[0:06] going to kick things off. So, uh, we'll

[0:10] call to order the town council meeting

[0:12] of March 24, 2026.

[0:17] Jennifer, will you take role?

[0:18] >> Council member Alberish

[0:20] >> here.

[0:21] >> Council member Brown,

[0:22] >> here.

[0:22] >> Council member Gold,

[0:23] >> here.

[0:23] >> Council member Wall,

[0:24] >> here.

[0:25] >> Mayor Donowski,

[0:26] >> here. Uh, Council Member Wall, will you

[0:28] lead us in the pledge of allegiance?

[0:48] Okay, great. Thank you. Uh, and with

[0:50] that, we will open uh public comment.

[0:53] Persons wishing to address the council

[0:54] on non-aggendaized items that are within

[0:57] the jurisdiction of the town are invited

[0:59] to do so. Please note, of course, that

[1:01] the council cannot undertake extended

[1:03] discussions or act on non-aggendaized

[1:05] items. We can certainly refer those to

[1:06] staff for a future agenda item. Um,

[1:09] communications are limited to five

[1:10] persons, three minutes each, and the

[1:12] rest of folks will be scheduled at the

[1:14] end of regular business. Is there anyone

[1:16] here that would like to make a public

[1:18] comment? Yes, sir. Please approach the

[1:20] mic. I you were you were moving first so

[1:23] I uh

[1:24] >> sorry uh

[1:26] thank you. Um can I pass this really

[1:29] quick? Uh what is it? As part of my

[1:30] comment, can I pass them?

[1:32] >> Sure.

[1:44] » Yes, sir.

[1:46] Uh uh good evening uh honorable mayor,

[1:49] council members, uh city staff, members

[1:51] of the public. Uh my name is Huain

[1:54] Himenez. I am the uh the former mayor

[1:57] for the city of Half Bay. Um I am uh

[2:00] here to announce that I am running for

[2:02] county supervisor, you know, Satel

[2:05] County District 3. I've been uh an

[2:08] organizer in the community for over 30

[2:11] years.

[2:12] uh pretty much since I was uh probably

[2:15] since I was in high school. I have a

[2:17] sociology degree uh from Chico State

[2:20] ethnic studies uh minor. I'm a former

[2:24] teacher uh Cabern School District. I'm a

[2:27] former uh juvenile uh correctional

[2:29] officer in Sato County. I've worked with

[2:32] organizations uh like Penta La Costasur

[2:36] uh Alas in half Bombay uh job train and

[2:40] I've been organizing uh different things

[2:43] from community events. I don't know if

[2:45] you heard of uh bakero days in half bay

[2:48] I am the uh the organizer of that event.

[2:50] We have been having it every year. We in

[2:52] our third year uh organizing uh students

[2:56] uh marches uh protests uh parents uh for

[3:00] many years. Uh one of the first um organ

[3:04] organized marches that I did uh was back

[3:08] when I was in college uh uh against uh

[3:10] Prop 187. I don't know you remember that

[3:13] one uh under the governor pit Wilson. Uh

[3:17] so you know so I've been around the

[3:18] community and uh I want to serve the

[3:21] county uh pretty much duplicate what

[3:24] I've done in in Half Bay. If you like to

[3:26] do uh research my work it's all over the web. There's a lot of

[3:31] work that I've a lot of uh initiatives

[3:33] uh sustainable uh programs and alas if I

[3:37] was a farmwork program director I

[3:39] created a express. I don't know if

[3:42] you're familiar with a express farm bus.

[3:44] It's a beautiful double-decker bus

[3:46] that's equipped with uh uh laptops uh

[3:51] conference rooms uh for telea health uh

[3:53] that serves the community across the

[3:55] coast. I've also created know the uh the

[3:59] food distribution during the pandemic. I

[4:01] was very active during the pandemic

[4:02] non-stop. It was the first time that I

[4:04] ran for office. I was elected in 2020.

[4:07] Uh during the floods in Halfoon Bay,

[4:09] during the shootings, I was I was around

[4:12] uh during the fires. I was also around.

[4:15] Uh so I uh I like to work. I'm a boots

[4:18] on the ground. I'm very active in my

[4:19] community. I'm very interested in

[4:21] bringing uh vocational trainings into

[4:23] the coast. Uh right now high school

[4:26] students are not interested in going to

[4:28] college anymore. You know, vocational

[4:30] trainings is a really good option,

[4:32] especially not in the union. So I'm uh

[4:35] running for county supervisor uh

[4:37] Himenez. Thank you.

[4:39] >> Thank you. We thank you for your service

[4:41] and your advocacy and your willing to

[4:42] willingness to run for county

[4:44] supervisor. That's a lot. So, thank you

[4:46] for everything over the years. Uh, other

[4:50] public comments. Yes, Mr. Putnham.

[4:52] >> Hi, Kent Putnham. I'm a resident here

[4:54] and I just want to thank the council for

[4:56] keeping the the license plate reader

[4:58] cameras up.

[4:59] >> I'm a car dealer and I have thousands of

[5:01] cars. So, occasionally we get cars

[5:03] stolen and that's how they find them.

[5:06] Some camera reader says, "Boop, there's

[5:08] your car. So, just want to uh give you

[5:12] some feedback on that.

[5:14] >> Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Are

[5:17] there any other public comments uh this

[5:19] evening?

[5:22] >> See in the Zoom?

[5:23] >> None in the Zoom, but I would like to

[5:24] make a quick comment, please.

[5:25] >> Yes, of course, Melissa.

[5:26] >> Thank you. Uh, as uh residents of

[5:29] Woodside may have seen, there was some

[5:31] smoke outside earlier um right before

[5:33] our meeting, and I talked to Fire Chief

[5:35] Zabala, and it is pretty much contained.

