[0:03] [Background Conversation]

[0:25] >> Let's go ahead and call this meeting to order we'll begin

[0:28] with a roll call.

[0:31] [Reading names]

[0:37] >> After much negotiation I have settled on a member

[0:41] of the public that would like to step up and lead us

[0:45] in the Pledge of Allegiance, and it is none other than Meredith

[0:50] Baxter from Sunshine Gardens my down the hill neighbor.

[0:54] Who normally waves at me every time I drive by.

[0:58] Normally waves.

[0:59] So we will stand, and you will begin.

[1:05] >>I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United

[1:07] States of America and to the Republic for which it stands,

[1:07] one nation under God, indivisible,

[1:08] with liberty and justice for all.

[1:19] >> Thank you very much.

[1:24] >> Thank you for being here.

[1:27] >> We move along to Living act disclosures does the council

[1:29] have anything to report tonight?

[1:32] >> It would appear not.

[1:33] >> No reporting so we'll now move along to reports from

[1:36] staff.

[1:38] >> Thank you.

[1:38] We would like to invite the community

[1:40] to come to one of our tree lightings.

[1:43] On Monday August 31st at 7 p.m..

[1:47] We will be getting ready to do the tree lighting which

[1:50] is going to be lit up in gold for Childhood Cancer Awareness

[1:54] Month.

[1:54] The event is actually going to take place in this building

[1:58] at LPR, in the community room on the second floor of.

[2:01] So we hope that folks can join us for that event.

[2:10] >> That completes the reports, any announcements?

[2:13] >> We'll move along to council comment and request.

[2:18] >> Who'd like to go first this evening?

[2:21] >> I don't have much to >> You've been busy with things you

[2:26] can't comment on.

[2:31] >> (laughs) yes.

[2:32] The United Methodist Church in Bailey City

[2:36] actually had a prayer service at Alta Loma Park.

[2:39] And I was invited to come and welcome the individuals there.

[2:43] So, thank you for the invite.

[2:46] I appreciate it.

[2:48] Also, the comments that were received that they really loved

[2:51] our parks and our facilities.

[2:53] So I wanted to just make sure that I share that.

[2:56] And then recently, we had a board commission meeting

[2:59] where we appointed several great individuals

[3:02] to several of our commissions.

[3:04] And I know in the past Mr. Mayor we

[3:07] have done some sort of board of the commission

[3:11] at the end dinner, and I hope that we get to do that again.

[3:15] I love hearing about this, the accomplishments

[3:17] that they achieve and how we partner with them.

[3:20] So if that's something we can do at the end of the year

[3:23] I appreciate it.

[3:24] That's all I have Mr. Mayor.

[3:26] Thank you.

[3:28] >> Who would like to go next?

[3:31] >> I?

[3:32] >> Yes Ma'am

[3:33] >> Thank you mayor, congratulations to our newly

[3:36] promoted police officers and staff,

[3:37] and welcome to those who have just joined our South San

[3:41] Francisco family.

[3:41] It is great to see all of their family

[3:44] and those who love them at the last batch of swearing

[3:48] in ceremony held here at the Council Chambers.

[3:51] And like Mark I'm impressed by the people that came forward

[3:55] to join our Commission's.

[3:57] Thank you to everyone who came and spent some time with us.

[4:02] To those who are not appointed come

[4:04] as engaged to make sure that we continued

[4:08] the work that needs to be done.

[4:13] Last Friday we had our first movie night

[4:15] hosted by our Parks and Rec.

[4:19] I thought there would be more families that

[4:23] came because they'd be protected from the cold and the wind.

[4:25] But it was a little disappointed that there

[4:27] was less than we were expecting but maybe it's the first.

[4:30] Hopefully next time it will be better attendance.

[4:37] I would like to request that our meeting be adjourned today

[4:42] in memory of two individuals.

[4:43] One is Doctor Jose or sorry Jesus Abiah,

[4:47] who died on August 6th, he worked at Stanford Medical

[4:51] Center and Veterans Affairs for 20 years after a 20 year

[4:55] successful practice in the Philippines.

[4:57] And another one is Sunshine Garden resident

[5:00] for a long time, Lucille Casey.

[5:04] Was a commissioner at modern De La Rose for a long time

[5:08] she used to work at Spruce School in San Mateo courthouse.

[5:11] The Mateo County Courthouse.

[5:13] She was preceded in death by her husband Larry.

[5:15] May their souls rest in peace.

[5:22] >> Thank you Flora.

[5:23] Okay gentlemen come on one of you gets to go next.

[5:26] >> All right I shall go next.

[5:28] So, this past Saturday morning I believe it was Saturday morning,

[5:34] yes it was we had a community hike on sign Hill,

[5:38] it was a well attended event, I believe

[5:40] there was around 30 people there,

[5:42] and we hiked up and down sign hill,

[5:45] I just want to give big kudos to city staff

[5:48] for being incredible for that event.

[5:50] I didn't expect a whole educational tour of Sign Hill

[5:54] about the history of the Hill, about how the conservation

[5:59] efforts happening there and the habitat restoration efforts,

[6:05] I learned a lot about the butterflies there.

[6:08] And a little known fact is the letters

[6:11] that we see on Zion Hill today aren't the only letters that you

[6:18] see on Sign Hill there used to be a big sign I believe

[6:20] from a beer company, and eventually

[6:23] knowing how Windy sign Hill is the letters blew over

[6:27] and we couldn't put him back.

[6:29] So what a lovely event getting people outside beer taking

[6:37] walks and taking hikes, because it's

[6:38] very important for all of us to go outside

[6:41] come and touch some grass, and get some exercise.

[6:43] And that's all I have for today.

[6:45] Thank you.

[6:46] >> Okay Councilman Flores?

