CITY OF PACIFICA
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
Council Chambers
2212 Beach Blvd
Pacifica, CA 94044
Mayor Sue Vaterlaus
Mayor pro Tem Sue Beckmeyer
Councilmember Mary Bier
Councilmember Tygarjas Bigstyck
Councilmember Christine Boles
City Council Regular Meeting 1 July 08, 2024
July 08, 2024 (MONDAY)
www.cityofpacifica.org
Mayor Sue Vaterlaus called the meeting to order on July 8, 2024 at 7:05 PM 7:00 PM OPEN SESSION
Call to Order
Mayor Vaterlaus called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m., stating Councilmember Bigstyck will be arriving late.
Attendee Name Title Status Arrived
Sue Vaterlaus Mayor Present
Sue Beckmeyer Mayor pro Tem Present
Mary Bier Councilmember Present
Tygarjas Bigstyck Councilmember Late
Christine Boles Councilmember Present
City Clerk Coffey took a verbal roll call.
Councilmember Bigstyck arrived at 7:12 p.m.
Staff Present: Kevin Woodhouse, City Manager; Denise Bazzano, Asst. City Attorney; Lisa Petersen, PW Director; Maria Sarasua, Police Chief; Kavitha Kumar, Interim Community Development Director; Scott Leslie, Acting PB&R Director; Roland Yip, PW Dep. Director (Engineering/Field Services); Louis Sun, PW Dep. Director (Wastewater Div.); Tara Schiff, Economic Development Manager; Irene Camarena, Human Resources Manager; Sarah Coffey, City Clerk; Elizabeth Brooks, Management Analyst.
Reading of Land Acknowledgment
Mayor Vaterlaus read the Land Acknowledgement.
Salute to the Flag led by Councilmember Boles
City Council Regular Meeting 2 July 08, 2024
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
A. Non-Profit of the Year Award by Assemblymember Berman's Office to Pacific Beach Coalition
Mayor Vaterlaus introduced the special presentation of the Non-Profit of the Year Award to Pacific Beach Coalition from Assemblymember Berman’s office, mentioning that District Representative Elise Lester from Assemblymember Berman’s office would make the presentation and District Representative Anthony Yoshida from Senator Becker’s office was also present.
District Representative Elise Lester stated she was honored to commend an extraordinary organization that has made remarkable contributions to our community and environment. On behalf of Assemblymember Berman and the California State Assembly, she recognized the Pacific Beach Coalition as Non-Profit of the Year for District 23 in 2024. She stated that, on June 5, the Pacific Beach Coalition was celebrated at the State Capitol in Sacramento for their outstanding dedication to our coastal environment and fostering community engagement through education, advocacy, and action, which has safeguarded our beaches and reduced pollution as well as instilled a sense of environmental stewardship in our community. She mentioned all their endeavors and accomplishments.
Lynn Adams, President of Pacific Beach Coalition, accepted the award and thanked them for this acknowledgment at City Council’s meeting and by Assemblymember Berman. She stated that they have worked very hard for this award and felt there was a lot more to do.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated they spoke after PBC President Adams received the award in Sacramento and she was proud of how well the Pacific Beach Coalition is representing all of San Mateo County, and we take pride in them because they are in Pacifica and the service they provide for our youth, as well as opportunities and education for all our community is outstanding and they deserve every accolade. She thanked PBC President Adams for her leadership, vision and the fantastic team she has built and all they contribute to our community.
PBC President Adams thanked her, adding that it is the team that does make the dream work.
Councilmember Bier thanked everyone in the Pacific Beach Coalition. She cannot remember a time without the Coalition as ever since she started doing advocacy in the city, they were there.
She thanked them for cleaning up after July 4 and it was a pleasure for her to join people in that cleanup effort. She stated that she has been able to honor her family through the Beach Coalition which has been a beautiful experience and continues to be for her, her students, and her family.
Councilmember Boles stated she is so proud of PBC President Adams and the whole Pacific Beach Coalition organization. She feels privileged as she is their liaison and goes to their meetings and she sees every month the amazing team that it takes to put together the clean ups and brainstorming for their Animal of the Year, as well as how to inspire students to want to learn about the ocean and be the next generation to make a difference. She felt it was a joy to see them recognized not just in Pacifica, but other adjacent cities, countywide and statewide.
She appreciated District Representative Elise Lester for being here, as well as District Representative Anthony Yoshida from Senator Becker’s office. She thanked Assemblymember Berman for recognizing what an amazing organization they are and giving them a platform at the state level.
City Council Regular Meeting 3 July 08, 2024
Councilmember Bigstyck knows how deeply this community benefits and values her work and the team she cultivated, and how they have knit our community together around conserving and taking care of our beaches.
Mayor Vaterlaus stated that she did a beach cleanup two weeks ago. She thought it was well worth it, and she has done it before and will do it again. She thanked PBC President Adams’ whole team. She stated that, when she walks, she rarely sees any trash at all which is a testament to her and her team.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Vaterlaus pointed out that Item #3 must be approved by a 4/5 vote, and she asked if any councilmember would like to remove any item from consent.