[5:37] It was on the southbound side of 280 at

[5:40] Edgewood. A vehicle went over into the

[5:42] eucalyptus trees and started a grass

[5:44] fire. It jumped to the northbound side

[5:46] which was uh very minimal and that was

[5:48] put out very quickly, but there is some

[5:50] drift smoke and that is what we will see

[5:52] for about the next hour. An SMC alert

[5:55] will be going out to advise everybody

[5:56] that there is no eminent threat and no

[5:59] evacuation orders at this time. And then

[6:01] one um once they are more settled, a

[6:04] second SMC alert will go out to advise

[6:06] when it is complete.

[6:08] >> That's a great update. It's good to

[6:10] hear. Any you

[6:12] >> Okay, great.

[6:14] >> Wonderful. Okay. Uh and then last call

[6:16] for public comment.

[6:20] Uh with three public comments, we will

[6:22] then officially close public comment for

[6:24] the evening. Uh thank you very much. And

[6:26] we will move on to the consent calendar.

[6:30] All items on the consent are considered

[6:32] routine and will be approved by one roll

[6:34] call motion unless someone on the

[6:35] council or a member of the public uh

[6:38] would like to pull any item. Is there

[6:40] any item on the consent that anyone on

[6:42] the on the council would like to pull?

[6:46] >> Like to pull number six.

[6:48] >> Number six.

[6:50] Okay. And um Miss Hansen, would you like

[6:53] us to pull number one and number four

[6:55] per your earlier email? Okay. And we'll

[6:58] pull number one and four.

[7:00] Any other items?

[7:04] All right. Hearing none. Could we get a

[7:05] motion for two, three, five, and seven?

[7:12] >> Second.

[7:13] >> Senator.

[7:14] >> Council member Alberish.

[7:15] >> Yes.

[7:15] >> Council member Brown.

[7:16] >> Yes.

[7:17] >> Council member Gold.

[7:18] >> Yes.

[7:18] >> Council member Wall. Mayor Donowski.

[7:21] >> Yes. Thank you. Uh why don't we why

[7:24] don't we take them in order? Um uh

[7:26] number one, the register of demands. Uh we we took a question about uh the

[7:33] amount that's being paid to maintain

[7:35] Kite Hill and Melissa, I'm going to just

[7:37] turn it over to you to address and then

[7:39] >> we'll open up to public comment.

[7:41] >> Thank you, Madame Kowski. Yes, I saw

[7:42] Miss Hansen's comment about Kite Hill

[7:44] and the street sweeper. Uh so we can

[7:48] explore further how much is um being

[7:51] expended for both of those items and

[7:53] provide some information or if we need

[7:55] to review um any of the contracts that

[7:57] are that are in place and provide uh

[8:00] more information at the next meeting.

[8:03] >> Okay, great. Is there any questions from

[8:05] the council?

[8:07] >> No.

[8:08] >> Uh any comments from the public on this

[8:10] issue?

[8:11] Okay, following up, I guess, is the

[8:13] answer. Um

[8:18] let's just move to number four. Uh

[8:20] general plan uh and uh a series of

[8:24] omissions uh and adjustments that were

[8:26] suggested also by the in the same email.

[8:28] Sage, can I hand that off to you to

[8:30] address

[8:32] the author?

[8:33] >> Um so sure. Would you just like me to

[8:35] address the comments? Ye.

[8:37] >> Yes. Y

[8:38] >> um so uh Miss Hansen brought up a few

[8:41] points with the general plan uh annual

[8:44] progress report. Um so I'll just take

[8:47] them in order. Uh the first one is

[8:48] regarding policy OS 1.1

[8:52] which talks about the preservation of

[8:53] open space um as uh should be given a

[8:56] high priority um and the development

[8:59] should be in harmony with the rural

[9:00] character of the town and optimize

[9:02] opportunities to preserve open space. Um

[9:05] the comment notes that report card

[9:08] doesn't uh indicate the actions taken to

[9:13] uh abandon a portion of the open space

[9:15] at the Kyotic Corners. Um that was

[9:18] something that was a proposed project

[9:20] that came out of a uh voter initiative

[9:23] that was passed to modify that open

[9:25] space. Um so that project was uh

[9:28] proposed, went through the process and

[9:30] ultimately approved um primarily based

[9:32] on that voter initiative.

[9:35] the um property at Rayundo Drive um for

[9:40] several years. It's really it's a

[9:42] working property that the town has used

[9:45] uh as kind of a transfer station for its

[9:47] green debris. Um so that sometimes has

[9:50] equipment on it and various times has

[9:52] different green debris that's located

[9:55] there before it's taken out of the town

[9:58] um for composting. Um, High Road. Uh, so

[10:02] with High Road and Raundo, both of those

[10:05] changed open space designations.

[10:08] Basically, with a general plan, you're

[10:10] often weighing different priorities. Um,

[10:14] you know, we have state mandates to look

[10:16] at. And these two pieces of what were

[10:20] zoned open space are the smallest open

[10:23] space areas in the town of Woodside. uh

[10:26] with Rayundo a little bit over an acre

[10:28] and a half and the high road with just

[10:31] being just about an acre. Um and so with

[10:35] those weighing priorities, you know, the

[10:37] council looked at minimal options to do

[10:40] what's necessary for a certified housing

[10:42] element and that was the action taken.

[10:44] Um, so wi with those comments, um, if

[10:47] the town council would like us to, we'd

[10:49] be happy to kind of insert that those

[10:52] kind of reasoning of what was actions

[10:55] were taken on those three projects. Um,

[10:57] and we could include that in the APR. We

[10:58] don't have a problem with that. Or if

[11:00] you have anything else to add or if you

[11:01] just like to leave it as it is, just

[11:03] we'll take that direction.

