Agenda
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Transcript
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[0:50]
Let's
[1:02]
call the town council meeting of June
[1:05]
9th, 2026 to order. Jennifer, will you
[1:07]
take role?
[1:08]
>> Council member Alberish here.
[1:10]
>> Council member Brown here. Council
[1:11]
>> member Gold here.
[1:12]
>> Council member Wall here.
[1:14]
>> Mayor Donowski
[1:15]
>> here. Thank you. Council member Wall,
[1:17]
will you lead us in the pledge of
[1:18]
allegiance?
[1:26]
to the stands. One nation under God,
[1:30]
indivisible, with liberty and justice
[1:33]
for all.
[1:39]
» Okay. With that, we'll go on to public
[1:42]
comment. uh persons wishing to address
[1:44]
the council on any non-aggendaized items
[1:46]
are invited to do so now that are within
[1:48]
the jurisdiction of the town. Please
[1:50]
note however that the council cannot
[1:51]
undertake uh any extended discussion or
[1:53]
act on non-aggendaized items. Such items
[1:55]
can be referred to staff for placement
[1:57]
on a future agenda. This will be limited
[1:59]
to five persons three minutes each and
[2:01]
we will stick with that tonight given uh
[2:03]
we do have a very full agenda once
[2:05]
again. So um if you have a
[2:07]
non-aggendaized item and you'd like to
[2:09]
speak on it um please approach the mic.
[2:11]
Welcome, Kotti.
[2:14]
>> Good evening.
[2:15]
>> Evening.
[2:15]
>> I'm Kotti Dancer, 110 Landing Drive,
[2:19]
Woodside. This year marks my 27th year
[2:22]
as president and program director of
[2:24]
Woodside Junior Writers. Woodside Junior
[2:26]
Writers has been a local institution
[2:28]
since 1947. It is the oldest
[2:31]
continuously operating riding program
[2:34]
for children in Northern California. We
[2:36]
operate on a very tight, modest budget
[2:39]
and keep our costs as low as possible
[2:42]
for participating families. Our 8week
[2:45]
English riding program serves children
[2:47]
ages 6 to 16 and emphasizes good
[2:50]
horsemanship, horse safety, proper horse
[2:53]
care, and respect for horses.
[2:58]
Many junior riders families who are new
[3:00]
to horses
[3:02]
>> just push that
[3:03]
>> after participating in the program for
[3:06]
several years uh they end up buying
[3:08]
horse property in town. This helps
[3:11]
preserve Woodside's equestrian and rural
[3:14]
heritage. I am here tonight to ask the
[3:17]
council's help in protecting the
[3:19]
property at Kylie Field, the more than
[3:21]
20 horses on site each summer, and the
[3:23]
nearby residents from significant fire
[3:26]
risk posed by parking hot vehicles on
[3:29]
dry grass field in July.
[3:32]
On September 2nd, 2025, a major fire was
[3:36]
started along 280 by a car pulling off
[3:39]
the shoulder near Farmhill Boulevard.
[3:41]
The fire grew and burned several acres
[3:44]
of Joe Putnham's property at the end of
[3:46]
Mission Trail. It was a significant
[3:48]
fire. My home is very close by. We could
[3:51]
hear all the fire trucks going up the
[3:53]
road, and I could see the smoke drifting
[3:54]
towards my home.
[3:57]
Shortly thereafter, a sheriff came to my
[3:59]
door and told us we should evacuate. I
[4:01]
had four horses at home, two dogs, a
[4:03]
cat, and a bird. Our trailer does not
[4:06]
hold four horses. Luckily, a neighbor
[4:08]
rode one out bearback, passed the sirens
[4:11]
and with the planes overhead, I took the
[4:13]
rest of the animals and tried to leave,
[4:16]
but our roads became so clogged with
[4:18]
emergency vehicles that I had to drive
[4:20]
our pickup truck down the horse trail to
[4:23]
get to safety. If a fire broke out in
[4:25]
the trip road area, it would be a much
[4:27]
worse disaster.
[4:30]
During the annual Junior Writers Board
[4:33]
meeting at the end of January in 2025,
[4:37]
we discussed the devastating Los Angeles
[4:39]
fires. The board concluded that allowing
[4:42]
vehicles to park on grass was no longer
[4:45]
responsible given the increased fire
[4:48]
risk. Although parking on the lower
[4:51]
grass field has been done in the past,
[4:52]
the Junior Writers Board determined it
[4:54]
was not worth the risk of a potential
[4:57]
catastrophic fire and especially in this
[5:00]
area that is designated as a fire safety
[5:04]
uh hazard zone. Many residents in the
[5:07]
Trip area already face challenges
[5:09]
obtaining homeowners insurance because
[5:11]
of that area's wildfire risk. The
[5:14]
Mounted Patrol was formally notified at
[5:16]
its February 4th, 2025 board meeting
[5:19]
that overflow parking on the lower grass
[5:22]
would no longer be permitted due to fire
[5:24]
concerns. After receiving this notice
[5:27]
and without my knowledge or any
[5:29]
notification to junior riders, Rick de
[5:32]
Benedetti acting on behalf of the
[5:34]
mounted patrol approached Kevin Bryant
[5:36]
and obtained a permit authorizing
[5:38]
parking on the grass field.
[5:40]
>> Kati, I hate to ask, we we we're over
[5:43]
the three minutes. Is there a way to
[5:45]
>> wrap up your
[5:47]
>> I am just requesting that the town
[5:50]
council direct the manager in amending
[5:54]
the permit to not include the lower
[5:57]
grass field and to use the trip road and
[6:00]
surrounding paved streets instead. They
[6:03]
can still use our front lot.
[6:05]
>> Okay. Thank you.
[6:06]
>> Thank you very much.
[6:07]
>> And thank you for everything that you
[6:08]
and Scott do for Kylie and the junior
[6:10]
riders. Um
[6:11]
>> thank you.
[6:13]
Uh, you know, this has been going on for
[6:14]
12 or 18 months, obviously, and uh, I
[6:16]
thought we were sort of going a
[6:18]
different direction when this came up a
[6:19]
year ago. Um, I know we're opening up
[6:23]
trip road to parking in a one making it
[6:25]
a one-way street and, uh, we have a
[6:27]
waterfall for that to the gravel to the
[6:29]
lot and there's conditions on the lot
[6:31]
and we're going to talk about making
[6:32]
sure this gets agendaized next year
[6:34]
because now we're very late in the cycle
[6:35]
once again. But,
[6:38]
um,
[6:39]
I think a lot of us went and visited. I
[6:41]
don't know if anybody has any other
[6:42]
views that they want to express. We've
[6:44]
taken some steps, but um I don't know if
[6:47]
we need to take more steps this go
[6:49]
around or even can, but I was one of
[6:52]
guess four folks on the council that
[6:54]
visited Kylie on this issue.
[6:57]
>> Yeah, stick.
[6:59]
been to the rodeo many times and parking
[7:02]
is nightmare and there cars are
[7:05]
everywhere,
[7:07]
but I've also seen what the fires can do
[7:09]
here. And I I think that back lot is
[7:13]
subject to potential fire. And I think
[7:15]
it we got to put that as a priority over
[7:17]
anything else.
[7:28]
We can put it back on the agenda for
[7:30]
June 23rd, but uh operations are already
[7:33]
in place to follow a traffic plan and
[7:36]
the conditions of approval because the
[7:38]
encroachment department was approved. Um
[7:40]
which also includes having a water truck
[7:42]
down on the grass field. Uh that was a
[7:44]
new condition that was added this year.
[7:46]
Um, and then the mounted patrol will
[7:48]
have fire extinguishers on the property
[7:50]
on Kylie throughout the property
[7:52]
available for the paid parking
[7:54]
attendants to utilize in the case of in
[7:57]
the case of a fire. And there's a fire
[7:58]
hydrant right outside Kylie Equestrian
[8:00]
Center where a fire hose will be placed
[8:02]
and available um until until the
[8:05]
emergency response teams get there.
[8:11]
» Are we good? is can we commit to
[8:13]
agendaizing this when it comes up next
[8:15]
go around publicly?
[8:17]
>> Is it too late? Is it too late now to
[8:20]
modify the permit
[8:23]
this year? Realistically,
[8:26]
>> I think practically speaking, it is. Um,
[8:29]
you know, this this was a permit that
[8:30]
was issued. We we we at this table were
[8:32]
not aware that it was being issued. um
[8:35]
with there was a conversation last year
[8:37]
that that um this was to come to you
[8:40]
before a permit was issued, but the
[8:42]
previous town manager issued the um
[8:45]
issued the permit. And so Melissa's
[8:48]
tried very hard to make sure that we'll
[8:50]
have adequate fire protection out there.
[8:52]
Um and there are some additional um
[8:54]
conditions that he did add to the permit
[8:56]
as she's just discussed with a water
[8:58]
truck and things of that nature for this
[9:00]
year.
[9:02]
>> Thank you.
[9:05]
Okay. Uh, hi Sue, Miss Pleti.
[9:10]
>> Hi, I'm Sue Pleti. I live on Raundo and
[9:13]
a warm welcome to Susan George. Nice to
[9:15]
see you. I discovered a safety finding
[9:19]
that bears directly on the town's
[9:20]
decision to proceed with the RFP for the
[9:23]
Raondo parcel. I obtained this
[9:26]
information through a California Public
[9:28]
Records Act request and based on my
[9:30]
review of these records, it does not
[9:32]
appear that the information was shared
[9:34]
with the town council prior to the RFP
[9:36]
process going forward. I bring the email
[9:39]
to your attention tonight as a matter of
[9:41]
public record. This is from the fire
[9:44]
marshall to Kevin Bryant, the town
[9:46]
manager,
[9:48]
November 19th, 2024. Hi Kevin, I wanted
[9:52]
to provide a brief update on my meeting
[9:55]
that Tom and I had with Sue Pleti a few
[9:57]
weeks ago. Apologies, I have not had
[9:59]
time to inform you. She conducted much
[10:02]
research and had in her possession
[10:03]
county record documentation and town of
[10:05]
Woodside records dating back to 1975.
[10:09]
Rancho Kenyatta, as referred to, was a
[10:12]
large plot of land that was subdivided
[10:13]
into separate parcels. documents show
[10:16]
this is already a subdivided area with
[10:19]
more than 30 units in this area. I have
[10:22]
not researched it further since
[10:23]
currently there's nothing on the table
[10:25]
for development, but wanted to let you
[10:27]
know there's a good amount of evidence
[10:28]
to support their claims. And if truly
[10:30]
the case, this parcel in question would
[10:33]
not be able to be developed without
[10:35]
another road for access. Before any
[10:38]
developers are brought in and before the
[10:40]
town spends money on developing the
[10:42]
land, I would strongly recommend a
[10:44]
thorough investigation on factchecking
[10:46]
to avoid any legal actions against the
[10:48]
town by the residents. The district is
[10:50]
here to support you and the challenges
[10:53]
for meeting state requirements. But we
[10:55]
also must consider the evidence being
[10:57]
provided and the fact that the search
[10:59]
for alternate locations to build are
[11:01]
becoming more apparent. Thank you. Have
[11:04]
a safe day. Given the life safety
[11:07]
concerns and the fire marshall's
[11:09]
recommendation to consider an alternate
[11:11]
location, the residents and I
[11:13]
respectfully request that you halt the
[11:16]
RFP process for the Raundo parcel and
[11:19]
proceed with finding alternative
[11:21]
locations. I'm submitting the fire
[11:23]
marshall's email for the public record
[11:25]
for tonight's meeting. Thank you.
[11:27]
>> Thank you, Miss Plet.
[11:33]
» Yes.
[11:38]
Hi, I'm Karen Offen. I'm part of the
[11:41]
crew on Ray Mundo and I fully support
[11:45]
the research that Sou Petti has been
[11:48]
doing lately and the conclusions that
[11:51]
have come up in the course of the
[11:53]
discussions about this the second exit
[11:57]
road. Um it's very important for
[12:00]
everybody here to understand that the
[12:03]
virtually everyone on the street is
[12:05]
aware of this and um planning to take
[12:09]
action if necessary to make sure that we
[12:13]
get that second road if any development
[12:17]
happens to to be forthcoming.
[12:20]
So, wanted to just remind you and it's
[12:23]
true that the town council did did um
[12:29]
attach a proviso to the parcel in one of
[12:34]
the earlier meetings and uh also want to
[12:37]
remind you of that. Um so just we wanted
[12:42]
to keep this in the in the discussion
[12:46]
and uh thank you very much for
[12:48]
listening. Thank you, Miss Hoffen.
[12:53]
You know, we were on those last two
[12:55]
comments, we were going to uh have some
[12:58]
ability for the public to uh weigh in on
[13:01]
RFPs and make sure these items were
[13:03]
included as part of the conditions of
[13:05]
those RFPs. Do we have a sense for
[13:07]
timing on that here over the course of
[13:08]
the summer or early fall? Um I don't
[13:11]
think it's going to happen um soon
[13:14]
because we are in the midst of getting
[13:16]
the master sewer study information which
[13:19]
will indicate whether there's capacity
[13:21]
for development uh currently and if not
[13:24]
what would need to occur from an
[13:27]
infrastructure perspective before that would um go forward in any manner.
[13:31]
So there is no work being done on the
[13:33]
RFP right now.
[13:34]
>> Okay. And the master sewer study will
[13:36]
come before council in July or
[13:39]
>> I think July or perhaps soon after you
[13:42]
return in September.
[13:43]
>> Okay. Okay. So, everybody has a sense
[13:47]
for timing. Okay. Any other public
[13:50]
comments?
[13:53]
And I see none in the Zoom room. Anyone
[13:55]
in the Zoom?
[13:58]
32 people. Plenty of questions for
[14:00]
later, I guess. So we will close uh
[14:02]
public comment and move on to the
[14:04]
consent calendar. Um items in the
[14:07]
consent are considered routine and will
[14:09]
be approved by one roll call motion
[14:11]
unless a item is pulled by the council
[14:14]
or the public. Is there any item by any
[14:16]
council member that you would like to
[14:18]
see pulled?
[14:20]
>> Six.
[14:21]
>> Number six.
[14:24]
Any items from the public that you would
[14:25]
like to see pulled?
[14:30]
Did I get a motion for one through five?
[14:31]
Oh, yes. Jean
[14:34]
>> two number two.
[14:35]
>> Okay.
[14:37]
All right. We'll take a motion for 1345.
[14:41]
>> So moved.
[14:43]
>> Second.
[14:44]
>> Council member Aarish.
[14:46]
>> Yes.
[14:46]
>> Council member Brown.
[14:47]
>> Yes.
[14:48]
>> Council member Gold.
[14:48]
>> Yes.
[14:49]
>> Council member Wall. Mayor Donkowski.
[14:51]
>> Yes. We'll go in order. Uh Council
[14:53]
Member Wall and number two.
[14:58]
So I mean first I think this is great
[15:02]
potentally great opportunity and I
[15:03]
wanted to just you and I had talked a
[15:04]
little bit about um this Senate bill SB1
[15:08]
funding and I know um the staff report
[15:13]
gives the list of projects that have
[15:15]
been submitted which tracks to our road
[15:17]
rehabilitation project. Um but I wanted
[15:20]
to understand um like what other
[15:22]
projects do we consider? um is there an
[15:26]
opportunity to to potentially add
[15:29]
projects? Um because I know my
[15:31]
understanding of um SB1 is that it's
[15:36]
quite broad like we I think we had
[15:37]
talked about um potentially including
[15:40]
safe routes to school. So maybe just
[15:42]
kind of provide that context around um
[15:44]
how we landed on the uh the road rehab
[15:47]
projects and whether or not we could
[15:49]
have an opportunity to add things in the
[15:51]
future or adjust. um wanted to hear
[15:53]
about that.
[15:54]
>> Yes. Uh council member Wall. Um so for
[15:57]
the SP1 funding for this particular
[15:59]
funding and for this purpose is for
[16:02]
strictly for u road pavement and it
[16:05]
requires a pavement management uh
[16:07]
program. So the town does have that and
[16:09]
we use um you utilize um the MTC
[16:12]
services and to provide us with a list
[16:15]
of roads. So as you mentioned for SB1
[16:18]
funding um there are other opportunities
[16:20]
and um we can u we are pursuing grant
[16:24]
opportunities um you know falling within
[16:27]
um that structure at different types of
[16:29]
project you know um related possibly to
[16:32]
drainage and other infrastructure
[16:34]
related project but for this particular
[16:36]
uh SP1 um purpose it's just strictly for
[16:40]
pavement um rehabilitation.
[16:43]
When will will we like will we have a
[16:46]
chance to to submit um other projects in
[16:49]
the near future or how will how will for
[16:51]
example if we wanted to um to seek
[16:55]
funding for a safe routes to school
[16:56]
project like how would that happen?
[16:59]
>> Yes. Um we do uh get notification
[17:02]
through the cag um and they would notify
[17:05]
us of different types of funding
[17:06]
opportunity coming um in the year. So
[17:10]
once we receive that, we will pursue um
[17:12]
opportunities that that were best fit
[17:14]
for the town. So
[17:16]
>> and we did recently get one.
[17:18]
>> We did. Yes.
[17:19]
>> Um so what are you guys evaluating
[17:21]
projects to um see funding for that one
[17:24]
that you did?
[17:26]
>> Yes. Um one of the funding we did apply
[17:29]
for is the safe streets funding and
[17:31]
we're looking at different opportunities
[17:33]
in different streets and also uh traffic
[17:36]
related uh opportunities. And there's
[17:39]
also, as you mentioned, safe out to
[17:41]
school and we did apply for that for the
[17:42]
TDA3. Um, I recently did a presentation
[17:46]
for that and we're hoping to hear back
[17:48]
from from CACAG sometime uh maybe after
[17:51]
the summer, see if we're able to be
[17:53]
awarded as part of that this year's uh
[17:55]
package.
[18:01]
» Uh any public comment on two?
[18:06]
Um, I guess we'll try to take them both
[18:07]
together. Um, number six.
[18:09]
>> Um, yeah. Um,
[18:12]
>> I'd be interested in knowing what was
[18:14]
the original contract amount for this
[18:17]
project,
[18:19]
uh, and what will the addition of this
[18:21]
take the total cost of this contract to?
[18:25]
>> So, um, Council Member Brown, um, and I
[18:29]
believe there is no contract and and
[18:31]
correct me if I'm wrong. It's um it's
[18:34]
around it's a little over $100,000 and
[18:36]
but for this uh amendment there is no
[18:39]
cost involved. We're only extending the
[18:41]
term. The term is about to expire at the
[18:43]
end of June. Um we want to extend this
[18:45]
term so we can continue uh utilizing
[18:48]
this agreement with our consultant.
[18:50]
>> It still brings another $66,000
[18:53]
that we didn't budget. Correct.
[18:55]
>> There's still money in the budget.
[18:56]
They're not done um with their uh design
[18:59]
work. That's correct. So the original
[19:01]
budget still covers enough for the
[19:03]
66,000
[19:05]
>> the Yes. Yes. Okay. All right. Thank
[19:08]
you.
[19:11]
>> Any public comment on six?
[19:15]
We get a motion for two and six.
[19:18]
>> I move we approve two and six.
[19:20]
>> Second.
[19:21]
>> Council member Aubberish.
[19:22]
>> Yes.
[19:23]
>> Council member Brown.
[19:24]
>> Yes.
[19:24]
>> Council member Gold.
[19:25]
>> Council member Wall.
[19:26]
>> Mayor Donowski.
[19:28]
>> Yes. Thank you.
[19:29]
>> Excuse me. Mayor Damonowski.
[19:30]
>> Yes.
[19:31]
>> Could I make a request for the council
[19:33]
to consider taking new business item B
[19:35]
before old business item A?
[19:42]
Is council okay with that?
[19:44]
Okay. Uh so we will pivot to a
[19:47]
discussion on
[19:50]
uh presentation of the proposed budget
[19:52]
for 2026 and 2027.
[19:55]
And I hand it off to you Melissa to
[19:57]
>> Yes. Thank you. I'm going to introduce
[19:58]
uh we hired our consultant Susan George
[20:01]
with SEG Consulting to assist myself and
[20:04]
Corey uh Stoker Pedalino, the
[20:06]
administrative services director in
[20:08]
preparing the budget um for introduction
[20:10]
tonight before the council. So, I'm
[20:12]
going to turn this over to Miss George
[20:14]
to give a presentation.
[20:15]
>> Thank you.
[20:16]
Melissa. And um good evening
[20:19]
to all of you. It's really weird to be
[20:20]
back here.
[20:21]
>> Yeah.
[20:23]
>> Could we move the microphone just a
[20:24]
little closer there, Susan? Thank you.
[20:25]
Absolutely. Then welcome back. Um, thank
[20:28]
you. Um, I'm not going to make a long
[20:30]
presentation. You've had the document
[20:32]
for several days now. I've had an
[20:34]
opportunity to meet with each of you um,
[20:36]
in the last couple of months um, to talk
[20:39]
about the general finances of the town.
[20:42]
Um, I wanted to point out that this
[20:45]
budget is not quite balanced. It's
[20:47]
$13,000 out of balance, which is an
[20:50]
unusual number. Um, but I I I also
[20:55]
wanted to point out that if you look at
[20:56]
the five-year forecast that um
[21:01]
that number gets bigger every year in
[21:04]
the five-year forecast.
[21:06]
And that's why this is such a pivotal
[21:07]
moment because you have the opportunity
[21:10]
to um allow Melissa to make some uh
[21:14]
internal changes um in in terms of how
[21:17]
we do our finances, how we keep our
[21:19]
records. And it's also an opportunity
[21:21]
for the council to talk about and give
[21:23]
us direction on how you want us to move
[21:27]
ahead to eliminate that gap. Um, and now
[21:31]
is the perfect time to do it. So, um,
[21:35]
because it's not out of control. Um, but
[21:37]
it can get out of control if we don't
[21:40]
rein it in. Um, having said that, you
[21:43]
are still in very good financial shape.
[21:44]
You've got a lot of money in reserve. um
[21:47]
you are still contributing a million
[21:49]
dollars to the uh capital improvement
[21:52]
program this year from your uh undesated
[21:55]
reserves. Um but we need to going
[21:58]
forward keep keep an eye on both how
[22:01]
much of that undesated reserve we still
[22:03]
have available and also um just to make
[22:07]
sure that our revenues and our
[22:08]
expenditures match up. Um I would be
[22:12]
happy to answer any questions or to walk
[22:14]
you through the budget. It's it's your
[22:17]
um at your direction.
[22:19]
>> Thank you, Miss George. Uh questions on
[22:22]
the budget anywhere?
[22:24]
>> Um
[22:25]
>> start on this side.
[22:26]
>> Yep. Got a few.
[22:27]
>> Thank you, sir.
[22:27]
>> Um so, thank you for the uh letter of
[22:29]
transmitt, the highlights. So, um as I
[22:32]
read it, I just I think there's four or
[22:35]
five controversial issues that
[22:37]
>> Yes, there are.
[22:38]
>> Just wanted to ask you to comment on. Um
[22:40]
our biggest expenditure is law
[22:41]
enforcement services with the Sanonteo
[22:43]
County Sheriff's Office. Um, we usually
[22:46]
I mean the annual cost is about 3.3
[22:48]
million. I know there's an adjustment
[22:50]
that makes it look less, but it's really
[22:52]
3.3 million. I think we did get a credit
[22:55]
um for that. And this current year
[22:57]
looking forward 2627, it's going to be 3
[23:00]
almost 3.6 million. I don't think we
[23:02]
have much control over that, but that's
[23:04]
a big number. and
[23:06]
>> you know, $300,000 or so that um we're
[23:11]
more or less obligated to pay if we want
[23:13]
law enforcement in our area. Um
[23:18]
any comments on that, by the way? I do
[23:19]
have a couple of others, but
[23:21]
>> yeah. No. Um you're you're exactly
[23:23]
right, and this is the second year of a
[23:25]
new five-year term. Um, we were lucky to
[23:28]
get that $200,000 credit this current
[23:30]
year, but it just makes the increase
[23:32]
going into next year seem even worse to bear. Um, but it is
[23:39]
between that and your salaries and
[23:40]
benefits. Those are the two biggest
[23:42]
chunks that comprise your 13 plus
[23:46]
million dollar general fund budget.
