What to Expect From Tuesday's City Council Meeting

The City Council will for its regular meeting. Included on the agenda is a proposal to increase the garbage rates. The meeting will be preceded by a special meeting at 6pm to discuss making changes to the city’s code enforcement process.

is proposing a 1.447 percent increase in its customers’ garbage rates as a result of a rise in inflation and an increase in landfill disposal fees. The rate increase would also account for the use of a new 20-gallon garbage bin.

If the council takes any action Tuesday, there will be a public hearing on the proposed garbage rate increase in May.

The council will also be taking a look at making some changes to the city’s code enforcement process, which has been in operation for the last 20 years. According to city staff, the majority of code violations involve rental properties whose owner doesn’t live in San Bruno. This has often dragged out resolving the violation because the tenant ignores the violation, never making it to the property owner.

The city is proposing to launch a new program to contact all the property owners so that they will be the first to know when a code violation happens.

New homeowners who might have just purchased a property can also get caught up in code violations if it wasn’t disclosed to them that the city was actively investigating a nuisance at the home.

The city is proposing that the new homeowners are still responsible for getting any code violations taken care of. However, the city will be putting together a guide that includes rules for postponing a resolution until after ownership actually changes hands.

Business owners could also be affected by the new code enforcement rules. The city is proposing to have a code enforcement officer and a city planner identify storefronts on a given block that are causing a nuisance.

Beginning in the downtown area, the program would move block by block to make sure stores and commercial building meet minimum standards.

To assist with the process, the city suggests offering help with architectural services and making available forgivable loans through redevelopment.