[11:06] >> Thank you. Any questions for Steve?

[11:10] have a comment

[11:11] >> comment

[11:12] >> if there's any questions.

[11:14] >> Yeah. Uh are there any questions from

[11:18] the public on uh item number four, the

[11:20] consent?

[11:24] » Welcome, Miss Hansen.

[11:26] >> Thank you. Um, I mean it was first of

[11:29] all the exercise was great for me to go

[11:31] back and look at the general plan

[11:33] because I found a lot of other items

[11:35] that we have in the general plan that

[11:38] speak to conditions that are no longer

[11:40] in place. So, um, I'm glad we do an

[11:44] update to the general plan and I'm glad

[11:46] I had a chance to look at it. Uh, it's a

[11:48] report card. If my kids came home and

[11:50] only told me what classes they were

[11:52] getting A's in, and they neglected to

[11:55] tell me about that calculus test, that

[11:58] was at the same time that it was a

[11:59] really great snow day. It I I feel like

[12:02] it is appropriate that we address the

[12:05] things that the town has done um that we

[12:08] list in the general plan as priorities.

[12:10] And so my question is, would you please

[12:13] consider adding the C minus in calculus

[12:17] with the A+ and other things that we're

[12:18] doing? Thank you.

[12:20] >> Thank you.

[12:23] >> Any other comments on item four?

[12:26] >> And and there are other things, but I

[12:27] figure we just

[12:28] >> Yeah, there was a laundry. Yeah, a lot.

[12:31] Okay. Uh any thoughts from council? You

[12:34] had a comment to start things off or

[12:37] >> Sure. Yeah. Um, so yeah, I think Kim, I

[12:39] think you made some really great points.

[12:40] I think my comment would be I I would

[12:42] definitely support including this

[12:44] information in the report card. Um, I I

[12:48] my preference would be to include it

[12:50] factually, right? Because again, like

[12:52] when we look at the general plan, like

[12:53] we're weighing different priorities. So

[12:55] I guess my my one difference of opinion

[12:57] is that I I wouldn't characterize this

[12:59] as like a C++ or an A+. It's just

[13:01] factually this is, you know, actions

[13:03] that the town took. And I think that uh

[13:06] including that factual information I

[13:08] have no issue with.

[13:12] >> Very good. Other comments?

[13:15] >> Yes.

[13:15] >> I would disagree or agree with with

[13:18] Jen's. Yeah. Wasn't clear.

[13:20] >> I want to just thank you for providing

[13:22] the comments in the first place. A lot

[13:25] of homework went into that and we

[13:26] appreciate it.

[13:28] >> Yeah. I also wanted to thank Miss Hansen

[13:30] for um reading part of the packet. And

[13:32] I'm not so well I shouldn't speak for

[13:34] I'll speak for myself. We don't always

[13:36] go into the kind of depth that clearly

[13:38] you did on this. So I do appreciate

[13:39] that. Um I did have a comment on the OS1

[13:42] general plan. Um as I think some might

[13:45] expect and um I've always viewed the

[13:48] general plan as sort of like it's the

[13:50] equivalent of in the in the federal

[13:52] government it's the constitution. In

[13:55] cities and towns it's the general plan.

[13:56] I mean that's sort of our

[13:59] bible if you will and that's supposed to

[14:00] be our overriding thing. It's supposed

[14:02] to be a serious document that we review

[14:04] every decade or so. And um um it's

[14:08] really supposed to be, you know, the guiding light, if you will, of how

[14:13] we do things. And I think that um you

[14:15] know, I made it pretty clear during the

[14:16] last housing element that we discarded

[14:19] parts of the general plan just

[14:20] willy-nilly because the state was

[14:22] holding a gun to our head was what I was

[14:23] told and uh what we were told. And um I

[14:26] think to change the zoning, as I've said

[14:29] many times, from our most protected open

[14:32] space for the preservation of natural

[14:33] resources, it doesn't get any more

[14:36] pristine than that, to changing it

[14:38] literally with a, you know, click of a

[14:42] pen to um multifamily with uh up to 20

[14:47] units per acre, which is our our most

[14:49] intensive use to go from one extreme to

[14:51] the other was really a breathtaking

[14:53] move. and just to check them off just

[14:55] kind of, you know, in in the course of

[14:58] an evening or two uh in the middle of

[15:00] the night uh to to to check these things

[15:03] off was really sort of I think insulting

[15:05] to the I think our citizens and to the

[15:08] um uh to our general plan which we just

[15:11] ignored. And I've always viewed zoning

[15:13] as very as a very sacred thing. I know

[15:15] that when I buy a property or when I

[15:17] have bought a property, when it's owned

[15:18] a certain way, I don't just think, well,

[15:20] I could build a hotel here if I want to,

[15:22] if it's a house now. And yet, apparently

[15:24] that's the way it works now. And so,

[15:26] that was very disappointing. So, I

[15:28] appreciate you pointing this out to us.

[15:29] I do think it should be noted. As

[15:31] council member Wall said, I think that

[15:33] it should be factual, of course, but um

[15:36] I hope we don't do that again. I think

[15:37] that it was a really um I think it was

[15:39] insulting to our citizens and property

[15:41] owners and neighbors, and I u and I

[15:43] think it should be pointed out. But I

[15:44] think it's appropriate to point that out

[15:45] in this update. So, thank you.

[15:48] >> Okay. I believe we are all in agreement

[15:50] that there's one more round of rework to

[15:53] incorporate uh public input.

[15:56] >> So, if if we could we have to get this

[15:58] um submitted to the state by April 1st.

[16:00] Um so, if if it's okay with the council,

[16:03] we would just take that direction and

[16:05] input that factual um stuff in which I

[16:08] just mentioned that would be into the

[16:10] reporting.