[6:48] >> Thank you Mr. Mayor, I joined my colleague here on thanking

[6:52] city staff, I was able to join him as well as our city manager

[6:55] and thank you to the city staff, and the team there,

[7:01] everyone at Parks and Rec thank you for putting it together.

[7:05] And thank you to the residents who came out

[7:08] and for our city staff for communicating.

[7:10] Many heard of it through social media channels.

[7:13] Think always Loretta and Chuck as they

[7:15] continue their commitment and advocacy to that open space.

[7:19] Saturday I also was invited and joined close to 200 members

[7:23] of the Oyster Point Yacht Club who

[7:27] invited me over to their event this past Saturday.

[7:29] It was a great opportunity to meet constituents

[7:34] in that part of town, they were great in hosting and being

[7:38] in community, they were very thrilled

[7:42] for all of the development and new changes

[7:46] that have been happening around Oyster Point Park they're

[7:48] very grateful to this council and the work

[7:51] they put into making this town beautiful.

[7:53] I was told to share these words back to you all.

[7:56] I joined also city staff in attending the opening

[7:59] and welcoming of Assembly Diane Papin's new district,

[8:03] her new district office, it was a very nice convening,

[8:07] so if you have any need to contact her office

[8:12] please know that she has a new office right here

[8:14] in the city of San Mateo.

[8:17] I also want to join in on adding the new promotion

[8:21] and swearing in of all the men and women who filled the city.

[8:36] Restaurant worker two in downtown

[8:38] it was a very well attended event,

[8:40] and I want to thank anyone who came out including business

[8:44] owners and chamber members.

[8:45] It continues to bring forth a networking opportunity

[8:49] and connection to our business corridor,

[8:51] and I want to especially thank Nems

[8:54] for being an active partner since they arrived here

[8:57] in South San Francisco and getting involved

[8:59] with the committee community both providing medical services

[9:02] as well as engaging with our business district

[9:05] and that's all I have to report.

[9:06] Thank you.

[9:07] >> Thank you Councilman Coleman, you will like to know that those

[9:12] butterflies that you mentioned one is called the Callippe

[9:15] Silverspot, and then there was the mission blue,

[9:17] they are the reason why the housing does not work all

[9:22] the way up the hill on San Bruno Mountain because they were

[9:26] discovered, they were an endangered species,

[9:28] and they had to put together the first habitat conservation plan

[9:31] in America in some things happen even on the environmental front.

[9:40] >> During that hike, I guess our tour guide Candace said that

[9:44] they had found a Clippy silver spot in Sindh Hill,

[9:48] which means they can actually fly across from San Bruno

[9:52] Mountain to sign Hill and potentially in the future we can

[9:55] see a larger population there.

[9:57] >> They're expanding..

[9:58] That's right.

[9:58] I just have a couple of things I wanted

[10:01] to double down I was in this hall with floor and Eddie

[10:04] and we were there for the release of the new people who

[10:09] were getting badges pinned on, but Lieutenant Sean Curmi

[10:13] who is one big deal in Sunshine Gardens,

[10:16] if he was ever on the ballot he would eclipse me big time.

[10:21] And I was told by both his godfather Brian Shapiro

[10:25] and his wife, Sean's aunt Carmen, that I needed

[10:30] to be at this event for Sean.

[10:32] So I was.

[10:34] But, that's kind of the beautiful thing about South San

[10:37] Francisco, it's not easy for somebody who

[10:41] has to enforce the law right?

[10:42] To live in the community because you keep bumping into people

[10:46] that maybe it wasn't such a good experience on their side.

[10:51] But, it's wonderful when somebody

[10:54] has the tenacity and the willingness

[10:56] to live in the community that they serve.

[10:58] It's a great thing.

[11:00] Recently, I was invited out come well it's not a new company,

[11:04] I guess it's been here for six years.

[11:07] There's a company called zipline it's east of one on one

[11:10] there was a large warehouse there

[11:12] that used to do vertical farming.

[11:14] So it had very tall roofs coming it was a zipline that's

[11:18] been featured in a lot of news magazines

[11:21] on television and such.

[11:22] It's been there for six years and it's

[11:25] getting ready to expand greatly, I

[11:27] had no idea how much was occurring there.

[11:29] But in their manufacturing plant which

[11:31] was the tour that I received it's about 500 zero square feet,

[11:35] and they're going to double in the near future.

[11:39] But in manufacturing what happens

[11:41] when you double your square footage is

[11:42] you need more people to activate that space.

[11:45] So right now they're at maybe 600 employees,

[11:49] and I was told by the person that

[11:51] will do the hiring that they are looking for 4 or 500 more,

[11:54] they really wonderful thing about it,

[11:57] it was all younger people that were so enthusiastic,

[12:00] the way that they were working in

[12:02] that well it's not an assembly line,

[12:04] but there's so many components that go into those drones.

[12:07] And this company got its start by delivering medicine and blood

[12:10] supplies, in the country of Rwanda

[12:13] because there was some people, some villages that

[12:16] didn't have access to roads, so it would

[12:19] take very long to get anything.

[12:20] So that's where they started.

[12:21] And then from Rwanda I guess they

[12:23] went to another area that has problems with the roads

[12:29] and situations to travel like that.

[12:31] So they're in Dallas Texas and they're delivering both medicine

[12:35] but now also they're delivering consumer goods and food.

[12:43] It's just remarkable to see that sign on the Hill

[12:47] that says the industrial city is kind of relevant again

[12:51] because we are making stuff.

[12:56] That was the highlight of the month for me.

[12:59] So with that we'll move to the next item.

[13:02] >> Thank you mayor we'll move on to public comments,

[13:04] I don't have anyone signed up to provide a comment but I will

[13:07] look to the audience just to make sure we don't have anyone

[13:10] looking to provide?