City Manager Woodhouse clarified that the item requiring a 4/5 vote is Item #4, not #3.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer asked for an overview of Item #3 because this came up on their last agenda and she wonders what the progress is.
City Manager Woodhouse agreed, and thought Dep. Director Sun can provide the details, but with an emergency ratification like this, the requirement is that they continue that emergency at every City Council meeting.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer assumed until it is resolved.
City Manager Woodhouse agreed.
PW Dep. Director Sun stated that a couple of weeks ago, staff was doing routine inspection on Carmel Avenue and, in the sewer line, we discovered a grade 5 sewer defect in the main sewer line which required immediate action. He stated most of them are corrosion/erosion and at points where the sewer line is no longer functioning, and sewage could leak out. He stated that the contractor is currently working on that and they are about halfway done, and we are expecting another week or two for this emergency repair to be completed.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated, if she understood the staff report, this is work that we do routinely when we are doing street work, checking the sewer lines, which is how this issue was discovered.
PW Dep. Director Sun stated she was correct that we do routine CCTV in their sewer collection system and during this process is when we discover these defects.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer concluded that the system is working as it should.
Mayor Vaterlaus opened public comments and, seeing no one, closed public comments.
City Council Regular Meeting 4 July 08, 2024
CONSENT CALENDAR:
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
SECONDER: Sue Beckmeyer, Mayor pro Tem
AYES: Vaterlaus, Beckmeyer, Bier, Bigstyck, Boles
1. Approval of Disbursements for 06/01/24 through 06/30/24.
PROPOSED ACTION: Receive and file the Monthly Check Register Report for the month of June 2024.
2. Continuation of Proclamation of Local Emergency of the Pacifica Coastline from Westline Drive to the End of Beach Boulevard.
PROPOSED ACTION: Accept report and make a determination that conditions of local emergency continue to exist within the Pacifica Coastline from Westline Drive to the end of Beach Boulevard.
3. Continuation of Proclamation of Local Emergency at the Anza Pump Station.
PROPOSED ACTION: Accept Report and Make a Determination that Conditions of Local Emergency Continue to Exist at the Anza Pump Station at the Pacifica State Beach.
4. Continuation of Proclamation of Local Emergency at Carmel Avenue from Vallejo Terrace to Canyon Drive
PROPOSED ACTION: Accept Report and Make a Determination that Conditions of Local Emergency Continue to Exist at the Carmel Avenue from Vallejo Terrace to Canyon Drive.
5. Approve a new classification for Finance and Administrative Services Director, and adopt the new and revised job description and salary schedule into the classification plan.
PROPOSED ACTION: Move to Adopt the resolution approving a new classification for Finance and Administrative Services Director, and adopt the new and revised job description and salary schedule into the classification plan.
6. Amendment No. 2 to Master Consultant Services Agreement and Amendment No. 1 to Task Order 4 between the City of Pacifica and Hines EDM for Scanning and Digitization of City Records
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing: (1) Amendment No. 2 to Master Consultant Services Agreement between the City of Pacifica and Hines EDM for scanning and digitization of City records and ongoing scanning services in connection with the City’s Records and Information Management Program Policy to extend the term to 8/30/2024; (2) Amendment No. 1 to Task Order 4 to Increase the Cost Ceiling from $2,000 to $6,000 and extend the term to 8/30/2024 for Scanning and Indexing of Recorded Property Records; and (3) authorize the City Manager to execute all documents related with the agreement.
7. Resolution to Approve Purchase Agreement with Thermal Process Systems for Digester - ATAD Modification Phase 3 Project (P002)
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt a Resolution:
A. Approving the City Manager to award and execute a sole source Purchase Agreement City Council Regular Meeting 5 July 08, 2024
(Attachment 1) with Thermal Process for Digester - ATAD Modification Phase 3 Project (P002); and
B. Approving the Purchase Agreement with Thermal Process Systems in an amount of $179,647.00; and
C. Authorizing budget authority in the amount of $206,594.00, which includes a contingency in an amount of fifteen percent (15%) of the Contract amount; and D. Authorizing staff to execute future change orders not to exceed the contingency amount; and
E. Authorizing the City Manager and Designated Personnel to execute all documents related to the Digester - ATAD Modification Phase 3 Project (P002).
8. Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Accepting the Report of Sewer Service Charges for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 and Directing the Filing of Charges for Collection by the County Controller.
PROPOSED ACTION: Move to adopt the proposed "Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica accepting the report of Sewer Service Charges for Fiscal Year 2024-2025, and directing the filing of charges for collection by the County Controller" to place the assessment charges on the County of San Mateo Property Tax Roll.
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE POSTED AGENDA
City Manager Woodhouse stated that, in the event there are residents from the Vallemar neighborhood to talk about the Calera Creek Park, which was talked about at the last Council meeting, he wanted to make sure in advance to repeat what information he provided at the last City Council meeting, i.e., the city continues to research that issue as it was mentioned many of them did not hear the update as many had left before his communications at the last Council meeting. He stated that, after receiving information, the city did additional research at the County Recorder’s office to locate appropriate documents, that information is being reviewed and, once the review is complete, the information will be communicated to those residents who had inquired.