[16:11] >> Realize that. That's good.

[16:13] Okay. Uh and uh we're going to come back

[16:17] to all these but number six we're just

[16:19] going through. Um

[16:20] >> do do you want me at all to there's a

[16:21] few other things mentioned in the

[16:23] >> I think we just giving general direction

[16:25] to incorporate the factual

[16:28] it will probably

[16:28] >> that sounds good. That's the there's one

[16:30] other thing with the fire maps. Um and

[16:32] we'll also include those references into

[16:34] the uh make sure that just that the fire

[16:36] map was updated and we're going to

[16:38] include that as a reference to the

[16:39] general plan. The other items aren't

[16:41] directly related to that. Excellent.

[16:42] Thank you, Council Member Brown. On

[16:45] number six,

[16:46] >> um, yes. Uh, I've spent a lot of time

[16:48] over the last six years I served on the

[16:50] council observing parking around the

[16:54] council, the halls, and it's horrible,

[16:57] particularly on on busy times, even non-

[17:00] busy times. We had an event here on

[17:02] Saturday

[17:03] that uh you couldn't get parking

[17:06] Saturday. Saturday morning, 10 o'clock

[17:07] in the morning, you could not find a

[17:09] parking place. and our EV stations took

[17:13] four parking places out. And so the idea

[17:16] that an EV station can be parked in 6 7

[17:18] 8 hours where somebody's doing is uh uh

[17:22] 110

[17:23] um for the day um I think is is absurd

[17:28] and I'm all for shorting it. Question I

[17:30] have is how are we going to enforce it?

[17:34] And uh unless we have our sheriff uh

[17:37] wander down there and haul away the cars

[17:38] that are there tagged somehow somebody's

[17:41] got to tag it. And my other question is

[17:44] when we first approved these uh

[17:47] stations, I was uh assured that the

[17:50] they'd be operating at at least break

[17:53] even if not a little bit margin a

[17:55] positive margin. And I'd like to report

[17:56] on what's going on with that also

[17:58] please.

[18:03] Good evening, um, Council Member Brown.

[18:06] Um, to enforce this, uh, we first need a

[18:09] sign and we will be working with the

[18:10] sheriff's officers and also with us, our

[18:13] code enforcement officer, we can enforce

[18:16] once the signs is in place and we can uh

[18:19] whether it be a uh ticket or uh or

[18:22] towing. Um, we can choose that. Um,

[18:24] we'll place that information on our

[18:26] signs.

[18:28] Okay.

[18:29] And do you have any idea what the cost

[18:31] is to the town where we're making a

[18:34] profit or is at least break even?

[18:36] >> Um, I don't have any ideas, but I can

[18:38] look into and work with staff and find

[18:40] out uh that information.

[18:42] >> Okay. Thank you. Anybody else?

[18:49] Anybody have any idea of how many hour?

[18:51] I'm thinking two to three hours.

[18:54] >> I don't I couldn't speculate. I don't

[18:56] know

[18:56] >> what whatever it is in force char to be

[18:59] used the charging station

[19:00] >> proposed in the in the report is that

[19:03] you would be allowed to continue parking

[19:05] while your car is receiving a charge.

[19:08] >> Yeah. But some charges can take a whole

[19:09] night long. My car.

[19:11] >> Yeah. Those aren't particularly fat

[19:13] charges.

[19:13] >> It's a it's it's a 110 charge and it

[19:15] takes a long time to build up a lot of

[19:18] charge.

[19:19] >> I know that cuz I've been doing that.

[19:21] And so if somebody's on that for 8

[19:23] hours, it's taking 8 hours of parking

[19:25] away. And it's a sort we should be

[19:27] saying 2 to 3 hours, maybe 3 hours

[19:30] maximum, then we enforce um going going

[19:34] someplace else to park.

[19:37] >> So I think I mean I think it makes sense

[19:39] if somebody's char using that as a

[19:41] charger. They live around town and

[19:43] they're using that as one of their

[19:44] primary chargers. I feel like it makes

[19:46] sense to allow it as long as they're

[19:48] actually using it. I think this is

[19:49] addressing a problem where people are

[19:51] just parking their vehicle there, not

[19:53] charging, and then leaving it for 8

[19:55] hours. Um,

[19:57] I mean, if they're charging spots and

[20:00] people are using them, we'll probably

[20:01] actually the town will probably make

[20:02] more money if we're allowing people to

[20:04] get a full charge and charge for 8, 10,

[20:06] 12 hours at those spots versus if they

[20:10] have to change every two hours, they're

[20:11] probably not going to be very effective.

[20:13] And I I personally wouldn't use them if

[20:17] uh if I was set to some kind of limit

[20:19] like that and I couldn't just leave my

[20:20] car and come back.

[20:21] >> Well, let's put this way. Would people

[20:23] go down go and take trips if you stop at

[20:26] uh uh any any place going down I five?

[20:30] You only have an hour, maybe two hours

[20:32] at most available as you're eating and

[20:34] you're on the go again. I don't know why

[20:36] we have to spend seven or eight hours

[20:39] taking away some very precious parking

[20:41] spaces.

[20:45] » So, I think I mean I see those spaces as

[20:47] a little bit different than a typical

[20:49] parking space. Like I think um they they

[20:52] are equipped with charging stations. I

[20:54] think as long as a car is parked there

[20:56] is being charged, I think that's a good

[20:57] use of the spot. Um totally hear you. I

[21:01] think there are definitely um moments

[21:04] around here, particularly here uh by

[21:06] Independence Hall, where parking can be

[21:08] challenging. Um so I think it's that's a

[21:11] very valid um topic to to talk about.