[23:48]
>> Okay. Um there are two that apparently
[23:50]
are um well not apparently that are
[23:52]
controversial amongst our citizens and
[23:54]
I'm sure we're going to have some um
[23:56]
comments on both of them tonight. The
[23:57]
first one um is the temporary traffic
[24:00]
light. I I like the quotes around
[24:02]
temporary. Um it's been three years.
[24:04]
It's $200,000 a year. 600,000 we've
[24:07]
paid. We probably could have built u
[24:09]
most of a permanent traffic light for
[24:11]
the amount that we've invested in a
[24:12]
temporary little trailer. Um but anyway,
[24:16]
that's um could you just talk about
[24:18]
moving forward what's in the budget now
[24:21]
that we have to work?
[24:22]
>> Sure. Um and Lewis can jump in at any
[24:25]
moment if he wishes to. Um I've been
[24:27]
working with Lewis on the CIP, so he's
[24:30]
kind of a co-conspirator here. Um we
[24:33]
eliminated all but three months worth of
[24:36]
the temporary traffic light funding from
[24:39]
this budget. Um Lewis is working has
[24:43]
already started working on potential
[24:45]
solutions moving forward. There's
[24:47]
$350,000 in the first year of the
[24:50]
capital improvement program um for some
[24:53]
kind of permanent replacement up there.
[24:55]
Um and I'm not going to guess what
[24:57]
that's going to be, but I'll I'll let
[24:59]
Lewis comment in a minute. There are
[25:00]
also um funds in the second and third
[25:03]
year of the of the capital improvement
[25:06]
program as well for this project in case
[25:09]
they are needed. Um but I'm not going to
[25:12]
second guess what the solution is going
[25:14]
to be.
[25:15]
>> So um if I may add, so the $350,000
[25:19]
that's proposed in the CIP is really
[25:21]
used for several um purpose. One of them
[25:26]
is to do a transitional um cleanup and
[25:29]
also preparation where uh we clean up
[25:32]
vegetation and the shelder and also
[25:35]
create um the turnout that's currently
[25:38]
sort of um needs um some cleanup work.
[25:41]
This would allow um a lot safer passage
[25:44]
through those narrow lanes. And uh at
[25:47]
the same time, part of the the funding
[25:49]
will be um hiring a consultant to
[25:52]
conduct a um a permanent design. We're
[25:55]
looking at um widening the road as also
[25:58]
another alternative. We do have a
[26:00]
traffic signal permanent signal that's
[26:02]
been designed and that's still on the
[26:04]
table, but we haven't never looked at uh
[26:07]
widening the road and that's I think
[26:10]
that's an option we we should pursue at
[26:12]
least review and see the possibility of
[26:14]
that. And the consultant will also help
[26:16]
us look for funding um grants funding
[26:18]
for winding this road. And I think
[26:20]
winding the road is a potential um
[26:23]
permanent solution. So
[26:25]
>> widening the road.
[26:26]
>> That's correct. Widening um that section
[26:28]
of the upper Honda road. So the name
[26:31]
that we uh I've created for this um for
[26:34]
this project in the CIP is called the
[26:36]
upper Honda road safety project and the
[26:38]
purpose is to eventually create um a
[26:42]
safe solution um for that section of
[26:45]
Olahonda Road. Okay. Um the other points
[26:48]
I wanted to make are very brief. Um, I'm
[26:51]
going to pass for now on the um Kite
[26:53]
Hill Wildflower maintenance and res
[26:57]
restoration and the credit card fees
[27:00]
which I think are you know we certainly
[27:02]
need to discuss. Um, but I did want to
[27:04]
mention the defensible space as well.
[27:07]
That's also a pretty big number and u it
[27:09]
is
[27:11]
>> the citizens take advantage I take
[27:14]
advantage in a positive way. I don't
[27:15]
mean that negatively. Um, but it's um
[27:17]
it's a big number and um I don't think
[27:20]
you're asking us to revise the rules
[27:23]
tonight.
[27:24]
>> No, no, we're we're suggesting that we put it on some future agenda,
[27:29]
a public notice it so that people know
[27:31]
that they can come in and give you their
[27:33]
two cents.
[27:35]
>> Got it. Thank you.
[27:39]
» Other questions? Yes, council member.
[27:42]
>> Yes. Um
[27:44]
first of all on um
[27:48]
side road median island beautifification
[27:52]
we're showing a budget item here of $2.5
[27:55]
million in 2627.
[27:58]
What project is that for? This this is
[28:01]
for the stretch of Woodside Road from
[28:04]
just east of I2 to the Alama delos Pogus
[28:08]
and um this is a project for which funds
[28:11]
have been donated and I think
[28:14]
>> this includes a donated fund project. So
[28:16]
that's this is that project.
[28:17]
>> This is the donated fund.
[28:18]
>> Okay. All right. Fine. Um,
[28:21]
I've looked at the sheriff budget and
[28:24]
I'd like to suggest, I'm not going to
[28:25]
litigate it tonight, but I think that we
[28:28]
ought to appoint a committee task force
[28:31]
to really look hard at
[28:34]
what we're paying for
[28:36]
and what we're getting for it in terms
[28:40]
of
[28:42]
we need do we need the two motorcycle
[28:45]
police uh cops, for example. Um, we're
[28:50]
writing a lot of tickets every year, 300
[28:53]
over 300 a month. What are we getting?
[28:56]
for those for all
[28:58]
that effort? Is it really reducing
[29:02]
um accidents, injuries,
[29:05]
um the crime, anything like that? What
[29:09]
are we getting for that? Because this
[29:10]
budget keeps going up and up and up. And you look at the cost per person
[29:16]
that we're paying for here.
[29:18]
It is huge
[29:20]
and um I just want us to put together a
[29:23]
task force to figure out what can we do
[29:25]
about all this because I know porta
[29:27]
valley has gone through the same thing
[29:28]
and they've actually got a reduction
[29:30]
substantial reduction in what they're
[29:32]
paying. They probably sacrifice a lot to
[29:35]
get there but I want to understand what
[29:38]
did they do and I can talk to them about
[29:39]
that. Um but what can we do because this
[29:43]
is going to kill us in a couple more
[29:45]
years if it keeps going up like this.
[29:49]
We we do have that. We have an ad hoc
[29:52]
sheriff's uh contract committee. It's
[29:55]
council member Aberation, myself. Um uh
[29:58]
so we can certainly dust that off.
[30:03]
Other questions or comments?
[30:06]
>> I have a question. Um so what I just
[30:09]
want to better understand for the upper
[30:11]
LA Honda uh solution. So it it sounds
[30:15]
like we have funding for three months,
[30:18]
continue with the temporary light, and
[30:19]
then what would happen after that?
[30:23]
>> Well, I'm not I'm not going to jump on Louiswis's lines here. Can you give
[30:28]
us a timeline for what you're studying,
[30:31]
right?
[30:32]
>> Sure. Um, so I do have a proposal from
[30:35]
Fairlong Construction. That's the
[30:37]
company we're currently renting the
[30:38]
temporary traffic signal from. Um, and
[30:42]
one of the transitional um, work that I
[30:44]
mentioned earlier is to uh, really to
[30:47]
clean up the the side the shoulder of
[30:49]
that narrow stretch. By doing that, we
[30:52]
could potentially increase about 4 feet
[30:55]
of space um, and just be able to clean
[30:59]
uh, clean the the turnouts to allow
[31:02]
traffic um, to pass. And that would be
[31:04]
something we do immediately. And Feron
[31:07]
has agreed to keep the traffic light
[31:09]
while they do this work. and not charge
[31:11]
the town for the traffic signal. Um and
[31:15]
also at the same time uh I am proposing
[31:17]
to um look at purchasing a temporary
[31:21]
traffic al light for the town that we
[31:23]
can manage ourselves um at a lower cost
[31:26]
and that can be something we can install
[31:28]
after um we get a chance to improve the road um and clean it.
[31:35]
>> Got it. So, I just want to make sure.
[31:36]
So, it's uh so we'll be cleaning the
[31:38]
road while there's still light in place
[31:40]
and then would there is there if we
[31:44]
um go down this route, is it going to be
[31:47]
the the new replacement that we
[31:49]
purchase? Um would that be installed
[31:53]
like right away when the the current
[31:55]
temporary light is taken out?
[31:58]
>> It is our hope that we can have no gap
[32:01]
during that transition. Um although I'm
[32:04]
not certain about lead time in
[32:06]
purchasing these equipment. So we'll
[32:08]
definitely work our best to try to get
[32:10]
the temporary signal the one that we
[32:12]
plan on purchase uh in place um before
[32:15]
the old one is removed.
[32:17]
>> Thank you.
[32:20]
>> That's your microphone.
[32:22]
>> Oh yeah.
[32:24]
>> So Susan, we're so thankful that you
[32:27]
were able to help us with this. Um I
[32:29]
think we're so fortunate to have your
[32:30]
experience and your expertise. Um so
[32:34]
thank you for that. Um maybe before
[32:38]
going into kind of the specific um
[32:40]
program expenditures, you started off
[32:42]
your presentation by saying we have a
[32:44]
pivotal opportunity to make some changes
[32:46]
and I'm wondering could you share your
[32:49]
insight into or you know what your
[32:51]
recommendations are in in terms of
[32:53]
changes that we have the opportunity to
[32:55]
make?
[32:56]
>> Sure. And these these are not just um my
[32:58]
ideas. It's um Melissa and Corey and I
[33:01]
have been talking about this as a team.
[33:04]
Um some of the things that I think were
[33:06]
highlighted in the third quarterly
[33:07]
budget review, which is really what um
[33:10]
daylighted um some of these issues, um
[33:13]
are things such as um
[33:16]
contracts coming before you for approval
[33:19]
during the year after the budget's been
[33:21]
adopted, but no recommendation coming
[33:23]
forward to provide the funding for that.
[33:26]
And that's part part of the problem this
[33:28]
current year. Um, so one of the the
[33:32]
things that Melissa is going to have to
[33:34]
ensure and and with Corey's um, help is
[33:38]
that uh, we we we have an ironclad
[33:42]
procedure in place that when anything
[33:44]
comes before you that involves the
[33:46]
approval of funds that it is certified
[33:50]
that there are funds that that's clearly
[33:52]
stated to you. You don't have to ask it.
[33:54]
Um, and that means that Corey and
[33:56]
Melissa have to ensure and Lewis have to
[33:59]
ensure that that the funding is
[34:01]
available or they have to ask you for
[34:02]
it. So, um, so that would eliminate that
[34:05]
problem. Um, contract management is
[34:08]
another one that Corey and Melissa have
[34:10]
already started to work on. Um, we have
[34:13]
some contracts. Actually, Lewis's
[34:15]
earlier contract tonight is a good
[34:17]
example of this where um contracts have
[34:20]
expiration dates and in the past they've
[34:23]
just kind of been ignored um and
[34:27]
programs continued, bills paid even
[34:29]
though technically we really were not in
[34:31]
contract. Um, so, um, that's something
[34:35]
that that I I know Melissa is thinking
[34:37]
about getting a contract administration
[34:40]
module for our comdev, um, program,
[34:44]
>> springbook. Yeah.
[34:45]
>> For spring book. Yeah. Um, um, that
[34:47]
would help uh, facilitate the management
[34:49]
of agreements to make sure that um, it's
[34:52]
easier to ensure that things are not
[34:55]
expired um, and also that not to exceed
[34:58]
amounts have not been exceeded. So,
[35:00]
those are just a couple of examples.
[35:02]
more regular reporting to the council
[35:04]
and to the public and also to have um a
[35:08]
higher level of involvement of the
[35:10]
department heads both in putting the
[35:12]
budget together and in monitoring it um
[35:14]
and being held accountable for it during
[35:16]
the year.
[35:19]
That all makes a lot of sense. Um and I
[35:22]
think those are really good
[35:23]
recommendations. I think like you said,
[35:25]
we're we didn't uncover anything
[35:27]
horrible, but we've uncovered some some
[35:31]
management and process issues that, you
[35:33]
know, we really need to make sure we
[35:35]
course correct um to get ahead of that
[35:38]
before, you know, a small problem
[35:40]
becomes a lot bigger. So,
[35:41]
>> that's exactly right. Very thankful for
[35:43]
you identifying that. And then um I
[35:46]
wanted to talk a little bit about Kite
[35:47]
Hill. Um,
[35:50]
and I wanted to understand from Melissa,
[35:53]
what direction are you looking to the
[35:56]
town council tonight on the Kite Hill
[35:58]
topic?
[35:59]
>> Sure. Uh, in the budget is a line item
[36:01]
for the Kite Hill Wildflower
[36:04]
Preservation and Fire Mitigation um
[36:06]
project that's been going on for over 10
[36:08]
years and we carried over $60,000. Um
[36:12]
Craig Dman performs the work on Kite
[36:14]
Hill and every year he's worked with the
[36:16]
previous town managers to put together a
[36:19]
budget of what he recommends needs to be
[36:21]
done for the upcoming year. Uh this year
[36:23]
we carried over the $60,000 but in
[36:26]
reviewing past budgets uh approve
[36:29]
adopted and and then actual expenses
[36:32]
we've gone over budget almost every year
[36:35]
above the 60,000. It ranges from 30 to
[36:38]
80,000 over the past 10 years and we've
[36:41]
gone over and if um he completed if we
[36:44]
are about 57,000 Corey has the number um
[36:47]
for for this year. We're currently at
[36:50]
$51,000 with a proposal of another
[36:52]
$6,000 on the table.
[36:56]
>> And so we're just looking to council if
[36:58]
you'd like us to continue to budget for
[37:00]
the $60,000. Um, we also, um, came
[37:05]
across that we don't have a written
[37:06]
contract with Mr. Dreman. So, we could,
[37:09]
um, put something together if the
[37:11]
council wish to go out for an RFP,
[37:14]
submit a bid. Um, that's the other
[37:16]
option.
[37:19]
>> Um, so if we were kind of starting from
[37:22]
scratch, what would the process look
[37:24]
like to um provide maintenance and
[37:26]
landscaping services to Kite Hill? We
[37:29]
would start with uh public works t uh
[37:32]
Lewis and his staff determining uh if
[37:34]
first if the town staff could maintain
[37:36]
Kite Hill and what that would cost um if
[37:39]
it's feasible with their with their work
[37:41]
schedule and other tasks that they need
[37:43]
to do and other fire mitigation work
[37:44]
around this time of year. Um, but we
[37:46]
would put together and see what the what
[37:48]
the cost is based on the scope of work
[37:50]
currently that's being done and if it is
[37:53]
above the town manager signing
[37:56]
authority, then we could put together a
[37:57]
request for proposal and put it out for
[37:59]
bid and bring that forward to council to
[38:02]
accept one of the bids.
[38:05]
>> Okay. Thank you.
[38:07]
>> Okay. Um, and maybe just to wrap up with
[38:11]
me for a second. So, the defensible
[38:13]
space program that's going to come back
[38:15]
to us and there'll presumably be some
[38:17]
recommendation that we can no longer do
[38:19]
three, but maybe it's two and a half or
[38:20]
two or whatever the number is going to
[38:22]
be. It's we're exceeding our budget.
[38:23]
It's a very successful program, but
[38:26]
yeah, that's that's part of it, I guess.
[38:28]
>> Yes, it can come. you could if you'd
[38:30]
like to come back and we can revisit uh
[38:32]
improving the program, making some
[38:34]
changes uh and also discussing the
[38:36]
budget if you want to keep it at the
[38:38]
500,000. We have gone over as we stated
[38:41]
in our documents we've gone over and
[38:43]
this is the this time of year is when
[38:45]
it's very busy. Everyone's doing their
[38:47]
cleanup of their properties before the
[38:48]
end of the fiscal year.
[38:50]
>> Can I can I make a point to this one?
[38:52]
>> Yes,
[38:52]
>> I'm sorry to cut in here, but
[38:53]
>> no problem. to the defensive space. Um,
[38:56]
I'm off for watching our pennies here,
[38:59]
but remember, we're all now under the gun from Woodside Fire to make our
[39:06]
properties very safe. And that for many, people, that means you've got to
[39:10]
take a lot of trees down. And I would
[39:13]
hate to see us pull back on a program
[39:17]
that uh a lot of people are now going to
[39:18]
be tapping into. Um, but we ought to be
[39:21]
aware of that in our budgeting too,
[39:22]
though, that we have to maybe go up
[39:24]
instead of down. But, um, I don't want
[39:27]
to be cutting back on our support for
[39:30]
what the what the residents are being
[39:32]
demand demanded to do, um, mandated to
[39:35]
do, um, in this town by Woodside Fire.
[39:38]
>> You know, we can we'll hit that on some
[39:41]
deliberation. Um, I I hear where you're
[39:43]
coming from in that. Uh the second part
[39:45]
of my question was um
[39:49]
I've just received some feedback that
[39:50]
this is an unusual program, a bottomup
[39:53]
kind of program where some citizens
[39:55]
self- select in but those citizens
[39:57]
aren't necessarily a uh a disadvantaged
[40:00]
group or um is there a way to get a
[40:04]
legal opinion for this whether this is a
[40:08]
program that um
[40:11]
whether it's a legal program.
[40:17]
» Sure. I'd be happy to take a look at it
[40:18]
and give you an opinion.
[40:20]
>> Okay. Thank you. Um,
[40:23]
you mentioned we're 10 years in on Kite
[40:25]
Hill. How long was the restoration
[40:27]
effort supposed to be and how long does
[40:29]
it take to restore wild flowers on a on
[40:31]
a site? I mean, we're 10 years in and
[40:32]
we're still talking about another 10
[40:34]
years.
[40:34]
>> Another 10 years, according to Craig.
[40:36]
UN, I was not here at the time when when
[40:39]
this came to light. Um so but but the
[40:42]
land was uh gifted to the town and in
[40:45]
the documentation it does that say that
[40:47]
the town is to maintain it in
[40:48]
perpetuity.
[40:49]
>> Okay.
[40:50]
>> Sorry just question maintain kite hill
[40:52]
or maintain the wild flowers. both uh
[40:55]
the Jane Joan Olsen preserve and the
[40:58]
wild wildflower piece but it it just
[41:01]
says maintain
[41:05]
» and then it's sort of a statement
[41:07]
question but uh given we have a little
[41:09]
bit of a hole um you know it's just a
[41:12]
reminder that we funded uh an extra
[41:17]
pension account a pension reserve
[41:18]
account after co 19 hit the market
[41:21]
pretty hard in 2020 and we put $2
[41:22]
million in there as a council and it's
[41:24]
now pushing 3.5 million and we've never
[41:27]
taken a withdrawal and it is meant to uh
[41:30]
ultimately subsidize the pension line
[41:32]
and I see the pension line is 654,000
[41:35]
going to 750 to 813 and so forth. Um, so
[41:39]
there is a question with this huge
[41:42]
appreciation if we start using some of
[41:43]
those profits on a even if it's just a
[41:46]
couple hundred,000 in order to keep some
[41:48]
of these projects that people have been
[41:51]
very adamant about having like a
[41:53]
stoplight at Old La Honda and whatnot.
[41:55]
Um, so I guess one of the another
[41:58]
question that we might want to
[42:01]
give guidance on is whether or not we
[42:03]
want to start a withdrawal program uh
[42:05]
from our PARs account.
[42:07]
of a couple hundred grand a year.
[42:16]
Any other questions or comments before
[42:18]
opening up public comment?
[42:23]
All right, we will open public comment.
[42:25]
Are there any members of the public who
[42:27]
would like to speak on any item or not
[42:29]
any item on this item? Item B, the
[42:33]
budget. Welcome, Miss Luben. Um, I don't
[42:36]
know how many of you were around when
[42:38]
the McDow
[42:40]
subdivision was proposed for the Glenn's
[42:43]
and how hard the
[42:45]
town worked to
[42:47]
minimize the number of houses that went
[42:50]
in and maximize the the amount of open
[42:53]
space. And it is it is a fabulous town
[42:56]
resource. Jen, I don't know if you walk
[42:58]
up there, but the wild flowers are
[43:00]
spectacular. and it I think it just
[43:02]
finished and um we're we're actually
[43:04]
friends I think we I don't know if we
[43:06]
recommended Craig to the town but we're
[43:08]
friends with Craig and I I think he's
[43:10]
thinking about retiring but I I don't
[43:13]
know about training town staff to take
[43:16]
care of it. Um, but 60,000 in light of
[43:21]
the whole budget doesn't seem that much.
[43:23]
But if there's some way to not go
[43:27]
backwards, but at least progress on on
[43:30]
Kite Hill and
[43:32]
really make sure it it stays as
[43:35]
beautiful as it is and and and maintain
[43:37]
it and keep the weeds and everything
[43:41]
else out. I would encourage you to do so
[43:43]
because it's um it's really a fabulous
[43:46]
resource and and Craig has worked very
[43:48]
hard. Um I I know what he's had to go
[43:52]
through to eliminate all the invasive
[43:54]
grasses and and bring in all the
[43:57]
natives. And it's it's one of the few
[43:59]
places in California where serpentine
[44:02]
soil comes to the surface and it
[44:04]
supports all sorts of butterflies and
[44:07]
other insects. And so we were very
[44:10]
fortunate to have it and I I encourage
[44:12]
you to do everything you can to keep it
[44:14]
and not let it fall back. Thanks.
[44:21]
» Uh going to the Zoom room. Van Dan. Um
[44:26]
Marartha, I'm sorry it's a long name,
[44:28]
but Van Dan we'll call.
[44:30]
>> Hey there. Uh this is the this is Vonda
[44:33]
Mathur. I live up on Olanda Road. uh and
[44:36]
I'm the representative for the road to
[44:39]
the town. Uh I want to uh uh you know
[44:42]
thank the preparers of the budget for
[44:43]
taking into consideration uh the safety
[44:46]
issues on the top of our road. Um I
[44:49]
would like to though highlight that uh
[44:53]
you know there has to be a continuous
[44:56]
solution to the safety issues uh on that
[44:59]
segment of the road. Um, you know, we
[45:01]
cannot have a situation where we have no
[45:04]
light and no permanent solution to that
[45:07]
segment of the road. It's it's very
[45:09]
twisty. It's very narrow. It's been
[45:11]
damaged. When a truck went over it, uh,
[45:13]
you can't see the oncoming traffic. Um,
[45:16]
and so the stoplight has been absolutely
[45:19]
a godsend. Uh, there's extremely strong
[45:21]
support on the hill for it. uh and uh
[45:24]
not only on Old Honda Road, but also
[45:26]
Skyline residents who uh many of them
[45:29]
commute back and forth, take kids back
[45:30]
and forth on the road for that light uh
[45:33]
just because it was so treacherous uh
[45:36]
previous to having the light and we're
[45:37]
very very grateful to have it. Um so
[45:40]
although you know uh it it's great that
[45:42]
there's a plan to clean up the shoulder.
