HomeMy WebLinkAboutSPCC Minutes 2004-10-04SRCC MINUTES (Special) 10/04/04 Page 1
IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2004 AT 6:00 PM
Special Meeting: Present: Albert J. Boro, Mayor
San Rafael City Council Cyr N. Miller, Vice -Mayor
Paul M. Cohen, Councilmember (Arrived at
7:00 p.m.)
Barbara Heller, Councilmember
Gary O. Phillips, Councilmember
Absent: None
Also Present: Rod Gould, City Manager
Gary T. Ragghianti, City Attorney
Jeanne M. Leoncini, City Clerk
PUBLIC HEARING:
1. DRAFT SAN RAFAEL GENERAL PLAN 2020 POLICIES AND PROGRAMS PERTAINING TO THE
INFRASTRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE, CULTURE AND ARTS, PARKS AND RECREATION,
SAFETY, NOISE, OPEN SPACE, CONSERVATION, AND AIR AND WATER QUALITY ELEMENTS.
APN CITYWIDE AND SAN RAFAEL PLANNING AREA: CITY OF SAN RAFAEL. APPLICANT. FILE
NO.: GPA 03-002 (CD) — FILE 115 (2020
Mayor Boro declared the public hearing opened.
Principal Planner Linda Jackson noted there had been two meetings so far on topics related to General
Plan 2020, and tonight Council would consider the remaining elements. She explained that many of
the topics were expansions from current policies, i.e., instead of a policy on the library, there now was
an entire section on the library. This was a direct result of learning what the issues are in the
community, describing a vision for the future and writing goals and policies towards that vision.
Indicating that Infrastructure was a new element, Ms. Jackson referred Council to Page 211 of General
Plan 2020 and pointed out that the policies related to Street Trees had been relocated to the
Infrastructure Element from the Community Design Element.
Ms. Jackson stated that on Page 211 — 1-7Xc - the Planning Commission recommended deleting a
sentence, which reads: "Consider an ordinance placing greater responsibilities on property owners for
maintenance and replacement of street trees." She reiterated that the Planning Commission
recommended its deletion, believing that the first sentence of the program includes the specifics of that
ordinance.
Page 213 — Policy 1-10 — Improvements to Drainage Facilities. Ms. Jackson recalled that last week
during the public hearing on the Neighborhoods Element, Council heard from a resident in Gerstle Park
(letter included in staff report), concerning flooding issues in a part of Gerstle Park. She indicated this
issue was addressed in the EIR, and Public Works Director Andrew Preston was present should there
be questions.
Page 248 — PR -9. a. — Bellam/Windward Way Site — Ms. Jackson stated this was in relation to
preparing a master plan for this site and to explore recreational opportunities. The Planning
Commission recommended deleting the last sentence, and Ms. Jackson stated the question was
whether City policy should allow the consideration of private development on a portion of the site in
exchange for funding to build recreation improvements on the rest of the site. She indicated that the
Planning Commission believed the need for recreational land is so great in the Canal, the City should
not entertain any private development on a portion of it; however, staff's recommendation, given the
long range forecast, continues to be that there will be no funds for improvements. She stated the policy
should give Council the opportunity to at least consider opportunities for private sector partnerships to
be able to build park facilities there.
Page 299 — right side — Ms. Jackson stated these were revised definitions for the Creeks and
Drainageways in San Rafael. She explained that the purpose of the Creek Setback policies was to
have a reasonable setback for these habitat rich environments, as opposed to setbacks on engineered
drainageways and small swales that lack riparian habitat.
Mayor Boro noted two items the Planning Commission apparently changed:
1) The language regarding responsibility for retention and maintenance of trees had been deleted and
he inquired whether staff had a recommendation on this.
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Mr. Brown stated the major concern expressed in the public hearings before the Planning Commission
was that the program as worded suggested the City was going to not only look for financial partnership
from residents but would actually hand over responsibility for street tree maintenance and retention to
residents. He indicated this was the real concern from some of the tree advocates, the abdication they
saw of responsibility. He noted the Public Works Director had indicated this was never the intent. The
City would retain responsibility but was looking for some financial assistance; therefore, the program
was modified to eliminate a phrase, and that appeared to satisfy all.