[21:15] But I think for the EV chargers, I'm

[21:17] with Hassan. think like um you know I

[21:20] own an EV and I think the etiquette um

[21:23] at all of the charging stations that I have ever charged my car at is

[21:27] that you're allowed to charge until your

[21:29] car is charged and then you exit the the parking space so that you can allow

[21:34] somebody else to charge their vehicle.

[21:36] Um so I mean I think I'm totally

[21:39] comfortable with the way the item is

[21:41] framed um in the packet um which is that

[21:44] you know we will be taking action and

[21:45] enforcing putting up signs and then

[21:47] enforcing

[21:49] um you know to the extent somebody's not

[21:51] charging but I think it's important to

[21:54] allow somebody to continue to charge and

[21:55] I think you know the the uh economic

[21:57] point is is important too right I think

[22:00] as you brought up I think the town was anticipating not making a huge

[22:04] profit but um potenti

[22:06] you know, incurring some um added uh

[22:10] benefit in terms of money from these.

[22:12] And I think if you're kicking people off

[22:14] after 2 hours, that would that would go

[22:15] against that goal as well.

[22:19] >> If I may add a little more context to

[22:21] this, um just recently stab observed

[22:23] that there was an EV vehicle parked

[22:25] there for almost 3 days um sitting in

[22:27] the spot and we're not sure if it's

[22:29] charging or not, but this is kind of

[22:30] addressing that kind of issue.

[22:32] >> It was an EV vehicle. Yes, it was

[22:34] plugged in, but it was there almost

[22:35] three days.

[22:38] >> Question. Are you I you I imagine that

[22:41] we're able to observe whether a car is

[22:44] still charging by looking at the the um

[22:48] infrastructure, right? Is that can you

[22:50] observe that?

[22:52] >> I need to go out there and take a look,

[22:53] but I believe you can look at the

[22:55] charging um the booth itself and see if

[22:57] it's active or not. You can also I mean

[23:00] if the hose is attached

[23:02] it's it's it's either charging or it's

[23:04] taking they're expecting it to have been

[23:07] charging. They don't hook it in just to

[23:10] hook it in. So I know that some chargers

[23:13] um if you leave your car plugged in

[23:16] after it's fully charged, it will charge

[23:17] you a fee like an and it's pretty high.

[23:20] It can get pretty high. So I don't think

[23:22] anyone would um but I don't know if

[23:24] these specific chargers do that. Do you

[23:26] have does anyone happen to know if they

[23:28] do or or if they can't if we can reach

[23:30] out to them to have them apply a fee if

[23:32] people are leaving it plugged in

[23:34] overnight? Um because the other issue is

[23:37] if you try to remove they usually lock

[23:40] into the vehicle. So then if you try to

[23:41] remove it, you won't be able to. So then

[23:44] you'd have to tow it or something. You'd

[23:45] have to cut it. So then I guess the only

[23:47] option would be a ticket. But

[23:49] >> yeah, I I would look into that. I'm not

[23:51] sure about um our setting our charges,

[23:54] but I will look into that and find out.

[23:56] >> Thank you.

[23:59] >> And as as stated, I would support this

[24:01] uh the language. Okay.

[24:05] » Thanks for bringing it up. Sounds like

[24:06] we have some good followup.

[24:08] >> Okay. What are we going to do is what

[24:10] I'm asking.

[24:12] >> Uh

[24:14] well, I think we're looking at potential

[24:16] overnight excess charging. We're looking

[24:18] at U. Is are you still back at how many

[24:21] hours a car can charge?

[24:23] >> Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I mean,

[24:24] that's that's the point. We're going to

[24:26] restrict parking. We got to tell them

[24:28] what we're restricting it to.

[24:31] I

[24:31] >> think what they're saying is they're

[24:32] restricting it to to cars that are

[24:35] receiving a charge while they're parked

[24:36] there.

[24:36] >> Then we need to to state that in the

[24:38] policy is what I'm saying here.

[24:41] >> I think it says it. That is what the

[24:43] vehicle code provides for. And so we're

[24:45] just bringing this into we're putting up

[24:47] signage to say we're going to enforce

[24:48] the vehicle code which says you can be

[24:50] there as long as you're charging and

[24:51] that's the extent of the time period

[24:53] that you're allowed to occupy that

[24:54] space.

[24:56] >> Okay.

[24:58] I'd suggest we say that instead of what

[25:00] the vehicle code says because most

[25:02] people don't know what the vehicle code

[25:03] says.

[25:05] >> Well do. Thank you.

[25:08] >> All right. Any further comments or

[25:11] questions from the public on any of

[25:13] these items?

[25:16] Seeing none, uh, can we get a motion for

[25:20] We're I think we take them one at a time

[25:22] here. So, motion for number one on

[25:24] register of demands.

[25:26] >> Um, I'll move we approve uh agenda item

[25:29] one. You want to do them individual?

[25:31] >> We can maybe take all three.

[25:33] >> All right. What is it?

[25:35] >> One, four, and six.

[25:36] >> 1, four, and six.

[25:37] >> I move to approve consent calendar items

[25:40] 1, four, and six.

[25:41] >> Second that. Council member Alberish.

[25:43] >> Yes.

[25:44] >> Council member Brown.

[25:45] >> Yes.

[25:45] >> Council member Gold.

[25:46] >> Yes.

[25:46] >> Council member Wall. Mayor Donowski.

[25:49] >> Yes. Thank you. Uh I appreciate the

[25:51] efficiency overlay. Um moving on to

[25:54] appointments. Uh we uh have two

[25:57] appointments for the emergency

[25:58] preparedness committee. And I will hand

[26:00] this off to this the subcommittee on

[26:02] appointments.