[45:45]
I mean I would point out that there is
[45:46]
actually no shoulder. uh it's it's a
[45:49]
steep cliff on one side that goes down
[45:52]
and the other side is just a sheer wall
[45:54]
going up and then you have this narrow
[45:55]
road that's only 10 and a half ft in
[45:57]
places. So, you know, it's a one-way
[45:59]
road where we're trying to have two-way
[46:00]
traffic with limited visibility. So,
[46:03]
although I think, you know, cleaning up
[46:04]
the shoulder, cutting vegetation, I
[46:06]
think those are all uh those are all
[46:08]
very good things to try to improve
[46:09]
visibility, that alone I do not think
[46:12]
will suffice to make that segment of the
[46:14]
road safe. Uh so once that process is
[46:17]
complete, I think we're still going to
[46:18]
need to have a light until something
[46:20]
more permanent is done with the road. Um
[46:23]
whether that solution is the permanent
[46:25]
light, which I can say, you know, over
[46:27]
92% of people on on Skyline and over 82%
[46:30]
of people on Oahu Road are strongly in
[46:33]
favor of or a different solution. uh but
[46:36]
we cannot be left with you know nothing
[46:38]
there uh that that uh you know does not
[46:41]
manage the the safety risks um up on
[46:44]
that part of the road.
[46:48]
» Thank you. Any other public comments?
[46:54]
We can get you a microphone. Uh Miss
[46:56]
Gilbert. Thank you, Miss Luben.
[47:00]
>> Uh it's for
[47:02]
>> we've got a large Zoom audience tonight.
[47:04]
So yeah,
[47:05]
>> I want to talk about Olive Hill Lane
[47:08]
just for a few minutes. It's a it's a
[47:11]
very not very wide road and it's really
[47:16]
getting really heavy duty people walking
[47:18]
down the middle and I think the town at
[47:22]
some point had put done something on the
[47:24]
sides because there is some space on the
[47:26]
sides that they did something where
[47:30]
people could walk if they wanted. Well,
[47:32]
I guess they don't like to do that, but
[47:34]
um it's not safe at all. And it's
[47:38]
getting worse because it's become a
[47:40]
place where people think, "Oh, it's not
[47:42]
too busy here." Oh, yeah, it is. So, um
[47:47]
we come down off of our driveway. We're
[47:49]
at the corner of Albian and Olive Hill.
[47:52]
And you know, we're we're like going
[47:54]
really slow because we know what we've
[47:56]
been seeing lately. People are coming
[47:58]
zooming around like coming from downtown
[48:01]
coming up and windy windy and then
[48:04]
you're going to oh yay let's go down
[48:05]
here it's not good and now we're going
[48:08]
into some good weather hopefully and um
[48:11]
people will be trying to walk more and
[48:14]
I'm concerned that someone I would like
[48:17]
to see someone from the town go down and
[48:19]
check out what was built or added to
[48:23]
down the sides that were dirt but They
[48:27]
put I don't know stones or not stones
[48:29]
but plat plat something was there that
[48:32]
you could not have to walk on the road
[48:34]
>> that's all. So somebody's going to get
[48:37]
hit there cuz I've seen it several times
[48:39]
and so we come out of our driveway and
[48:41]
we're like you we look very carefully
[48:44]
and uh unless somebody we don't like
[48:47]
comes there then we'll just you know run
[48:50]
them over.
[48:51]
>> Okay.
[48:52]
>> Thank you. And I see Lewis shaking his
[48:54]
head that he'll go do a spot check
[48:56]
there. So
[48:59]
» there is a trail on the side of the
[49:01]
road.
[49:02]
>> Please follow it.
[49:04]
>> Okay. Any other public comments
[49:08]
on the budget? We will close public
[49:10]
comment and open any deliberation. I
[49:13]
tried my best to capture the direction
[49:15]
that was given. I can try, but go ahead.
[49:17]
If you anybody would like to speak on an
[49:19]
issue,
[49:20]
>> I can deliberate and propose what
[49:23]
direction I think should be given. Um,
[49:27]
so maybe I'll start with the
[49:29]
recommendations for um increased process
[49:34]
controls that we heard from Miss George.
[49:37]
Um, so I would be very much in support
[49:41]
of the council giving direction to um to
[49:44]
Melissa to follow up on I I think I've
[49:48]
noted four recommendations. Um, so
[49:51]
improvements to our contract process.
[49:55]
um which included making sure that
[49:57]
there's not a gap between the contract
[50:00]
execution and the funding um and that we
[50:03]
need a better process to ensure that
[50:04]
funds are available.
[50:07]
Um
[50:09]
second um would be improved contract
[50:12]
management. So we need to make sure that
[50:14]
deadlines are followed, that end dates
[50:16]
are also followed. And I really like the
[50:18]
idea of getting um I think Susan, you
[50:21]
refer to it as a as a contract admin
[50:24]
module. I think that's probably like a
[50:26]
um like just a contract management tool.
[50:29]
Um I think that would be um really
[50:32]
important given what we've learned. Um I
[50:36]
think we need to um follow up on the
[50:39]
recommendation to have more regular
[50:40]
reporting to the town council. We
[50:42]
already have quarterly reporting. I I'd
[50:44]
like to understand like you know how
[50:46]
frequent what would be in that report um
[50:49]
and perhaps um we could augment the
[50:52]
reporting to not just include kind of
[50:54]
the the numbers around the budget but
[50:57]
also reporting on the controls and
[51:00]
processes that are in place to um
[51:03]
support the numbers right the contract
[51:04]
management um the department budgeting
[51:07]
all of that um and I also think um
[51:11]
regular involvement of the department
[51:13]
heads would be really important. And I
[51:15]
think um one thing that we haven't done
[51:17]
very well um is have um a strategic plan
[51:21]
with strategic goals. Um I think you
[51:25]
know that's something that I've been
[51:26]
advocating for for a number of years and
[51:28]
I think that flows down to the
[51:30]
department heads as well. I think um
[51:32]
department heads should have um you know
[51:35]
goals that flow up to the town's
[51:38]
strategic goals and that their budget
[51:41]
would be in service of those goals. So I
[51:43]
think um I would see that as part of the involvement of the department
[51:47]
head. So that's the direction I would
[51:50]
get that I would give um to follow up on
[51:53]
the recommendations that we heard from
[51:55]
Miss George. And I would love to to
[51:59]
hear about what's being done rather
[52:01]
soon. So I don't know um whether we
[52:03]
could get a report back um
[52:07]
you know before we conclude for the
[52:09]
August recess. Um so just to kind of
[52:12]
hear what progress has been made before
[52:13]
we adjourn for the summer. Um on the
[52:17]
specific budget items um I think I think
[52:21]
it's really important that we have
[52:23]
continuous traffic control at old La
[52:25]
Honda Road. I think people that drive
[52:27]
that road that live up there have become
[52:28]
accustomed to having that traffic
[52:30]
control. So it is very expensive and I'm
[52:32]
very supportive of finding a more
[52:34]
cost-effective permanent solution. But I
[52:36]
don't I I don't think we can have a gap.
[52:38]
I think that would that would create
[52:39]
some um not great safety problems. Um
[52:43]
and I'd like to understand like you know
[52:45]
when will we hear more about the um the
[52:49]
permanent solutions that are that are
[52:51]
being proposed? Is that something that
[52:52]
we'll hear about again before the summer
[52:54]
recess before the end of the year? Like
[52:56]
I think it'd be great to understand
[52:58]
that. Um I would give direction to come
[53:01]
back with us with a proposal around the
[53:03]
defensible space program including you
[53:05]
know an an a legal analysis. Is it
[53:07]
indeed legal? Um, and what our options
[53:09]
are. Can we cap it? Can we, you know,
[53:11]
make a sliding scale so people more in
[53:13]
need get more? Like, I'm sure there's
[53:14]
lots of ways we could make it more
[53:16]
affordable. Um, so I would give that
[53:18]
direction. Love the idea from council
[53:20]
member Brown to create um a task force
[53:23]
on the sheriff. I I know we had an ad
[53:25]
hoc committee on the sheriff contract,
[53:26]
but I think um a new committee that
[53:28]
really kind of digs into what value are
[53:31]
we getting? Um how are we getting
[53:33]
reports from the sheriff? You know,
[53:35]
that's, you know, like council member
[53:37]
Gold pointed out, it's like our number
[53:38]
one line item. And we don't hear very
[53:41]
regularly from the sheriff. And I think
[53:42]
a committee could also look into
[53:44]
alternatives. I know Atheton has its own
[53:46]
police force. You know, I I I'd be
[53:48]
curious if that potentially could be an
[53:50]
option for Woodside. So, um would
[53:53]
propose that direction and coming back
[53:55]
again rather soon to hear kind of what
[53:57]
could be done.
[53:59]
um on Kite Hill. Um I I uh walk it all
[54:05]
the time. I think it's a amazing
[54:07]
resource. I think Craig has done an
[54:09]
absolutely amazing job, but it is
[54:11]
expensive. And so I think um I think we
[54:13]
need to take a fresh look at, you know,
[54:15]
how can we maintain it as a wonderful
[54:17]
resource? How can we continue to have
[54:18]
Craig involved? Um but also, you know,
[54:22]
look at what the town crew could
[54:23]
potentially do. I think an RFP is a
[54:26]
really good idea. I think getting a
[54:27]
contract in place. It sounds like that's
[54:28]
something that we need to clean up. Um,
[54:30]
so it would give the direction to to
[54:32]
look at that and come back to us with a
[54:34]
proposal.
[54:36]
And
[54:37]
I think that is it.
[54:43]
» I'll jump in. The other the other two
[54:45]
were to um consider whether we should
[54:49]
start hitting the PARs account for a
[54:50]
couple hundred grand a year to help with
[54:52]
the budget and um
[54:55]
uh and then proposal around credit card
[54:58]
fee recapture was also mentioned. Um
[55:02]
that should be an easy one. Um I'll just
[55:04]
mention on the sheriff's contract
[55:05]
obviously I mean not obviously it would
[55:07]
be hard to afford our own police force.
[55:09]
So we do have a monopoly provider
[55:11]
situation and that will potentially
[55:13]
complicate things but yes we can of
[55:15]
course look at what people want to do.
[55:17]
Um and I think that otherwise uh council
[55:21]
member wall was as usual very thorough.
[55:24]
So um any other direction or do people
[55:28]
generally agree with the direction uh
[55:30]
and augmented direction?
[55:33]
>> generally agree.
[55:36]
>> Okay.
[55:36]
>> I do have a couple to make. Oh, I'm
[55:38]
sorry.
[55:40]
>> Um, so some of these are easy and simple
[55:44]
and I think that
[55:46]
sounds like we're we're um consensus
[55:49]
here on the implementation of these and
[55:50]
I would say hopefully we can green light
[55:53]
those tonight. One of them is the
[55:55]
process uh changes that uh council
[55:58]
member Wall referred to. I think that's
[56:00]
a pretty easy one. Get the module for
[56:02]
contract controls and let's get that
[56:03]
done. Um I feel the same way about
[56:05]
credit card charges. they should, you
[56:07]
know, it's it's pretty rare these days
[56:08]
that I don't make a a large credit card,
[56:11]
especially to the even the state when
[56:13]
you pay your income taxes if it doesn't
[56:14]
come out of your bank account. Um, they
[56:17]
charge you a fee for that. So, I think
[56:19]
implementing a fee for credit card use
[56:21]
to recover at least 25 to 30 grand or
[56:24]
something like that. I think those are
[56:25]
pretty easy, too. Um,
[56:28]
and I also think that the departmental
[56:30]
input that was referred to before as
[56:33]
sort of a good administrative practice
[56:35]
should be implemented as quickly as
[56:38]
possible. I don't think those are
[56:39]
necessarily we need to agendaize any of
[56:41]
those issues. Just do them. I think um
[56:44]
especially since there's consensus. The
[56:45]
ones that I think do need agenda
[56:47]
agendaizing would be the defensible
[56:50]
space program because we do need to get
[56:52]
input from the public on that if we're
[56:54]
going to change the rules, which I think
[56:55]
we probably should. Uh, and of course
[56:58]
the traffic light at Old La Honda Road,
[56:59]
that's a big expense. it affects a lot
[57:01]
of people and I think that um that
[57:04]
probably requires a public hearing and
[57:06]
gives Lewis enough time to get his his
[57:09]
plans lined up there about what budgets
[57:10]
are going what it's going to cost and
[57:12]
the timing of that and we can allocate
[57:14]
the funds to make sure that it happens
[57:15]
because I think it's essential as
[57:17]
everyone has said um Kite Hill I'm I'm
[57:21]
certainly concerned about that whether
[57:23]
the town does it or whether we you know
[57:25]
there's nothing to say we can't I know
[57:26]
it's a $60,000 request we could cap it
[57:29]
at 50 or something like that too. But I
[57:31]
think we ultimately may have to make a
[57:32]
change because the gentleman who does it
[57:34]
won't be doing it forever. And we're ultimately going to have to make
[57:38]
some um accommodation for future use of
[57:42]
that and future maintenance of it, which
[57:43]
I certainly support. Um the one that
[57:46]
actually has the longest timeline, which
[57:47]
probably is the least urgent as far as
[57:50]
I'm concerned, is the sheriff's
[57:51]
contract. It's the biggest hit, but also
[57:54]
we just signed the contract and we've
[57:56]
got time to run here and we are being
[57:58]
covered. And um there's not a whole lot
[58:00]
we can do about it for the coming
[58:02]
however many you know months or years um
[58:05]
it is. But I do think we need to look
[58:06]
into it and see about um better managing
[58:09]
that system. We've talked before about
[58:12]
how often the deputies are here and what
[58:15]
they're actually doing and to see if
[58:16]
we're getting our money's worth or if
[58:18]
they're elsewhere and not. I happen to
[58:20]
be pretty happy with the sheriff's
[58:21]
department performance, but um you know,
[58:24]
there's a uh a management issue here and
[58:26]
a fiduciary responsibility we have to
[58:29]
make sure we're getting our $3.6 million
[58:31]
worth uh from the deputies and from the
[58:33]
sheriff's department. Um but I think
[58:35]
that if we put together a subcommittee
[58:37]
to kind of take a look at it and look at
[58:39]
other alternatives and things like that,
[58:41]
I'm not sure that they're viable, but I
[58:43]
I'm certainly not opposed to looking
[58:45]
into them. But coming up with that and
[58:47]
seeing if there are things we could do.
[58:49]
Um, we've talked about we used to share
[58:51]
it with Portola Valley and maybe get
[58:53]
some sort of a a bigger discount. Maybe
[58:55]
we could expand that to other cities
[58:57]
that that use the sheriff services like
[58:59]
San Carlos. I just don't know. But I
[59:01]
think that that's something that a
[59:02]
committee could look into. It's a much
[59:04]
longer term project and certainly less
[59:06]
urgent.
[59:08]
>> Thank you.
[59:10]
Council Member Abberish.
[59:13]
>> Yes. Uh, I think I I mean I'm so far I'm
[59:15]
in agreement with everything everyone
[59:16]
said. Uh, I think old La Honda, excuse
[59:20]
me, needs to be a top priority to keep
[59:22]
that light running at all times. Um, I
[59:25]
think if if we don't have it, I think
[59:27]
there is a real risk of a serious
[59:29]
accident and somebody, you know, going
[59:31]
off the cliff. I know the last time it
[59:33]
happened there was a a tow truck uh that
[59:36]
went off the edge and I remember seeing
[59:37]
the vehicle there and luckily nobody I
[59:39]
think was injured severely but you know
[59:42]
if it happened again I would hate to see
[59:44]
it. So um yeah but I think we're all in
[59:47]
agreement hopefully on that and um I
[59:49]
agree that I I would be very interested
[59:51]
in seeing what the alternatives are if
[59:52]
the road could be expanded you know but
[59:55]
um in some way that would where we'd
[59:57]
have actually have two lanes or
[59:58]
something. So uh thank you Lewis for
[1:00:01]
that. um for the sheriff. Uh this, you
[1:00:04]
know, I it came up when we were
[1:00:06]
negotiating the contract that I remember
[1:00:08]
we we talked about it. Um the same
[1:00:10]
points that that Dick was raising that
[1:00:14]
um you know, are we are we overspending?
[1:00:17]
Is there and I is is there some place
[1:00:20]
to, you know, rightsize this? Um because
[1:00:24]
I think we currently have more police
[1:00:25]
force than Portol Valley even though
[1:00:27]
we're about the same size. Um, and so I
[1:00:29]
think I agree that it would make sense
[1:00:31]
to have a task force look at options of
[1:00:34]
either, you know, seeing if we could
[1:00:36]
share a contract with Porto Valley if we
[1:00:38]
if it makes sense to uh, you know,
[1:00:42]
reduce I don't do we need it do we have
[1:00:44]
an do we need the extra motorcycle? Do
[1:00:46]
we um could we move resources around to
[1:00:49]
where they're being utilized at the
[1:00:51]
right times instead of you know like I
[1:00:53]
think right now the extra uh sheriff's
[1:00:56]
deputies like sometime during the middle
[1:00:58]
of the week which I don't know if we
[1:00:59]
really need that maybe if we cut it down
[1:01:01]
to one and had them one more one more
[1:01:02]
weekend or I'm not sure but I think
[1:01:05]
totally worth exploring and I agree
[1:01:07]
that's the biggest
[1:01:09]
u obviously that's the biggest uh single
[1:01:12]
item. Yeah, I mean it seems like we're
[1:01:14]
all aligned that that a task force on
[1:01:16]
the sheriff's services is a good idea. I
[1:01:19]
mean, we can form a task force tonight.
[1:01:22]
I certainly would love to be involved in just evaluating the services and um
[1:01:27]
seeing if we can, you know, seeing to
[1:01:30]
make sure that we're getting the value
[1:01:31]
that um that we deserve out of our
[1:01:35]
biggest number one line item. Um so,
[1:01:38]
could we form that task force? I don't
[1:01:41]
think we need to to wait on that if
[1:01:42]
everyone's in support.
[1:01:45]
>> I'll just I'll just mention when we
[1:01:47]
looked at this last go around, we also
[1:01:49]
ran into
[1:01:51]
um I wouldn't call it union issues, but
[1:01:54]
when you have a motorcycle and you have
[1:01:56]
to cover a certain amount of time, you
[1:01:57]
actually need basically two motorcycles.
[1:01:59]
And we were trying to see if we get flex
[1:02:00]
up time on the weekends when you know
[1:02:02]
everybody comes into town or not. And we
[1:02:05]
got shot down pretty hard by the
[1:02:07]
sheriff's department on that at that
[1:02:08]
time. But yeah, I mean, I'm I'm glad to
[1:02:10]
hear that you're interested. Is there
[1:02:12]
any We can We can have a two-person task
[1:02:14]
force if there's anyone else that would
[1:02:15]
be interested. Um, is there anyone
[1:02:19]
interested in being on that task force
[1:02:21]
with Council Member Wall?
[1:02:22]
>> Be happy to do it.
[1:02:25]
>> Great.
[1:02:25]
>> Okay. Well, then we will uh we can
[1:02:28]
certainly make that motion in a minute.
[1:02:29]
I'll just mention the Kite Hill thing
[1:02:31]
just to also comment on the public
[1:02:33]
comment on that. For me personally, I
[1:02:35]
don't have a problem with the 60K. I
[1:02:37]
have a problem with the overage. So,
[1:02:38]
it's almost like it's again it's a
[1:02:40]
contract management issue and that's as
[1:02:41]
much on us as the provider. I I don't
[1:02:43]
think we were giving guidance and I
[1:02:45]
think um I mean it's one thing to spend
[1:02:48]
60, it's another thing to be 70% over
[1:02:50]
budget at 100 and be surprised by it.
[1:02:52]
And um so I do think it's really a
[1:02:55]
contract management issue more than more
[1:02:57]
than anything. Um and if we could
[1:03:00]
I think that is a you know I think about
[1:03:03]
what landscaping costs and so forth. And
[1:03:05]
I know this is a higher end situation
[1:03:06]
than that, but I know it's 14 acres, but
[1:03:09]
um
[1:03:11]
it does seem very very high and we've
[1:03:13]
gotten a lot of public comment on that
[1:03:15]
uh over time. Uh just to emphasize even
[1:03:17]
Miss Hansen's comments recently on that
[1:03:19]
item. Um
[1:03:22]
okay. Um do you have the direction you
[1:03:24]
need from us except for this task force
[1:03:26]
ad hoc task force issue?
[1:03:28]
>> Yes, I do. I have uh increased process
[1:03:31]
controls and come back with to council
[1:03:34]
soon before the August recess to hear
[1:03:36]
what has been put in place and what's
[1:03:37]
coming forward. Old Honda we need to
[1:03:39]
agendaize to hear about additional
[1:03:41]
proposals as far as road in road
[1:03:43]
expansion or cleanup options defensible
[1:03:46]
space bring back a revised program and
[1:03:48]
agendaize that uh which will include a
[1:03:50]
legal analysis um and discuss different
[1:03:53]
options as far as cap sliding scale etc.
[1:03:56]
And then um we can bring forward uh
[1:04:01]
research on the PARS account if you'd
[1:04:03]
like that to come forward. And then the
[1:04:04]
credit card fee we would bring forward
[1:04:06]
to council to um review the options for
[1:04:08]
that as well.
[1:04:08]
>> Okay. Some of those might make their way
[1:04:10]
on to consent but yeah and others won't.
[1:04:12]
Um and Gene this idea of tonight forming
[1:04:16]
a it's a non-aggendaized item. Can we
[1:04:18]
just do it? It's a minority group of the
[1:04:19]
council and we can
[1:04:21]
>> Yes, you may.
[1:04:21]
>> We need a vote on it or can we just say
[1:04:23]
that that was the direction given? you
[1:04:25]
can just give that direction.
[1:04:26]
>> Okay, direction given. Um, okay.
[1:04:30]
Anything else that we need to talk about
[1:04:32]
on the budget?
[1:04:35]
» Thank you.
[1:04:36]
very much and thank you for
[1:04:38]
leaning in during this time. We
[1:04:39]
appreciate it very much.
[1:04:42]
>> Okay, we will close item B. And uh we
[1:04:46]
didn't lose a single Zoom attendee, so
[1:04:48]
there's a lot of interest in this next
[1:04:50]
topic. Uh so back to old business. This
[1:04:52]
is a continuation from the April 28th
[1:04:55]
meeting uh on the items we didn't get to
[1:04:57]
like parking and land use and gathering
[1:04:59]
spaces. So, um
[1:05:02]
uh Sage, do I hand this off to you or do
[1:05:05]
we hand it directly off to these folks?
[1:05:07]
>> We're going to you just captured it
[1:05:09]
correctly. Is the continuation of the
[1:05:10]
item and we're going to show it over to Roy and Aaron.
[1:05:13]
>> Very good. Welcome back.
[1:05:37]
Yeah, I think we're just going to take a twominut break. We just adjourn for
[1:05:42]
two minutes. Looks like we've lost a
[1:05:43]
council member or two here for a second.
[1:05:46]
>> Okay. Uh Troy, we'll hand it off to you.
[1:05:50]
My understanding is we're going to go
[1:05:51]
through your full presentation, then
[1:05:53]
open up public comment and um well,
[1:05:56]
we'll ask questions and then open up
[1:05:57]
public comment and so forth, but the
[1:05:59]
entire presentation at once versus um
[1:06:02]
section by section. It sounds good to
[1:06:05]
me.
[1:06:06]
All right. So, uh good evening, council
[1:06:09]
members. Good to see you all again.
[1:06:10]
Pleased to be back um to talk again
[1:06:13]
about the town center area plan update.
[1:06:17]
So, as you know, tonight is the
[1:06:19]
continuation of the meeting that we had
[1:06:22]
on uh in late April where we really
[1:06:24]
focused the whole conversation on
[1:06:26]
transportation. Um so, tonight we'll
[1:06:28]
cover the remaining three topics just as
[1:06:30]
important. Um we'll talk about some
[1:06:32]
concepts, some strategies and policies
[1:06:34]
for parking, land use, and public
[1:06:37]
spaces.
[1:06:38]
um these ideas and these concepts they
[1:06:40]
really emerged collectively from our
[1:06:42]
process so far from our team from the
[1:06:45]
staff the community and the CAC. So
[1:06:47]
we've really compiled all these ideas.