City Manager Rod Gould added that the policy issue staff may ask Council to consider some day
regarding sidewalk maintenance had been discussed before; however, sidewalk maintenance quickly
gets to street trees because the great majority of damage done to sidewalks is caused by street trees.
He indicated that staff still wanted to keep the opportunity open to talk to Council at a future date about
a sidewalk policy that mirrors state law that makes maintenance of one's sidewalk the responsibility of
the property owner and not the City. He confirmed it was not the thrust of this policy as this was
focused on street trees.
Mayor Boro confirmed staff was satisfied with that language being struck. Mr. Gould stated that as
pointed out by Ms. Jackson, staff believed Policy 1-6c covered this.
2) Regarding Windward Way, Mayor Boro noted from the staff report there appeared to be some
disagreement between the Planning Commission and the Steering Committee regarding private
development on the site. He quoted "The Planning Commission recommended deleting this
language due to the significant recreational needs for the neighborhood and the lack of other vacant
sites in the area."
Mr. Gould stated that staff wished to retain the possibility for Council consideration that some type
of joint development be allowed in order to fund the park improvements and perhaps the
maintenance of those park improvements that are desired by the neighborhood and community at
large. As indicated by Ms. Jackson, he stated staff did not see a great possibility in the future of
developing new parks, given the City's funding structure. He indicated it would be a challenge for
the City of San Rafael simply to maintain the parks that currently exist, and the development of new
parks struck him as highly unlikely. If, given the scarcity of developable land, the City could locate a
partner to join in, there could be a possibility of developing a good portion of that site for public use
as a park.
Mayor Boro confirmed staff's recommendation that the language that had been struck should
remain in the policy.
Jean Starkweather stated that she was representing Marin Conservation League concerning Windward
Way Park in the Parks Section of the General Plan.
She stated they felt very strongly that this park site should remain a park site. She noted it was on six
acres, is triangular in shape, as could be seen from page 3 of the staff report, and has wetlands along
the side nearest the homeowners at Baypoint Lagoon. She commented that it is difficult to build active
play space that could be a rectangle in a triangular shaped park on only six acres. Ms. Starkweather
stated this meant that should anything else be built there, there would not be room for anything more
than a basketball hoop.
Ms. Starkweather reported that the City's standard for years had been three acres of park space per
1,000 residents. She stated there was one 17 -acre park in the Canal area, and with various estimates
of numbers of people in the Canal, the latest being 12,000, it did not compute to have 17 acres instead
of 30 plus acres of usable active park space where people needed it more than in most areas because
they do not have back yards.
While appreciating the City Manager's problem with funding, she indicated this Plan was long-term.
The land was there, it had been a City owned recreation site since the Corps of Engineers gave the
City a permit to keep the fill in it about twenty-five years ago. Ms. Starkweather stated they believed it
was very important to retain it as a recreation site, even though it could not be considered in the near
future. She indicated that undoubtedly, funding would come along for improvements to the site and
for creating a park; however, realizing the problem was maintenance, she indicated that bridge could be
crossed when the point was reached where it could be possible to build something. Ms. Starkweather
stated that at this point it was very important to save that 6 acres and not allow any development on it.
Regarding Page 292 - OS -3 — Open Space Use - Ms. Starkweather stated it includes three policies the
City considers the important policies for open space. Noting she sits on the Open Space Committee for
the County of Marin, she reported they had spent the last year hammering out policies for the Open
Space District, since this was a celebration of their thirty years, and they needed to take a fresh look at
it. While they have 95 policies, she stated these three said it all, it was succinct and stated what it
ought to, with no ifs, ands or buts, and she thanked all concerned for writing it so well.