[26:02] >> Take this one since council member Gold

[26:04] took the last one. Um we have two

[26:06] applications for the emergency

[26:08] preparedness committee. One from Mr.

[26:11] Simon

[26:13] Apologies in advance if I butcher your

[26:15] name, uh, Kimpar and another from Alan

[26:18] Spira. Um, it's great to see so many,

[26:22] um, interested residents um, for this

[26:25] committee because, as you might have

[26:27] noticed, if you were uh, in the weeds,

[26:29] we just approved a consent calendar item

[26:33] um, to increase the membership in quorum

[26:36] for the Woodside Emergency Preparedness

[26:38] Committee. So since we did that, we are

[26:41] able to uh take a vote on these two

[26:44] applicants. Uh the subcommittee um

[26:47] agrees that um we should add these folks

[26:50] to the emergency preparedness committee.

[26:53] Um so unless there are any comments or

[26:56] questions, um I think we can entertain a

[26:58] motion to add these applicants to the

[27:01] emergency preparedness committee.

[27:04] >> I'll make that motion. I'll second it.

[27:07] >> Council member Alberish. Yes.

[27:08] >> Council member Brown.

[27:09] >> Yes.

[27:09] >> Council member Gold.

[27:11] >> Council member Wall.

[27:12] >> Yes.

[27:12] >> Mayor Donowski.

[27:13] >> Yes. Welcome Mr. Cleer and Dr. Sapira to

[27:16] the Emergency Preparedness Committee. Uh

[27:18] we very much appreciate your u

[27:20] willingness to contribute this important

[27:22] committee's work on behalf of the town.

[27:25] Um, moving to our public hearing item A,

[27:28] which is a review of an abandonment of a

[27:31] 100 foot setback for four properties,

[27:35] four lots, uh, uh, at towards the back

[27:38] of Mission Trail there. So, I I think

[27:41] we'll hand it, if that's all right, over

[27:43] to Sarah. Thank you.

[27:50] » Thank you, Mayor Donowski.

[27:52] Um, so I will be introducing the

[27:55] proposal to abandon a 100 foot wide

[27:58] building setback easement on four lots

[28:00] located on Mission Trail. Uh, the a

[28:04] proposal to abandon an easement requires

[28:06] review by the town for conformance with

[28:09] the general plan which the planning

[28:11] commission reviewed at their meeting in

[28:13] December.

[28:15] Uh, the the subject property is located

[28:18] um on the map. It's these lots here kind

[28:22] of adjacent to um highway 280. So this

[28:26] is Kinata Road over here. Mission Trail

[28:28] comes off. All right. Mission Trail

[28:30] comes off and it's these lots here 2,

[28:34] three, four, and five that we're talking

[28:36] about.

[28:38] In the um the 80s, the town approved a

[28:42] subdivision um of one lot into nine

[28:44] different lots. And at the time of the

[28:46] subdivision, the general plan and

[28:49] municipal code required properties

[28:51] within the I280

[28:53] um scenic corridor to have a 200 foot

[28:55] building setback. Um the ASRB could

[28:59] grant relief up to 100 ft if they could

[29:02] make findings that structures would not

[29:04] be visible from the scenic corridor.

[29:07] Um the ASRB was not able to make those

[29:09] findings for lots two and four. So, the

[29:12] subdivider asked for um a variance and

[29:16] the planning commission granted a

[29:18] variance which approved um a 100 ft

[29:23] building setback easement for those four

[29:26] lots.

[29:28] Uh the setback prohibited buildings or

[29:30] structures of any kind except lawful

[29:33] fences within that 100 ft setback area.

[29:37] In 2017, the council amended the

[29:42] municipal code to eliminate the 200 foot

[29:45] setback requirement for smaller parcels

[29:48] along I280.

[29:50] And the 200 foot requirement remained

[29:53] for some larger parcels fronting 280

[29:57] along Moore Road, Valley Road, Valley

[30:00] Court, Lawler Ranch Road, and at

[30:03] Kinyatta College.

[30:06] Uh the town also updated the general

[30:07] plan to be consistent with the municipal

[30:10] code which um struck that requirement

[30:13] for the 200 foot setback for all

[30:16] properties within the state scenic

[30:18] rideway. And the current general plan

[30:21] and municipal code do not have specific

[30:24] requirements for setbacks from I280

[30:26] except for those larger part larger

[30:28] parcels on those roads that I previously

[30:31] mentioned.

[30:34] So,

[30:36] uh, with this proposal,

[30:38] um, the minimum set minimum required

[30:40] setbacks for the zoning district would

[30:42] still apply, and the applicant is

[30:44] requesting relief of this building

[30:46] setback easement in order to allow for

[30:48] more feasible building sites on the

[30:50] lots. The easement would likely require

[30:54] a setback exception or a variance for

[30:56] any future development. Therefore, the

[30:59] applicants requesting the abandonment of

[31:01] the 100 foot easement.

[31:04] Again, the minimum setbacks would still

[31:06] apply.

[31:08] Um, also, all of the other existing

[31:10] easements, including the equestrian

[31:12] trail easements, would remain and there

[31:14] are no proposed changes to any of those

[31:17] other easements. And the equestrian

[31:19] trail easements would have to be kept

[31:21] clear of any buildings or structures and

[31:24] can be used only for equestrian uses.

[31:27] The planning commission found the

[31:30] proposal to abandon the easement to be

[31:33] in conformance with the general plan and

[31:35] municipal code. And if the town council

[31:39] agrees and approves the draft draft

[31:41] resolution, the easement will be removed

[31:43] from the properties and recorded with

[31:45] the county. And that concludes my

[31:47] presentation. And I'm happy to answer

[31:49] any questions. Thank you.

[31:50] >> Wonderful. Thank you. Questions for

[31:52] staff?