[13:12] And then Mr. Karkouti is in the audience

[13:15] but he's not going to speak to us this evening?

[13:17] Okay.

[13:20] Margaret?

[13:21] Would you like to?

[13:23] Okay.

[13:23] All right.

[13:24] We all get a pass today.

[13:28] >> Looking on Zoom we also have no speakers.

[13:30] So we can move along to the next item.

[13:33] We can move along to the consent calendar.

[13:36] Item number one is a motion to approve the minutes from

[13:38] the meetings of August 12th 2026 and August 19th 2026.

[13:42] Item two is a motion to approve the reappointment of three

[13:46] bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee members, one

[13:50] Conference Center Authority member, one Housing Authority

[13:52] member, and one library board member.

[13:54] Item number three is a report regarding resolutions

[13:56] authorizing amendments to the consulting Services Agreement

[13:59] with Swinerton management, and consulting and LS Architecture

[14:04] and Urban Design for the Orange Memorial Park Aquatic Center

[14:07] project pier item number three A and three B are the resolutions,

[14:12] item number four is a report regarding program supplemental

[14:16] agreement number F 028 revision three.

[14:19] With the state of California for the bridge Preventative

[14:21] Maintenance program and authorizing

[14:23] the approval of budget amendment number 27.001.

[14:26] Item four is the resolution, item five is a report regarding

[14:31] a resolution authorizing the acceptance of $4,387 and $0.14

[14:36] in funding from the San Antonio County Registration

[14:40] and Elections Division to support an early vote center

[14:43] at the main library parks and recreation center

[14:46] for the November 3rd 2026 statewide general election

[14:49] and amending the Library Department's fiscal year 26

[14:52] to 27 operating budget.

[14:53] Via Budget amendment number 27.009.

[14:57] Item five A is a resolution, item six is a report regarding

[15:03] a resolution accepting $4,829.95 from the South San Francisco

[15:08] Friends of the library to support library collections

[15:10] programs and services.

[15:11] Amending the Library Department's fiscal year

[15:14] 26 to 27 operating budget and approving budget amendment

[15:18] number 27.0 ten.

[15:19] Item number six A is the resolution,

[15:22] item number seven is a report regarding a resolution

[15:24] authorizing the acceptance of $58,000 from the California

[15:28] State Library to support project read through the Adult Literacy

[15:32] Services Program as predicted in the Library Department fiscal

[15:35] year 26 to 27 estimate, item number seven A is

[15:39] the resolution, item number eight is a report regarding

[15:42] a resolution authorizing the acceptance of $34,000.30 $4,048

[15:46] from the California State Library to support the project

[15:50] read through the Family Literacy Services Program.

[15:53] And amending the library's department's fiscal year 26

[15:57] to 27 operating budget, and approving Budget amendment

[16:00] number 27.013.

[16:02] Item eight is the resolution, item nine is a report regarding

[16:07] additional information and a resolution regarding body worn

[16:16] cameras video audio equipment can video software and cloud

[16:21] storage services with Axon Enterprise Inc.

[16:24] And an additional amount of $1,937,587.88.

[16:27] And for a new, not to exceed total amount of $2,737,507.88.

[16:36] And authorizing the City manager or authorized

[16:42] designee to execute the agreement.

[16:44] Item number nine A is that resolution.

[16:48] >> Thank you Jasmine would any council person like to remove

[16:50] any item from consent?

[16:54] Okay.

[16:55] Just me, item number nine.

[17:00] I will invite Lieutenant Ceriotti up to the podium

[17:04] and when last we met, we had somewhat robust discussion

[17:08] about a lot to do with the funding and the mechanism

[17:14] for funding which for myself at second glance looks to be solid.

[17:21] I'm not really having a problem with that.

[17:23] But, I am interested in the staff report.

[17:27] There are some pretty lofty goals here,

[17:32] and I wanted to understand specifically

[17:34] how we reached them.

[17:36] So the conclusion of the report says

[17:38] it's intended to improve officer's safety, equipment

[17:42] reliability, evidence management, transparency,

[17:45] operational effectiveness, and community trust.

[17:48] So if all of those items come to fruition,

[17:55] then I don't really have a problem with an extra 1.9

[18:00] million, but I would like to know what aspects of these items

[18:05] lead to this outcome where there is so much improvement?

[18:10] >> Yes.

[18:11] First good evening mayor vice mayor members of Council.

[18:14] Yes, this package helps to build transparency and community

[18:18] trust which is something that is very important to the South San

[18:22] Francisco Police Department.

[18:24] It's going to be connecting technology

[18:26] across investigations, evidence, also performance reviews.

[18:32] So, with body worn cameras comes accountability,

[18:35] and that's also where the public trust comes through.

[18:38] When we have critical incidents, or even just arrests that occur,

[18:43] we have the opportunity to release body worn camera footage

[18:46] when warranted, and that is especially important when

[18:49] we are involved in critical incidents

[18:51] to show what the officers responded to, how it was dealt

[18:56] with, and the community then gets

[18:58] to see the larger picture than what

[19:00] they may hear just in a social media post or a press release.

[19:05] It also leads to, I spoke a couple weeks

[19:09] ago about the AI translation.

[19:10] That is also going to build our community

[19:13] trust with those body worn cameras if an officer comes

[19:17] into contact with a monolingual or bilingual citizen,

[19:21] then they are able to immediately press

[19:23] the button on their body worn camera,

[19:26] and that's going to foster trust because sometimes when

[19:28] we are in the process of translation,

[19:30] things can get lost in translation or they may not

[19:33] be heard, so we are going to be getting information quicker

[19:36] and being able to help those citizens in a faster manner.

[19:40] And then I also spoke about the updated tasers that

[19:43] will come with that package, and with that is upgraded,

[19:47] less lethal tools that officers will be able to have.

