October 16, 2023 1
San Carlos City Council/Successor Agency to the
Redevelopment Agency/Housing Authority Special Meeting
Enterprise Conference Room, City Hall
600 Elm Street, San Carlos, CA 94070
October 16, 2023 1:00 PM
MINUTES
ROLL CALL
City Council Present:
Council Absent:
Ronald Collins, Councilmember
John Dugan, Vice Mayor
Sara McDowell, Councilmember
Pranita Venkatesh, Councilmember
Adam Rak, Mayor
Staff Present: Jeff Maltbie, City Manager
Crystal Mui, City Clerk
Gregory Rubens, City Attorney
1. CALL TO ORDER
Vice Mayor Dugan called the meeting to order at 1:00 PM and noted that he will be chairing today’s meeting in Mayor Rak’s absence.
2. 3.
PEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Vice Mayor Dugan led the Pledge of Allegiance.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
4. STUDY SESSION
a. Discussion of Issues and Topics Affecting the City of San Carlos, Including, But Not Limited to, the Items Listed in the Attachment. No Action Will be Taken on Any Items at This Meeting.
South Laurel Developments
Public Comment
- Five members of the public expressed concerns on the potential parking and traffic impact from the proposed developments in the Southend of Laurel Street, by Carl’s Jr. They provided the following suggestions to Council:
• conduct a comprehensive study on south Laurel Street to prepare for developments and its impact on traffic, safety and the environment
• w hen considering parking, be mindful of how it’ll impact the community • determine the number of parking spaces based on objective facts from a study • when c onsidering density of developments, be mindful of its impact on parks and recreation
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At Mayor Dugan’s request, City Manager Jeff Maltbie provided info rmation on the proposed development, stating that it’s at its very initial stages.
- Sonia Elkes, resident, advocated for an active transportation corridor.
Council expressed interest in eventually adding South Laurel, through Eaton Avenue, as Phase II of the Downtown Plan study.
Observing all Federal Holidays for Council and Commission Meetings
Councilmember McDowell spoke on the importance of not holding Council nor Commission meetings on any federal holidays, including Columbus Day and Juneteenth.
Council spoke in support of this item and directed staff to agendize it for approval.
Regularity of Commission and Advisory Body Meetings
Councilmember McDowell noted that some Commission s are meeting infrequently and are not being fully utilized.
Mr. Maltbie noted that he’ll address this with staff.
Zoom Remote Participation and Comments; Meeting Decorum Policy
Council discussed the benefits of continuing to allow public comments via Zoom and suggested practices to implement to address disruptions, such as:
• provide the Mayor with a binder with the decorum policy and a clear script • have more programs to acknowledge how diverse our City is • incorporate this process:
1. limit the amount of time commenters can raise their hand to speak; after a designated amount of time (perhaps one minute) count the number of hands and don’t allow any additional speakers for that item
2. if an inappropriate comment is received, the Mayor will interject with a warning while the City Clerk temporarily lowers the volume of the commenter
3. if inappropriate comments continue after the warning, the Mayor will direct the City Clerk to remove the speaker from the meeting.
If disruptive comments continue on Zoom, Councilmember Collins suggested creating a public comment email group list and providing an option for the public to leave a voice message with their comment during the meeting.
Council reviewed the draft Meeting Decorum Policy and directed staff to re move reference to Rosenberg Rules and agendize it for adoption.
Elected Treasurer Position Ballot Measure
City Attorney Greg Rubens reminded Council that they had provided direction for him to prepare a measure on the November 2024 ballot for considering the elected City Treasurer position and noted that the item will be brought to them in the spring.
Councilmember McDowell suggested the City proactively educate the public on this measure.
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Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers
Mr. Rubens updated Council on the state law banning the sale of gas leaf blower s effective January 2024.
Council discussed options for how the City can address the issues of gas leaf blowers, including implementing a ban, setting maximum decibels allowed, and allowing gas powered blowers only on garbage pick-up days, however, they recognized the difficulty with enforcement.
Public Comment
Sonia Elkes, resident, suggested adding an article in the City’s newsletter to provide options and creative way to address the issues of gas leaf blowers.
Budget Impacts of a Construction Slowdown
At the Mayor’s request, Mr. Maltbie confirmed that there is a construction slowdown, which may result in some delays and interruptions, however, he has no reasons for concerns at this time. He also provided an update on the Alexandria developer’s desire to start over with the Development Agreement due to economic changes.
Potential Targets for City Acquisition for Affordable Housing
Mr. Maltbie confirmed that there have been properties identified as p otential targets for City acquisition for affordable housing, however, the City is not in the position to purchase another property at this time.
Negotiating Community Benefits from Developers
Council inquired on how the City can better negotiate public benefits from developers and questioned if the 50/50 split for net present value is the most beneficial approach.
Mr. Maltbie noted that the Council subcommittee needs to review formula options and consider how the analysis is working.
Council requested additional information from CalWater to learn more about recycled water and purple-piping.
Council recessed at 3:00 PM and reconvened for 3:07 PM.
Non-Utilization of Downtown Employee Parking in Wheeler Plaza Garage/ Downtown Parking and Mobility
Council noted that employees in the downtown are still parking in the parking lot behind T own Restaurant and discussed:
• the need to be more aggressive and enforce the two hour time limits • looking into John Baer’s El Camino Real and Cherry Street property • the benefits of zoned parking
Mr. Maltbie confirmed that a study will be conducted as part of the Downtown Plan Study that should help address the issue of downtown employee parking.