[1:06:49]
Um so just as a kind of context setting
[1:06:52]
for tonight we're we're looking for
[1:06:53]
council to provide us with preliminary
[1:06:55]
direction on these strategies as you did
[1:06:58]
on the last meeting um before we go
[1:07:00]
ahead and share these ideas um with the
[1:07:03]
community as part of our next phase of
[1:07:04]
engagement. So, try to keep in mind that
[1:07:07]
this isn't our final decision-making
[1:07:08]
point. We want to, you know, kind of
[1:07:10]
remain open-minded as we're going
[1:07:12]
through this plan update process. Um,
[1:07:15]
but we're really looking for council to
[1:07:16]
give us really additional important
[1:07:19]
additional context and concerns and
[1:07:21]
considerations um that pertain to these
[1:07:23]
strategies before we go ahead and sort
[1:07:25]
of roll them out for the broader um
[1:07:28]
community. So, I'll go ahead and go
[1:07:31]
through these three topics and then as
[1:07:32]
the mayor said, we'll pause for comment
[1:07:35]
and then we'll look for discussion. Um,
[1:07:38]
so I'll really jump right into it
[1:07:40]
tonight. The only thing I'll kind of
[1:07:42]
preface with is just this slide about
[1:07:44]
key outcomes just as kind of a
[1:07:46]
refresher. Um, kind of set ourselves in
[1:07:50]
the mindset of what we want to get out
[1:07:51]
of this process. Um, and really the in a
[1:07:54]
lot of ways the first one is is kind of
[1:07:56]
the goal is a a a consensus building
[1:07:59]
effort around a shared vision and then
[1:08:01]
everything else 2 through 12 is kind of
[1:08:03]
an implementation a detail of that
[1:08:04]
vision. Um, but this is really a
[1:08:07]
visioning process that will result in a
[1:08:09]
policy and vision document. So let's
[1:08:12]
jump into parking. Um, a really hot
[1:08:15]
topic. Um, we heard a lot about it in
[1:08:18]
our popups, our stakeholder meetings, in
[1:08:21]
the survey. It was um constant
[1:08:23]
conversation about parking. What are the
[1:08:26]
issues with parking that we heard? Um
[1:08:28]
the bottom line is that there's not
[1:08:30]
enough parking in the town center during
[1:08:32]
certain times of day. These peaks are
[1:08:35]
usually the lunch times and longer times
[1:08:38]
on the weekends.
[1:08:40]
The parking in the townowned or public
[1:08:43]
lots is not managed, which is to say
[1:08:45]
there's not a time limit or an
[1:08:48]
enforcement um mechanism or enforcement
[1:08:51]
body. The on street parking that used to
[1:08:55]
be on Woodside Road was removed by CALR,
[1:08:58]
which you know reduced the supply in the
[1:09:00]
town centers.
[1:09:02]
folks who work at some of the business
[1:09:03]
in the town centers park in parking
[1:09:05]
spaces here which is understandable but
[1:09:08]
contributes again to the supply issue.
[1:09:11]
uh we don't have any public transit or
[1:09:13]
any type of a circulator or shuttle um
[1:09:16]
as an alternative means to get to the
[1:09:17]
town center. And an issue that we heard
[1:09:20]
um about through the CAC and others was
[1:09:23]
that bic bikers like to park in the town
[1:09:26]
hall lot just outside um often for
[1:09:29]
several hours or a whole day and those
[1:09:31]
again takes up spaces. So you have a lot
[1:09:34]
of conflicts over the parking spaces.
[1:09:39]
So, we came up with a couple of ideas.
[1:09:42]
Um, here's seven ideas that we kind of
[1:09:44]
rolled out for the CAC. These are
[1:09:47]
potential solutions. Um, the most
[1:09:50]
popular idea that we talked about was to
[1:09:54]
better utilize and better manage the
[1:09:56]
spaces that we do have um by instituting
[1:10:00]
more enforcement. Um, and the focus in
[1:10:03]
the conversation was about the public
[1:10:04]
lots since those are where the town has
[1:10:06]
the most control. Um but the idea of you
[1:10:09]
know supporting or otherwise um
[1:10:11]
implementing enforcement on private lots
[1:10:13]
was also popular. Shared parking u very
[1:10:16]
popular. Um there was a there was
[1:10:19]
concerns raised about um if we do
[1:10:22]
enforcement could that result in
[1:10:23]
neighborhood spillover. So there was a
[1:10:25]
conversation about that. Um some of the
[1:10:27]
less popular ideas were um parking
[1:10:30]
meters. Those were not very wellreceived
[1:10:32]
in the CAC. Um and then we talked a
[1:10:36]
little bit about parking requirements.
[1:10:37]
Would we consider reducing those
[1:10:39]
requirements? Um and we talked about it
[1:10:41]
in two different ways. One for uses that
[1:10:44]
don't attract too much traffic. Those
[1:10:45]
are, you know, generally like shops or retail. And then there's also foot
[1:10:50]
traffic, high foot traffic uses like
[1:10:52]
restaurants primarily. Um and sort of
[1:10:54]
not too surprisingly there was more
[1:10:56]
openness to being a little more uh
[1:10:58]
forgiving towards offices and shops and
[1:11:01]
parking requirements rather than
[1:11:03]
restaurants. Um
[1:11:07]
some other ideas we talked about with
[1:11:08]
the CAC. These are a bit more kind of
[1:11:10]
physically oriented ideas. Um the more
[1:11:13]
popular idea which we touched on last
[1:11:15]
time was about adding back parking
[1:11:17]
spaces, marked parking spaces to
[1:11:19]
Woodside Road. um primarily around you
[1:11:22]
know the commercial businesses like
[1:11:23]
little store and village hub. So that
[1:11:25]
was very popular. Um another popular
[1:11:28]
idea that kind of emerged out of the CAC
[1:11:30]
that we didn't have on our list
[1:11:32]
initially was um signage. Signage
[1:11:34]
specifically oriented towards parking,
[1:11:36]
making it easier to know where to park
[1:11:39]
and easier to know where you're supposed
[1:11:42]
to park as um a member of a different
[1:11:45]
type of user case. Um and then what are
[1:11:48]
the rules around parking? So all of that
[1:11:50]
was part of this signage discussion that
[1:11:52]
came up. Um some ideas that were not
[1:11:54]
very um didn't get a lot of traction
[1:11:56]
were to do a shuttle bus or to build uh
[1:12:00]
an off-site parking lot which you could
[1:12:02]
combine also with a shuttle bus. Both of
[1:12:04]
those ideas were kind of seen um with a
[1:12:07]
lot of skepticism in the CAC.
[1:12:10]
Um we also talked about um enhanced
[1:12:12]
transit um SAM transo other alternatives
[1:12:16]
like that also came up as part of this
[1:12:18]
discussion.
[1:12:20]
So, and again just as a reminder, I'll
[1:12:22]
kind of go through all these ideas and
[1:12:23]
then we'll come back to these slides and
[1:12:25]
we'll have a discussion about these
[1:12:26]
ideas in particular. Um, but what I want
[1:12:29]
to hear from you are kind of which ideas
[1:12:31]
amongst this list, you know, you think
[1:12:33]
are are really strong, have a lot of
[1:12:35]
potential. Are there ideas we should
[1:12:37]
kind of take off of the table and and
[1:12:39]
stop pursuing? And are there any other
[1:12:41]
ideas that you'd like to kind of throw
[1:12:43]
into the mix? So, we'll do this for each
[1:12:45]
of these three topics. Um, so we'll come
[1:12:47]
back
[1:12:49]
Well, let's shift to land use. So, we
[1:12:52]
broke this out into both the commercial
[1:12:54]
side, so businesses and shops, and then
[1:12:56]
the other side, the residential, the
[1:12:57]
housing side. So, we'll take them each
[1:12:59]
separately, one at a time.
[1:13:02]
Some of the issues around land use are,
[1:13:05]
you know, kind of when you look at the
[1:13:07]
town center, you see some uses missing
[1:13:10]
that you would see in other downtowns.
[1:13:13]
Um there are a lot of regulations,
[1:13:16]
zoning, the size of the parcels,
[1:13:18]
restrictions that are both policy and
[1:13:21]
physical in nature that constrain what
[1:13:23]
property owners can do in the town
[1:13:25]
center. Um that includes building
[1:13:27]
heights um being limited by the ballot
[1:13:29]
measure. Uh like likewise, adaptive
[1:13:32]
reuse, which is to say you convert an
[1:13:35]
office or a shop into a different type
[1:13:37]
of use, such as a housing use, not
[1:13:39]
allowed at this time. Um, we've heard
[1:13:42]
it's really hard to afford to live here
[1:13:44]
if you, you know, work in the school or
[1:13:46]
local businesses here.
[1:13:49]
Just as a kind of reminder, we're here
[1:13:51]
because of the housing element. Um, but
[1:13:54]
you know, in our initial survey, we we
[1:13:55]
did find a lot of, you know, kind of
[1:13:58]
split of views on this topic. So, we
[1:13:59]
anticipate, I think, you know, a lot of
[1:14:01]
robust debate about this topic. It was
[1:14:03]
basically evenly split in our initial
[1:14:05]
survey.
[1:14:08]
So, as far as commercial businesses, we
[1:14:10]
tried to think about what what is
[1:14:12]
missing in the town center. What could
[1:14:14]
we add? Um, the CAC had a lot of
[1:14:17]
thoughts about that. Uh, some of the
[1:14:18]
businesses that were favored in the CAC,
[1:14:21]
the fast casual restaurant type, uh, a
[1:14:23]
type that's that's sort of missing right
[1:14:25]
now. Yoga, fitness studio, also very
[1:14:28]
popular. Pharmacy and urgent care. I
[1:14:31]
know in the past that has had some
[1:14:33]
success and some not success, but that
[1:14:35]
was an idea that came up. uh ice cream
[1:14:37]
boba shop also there on the list. Um so
[1:14:39]
those were the top businesses. Um but in
[1:14:42]
fairness there was a lot of discussion
[1:14:43]
about um how the town doesn't directly
[1:14:47]
you know control who goes into business
[1:14:49]
spaces. Um so we should be cognizant
[1:14:52]
that there are limits to how much we can
[1:14:54]
prescribe with this policy process. Um
[1:14:58]
and then just to keep in mind the market
[1:15:00]
constraints here. This is a small kind
[1:15:02]
of retail market trade area. Um so
[1:15:05]
that's a realistic constraint on what we
[1:15:07]
can attract here. Um and and there was
[1:15:10]
generally consensus that anything that
[1:15:12]
we would want to add to this space
[1:15:14]
should be a local oriented and not a
[1:15:16]
regional tourist oriented type of
[1:15:18]
business.
[1:15:22]
So some of the ideas that we talked
[1:15:24]
about are how are the way how are some
[1:15:26]
ways in which we can reduce the barriers
[1:15:29]
the regulatory barriers or other
[1:15:30]
barriers to attract the types of
[1:15:32]
businesses that are desired that we just
[1:15:34]
talked about the the boba and the the
[1:15:37]
other types of businesses. So some of
[1:15:39]
the ideas are and these are you know
[1:15:40]
sort of um a bit a bit wonky policy
[1:15:43]
ideas but it's making conditional use
[1:15:45]
permanences easier. Um, you could either
[1:15:49]
make them not necessary by making a use
[1:15:52]
simply by right and not require a cup or
[1:15:55]
you could make a cup sort of a less
[1:15:57]
ownorous process. Um, you could
[1:15:59]
streamline approvals for adaptive reuse
[1:16:01]
to help businesses kind of turn over.
[1:16:03]
Um, and then as we talked about parking
[1:16:05]
requirements, you could reduce parking
[1:16:07]
requirements um, for businesses we
[1:16:09]
really want to attract. Um, and these
[1:16:11]
ideas uh, generally overall the CAC was very wellreceived. the overall
[1:16:15]
notion of flexibility um for for
[1:16:18]
commercial business owners was really wellreceived at the CAC.
[1:16:23]
Um so shifting to housing, we kind of
[1:16:26]
started at a high level just the opening
[1:16:29]
question is should housing be allowed in
[1:16:31]
town center and overall the the majority
[1:16:34]
of the CAC was in favor of that um
[1:16:37]
especially if it's kind of welldesigned.
[1:16:39]
I think that was a really understated
[1:16:42]
part of this. Yes, the yes be allowed
[1:16:44]
but with the right design and the right
[1:16:46]
type of you know kind of orientation and
[1:16:49]
character but overall the CAC was was
[1:16:51]
supportive of housing in the town
[1:16:53]
center. Um when we asked specifically
[1:16:56]
what when we say housing what do we mean
[1:16:58]
what type in scale and character overall
[1:17:01]
the strongest support was for this a
[1:17:03]
twotory type of scale. Um there was also
[1:17:07]
support for three stories. There was
[1:17:09]
also support for just the adaptive
[1:17:11]
reuse, which is to say keeping the
[1:17:12]
existing buildings and turning them over
[1:17:14]
inside. Um, but the overall strongest
[1:17:17]
sort of support was for for a two-story
[1:17:19]
character. Um, but there was a very um
[1:17:22]
mixed robust conversation. There was a
[1:17:25]
lot of support for keeping retail um in
[1:17:28]
a mixeduse format. That is that we want
[1:17:31]
to keep um the ground floor of buildings
[1:17:33]
active with active retail. there was a
[1:17:36]
lot of no interest in in a large scale
[1:17:38]
type of apartment or a condo building.
[1:17:40]
Um there is uh a strong contingent of
[1:17:44]
support on the CAC for doing for
[1:17:46]
allowing sort of some medium scale what
[1:17:50]
we might call missing middle or medium
[1:17:52]
density housing along Woodside Road as
[1:17:54]
part of this overall concept. And we can
[1:17:56]
talk a little bit more about that.
[1:18:00]
So now I'll just go through a couple of
[1:18:01]
examples um just walking through what
[1:18:04]
twotory and three-story housing could
[1:18:06]
look like and feel like in the town
[1:18:08]
center um just to kind of get us all
[1:18:11]
thinking about it in a visual way. Um so
[1:18:13]
here's an example of a two-story
[1:18:15]
townhouse. You have
[1:18:18]
um two examples here. You could have the
[1:18:21]
parking in the back in this example. Um
[1:18:23]
so you have a very nice frontage um
[1:18:26]
character here. Here's another example
[1:18:28]
where in this case the it's a townhouse
[1:18:30]
but the parking is in the front. So you
[1:18:33]
would access the parking below grade or
[1:18:35]
basically you know tucked under your
[1:18:37]
unit. In this case you know you still
[1:18:40]
have a two-story product but you can
[1:18:43]
park it very easily underground because
[1:18:44]
the parking is going to be a big
[1:18:46]
challenge for whatever housing if
[1:18:48]
housing is developed here. Parking will
[1:18:50]
be a big challenge.
[1:18:52]
Here's a nice example of a mixeduse. So
[1:18:54]
those were residential only examples.
[1:18:56]
Here's a nice example of a mixeduse um
[1:18:59]
sometimes this gets called a live work
[1:19:01]
or a shop house um where you basically
[1:19:03]
have just two stories. One story is um a
[1:19:06]
residential unit over top of an an
[1:19:09]
office or a shop. Sometimes those are
[1:19:11]
connected. Um sometimes those are
[1:19:13]
separate tenants. You can do it in a
[1:19:14]
variety of different ways, but um the
[1:19:16]
overall kind of character of that is is
[1:19:18]
a is a very nice walkable um two-story
[1:19:21]
kind of shop house. These examples are
[1:19:23]
ones in Carmel and ones in um Tibberon.
[1:19:26]
So we thought those were good examples.
[1:19:28]
So stepping up one more floor to three
[1:19:30]
stories. Here's what threetory town
[1:19:32]
homes might look like or feel like. Um
[1:19:36]
you could um again with the parking you
[1:19:39]
could tuck the parking under the units
[1:19:41]
or you might do surface parking uh
[1:19:43]
depending on the density.
[1:19:47]
And here's our final example. This is
[1:19:49]
the going up one more floor. a
[1:19:52]
three-story shop house or mixeduse
[1:19:54]
configuration where you have two stories
[1:19:56]
um of of housing unit or condo above a
[1:19:59]
retail shop. You see this um prototype a
[1:20:02]
lot in a lot of sort of small town
[1:20:04]
downtowns
[1:20:05]
um where you have you know you have some
[1:20:08]
folks living above a shop or or or a
[1:20:11]
store or restaurant. Um some of these
[1:20:13]
examples I think are from from South
[1:20:15]
Lake Tahoe. Um you have kind of this
[1:20:17]
rural more rustic look to some of these
[1:20:20]
examples. So we thought these were good
[1:20:21]
examples. Um one thing one sort of
[1:20:24]
design consideration here is that even
[1:20:26]
if we do consider allowing three
[1:20:28]
stories, we could put in set stepbacks
[1:20:31]
uh you know on the third story stepping
[1:20:33]
that back a certain distance so that you
[1:20:36]
don't have as much um sort of sense of
[1:20:38]
that threetory scale. So there are
[1:20:40]
options here that you could do to kind
[1:20:42]
of play with the that third story.
[1:20:46]
So just shifting gears a little bit. Um
[1:20:49]
the first part of the conversation was
[1:20:51]
really about would we want to allow
[1:20:54]
housing on privately owned properties.
[1:20:57]
The other flip side of that conversation
[1:20:59]
is there are these kind of two sites
[1:21:01]
that are publicly owned within the town
[1:21:03]
center. The village hill and this site,
[1:21:06]
this parcel we're on right now, the town
[1:21:08]
hall parcel. Um so naturally those came
[1:21:11]
up as possibilities for doing housing.
[1:21:14]
Um, and we discussed that with the CAC
[1:21:17]
and you know overall I think about
[1:21:19]
twothirds of the CAC was supportive of
[1:21:22]
exploring it on one of the two sites.
[1:21:24]
Um, I think there was some who were
[1:21:26]
strongly opposed and I think we'll hear
[1:21:28]
some strong thoughts about Village Hill.
[1:21:30]
Um, but overall I think there was some
[1:21:32]
openness on the CAC to look at whether
[1:21:35]
housing on these sites um could be be
[1:21:37]
pursued. And obviously the town has more control over these sites um than
[1:21:43]
the privately owned sites.
[1:21:46]
Just want to acknowledge there was also
[1:21:47]
a lot of discussion in the CAC about um
[1:21:51]
properties that could be potentially
[1:21:53]
suitable for housing that are that were
[1:21:56]
sort of not within that initial boundary
[1:21:58]
but were part of the expanded kind of
[1:22:00]
look that we took along Woodside Road in
[1:22:04]
both directions. So, some of those sites
[1:22:06]
that came up were the Goat Hills site
[1:22:08]
which is just across um you know at the
[1:22:10]
corner west corner of Hiendus and
[1:22:12]
Woodside Road um obviously a large
[1:22:16]
vacant site but it is privately owned. U
[1:22:19]
across the street there's the site on
[1:22:21]
the other side of Hiendis um which is
[1:22:23]
also mostly vacant though it has some
[1:22:25]
drainage issues. Two other parcels were
[1:22:28]
frequently mentioned, the parcel
[1:22:30]
adjacent to the fire station um that we
[1:22:33]
understand there's there's plans for
[1:22:34]
some fire station facilities um but
[1:22:37]
nonetheless then also a parcel adjacent
[1:22:40]
to the school um to the tennis courts
[1:22:42]
which um was just purchased by the
[1:22:44]
school district. Um so that does offer
[1:22:47]
some opportunities for for housing on
[1:22:48]
that site. Um, but just we wanted to
[1:22:50]
acknowledge there was a lot of
[1:22:51]
discussion about these additional
[1:22:52]
parcels and that these parcels start to
[1:22:55]
form the outline of what might be again
[1:22:58]
as I discussed this middle density kind
[1:23:00]
of approach of of a overlay or an
[1:23:03]
additional zoning allowance for parcels
[1:23:05]
that you know like these that front
[1:23:07]
Woodside Road close to town center have
[1:23:10]
town um the the good sewer service
[1:23:13]
that's available in this um central
[1:23:15]
district. Um, so that's an idea that has
[1:23:18]
kind of been that's come out of this
[1:23:20]
these discussions about housing sites
[1:23:22]
beyond the, you know, traditional
[1:23:24]
footprint of the town center.
[1:23:28]
So again, we'll come back to this, but
[1:23:30]
kind of with talking through which of
[1:23:31]
these ideas we think have the best
[1:23:33]
potential, which one of these do we, if
[1:23:36]
any, do we want to kind of take off the
[1:23:37]
table? And then is there something we
[1:23:40]
forgot to put onto the table?
[1:23:43]
shifting to public space, uh, gathering
[1:23:46]
spaces and urban design. Really exciting
[1:23:49]
topic. Um, so some of the issues are
[1:23:52]
that outdoor dining, um, which, you
[1:23:54]
know, used to be more present is now
[1:23:56]
sorely missed ever since it went away.
[1:23:59]
Uh, really one of the more unanimous
[1:24:00]
findings, um, across the CAC, the
[1:24:03]
survey, the pop-ups, everyone really
[1:24:05]
missed outdoor dining. Um there's no one true public space or or
[1:24:10]
sort of signature plaza to gather or to
[1:24:13]
picnic. Uh measure A, you know, we have
[1:24:16]
not fully implemented that. The vision
[1:24:18]
for a gazebo right outside of the town
[1:24:20]
hall,
[1:24:22]
a lack of programming was brought up by folks, you know, with respect to
[1:24:26]
teens, es especially not having events
[1:24:29]
that would draw one to the town center.
[1:24:32]
Um there's no community center or no
[1:24:34]
teen center. Um, and there not that many
[1:24:37]
public amenities in and around the town
[1:24:38]
center. We don't have bathrooms or water
[1:24:41]
fountains or seating areas.
[1:24:45]
So, we developed a list, a preliminary
[1:24:47]
list of uh possible gathering spaces and
[1:24:50]
we talked these over with the CAC. And
[1:24:53]
as I mentioned, outdoor dining
[1:24:55]
overwhelmingly was number one. Um, a
[1:24:58]
community center was also very popular.
[1:25:00]
Um, farmers market. Then some of the
[1:25:04]
lesser popular ideas were the the
[1:25:06]
village hill picnic center and then the
[1:25:07]
public space um that we talked a lot
[1:25:09]
about last meeting by the Roberts
[1:25:12]
Market. Um interestingly,
[1:25:16]
so here's just kind of a look at where
[1:25:18]
some of these things might physically
[1:25:21]
take space within the town center. Um,
[1:25:23]
you know, outdoor dining has a couple of
[1:25:26]
different locations, but the one that I
[1:25:27]
think a lot of us, a lot of folks talked
[1:25:29]
about was the one that used to be in
[1:25:31]
front of um, Bucks and the the village
[1:25:33]
bakery. Then the public space that we
[1:25:36]
talked about last time, potential picnic
[1:25:38]
area, the Measure A gazebo, the farmers
[1:25:40]
market location. Um, so just kind of
[1:25:43]
thinking about these spaces throughout
[1:25:45]
the town center.
[1:25:48]
So, in association with gathering
[1:25:50]
spaces, we also talked about how can we
[1:25:52]
make the town center look nicer
[1:25:54]
aesthetically kind of from a design
[1:25:57]
standpoint. So, the most popular um
[1:26:00]
choice for the CAC was more landscaping, especially native planting,
[1:26:05]
new street trees, very popular. Um, and
[1:26:08]
then kind of building off of the earlier
[1:26:10]
discussion around parking and signage,
[1:26:12]
kind of using gateway treatments, um, as
[1:26:16]
both a kind of identity and character
[1:26:18]
making piece, but also a functional way
[1:26:20]
to help direct people around um, the
[1:26:23]
town center in in the right way. Um, so
[1:26:27]
those were very popular. Um, assuming
[1:26:30]
that that signage or those treatments
[1:26:33]
were very carefully calibrated to the
[1:26:35]
character here, the rural equestrian
[1:26:38]
character, that's really important that
[1:26:40]
whatever signage or landscaping we do is
[1:26:43]
really sensitive and appropriate to this
[1:26:46]
context.