[19:51] I also spoke about the VR training that

[19:53] comes with that package, where officers are going

[19:55] to be receiving more training which also will foster improved

[20:01] officer safety, more community trust,

[20:04] we will be able to use those trainings in our community

[20:07] academies, so that citizens can firsthand

[20:09] see what the officers are utilizing out on the street,

[20:12] and how they are being trained.

[20:13] This ecosystem that I spoke about a couple of weeks ago,

[20:17] that's what's going to strengthen when I talk

[20:21] about officer safety it's all working together

[20:26] in one ecosystem it's that one stop shop where

[20:29] we're going to have GPS capabilities live

[20:32] stream capabilities more situational

[20:35] awareness where officers are responding to calls.

[20:38] So if a supervisor isn't able to immediately be on that scene,

[20:41] they can still be looking at that few system and making sound

[20:45] decisions which then in turn will help our community members

[20:53] .

[21:08] We had just purchased the cameras

[21:09] in fleet and the car system so now everything

[21:12] is integrated with our drones for our drones will

[21:14] be part of that Fusa system as well that we have already

[21:18] utilized here

[21:23] >> The officer would have access to the drone video?

[21:25] >> Officers and dispatchers and supervisors have access

[21:28] to the drone footage.

[21:43] >> Lieutenant I was trying to envision what actually happens

[21:46] on the scene, if the drone like maybe from his car from his

[21:49] screen in the car is he able to see what the drone sees?

[21:51] When he's on the scene?

[21:54] >> Yes obviously when an officer is on scene,

[21:56] we may have the drone pilot who's focusing more on the drone

[21:59] footage so that the officer who's actually on scene dealing

[22:03] with whatever the incident is, they are focused on the incident

[22:06] at hand, however, a supervisor, if they're at a command post

[22:10] they will be able to watch that footage as well as dispatchers.

[22:14] >> Okay.

[22:15] So at some point it talks about the insurance companies

[22:20] do bundling, he put everything together

[22:22] and you get maybe a bigger better deal with insurance

[22:26] I sometimes wonder.

[22:27] So, this is everything that they offer right?

[22:33] I can't remember the name of the service,

[22:35] but it's something ten plus right?

[22:37] It was everything that they offer

[22:39] would be part of this program for the $2 million.

[22:42] >> Yes, not actually everything they offer,

[22:45] we're looking at the officer's plan ten plus,

[22:48] that's the middle plan that they have, they have a premium plan,

[22:51] and then they have that that basic plan.

[22:53] I did look at the basic plan, and we were adding a La Carte

[22:58] items, we wanted the AI assistant,

[23:01] we wanted to continue utilizing the community link

[23:04] that we provide our citizens with the link

[23:06] and they are able to upload evidence

[23:08] that they have for their case, which has also fostered

[23:12] relationships and community trust in that way

[23:14] because they are able to upload their own evidence

[23:16] to their own case.

[23:18] So we wanted to add that.

[23:20] And those things weren't part of that basic package.

[23:22] So then when we were looking at adding them separately,

[23:25] it was going to increase the cost,

[23:28] therefore it was more cost effective to go

[23:30] with that middle plan.

[23:33] >> Okay.

[23:34] And Lieutenant, the AI translation,

[23:36] I've occasionally used Google translate, and sometimes what

[23:39] you get back is more funny than helpful.

[23:42] So did we test drive what they are

[23:45] providing to know that it is of the caliper that

[23:48] is what we need?

[23:51] >> We have not personally utilized it,

[23:52] I did speak with nearby agencies in San Mateo County who did

[23:56] start utilizing it, they said they were happy with it.

[24:00] I also spoke with the district Attorney's office

[24:02] who said it was acceptable for us

[24:04] to use the translation services through axon,

[24:07] and it does record the conversation

[24:10] while it's occurring so that also

[24:12] is going to be uploaded as evidence to a case

[24:14] as >> And then I was so pleased a couple of weeks

[24:19] ago when we were getting a report from the fire department

[24:23] that when they were negotiating a contract for the EMS services,

[24:28] you know the Billables and whatever,

[24:31] that they actually sat down with a company

[24:33] and they were able to negotiate a better deal,

[24:36] who did the negotiations on this contract?

[24:39] >> I did.

[24:41] >> And you negotiated hard?

[24:43] >> I did.

[24:43] I was actually speaking with axon about the savings

[24:47] that we will get over the course of those five years,

[24:50] and I asked, how did we come to that number?

[24:54] And they said it was through the bundle,

[24:56] and through staff's negotiations.

[25:00] >> Okay, can you expand a little bit on that?

[25:03] >> Yea, in the contract it has a yearly savings,

[25:08] and so, the average savings per year is going to be $273,989.

[25:13] And, that is based on those bundles

[25:19] since we did go with the bundle with the added services

[25:22] that we wanted, and there are different aspects where we need

[25:26] certain licenses per officer for the equipment,

[25:30] and, with the purchase of so many,

[25:34] we added on a few of those licenses

[25:36] so then we don't have to pay extra for those.

[25:40] >> Okay.

[25:40] I'm reassured, and I hate to tell the fire department

[25:43] but you have eclipsed what they were

[25:44] able to achieve but it's a whole different thing they weren't

[25:47] spending $2 million.

[25:48] But thank you for the update, I just needed some more time

[25:50] to consider it.

[25:51] And to hear a little bit more about what we are buying.

[25:55] Having $2 million over the five years

[25:56] is not a tremendous amount of money,

[26:00] I think if we can achieve the goals that

[26:03] are mentioned in this conclusion,

[26:04] then we are in a much better place.

[26:07] So thank you for the report.

[26:09] >> Thank you Mr. Mayor.

[26:12] >> With that we can get a motion on the entire consent calendar.

[26:16] >> So moved

[26:17] >> I'll second

[26:18] >> Okay a motion and a second, roll call?

