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: 8 Section Name: CONSENT CALENDAR Account Number: 10-4679 File ID: 26-11197 TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Public Works Department
MEETING DATE: June 01, 2026
SUBJECT:
Community Flood and Storm Protection Fee Increase for Fiscal Year 2026-27 — Adoption RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a Resolution to increase the Community Flood and Storm Protection Fee by 3.0 percent to account for the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase.
BACKGROUND:
The City of San Mateo operates and maintains a stormwater system that provides critical protection against flooding and helps safeguard local waterways from pollution. This complex system includes surface drains, underground pipes and conduits, pump stations, creeks and channels, and the Marina Lagoon. The system requires significant upgrades to address flood control capacity limitations, aging infrastructure, enhanced operations and maintenance needs, and compliance with state and federal mandates to reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff.
Prior to 2024, the system lacked a dedicated funding source, and available funds were insufficient to adequately maintain and modernize the drainage infrastructure, resulting in long-overdue improvements. On January 16, 2024, following a two- month balloting process, the City approved the dedicated Community Flood and Storm Protection Fee (Stormwater Fee).
The adopted resolution for the Stormwater Fee outlines future fee adjustments based on CPI. These adjustments require City Council approval each fiscal year and do not require additional voter approval. The fee adjustments are based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the San Francisco Bay Area, as of each December, with a maximum allowable increase of 3.0 percent. The CPI increase from this December was 3.0 percent. Furthermore, any portion of the CPI above 3.0 percent is to be reserved as “Unused CPI” and may be applied in future years when the CPI is less than 3.0 percent. Since the CPI increase this year was at the cap, no unused CPI will be banked.
The following table shows the proposed changes in monthly fees for Fiscal Year 2026-27.
Land Use Category Monthly Fee
Residential Cost (per parcel) FY 25/26 FY 26/27
Small Under 0.11 acre 5.68 5.85
Medium 0.11 to 0.17 acre 8.19 8.44
Large 0.18 to 0.23 acre 10.16 10.46
Extra Large Over 0.23 acre 11.35 11.69
Condominium 1 Level acre 5.48 5.64
Condominium 2+ Levels acre 2.78 2.86
CITY OF SAN MATEO
Non-Residential (per acre) FY 25/26 FY 26/27
Commercial / Industrial 102.91 106.00
Office / Apartment / Institutional 83.78 86.29
Institutional w/ Field 72.95 75.14
Park 5.66 5.83
Vacant (developed) 5.66 5.83
Open Space / Agricultural not charged
Funds from the Community Flood and Storm Protection Fee have been allocated to support operations and maintenance staff for the ongoing cleaning of storm catch basins, as well as critical capital repairs at locations identified by engineering and operations staff. Future revenues from this fee will continue to support these efforts, along with major capital improvements to be identified in the upcoming Storm Drain Master Plan update and Marina Lagoon dredging projects.
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached Resolution to increase the Community Flood and Storm Protection Fee by 3.0 percent for all parcels citywide.
BUDGET IMPACT:
Revenues from Community Flood and Storm Protection Fee for Fiscal Year 2025-26 totaled $3,997,700. The proposed CPI increase of 3.0 percent will increase anticipated Fiscal Year 2026-27 revenue in the Storm Fund by approximately $119,000.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This action is not a project subject to CEQA, because it is a government fiscal activity which does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(4).)
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
Att 1 – Proposed Resolution
STAFF CONTACT
Jimmy Vo, Engineering Manager
[email protected]
(650) 522-7319