[31:56] some

[31:56] >> what what is the minimum setback in that

[31:58] zoning district

[31:59] >> for the rear property line? It's 25

[32:01] feet.

[32:06] » And in the report, it appeared the

[32:08] planning commission really had no push

[32:09] back on this idea. Is that an accurate

[32:11] characterization?

[32:13] >> Yes.

[32:13] >> Okay.

[32:15] Any other questions?

[32:18] All right. We will then conclude our

[32:21] questions and move to public comment.

[32:23] Any members of the public that would

[32:25] like to speak?

[32:27] Let me uh Miss Hansen.

[32:30] >> Hi. Um I sent an email with questions

[32:33] yesterday. Did you all receive that? It

[32:35] went to the same address to town hall. I

[32:38] just resent it to the town hall. Um

[32:43] so specific specific to this um I sent

[32:47] it yesterday. I sent two separate

[32:48] emails. So what do you do in this case?

[32:51] I don't think we received I I didn't

[32:53] receive it. Um, did you guys get it at

[32:55] town?

[32:56] >> I received it from the town clerk.

[33:02] » Okay. So, we can we can address that.

[33:05] Um, there do you have the here, sir?

[33:11] Are the um there's questions about uh

[33:14] construction within the trail easement

[33:17] and adjacent to it. the trail easement.

[33:20] >> Excuse me. Why wouldn't you just read my

[33:22] email?

[33:23] >> Okay, sorry.

[33:39] » Okay. So, I'll read um the letter from

[33:42] Miss Hansen. And so it says, "Hello."

[33:44] And this was sent on Monday, March 23rd

[33:47] at 8:28 p.m. And it says, "Hello.

[33:50] Located in the current 100t setback on

[33:53] the Mission Trail lots are equestrian

[33:54] trail easements. If the 100 ft building

[33:58] setback is abandoned, what will it be

[34:01] replaced with? 0ft setback.

[34:04] How close to the equestrian easement

[34:06] would the applicant be allowed to build?

[34:08] A fence or a structure?

[34:10] The applicants provided materials

[34:12] indicated indicate they are not asking

[34:15] for removal of these equestrian

[34:17] easements. So is it agreed that

[34:20] development will not block the protected

[34:22] easements and that any improvements or

[34:24] construction will keep the easements

[34:26] passable and open with enough room for

[34:30] use by a person on a large horse.

[34:34] and that the applicant will agree to

[34:36] remove any current obstructions

[34:38] located on restricting access to these

[34:41] easements as a condition for their

[34:43] project. Thank you, Kim.

[34:46] >> And I'll just note that I responded to

[34:49] Kim. I'm not sure if she received my

[34:51] email, but I did respond. Um, and if

[34:54] you'd like, I can read that response.

[34:56] Okay.

[34:56] >> Yeah. That's us.

[34:57] >> I responded uh Tuesday at 11:02 and I

[35:01] said, "Dear Kim, thank you for reaching

[35:03] out again about this agenda item. The

[35:05] minimum setback for the zoning district

[35:07] would apply, which is 25 ft from the

[35:10] rear property line. The equestrian trail

[35:13] easement would need to remain open and

[35:15] clear, and such strips of land should be

[35:17] for equestrian uses only. Please let me

[35:20] know if you have any additional

[35:21] questions. Thank you.

[35:23] >> Okay. Thank you, Miss Hansen. Does that

[35:27] does please I'll let you continue.

[35:30] >> Thank Thank you. I'm sorry. I just I sent it to town hall so I assumed

[35:35] it would be part of this and I tried to

[35:37] send it so we have enough time to

[35:39] respond but so thank you for responding.

[35:40] Um how how wide So my questions are how

[35:44] wide is the equestrian easement and um

[35:48] the

[35:50] you you um how wide is that equestrian

[35:53] easement? And then the other part of my

[35:56] um and the in the packet there were some

[35:59] color-coded easement maps. I found like

[36:00] that found those were pretty helpful. Um

[36:03] so maybe the council would benefit if if

[36:06] Sarah could please display those. But my

[36:09] big question was I'm curious with the

[36:12] removal of this um setback, does that

[36:16] mean that potentially there could be

[36:18] like the back of a shed so that you're

[36:20] like going through an alley or a tunnel?

[36:23] Um I'm just trying to understand what it

[36:25] would feel like because the um the

[36:28] trails committee was working on actually

[36:32] opening you know like like looking at

[36:34] the easements. There is a there is an

[36:36] interest by the public and the trails

[36:37] committee to maintain these easements

[36:40] and to allow passage. So it is really um

[36:43] a desire of the public that we can um

[36:47] use these. Um thank you very much.

[36:49] >> Thank you. So, uh, 25 ft, uh, setback.

[36:52] And how wide, uh, is the easement?

[36:54] >> The easements, uh, you can see here on

[36:56] lots, uh, 2, 3, 4, and part of five.

[37:01] >> Um, it's 15 ft wide. And so that's

[37:05] typical of most easements within the

[37:07] town of Woodside. I'm sorry, uh,

[37:09] equestrian easements within the town of

[37:11] Woodside. Um, so the same

[37:14] >> things would apply to this lot as with

[37:16] any other lot that has an equestrian

[37:18] easement on it. they need to stay out of

[37:20] the equestrian easement. Um, sometimes

[37:22] property owners propose fences along

[37:24] equestrian trail easements. Um, we see

[37:27] that throughout town. Um, there in terms

[37:31] of creating like structures all the way

[37:32] across, I mean, look at ADU standards.