[1:26:48]
So again, here are kind of the ideas
[1:26:51]
that we'll talk through and see what you
[1:26:54]
think.
[1:26:55]
bunch of various
[1:26:57]
suggested outdoor spaces and urban
[1:27:00]
design treatments. You let me know if
[1:27:03]
you think any of the ideas are should be
[1:27:05]
off the table or anything's missing
[1:27:09]
and that will be our third topic. So,
[1:27:12]
just to wrap up kind of the
[1:27:13]
presentation, let me just describe where
[1:27:15]
we go next after tonight. Um so to kind
[1:27:19]
of remind ourselves at the end of this
[1:27:22]
process, we're hoping that the council
[1:27:24]
will adopt um an updated town center
[1:27:27]
area plan as a standalone policy
[1:27:29]
document. That document will contain a
[1:27:32]
number of things, but it'll include like
[1:27:34]
the preferred concepts that we agree on
[1:27:36]
for various key transportation
[1:27:38]
improvements. um the programs or
[1:27:42]
policies or strategies around parking
[1:27:43]
that we agree on, the priorities for
[1:27:45]
investing in public spaces, the policies
[1:27:48]
for commercial use and potential
[1:27:51]
residential use, and then action items
[1:27:53]
that the town will follow up on over the
[1:27:55]
coming years. The town will also certify
[1:27:58]
the EIR as part of this process um which
[1:28:01]
will include review of impacts from some
[1:28:03]
scenarios that we'll look at and then
[1:28:06]
potentially depending on where we go
[1:28:08]
with the policy direction um ballot
[1:28:10]
measures could be considered after
[1:28:13]
adoption to implement the vision of this
[1:28:15]
plan. Um but that will of course depend
[1:28:18]
on where we go with direction. Um then
[1:28:23]
after tonight immediately we will um
[1:28:26]
begin our engagement with the community.
[1:28:29]
We'll have a survey that will roll out
[1:28:30]
within um a week or so. So we'll have
[1:28:34]
popups. We'll have an open house. Um
[1:28:37]
we'll have the survey going for a few
[1:28:39]
months. Uh then we'll meet back with the
[1:28:41]
CAC to discuss kind of what we heard
[1:28:43]
from the community about these ideas. Um
[1:28:46]
and then we'll meet back with the
[1:28:47]
council to kind of lock in our approach
[1:28:50]
to SQA. Um and as of course we'll share
[1:28:53]
what we've heard from the community
[1:28:54]
about these ideas. Um and then finally
[1:28:56]
once we um decide and confirm our SQA
[1:29:00]
approach we'll initiate the IR and we'll
[1:29:03]
go from there. So with that hand it back
[1:29:06]
to the mayor.
[1:29:07]
>> Great. Thank you so much. Um, I know
[1:29:10]
this was laid out to go right into
[1:29:12]
public comment and that's probably
[1:29:13]
actually the best thing to do before we
[1:29:15]
discuss, but does anybody have any
[1:29:16]
immediate questions um for Troy? No
[1:29:20]
>> question.
[1:29:21]
>> Quick question. Okay. Um,
[1:29:25]
is there any um consideration given to I noticed in some of your uh slides
[1:29:31]
there where you identified other spaces
[1:29:33]
where we could possibly put in housing
[1:29:34]
and those four I forgot, you know, and
[1:29:37]
goat, you know, Goatill um and those
[1:29:40]
things. Um about relocating the town,
[1:29:44]
this building and the building next
[1:29:45]
door. Is there any discussion of that?
[1:29:49]
I do believe there was at least one
[1:29:53]
member of CSC who brought that idea up.
[1:29:55]
I don't know that it was widely
[1:29:57]
discussed, but it it did get mentioned.
[1:30:01]
Um,
[1:30:03]
if that's an idea that we should pursue
[1:30:05]
further, I'm happy to.
[1:30:06]
>> No, I mentioned it because of the fire
[1:30:07]
station and I mean there's which is a
[1:30:10]
pretty impressive facility now and right
[1:30:13]
>> spaces available next to it and
[1:30:15]
>> yeah,
[1:30:15]
>> this is such an attractive area and big
[1:30:18]
area that's being taken up um by
[1:30:21]
government bureaucracy
[1:30:22]
>> and it's not like the town center hasn't
[1:30:24]
moved before. So,
[1:30:25]
>> yes, it's Yeah, of course. Yeah, twice
[1:30:28]
actually. Three times, I'm sorry. Um, so
[1:30:30]
anyway, I just that was my only
[1:30:32]
question.
[1:30:35]
» You can you can design the new one.
[1:30:38]
>> Thank you.
[1:30:40]
>> Any other questions from council?
[1:30:41]
>> Yes,
[1:30:42]
>> council member Brown.
[1:30:43]
>> Uh, have we done any you were going to
[1:30:45]
do a parking survey? I believe at one
[1:30:47]
point you said you was that underway or
[1:30:50]
completed.
[1:30:51]
>> That's right. Yeah, we conducted um a
[1:30:53]
survey of the use of the public town
[1:30:56]
lots basically to see um how those were
[1:31:00]
used. We did complete that survey last
[1:31:03]
fall. Um and sort of at a high level the
[1:31:07]
findings were that around 10 to 12% of
[1:31:12]
the spaces were occupied by bikers,
[1:31:14]
bicyclists. That was the finding. Um, so
[1:31:17]
I think what I took away from the survey
[1:31:20]
was that the bicycle parking is is a
[1:31:24]
real phenomenon. There are bicycles that
[1:31:27]
park there for extended periods of time.
[1:31:29]
It may not be as you know, it's not half
[1:31:32]
of the parking lot, but it is it's a
[1:31:34]
small but not insignificant number of
[1:31:36]
parking spaces that are taken up by
[1:31:38]
bikers. I think it confirmed that we'd
[1:31:40]
like to find we'd like to find an
[1:31:43]
approach to managing that parking lot
[1:31:45]
because that would help address that
[1:31:48]
issue.
[1:31:48]
>> Absolutely. I agree with that one. Um,
[1:31:51]
have you done any study or or documented
[1:31:53]
how many literally how many parking
[1:31:55]
spaces exist in the downtown area?
[1:31:59]
>> Yeah, we showed that at uh I can see if
[1:32:02]
I have that slide. That was in my very
[1:32:04]
first presentation. Um, off the top of
[1:32:06]
my head, I want to say the number was
[1:32:08]
around 640
[1:32:10]
spaces, something like that. We did
[1:32:12]
count them up. Um, most of them are off
[1:32:14]
streetet, but there it was something
[1:32:15]
around 600 and something spaces. So, we
[1:32:18]
did count those. Yeah.
[1:32:19]
>> And and some of the some of the
[1:32:20]
proposals you had was to do more
[1:32:24]
sides on the street parking than what
[1:32:27]
we're doing right now, like on Woodside
[1:32:28]
Road. And I'd like to have you come back
[1:32:32]
the next time around with how many more
[1:32:34]
spaces could we
[1:32:37]
get to maybe 700 um if we were did the
[1:32:42]
following things. And then my my last
[1:32:44]
thing is the um lot property right below
[1:32:49]
town hall here that uh is targeted as a
[1:32:52]
gazebo. Um, have we looked at that as
[1:32:55]
potential for um multi-story housing?
[1:33:02]
» Uh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, we're varying in
[1:33:04]
we're veering into all of the later
[1:33:05]
discussion, which is it's just fine, but
[1:33:07]
um uh yes, the um
[1:33:13]
that was part of our our previous um our
[1:33:18]
>> talk about gazeos and well, so yeah. So, part of the discussion I think would
[1:33:23]
be what's the most appropriate use of
[1:33:26]
that site. We have shown it as a
[1:33:28]
potential gazebo here, but then in the
[1:33:31]
site or the discussion around housing,
[1:33:33]
we indicate that it could also be a
[1:33:34]
housing site. So, I think we're still
[1:33:37]
open to idea. And then now just, you
[1:33:39]
know, council member Gold brought up the
[1:33:41]
idea of moving the town center. So, I
[1:33:42]
think there's a lot in play in this site
[1:33:44]
right here. Okay. I think it's still very open for discussion. You
[1:33:51]
Okay, I think we will move on to public
[1:33:53]
comment and I think we'll start the Zoom
[1:33:55]
room. Uh, Mr. Irststead.
[1:34:01]
» Yes, council members. Uh, thank you. Uh,
[1:34:04]
I I wanted to skip my prepared remarks
[1:34:07]
and address uh Council Member Gold's
[1:34:09]
comment just recently. I I think uh uh
[1:34:14]
that is a very wise idea to keep in
[1:34:19]
mind. No no no uh um no certainty but
[1:34:24]
having that alternative of using the
[1:34:26]
current location for town hall and uh
[1:34:30]
the adjoining building uh the room
[1:34:32]
you're in currently as housing might
[1:34:35]
work quite well. Um, so I want to
[1:34:38]
commend uh, council member Gold for that
[1:34:41]
comment. I I think uh, I've written a
[1:34:44]
letter that summarizes my lays out my
[1:34:47]
concerns regarding land use and parking.
[1:34:49]
I'd encourage the town in town center to
[1:34:53]
look at public parking as a town asset.
[1:34:57]
And I think here control uh, or more
[1:35:01]
control is warranted. Um you have a use
[1:35:05]
by um outsiders uh not residents, not
[1:35:10]
property owners, not tenants, uh taking
[1:35:12]
up spots where alternatives readily
[1:35:16]
exist, whether on Woodside Road down at
[1:35:18]
the uh park and ride or up on Pinata
[1:35:21]
Road. Uh there are ready alternatives.
[1:35:24]
These are people driving in from
[1:35:25]
outside. Woodside is a highly desirable,
[1:35:29]
arguably one of the most desirable
[1:35:31]
biking places in the United States and
[1:35:35]
it brings in a lot of people. Uh we have
[1:35:38]
a limited number of spots. That 600 plus
[1:35:41]
number applies when you count up all
[1:35:44]
spots public and private when you
[1:35:47]
include Kinyana Corners, Roberts, uh as
[1:35:50]
well as the primary town center. Um,
[1:35:54]
third comment I want to make is with uh
[1:35:57]
with regards to housing on undeveloped
[1:36:00]
parcels. I think the town would be
[1:36:03]
really wise to watch out for compliance
[1:36:06]
with current state storm water low
[1:36:10]
impact discharge requirements. I can
[1:36:12]
attest these requirements are very very
[1:36:17]
strict. They are very expensive to
[1:36:20]
comply with. They take significant civil
[1:36:24]
engineering work and the town is
[1:36:27]
somewhat unique in that it lacks storm
[1:36:29]
water facilities. So you're relying on
[1:36:32]
drainage into natural water courses like
[1:36:35]
Dry Creek. And you got to be really careful when laying out new
[1:36:41]
structures, new developments, uh that
[1:36:44]
you don't impact uh that natural water
[1:36:47]
course in ways that don't comply. I can
[1:36:50]
tell you from experience, the state of
[1:36:52]
California and Sonoma County uh and its
[1:36:55]
primary city, City of Santa Rosa, spent
[1:36:58]
years negotiating those provisions with
[1:37:01]
applicability to those uh communities
[1:37:04]
inside Sonoma County, including City of
[1:37:06]
Santa Rosa. My goodness gracious, it's
[1:37:10]
tough. Thank you.
[1:37:13]
>> Thank you, Richard. Any other public
[1:37:16]
comments, Mr. Luben?
[1:37:20]
Steve Luben. Um, I uh know that
[1:37:23]
Richard's been concerned about
[1:37:26]
maintaining the left turn lane to get
[1:37:28]
into the parking spaces along his
[1:37:30]
properties and up to the Gilbert
[1:37:32]
properties on Woodside Road. Um, I think
[1:37:35]
that that should be balanced and and I
[1:37:37]
think it's actually much more important
[1:37:39]
for us to kind of take control of
[1:37:41]
Woodside Road. There's no, you know,
[1:37:43]
people say they want to keep the the the
[1:37:45]
rural rustic nature of the town center,
[1:37:47]
but that section of road is neither
[1:37:50]
rural nor rustic and was was really,
[1:37:55]
you know, made quite inhospitable by
[1:37:57]
CALR widening. Uh the removal of the
[1:38:01]
parking along the north side, I don't
[1:38:03]
think, excuse me, Troy, but I don't
[1:38:04]
think there was CALRit initiated that.
[1:38:07]
The town initiated it at a time when the
[1:38:10]
pub was very busy and opened on the
[1:38:12]
Woodside Road and people were crossing
[1:38:14]
the road and actually the town council
[1:38:16]
removed that parking. So I think you
[1:38:19]
know replacing that parking would be a a
[1:38:21]
really lowhanging fruit to get more
[1:38:24]
parking in town and that probably
[1:38:26]
requires removal of the left turn lane.
[1:38:29]
Uh in in conjunction with that that you
[1:38:32]
know the pavement could be narrowed
[1:38:33]
there. We could have entrance features
[1:38:36]
starting at at hosiendas that slow
[1:38:38]
people down perhaps the roundabout there
[1:38:41]
that's been suggested so that people
[1:38:43]
come into that section of road at 20 m
[1:38:45]
an hour not 50 m an hour like they do
[1:38:49]
now. The the circulation committee
[1:38:51]
before my time on it recommended a you
[1:38:54]
know a free turn lane on Woodside Road
[1:38:57]
when you're coming off of Whiskey Hill
[1:39:00]
that you could have a center lane that
[1:39:02]
you could turn into. I think that idea
[1:39:04]
actually just facilitates people
[1:39:06]
speeding into town and accepts it. And I
[1:39:09]
don't think we should accept that. I
[1:39:10]
think we should we, you know, we should
[1:39:12]
have some some traffic calming measures
[1:39:15]
coming into town that get people down to
[1:39:18]
20 m an hour. Then it would be much
[1:39:20]
easier to turn into these parking spots.
[1:39:22]
People would get to a speed where
[1:39:24]
they're kind of personally negotiating
[1:39:26]
in traffic. And then that brings me to you know the intersection of Woodside
[1:39:32]
and Kinyatta Road. And I think you know
[1:39:34]
the direction the the the the town has
[1:39:37]
been taking is to just leave it alone.
[1:39:39]
And I think you know that's just not
[1:39:41]
feasible. That intersection doesn't
[1:39:43]
work. It needs some kind of radical
[1:39:46]
transformation to start working better.
[1:39:49]
I was originally quite opposed to
[1:39:52]
roundabouts there because I was using
[1:39:54]
the Stanford roundabouts as a model. the
[1:39:57]
uh the consultants have said, you know,
[1:39:59]
much smaller ones are possible. And I I
[1:40:02]
think using that there's some
[1:40:05]
possibilities to to fix that
[1:40:07]
intersection in a way, maybe using
[1:40:09]
roundabouts where you don't have to stop
[1:40:11]
at all driving through town center, but
[1:40:13]
you're going 20 miles an hour. And uh I really like practically all of the
[1:40:20]
housing proposals and my time's up.
[1:40:24]
Thank you. Other comments?
[1:40:31]
» There is, but it would be a second bite
[1:40:33]
of the apple. So, we'll see if there's
[1:40:34]
any first bites yet.
[1:40:37]
>> Um, as two members of the history
[1:40:39]
committee here tonight, we vehemently
[1:40:42]
object to moving this building. It was
[1:40:45]
so well, the whole complex was so welld
[1:40:47]
designed by Eshodi
[1:40:49]
Holmes
[1:40:51]
and
[1:40:52]
>> Davy Dodge and Davis. That's right.
[1:40:54]
Thank you. And um it it really is an
[1:40:57]
integral part of of of Town Center and
[1:41:01]
masterfully done to to have the staff
[1:41:04]
buildings complement this but not
[1:41:07]
detract from it. It's a it's a it's on
[1:41:09]
the National Register. So please let's
[1:41:12]
take that one off the table, right, Le?
[1:41:14]
And I mean I I'm speaking for two
[1:41:16]
members of the committee, but uh there
[1:41:18]
are other places and they consultants
[1:41:21]
have discussed those. I I think at one
[1:41:23]
point Dick Brown suggested some kind of
[1:41:26]
looking at some kind of institutional
[1:41:29]
housing on um
[1:41:36]
the hill and um village hill. Thank you.
[1:41:40]
And um that wouldn't require as much
[1:41:43]
parking um because it would be people
[1:41:47]
who you know would be like a facility. I I like that idea. I think you
[1:41:52]
presented a long time ago, but I I don't
[1:41:54]
think we're there yet, I guess, is what
[1:41:56]
I'm saying. I mean, there's still a lot
[1:41:58]
of loose ends and
[1:42:01]
the consultants have done a great job,
[1:42:02]
but there's still other ideas on the
[1:42:05]
table that I need, I think, need
[1:42:08]
to be looked at more specifically and maybe not implemented right away,
[1:42:12]
but certainly be part of a long range
[1:42:14]
plan. None of this is going to happen
[1:42:16]
right away. So, um, let's keep our minds
[1:42:21]
open.
[1:42:28]
» Gilbert,
[1:42:31]
>> um, I'm trying to absorb all this. I
[1:42:36]
don't like change very much.
[1:42:38]
Um, don't move this building anywhere,
[1:42:41]
by the way. I'll double with her. Um,
[1:42:45]
what I don't understand is why
[1:42:48]
basically, this may sound stupid at this
[1:42:50]
point of the game, but why the hell are
[1:42:52]
we doing this? We trying to make this
[1:42:54]
place bigger? Are we trying to make it
[1:42:56]
not so rural? Are we uh I just don't
[1:43:01]
understand. I don't think this is really
[1:43:03]
a terrible place to live right now. And
[1:43:06]
I think it's beautiful here. And there
[1:43:08]
are always going to be some things that
[1:43:10]
we could do to make it easier for people
[1:43:12]
to walk around town and stuff. I I'm all
[1:43:14]
for that. Safe walking around town, but
[1:43:19]
to make it a place where we're going to
[1:43:21]
attract more people to come here and
[1:43:23]
look over the town. Wow. And all this,
[1:43:25]
you know, I mean, I own stuff that, you
[1:43:28]
know, we could probably make more money
[1:43:29]
by doing it, you know, but um like a
[1:43:32]
restaurant or something like that, but I
[1:43:35]
like it lowkey. I don't need it now. Oh,
[1:43:37]
I don't want it now. I just want to see
[1:43:40]
Woodside stay the old town feeling that
[1:43:44]
it had at some point. And I see that
[1:43:47]
going out the window here. I really do.
[1:43:50]
And um I mean we have five and a half
[1:43:52]
acres. I have horses. I have chickens. I
[1:43:55]
have, you know, all kinds of stuff. But
[1:43:58]
um so I like it. And I think other
[1:44:00]
people like it too. The things that you
[1:44:02]
can't do. You know, I was born and
[1:44:04]
raised in San Francisco, so I didn't
[1:44:06]
have these things. Didn't have a horse.
[1:44:08]
I wanted a horse there, but my father
[1:44:10]
said, "No, you have to take that horse
[1:44:11]
back. Doesn't work here." So, I just
[1:44:15]
don't like the direction we're going in.
[1:44:17]
But, I'm going to stay with it, and I'll
[1:44:19]
have more to say as I see it opening up.
[1:44:21]
But, there's a lot of things that are so
[1:44:23]
different that it seems to me it's going
[1:44:25]
to attract a lot more people. And I
[1:44:27]
don't think that we're really set up for
[1:44:29]
that, to have that. It's going to be
[1:44:31]
overloaded. Where's the parking spaces?
[1:44:34]
I mean, it's ridiculous. It's hard
[1:44:35]
enough for the people that live here to
[1:44:37]
have a family come and visit them or
[1:44:40]
something and sometimes they have to
[1:44:41]
park in the parking lot. I It's just
[1:44:44]
It's too much. I guess I'm just too old
[1:44:47]
now. I I strike that. But
[1:44:51]
so, somebody tell me why we're doing
[1:44:54]
this. I want to know why we're doing
[1:44:57]
this. Why are we going to spend I know
[1:44:58]
the state must be putting their stupid
[1:45:01]
ass ideas in here, but how can we avoid
[1:45:05]
what the best we can and try to keep us
[1:45:07]
buholic and small and special here? I I
[1:45:11]
don't want to lose our specialness in
[1:45:14]
this town. I think I've lived here 60
[1:45:17]
years now, even though I'm only 45. I
[1:45:20]
don't know that happened, but um I don't
[1:45:23]
know. I want to keep it small and kind
[1:45:26]
of rural and just funky.
[1:45:31]
>> Yeah. Thank you, Leanne. We're all
[1:45:32]
trying to figure out how to do that,
[1:45:34]
too. I mean, it's just the reason it's
[1:45:35]
happening now. It's been a couple
[1:45:36]
decades since we took a look at it. And
[1:45:39]
more acutely, it's because it's a part
[1:45:41]
of the housing element. It's due to HCD
[1:45:43]
as part of our midcycle review early
[1:45:44]
next year. So, that's why it's happening
[1:45:46]
right now.
[1:45:48]
Are there any other firsttime comments
[1:45:52]
then? Uh, Richard, since your name was
[1:45:54]
evoked, we're going to give you the rare
[1:45:57]
second bite of the apple.
[1:45:58]
>> Yes, quick comment on Steve's comment.
[1:46:01]
Uh, I think we covered uh that topic,
[1:46:04]
circulation and transportation at the
[1:46:06]
end of April. Uh to us those parking
[1:46:11]
spots on the north side of the buildings
[1:46:13]
in that stretch, central stretch of town
[1:46:17]
center are absolutely important
[1:46:19]
particularly if we want to as a town
[1:46:22]
continue to try to attract retail in our
[1:46:27]
building uh primary building, the bigger
[1:46:29]
building. Uh we've had of course Chase
[1:46:32]
Bank but earlier a dentist for a long
[1:46:35]
time and the dentist's son for a long
[1:46:38]
time a barber and a doctor a doctor
[1:46:42]
upstairs as well as downstairs. Parking
[1:46:45]
having private parking spaces along
[1:46:48]
Woodside Road which have existed now for
[1:46:51]
many decades. Absolutely key uh to
[1:46:54]
keeping retail as an option for that
[1:46:58]
first story. um converting those those
[1:47:02]
spaces over, whether improving them as
[1:47:05]
building add-ons or additions, and
[1:47:08]
converting all the parking on the south
[1:47:11]
side of Woodside Road to public spaces
[1:47:15]
would likely discourage any sort of
[1:47:18]
retail there. Thank you very much.
[1:47:22]
>> Thank you. Any other public comments?
[1:47:27]
Uh, we go tit for tat for a while. I do
[1:47:31]
you have a one minute followup?
[1:47:33]
>> Uh, yeah. I I wasn't wasn't uh proposing
[1:47:36]
getting rid of the parking. I uh do
[1:47:38]
think that if that parking were shared,
[1:47:41]
even if we're still private parking, if
[1:47:43]
it were shared, there would be
[1:47:45]
opportunity to have more available
[1:47:47]
parking because as it is now, each each
[1:47:49]
individual property needs its handicap
[1:47:53]
parking space. If it were shared, there
[1:47:55]
would only have to be one out of 25
[1:47:58]
parking spaces be a handicap parking
[1:48:00]
space. So, I think could actually
[1:48:02]
increase the amount of of public parking
[1:48:05]
spaces. And I think if traffic were
[1:48:07]
slower on the road, the access would not
[1:48:10]
be a problem.
[1:48:13]
>> Thank you. I think
[1:48:17]
I get a little guidance. Um, we continue
[1:48:19]
with public comment even though people
[1:48:21]
are taking second and third bites at the
[1:48:22]
apple.
[1:48:23]
It's your choice.
[1:48:26]
>> Okay. Uh third bite, Richard.