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Regarding Page 306 - Exhibit 37 — Threatened and Endangered Species Map — Ms. Starkweather
stated that on reviewing this again for these hearings, she noted it did not show the Clapper Rail up and
down Gallinas Creek. She reported that a very knowledgeable biologist from West Marin had just
surveyed the Petaluma river basin and Marin down as far as San Rafael, and he indicated this was the
richest area for Clapper Rails in the entire area. She requested permission to take the documentation
to the planners and have a circle drawn around that area as Clapper Rail habitat.
Ms. Starkweather identified Gallinas Creek on the map and requested that another #4 with a circle be
added.
Kevin Stockmann, 4 Elford Street, commented on the need for a Creek Maintenance Plan — Draft
General Plan, Page 86 - noting he had submitted a letter which was attached as an addendum to the
staff report, and the specific issue was the need to have the Creek Management Plan in the General
Plan. He noted it was suggested at a City Council meeting last week that the Creek Management Plan
could possibly belong in the Infrastructure or Safety sections of the General Plan. Mr. Stockmann
indicated that in response to last week he wanted to point out that his suggestion it belong in NH -38a —
Mahon Creek - was based on the fact that that section references the Mahon Creek Final Conceptual
Plan, the area the City would be maintaining. He noted last week, Councilmember Cohen suggested
that if, in fact, it states the City shall have a long-term maintenance plan, then it made sense to
incorporate it, and in this respect he distributed copies of the appropriate page from the Mahon Creek
Final Conceptual Plan.
Mr. Stockmann noted they were not attempting to infer the City needed to maintain the Creek this way,
this year, or dredge it this year or next. Rather, this was the long-term planning document and the
major drainage for several neighborhoods and downtown, and the EIR, the City's own Conceptual Plan
and an older City document (1995 Masterplan for proposed drainage developments) all specifically
state the importance of having some type of planned periodic dredging.
Quoting from the 1995 comprehensive document on the subject, Mr. Stockmann stated "the City should
plan on removing silt from Mahon Creek to B Street at least every five years" and as the document was
dated 1995, it made a lot of sense to include it in the General Plan.
Hugo Landecker, Gerstle Park, indicated he would make brief comments on almost all elements before
Council this evening:
Regarding the Housing Element, he noted the City was attempting to put in more housing and referred
to the comment to the effect that more housing would enhance the quality of life in San Rafael.
Mayor Boro clarified for Mr. Landecker that the Housing Element would be discussed at a public
hearing at the Regular City Council meeting later this evening.
Page 210 — 1-6 — Street Maintenance — Mr. Landecker stated that the older residential areas had a
problem with street parking which was preventing effective street sweeping. He stated that the parking
problem needed to be recognized in a part of this program.
Page 211 — 1-7X —Mr. Landecker stated property owners needed to be encouraged to maintain and
improve the landscaping in the public right-of-way, and specifically, the strip between the sidewalk and
curb, as well as the sidewalk and the front property line, which is usually approximately 2 feet wide. He
indicated this also relates to Page 145 — CD -X (Landscaping).
Page 214 — Telecommunications — Mr. Landecker reported there was a problem in his neighborhood
with telecommunications, specifically junction boxes between poles.
Page 225 — G -18a. —.Collaboration with Local Agencies — Mr. Landecker suggested including language
to encourage these agencies to have outreach programs or committees in the community. He
instanced the St. Vincent's Dining Room, where an outreach committee handled the interface between
the community and the facility. He noted that most of these facilities just wanted to be accepted by the
community; however, unfortunately, this did not always happen and there was a great deal of
discontent between the general public and these facilities attempting to help the needy. Mr. Landecker
believed outreach committees were a means of relieving some of that tension.
Page 225 — G -18c. — Zoning Allowance — Mr. Landecker indicated he would like to see this explained a
little more to make it more understandable as to the intent of the program.
Page 240 — CA -17 — Protection of Archaeological Resources — Noting this related to Native American
sites throughout San Rafael, Mr. Landecker suggested it would be appropriate to include a map of the
63 known sites in San Rafael, to enable people to look at a document and understand the scope.