Aren Clark, Pacifica, referred to an email sent to City Councilmembers regarding the city’s possible maintenance responsibilities at Calera Creek Park and he shared his thoughts on the situation.
Jeff Moroso, Pacifica, stated that this is about Calera Creek Park and shared his thoughts on the city’s position on this issue.
Erroll Hunter, Pacifica, stated that this is also about Calera Creek Park and shared his ongoing concerns and thoughts regarding who has the obligations and liability on this issue.
Clif Lawrence, Pacifica, referred to an article in the Chronicle on San Francisco not meeting their housing goals and shared his concerns and thoughts on the issue, including what it could mean to Pacifica.
Remi Tan, Pacifica, referred to traffic issues on the 4th of July and shared his thoughts on possible traffic calming mechanisms, as well as the fireworks and fire danger. He also referred to SB 423 and shared his thoughts on the housing issue that Clif Lawrence commented about.
Calvin Chan, Pacifica, stated that he is a member of Pacifica’s Youth Advisory Board and Terra Nova High School Student Council and one of many youth who care about our city and City Council Regular Meeting 6 July 08, 2024
environment. He began to refer to the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan Task Force.
Mayor Vaterlaus stated that Climate Action and Adaptation Plan Task Force update is on the agenda as Item #9, so she will hold his card until we open public comments for that item.
Dan Stegink, Pacifica, stated he is an environment advocate and urged them to not endorse or vote for Regional Measure 4, and shared his concerns on this issue.
COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS
Councilmember Bigstyck stated he spent the weekend visiting holy ground. He acknowledged the community’s sentiments about the Vallemar situation and noted similarities in how he invokes such feelings in his customers in his professional daily life. He expressed his thoughts after visiting sacred ground how there is a lot of underlying fear going on and connected it to his family background and daily work life. He emphasized the importance of coming together as a community as human beings experiencing the same kind of pains. He explained an interaction he had upon meeting a Coastal Commissioner and community members during his visit over the weekend and encouraged everyone to acknowledge where fear may undermine communication that may be more helpful. He also encouraged the community to share positivity with upcoming City Council candidates.
Councilmember Bier thanked everyone for the 4th of July celebration. She stated that interacting with the community and other visitors coming to buy fireworks was fun. She referred to her fellow Vallemar residents and stated that she wanted to be involved with the creek cleanups. She looks forward to all their conversations and perhaps they can have a community meeting and invite her. She attended “When Everyone Leads” which was a follow-up from a weekend workshop leading into the leadership program she has been accepted to. She attended the Coast Pride Board of Directors meeting. She had a call with Congressional Candidate Sam Liccardo. Council all did the LCLUP briefings and meetings. She thanked PD, Fire, and the Pacifica Beach Coalition for the cleanup and for keeping us safe on the 4th of July.
Councilmember Boles thanked Clif Lawrence and Remi Tan for speaking about the Housing Element. She thought everyone enjoyed the Civic Center ribbon cutting and she thought the renovated Civic Center was a great investment in Pacifica’s future for keeping our staff and bringing investors and people into our city. She met with Congressional Candidate Sam Liccardo and talked about our erosion issues, airplane noise, etc. She met with the Pacifica Climate Committee and advertised that, on July 25, they are hosting an event at the Sharp Park Library called “Electrify Your Home, It Is Easier Than You Think”. She has been asked by Peninsula Clean Energy and Sustainable San Mateo County to host tours of her net-zero house for realtors on August 15.
Councilmember Bier thanked staff for the Civic Center ribbon cutting event.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer acknowledged the communication from Vallemar residents and that it is important to acknowledge that there is information the community often has, in addition to what Council has, that provides insight. She emphasized the importance of the Civic Center ribbon cutting and explained the staff health impacts from the previous building. She met with Congressional Candidate Sam Liccardo and showed him some of the Esplanade area and bluffs. She had a Local Government Working Group Zoom meeting leading up to the June 26 meeting on the Local Coastal Land Use Plan; there will also be a meeting at the Coastal Commission on August 8, talking about the neighborhood approach, which is included in our City Council Regular Meeting 7 July 08, 2024
Local Coastal Land Use Plan draft. She attended the Rotary Club in Pacifica. She referred to the Library Outpost, which the City Clerk would follow up on in staff communications. She stated that the Beautification Advisory Committee work day is on July 14 on Palmetto.
Mayor Vaterlaus stated she and other councilmembers had meetings on short-term rentals and budget and Local Coastal Land Use Plan and then had the Civic Center opening. She described the condition of the old city buildings and expressed the importance of having the renovated buildings. She met with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s office regarding some of our needs and mentioned the press conference by the pier with Congressional Candidate Sam Liccardo, County Supervisor Candidate Jackie Speier, and County Supervisor Ray Mueller.
She stated Council of Cities in the City of San Mateo was a good event. She went to Frontierland Park on July 4 and had a great time. She thanked PB&R staff and everyone who was involved in that.
Councilmember Bier thanked Pacifica Hot Rods for another great car parade.
STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
City Manager Woodhouse augmented some of the comments made by councilmembers. First, with the Civic Center ribbon cutting, he acknowledged and thanked Council for that fantastic event but also to all staff and their team who worked to put that event together, including PW assistance and PB&R contributions as the experts in planning events, while getting ready for the 4 th of July festivities. He pointed out great keepsakes and stated that it was a great day, and as Councilmembers mentioned, a rigorous week of difficult and late work. He appreciated every department that worked on that. He referred to the 4th of July events at Frontierland, stating that PW, PB&R, Police and Fire for public safety, and they made a great effort for that with great attendance at Frontierland. He stated that Police Department and Fire Department are putting together their after-action summary data and information and will be coming to Council soon.
He mentioned, as was by the Mayor and Mayor pro Tem, over the last couple of weeks, we did have some pointed meetings with staff from Congresswoman Eshoo’s office, as well as staff from Senator Becker and Assemblymember Berman to go over in depth all of our coastal projects and initiatives. He stated that the great thing about that is that they are paying attention to what it is that Pacifica is trying to accomplish and it is great to have that collaboration. He stated that we have another upcoming ribbon-cutting in partnership with County Libraries which is the Sanchez Library Outpost ribbon cutting on July 23 and he will turn to City Clerk Coffey to fill in the details.
City Clerk Coffey stated that the Sanchez Library Outpost is a 24/7 book kiosk and that can be used with a library card for checking out and returning books. The ribbon-cutting will be open to the public July 23 outside the Sanchez Library. She stated that the San Mateo County Libraries are planning a great ribbon cutting event and anyone from the public is welcome to attend. She stated that we are excited to introduce this during the summer as part of the city’s overall Library Modernization Project. She stated that the exciting thing about the Sanchez Library Outpost is that it is the first of its kind in the Bay Area and Pacifica is on the cutting edge.
PUBLIC HEARINGS - NONE.
CONSIDERATION
9. Report to City Council from the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan Task Force City Council Regular Meeting 8 July 08, 2024
PROPOSED ACTION: Receive update from Climate Action and Adaptation Plan Task Force on Task Force progress, ongoing activities, and future actions.
Climate Action & Adaptation Task Force Chair Meagher presented the staff report.
Councilmember Boles thanked her for her leadership on this committee and thanked everyone on the committee for their work. She referred to the data and asked if that was data that is specific to Pacifica or more regionally and adjusted a little bit.
Chair Meagher stated that it depends on what specifically the data is measuring. As far as emissions from electricity, that is very specific to Pacifica; we can tell with PCE and PG&E how much energy is getting delivered to Pacifica and we can then apply emission factor to that. For transportation, they tend to do it more at a county level, and MTC is heavily involved in that process and they say here is the MTC for San Mateo County and then RINCON allocates that out and shows Pacifica’s contribution to this countywide number. She stated that it emphasizes the fact that working as a larger community as part of the County makes so much sense as we are all trying to drive these numbers together that impact all of us.
Councilmember Boles stated that the transportation was one she was questioning because we have fewer public transportation options than other cities and she was curious if she thinks the data is helpful or if she needs anything else for more specific information to Pacifica.
Chair Meagher stated that we are trying to work with the data we have and highlight areas where we could benefit from digging in more and they learned about some new data this morning that might help get more specific. She thought it was possible that there was other data out there to get more specific in certain areas.
Councilmember Boles was impressed with her chart and noticed that most of them are in nature-based solutions and she was curious if she is having to explain what that means to people or is there a collective understanding of what that is.
Chair Meagher stated that RICAPS provided their input and advised to use language that is accessible and they said nature-based solutions is more acceptable to people than resiliency, adaptation, etc. She thought there was a general understanding of that at this point.
Councilmember Boles asked if there are some good examples of cities that have incorporated nature-based solutions.
Chair Meagher thought we have to keep in mind the different resourcing, as one of the coastal cities that stands out has been San Diego. However, they are a very different resourced city than us and so we need to understand what they have done and scale it to Pacifica.
Councilmember Bier stated that Nancy Tierney presented to the Pacifica Collaborative and that was helpful. She appreciated the community outreach that she is doing. She stated that she was so grateful for their excitement, knowledge, and expertise.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer encouraged fellow councilmembers and the community to take a look at is the Sustainable San Mateo County’s sustainability dashboard for various measures and data sources. She stated that one thing she finds beneficial is that it is tied to census tracts so you can click on your city and get city data compared to other cities but you can drill down to very specific areas of the town. She also echoed Councilmember Bier that it is very exciting City Council Regular Meeting 9 July 08, 2024
and she said that when we have the committee and commission report out each year to see the folks that Council has the opportunity and pleasure to appoint to these committees and see them doing the work. She thanked them for their service to the city and community.
Councilmember Bigstyck and Mayor Vaterlaus echoed the thanks from his colleagues.
Mayor Vaterlaus opened public comments.
Calvin Chan, Pacifica, stated that, as a member of Pacifica’s Youth Advisory Board and Terra Nova High School Student Council, he is one of many youth who care about our city and environment. He thanked the task force for welcoming him and other youth into meetings and shared his thoughts on the issue from the youth perspective.