[1:48:31]
» Yeah, quick comment again. Uh these
[1:48:34]
spots would be public spots, not under
[1:48:37]
the control of any private property
[1:48:39]
owner. And so there's good reason to
[1:48:41]
believe that without constraints and
[1:48:43]
control over those public spots, they'd
[1:48:46]
be occupied, Steve. they'd be used and
[1:48:49]
not by the uh tenants, the the visitors,
[1:48:54]
the guests, but by others. This
[1:48:56]
concept's been around since the Woodside
[1:48:58]
Road, Whiskey Hill Road Parking
[1:49:00]
Assessment District, a district which
[1:49:02]
burdened the town with significant
[1:49:04]
financial obligations and failed in part
[1:49:07]
because of this concept along the south
[1:49:11]
side of Woodside Road. Thank you.
[1:49:14]
>> Thank you.
[1:49:15]
Okay. Any other comments?
[1:49:19]
All right. Maybe we'll get the two of
[1:49:21]
you in a room to hash that out. Um,
[1:49:23]
okay. We'll close public comment um and
[1:49:26]
move on to council discussion and
[1:49:28]
direction. Anyone want to kick things
[1:49:31]
off? Yes.
[1:49:32]
>> Can we make a process suggestion? I
[1:49:35]
think one it would be really helpful if
[1:49:36]
we could see the Yeah. For each section
[1:49:39]
like see the questions for council. Can
[1:49:41]
we take it topic by topic so we're not
[1:49:44]
just like Okay,
[1:49:45]
>> that was the proposed approach.
[1:49:47]
>> Great.
[1:49:50]
>> Well, let's start with parking.
[1:49:53]
Any thoughts on parking?
[1:49:56]
>> Yes.
[1:49:56]
>> Okay, Mr. Council Member Brown.
[1:49:59]
>> Um, yes. And, uh, I guess my first
[1:50:02]
comment is I think you're
[1:50:03]
underestimating or your research
[1:50:05]
underestimated the number of parking
[1:50:08]
spaces occupied by biclers. I think any
[1:50:10]
of the uh property owners around here
[1:50:13]
would say this parking lot is full
[1:50:17]
before we even get here in many days. Um
[1:50:20]
and they all have bike racks on the
[1:50:21]
back. And so I don't think 10% is a
[1:50:25]
representative number of how many spaces
[1:50:27]
are occupied by bikers. Uh and that
[1:50:31]
would lead me to believe that if they
[1:50:32]
are a lot more significant that some
[1:50:36]
really solid ideas about how to
[1:50:40]
restrict the time and the person's using
[1:50:44]
it perhaps um would be very very useful.
[1:50:50]
» Okay.
[1:50:52]
Others
[1:50:54]
>> Yeah, I can go.
[1:50:55]
>> Okay. Um, so I think there's a lot of
[1:50:58]
good ideas here and I generally agree
[1:51:00]
with the um what I think is the
[1:51:04]
consensus or the the general feeling
[1:51:06]
from the advisory committee. Um the
[1:51:09]
notion of parking enforcement I'll start
[1:51:11]
with yeah parking enforcement on on town
[1:51:13]
lots. Um I think that's pretty easy and
[1:51:17]
a good idea. Um the idea of parking
[1:51:20]
enforcement on private lots has been the
[1:51:24]
topic of a lot of conversation. Um we
[1:51:26]
had a town ad hoc uh subcommittee that
[1:51:30]
looked at this for a while or tried to
[1:51:32]
um to facilitate conversations around
[1:51:35]
this. Um I you know I don't know what the willingness of the commercial property owners is on
[1:51:45]
this topic but I think it would be
[1:51:46]
wonderful if there's parking enforcement
[1:51:48]
on town lots if we could have similar
[1:51:50]
parking enforcement on private lots. I
[1:51:52]
think having that consistency townwide
[1:51:55]
in the commercial center would be um
[1:51:58]
would be useful to the public just, you
[1:52:00]
know, you wouldn't have to think, oh, am
[1:52:01]
I on a on a private lot or a town lot?
[1:52:04]
Like consistent parking enforcement in
[1:52:07]
our in our town center. Um I think is a
[1:52:10]
great idea and um would would help
[1:52:13]
people understand kind of what the
[1:52:15]
enforcement is. Um I also heard some
[1:52:18]
suggestions around signage. Um, I think signage is important. If you're
[1:52:24]
going to have enforcement, you need to
[1:52:25]
have signage. Um, and I really like the
[1:52:28]
idea of um
[1:52:31]
creating new parking on Woodside Road.
[1:52:34]
Um, I think that, you know, I'm not an
[1:52:36]
expert here, but I think that might have
[1:52:38]
um an additional impact of um slowing
[1:52:43]
down traffic, which I think would be um
[1:52:46]
a win-win. And
[1:52:49]
I would look at it, you know, not just
[1:52:51]
near the little store, I think that's a
[1:52:52]
great idea, but like the entire uh
[1:52:55]
length of what we've identified as the town center. Um because we are
[1:53:00]
parking constrained, so there's
[1:53:01]
opportunities to to find areas for
[1:53:05]
additional parking that would, you know,
[1:53:07]
increase our optionality in other areas.
[1:53:10]
Um
[1:53:12]
so yeah, those are my thoughts on
[1:53:13]
parking.
[1:53:15]
Any
[1:53:16]
other thoughts?
[1:53:20]
Generally agree. Um I think enforcement
[1:53:22]
seems like really lowhanging fruit and
[1:53:25]
um
[1:53:27]
yeah and I like the idea of uh opening
[1:53:29]
up more parking uh along
[1:53:33]
uh Woodside Road. We can allow make
[1:53:37]
changes to allow I don't um Yeah, there
[1:53:40]
it is. Uh yeah, but I think parking
[1:53:43]
enforcement is probably the easiest.
[1:53:48]
» Um yeah, I wanted to um I've got a few
[1:53:51]
comments about parking. Um one,
[1:53:55]
I think I'm very mindful of Leanne
[1:53:58]
Gilbert and Christine Roberts and
[1:54:00]
Richard Urststead, the protecting our
[1:54:02]
commercial interests here. Um, the
[1:54:04]
comment was made, I think I made it
[1:54:07]
actually, but the comment was made uh at
[1:54:09]
a previous meeting that one day we're
[1:54:11]
going to wake up and we're going to find
[1:54:12]
out that Christine has closed Robert's
[1:54:14]
Market and it's going to be uh, you
[1:54:16]
know, condominiums and office buildings
[1:54:17]
because it it just the the business
[1:54:19]
model doesn't work anymore and
[1:54:21]
everybody's going to go, "Oh, shoot. Um,
[1:54:24]
well, that's bad. Um, what are we going
[1:54:25]
to do now? Are we going to bring it
[1:54:27]
back? It'll be too late." And, you know,
[1:54:28]
we see that all the time. Drugstores
[1:54:30]
close and restaurants close. and it's
[1:54:32]
tough these days to do it and parking is
[1:54:35]
a big part of that and we've heard that
[1:54:38]
from all three of the people that I
[1:54:39]
mentioned before. So, I think protecting
[1:54:41]
those interests, but I do want to
[1:54:42]
mention something um kind of my my one
[1:54:46]
of my pet issues here that I've brought
[1:54:48]
up for a long time and that's, you know,
[1:54:50]
we're we're sort of complicated by legal
[1:54:53]
issues and what's going on at Kinyatta
[1:54:54]
Corners right now and lawsuits and try
[1:54:57]
to expand parking and those sorts of
[1:54:58]
things. And I made the point before that during the pandemic we expanded
[1:55:04]
outdoor dining and we added 120 diners
[1:55:07]
and we didn't add parking. And so the
[1:55:10]
fact that you know during that the last
[1:55:13]
three or four years just before I came
[1:55:15]
on the council um that there was a lot
[1:55:18]
of problem with parking at Kinyatta
[1:55:20]
Corners. Well, duh. We added 120 diners,
[1:55:23]
60 seats outdoors in front of Bucks and
[1:55:25]
60 seats in front of the bakery. And we,
[1:55:28]
you know, it's it's not magic that
[1:55:30]
suddenly people couldn't find a parking
[1:55:32]
space. And my point at the time was,
[1:55:34]
could we just enforce the conditional
[1:55:35]
use permit? And if they've got 120 seats
[1:55:38]
outside, let's remove 120 seats inside
[1:55:40]
and parking should go back to where it
[1:55:42]
was. I don't know that that's the case,
[1:55:43]
but it was certainly worth
[1:55:47]
running that little experiment. And of
[1:55:48]
course the town council at the time
[1:55:50]
refused. Um I brought it up several
[1:55:52]
times to the town attorney and to the
[1:55:54]
town council and they had reasonable
[1:55:56]
excuses but there were excuses. We
[1:55:58]
didn't do it. So now we're in this
[1:56:00]
draconian mode of you know we eliminated
[1:56:02]
outdoor dining and there's kind of a
[1:56:03]
little bit of a war going on and it's
[1:56:05]
very unfortunate. But I think that
[1:56:08]
that's sort of one of the issues that
[1:56:10]
we've got is is there enough parking?
[1:56:12]
Well, now I mean it's still a problem,
[1:56:14]
but it's less of a problem than it was
[1:56:16]
when there were those, what do they call
[1:56:18]
them? Parklets in front of those two
[1:56:20]
buildings that consume spaces and added
[1:56:22]
a lot of patrons. So, we can't ignore
[1:56:26]
that. Um, but I think we do need more
[1:56:29]
parking. The two biggest constituencies
[1:56:31]
I think that are that we can that are
[1:56:35]
variables that we can play with. I I I
[1:56:37]
don't you know, people who go to the
[1:56:39]
restaurants want to park there. People
[1:56:40]
who go to the Pioneer want to park
[1:56:42]
there. People who want to come to the
[1:56:43]
town center want to park there. But
[1:56:45]
there are two groups that don't
[1:56:47]
necessarily need to park there who come
[1:56:49]
here. And those two group are employees
[1:56:52]
and bike riders. And those are big
[1:56:55]
numbers. Those aren't this isn't like a
[1:56:57]
rounding error. Those are big big
[1:56:59]
constituencies. And I think I mentioned
[1:57:01]
it may have been at the at one of the
[1:57:03]
meetings that we had is that rather than
[1:57:06]
try to patrol out or enforce out bike
[1:57:10]
riders by they're going to park here.
[1:57:12]
They're they're you know they're if
[1:57:15]
there's an open spot, they're going to
[1:57:16]
park there. And we all see them lined up
[1:57:18]
here and taking their bicycles off and
[1:57:20]
they they consume 20 30 40 50 parking
[1:57:23]
spaces and usually the best ones too.
[1:57:25]
and they they can use those spaces on a
[1:57:29]
weekend all day and uh nobody does
[1:57:31]
anything about it. So my my my
[1:57:33]
suggestion was rather than trying to um
[1:57:37]
disincentivize them to park there, let's
[1:57:40]
find a place that incentivizes them to
[1:57:42]
go there. And so perhaps if there was a
[1:57:46]
really state-of-the-art lot or bike
[1:57:49]
riders to go. They don't I mean they
[1:57:51]
they're getting in their bikes and
[1:57:52]
they're riding anyway. they want to
[1:57:53]
ride, but but find a state-of-the-art
[1:57:55]
place that we could put them, whether
[1:57:56]
it's on Kinata Road or Woodside Road or
[1:57:58]
out on Whiskey Hill. I mean, I I don't
[1:58:01]
I'm not going to identify the the
[1:58:03]
location. Um, but find a
[1:58:05]
state-of-the-art where they can work on
[1:58:06]
their bicycles, where there's air, where
[1:58:08]
there's repair areas, where there's
[1:58:10]
lockup facilities, where they can lock,
[1:58:12]
where it's going to be safe and and, you
[1:58:14]
know, nice instead of having to like
[1:58:16]
weave in and out of traffic and those
[1:58:18]
sort of things. incentivize them to go
[1:58:20]
somewhere proactively where they say, "I
[1:58:22]
don't want to park downtown. I'd rather
[1:58:24]
park there with all my friends and, you
[1:58:26]
know, we'll get to ride down Whiskey
[1:58:28]
Hill, you know, hill or we'll get to
[1:58:29]
ride down, you know, someplace that's a
[1:58:31]
little more." They don't convenience for
[1:58:32]
them is probably less of an issue.
[1:58:34]
That's bike riders. That's a big number
[1:58:36]
and that really impacts our riding. The
[1:58:38]
other one is perhaps with the employees,
[1:58:40]
it's a pretty big number. I don't know
[1:58:42]
how many you have at the Pioneer or how
[1:58:43]
many they have at Roberts or Pinñata
[1:58:46]
Corners, but and or Town Center for that
[1:58:48]
matter, but if we could find a remote
[1:58:50]
lot that had a shuttle that went back
[1:58:51]
and forth and brought people in, kind of
[1:58:53]
a pain in the neck. I know. I don't
[1:58:54]
particularly like it either getting on
[1:58:56]
shuttles, but it is a way of getting
[1:58:58]
people out of this area and creating
[1:59:00]
more parking spaces. So, there are
[1:59:02]
opportunities there. Just trying to
[1:59:03]
think a little bit out of the box here.
[1:59:05]
It's not it's something to throw out
[1:59:06]
there, you know, and then everybody can
[1:59:08]
shoot it down immediately afterwards.
[1:59:11]
But there are opportunities to get two
[1:59:14]
big constituent groups outside for
[1:59:17]
positive reasons, not as not as
[1:59:19]
punishment, but but make it attractive,
[1:59:22]
especially for bike riders, which is a
[1:59:23]
big number, to go someplace else. Um
[1:59:29]
the
[1:59:31]
um
[1:59:35]
I think that's it. That's enough on
[1:59:37]
parking.
[1:59:38]
>> Okay. Um maybe I'll go next. Um I'll
[1:59:42]
just say that park and expansion is just
[1:59:44]
to echo that absolutely critical and uh
[1:59:47]
we are significantly constrained and we
[1:59:49]
might end up significantly constrained
[1:59:51]
if if things don't settle the right way.
[1:59:54]
And I do suspect uh to echo Council
[1:59:56]
Member Gold's comments that
[1:59:59]
over the next 5 to 10 years, I don't
[2:00:01]
think people appreciate the long-term
[2:00:02]
ramifications of that in this
[2:00:04]
environment that the sustainability of
[2:00:06]
the services that are offered downtown
[2:00:08]
are going to just disappear. So, I
[2:00:10]
completely agree with that. Uh I like
[2:00:12]
the enforcement a lot. I don't like the
[2:00:14]
meters. Um on the off-site parking, I
[2:00:18]
thought that was actually a charming
[2:00:19]
idea with the bicycles. I was just
[2:00:20]
thinking as a I'm sure other bicyclists
[2:00:22]
on the on the call right now are uh you
[2:00:25]
think about Tonita Creek and that little
[2:00:27]
red shed out there. There are certain
[2:00:28]
places that you go on your bike because
[2:00:30]
there are sort of replenishment stations
[2:00:32]
and things like that that make it worth
[2:00:33]
sort of uh doing on your long ride. And
[2:00:36]
so that's a very interesting idea to
[2:00:38]
pursue. The area I would differ on is
[2:00:40]
the idea of remote uh parking for
[2:00:43]
employees. And I mean, I've heard this.
[2:00:45]
I mean, as recall, six years ago, these
[2:00:48]
were our essential workers we put on a
[2:00:49]
pedestal, right? And now all of a
[2:00:51]
sudden, we're trying to figure out if
[2:00:52]
there can be remote um parking and a
[2:00:54]
shuttle. These are people with kids in
[2:00:57]
school and when somebody gets sick and
[2:00:59]
they got to wait an hour for a shuttle
[2:01:00]
and they get out, you know, it's just
[2:01:02]
not I just don't I don't I don't I want
[2:01:05]
to be more welcoming than that to the
[2:01:06]
people that are serving the community.
[2:01:08]
So, I guess that would be the place I'd
[2:01:10]
So, I'm not a real fan of this. I think
[2:01:12]
the remote offsite is really interesting
[2:01:14]
if there was a way to do it for the
[2:01:15]
bikes. Uh I don't know where that would
[2:01:17]
be, but it's a good idea. Uh with the
[2:01:20]
services parked there, what a charming
[2:01:23]
idea. Could be absolutely charming
[2:01:24]
actually. Um uh so I would just but not
[2:01:28]
for the employees and we are constrained
[2:01:30]
on the employees and that's why it's
[2:01:32]
unfortunate we don't have an expanded
[2:01:33]
parking situation for kinata corners
[2:01:35]
right now.
[2:01:37]
>> You had more to say. I could tell.
[2:01:39]
>> Sorry. I just was wanted to pick up on
[2:01:40]
some of these comments. So, um, yeah, I
[2:01:43]
think 100% to the tagline of parking
[2:01:45]
expansion is critical. Um, and I think
[2:01:48]
connected to that, and I I neglected to
[2:01:51]
talk about this in my first round of
[2:01:53]
comments, but, um, regarding like
[2:01:56]
reducing parking requirements for low
[2:01:58]
inensity uses and and reducing parking
[2:02:00]
requirements for highintensity uses, I'm
[2:02:03]
very much in support of that, but I
[2:02:04]
might rephrase it as like let's just
[2:02:06]
look at our parking requirements for
[2:02:08]
these uses. I think um I think there's
[2:02:10]
definitely room for improvement in in
[2:02:13]
the allocation
[2:02:15]
um you know we um went through a really
[2:02:18]
long process um around outdoor dining.
[2:02:23]
You know I was very supportive of
[2:02:25]
outdoor dining. The town certainly
[2:02:26]
didn't eliminate outdoor dining. We were
[2:02:28]
trying to support outdoor dining that's
[2:02:30]
been now caught up in a litigation. Um
[2:02:34]
and you know I think one thing that we
[2:02:37]
can do is um is look at our parking
[2:02:40]
requirements. Um with the with the um
[2:02:45]
the notion that you know parking
[2:02:47]
expansion is critical but balanced
[2:02:49]
against the the need for um the
[2:02:52]
commercial um uses that we are hearing
[2:02:56]
are are critical. Um so yeah very much
[2:02:58]
in support of like looking at our
[2:03:00]
parking requirements. Oh, and then just,
[2:03:02]
you know, yeah, really like liked the
[2:03:04]
idea of a of a lot for bikers. It's hard
[2:03:07]
to think like we it's we, you know, land
[2:03:10]
is so constrained. I I don't know where
[2:03:12]
that would occur, but it's worth looking
[2:03:13]
at. Um, and agree with U. Mayor
[2:03:16]
Donkowsky. I think um I would not
[2:03:18]
support um an off-site lot for
[2:03:21]
employees. I think for the for the same
[2:03:23]
reasons. I mean, that, you know, I just
[2:03:25]
don't think that would be fair to that
[2:03:26]
population.
[2:03:29]
>> Can I have a second bite of the apple?
[2:03:30]
Of
[2:03:31]
>> course. second bite.
[2:03:32]
>> I want to follow up on the idea.
[2:03:34]
>> You have as many bites as you want.
[2:03:35]
>> The idea of trying to organize the
[2:03:38]
employees for commute. I spoke with
[2:03:41]
commute.org several years ago about the
[2:03:44]
idea of having a shuttle running up and
[2:03:46]
down Woodside Road from Redwood City and
[2:03:49]
I got a lot of interest from a couple of
[2:03:51]
key employers, but I wasn't able to
[2:03:53]
reach everybody. And I think that's a
[2:03:56]
group. He says he needs a 100 people a
[2:03:58]
day to be able to justify running the
[2:04:00]
shuttle up and down. And I think that we
[2:04:03]
it's worth exploring it further with um
[2:04:06]
the employee the employers in the area
[2:04:09]
to see if there is enough uh volume that
[2:04:13]
can be generated to make it worthwhile
[2:04:14]
to have it takes a 100 parking spaces
[2:04:19]
if we can pick it if they can be done
[2:04:21]
that way. So somebody work something to
[2:04:24]
think about.
[2:04:25]
>> Okay. Can I say one more thing?
[2:04:27]
>> Uh,
[2:04:29]
>> I mean, you're as a major. Yes. Yeah. Do
[2:04:33]
you guys mind if uh
[2:04:36]
>> we're not supposed to do this, Lead?
[2:04:38]
We're not supposed to do this. So, we're
[2:04:41]
not public comments closed. So, um,
[2:04:44]
sorry about that. Um, yeah, I know. I
[2:04:47]
know. We can meet separately if you
[2:04:49]
want. Um,
[2:04:51]
you know, I was just going to mention
[2:04:53]
I'm glad Council Member Wall brought
[2:04:55]
this up about changing the uh
[2:04:58]
requirements. Uh, and I was hopeful that
[2:05:00]
we would have outdoor dining and we'd be
[2:05:02]
able to bring that next, you know, to
[2:05:03]
change how we the calculations behind
[2:05:05]
that. I've since learned that um
[2:05:10]
you know the the hardware store gets
[2:05:12]
like 24 27 spots because of its square
[2:05:14]
footage and obviously there aren't that
[2:05:16]
many people in there but
[2:05:19]
that's what Roberts uses for their
[2:05:20]
employee parking right now. So, if we do
[2:05:22]
any twists right now without expanded
[2:05:24]
parking, you are you're just twisting uh
[2:05:28]
and basically eliminating employee spots
[2:05:31]
and but it's it's I think we need to see
[2:05:34]
where things land. But yeah, that's an obvious one uh in support of
[2:05:38]
uh outdoor dining if we can get there
[2:05:40]
again in some level.
[2:05:43]
Any other comments on parking?
[2:05:48]
Okay. Do you have enough from us? I
[2:05:50]
mean, it's a little bit across the
[2:05:52]
board, obviously, as always, but
[2:05:53]
>> No, that's good. I think um I I
[2:05:55]
basically heard no real options off the
[2:05:59]
table. I might suggest that we specify
[2:06:01]
remote lot for bikers so that we're
[2:06:04]
clear on what we're saying there. And
[2:06:06]
maybe we say um commute.org, you know,
[2:06:09]
shuttle to build off what Dick said. But
[2:06:11]
I think otherwise we keep all these
[2:06:12]
ideas. We keep the conversation going
[2:06:14]
and move this forward. But um a lot of
[2:06:17]
good a lot of good thoughts.
[2:06:21]
Okay.
[2:06:21]
>> And Troy, if I could add one thing too,
[2:06:23]
hello everyone. Eric, a good city
[2:06:25]
company. I think one theme that we hear
[2:06:28]
throughout areas that are popular
[2:06:30]
especially and it's a combination of
[2:06:31]
what everyone said tonight is using time
[2:06:34]
limits to take one way that without
[2:06:36]
being able to increase parking, which
[2:06:38]
obviously is a goal, is increasing
[2:06:40]
turnover. And the way that you do that
[2:06:42]
is with time limits and then focused
[2:06:45]
enforcement on the most popular spaces
[2:06:47]
because ultimately you want turnover in
[2:06:49]
spaces where customers are and you want
[2:06:51]
less turnover in places where there's
[2:06:53]
longer term bargaining. So I think that
[2:06:55]
could be kind of the backdrop for any
[2:06:57]
strategy that you have is really being
[2:06:59]
focused about because enforcement can be
[2:07:01]
expensive in itself. So you want to also
[2:07:03]
use that resource wisely to make sure
[2:07:05]
those spaces are open for customers.
[2:07:07]
>> Yeah, good point. And it deals with the
[2:07:08]
biking problem.
[2:07:09]
>> That's right. Good.
[2:07:12]
>> Excellent point. Thank you.
[2:07:14]
>> Great. All right. I'll move us along to
[2:07:16]
our next topic, the land use topic.
[2:07:22]
So, here are their ideas.
[2:07:31]
Anyone want to
[2:07:33]
touch this hot stove?
