A Roundup of Aug. 24 City Council Meeting

The following is a roundup of Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Council honors San Bruno championship softball team

The City Council publicly recognized the San Bruno Storm 16-and-under girls softball team for recently winning the championship at the Western Nationals. Nearly 40 people showed up to council chambers in support of the team, including coaches, parents, softball league board members and the players who donned their jerseys. One of the coaches gave the city pins from the tournament as a gift.

Annual report from Redevelopment Advisory Committee

Robert Riechel, vice chair of the city's Redevelopment Advisory Committee, gave the committee's annual report. He gave a summary of what the committee had accomplished last year, which included:

• having committee members participate in the steering committee for the downtown transit corridors plan
• providing input on the city's redevelopment plan for 2010-14
• providing input on the San Bruno restaurant guide, which was published earlier this year
• providing input on the city's commercial façade improvement program.

Riechel also mentioned something that might interest a lot of people. In talking about the Crossing, he said the new retail building being built there on El Camino Real is going to be Jack's, a large family-run restaurant, which will have a private dining space for meetings, parties and banquets. This will be the restaurant's second location in the Bay Area.

He also summarized the committee's goals for this year, which include assisting with the completion of the transit corridors plan and continuing to provide input for the ongoing façade improvement project.

"One of the things that's easy to see is that some projects may take years," Riechel said. "But the results are easier to see and come much quicker with the façade improvement program."

Update on county's mosquito abatement program

During public comments, Riechel made an announcement about the county's mosquito abatement program. He said there was a squirrel found in San Mateo that tested positive for West Nile virus, and he wanted to remind people of the four D's to prevent the spread of the virus:

• drain standing water around your house
• mosquitoes are most active during dusk and dawn, so limit outdoor activities during those times
• DEET is an effective ingredient in repellents
• dress in long sleeves at dusk and dawn.

Resolution adopting requests for restricted parking zones

City staff gave a report to the City Council as a follow-up to a citywide policy adopted in July that was intended to streamline the city's process for applications for restricted parking zones. Using criteria established by the policy, staff reviewed eight applications submitted to the city requesting changes to certain restricted parking zones throughout the city. After review by staff and the city's Traffic Safety and Parking Committee, staff decided to consider only four of the requests.

The report focused on four areas where several business owners submitted requests to change the parking zones:

• a request to remove a red curb near the Yeo Lai Sah Buddhist Monastery on Mills Avenue, north of San Bruno Avenue, to increase residential parking in a neighborhood that was found to have a high volume of on-street parking
• a request by Masson Veterinary Hospital to exclude Saturdays from the one-hour parking restriction on Masson Avenue in front of the building, which would provide additional parking for neighbors when the veterinary hospital is closed
• a request to place a two-hour parking restriction for on-street parking in front of Crest Dry Cleaners on Jenevein Avenue between El Camino Real and Linden Avenue to help its customers get in and out of the business quicker
• a request by the owner of Lullaby Lane to add a yellow zone from 8am to 2pm between 1065 San Mateo Ave. and 1069 San Mateo Ave. to discourage double parking in front of the store. The owner said the two parking spaces in between the store's two warehouse driveways are frequently used by nearby auto shops to store vehicles being serviced, which blocks traffic during the store's loading times.

Councilman Ken Ibarra had some concerns about the recommendations, especially the recommendation that would impact parking on San Mateo Avenue.

"San Mateo Avenue is a bigger problem than just putting loading zones there," Ibarra said. "The only law they seem to obey is not parking in the red. Every other law they break."

The resolution passed unanimously.

Drivers not following speed limit on Susan Drive

Public Services Director Klara Fabry gave a report on a speeding problem that has been occurring on Susan Drive, the roadway that runs parallel to Skyline Boulevard between Sharp Park Road and College Drive. The problem stems from several residents' complaints that drivers were disregarding the speed limit on Susan Drive, primarily because the traffic enforcement there was lax.

Fabry suggested the council send the issue back to the city's Traffic Safety and Parking Committee to consider for further review and said there will be a public meeting held soon in that neighborhood on the issue.

Several council members said the city should take care of the remedial changes that could be done in the meantime to help the safety concerns, like re-painting the center dividing line and putting up traffic signs, while the issue is being handled by the Traffic Safety and Parking Committee.

Update on food packaging ordinance

City staff gave an update on the city's food packaging ordinance, which went in effect on April 1 and bans the use of disposable products containing polystyrene throughout the city. The ordinance applies to all restaurants and take-out vendors, city facilities, and all food establishments doing business with the city.

A staff member said the city conducted a survey to see how people were complying with the law and found that most businesses have complied with eliminating the use of Styrofoam in their disposable products. However, non-biodegradable straws and utensils were still being used by a large number of restaurants and food vendors, which has been causing problems with Recology, the company that manages the city's waste, because it doesn't take certain kinds of plastics.

Staff suggested the council choose one of three suggested alternatives for moving forward with the issue. The council ultimately decided to have the city do more research to see how people were actually complying with the food packaging law.

Ibarra said the law may still be too confusing for people to understand, which could explain why the compliance rate wasn't that high for plastic straws and utensils.

"I think the spirit of the ordinance is that businesses have complied," he said. "The question is the big vendors. Look at the fast food companies. What number (plastic) are they using, and can they tell? And how can you expect a small business owner, after they've changed the majority of their utensils, to then now have to rely on getting into the science of plastics?"

Public hearing on groundwater management plan

The council held a public hearing to adopt a resolution that would encourage the city to draft a groundwater management agreement for the so-called South Westside Basin Plan.

The city, along with Daly City and South San Francisco, use the basin to supply its drinking water. But each city manages its portion of the basin independently, so there is a lack of coordination for how the groundwater should be used and maintained.

The plan will provide a framework for regional management of the groundwater in the basin. Several meetings are planned in the northern part of the county, including in San Bruno, to discuss the plan.

Before the vote, Councilwoman Irene O'Connell said, "We're coming to a very crucial decision about how to work with our neighbors about our water. Without water, you have nothing."

The resolution passed unanimously.