[26:23] [Members voting]

[26:29] >> Thank you Lieutenant.

[26:30] >> Thank you.

[26:31] Have a good night.

[26:35] >> We can now move along to our public hearing item number ten,

[26:38] a report regarding consideration of an ordinance adopting zoning

[26:41] text amendments to title 20 of the South San Francisco

[26:45] Municipal Code.

[26:46] To update regulations pertaining to accessory dwelling units,

[26:49] to comply with California state law,

[26:51] and determination that the proposed zoning text amendments

[26:54] are statutorily exempt from California Environmental Quality

[26:58] Act.

[26:59] Item number ten A is the ordinance.

[27:02] >> I will go ahead and open the public hearing,

[27:05] and welcome Miss Scangos to the podium.

[27:09] >> Thank you.

[27:10] Good evening mayor, vice mayor and council members.

[27:13] Tonight I will be presenting proposed updates

[27:16] to the city's Adu ordinance to bring it into compliance

[27:20] with the state requirements.

[27:23] The state continues to adopt new legislation

[27:27] on Adu's annually accessory dwelling units.

[27:30] To help streamline the creation of this

[27:33] as a housing opportunity.

[27:36] Local jurisdictions are required to incorporate these mandated

[27:41] requirements into their Adu ordinances.

[27:45] There are very limited areas where

[27:47] local jurisdiction can retain control, in relation

[27:52] to Adu requirements.

[27:54] They include specific design details

[27:58] when an Adu is considered exempt or nonexempt from the state,

[28:05] and some administrative details.

[28:07] Provided that they don't conflict with

[28:09] or block state requirements.

[28:12] So, the local jurisdiction is required

[28:18] to incorporate these mandated requirements

[28:20] into their local ordinance, and submit that ordinance

[28:24] to the California Department of Housing and Community

[28:27] Development, for their review within 60 days of adoption.

[28:32] At that time, HCD will review for state compliance,

[28:37] and issue a letter finding the ordinance in compliance

[28:41] with state requirements, or not in compliance.

[28:45] And if the latter, then the local Adu ordinances

[28:50] deemed null and void.

[28:56] Again, add regulations by the state are adopted annually.

[29:01] They change on a yearly basis.

[29:03] Staff does keep up with these changes,

[29:05] most of the changes become effective January 1st

[29:09] of the following year, and city practices have been updated

[29:13] for the review and approval of ADUs.

[29:17] However, the state requirements have not

[29:21] been formalized in our local Adu ordinance since June of 2024.

[29:26] That was our last round of updates to the ordinance

[29:30] relating to Adu regulations.

[29:32] And so, and tonight is the proposed amendments

[29:37] and it is to bring our local ordinance up

[29:41] to date with state regulations that have become effective

[29:45] since June 2024.

[29:51] For a high level summary of the changes,

[29:55] they relate to five areas.

[29:57] The first one, maximum number of units allowed

[30:01] have changed for a single unit lot or a multiple unit lot,

[30:05] a single unit lot is one that has an existing single family

[30:10] dwelling or a proposed single family dwelling,

[30:14] and the ADUs allowed on such a lot have increased from two ADUs

[30:20] to four ADUs.

[30:21] For multiple unit lots which are lots with two or more existing

[30:27] or proposed dwelling units, the total number of allowed ADUs

[30:33] has been increased by one additional Adu,

[30:37] the overall total for these lots varies

[30:40] because it is dependent on the number of existing dwelling

[30:45] units on a site.

[30:47] So there will be a wide range of allowed units

[30:50] on that type of lot.

[30:52] But they have been increased overall by one.

[30:55] Maximum floor area has been clarified

[30:59] to refer to interior livable space

[31:03] when calculating allowable square footage

[31:05] for an Adu on a lot.

[31:09] Parking replacement requirements essentially remain the same

[31:12] that any demolition of existing garages or parking

[31:17] for the creation of an Adu that parking does not

[31:22] have to be replaced, however they have incorporated

[31:25] new requirements that require Any that go

[31:38] are required for the Adu.

[31:42] Owner occupancy requirements have

[31:44] been removed for Junior ADUs that have separate sanitation

[31:49] facilities.

[31:50] Just a refresher, owner occupancy essentially

[31:54] stated that a property owner had to reside

[31:57] in either the primary dwelling unit, or the new junior Adu,

[32:01] that has been removed for junior ADUs

[32:05] with separate sanitation facilities.

[32:07] And lastly, there has been some changes regarding fire

[32:12] sprinklers, fire sprinklers cannot be required for an Adu,

[32:17] if they have not been required for the primary dwelling,

[32:21] additionally the construction has a new fire sprinkler

[32:30] installation before the existing primary unit.

[32:33] There has been some vagueness in state law regarding this,

[32:36] and 21 elements, a group that we work with closely

[32:42] has been working with various jurisdictions

[32:46] to clarify that vagueness.

[32:48] And staff will keep you posted on that

[32:51] if there are any changes.

[32:54] The modifications to the city's Adu ordinance

[32:58] are statutorily exempt from Sequa.

[33:01] Pursuant to the Public Resources Code section 21080.17,

[33:07] and Sequa guidelines section 15282.1 H.

[33:13] And no further environmental review

[33:16] is required at this time for the proposed ordinance update.

[33:20] Staff is recommending that the City Council

[33:24] conduct a public hearing and follow

[33:26] the recommendation of the Planning Commission,

[33:28] and determine that the proposed zoning ordinance update does not

[33:32] require further environmental review,

[33:35] and is exempt from Sequa, and introduce an ordinance updating

[33:39] Adu regulations to bring the ordinance into compliance

[33:43] with state requirements.

[33:45] That concludes my presentation, am available for any questions.

[33:52] >> Stephanie before we ask our questions,

[33:54] are there any public comments on this item?

