CITY OF SAN MATEO
CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 9 Section Name: CONSENT CALENDAR Account Number: 10-4691 File ID: 25-10769 TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Public Works Department
MEETING DATE: January 26, 2026
SUBJECT:
Transportation Staffing Restructuring – Adoption
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a Resolution to add an additional Engineering Manager position and reallocate an Engineering Technician II position to an Assistant/Associate Transportation Planner position.
BACKGROUND:
Staff is proposing to restructure the Transportation Division to add capacity and flexibility in the Traffic Engineering, Transportation Planning, Land Development, Utility, and Right-of-Way Sections of the Public Works Department. This will allow staff to better deliver on two of Council’s priority initiatives in the recently adopted Strategic Plan, namely the Transportation and Housing initiatives. In general, the restructuring would split the existing Transportation Division in two, creating a Transportation Division and a Development Services Division, with the former generally focused on transportation issues and the latter generally focused on development issues. Council is asked to approve a new Engineering Manager position and reallocate a vacant Engineering Technician II position to a new Assistant/Associate Transportation Planner to support the restructuring.
Basis for Recommendation
Transportation planning and development review are central to the City’s ability to implement adopted policies, deliver capital projects, manage growth, and maintain day-to-day mobility and parking operations. Considering the scope and complexity of the City’s transportation responsibilities, the increasing pace of development and implementation driven by voter-approved and state-mandated requirements, and the staffing considerations necessary to support timely, coordinated, and effective service delivery, a restructuring is necessary to better align staffing resources with adopted priorities and evolving service demands.
Across the Active Transportation, Safety, Vehicle Congestion Management, and Parking Management categories of the 2040 General Plan Circulation Element, the City has adopted more than 26 transportation-related policies. These policies, together with the City Strategic Plan’s Transportation priority initiative and multiple City Council FY 25-26 priorities focused on transportation, reflect a commitment to advancing a safe, efficient, and well-functioning transportation system. The City has also adopted multiple transportation plans that define an ambitious vision for safety and mobility, and in recent years has shifted its focus from planning to implementation, including projects such as the Delaware Safe Routes to School Project and the 3rd and Norfolk Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements Project.
The Transportation Planning section also plays a critical role in delivering and managing the City’s parking programs. Their efforts include customer service, data collection and analysis, consultant and contract oversight, and management of residential, downtown, and citywide parking systems. This work is essential to the City’s day-to-day operations, supporting effective management of parking in neighborhoods and businesses, maintaining orderly use of the public right-of-way, and
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ensuring continued parking revenue collection, tracking, and forecasting.
Land development review plays a critical role in ensuring that new projects are implemented safely, efficiently, and in alignment with adopted City policies and standards. Recent housing accountability and streamlining requirements constrain local discretionary ability and increase review demands for private development. Measure T has resulted in a significant increase in development applications. AB 130 and SB 330 are accelerating housing project review timelines and requiring staff to process applications, prepare reports, and coordinate reviews (including evaluating transportation impacts) more quickly to meet state-mandated timeframes.
The City’s ability to deliver on these adopted priorities and timelines is increasingly constrained by limited staff capacity.
The proposed restructuring will help align staff resources with existing commitments, strengthen implementation of transportation projects and land development review, and directly support City Council direction and community priorities.
Proposed Restructuring
The Transportation Division currently consists of 16.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, including the Engineering Manager (1.0 FTE) that oversees the division and the Traffic Engineering (5.0 FTE), Transportation Planning (2.5 FTE, all currently vacant), and Land Development, Utility, and Right-of-Way (8.0 FTE) Sections. The first two of these sections are primarily focused on the City’s management of the roadway system, including planning and policy development, multimodal network planning, traffic operations and signal coordination, speed management and traffic calming, transportation impact mitigation for development projects, construction traffic management, parking management, public outreach, safe routes to school program implementation, and interagency coordination. The latter section is primarily focused on the interface between private development and third parties and the public right-of-way and includes the Public Works- focused aspects of reviewing private development applications, oversight and permitting of third-party utilities (including small wireless facilities) within the public right-of-way, and issuance of encroachment permits for events or work within the right-of-way.
Following the proposed restructure, the Transportation Division would split into two divisions – a Transportation Division which includes Traffic Engineering and Transportation Planning, and a Development Services Division which includes Land Development, Utility, and Right-of-Way. This restructuring requires approval of a new Engineering Manager position that would oversee the Development Services Division, with the existing Engineering Manager position overseeing the Transportation Division. In addition, a vacant Engineering Technician role within the Land Development, Utility, and Right- of-Way section would be reallocated to create a second Assistant/Associate Transportation Planner position within the Transportation Planning section. With Council’s January 12, 2026, approval to revise the Principal Transportation Planner classification to a Senior/Principal Transportation Planner, this restructuring would revise the Transportation Planning section to consist of two Assistant/Associate Transportation Planners and a Senior/Principal Transportation Planner.