[37:35] They can be closed or they still cannot

[37:37] be in an equestrian trail easement. So,

[37:39] that will just make that very clear. Um,

[37:43] and we do, you know, we have sometimes

[37:46] people look at things like tennis courts

[37:48] and when we have stuff like that, we do

[37:49] bring it to the trails committee to get

[37:51] their input. Um, and then to finish off

[37:54] the width, if you see there on the what

[37:57] I'll say kind of the right side, it's

[37:59] like the um the quest actually opens up

[38:02] to 45 ft on that property. So, um, I'm

[38:06] not exactly sure why it got widened, but

[38:08] sometimes I think it gets a little

[38:09] steeper there. So there might have been

[38:11] some thought of kind of some switch back

[38:13] of a trail or something. Um but that

[38:15] also that 45 ft would also remain in

[38:18] place as well and be treated the same as

[38:19] all other equestrian easements in town.

[38:22] >> Okay. And so on that property to Miss

[38:26] Hansen's point it's the setback's 25 ft

[38:29] but the easement is 40 45. Uh so that

[38:35] line would be the

[38:36] >> yeah the 45 ft would be the the more

[38:38] restrictive and that would be applied.

[38:40] Okay.

[38:40] >> Um but it would get rid of that yellow

[38:42] line which is the 100 foot.

[38:45] >> Okay.

[38:47] Thank you.

[38:49] Any other comments from the public? Yes,

[38:52] Mr. Putnham.

[38:53] >> Kent Putnham. I'm representing the

[38:55] property owners and here if you have any

[38:58] questions.

[38:59] >> Thank you.

[39:04] Are there any other public comments on

[39:06] item A?

[39:09] Seeing none, we will close public

[39:11] comment and open deliberations by

[39:14] council. Any thoughts?

[39:24] » I would just say Sarah, thank you so

[39:25] much for the presentation. It was super

[39:27] clear. Um Kim, thank you for your

[39:29] questions about the easement. Um, I feel

[39:31] like I now um, you know, understand the

[39:34] easement issue better. Um, I think

[39:37] overall since we're in deliberations,

[39:39] I'm I'm supportive of this change. Um,

[39:43] and I have no further comments.

[39:46] >> Good. Any other comments?

[39:50] >> I would just say obviously there's no

[39:51] reason um, that we would require code

[39:54] that we don't require anymore. and uh if

[39:57] it can improve the feasibility with and

[39:59] help our housing goals that makes a lot

[40:00] of sense to me and this is just one of

[40:03] those private properties that wasn't

[40:04] part of the original plan and um now can

[40:08] be part of the solution. So uh in terms

[40:10] of delivering on the housing element so

[40:12] uh I am supportive as well and I also

[40:16] mentioned just walking the property

[40:17] there are still wonderful natural

[40:19] contours there that I think are going to

[40:21] protect the the look and feel from 280.

[40:23] Not that that's part of the code

[40:24] anymore, but just a reassurance.

[40:29] I think with that we would entertain a

[40:30] motion.

[40:32] >> Right. Move to approve the proposal and

[40:35] agenda item A.

[40:37] >> Second.

[40:38] >> Council member Alish.

[40:39] >> Yes.

[40:39] >> Council member Brown.

[40:40] >> Yes.

[40:41] >> Member Gold.

[40:42] >> Yes.

[40:42] >> Council member Wall. Mayor Donowski.

[40:45] >> Yes. Thank you.

[40:48] Mr. Putnham.

[40:50] >> Thank you.

[40:52] And moving on to reports, volunteer

[40:54] committee updates.

[40:56] >> Thank you. Just a quick update about the

[40:58] environment and open space committee is

[40:59] accepting applications for the Woodside

[41:01] Heritage Tree. They are due by April 5th

[41:04] and the winners will be announced at the

[41:06] Mayday events. Um if you need anybody

[41:09] needs an application, that's online or

[41:11] they can come into town hall or reach

[41:12] out to me. Thank you.

[41:14] >> Wonderful. Thank you. Uh council member

[41:17] communications.

[41:19] Uh yes, we had a very successful senior

[41:22] event uh this last Saturday and we have

[41:24] a follow-up to it on April 25th

[41:28] >> um here uh covering the same same ground

[41:31] with whole a different approach um about

[41:34] you know how do the seniors manage their

[41:37] issues that their loved ones may

[41:40] encounter over time in terms of moving

[41:43] into other institutions such as Sequoas

[41:46] um or the Kensington Place um and and just how do you how do you manage

[41:50] that process?

[41:52] We had 75 people here. So, it was a big success.

[41:57] >> Congratulations and thank you for doing

[41:59] that. You've done such a wonderful job

[42:01] on all those seminars.

[42:02] >> My pleasure.

[42:03] >> Yeah, thank you. Any other

[42:05] communications? Yes, sir.

[42:06] >> Two quick ones. Uh, one, I did attend uh

[42:08] the the

[42:10] function that Dick just talked about and

[42:13] it was amazing. I mean truly the the

[42:17] neurologist who spoke was a fantastic

[42:20] speaker and um uh it was actually pretty

[42:22] riveting. So uh very useful information.

[42:24] Um I also attended the meet the sheriff.

[42:27] Um Sheriff Ken Binder was here at the uh

[42:30] fire station

[42:32] Friday afternoon I think and um a very

[42:35] nice event. He's uh he he he's an

[42:38] impressive gentleman and um it just

[42:41] appeared to me that the u the deputies

[42:43] who were in attendance and the other

[42:45] folks were um very pleased uh so far

[42:48] with his leadership. So, it's looking

[42:50] good and um he has a very um soft place

[42:54] in his heart for Woodside. He was well

[42:55] aware of our history with uh the

[42:57] sheriff's department over the past

[42:59] several decades and um uh honored that I

[43:02] think by being here too. So, nice event.

[43:09] Okay, I think with that we will uh

[43:11] adjourn the meeting. Thank you all.

Town Council Meeting - March 24, 2026

Transcript