[33:58] >> No public comments mayor.

[34:05] >> All right.

[34:05] Any questions?

[34:06] Any from the Council?

[34:12] >> I will go.

[34:13] So come I was reading this multiple times.

[34:17] And I was still trying to understand

[34:20] the maximum allowed ADUs on the different lots.

[34:24] And so, I think the confusion is still going to be out there.

[34:29] So, we partner with, I forget what

[34:34] the team is called the housing, and we still

[34:37] do that now correct?

[34:39] >> That's correct and also through the 21 elements group

[34:41] that we are a part of, there is an Adu resource center for San

[34:45] Mateo County that is available for both staff and residents.

[34:49] To seek help or clarification.

[34:52] And I will say that staff has used them

[34:56] many times for trying to understand the new requirements.

[35:01] >> That's fantastic comment because I was reading this

[35:04] and I'm like okay, if I have a lot split in a single unit,

[35:08] like different categories, I was trying to do like some sort

[35:11] of flow chart and I just couldn't do it.

[35:12] So I was still looking at this and I still couldn't quite

[35:15] get it.

[35:16] So -- that's good that we're still working with hello

[35:19] housing, I just want to make sure that I've got this right

[35:21] here for a multiple unit lot with existing multiple unit

[35:26] dwelling, they can have up to eight detached ADUs?

[35:33] >> The way that it works is if there is an existing

[35:36] multi-family residential building,

[35:38] they could potentially get up to up to eight detached ADUs,

[35:45] and they would have to have eight units themselves.

[35:48] So if it was an existing six unit building,

[35:51] they could only have up to six detached ADUs.

[35:55] >> So it has to match the number of ADUs.

[35:57] Okay.

[35:57] I appreciate that.

[35:58] And then there was something here about a letter

[36:02] that we received from the California Housing Defense Fund,

[36:06] and there was some questions about the proposed amendments.

[36:13] Do we rectify this in terms of the argument?

[36:18] Maybe we look at sky.

[36:26] >> For both planning Commission hearings we submitted a hearing

[36:29] to each one for each one we provided a written response,

[36:32] the core issues that they identified,

[36:35] I'm just going to be direct about this,

[36:38] they simply misstated the law, and they misrepresented what was

[36:43] in Hkdse handbook.

[36:45] The main issue or the issues turned

[36:49] around the deed restriction that the city requires

[36:51] pursuant to the ordinance, and related

[36:54] to the use of the Adu, all of the requirements

[36:57] that are recorded through the deed restriction

[37:01] enforce requirements in state law.

[37:03] Their main point was that they believed that this was not

[37:10] a deed restriction that could be properly recorded

[37:13] against the property to restrict the Adu,

[37:15] but in fact this is something that state law requires

[37:17] to be done, and then as to the HCD handbook,

[37:22] what it says is that you can't require

[37:25] a deed restriction to require the Adu

[37:29] to be an affordable unit, and the city does not do that,

[37:34] and has not done that for multiple Adu updates.

[37:40] I'm not sure where exactly they're

[37:42] coming from with this letter they may be addressing

[37:44] other communities where cities have attempted

[37:46] to impose those kinds of restrictions

[37:48] in a way that was improper.

[37:50] But, we have reviewed the ordinance in response

[37:53] to each letter, and made sure that the provisions

[37:57] of the ordinance implementing the deed restriction

[38:01] do no more than state law requires to be done,

[38:04] and that it is compliant with Hkdse guidance on the issue.

[38:09] >> Okay.

[38:09] Thank you.

[38:11] >> Any other questions for staff on this?

[38:14] >> Brief question, on the staff report there's a couple figures

[38:17] about lots that have SB nine, how many SB nine projects has

[38:23] our city had?

[38:26] >> We have had one.

[38:27] >> One.

[38:27] Okay.

[38:29] >> Since it went into effect and that was a couple of years ago.

[38:33] >> I. I remember back when it was a bill active in legislature

[38:37] there was a lot of fear of what this could bring to South City.

[38:40] And in reality there's only been one project.

[38:43] So I think when we look at state laws,

[38:45] oftentimes the bills aren't meant, I think normally,

[38:50] I mean how many lots have we seen more than one Adu built

[38:55] in South city?

[38:58] >> I will say a handful, and it's been a converted garage

[39:02] into a j a, and possibly a detached Adu.

[39:07] >> Right.

[39:08] Great.

[39:08] Thank you.

[39:09] So I think when it comes to some of these state laws that

[39:12] are coming down, they are envisioning a smaller

[39:15] house and a bigger lot, and when you look in South city,

[39:18] there aren't many like that.

[39:20] So for those who are kind of fearful of this new law,

[39:23] I think we can take a deep breath.

[39:26] And there won't be too much.

[39:28] I mean I'm sure we'll see a couple write?

[39:30] But there won't be too much change in South City.

[39:32] Thank you.

[39:35] >> Councilman while you were asking that question I was

[39:37] thinking about downtown, where before all of this we were

[39:42] allowing lot splits to get that second home that wouldn't be

[39:47] on the same lot, so in fact more people would have an opportunity

[39:52] to buy a single house than two houses on one lot,

[39:55] and that was before all of this discussion,

[39:57] we realized that that was a good way to go to make housing just

[40:00] a little bit more affordable.

[40:01] My only worry is that there are still a number of lots downtown

[40:04] that are the original configuration where it's maybe

[40:06] 50ft wide in front, but it's 140ft deep.

[40:09] And going back to the lanes, because in times past,

[40:13] much before I arrived, that's where you kept your horse

[40:17] and your carriage, 150ft away from your home on the back lane.

[40:22] And now, some of those could be conducive to building maybe

[40:26] for ADUs behind the main house.