Mayor Vaterlaus explained that Council cannot respond but she thanked him for being here.
Remi Tan, Pacifica, commended the committee and shared his thoughts on this issue.
Mayor Vaterlaus closed public comments.
RESULT: NO VOTE REQUIRED
10. Approve Resolution Authorizing 5-year Street Maintenance Improvements PROPOSED ACTION: Approve a Resolution Authorizing the 5-year Street Maintenance Program Improvements for FY 25/26 to FY 29/30 PW Director Petersen stated she was assisted by Consultant Mei-Hui Lee, a PhD pavement engineer with NCE, and then presented the staff report.
Councilmember Bigstyck asked if we are projecting 74% PCI in five years.
PW Director Petersen stated that, in five years, we will have covered almost 75% of the streets and the PCI will drop slightly down two points to a 51. She stated that we will still be in the good condition category but it will drop slightly.
Councilmember Bigstyck stated that he saw Olympian on the list.
PW Director Petersen responded affirmatively.
Councilmember Bigstyck stated that it looks like Vallemar is also included.
PW Director Petersen responded affirmatively.
Councilmember Bigstyck asked if Rockaway is not quite ready to be scheduled yet.
PW Director Petersen stated it is included.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated in 2027.
PW Director Petersen stated that the goal for those areas is to get the work done first before we get in and do the streets and that is why they are coming a little later. She stated, in talking City Council Regular Meeting 10 July 08, 2024
with Manager Patten from Wastewater, his thought was that probably in 2027 we would be able to get that work done and why those streets are scheduled when they are. She stated you don’t want to do those streets and then come in and cut them up.
Councilmember Bigstyck asked if Winona would be included.
Councilmember Bier stated no.
PW Director Petersen stated that we have some streets that do not have any asphalt paving on them. She stated that there are a lot of streets out there that were paved that are going to need asphalt overlays and may need reconstruction, including streets that do not have any asphalt on them we need to pave. That is why it’s so important for staff and Council to have that perspective that there is a big need out there for more robust treatments than we have been doing. She stated that we have been doing a great job increasing the PCI, but to get to the next level, we will have to treat those streets that need asphalt on them.
Councilmember Bigstyck stated that the point was well-taken that it is apparently $167-$175 per square yard of reconstruction rehabilitation and, for a road that has no asphalt, is it the same price tag or higher than that.
PW Director Petersen stated that it would be reconstruction, building a new street.
Councilmember Bigstyck concluded it is about on par.
PW Director Petersen responded affirmatively.
Councilmember Bigstyck stated that the stretch will pass this five years or, if we find a way that revenue comes in, we can get there quicker.
PW Director Petersen agreed.
Councilmember Bigstyck thanked her for the work she has been doing.
Councilmember Bier thanked them for including Vallemar and Rockaway and Pedro Point. She asked, if we pull up the map for Vallemar, why Angelita and Juanita were left out.
PW Director Petersen stated that this is part of the pavement maintenance program, and she knows that sometimes it is hard for residents to understand. She stated that the program is picking up streets that it feels it can afford to pick up, and the less expensive the treatment is, the more likely it is going to pick it up. She stated that Juanita and Angelita need some work and those were beyond just seal streets and anything that is going to be requiring additional work (generally rehabilitation or reconstruction) the program is not likely to pick that up. That is why we need to come up with extra funding to address those streets. She added that it is important to note that we did do an estimate of what those cut fees were, and when we had the cut fees, we put them into doing some of the rehabilitation work. She stated, should the cut fees come in more, then that also can be assessed at that time when this program comes up.
Councilmember Bier appreciated that explanation.
PW Director Petersen stated it could be grind and overlay which is more expensive than a seal.
City Council Regular Meeting 11 July 08, 2024
Councilmember Bier thanked her for including their neighborhood.
PW Director Petersen added that, in the past, there have been some tranches of funds that have been dropped into the pavement program in past years, when there has been additional money that the city has had, and that can also be an additional way that they can get some of these streets in.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer asked, as we look at the maps and table and see the intention for various fiscal years moving forward, the day-to-day within the capacity of PW for pot holes, etc. and can she speak of it on how we fold that action into this overall process.
PW Director Petersen stated that we have what we call a digout program where we go through some streets that need to do more work and are not in the program and we put $150,000 in the programs and go out and do that patching work. She stated that can make the streets way better, and we have been doing that about every two years with a list of those locations. It takes our staff a lot of time to go out there and work on these streets all the time and it makes sense if we have some additional money in the program to do patching on bad streets so those people do get some relief.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer asked about the wastewater update project in Lower Linda Mar.
PW Director Petersen stated that the sewer project has a contractor on board and we have been doing significant additional outreach to the community for replacement of their laterals.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated she always think about those laterals in terms of street cuts as the goal is to have the lateral replacements done prior to so there is no need for street cuts.
PW Director Petersen stated that in the program they cut a piece of the pavement and take the pipe and hydraulically pull that pipe through the existing pipe and it saves the street and there is not an entire trench down every single street.
