HomeMy Public PortalAbout2020-05-26 Item 3,»iSMILLBRAE CITY COUNCILMINUTES-DRAFTMay 12, 2020Per Governor Gavin Newsom's Executive Order N-29-20 and the March 16, 2020 Order of the HealthOfficer of San Mateo County Directing All Individuals Living in the County to Shelter at Their Place ofResidence, the Governor has allowed local legislative bodies to hold public meetings via teleconferenceand to make public meetings accessible telephonically or otherwise electronically to all members of thepublic seeking to observe and to address the local legislative body or state body to avoid public gatherings,and has suspended all contrary provisions of the Brown Act. THIS MEETING WILL BE VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE ONLY and can be watched in real-time on the Millbrae Community Television CableChannel 27 or on www.mctv.tv.CALL TO ORDER MILLBRAE CITY COUNCILMayor Holober called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.ROLL CALL: Mayor Reuben D. Holober, Vice Mayor Ann Schneider, Councilmember, Anne Oliva,Gina Papan, and Wayne J. LeePLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE U.S. FLAG1. CEREMONIAL/PRESENTATIONCommendation Thanking the Millbrae Rotary Club for Donation of Masks, PPE and FundsRelated to the COVID-19 PandemicProclamation Proclaiming the Month of May as Older Americans MonthProclamation Proclaiming the Month of May as Asian American and Pacific IslanderHeritage MonthProclamation Proclaiming May 17-23, 2020 as National Public Works WeekMayor Holober summarized the proclamations.Vice Mayor Schneider commented on the Commendation to the Rotary Club, giving support to our eldersis important. Seniors can go on to the website and request a wellness check:https://www.ci.millbrae.ca.us/Home/Components/News/News/2285/24. She also congratulated Millbraegrads at Capuchino High School, Mills High School, and Taylor Middle School.Councilmember Oliva stated that the Senior Advisory Committee is missing their meetings, and asked ifthey can they hold Zoom meetings. City Manager Williams replied that staff will look into Zoom meetingsfor Commissions and Committees. Mayor Holober stated that this would be a good opportunity to re-startsome of our Commission/Committee meetings. She thanked the Lions Club for their mask delivery lastweek. Seniors needing meal delivery can sign up through the Great Plates Delivery Program by calling1-800-675-8437.Councilmember Lee thanked the Rotary Club for making phone calls to Seniors. Residents can go to theCity's website at Senior Social Phone Calls to sign up. The Lions delivered 150 masks to seniors and theLions Club would like to help with another mask giveaway. He thanked the City for proclaiming May asAsian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month. Diversity is what makes us a strong country andthanked everyone for taking a stand against xenophobia.Councilmember Papan stated that she is proud of the 2020 Mills High School graduates and their parentsduring this time. A virtual graduation ceremony will be held on May 29th.City ofMillbrae Mission Statement: "Enhancing the quality of life in our shared community, providing great services, encouraging community engagement, fostering
CITY COUNCILMay 12, 2020Mayor Holober congratulated all graduates.2.AGENDA OVERVIEW/STAFF BRIEFING•Calendar of EventsReport of Bills and ClaimsCity Manager Williams provided an overview of the agenda and requested that item 5 be removed fromthe agenda. He updated the Council on the following items:> CO VID-19 data. Doing a great job sheltering in place and flattening the curve;> City by City data. There are 19 reported cases in Millbrae;> SMC Strong, current total of $1.4 million grant funding as of May 11th, three Millbrae businessreceived grants.Councilmember Lee asked City Manager Williams to provide a brief update on the availability of testing.City Manager Williams stated that he would need to get correct information from County; testing will beopen to the public, he encouraged people to go online to https://www.projectbaseline.com. Vice MayorSchneider encouraged the public to go the City's website and sign up for e-notification to receivenotifications from the City.3. APPROVAL OF MINUTESRegular Meeting of April 28, 2020Lou Sandrini requested the following correction to his public comments: "Lou Sandrini, Millbraeresident, voiced his discontent with the lack of communication with Mayor Holober concerning theunsatisfactory performance of City Manager Williams."