[40:29] And I think if I was today going to build a multifamily structure

[40:35] an apartment house, I would be required to have sprinklers?

[40:39] Wouldn't I?

[40:40] >> It depends.

[40:45] >> I would have to defer to someone more knowledgeable about

[40:48] the building code better than myself.

[40:52] >> Deputy chief is here if he wants to be recognized he can

[40:54] come up, I mean we're having a discussion about the need

[40:57] for fire sprinklers.

[40:58] So if I'm building a multifamily you're

[41:01] going to answer for the chief?

[41:03] That's great.

[41:04] Good for you.

[41:05] Good for you.

[41:06] I couldn't quite get his attention.

[41:08] So thank you. (Indistinct) I can see a potential problem

[41:44] with that.

[41:47] But we aren't going to change the wisdom that

[41:49] emanates from Sacramento.

[41:51] Any other questions?

[41:58] And then there's still lots we used to live in Tesla,

[42:02] and they're big lots they're.

[42:05] I really do commend you guys for making sure

[42:11] that our local jurisdiction laws are in line with state laws.

[42:16] It's very important that we have a diversity of housing types

[42:19] here because we know that affordable housing is an issue.

[42:24] >> Okay with that why don't we go ahead and close that public

[42:27] hearing let's see if we can get a motion to move this along.

[42:31] >> So moved.

[42:32] >> Okay a motion on the floor.

[42:33] Second from the vice mayor?

[42:36] Roll call?

[42:40] [Members voting]

[42:51] >> Thank you so much.

[42:52] >> Thank you.

[42:53] >> We will now move on to item number 11,

[42:55] it's a report regarding consideration of an ordinance

[42:58] to amend title 20 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code

[43:02] to allow for residential entitlements to be extended

[43:05] by up to two years and determination that the proposed

[43:09] amendments are categorically exempt from the California

[43:12] Environmental Quality Act per section 15378 of the Sequa

[43:17] guidelines, item number 11 A as the ordinance.

[43:33] >> This is a public hearing so we'll go ahead and open it >>

[43:37] Thank you very much Adina Friedman Chief Planner and I

[43:37] will be presenting a very focused zoning text amendment

[43:40] tonight, this is really focused on the time frame that planning

[43:43] entitlements are valid after project approval,

[43:47] only for residential projects.

[43:50] So, how does today with our current regulations

[43:55] discretionary approvals, they are

[43:58] valid for two years with the opportunity for a one year

[44:00] extension.

[44:01] So, a project after approval discretionary approval

[44:05] means something that needs review and approval

[44:08] by either the design Review Board and Chief Planning

[44:12] Commission or City Council.

[44:14] So not a project that goes straight to building

[44:16] permits obviously.

[44:17] So project in that category would have three years

[44:21] total to obtain building permits.

[44:23] And, in the past, at least six years,

[44:29] maybe longer before the pandemic ,

[44:31] nearly every large complex project that does not have

[44:35] a development agreement has requested that one year

[44:38] extension.

[44:38] That's pretty much just standard.

[44:42] So, there is a challenge for residential projects

[44:48] with the current timeline.

[44:51] An applicant must maintain financing and obtain permits

[44:57] within three years.

[44:59] And it can be challenging to achieve this, particularly

[45:02] for larger complex residential projects,

[45:04] and for affordable housing projects which often receive

[45:07] funding in different chunks on annual cycles,

[45:11] so they can't obtain building projects

[45:13] until they get that funding.

[45:15] And after the expiration, resubmittal of permits

[45:19] is expensive and time consuming.

[45:20] It does not benefit the city, the applicant's,

[45:24] or the community.

[45:27] So, there are a few solutions or options for projects.

[45:30] The first is a development agreement

[45:32] which can be a great tool for commercial development,

[45:38] particularly here in South San Francisco

[45:41] we see projects that are built in phases over time,

[45:44] and commercial developers have the financial resources

[45:48] to invest in a development agreement.

[45:52] Council has reviewed many development agreements

[45:55] over the last few years for large commercial projects which

[45:58] they are going to need more time to obtain building projects

[46:01] and build out their projects.

[46:03] So that is a good solution for commercial.

[46:05] Now, for residential, during the pandemic, and a few years

[46:09] after, the state provided several legislative extensions

[46:14] for residential development, and in recognition

[46:17] of the housing crisis and the difficulty

[46:19] for obtaining financing.

[46:21] So that means the state said even if you expire,

[46:25] you have an additional 18 months in one case,

[46:28] I think the other one was an additional six months.

[46:30] However, those have all expired and the state

[46:33] does not have any options like that currently available.

[46:37] So, as a result, residential development often

[46:40] needs more time and flexibility, and we

[46:43] have seen projects being challenged by this three year

[46:45] timeline.

[46:49] So the proposal in front of council tonight

[46:52] would allow for up to a two year extension.

[46:54] For a total of four years to obtain building

[46:58] permits for residential projects only.

[47:01] This would apply if approved it would apply

[47:05] to several categories of projects, projects that

[47:08] have been approved, have not yet expired, but have not yet

[47:12] been issued building permits.

[47:15] Residential projects that are currently

[47:17] in the entitlement pipeline, if they are approved,

[47:20] and all residential entitlements going forward.

[47:24] And, we have quite a few projects

[47:27] that would fall into these categories.

[47:29] The projects that have active entitlements and that are either

[47:32] working towards building permits or haven't applied for building

[47:37] permits yet is about 850 units.

[47:39] We have another about 450 or so in the entitlement pipeline

[47:45] now that are under review by the city.

[47:52] This next slide I'm not going to go into it in detail,

[47:55] it just goes into all of the wording that

[47:58] would be provided to update the code

[48:02] to have a two year extension.

[48:30] The Planning Commission recommended approval in July

[48:33] they noted that this is a timely amendment

[48:36] it's responding to the economy.