Councilmember Boles thanked her for presentation. She stated that some of the maps have a surface seal category and some have surface seal and rehabilitation. She asked if the rehabilitation is the rubber cape seal or is that more major.
PW Director Petersen stated that is going to be the grind and overlay which is a very expensive treatment. She stated that in some of those streets we cannot cap them. She stated that it is important to note that, when you are doing a grind and overlay on those streets, it is a 20-25 year treatment.
Councilmember Boles asked if the software takes into account the more major arterial roads that get people out of town.
PW Director Petersen responded affirmatively. She stated the program gives a weighting to streets. She stated an arterial roadway would get a higher weighting and more likely to get picked up by the program and a collector street will get an in-between weighting and a residential street gets the least weighting. She stated that one of the reasons that the program leaves so many of those 10 and below residential streets is because they are not getting weighted high enough to get picked up as they will not do much to increase the paving condition index of the overall network.
City Council Regular Meeting 12 July 08, 2024
Councilmember Boles stated that these have a 5-7 year life on average and this is a 10-year program so are we basically starting over again.
PW Director Petersen stated that you will find that seal coats last different lengths and based on the amount of traffic residential streets tend to last a lot longer whereas you will see a seal coat on an arterial street disappear quickly; now that we are using the rubber cape seal, they can easily last up to 10 or 15 years, so that will help the program as well.
Councilmember Boles thought that might give them some more money to do some of the worst streets. She asked how many times can we do a slurry seal, such as is there a limit.
PW Director Petersen stated that you can do a slurry seal a number of times until the point where the slurry seal is not working anymore because you are getting cracking in the roadway and then you go to a rubber cape seal. She has talked to cities that use rubber cape seal about how many times they used a rubber cape seal. She talked to one city that said they had done it three times on their streets.
Consultant Lee stated that a local agency can do a slurry seal up to three or four times but she has heard do it four or five times depending on materials and procedure.
Councilmember Boles concluded at some point we might have a lot more work.
PW Director Petersen agreed, adding that we have to keep that in mind.
Mayor Vaterlaus asked if there are streets that are not in Pacifica.
PW Director Petersen stated many streets that are in Pacifica are in our pavement maintenance program and there are a lot of streets that are not getting picked up because they are in terrible condition; that was her conversation about the $19 million of streets that were not picked up by the program and almost 50% of them have a pavement condition index of 10 or less.
Mayor Vaterlaus opened public comments.
Remi Tan, Pacifica, urged Council to approve this plan, and shared his concerns on the project regarding one street on Bancroft.
Mayor Vaterlaus closed public comments.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer referred to the table on packet page 162, which is the FY 25-26 project, and asked what the abbreviation W/O means.
Consultant Lee stated it is west of Fassler.
Councilmember Bier stated, going back to dirt roads, even the curb cuts at the end of Winona have improved it so much.
Mayor Vaterlaus thanked staff because she has lived in her house since 1979 and every day now she looks at it and thinks it is beautiful.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer appreciates the education. She asked about the software and how are things like bicycle boulevards factored in and is that part of the algorithm or does it happen City Council Regular Meeting 13 July 08, 2024
as a function of them being collector streets or arterials.
PW Director Petersen stated she is correct. That is exactly how it is factored in.
Councilmember Bigstyck stated that, with every street he sees upgraded, there is a mental health component to it. He thanked staff for the effort.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer asked about a funding process from the Linda Mar project and if that is incorporated into this or something we looked for outside of this process for our distressed streets that are more degraded.
PW Director Petersen stated that the one type of street that we sometimes get grant funding for are arterial roadways. She stated that there are more opportunities for grants on arterial streets and why we were able to get a grant on Sharp Park Road. Typically, we do not get them on residential streets.
Councilmember Bigstyck moved to approve a Resolution Authorizing the 5-Year Street Maintenance Program Improvements for FY 25/26 to FY 29/30; seconded by Councilmember Bier.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Tygarjas Bigstyck, Councilmember
SECONDER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
AYES: Vaterlaus, Beckmeyer, Bier, Bigstyck, Boles
11. Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Calling and Giving Notice for Holding a General Municipal Election to be consolidated with the City’s next General Municipal Election on November 5, 2024, and Submitting to the Elector’s a Ballot Measure to update the City’s Transient Occupancy (Hotel/Lodging Guest) Tax imposed on short term stays by increasing to fifteen percent (15%) by amending Pacifica Municipal Code section 3-7.03; Establishing the Policies and Procedures for such an election; Requesting San Mateo County to Consolidate with the City’s General Municipal Election, Statewide General Election and to Provide Election Services; Directing the City Attorney to Prepare an Impartial Analysis; and Authorizing the Filing of Rebuttal Argument
PROPOSED ACTION: Move to adopt a Resolution Calling and Giving Notice for Holding a General Municipal Election to be consolidated with the City’s next General Municipal Election on November 5, 2024, and Submitting to the Elector’s a Ballot Measure to update the City’s Transient Occupancy (Hotel/Lodging Guest) Tax imposed on short term stays by increasing to fifteen percent (15%) by amending Pacifica Municipal Code section 3-7.03; Establishing the Policies and Procedures for such an election; Requesting San Mateo County to Consolidate with the City’s General Municipal Election, Statewide General Election and to Provide Election Services; Directing the City Attorney to Prepare an Impartial Analysis; and Authorizing the Filing of Rebuttal Argument.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that Brian Moura, strategic services consultant with RGS, is on Zoom, and then presented the staff report.