^?Vice Mayor Schneider requested the following change to her Council Comments: "We have a specialLegislation Committee meeting to prepare comments to the FAA on supersonic jet noise impacts."Upon a motion/second by Lee/Schneider the minutes were unanimously approved with the two correctionsas noted above.4.ORAL REPORT FROM CITY COMMITTEE/COMMISSION CHAIRSNONEPUBLIC COMMUNICATIONPJ, stated that the seal behind the Council lists the incorporation date as January 15, 1948, however,Millbrae was incorporated on January 14,1948. Please make the correction on the seal behind the Councilor explain the discrepancy. If this is attended to, he will donate $100 to a Millbrae charity of the Mayor'schoosing.Erin Mulcreavy-Burke, Millbrae Pancake House, submitted a letter to the Council describing the difficultytheir restaurant has undergone during COVID-19 and the Shelter-in-Place order. As they anticipatereopening, they would like to open a temporary outdoor seating patio in their parking lot and are requestingthe City expedite the process for approval.Lou Sandrini, Millbrae resident, stated the two months ago he asked Mayor Holober to discuss an item ofa City business incident where City Manager Williams was deceitful, dishonest, and lacked managementprofessionalism. IVtayor Holober will not hold the City Manager accountable.1
CITY COUNCILMay 12. 2020CONSENT CALENDAR5. Reject all Bids for the Millbrae Transit Center to Spur Trail Connection Gap Closure ProjectItem 5 was removed from the agenda.6. Resolution No. 20-29 Awarding a Constmction Contract to K.J. Woods, Inc. for the 2020 LarkspurSanitary Sewer Improvement Project in the Amount of $1,088,000 and authorizing the CityManager of his designee to execute the subject contract and contract change orders up to the projectcontingency amount of $163,0007. Adopt Resolution No. 20-30 Authorizing the City Manager or Designee to Execute the FourthAddendum to the Agreement for Professional Seivices with Group 4 Architecture, Research,and Planning, Inc. and Amend the Scope of Work to Include Design-Build Support Servicesthrough the design and construction phases of the Project and Increase the Not-to-ExceedAmount to $1,411,174Upon a motion/second by Oliva/Schneider, Consent Calendar items 6 and7 were unanimously approved.Vice Mayor Schneider thanked staff for this report regarding item 6 as it comments on the paving ofLarkspur and this is the first time this has come up. If residents are interested in finding out aboutLarkspur paving, they should reference this report.PUBLIC HEARINGThe Public Hearing Item was continued to the May 26, 2020 City Council ]\feetins8. Ordinance Adding Article XXXI "Development Impact Fees" to Title 10 Chapter 10.5 of theMillbrae Municipal CodeWaive First Reading •^_ "§Introduce Ordinance '"^•EXISTING BUSINESSNONENEW BUSINESS9. Letter Response to California High-Speed Rail 2020 Business PlanCity Manager Williams presented the report. Millbrae is the only station and stop between the SanFrancisco and San Jose segment. California High Speed Rail (CHSR) has disregarded the Millbrae StationArea Specific Plan (MSASP), and as planned. High Speed Rail (HSR) will have a negative impact onMillbrae. The current draft plan does not describe track improvements, new trackways, or configuration.It does not describe the impact to homes on Hemlock Avenue, and conflicts with the approved 444 unitsat the Millbrae Serra Station TOD and minimalizes the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process.CHSR's plan turns the MSASP westside into a parking lot. As of last Thursday, HSR has rejected theCity's proposed plan. HSR has not disclosed the setback in the Hemlock neighborhood and it encroaches1
CITY COUNCILMay 12. 2020into the backyards of homes. In 2008 HSR was shown to the voters as being underground, should itproceed in Millbrae it should be below ground, this was the expectation of the voters. Tonight Councilcan discuss the letter, which is due on June 1st, or bring back to the May 26th Council meeting.Councilmember Papan stated that we are trying to make a record of objection. We need to add"Regarding" in the letter to be specific about what we are stating and to get this into the record. CityManager Williams stated that this letter is our response to draft plan. In June HSR will release their draftEIR.it'Assistant City Attorney Michael Conneran stated that this letter is the comment on the 2020 Draft BusinessPlan, and hopefully HSR will accept these comments. This document plan is updated every two years.The City's comments on Draft EIR will come after HSR releases draft report.Councilmember Papan stated that the photos of the homes on Hemlock, shown tonight, have never beenshared before. These should be attached to the letter to emphasize the number of property owners affected.Council would never agree to this. We need to be more aggressive and specific as to what the proposedplan is doing to housing and affordable housing. Why are we beating around the bush; HSR should becalled out. The 2020 plan and its impact on our residents was never presented to us, everyone should beallowed to comment. She also requested that acronyms not be used or be spelled out.Mayor Holober stated that the letter was placed on the agenda to have all Councihnembers sign it, and itmay be challenging to incorporate all comments into the letter. He