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Smart City Infrastructure
Council identified areas of the City with traffic signal delays, including the intersections at Chestnut Street and San Carlos Avenue, and San Carlos Avenue and Holly Street, and inquired if smart infrastructure is something we could benefit from.
Mr. Maltbie confirmed there is a light timing project already in the budget, and noted that artificial intelligent traffic signals are still being tested and not quite ready to be rolled-out.
Council agreed that they’re interested in being proactive with smart traffic signals when the technology is ready.
SamTrans Headquarters Building Update
Mr. Maltbie confirmed that SamTrans is aware of the City ’s desire to see housing at their headquarters building, but that it’s unlikely there will be changes anytime soon.
Downtown Look and Feel
Council inquired if the City can require and enforce parklets to be repaired for aesthetics.
Mr. Maltbie noted that he’ll check with the Public Works Director.
Council added that they have received a number of complaints regarding the sticky sidewalks in the downtown and requested staff post the cleaning schedule on social media so that the community is aware of the City’s efforts to address the issue.
AEDs (Automated External Defibrillator) in Public Parks
Mr. Maltbie notified Council that once staff is able to identify how to secure and make AEDS accessible, they’ll focus on getting them out to the City’s fields and courts.
Trails and Open Space Access Update
Mr. Maltbie confirmed that Council has the latest updates on trails and open space access and noted that we’re within months of being able to start trail work.
Advanced Planning for Community Center/Community Pool
Mr. Maltbie noted that the Parks and Recreation Director’s suggestion is to include the discussion of a community center/pool as part of the parks master planning process. He noted that there will not be enough funding to complete both the Downtown Plan and the community center/pool and expressed the importance for Council to begin considering how they’ll close the funding gap or decide which project they want to focus on.
North Crestview Park
Vice Mayor Dugan noted the community’s general appetite for a Veteran’s Memorial that also commemorates our War Dog history and spoke on the potential at North Crestview Park.
Mr. Maltbie confirmed that this will be addressed in the Parks Master and the North Crestview Plans that’s currently underway.
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Air BNBs
Mr. Maltbie confirmed that Air BNBs are not allowed in San Carlos and provided information on the TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax) loss due to this.
Council agreed to take a wait-and-see approach on Air BNBs.
Update on Flood Mitigation Measures Approved in Recent Budget
Mr. Maltbie provided Council with a status on the work that staff has completed or are currently working on to mitigate flooding.
Council directed staff to share this update with the community in the next newsletter.
Councilmember McDowell inquired about the purchase of an excavator to clean storm drain inlets.
Mr. Maltbie will check with staff for the status on this.
Increase NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Fees
Mr. Maltbie provided a brief background on the NPDES tax and spoke on the lack of funding source for the Storm Drain Master Plan’s identified improvements, estimated (in 2017) at $56 million.
Council discussed the benefits of a tax measure to increase funding for storm drains and contemplated if the community would support it. Council stated that they will reflect on this further.
Council recessed at 4:45 PM and reconvened at 4:50 PM.
Traffic Studies at Alameda Corridor
Mr. Maltbie stated that there will be several traffic plans conducted in different parts of the city, but there is nothing currently planned for the Alameda corridor.
Safe Routes to School Progress
At the Mayor’s request, Mr. Maltbie provided updates on the various Safe Routes to School projects currently underway.
Councilmember McDowell added that at a recent 2+2 Joint City/School Committee meeting, the City and the School District agreed to improve some sidewalks near Arroyo Avenue.
Repaving of Main Streets
Council commented on some of the City’s main streets that need to be repaired, including Laurel Street (south of Arroyo Ave) and Brittan Ave (immediately off the freeway by Industrial Road), and inquired about where they fall on the priority list.
Mr. Maltbie noted that he will check with the Public Works Director.
Councilmember McDowell shared that her street has recently been repaved, but her neighbor, who’s tearing down her home is required to underground powerlines, which would require cutting into the street. She noted the issues with undergrounding powerlines and inquired if there is any consideration of updating the residential policy requiring undergrounding powerlines.
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Mr. Maltbie noted that he’ll look into this.
405 Industrial Road Traffic Study
Mr. Maltbie confirmed that staff is proceeding with a traffic study at 405 Industrial Road to prohibit left-hand turns.
Cumulative Impact of Traffic Flow from East Side New Development Projects
Councilmember McDowell inquired about the potential to study a roundabout at Industrial Road and Holly Street to keep traffic moving. She also expressed concern about the cumulative traffic impact on all the new developments on the east side.
Mr. Maltbie responded that roundabouts require a lot of space and would require acquiring property to accomplish one at the site in question. He also stated that the General Plan Traffic Impact Study will provide an overview of the future cumulative impact from the projects.
Bike and Pedestrian Bridge over 101
Councilmember McDowell gauged the Council’s interest in proceeding with the Bike and Pedestrian Bridge over Highway 101 project separate from the freeway interchange.
Mr. Maltbie noted that staff had initially tried to approach it as a separate project, but it was easier to get grants when it was combined with the freeway interchange.
Consider Hiring Grant Writing Consultant
Councilmember McDowell suggested hiring a consulting firm to help identify and apply for grants that the City would be eligible for.
Council expressed interest and directed staff to proceed with it as a one-year pilot.
Offering more Cultural Events in our Community.
Councilmember Venkatesh inquired on the process to diversify our City events and incorporate them into the community.
Mr. Maltbie responded that it would just require C ouncil to give direction to staff and identify the funding source.
5. ADJOURNMENT
Vice Mayor Dugan adjourned the meeting at 5:30 PM.
Crystal Mui
City Clerk