Councilmember Bigstyck stated that there are some questions that came in from a community member asking is this bad for local STR operators in Pacifica. He thought, since the cost is City Council Regular Meeting 14 July 08, 2024
passed to the guests of the STR, it should not have an effect on them.
City Manager Woodhouse stated he cannot comment on whether bad or good depending on what the operation is, but the mechanics is that TOT is paid by guests.
Councilmember Bigstyck asked another question from the community, which is how much it will cost for a ballot measure, who pays for it, and are we going to spend a bunch of money against Airbnb.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that the question was how much does it cost to put it on the ballot and City Clerk Coffey provided him with the estimate from the County Election’s Office in April regarding measures, and the incremental cost, including two Council seat elections and a measure on the ballot, ranges from $56,000 to $157,000, so about $100,000 cost which is standard for the Election Office for printing of all the materials.
Councilmember Bigstyck asked how much this potentially has to bring in yearly.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that, yearly, it is $720,000, the additional 3%.
Councilmember Bigstyck concluded that it is a $100,000 startup cost and the concern was that Airbnb does not like it, but that $720,000 would be very helpful.
Councilmember Boles knows we have been reaching out to the hotels in town to let them know we are considering putting this on the ballot at this meeting and she appreciates that. She was looking at San Francisco’s TOT percentage which is 14%. She asked if there has been any financial analysis done if we might start losing some people to that extra percent that might choose not to come here.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that there has not been any analysis of that, but he knows that in the course of history as TOT has increased, there is often that claim made that often cities do not see that impact. He stated a lot of cities have additional charges on hotel rooms and he knows that is the case in San Francisco; San Francisco has 14% and then they have other charges on top of that which guests pay.
Councilmember Boles stated in the resolution it says “the proposed measure will include accountability requirements such as annual financial audits and public spending reports,” and she is guessing the hotels are good about doing that, but she asked what the reporting is that from short-term rental operators and will that change with this measure.
City Manager Woodhouse asked if she can point to her reference, i.e. the auditing of the city’s financial records.
Councilmember Boles stated she will find it in the resolution.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated that her question is for Econ. Dev. Manager Schiff and/or for Consultant Moura in regard to the rate in other surrounding communities. She referred to packet page 175 of the staff report. She does not know what the source of the data is in the data table and she would like to know how that was researched. She wondered if anyone has information on how recently other cities have increased their TOT and/or if we anticipate seeing any other measures in the region coming up in this regard.
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City Manager Woodhouse stated that Consultant Moura could speak to the direct source of this, but the State Finance Department has this information about the TOT that is charged.
Consultant Moura stated that Michael Coleman, a financial consultant to the League of California Cities, put together a table of all of the TOT rates through the year 2019, and he went through all of the elections from 2019 to the present time to update his information for all the cities in California. He stated that the table is current as of today’s date. He stated, in terms of other cities, the only city he is aware of in San Mateo County that is looking at a hotel tax increase is the City of Menlo Park which has not yet put a proposal on the ballot for November but have discussed raising their TOT rate from 12% to 15.5% which would generate another $3.2 million per year for them. He stated that, in terms of the trends, she is correct that, within the last 4-6 years, a number of cities, not just in San Mateo County, but across the Bay Area and throughout the state, have upgraded their TOT or modernized that rate from 12% to either 14% or 15%. He stated that the one city in California that has gone beyond 15% is Palo Alto which has a rate of 15.5% which is the highest in California. He stated she is right in her observation that the trend seems to be the move from the 12% level to either 14% or 15%, and a number of cities have done that ahead of this discussion in Pacifica.
Asst. City Attorney Bazzano referred to packet page 177 where the ninth recital in the resolution that says, “The proposed measure will include accountability requirements such as annual financial audits and public spending reports.” She stated that refers to Section 2 in the ordinance itself about review and audits that provides that “any auditor’s report shall include an accounting of the revenues received from the TOT and shall be presented to the City Council annually and made available for public review”.
Councilmember Boles asked if that is a new requirement or something that was already in there.
Asst. City Attorney Bazzano thinks that is what is occurring now and this just specifies it in the ordinance. She stated that the city would not necessarily be reporting on STR revenues, although it may. It would be reporting on the TOT revenues, which includes hotels and lodgings and other types of accommodations in Pacifica that pay into the TOT.
Councilmember Boles heard that STRs are not always forthcoming with this information and asked if that is true or are we able to get that information from Airbnb.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that any STR operator who has a permit in the city, as a part of that permit, is required to pay TOT. He asked if that was her question.
Councilmember Boles asked if they are reporting as she thought we were having trouble getting some of the information from some of them.
