[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.