[2:07:38]
Maybe. Maybe I'll oh I'll I'll happily
[2:07:40]
lead for a change. Um
[2:07:43]
I loved the open your opening statement.
[2:07:45]
We're here because of the housing
[2:07:46]
element because I think that's a first
[2:07:48]
principle that
[2:07:50]
sometimes feels a little bit lost in the
[2:07:53]
discussion like housing is just one of
[2:07:55]
eight different topics.
[2:07:57]
We're here because of the housing
[2:07:59]
element. It's due in six months. This is
[2:08:01]
about figuring out it should which we
[2:08:03]
heard in cycle six. Towns should grow
[2:08:05]
from the center out. They shouldn't be
[2:08:07]
targeted density. And I think we're
[2:08:09]
trying to pay this forward into cycle
[2:08:10]
seven for whatever council is going to
[2:08:12]
be here that there's direction that they
[2:08:14]
want housing to be center out or again
[2:08:20]
we're going to do targeted density. It's
[2:08:21]
going to be in a small place in town
[2:08:22]
because that's where the services are
[2:08:24]
like sewer and whatnot. So I don't know
[2:08:27]
if it's too much to ask from a advisory
[2:08:30]
committee or not. But
[2:08:33]
um in a big picture sense
[2:08:36]
what I would love is not just a survey
[2:08:39]
but a recommendation. I don't know if I
[2:08:42]
can ask for that from an advisory
[2:08:43]
committee but a recommendation that we
[2:08:45]
believe housing should come from center
[2:08:47]
out and therefore we believe the only
[2:08:50]
way you're going to be able to do
[2:08:51]
density is lifting the height limit.
[2:08:53]
Right? So we're advocating for a ballot
[2:08:55]
measure or something to that effect. Now
[2:08:56]
maybe that's stuff that has to only
[2:08:58]
happen at council level. I'm not a
[2:09:00]
lawyer. proved that a thousand times in
[2:09:02]
the last last eight years. Uh but if we
[2:09:06]
can get that I just I think we should be
[2:09:08]
emphasizing that this is really first
[2:09:10]
and foremost about housing and then
[2:09:11]
everything that there's all these
[2:09:13]
interesting discussions. Should we
[2:09:14]
eliminate a parking space so we can put
[2:09:16]
a crosswalk? So now that's a very
[2:09:17]
interesting micro discussion. But how do
[2:09:19]
you have that discussion if you don't
[2:09:20]
know there's density going to be
[2:09:21]
downtown or not? What are you going to
[2:09:23]
do with circulation, parking, access,
[2:09:25]
gathering spaces? All that is tied to
[2:09:27]
the central issue of housing. So, I just
[2:09:29]
want to emphasize that for me, I don't
[2:09:32]
know if it's possible to do an entire
[2:09:34]
session on housing. Uh, but to just
[2:09:36]
drive home the point that this is why we're here. Uh, to Miss
[2:09:41]
Gilbert's question earlier and in order
[2:09:43]
to do it, I mean, I know we're not maybe
[2:09:45]
we're not at a place where we're
[2:09:46]
supposed to be advocating two versus
[2:09:47]
three stories, but
[2:09:50]
I'm thinking three stories. If you're
[2:09:51]
going to if you're going to lift it,
[2:09:52]
you're going to need to lift it in order
[2:09:54]
to get the density that's going to be
[2:09:55]
required in cycle 7. And so um uh so
[2:09:58]
that's basically just a big sort of
[2:10:00]
first principles comment I wanted to
[2:10:02]
throw out that the housing thing is much
[2:10:04]
bigger than an afterthought. It's like
[2:10:06]
the primary reason this is happening uh
[2:10:08]
in my opinion at least at this time. Um
[2:10:11]
and I don't have much else to say I
[2:10:13]
don't think on any of these. Um
[2:10:17]
but with the exception of just asking
[2:10:19]
that I'm just reemphasizing the first
[2:10:21]
principle why we're here.
[2:10:25]
Uh, Council Member Wall.
[2:10:26]
>> All right. Um, so I'll start with by
[2:10:30]
saying what do I what I agree with what
[2:10:31]
you just said is I think um a a session
[2:10:34]
focused on housing is a great idea. Um,
[2:10:36]
I think um a recommendation on whether
[2:10:39]
we should pursue a ballot measure to
[2:10:41]
eliminate higher restrictions is a great
[2:10:43]
idea.
[2:10:45]
I see why we are here a little bit
[2:10:47]
differently. We are definitely here
[2:10:48]
because of housing, right? like um that
[2:10:51]
is one part of why we are here and we
[2:10:53]
have a commitment in our housing element
[2:10:55]
to um pursue density in the in the
[2:10:59]
commercial zone but you know we are also
[2:11:04]
here to have a town center area plan. Um
[2:11:06]
there was a huge effort that you know
[2:11:08]
members of the audience were involved in
[2:11:11]
years ago around um coming up with a
[2:11:14]
strategic plan for our town center for
[2:11:17]
many reasons. I don't know that I'm even
[2:11:18]
fully, you know, in the weeds on um that
[2:11:22]
effort um stalled and and never
[2:11:24]
materialized. And I think it's really
[2:11:28]
important that we have a plan for our
[2:11:31]
town center. Uh and that plan involves
[2:11:33]
all the things that we're talking about
[2:11:34]
tonight, parking, land use, public
[2:11:37]
gathering spaces. So, you know, yes,
[2:11:40]
we're here, housing's a part of it, but
[2:11:41]
I I just think it's so much broader than
[2:11:44]
that. Um because we all care so much
[2:11:46]
about this town. Leanne really agreed
[2:11:47]
with what you said around like this is a
[2:11:50]
special wacky bucolic beautiful place
[2:11:53]
with families that want to have
[2:11:55]
gathering places um with you know people
[2:11:58]
that want um you know to be able to go
[2:12:00]
to yoga and go to a fast casual
[2:12:02]
restaurant and bike and there's all
[2:12:04]
sorts of different interests and I think
[2:12:06]
um it's essential what we're doing is
[2:12:09]
essential um it's gathering community
[2:12:11]
input and figuring out what is the
[2:12:13]
strategic long-term plan for our town.
[2:12:17]
How do we keep it special but you know
[2:12:19]
potentially involve it evolve it in key
[2:12:22]
ways so that it remains functional, it
[2:12:26]
remains special, it remains attractive
[2:12:28]
to the different constituents. So, um, I
[2:12:31]
have been so interested and excited
[2:12:34]
about this effort for a long time and in my memory, and I may be wrong, the
[2:12:38]
notion of revisiting the town center
[2:12:40]
area plan was being discussed separately
[2:12:42]
from the housing element and then um,
[2:12:45]
you know, housing, you know, landed on
[2:12:48]
the scene and and and you know, what to
[2:12:49]
do about housing in the center became
[2:12:51]
part of the town center area plan. But
[2:12:53]
in my mind, it's it's a it's a very
[2:12:54]
important broader effort. Um, and then,
[2:12:58]
you know, focusing in on the topic at
[2:12:59]
hand, land land use. Um, I very much
[2:13:04]
support the correcting or augmenting the commercial uses in town and, um,
[2:13:10]
making it easier. Um, so this came up
[2:13:13]
recently, um, where I, you know, I'm
[2:13:15]
aware of somebody wanting to open up a
[2:13:17]
Pilates studio, um, in our commercial
[2:13:20]
district. something that I I would love
[2:13:24]
um you know being a big big fan of
[2:13:26]
Pilates um and the reason that it needed
[2:13:31]
to go through an extra layer of um
[2:13:36]
review was that that wasn't a use that
[2:13:38]
was listed um in our municipal code. So,
[2:13:41]
I think, you know, just like uh common
[2:13:44]
sense updates to our municipal code um
[2:13:47]
to make different commercial uses
[2:13:49]
possible, I think is a a really positive
[2:13:51]
step forward. Um like I said, figuring
[2:13:54]
out what to do about the big elephant in
[2:13:57]
the room, which is the constraints on
[2:13:59]
building heights and town center. Um I
[2:14:01]
think, you know, a recommendation and
[2:14:02]
like a plan. Um assuming there is
[2:14:05]
support for that like you know I think
[2:14:07]
um like yeah a recommendation and a plan
[2:14:10]
on how to approach that would be really
[2:14:12]
valuable.
[2:14:13]
Um let's see
[2:14:16]
yeah very supportive of what um you
[2:14:18]
presented around like you know new
[2:14:20]
businesses. I think that the advisor
[2:14:23]
committee's um recommendation that we
[2:14:24]
make it easier for fast casual fitness
[2:14:27]
those types of uses um I think is really
[2:14:29]
smart.
[2:14:31]
making cups um easier. Um you mentioned
[2:14:34]
also reducing parking requirements.
[2:14:36]
Again, I don't know. It's I think
[2:14:37]
parking is a broader issue, right? Like
[2:14:38]
we need more parking, but we also um
[2:14:41]
have, you know, lot it's just a it's a
[2:14:43]
thorny topic. So I wouldn't just say
[2:14:44]
reduce parking requirements, but like
[2:14:46]
look at that as a you know a bigger
[2:14:48]
issue.
[2:14:52]
All right, that's it.
[2:14:54]
>> Others others
[2:14:56]
go.
[2:14:57]
>> Yes, sir. Um, so I did want to address I
[2:15:00]
just um sort of pivoting off what
[2:15:02]
council member Wall just said that that
[2:15:04]
uh to answer Leanne Gilbert's question
[2:15:07]
very directly. That's why we're here and
[2:15:10]
this is a 10 to 20 year plan.
[2:15:14]
I won't be alive when this stuff is is,
[2:15:17]
you know, um implemented. But but we do
[2:15:19]
have to have a plan here. And if we
[2:15:21]
don't have a plan, here's what happens.
[2:15:23]
we get a 105 unit builder's remedy
[2:15:26]
project on Jefferson
[2:15:28]
and you're going to get highrises on
[2:15:30]
Woodside Road because we're not going to
[2:15:32]
be in compliance. And this is because of
[2:15:34]
Sacramento and it's because of, you
[2:15:37]
know, Scott Weiner and, you know, they
[2:15:39]
have an idea for this. The these are
[2:15:40]
folks who are dictating what they've
[2:15:42]
never been to Woodside.
[2:15:44]
Um, and yet they think they know what's
[2:15:46]
best. And you know, this place we're
[2:15:48]
trying to prevent it from looking like
[2:15:49]
Mountain View or, you know, uh, you
[2:15:52]
know, the corridor in Redwood City and
[2:15:54]
those sorts of things. We don't I mean,
[2:15:56]
I actually think that that what you guys
[2:15:58]
showed us tonight, those very tasteful,
[2:16:01]
lowcale twostory and threetory, although
[2:16:04]
I agree I like the twotory u almost 100%
[2:16:08]
better than the threetory, but I but but
[2:16:10]
uh, you know, those were sort of the
[2:16:12]
things that we have in mind here. And um
[2:16:15]
if we don't do it, they're going to do
[2:16:17]
it for us. And um that's the threat. And so there I wanted to ask um perhaps
[2:16:23]
Troy, could you go back to the slide
[2:16:25]
that showed there was a poll on uh
[2:16:28]
housing that was on there. I remember it
[2:16:30]
was something split at the bottom. Uh
[2:16:35]
nope.
[2:16:40]
that wasn't it. because it was
[2:16:42]
like 38% 38% that
[2:16:45]
>> there that's just
[2:16:46]
>> there you go right there. So public
[2:16:47]
opinion is evenly split. Last bullet
[2:16:49]
point there 39% support 38% opposed and
[2:16:52]
23% are unsure. Well if you look at
[2:16:55]
Raundo and you look at High Road and you
[2:16:58]
look at uh 773 Kyatta 100% of the people
[2:17:02]
who live there were against it. So here
[2:17:06]
they could look at it kind of in the
[2:17:07]
abstract and say yeah you know it's like
[2:17:10]
uh not in my backyard and this might be
[2:17:12]
a nice place to put him on goat hill or
[2:17:14]
hosiendas or what I love those I mean
[2:17:16]
those are the locations that to their
[2:17:18]
credit this town council was exploring
[2:17:21]
during the initial stages of the housing
[2:17:23]
element. Personally, I think they gave
[2:17:24]
up on them a little too soon, but
[2:17:25]
whatever. It's, you know, the where it's
[2:17:27]
where we are and we ended up with what I
[2:17:29]
think are very uh inappropriate
[2:17:32]
locations and we'll live with them and
[2:17:34]
we'll try to figure out what to do with
[2:17:35]
them. Um, if it does get me in trouble
[2:17:38]
sometimes, but the I think in this
[2:17:40]
particular instance, you know, one of
[2:17:42]
the things we have to do, you could go
[2:17:43]
back to that other slide that you had
[2:17:45]
before there. It'll it'll help me a
[2:17:47]
little bit. Um, yeah, that's fine. But
[2:17:50]
the the um I think that in this
[2:17:53]
particular case for land use um it's
[2:17:56]
more than just housing and it's one of
[2:17:57]
the reasons respectfully I suggested
[2:18:00]
perhaps relocating this because this is
[2:18:02]
a pretty buolic nice location where we
[2:18:04]
are right now. It's it's a beautiful
[2:18:06]
little area and a lot of those
[2:18:08]
properties that you showed there might
[2:18:10]
look pretty nice here and it would help
[2:18:11]
us with the housing element and avoid
[2:18:14]
what's going to happen on Jefferson. you
[2:18:16]
know, this, you know, a high-rise, a big
[2:18:18]
glass and steel thing that has 105 units
[2:18:21]
on a, you know, on a 1acre parcel. It's
[2:18:23]
just incred. It's it's insane. And so
[2:18:26]
having a little village here might be
[2:18:28]
preferable. And, you know, government
[2:18:29]
buildings, you know, next to the fire
[2:18:32]
station might actually be near the
[2:18:33]
library, near the school, might be more
[2:18:35]
appropriate. And you could have you
[2:18:37]
avoid the density issues that we're all
[2:18:39]
fearful of. And that, you know, even the
[2:18:41]
split that you were just showing on the
[2:18:43]
poll isn't so great. Um but but that
[2:18:45]
might eliminate it because this is an
[2:18:46]
area where you're not bordered by lots
[2:18:49]
of communities who ha who have the
[2:18:51]
backyard issue. You don't have the not
[2:18:54]
in my backyard issues when you're
[2:18:55]
talking about Independence Hall and this
[2:18:57]
area. And I you know Thalia, I get it. I
[2:19:00]
know it's a historic building. Hey,
[2:19:02]
welcome to my world. That's kind of you
[2:19:04]
know this stuff happens. Things change.
[2:19:06]
And I can assure you the people who
[2:19:07]
lived here 50 years ago, a couple of
[2:19:09]
them are in this room right now, but the
[2:19:11]
people who are in here think this place
[2:19:12]
has changed. It's crazy. you know what's
[2:19:14]
going on here now and and and you know
[2:19:15]
parking and that stuff didn't exist back
[2:19:17]
then or a hundred years ago when they
[2:19:19]
were putting logs down the down the
[2:19:21]
street and taking them down to Redwood
[2:19:23]
City. I mean it's just you know things
[2:19:24]
change and this is going to change too
[2:19:26]
but this is a great location where we
[2:19:28]
could satisfy some of the things and
[2:19:29]
avoid builder remedy projects that are
[2:19:32]
completely inappropriate and end up with
[2:19:34]
some two-story you know little cluster
[2:19:36]
homes in a nice area that's kind of
[2:19:38]
reserved and and and nice and close to
[2:19:40]
town. Um, I also wanted to mention
[2:19:43]
Richard Ursstead, I'm not actually
[2:19:45]
returning the favor because he said some
[2:19:46]
nice things about me, but but what I did
[2:19:48]
want to say is commercial real estate is
[2:19:51]
a very specialized area. We don't get to
[2:19:54]
pick tenants. We may want Pilates. I get
[2:19:58]
it. We may want an ice cream shop, but
[2:20:00]
the market's going to dictate what works
[2:20:02]
in those locations and who's going to
[2:20:03]
pay the rent. And Richard makes a great
[2:20:06]
point that that you're not going to have
[2:20:08]
a gap next to a u you know an ant Taylor
[2:20:13]
along Woodside Road where you know next
[2:20:15]
door to the village pub right now.
[2:20:17]
That's not I mean you know the some of
[2:20:18]
the drawings that we had looked like you
[2:20:20]
have these nice boxes in there that look
[2:20:22]
a little bit like what you have in the
[2:20:24]
village at the Stanford shopping center.
[2:20:27]
The the the the I forgot what Richard
[2:20:29]
referred to them there. I think he he
[2:20:31]
referred to them as the car counts. you
[2:20:33]
don't have enough car counts. There's
[2:20:35]
not enough people traveling by there in
[2:20:37]
the parking that can support those kind
[2:20:39]
of commercial enterprises. Even if the
[2:20:41]
structure did support it, which it
[2:20:43]
doesn't. These are tiny little awkward
[2:20:44]
buildings that are good for a doctor's
[2:20:46]
office or, you know, those sorts of
[2:20:49]
things. Uh maybe a Pilates studio, but
[2:20:50]
something uh you know, ice cream, I
[2:20:52]
don't know. But but it's we we we're
[2:20:54]
sort of trapped by the town, what we
[2:20:57]
have here, and it's going to be tough to
[2:20:58]
do certain kinds of buildouts. So, um I
[2:21:02]
wanted to just address the not only the
[2:21:05]
for land use, not only the um using
[2:21:09]
commercial buildings but also the
[2:21:11]
housing elements that we need to do
[2:21:14]
here. And um that's it. Thank you.
[2:21:21]
» Sure. Um yeah, uh I I liked a lot of the
[2:21:24]
options. Um I agree. I think mixed use
[2:21:27]
uh
[2:21:29]
seems like the the best option if we can
[2:21:32]
I just don't know what I'm wondering is
[2:21:34]
if we have property owners that are open
[2:21:36]
to it because it seems like that's one
[2:21:37]
that you know there's a lot of things we
[2:21:39]
can do where it's just up to the town.
[2:21:42]
Um but those there there's zero chance
[2:21:45]
of us doing them unless we have buy in.
[2:21:47]
Um and so I'm wondering do we know where
[2:21:50]
we stand on those? like if if property
[2:21:52]
owners are open to it, what does that
[2:21:54]
look like? Um is there like a process to
[2:21:58]
work with them? Uh or is it just kind of
[2:22:00]
a recommendation and we just hope that
[2:22:02]
they buy into it?
[2:22:05]
>> It's a good question. Um I don't want to
[2:22:07]
speak for property owners in the room
[2:22:09]
but through the CAC discussions there was and through our stakeholder
[2:22:15]
discussions various property owners have
[2:22:17]
said yeah I might be able to foresee you
[2:22:20]
know some town houses or some duplexes
[2:22:22]
on my property. I think it really
[2:22:23]
depends on each individual land owner
[2:22:26]
kind of where they're at with property
[2:22:28]
and their life cycle. And I think we
[2:22:30]
should always keep our minds open that might be this plan is for the next
[2:22:33]
land owner who buys the property and has
[2:22:36]
a different vision. Um but I think the short answer is we would probably
[2:22:43]
see a couple of interested current land
[2:22:45]
owners um explore these opportunities if
[2:22:48]
we gave them. I don't think we'd see
[2:22:51]
wholesale change and I think there'd be
[2:22:52]
some properties that would never be
[2:22:54]
likely to change. Um, but we heard we
[2:22:57]
did hear some preliminary interest. Um,
[2:22:59]
nothing solid, but I think we shouldn't
[2:23:02]
necessarily just calibrate this for the
[2:23:04]
present. We should keep it open for, you
[2:23:06]
know, trying to I think part of our goal
[2:23:08]
here is trying to set ourselves up for
[2:23:10]
success for the next housing element
[2:23:12]
cycle in a way that takes a little bit
[2:23:14]
of the pain and the anxiety out of it
[2:23:15]
next time around.
[2:23:17]
>> That makes sense. Thank you. Yeah, I I
[2:23:19]
um with that, yeah, I don't exactly like
[2:23:23]
the idea of converting the commercial
[2:23:25]
property, like any commercial properties
[2:23:27]
to housing only. I feel like that I
[2:23:30]
think it's important to keep our
[2:23:31]
commercial properties and I think
[2:23:33]
converting them to, you know, mixed use,
[2:23:35]
twotory, threetory, um I would support.
[2:23:39]
Um but yeah, but I I think uh I
[2:23:43]
appreciate all of your work on this. I
[2:23:45]
feel like the ideas are really good and
[2:23:46]
I I would say keep keep working on
[2:23:49]
developing them and options open
[2:23:51]
including um you know being creative
[2:23:54]
potentially moving town uh town hall or
[2:23:59]
other things around. I I'd be you know I
[2:24:02]
think it's important to keep all those
[2:24:04]
options open.
[2:24:08]
» End of day we zone and market is the
[2:24:10]
market. Sounds like all the options
[2:24:12]
we'll kind of take them out to the
[2:24:14]
community, have further discussions. Um,
[2:24:17]
the only adjustment
[2:24:20]
I might make
[2:24:22]
>> before you could I just add one more
[2:24:24]
thought pick up on the this uh move town
[2:24:26]
hall which I think I mean I maybe I'd
[2:24:30]
like to reframe it a little bit how I'm
[2:24:32]
thinking about it. So, this area out
[2:24:34]
here between Town Hall and the the other
[2:24:38]
commercial spaces out there, like this
[2:24:41]
is a beautiful parcel and would make a
[2:24:45]
lovely uh augmented town center. I think
[2:24:48]
we heard ideas um the last time we met
[2:24:51]
around um I can't remember the term you
[2:24:54]
used, but kind of creating a a a walkway
[2:24:57]
with cobblestones.
[2:24:59]
Um, and it got me thinking like, wow,
[2:25:02]
like that that's a great starting point.
[2:25:04]
Like, I wonder how that could evolve.
[2:25:06]
Um, also love this building. Um, think
[2:25:10]
it's beautiful and historic. Um, but I
[2:25:14]
think we are in kind of the ideation
[2:25:16]
phase. And so I think thinking about
[2:25:18]
like what could this be out here, right?
[2:25:21]
Um, and I think it connects into
[2:25:23]
something that was brought up earlier
[2:25:25]
around um, the parcel adjacent to the
[2:25:28]
fire station. And I know that they're uh
[2:25:30]
contemplating um that as a training
[2:25:32]
facility. Um it really makes me wonder
[2:25:36]
like is that really the best use of that
[2:25:38]
parcel? Um you know could we combine
[2:25:42]
training facility and town um and and
[2:25:46]
town offices? Um maybe there's a better
[2:25:50]
place for training facilities. They have
[2:25:52]
no idea their openness to that
[2:25:54]
conversation. But you can imagine,
[2:25:55]
right, like if we were to put that
[2:25:59]
parcel to a town center use. Um what
[2:26:03]
might that open up around here? Um how
[2:26:06]
could we expand on the idea of the
[2:26:08]
cobblestone walking path? So I think um
[2:26:10]
I would really love for some work to be
[2:26:13]
done to kind of explore those options um
[2:26:16]
from a land use standpoint.
[2:26:21]
Thank you. I just wanted to kind of
[2:26:23]
reiterate uh two different points that
[2:26:25]
were made that I think were important.
[2:26:27]
First to what Troy said and to what the
[2:26:29]
council members were saying. You there's
[2:26:31]
two real reasons why we have to think
[2:26:33]
long term on this and why most planning
[2:26:35]
documents are 10 or 20 year plans. It's
[2:26:37]
a toy point is turnover in property.
[2:26:40]
Different property owners have different
[2:26:42]
interests. And the second important and
[2:26:44]
maybe even more important is just market
[2:26:46]
cycles. You know, in a 20 year, you're
[2:26:47]
going to have two or three different
[2:26:49]
real estate market cycles where there's
[2:26:50]
different incentives to build things.