City Manager Woodhouse thought she might be referring to the Airbnb system and their voluntary revenue reporting system, where it is difficult to get the breakdown per STR, as they will not provide that. He stated that they are required to pay and, if not, they would not have a compliant permit and that is the enforcement component of STR update ordinance.
Econ. Dev. Manager Schiff referred to Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer’s question regarding time period of the neighboring cities. She stated that, in regards to Half Moon Bay, they increased their TOT from 12% to 15% in 2022.
Mayor Vaterlaus opened public comments.
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Aren Clark, Pacifica, stated he was making comments on behalf of a friend and expressed her concern on the issue of raising the cost of staying in town and he shared his concerns on the taxing.
Remi Tan, Pacifica, urged Council to pass this measure, and shared his thoughts on the tax issue and STRs.
Kimberly Finale, Pacifica, spoke in support of the tax measure and posed a question about any arguments that would be against this.
Mayor Vaterlaus closed public comments.
Councilmember Bigstyck asked if we consulted with the members of the BID before bringing this up at this meeting.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that we offered to meet with all the hotel managers and ended up having responses from five of them to inform them about tonight’s discussion.
Councilmember Bigstyck stated Business Improvement District would be managers of the hotels. He asked what was the result of those meetings.
City Manager Woodhouse stated the meetings were informational to be very transparent that Council would be discussing this at this meeting to consider putting it on the ballot and they were thankful about the outreach and had questions about details; most of them found it informative and they were thankful for the outreach and transparency.
Councilmember Bigstyck asked if he was able to elucidate whether or not there was a positive response from a majority of them.
City Manager Woodhouse thought it ranged. He felt the meetings were more about being transparent and clear.
Councilmember Bigstyck stated that a community member asked the question if they are aware of the argument that might be against it should Council vote to put this on the ballot.
City Manager Woodhouse thinks that is a broad question and there are many different perspectives about taxing. He would rather keep it general and not hypothesize what an argument against this measure would be.
Councilmember Bigstyck expressed that we do not want to harm businesses and we would like everyone to agree to make the city stronger by willingly contributing. He stated that, no matter which hotel he visits, there is some charge in there by which he is contributing to the community he is visiting. He appreciates that and that we are talking about 15% up from 12%. He thought it is a relatively minor added cost and, while he does not want to harm businesses, adding that he does not think that is enough of a cost that it would dissuade someone looking to visit.
Mayor Vaterlaus stated that she has never asked what the TOT tax is at a hotel or a resort fee, as she pays them. She balanced the incremental difference for an oceanside view at a hotel in Pacifica versus elsewhere.
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Councilmember Bier was happy to hear the response from the hotel owners. She has not heard any opposition in other communities as far as she knows.
Councilmember Boles wanted to respond to the public comment about raising fees otherwise and having the community pay for it, as we did that two years ago with Measure Y. She thinks we need to do more education to the community about the needed cost to maintain our roads and our sewers and all the infrastructure and money to understand that we as a community need to invest in our own community.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer thinks there is a legitimate confusion and no clarity on the part of many in the community about what is TOT versus what is the BID. She encouraged a more regular form of communication about this. The city regularly speaks of being a visitor-serving economy and how in working with the Coastal Commission there is interest in low-cost visitorserving services; in weighing all those things, keeping costs low means not raising taxes, and on balance, she looks at the chart and she understands Half Moon Bay raised their TOT recently. She stated that the rates are consistent with Pacifica, and she knows this is a fluid demand based pricing structure and not fixed rates that never change. She concurs with what the Mayor said that she does not look at TOT until she is paying her bill and she pays it. She concurs with Councilmember Bigstyck that she is making an impact on the community that she is in and using the roads and facilities and she feels it is fair to ask visitors to pay a share as we have our property owners in town paying their property taxes in that share. She thinks communities generally understand this affects visitors more than a resident. Thus, she is inclined to support this at 15%.
Councilmember Bier moved to adopt a Resolution Calling and Giving Notice for Holding a General Municipal Election to be consolidated with the City’s next General Municipal Election on November 5, 2024, and Submitting to the Elector’s a Ballot measure to update the City’s Transient Occupancy (Hotel/Lodging Guests) Tax imposed on short term stays by increasing to fifteen percent (15%) by amending Pacifica Municipal Code Section 3-7.03; Establishing the Policies and Procedures for such an election; Requesting San Mateo County to Consolidate with the City’s General Municipal Election, Statewide General Election and to Provide Election Services; Directing the City Attorney to Prepare an Impartial Analysis; and Authorizing the Filing of Rebuttal Argument; seconded by Mayor Vaterlaus.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
SECONDER: Sue Vaterlaus, Mayor
AYES: Vaterlaus, Beckmeyer, Bier, Bigstyck, Boles
City Council Regular Meeting 18 July 08, 2024
ADJOURN
Mayor Vaterlaus adjourned the meeting at 10:25 p.m.
Transcribed by Barbara Medina, Public Meeting Stenographer.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sarah Coffey, City Clerk
APPROVED: 5 - 0; 9/23/2024
__________________________
Sue Vaterlaus, Mayor