stated that all acronyms are all spelledout. The letter is written to be somewhat diplomatic and take the high road.Councilmember Oliva stated that she likes introduction of letter, but we keep asking to meet and askingfor alternatives; the ending is weak and should be stronger. The letter should state when and how we willmeet, give them three dates to meet, and end the letter there. Our elected officials should be at the tablewhen we meet. This letter is cordial, and we will continue to get the same results as in past. If it takes ateam I will be there, but I do not see how we can move forward with this letter.Mayor Holober stated that we are commenting on the Business Plan and most of tonight's commentsshould be directed to the draft EIR.Vice Mayor Schneider asked the City Manager about our legally approved projects, and what rights doesthis give us and should we be clarifying them. City Manager Williams stated that the City has land rights,and the property owner has the right with entitlement of the approval of the project by the City. ViceMayor Schneider inquired if HSR can eminent domain this? City Manager Williams stated yes. ViceMayor Schneider said this would be a use of eminent domain, but HSR made no comments in 1998 or2016. City Manager Williams noted that HSR comments were vague. Vice Mayor Schneider stated thatour comments need to be very specific and she concurred with Councilmember Papan in that the neighborsneed to comment on this as well. The letter needs another draft to come back on May 26 , and we needto be specific with the losses of housing and of property tax. What is the cost of the land that HSR isgoing to take and what is the cost of the plan; all of this should be accounted for in their business plan.This is not just a delay of the project, but a delay ofMillbrae's future. We never saw the photo of thehomes on Hemlock and where HSR would come in. City Manager Williams stated that he placed theyellow line as a visual. What HSR is proposing is the entire west-side, half of our specific plan, will be aparking lot and this is a loss to the City. We have to request an alternative to their EIR.Mayor Holober stated that it is less expensive for HSR to buy out the unused BART tack than pay for theproperties or underground the track. The entitled value ofSerra station is in the hundreds of millions of4
CITY COUNCILMay 12, 2020dollars. HSR is also looking at the land at the corner of California Drive and Murchison Drive that iscurrently occupied by an office building.Assistant City Attorney Conneran stated that HSR needs to have additional tracks, this is being driven byAmericans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance to have a separate platform. Tracks will be used as apass through for slower moving trains. HSR needs to consider other alternatives and they did considerundergrounding them, but have stated these are not feasible, but have not stated how. This will need tobe in the EIR, and we can comment on that at that time. Any alternative would be preferable to Millbrae,and we have met with HSR and advocated strongly against their parking lot. HSR is under time constraintsand they are not willing to look at anything that would delay their EIR getting filed. This parking lot is tocompensate BART and Caltrain parking because they are taking away other property, it is a mitigationmeasure.Councilmember Lee inquired if the Transient Oriented Development (TOD) is a legally approved projectunder state planning law. City Manager Williams replied yes, it is an approved project, but it is not a stateproject. Councilmember Lee noted that this is a project under Plan Bay Area for housing through theAssociation of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). The letter needs to be matter of fact and feelings needto be taken out and state that by law we are required to provide housing. We need to make it more of alegal requirement to comply with Plan Bay Area and the other transit plans that the City needs to complywith.Mayor Holober inquired about the process of obtaining comments for the revised letter. Could commentsbe submitted via email and does this fall under the Brown Act. Assistant City Attorney Conneran statedthat comments should be provided tonight and perhaps two members of the Council could form asubcommittee to work on the document.Vice Mayor Schneider stated that she ran into a couple of Hemlock residents and that they had heard aboutthe taking of their backyards, however, she had not heard about this, and apologized for not knowing this.She also stated that she recently heard in news recently about Diridon station in San Jose and that HSRwill take 14 homes to build a station.Councilmember Oliva agrees with the Council's eomments and to form together a Council subcommitteeto work on the revised letter.Mayor Holober stated that he and Councilmember Papan have been working on the letter they can continueto work on