[2:26:52]
So, what you want to do is line your
[2:26:54]
long-term vision up so that door is open
[2:26:56]
to what you want to see happen in your
[2:26:58]
area and then the market opens and then
[2:27:00]
they're able to come in. Closely related
[2:27:02]
to that is when you're looking at
[2:27:04]
different land uses that you want.
[2:27:06]
Typically what we tell folks from an
[2:27:08]
economic development standpoint is you
[2:27:11]
know first any zoning law that's out
[2:27:13]
there was usually adopted at a
[2:27:15]
particular point in time to solve a
[2:27:16]
problem. So it is good to look at those
[2:27:18]
problems every 101 15 years because a
[2:27:21]
those problems may not exist anymore and
[2:27:23]
b market conditions have changed to
[2:27:25]
where there's new issues that you have
[2:27:26]
to deal with. So when you do have a
[2:27:29]
vision of what you want your businesses
[2:27:30]
to be, really the key is how do you
[2:27:33]
reduce barriers
[2:27:35]
so that money could flow in so that
[2:27:37]
those type of businesses could open up.
[2:27:39]
Whether that's reducing building permit
[2:27:41]
time, reducing what the use permit
[2:27:43]
process is, but really you want to line
[2:27:45]
up your plan so that there's less
[2:27:47]
friction involved. So then when people
[2:27:48]
do want to invest their money to open
[2:27:50]
those type of businesses that align with
[2:27:52]
what the excuse me town's vision is.
[2:27:57]
Good.
[2:27:59]
>> Great. Well, so I guess what I was about
[2:28:01]
to say was in light of this discussion,
[2:28:04]
I wonder if we
[2:28:07]
articulate the ideas about village hall
[2:28:09]
and town hall separately and kind of
[2:28:11]
take temperature on those separately.
[2:28:13]
Those are two different approaches and
[2:28:15]
we maybe articulate the vision for town
[2:28:18]
hall which could include moving the town
[2:28:21]
hall. Maybe we try and flesh out that
[2:28:22]
idea a little bit more as part of a
[2:28:24]
concept. So, I might just make that one
[2:28:27]
edit. Otherwise, I think we're good to
[2:28:28]
go. Land use.
[2:28:29]
>> It's an unexpected iteration, but yeah,
[2:28:31]
that makes sense.
[2:28:32]
>> Great. All right. Uh oh, and to your
[2:28:35]
earlier point, uh just just about the
[2:28:38]
approach or the the the workflow here, I
[2:28:41]
had the same vision, which is I'm hoping
[2:28:44]
to develop a through our final CAC
[2:28:47]
meeting a recommendation for a clear
[2:28:49]
policy, which we then bring to council.
[2:28:51]
You guys endorse it, and that becomes
[2:28:53]
the plan direction. So it becomes this
[2:28:55]
sort of step-wise process. So
[2:28:57]
>> perfect. Thank you.
[2:28:58]
>> Great. All right. Last topic, public
[2:29:01]
spaces.
[2:29:02]
So here are some ideas.
[2:29:09]
Okay. Anyone want to kick us off?
[2:29:14]
I can try again if you want.
[2:29:17]
Oh, I'm happy to go. Um, so again on
[2:29:21]
outdoor dining, we all want outdoor
[2:29:22]
dining obviously, but um
[2:29:26]
yeah, without parking, you know, it's so
[2:29:28]
it's all tied back to parking. Um, and
[2:29:30]
without parking services, my only
[2:29:33]
thoughts on this really were farmers
[2:29:35]
market. We've tried this many times and
[2:29:37]
it's never taken off. And we have a
[2:29:39]
farmers market. It's called Robert's
[2:29:41]
Market. So, I I personally wish that one
[2:29:44]
wasn't on the list, but that's my own
[2:29:46]
overlay. Um,
[2:29:49]
and actually this gazebo idea,
[2:29:52]
uh, now we're sort of pivoting to the
[2:29:55]
use of that area as potential housing
[2:29:58]
density. Um, so I don't I don't know.
[2:30:02]
How do you get to the H. Okay, that's
[2:30:04]
about all I would say for the moment.
[2:30:06]
So, um, I've always, I guess last thing
[2:30:09]
I might say is I always sort of dreamed
[2:30:10]
that we would have a band shell. We
[2:30:13]
would have Fourth of July concert series
[2:30:14]
in a concert series over the summer. And
[2:30:16]
I always thought that would be a
[2:30:17]
beautiful thing to do as a gathering
[2:30:19]
spot uh with the Woodside Village band.
[2:30:21]
And uh, that's a that's a small town um,
[2:30:25]
uh, beautiful image to me, but I'm not
[2:30:27]
sure we're going to get there, and I
[2:30:28]
don't know how to get there without a
[2:30:29]
lot of funding, but um, particularly
[2:30:32]
when we have other priorities like
[2:30:33]
housing. Other
[2:30:38]
thoughts?
[2:30:39]
>> Did want to comment on the uh farmers
[2:30:41]
market and um we heard a lot of negative
[2:30:44]
push back from property owners from from
[2:30:46]
business owners um about some of the
[2:30:50]
public spaces near Roberts and near the
[2:30:53]
Pioneer. Um that there were a lot of
[2:30:56]
reasons not to do that and um
[2:30:59]
>> including by our bar.
[2:31:01]
>> Yeah. Well, there was like Yeah, but I
[2:31:03]
mean, we didn't want to compete with
[2:31:04]
them and, you know, also force them to
[2:31:06]
clean up and take care of those areas.
[2:31:08]
Um, but I think that, um, I love farmers
[2:31:11]
markets, I got to tell you, but I don't
[2:31:13]
like the idea of putting a business next
[2:31:16]
to a business. Um, you know, I can tell
[2:31:18]
you Christine Roberts was very much
[2:31:20]
against it and I am as well. Um, it but
[2:31:23]
I love them. We part we shop at them
[2:31:26]
about every other weekend. Um, and I
[2:31:28]
think that they're great, but you know,
[2:31:30]
that's not great for
[2:31:33]
the business next door that's paying
[2:31:34]
taxes and doing all these other things
[2:31:37]
and has overhead and employees and, you
[2:31:39]
know, refrigerate, you know, all sorts
[2:31:41]
of things that they have to do and
[2:31:42]
overhead that they have to cover and
[2:31:44]
then suddenly some people pull up in,
[2:31:45]
you know, trailers and, you know,
[2:31:47]
compete with them and, uh, selling fresh
[2:31:49]
produce. So, and and baked goods or
[2:31:51]
whatever it is. So, I'm I'm not crazy
[2:31:54]
about that idea. I think that there's
[2:31:55]
other things that we could do. And uh
[2:31:57]
again, outdoor dining always rises to
[2:31:59]
the top. We're not against it, but boy,
[2:32:01]
if you want an example of stuff we don't
[2:32:03]
control, that would be I mean, that's
[2:32:05]
exhibit A. We all want it. And it's like
[2:32:07]
the market speaks because if um the
[2:32:09]
property owner, the landlord can't make
[2:32:12]
it work. Um they're not it's not going
[2:32:15]
to happen. And they can they can make it
[2:32:16]
come or go as they as they wish. Um and
[2:32:19]
that's sort of the situation that we're
[2:32:20]
in right now. But um I I mean we're
[2:32:24]
going to try to do everything we can to
[2:32:25]
get outdoor dining and right at the top
[2:32:27]
of the list would be obviously carving
[2:32:28]
out some parking for that as well and
[2:32:30]
that's what this is all about.
[2:32:34]
» All right, I can go. Um so I think
[2:32:37]
there's some great ideas on this list.
[2:32:38]
Um,
[2:32:40]
you know, I tend to agree with the
[2:32:42]
comments around the farmers market
[2:32:43]
mainly well in mainly for the reasons
[2:32:46]
that already been stated, but also, you
[2:32:48]
know, we did try a farmers market here
[2:32:50]
in town a number of years ago and it was
[2:32:52]
really not very um well attended and I
[2:32:56]
think for that that reason kind of
[2:32:58]
folded. Um, but other than that, I'm not
[2:33:01]
sure I would take anything off this
[2:33:02]
list, but I will kind of highlight a
[2:33:04]
couple. Um, I think outdoor dining is,
[2:33:07]
somebody else said it, I'll repeat it,
[2:33:09]
sorely missed. Um, I'm I'm hoping that
[2:33:13]
regardless of what happens with this
[2:33:14]
litigation that um the the property
[2:33:17]
owner, the businesses there, whatever
[2:33:21]
support the town needs like to offer,
[2:33:23]
like that we can figure this out. Um,
[2:33:26]
because everybody loved it. It was such
[2:33:28]
an asset to the town. Um, so hoping we
[2:33:31]
can find a way through on that one.
[2:33:34]
Um, I think one of the things that is
[2:33:37]
really missing for me in this town
[2:33:39]
center area planned plan is um kind of a
[2:33:43]
signature gathering space. And you know,
[2:33:45]
whether that's a gathering space where
[2:33:47]
we could have summer concerts or speaker
[2:33:49]
series
[2:33:51]
um a park like Portullah Valley. I mean,
[2:33:54]
other our our peer cities do this so
[2:33:57]
well. Um, and I and I get that there are
[2:34:01]
a lot of constraints here, but I think
[2:34:03]
like to me this is like most glaring
[2:34:06]
missing thing here um is a proposal
[2:34:09]
around like here's how we could make
[2:34:10]
that happen and you know maybe you know
[2:34:13]
maybe it's right out our door. I don't
[2:34:14]
know. Um, but I would really love to see
[2:34:18]
um something where um there's a a
[2:34:22]
meaningful gathering space and I I
[2:34:23]
didn't get that from the um the little
[2:34:27]
triangle outside of Roberts, right? Like
[2:34:29]
you know that that that's not it. Um so
[2:34:32]
what what what can be done? Help us. Um
[2:34:35]
and then also um really loved the idea
[2:34:42]
around making town center look nicer. Um
[2:34:46]
I we definitely want to balance it with
[2:34:47]
like the bucolic nature of Woodside. We
[2:34:50]
don't want to overengineer, but I think
[2:34:52]
there's definitely room for improvement
[2:34:55]
um when you enter town and as you travel
[2:34:57]
through town. Um I think um definitely
[2:35:01]
exploring that more and coming back with
[2:35:03]
like some specific recommendations I
[2:35:05]
would be very much in support of.
[2:35:08]
>> And just on that last point um you know
[2:35:12]
landscaping and beautifification of town
[2:35:14]
is something that we we do have a lot of
[2:35:16]
interest from our citizens in privately
[2:35:18]
funding. And so I think I would almost
[2:35:20]
bold that one out at some level that um
[2:35:22]
there's a desire and there's great
[2:35:24]
projects we want to hear about them.
[2:35:27]
Other thoughts on public gathering
[2:35:29]
spaces? Yes.
[2:35:32]
>> I I guess I would say I I believe this
[2:35:35]
building is an underutilized resource.
[2:35:38]
We're talking about a gathering place,
[2:35:40]
community center. We do have a lot of
[2:35:43]
activities in this building. Uh it's
[2:35:45]
just not as well publicized sometimes as
[2:35:47]
it it might could be. I mean we have um
[2:35:52]
the um the art committee every every
[2:35:56]
first every month is show having
[2:35:58]
programs um we have workshops
[2:36:02]
at least once a month sometimes two or
[2:36:04]
three times a month um and there's that
[2:36:08]
I don't could even tell you some of the
[2:36:09]
other things I don't know about but
[2:36:10]
there's a lot of things that go on here
[2:36:12]
and if we want to create a community
[2:36:15]
center maybe we want to look at this as
[2:36:18]
the key to it then are there other
[2:36:19]
things we want to do to enhance this.
[2:36:22]
Um, parking would have to be part of
[2:36:23]
that. Um, but, uh, I don't think I put a
[2:36:26]
whole lot of effort into building a new community center as a
[2:36:30]
part of thinking about what we have now
[2:36:32]
and what can we do with it. Um, farmers
[2:36:35]
market. Um, I don't see the market for
[2:36:38]
it here in Woodside. I don't think it's
[2:36:40]
a big enough market. Um, and I don't I
[2:36:43]
don't know where you'd do it without
[2:36:45]
competing head-to-head with one of our
[2:36:47]
key businesses. Um,
[2:36:52]
the rest I mean the rest is kind of like
[2:36:54]
um, you know,
[2:36:56]
good stuff to be looking at. I have no problem with it.
[2:37:01]
>> Got it.
[2:37:03]
>> Anything to tack on there?
[2:37:04]
>> Sure. All right.
[2:37:05]
>> Yeah, I think, you know, adding the
[2:37:07]
outdoor dining, getting it back. I think
[2:37:09]
that's I think we're everyone's in
[2:37:10]
agreement on that. Um so ideas on how to
[2:37:13]
facilitate that would be welcome. Uh
[2:37:18]
I and I agree with uh Jen's comments on
[2:37:22]
uh you know really having a community
[2:37:24]
center and I think this could be part of
[2:37:26]
it where we're sitting here. Um I think
[2:37:28]
you know some ideas would be appreciated
[2:37:30]
for things we could add you know to this
[2:37:33]
property or move things. I I don't even
[2:37:35]
know what that would look like exactly,
[2:37:37]
but um I saw there's a you know spot for
[2:37:40]
a gazebo if we we think bigger and you
[2:37:45]
know and if we move things around and
[2:37:47]
get creative
[2:37:48]
um what could that look like
[2:37:51]
otherwise? Yeah. And yeah, I would agree
[2:37:54]
with I think the only thing we can
[2:37:55]
strike is the farmers market. So this is
[2:37:59]
the most iron clad section we've had
[2:38:01]
yet. It was easy uh to strike farmers
[2:38:03]
market and but but I will say I I am
[2:38:07]
hearing a desire ultimately for a cohesive strategy about where the
[2:38:15]
heart of the town center is. Is it here
[2:38:18]
or is it not? And if it's here, what
[2:38:20]
does it look like? And how does that
[2:38:21]
relate to the shared we called it a
[2:38:23]
shared street last time, the um nice
[2:38:26]
cobblestone, but how does that fit into
[2:38:28]
that? Um, so anyway, so that's good
[2:38:29]
thoughts for us from the plan
[2:38:31]
perspective, but for right now, we'll
[2:38:32]
just strike the one bullet and we'll go
[2:38:34]
from there.
[2:38:35]
>> Great. Thank you so much.
[2:38:39]
>> That include urban. That was all
[2:38:42]
combined. That's it.
[2:38:43]
>> All right, that's it. Okay. Well, thank
[2:38:45]
you for all of your leadership and it's
[2:38:47]
um is a thought-provoking conversation.
[2:38:50]
Um we appreciate being here tonight. So,
[2:38:52]
thank you. Good luck
[2:38:54]
>> you guys.
[2:38:56]
Uh two items left uh tonight. Any uh
[2:38:58]
volunteer report? Nothing. Okay. And
[2:39:01]
then any anything anyone wants to hear
[2:39:03]
from council communications?
[2:39:05]
>> I do.
[2:39:06]
>> Yes, sir.
[2:39:07]
>> Um I've had actually a few from cons
[2:39:09]
well from constituents and from others.
[2:39:12]
Uh one, as our town manager knows, um
[2:39:18]
I'm getting some complaints from
[2:39:20]
neighbors of Barkley Field about
[2:39:22]
amplified noise. Um, the point was made
[2:39:24]
that literally every promise that was
[2:39:28]
made to them about noise and use of that
[2:39:30]
field has been broken over the roughly
[2:39:33]
20 years since it was dedicated by me,
[2:39:37]
by the way.
[2:39:38]
>> Um, and it's been and and I think that
[2:39:40]
it's uh the
[2:39:43]
those people deserve better, I think.
[2:39:45]
And um we need to do something because
[2:39:47]
they can I don't hear it where I live,
[2:39:49]
but but where the families that live
[2:39:51]
closer to it. By the way, Woodside
[2:39:53]
residents and Redwood City residents,
[2:39:55]
but mostly Woodside residents are um you
[2:39:57]
know, they're subject to hearing, you
[2:40:00]
know, uh softball players being
[2:40:01]
announced on a loudspeaker, you know,
[2:40:03]
all during the day and sometimes in the
[2:40:05]
early evening. And that's not what they
[2:40:07]
were promised. And so, we need to take
[2:40:09]
some action to at least give them some
[2:40:11]
peace, uh which I think they deserve.
[2:40:13]
The other thing I wanted to mention was
[2:40:14]
625 East View. I've been talking with
[2:40:16]
the town attorney about it. This is one
[2:40:18]
of the properties that um we're
[2:40:20]
proceeding with abatement procedures.
[2:40:22]
It's a nuisance and uh my understanding
[2:40:25]
is that it is now we have an attorney
[2:40:27]
working on it to uh I'll use the word
[2:40:31]
foreclose. We're not foreclosing on it,
[2:40:32]
but I mean that we're taking steps to uh
[2:40:34]
make it safe and uh do that. But it's um
[2:40:38]
it takes time and apparently there has
[2:40:40]
been some prog progress made with that.
[2:40:43]
There's now red tape surrounding the
[2:40:44]
house, but neighbors are aware that it's
[2:40:46]
still a nuisance and attracting,
[2:40:49]
you know, um um vandalism and, you know,
[2:40:52]
mischief and that sort of thing. Um I
[2:40:55]
also wanted to mention at the SFO
[2:40:56]
airport roundt that um we've really
[2:41:00]
tried to shake it up quite a bit and uh
[2:41:02]
as some of you may know uh one of the
[2:41:05]
runways is under construction. Maybe you
[2:41:07]
don't know that. uh that happened about
[2:41:08]
a month ago and coincidentally with that
[2:41:10]
the FAA decided to shut down one of our
[2:41:13]
uh to change our staggering of our
[2:41:16]
planes that can land side by side. It
[2:41:18]
actually was because of in Washington DC
[2:41:19]
at the PTOAC the helicopter that crashed
[2:41:22]
into the airplane. That's it didn't have
[2:41:23]
anything to do with SFO. They changed
[2:41:25]
this rule um nationwide but it changed
[2:41:28]
the fight patterns pretty dramatically.
[2:41:30]
And interestingly enough, the cities
[2:41:32]
that are most affected by noise
[2:41:35]
are finding it a lot quieter. And the
[2:41:38]
cities that had been least affected by
[2:41:40]
noise are suddenly getting complaints.
[2:41:42]
And that includes Woodside. So Woodside
[2:41:45]
where we get almost no complaints. And
[2:41:48]
in fact, I've even made the statement
[2:41:49]
that in all my years sitting in this
[2:41:50]
room, I'm not aware of anybody ever
[2:41:52]
coming to that microphone and
[2:41:54]
complaining about air airplane noise.
[2:41:56]
Maybe I forgot, but I don't remember a
[2:41:57]
single time. Suddenly we're starting to
[2:41:59]
get them. Uh suddenly we've seen a
[2:42:01]
couple of emails and we've gotten some
[2:42:03]
complaints and I see it on next oops on
[2:42:05]
next door and other lo and other places
[2:42:07]
that suddenly this flight pattern has
[2:42:09]
changed and now Woodside's getting it.
[2:42:11]
By the way, it's not like we're Milbury
[2:42:14]
or Bris I mean you know we're not
[2:42:16]
getting the kind of flight noise that
[2:42:18]
you know we're right under the flight
[2:42:19]
patterns but it's it's it still bothers
[2:42:21]
people. Pulla Valley for some reason
[2:42:23]
seems to get it worse than we do but um
[2:42:25]
I'm just bringing that up. We actually
[2:42:27]
are having a workshop um a public
[2:42:30]
workshop on Thursday night at Brisbane
[2:42:32]
City Hall uh to try to get public input
[2:42:35]
on some of the steps we're trying to
[2:42:38]
take to do it. Um I've been sitting on
[2:42:40]
that group since 1999. I know I am
[2:42:43]
pretty old, but um
[2:42:46]
this group, the SF airport round table,
[2:42:49]
I think is one of the mo is one of the
[2:42:51]
least effective groups you could imagine
[2:42:53]
in government. We've been talking about
[2:42:55]
the same thing for 30 years that I'm
[2:42:56]
aware of and um nothing really has
[2:43:00]
changed. And so the new chairman, Steve
[2:43:02]
Raldi, who's the mayor of Milbury, me,
[2:43:04]
I'm the vice chair, we're trying to
[2:43:05]
shake things up a little bit and make
[2:43:07]
some changes to it. And we've gotten
[2:43:08]
some cooperation from uh the airport
[2:43:10]
director and some other folks. So we are
[2:43:12]
going to try to do some things and uh in
[2:43:14]
the meantime, it's creating some
[2:43:16]
discomfort for some other people, but I
[2:43:17]
just wanted folks aware of that. That's
[2:43:19]
it. Thank you.
[2:43:22]
any anything else?
[2:43:23]
>> Yeah. Um just wanted to make the council
[2:43:27]
aware of um something coming out of
[2:43:31]
CACAG. So um there's an opportunity that
[2:43:35]
um that board asked um to get
[2:43:37]
highlighted. So basically there are some
[2:43:40]
quick build project opportunities
[2:43:43]
um and I know Lewis you're looking into
[2:43:45]
this um and that we've been asked to
[2:43:48]
provide uh project concepts by July 1st.
[2:43:51]
So, um, it's around the Metropolitan
[2:43:54]
Transportation Commission is currently
[2:43:56]
seeking potential quick build project
[2:43:58]
concepts from local jurisdictions. Um,
[2:44:01]
if you didn't know what a quick build
[2:44:03]
project is is, it's a lowcost, rapidly
[2:44:06]
deployable improvement that can help
[2:44:07]
address safety concerns, improve
[2:44:10]
multimodal access, I'm not sure what
[2:44:11]
that is, and test transportation
[2:44:14]
solutions before permanent imple
[2:44:16]
implementation. So, this is all part of
[2:44:18]
a 5-year regional initiative started in
[2:44:20]
2025, running through 2030. Um,
[2:44:24]
supported by approximately 12 million in
[2:44:26]
funding. Um, so it's in early stages,
[2:44:29]
but MTC is requesting jurisdictions to
[2:44:31]
identify potential project locations and
[2:44:33]
concepts to help evaluate um
[2:44:35]
partnerships and coordinate project
[2:44:37]
delivery. Um so Woodsid's encouraged to
[2:44:40]
coordinate um with our public works
[2:44:42]
department um to identify potential
[2:44:44]
projects. Um and you know they
[2:44:48]
definitely um caveat that a submission
[2:44:51]
of a concept is not a commitment of
[2:44:53]
funding. Um but I think um you know I
[2:44:57]
think these are all great things and we
[2:44:59]
should be curious um to hear once you
[2:45:01]
have an idea of like whether or not we
[2:45:03]
might want to submit something. Um it's
[2:45:06]
due July 1st. So um maybe we could we
[2:45:09]
could hear about um whether or not we
[2:45:12]
can submit projects at a future council
[2:45:14]
meeting.
[2:45:15]
>> Council um council member Wells I
[2:45:17]
already submitted for the upper Ola
[2:45:19]
Honda row project. So there's another
[2:45:21]
concept that we're also working on. It's
[2:45:23]
Katada row and Glenwood. So
[2:45:25]
>> okay fantastic. I think you might have
[2:45:27]
told me that. So sorry apologies for not
[2:45:28]
remembering that. Thank you.
[2:45:30]
>> Wonderful. Anything else?
[2:45:33]
The only other item I saw on an AEG
[2:45:36]
calendar for next week was uh a
[2:45:38]
presentation on housing cycle 7. It's
[2:45:40]
the first time I've seen that somewhere.
[2:45:42]
So, we'll figure out a way to uh get
[2:45:44]
coverage on that and uh report back. Um
[2:45:48]
and I think with that, I'll just uh wish
[2:45:51]
my colleagues well and thank them for
[2:45:53]
their collegiality and professionalism
[2:45:55]
and um and we'll call it at 9:55.