[48:38] It is an important tool for housing projects,

[48:41] and an additional year can make a big difference

[48:44] for housing projects come a particularly board projects.

[48:48] This project is exempt from sequa persica guidelines section

[48:53] 1378, as it is minor in nature and would not

[48:57] be considered a project under Sequa pierced and with that, I'm

[49:03] going to conclude my staff presentation

[49:06] and recommend that City Council conduct

[49:08] a public hearing, following the Planning Commission's

[49:11] recommendation and adopt an ordinance updating regulations

[49:15] pertaining to entitlement expiration that concludes

[49:18] my presentation and I'm happy to answer any questions that you

[49:21] may have.

[49:27] >> Thank you do we have any public comments?

[49:29] >> No public comments.

[49:41] >> Can you identify maybe a couple of specifics

[49:43] of what's at stake here?

[49:57] [Cross-Talk] And then absolutely yeah we have a project at 1477

[50:00] Huntington that was approved for about 260 units so that's one

[50:04] that will be coming up it would expire in 2027.

[50:08] It was a project we called it the Bertolucci's project

[50:11] on the Bertolucci site for 99 units, that one expires,

[50:15] is at the end of this year?

[50:17] Yeah end of this year.

[50:19] And then, 500 Linden was approved,

[50:22] that's an all affordable project that project has applied

[50:25] for building permits which is great They have not yet applied

[50:40] for building permits so they're currently first in their

[50:43] in their first two year block, those are some of the big ones

[50:45] off the top of my head.

[50:48] >> So the only way that there is some movement on this

[50:50] on the financial side is if miraculously the money comes

[50:56] down.

[50:56] Like a point and a half I think right?

[51:00] Like change the landscape by financing these projects.

[51:04] Or if rents were to move up substantially again.

[51:09] Any sense of direction on that?

[51:13] On what's happening?

[51:17] >> On the financing side?

[51:18] I would ask Nell if she has any ideas about that.

[51:51] >> (Indistinct) part of their working actively towards

[51:54] a building permit.

[51:56] >> This is directly across from the Cyrus project that's well

[51:58] underway?

[52:00] >> Correct.

[52:01] Cyrus.

[52:01] >> That should be motivation if they're successful.

[52:04] >> Precisely and directly behind their property will back right

[52:06] up to that beautiful new park that the city just built.

[52:08] Centennial Park South.

[52:09] So it's a really incredible location.

[52:11] We feel really hopeful about that project moving forward.

[52:15] And then Adina also mentioned the Rotary Gardens phase two

[52:18] project which is the family building.

[52:20] That project, other than a tiny bit of city funding

[52:24] it has no funding secured yet.

[52:26] So, they are sort of in this place

[52:29] where it could take 3 to 5 years to assemble that financing,

[52:33] and they really can't advance the building

[52:35] permit to substantially until they're almost fully financed.

[52:38] So that project alone is sort of falling right into this timeline

[52:42] where it could then benefit from this extension

[52:45] without having to come back for a development agreement, which

[52:48] would be a very discretionary approval,

[52:50] and it would be costly.

[52:52] It's a costly permit to get through the city.

[52:55] And, or to have to re entitle the site.

[53:03] >> Okay thank you.

[53:03] Any other questions?

[53:04] I'm going to go ahead and close the public hearing.

[53:08] And let's see what the pleasure of the council is.

[53:13] Anyone?

[53:16] >> I will make the motion

[53:18] >> Second

[53:18] >> Second.

[53:20] >> Okay general plan amendment on the floor.

[53:22] Roll call?

[53:26] [Members voting]

[53:35] >> Thank you Miss Freeman.

[53:36] >> I have the next item two.

[53:38] >> Oh you do?

[53:39] Wow.

[53:39] Okay keep going. (laughs)

[53:43] >> Item number 12 sorry is a report regarding consideration

[53:45] of general plan amendment to comply with Senate Bill 1425

[53:48] to create a new General Plan policy and actions that address

[53:52] equitable access to open space, climate resilience,

[53:55] and re wilding opportunities to determine that an addendum

[54:00] to the 2040 General Plan Environmental Impact Report is

[54:03] the appropriate Sequa document per cycle guidelines section

[54:09] 15162 and 15164.

[54:12] >> Let's open it up and you're on.

[54:14] >> Thank you very much this one's going to be very quick.

[54:16] After we noticed the item for this public hearing,

[54:20] the city determined that it would be better

[54:23] to continue this item to a future date, so staff requests

[54:27] that the City Council make a motion to continue

[54:30] this item to a future date uncertain.

[54:34] >> Okay.

[54:35] Is anyone up for that?

[54:36] >> Oh I will close the public hearing.

[54:38] And then I'll see if we want to move to an uncertain date?

[54:41] >> So moved.

[54:43] >> Second

[54:43] >> We have a motion and a second.

[54:46] Roll call?

[54:49] [Members voting]

[54:55] >> Now we'll move along to items to Council Committee reports

[54:58] and announcements.

[55:01] >> Does anybody want to take a last shot at that?

[55:04] Nothing?

[55:04] Okay.

[55:05] Wow.

[55:06] And then on to the next item.

[55:10] >> Next item is our closed session item number 13

[55:12] conference with real property negotiators property,

[55:16] vacant city property located at 465 Grant Avenue negotiators

[55:21] and economic development manager and Elsie Lender and Development

[55:26] Director.

[55:27] Negotiating Partner Group under negotiation price and terms,

[55:31] item number 14, conference with legal counsel

[55:33] anticipated litigation, significant exposure

[55:36] to litigation pursuant to Government code section

[55:38] 54956.921 potential case.

[55:44] >> Okay, the council will enter closed session at this time.

[55:53] [Board is in Closed Session]

City Council on 2026-08-26 6:30 PM

Agenda

Transcript