it.Vice Mayor Schneider and Councilmembers Oliva and Lee were in concurrence with Mayor Holober andCouncilmember Papan continuing to work on the letter and to bring it back on May 26th.Councilmember Papan stated that this is the first time we have seen the map with homes in Millbrae, wehave never seen it before. She looks forward to working on the letter with Mayor Holober and that weneed a plan to go to a Caltrain Board to make this presentation. Additionally, Councilmember Papanstated if the station needs to be ADA compliant, then the underground station is the best option; this iswhat we were sold on when HSR presented to us.Councilmember Oliva stated that we need our local and state officials to be engaged in this and that theletter needs to have a drop-dead date included in it.s
CITY COUNCILMay 12,2020Mayor Holober stated that letter is a comment on the HSR Business Plan we will set up a meeting withour local elected officials as well to discuss this with them. We should not take things out of letter andcan work on multiple paths.Begin public comment.Steven Green, Millbrae resident, stated that he found it difficult to determine what is the conflict andwould appreciate clarification with maps. He inquired: 1) is any City land being given over to facilitateTOD 1; 2) is High Speed Rail still intending to take all the land west of the station to El Camino Real; and3) what part of the High Speed Rail plan is for station and right of way acquisition and what part is forparking? None of this is known as the draft EIR for the San Jose to San Francisco portion has yet to bereleased. He hoped that the Council would remove their suggestion to tuimel the Millbrae station section,and agreed that Bart should relinquish their third track.Doug Radtke, Millbrae resident, stated that in the response, Millbrae should reiterate its commitment toseamless transit in January 2020 and how the current High Speed Rail proposal is not inconsistent withseamless transit. He also stated that the S erra Station development is incredibly important for thecommunity and the region as the project contains needed housing that would be unacceptable to get ridof. The station land is vital to Millbrae's economy. He hoped that the City could work with High SpeedRail to explore other options that are cost saving; undergrounding is expensive. He asked the Council toconsider removing some of the excess rhetorical questions which should not be overused in a formalresponse.Marge Colapietro, Millbrae resident, stated that she read the staff report and the draft letter and noted thatthere were twelve references to housing and was very pleased to as this is an essential part of the letter.She also noted that the letter would be copied to our local elected officials and requested that the followingtwo names should be copied on the letter as well: Zachary Olmstead, Chief Deputy Director, CaliforniaDepartment of Housing and Community Development and the Honorable Warren Slocum, President SanIVIateo County Board of Supervisors Housing and Community Development Committee.Vice Muzzi, Millbrae Serra Station, LLC., stated that he endorses all of the comments and statement inthe City's draft letter. He stated that in 1997 when the City accepted the Millbrae Bart station it was theunderstanding by all parties that Millbrae would develop the adjacent west side of the station as aneconomic inducement for the City accepting the burdens that would come with the Bart station. He wenton to state that during the reviews to the Millbrae Station Area Specific Plan (MSASP) in 1998 and 2016,High Speed Rail, Bart and Caltrain were informed of the design, uses and impacts of the MSASP includingthe relocation and extension of California Drive. High Speed Rail did not object to this and theirrepresentatives endorsed it. On three separate occasions during the City's public hearing on the MSASPupdate, representative of High Speed Rail appeared before the Planning Commission and City Counciland repeatedly stated on the record that High Speed Rail had no problems with the MSASP or the City'sapproval of the Millbrae Serra Station project as designed. In 2018 after the City's approval ofMillbraeSerra Station he encountered problems with the last 200 feet ofCaltrain's unused right of way for therelocation and extension of California Drive. Finally he stated that the travel time between the SanFrancisco to San Jose portion is missing and that the travel times shown are double with High Speed Railshowed in their program ballot measure to the voters.End of public comment.Councilmember Lee thanked everyone for their comments and these need to be used by the subcommitteeto draft a new letter.6
