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CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 1 Section Name: {{section.name}} Account Number: 10-1311 File ID: {{item.tracking_number}} TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: City Manager's Office
MEETING DATE: May 20, 2024
SUBJECT:
Potential Ballot Measures for November 2024 - Results From Community Survey and Council Direction RECOMMENDATION:
Receive a presentation from staff and our consultants, Team CivX and True North Research, concerning potential ballot measures for the November 2024 election and our recent community survey results; and provide staff with direction on which potential ballot measures to proceed with informing and educating the community.
BACKGROUND:
On March 18, 2024, the City Council adopted General Plan 2040, which includes proposed land use designations that exceed the current voter-approved height and housing density limits on some properties within the 10 study areas where growth is planned through 2040. Voter approval is needed to fully implement the heights and densities in the land use map in the adopted General Plan. The land use map includes five designations that exceed the voter approved height and density limits (Mixed-Use Medium II and High, Residential Medium II and High, and Office High). The land use map with these height and density limits was developed through six years of community outreach and engagement and anticipates the community’s housing needs through 2040 as well as allocations the City will be required to plan for by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). HCD informed the City that adoption of these land use designations will be key to maintaining a certified Housing Element, which is required by the State.
Separately, on December 5, 2022, the City Council experienced a situation where the timing of the mayoral rotation process came into question. Since that time, the City Council has expressed interest in amending the City’s Charter to avoid similar situations in the future. Amending the Charter requires voter approval. The Council has held several study sessions and two public hearings on potential Charter amendments, including those that address the mayoral rotation process.
To determine whether to place measures on the November 2024 election ballot, staff engaged a community survey consultant and an elections consultant. Additionally, a subcommittee of the City Council was formed to work periodically at key decision points with staff and the consultants. The Subcommittee comprised of Mayor Diaz-Nash and Councilmember Loraine joined the staff/consultant team twice; once to review and provide input on the draft survey prior to distribution, and once to review the survey results, refine the proposed ballot language, and help identify stakeholders for education and outreach. The subcommittee members approved the revised ballot language and outreach plan and are reviewing the stakeholder list.
If any of the proposed measures are placed on the ballot, the next step in the process will be for staff and Councilmembers to objectively educate and inform the community about them between May 21 and July 15, when this item again comes to City Council for a decision on whether to place a ballot measure on the November ballot. While the Council may take a
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position on the measures, the City is prohibited from using its resources to advocate for the measures and must cease its outreach and education activities after placing the measure(s) on the ballot. City staff may still respond to inquiries about the measures by providing objective, impartial information.
SURVEY:
Survey Consulting. The City engaged True North Research (“TNR”) to conduct a survey of the community regarding the potential ballot measures the City is considering for the general election in November 2024. TNR launched the survey in April 2024 and collected 600 opinions from likely November 2024 voters before preparing the attached report. 600 is the number needed for a statistically valid survey.
Survey Structure. The survey (Attachment 1) followed a mixed-method design that employed multiple recruiting methods (email, text, and telephone) and multiple data collection methods (telephone and online). Administered in English and Spanish between April 15 and April 22, 2024, the average interview lasted 16 minutes. The survey asked about quality of life, what San Mateo voters would like to see in their community, and about satisfaction with City services, as well as testing potential ballot language and reasons to support or oppose the potential ballot measures.
Survey Findings. San Mateo voters have a high opinion of the City, with over 83% rating their Quality of Life as good or excellent and over 77% expressing satisfaction with City Services. They recognize the need for additional affordable housing, but also have concerns about limiting growth and development, traffic congestion, and protecting parks and open space. These sentiments led many voters to support the proposed planning measure as a balanced solution — by concentrating future housing downtown along the El Camino corridor and near Caltrain stations where it is close to transit, jobs, infrastructure, and services, the measure would provide additional affordable housing for low- and middle-income residents and enable the City to meet State housing requirements while also enhancing parks and open space, protecting existing residential neighborhoods, and reducing traffic impacts. Support for the measure ranged between 62% and 66%, with a 4% margin of error, depending on the context. There was some confusion about whether this could be a tax measure, which is a common misconception amongst voters on ballot measures that are unrelated to taxation, and the subcommittee recommended inserting the phrase without raising taxes” into the proposed ballot measure language to ward off any potential confusion.
When asked to consider the two potential Charter Amendment measures, respondents were strongly supportive (63%) of requiring the selection of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor at the first regular Council Meeting following the election unless postponed by a unanimous vote of the Council or a natural disaster. Opinions were evenly mixed, however, regarding requiring that selection of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor follow a set rotation based on seniority – rather than the Mayor and Deputy Mayor being selected by a vote of current councilmembers (34% support, 38% oppose, 28% unsure/prefer not to answer).
Ballot Measure Consulting. The City engaged Team CivX to provide guidance toward potential ballot measures for the November 2024 election. Team CivX assisted the City with the survey, and to prepare educational materials and messages, and provide overall election guidance.
Based on the content of the Charter Amendments, both Team CivX and TNR consultants recommend that the Council defer placing these items on the ballot until the 2026 election. In their view, the timing of these measures may impact the success of the land use measure, which is critical to the ongoing certification of the Housing Element.
NEXT STEPS:
Following Council direction, the City will engage in an educational outreach effort to inform the community about the potential November 2024 ballot measures from May 21 through July 14, 2024. This outreach will include meeting with dozens of community stakeholder organizations and providing educational information to the community. It is anticipated that five members of staff and Councilmembers will participate in this effort. Informational outreach to the full community will include three communitywide mailers and digital advertising that is linked to the City’s dedicated informational website. State election law requires that the City no longer spend City resources or staff time on outreach to
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the community once Council makes a final determination that an item will be placed on the ballot, which is anticipated to be decided on July 15, 2024.
REQUEST FOR COUNCIL FEEDBACK:
1. Should the City proceed with education and outreach on the land use measure and return to Council for a decision whether to place it on the November 2024 ballot?
2. Should the City proceed with education and outreach on the Charter amendment measures and return to Council for a decision whether to place them on the November 2024 ballot?
3. Does the City Council have feedback on staffs’ proposed education and information outreach plan between May 21 and July 14?
4. Should the land use ballot language be revised to insert the phrase “without raising taxes“ to clarify that there is no tax increase related to the November 2024 ballot. The revised ballot language is below. The additional language is in parentheses and bold proposed measure, which would read as follows:
To allow for additional affordable housing for low- and middle-income residents and meet State housing requirements (without raising taxes) while enhancing parks and open space, protecting existing residential neighborhoods, and reducing traffic impacts, shall the City of San Mateo's measure be adopted allowing future housing to be concentrated downtown along the El Camino corridor and near Caltrain stations where it is close to transit, jobs, infrastructure, and services?
BUDGET IMPACT:
There are no costs associated with receiving this report. Funding for consultant services have already been appropriated.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This survey not a project subject to CEQA, because it can be seen with certainty that it will not cause a physical change in the environment. (Public Resources Code Section 21065.) NOTICE PROVIDED:
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS:
Att 1 – Community Survey Report
STAFF CONTACT:
Christina Horrisberger, Assistant City Manager
[email protected]
(650) 522-7210
Tara Peterson, Interim Deputy Director of Special Projects - Community Development Department [email protected]
(650) 522-7235