A dedicated Transportation Engineering Manager and a revised Transportation Planning section will allow staff to better deliver on Council’s transportation priorities discussed above. Replacing the current structure (Engineering Technician and part-time per-diem Safe Routes to School Coordinator) with a second Assistant/Associate Transportation Planner position consolidates responsibilities into full-time roles capable of independently managing programs and project delivery. This structure improves overall capacity and responsiveness while providing flexibility for workload balancing, mentoring, and long-term program continuity. Listed below are the primary efforts advanced by the Transportation Planning section.
Planning Efforts
Complete Streets Plan
Parking and Transportation Planning Policy Development and Evaluation (Parking, Transportation Planning, Transportation Demand Management, Vehicle Miles Traveled) City Transportation Planning Representation (SamTrans, San Mateo County Safe Routes to School Program, C/CAG) Transportation Grant Identification and Development
Micromobility and Shared Mobility Policy and Program Development Transportation planning items for the Development Review Board, Sustainability and Infrastructure Commission,
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and City Council
Multimodal transportation system planning and network development Update of transportation-related impact fees
Safe Routes to School
Strategic Plan implementation
Capacity-building and City support of school district initiatives Support for identifying quick build improvements near schools Bike Rodeo event support
Distribution of safety equipment, including bike locks and helmets and lighted stop paddles, through school partners
Parking Programs
Customer service for parking programs (Downtown, Residential, and Citywide) Oversight of parking consultants and contracts
Parking counts/study/analysis
Residential Parking Permit Program (RPPP) program management and permitting Downtown parking analysis and data collection
Maintain Downtown parking occupancy systems and ensure data is accurate and available to the public Curb marking requests
Assist with parking policy evaluation and development
Curb management program, including evaluation of loading zones and trash management practices Track and apply for grants related to parking programs Bicycle parking infrastructure
Parking Revenue Allocation/Forecast
Capital Project Delivery
These are primarily delivered by the Traffic section, but are supported, especially when it comes to planning, outreach, and engagement, by the Transportation Planning section.
19th Avenue/Fashion Island Multimodal Improvement Project Peninsula Avenue Complete Streets Multimodal Project
Citywide Traffic Calming Program
28th Avenue Gap Closure
Hillsdale/Alameda De Las Pulgas Signal
Bike San Mateo Program
Quick Build Mobility Program
Hillsdale High School/31st Avenue Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project A dedicated Development Services Engineering Manager offers the following benefits to the City’s current level of service:
Maintain timely and predictable reviews despite the growing volume of permit applications. Provide consistent oversight and quality control to ensure adherence to standards as permitting processes and regulatory requirements continue to evolve.
Foster proactive compliance among staff and external stakeholders. Strengthen coordination across departments, developers, utility providers, contractors, and other permit applicants, to support efficient project delivery.
Expand capacity to provide clear, responsive communication to developers, contractors, and other interested stakeholders.
Expand ability to support regional coordination by engaging with local and regional partners to stay informed about evolving requirements and promote alignment and collaboration across municipalities. Support the development of a Comprehensive Construction Management Plan for Measure T, which would establish a consistent Citywide framework for managing cumulative impacts from simultaneous construction
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impacts associated with increased development activity, and encouraging coordination amongst developers.
Based on the above, staff recommends Council adopt the attached Resolution to add an additional Engineering Manager position and reallocate an Engineering Technician II position to establish an additional Assistant/Associate Transportation Planner position.
BUDGET IMPACT:
The expected impact of this change on the General Fund is $81,000 annually. Any budget necessary to fill positions in the current fiscal year will be absorbed within the department’s operating budget and savings from departmental vacancies.
Budget to fund these positions in future fiscal years will be requested as part of the annual budget development process.
This budget impact assumes no chargebacks to capital or private development projects. It is forecasted that a minimum of 50% of this amount will be charged annually to capital or private development projects. If the City pursues greater cost recovery for its parking programs in the future, the net impact to the General Fund could decrease further, as one of the Assistant/Associate Transportation’s primary roles is support of the City’s parking programs.
The following assumptions were made to estimate the budget impact:
The new Engineering Manager (1.0 FTE) and Assistant/Associate Transportation Planner (1.0 FTE) positions are conservatively set at top step (step 5). The Principal Transportation Planner will be underfilled by a Senior Transportation Planner. As a result, the actual costs for these positions may be less than budgeted. The Engineering Technician II (1.0 FTE) position is being reallocated to establish the second Assistant/Associate Transportation Planner position. Salary savings from eliminating the per-diem Safe Routes to School Coordinator position will help to offset the increased costs of the reallocation.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
The creation or reallocation of positions is not a project subject to CEQA, because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5).)
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
Att 1 – Proposed Resolution
STAFF CONTACT
Katherine Sheehan, Deputy Director
[email protected]
(650) 522-7303