CITY COUNCILMay 12, 2020Mayor Holober inquired if the City Manager had been taking notes for the updated letter and to bring itback to Council at the May 26 meeting.City Manager Williams stated that he was taking notes and requested that Mayor Holober confirm thesubcommittee members. Mayor Holober stated that he and Councilmember Papan are thesubcommittee.COUNCIL COMMENTSMayor Holober:> Thanked the Lions and volunteers for the mask give away last Saturday. He helped distributemasks;> Announced that the fire victims are being housed at the El Rancho for the next month and thankedthe El Rancho for their assistance. Support life foundation has stepped up to raise funds for thevictims, if anyone is interested in donating text FIRE VICTIMS to 71777;> Congratulated all graduates.Vice Mayor Schneider:> Thanked everyone who worked to put together the masks and get them ready for distribution anddelivery;> Aimounced that the C/CAG Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee will be releasing a grant soon. Staffshould be on the lookout for it;> Stated that both the Community Enhancement Advisory Committee and the Cultural ArtsAdvisory Committee would like to meet by Zoom. She is happy that the City is open to havingthese meetings to connect with our members;> Thanked staff for the reopening of the Community Garden with social distancing protocols;> Announced that she and the City Manager met with the SFO Roundtable Chair regarding noise atSan Francisco International Airport. What we are hearing is the baseline noise and this is whatthey use for noise insulation. We are trying to capture new baseline noise for Millbrae,Burlingame, aiid Hillsborough;> Reached out to the Managed Lanes Project, they are only accounting for noise in managed lane,not the noise at SFO, US 101 or High Speed Rail. We get bombarded with more noise, but do getassistance with mitigating this noise;> Announced that she is part of the County response to COVID-19, things keep changing and weneed the County to give us direction on next steps. We need to continue with shelter in place andsocial distancing.Councilmember Oliva:> Congratulated Mills High School Seniors and congratulated to all seniors graduating this year;Stated that socialization is important to our seniors and the Advisory Committee would like tofigure out how to Zoom and restart their meetings;Announced that SMC Strong has awarded three $10,000 grants to the following Millbrae smallbusinesses: Gao's Group, Inc., International Culture Exchange Center USA, Inc., andProChampion Investments Inc. dba Wonderful. She thanked SAMCEDA for making this happen;Stated that as a small business owner, she applied for a Paycheck Protection Plan loan and wasable to get one.Announced that she will be attending the Sheriffs Activities League Board meeting on Thursday;Stated that she wished she could help with mask distribution but was unable to as her husband ishigh risk and she has been sheltering in place.>>>>>7
CITY COUNCILMay 12,2020Councilmember Papan:> Congratulated all Millbrae graduates;> Stated that our businesses are our lifeblood and we are committed to helping them recover.Support our local business by getting take-out;> Thanked the Lions, El Rancho, firefighter's union and everyone helping the fire victim to get backon their feet;> Received a letter regarding loud construction noises at the Bart project site. Staff needs to lookinto this;> Thanked everyone who helped distribute masks last week. We received requests to give out moremasks;> Announced that she was appointed to a Blue-Ribbon Committee to distribute money from theCARES Act to transit agencies. Transit needs to be safe for transit riders before anyone gets backon public transit. The first meeting will be in a week;> Asked graduates to forward pictures wearing their cap and gown.Councilmember Lee:> Announced a successful mask give away last Saturday; 6,000 masks distributed., and Vice MayorSchneider assisted in the mask drop off as well as numerous volunteers came out to help. Hethanked staff who assisted. The Lions will on another mask giveaway. Go towww.millbraelions.club and sign up for masks, or the City's website: http://bit.lv/MillbraeMask:> Announced that the Millbrae Culture Committee has raised another $20,000 and has donated it formasks and shields;> Announced that if you are a stmggling business, go to SMC Strong and apply for a grant. BetterMillbrae also received a $100,000 grant from the developer of the Bart project. Businesses can goto the Peninsula Chinese Business Association and look into a grant;> Announced that he is proud of all graduates. His son is graduating from Mills High School thisyear;> Thanked the Mills High School PTA for honoring him as an outstanding parent.CLOSED SESSIONNONEADJOURN CITY COUNCIL MEETINGThere being no further business to discuss, the City Council adjourned at 9:11 p.m.The video recording of the meeting is available on the IVtillbrae Community Television YouTube website.You can click on the link below to view the recording of the entire meeting.httus ://voutu.be/OIkcN8A-JE4BY:APPROVED:Angela LouisAdministrative Services Director/City ClerkReuben D. HoloberMayors