen in the course of the following year if they wanted to delve a little more into this.
Mayor Bigstyck also referred to his question on when is the best time to have that conversation.
Planning Director Murdock stated that it was important to remember that the Housing Element is a compliance document demonstrating how local agencies are complying with the requirements of state housing law but it is not necessary for the Housing Element to be the be all and end all of things the city wants to do related to housing. He stated that, while the city can include additional optional activities related to housing in the Housing Element, once it does so, it is obligated to report on that and be held to account for failing to implement its Housing Element.
He stated that there is a balance between things that are required, must be done, and will be done, and those optional activities related to housing that must not necessarily be done, and Council can choose to do at some other point in time. He gave the example of allowing the Housing Element as proposed to demonstrate compliance to move forward but to also undertake a discussion of other important housing activities that could occur outside of the Housing Element as part of some other priority work plan or strategic plan item for the city. He stated that will be a decision Council will have to make in balancing all the factors, including time, resources, and potential delay to work those into the Housing Element at this time. It could also undertake those on a separate process and achieve the same outcome.
Councilmember Boles understood and referred to this particular Housing Element they are reviewing which had certain ordinances it brought forward to say that Council should consider.
She asked if Council informed those recommendations in the previous Housing Element or was that something done by staff.
Planning Director Murdock stated that staff prepared the first draft of this Housing Element that is subject to the report at this time and recommended that to Council. There was public input in the process, but he doesn’t remember the particulars that Council in 2015 discussed such as particular ordinances that ended up in the action plan. He stated that priority and proper resourcing was not given to the Planning Department to carry out the work on many of those ordinance amendments that were contemplated and that is feedback to take from the prior eight years.
Mayor pro Tem Vaterlaus stated that one thing about the Housing Element to her is that they are allowing the houses to be built, as cities don’t build houses. She stated that developers have to come here; we can allow it and increase the height limit in Sharp Park to five stories, but if someone doesn’t come here and build it, the city can’t do anything about it. They can increase their density and build in the shopping centers, but if someone doesn’t come, it’s not going to get built. She stated that Josh Becker does have a bill going forward to allow for our existing converted units to allow them to count towards our RHNA numbers which will be very important for Pacifica if he gets that passed. She felt it was important as she can see more conversions in Pacifica than new buildings, such as convert hotels, etc.
Councilmember Boles agreed, and she thought in discussions with HEART they were looking more at that than building new as it takes so long to build new. She referred to her point about rezoning, but there were other policies such as called to have roundtables and meeting with City Council Regular Meeting 18 February 27, 2023
non-profit developers twice a year, etc., as we have to do more to encourage the people who aren’t doing it for profit to come in and build and figure out what they need so we can get things ready to have them be interested.
Councilmember Bier wanted to comment on a few things. Amending all the ordinances and bringing forth new ordinances is a huge thing. She thought that would have to happen outside of the Housing Element. She stated they all understand the attention toward farm worker housing and the County is working hard on that and, if we talk about that moving forward, they include them in the conversations. She stated that most of the conversations are for moving forward and, if there are particular ones they feel strongly about and talk about it at goal setting, she suggested they bring it forward.
Councilmember Bier moved to adopt a Resolution approving the City’s 2022 Housing Element Annual Progress Report on implementation of the 2015-2023 Housing Element and the 2022 General Plan Annual Progress Report on implementation of Other Elements of the General Plan, and directing the City Manager to transmit the reports to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR); seconded by Mayor pro Tem Vaterlaus.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
SECONDER: Sue Vaterlaus, Mayor pro Tem
AYES: Bigstyck, Vaterlaus, Beckmeyer, Bier, Boles
ADJOURN
Mayor Bigstyck adjourned the meeting at 10:38 p.m.
Transcribed by Barbara Medina, Public Meeting Stenographer.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sarah Coffey, City Clerk
APPROVED: 5 - 0; 3/13/2023
__________________________
Tygarjas Bigstyck, Mayor