Page 239 — CA -14a. — Inventory Update - Mr. Landecker stated this dealt with an architectural survey,
which he wholly supported, indicating it would be vital to neighborhoods. Regarding the inventory done
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in 1976, he noted there were 47 structures in the Gerstle Park neighborhood on that list, and as a
neighborhood, they would like to expand that list considerably. They wholeheartedly supported CA -14
Page 239 — CA -14b. — Preservation Ordinance — Mr. Landecker stated the belief was that the existing
Preservation Ordinance preserved not only landmarks, but also those structures that are historically
and architecturally significant; however, it does not. He indicated it only protects the landmarks, of
which there are 21 throughout all of San Rafael; therefore, updating this ordinance was very important
and he liked the way it was written.
Page 241 — Parks and Recreation — Mr. Landecker stated he would like to see surplus school sites
considered for Park and Recreation uses and he would like this to be in the General Plan.
Page 268 — S-20 — Creeks and Drainageways — Mr. Landecker stated this item addresses retaining
creek channels in a natural state to prevent undue erosion. While this might be the best approach for
the erosion aspect, flooding is also being evaluated, and sometimes the natural state can restrict flow of
water during demands for high drainage, and this should be acknowledged.
Page 271 — S -23a. — Restorative Justice Program — Mr. Landecker stated that when this appeared
before the Steering Committee it was not understandable at all; however, he now understood the
program. He noted, however, it implies that San Rafael has its own justice system and needed to be
reworded to read "work with the County Justice System." Mayor Boro quoted from the policy
"Cooperate with County authorities to review, identify and evaluate alternative sentencing methods to
enhance the community" and he assumed this meant "work with them."
Page 284 — N -6f (former N -5a) Widening of US 101 and 580 — Indicating he supported this, Mr.
Landecker stated this was an attempt to quiet down Highway 101 and 580.
Page 316 through 318 — AW -1 — AW -6 — Air and Water Quality Policies — Mr. Landecker stated that
while these ideas were great, they glossed over the reality that more people and more housing equaled
more air pollution from all sources. He believed there would be more and more Spare the Air Days and
the General Plan needed to recognize this as being a problem.
Nina Lilienthal -Murphy, President and Co-founder of the Lincoln/San Rafael Hill Neighborhood
Association, addressed the following:
Pages 212 and 213 — I -8a — Water Supplies — Ms. Murphy stated this refers to the long term planning to
expand local water supply. She indicated that working with the Marin Municipal Water District for a
desalination plant and/or pipeline from the Russian River was fine with them; however, sight should not
be lost of the recent drought years. Planning for the future was great, but expanding building would not
work until a final plan was in place.
Page 241 — Parks and Recreation — Ms. Murphy stated they desperately needed a park. She noted
Draft General Plan 2020 states they have Boyd Park as their park, also Fairhills has Boyd Park;
however, both areas need their cars to get to this park. She indicated they needed a park within
walking distance, something for the elderly and the physically challenged (ADA accessible) and they
were willing to trade for it. She suggested that a developer buying three lots for infill housing was fine;
however, the third lot should be designated for a park. Should a park not be feasible, Ms. Murphy
suggested using shuttles and perhaps working with Dominican regarding a park.
Page 222 — G-11 — Empower Residents to Take Responsibility —
G-11 a — City Training Programs — Citizens Police Academy / Community Policing Officer —
Ms. Murphy requested that the COPS program be returned to the community as soon as possible.
Regarding the Community Policing Officer, Ms. Murphy commented they were spoiled when they had
this officer. She explained that when she worked on their Safety Awareness Day, law enforcement
personnel commented that the most successful plan in the County had been removed, and she did not
understand this, budget or not. Noting the success of their Neighborhood Alert system, she indicated
that this one Community Policing Officer was such a vital asset to their community and the program
was so successful that they needed this person back badly. Ms. Murphy reported that this item is on
her agenda on a monthly basis, she received continued requests for the return of this officer, and
wished to relay this message to Council this evening.
Health and Safety - with regard to narrow streets, construction and emergency vehicles, Ms. Murphy
stated stepped up enforcement was needed, especially in the hillsides. She was informed by several
firefighters on Safety Awareness Day, and also on meeting Fire Chief Bruce Marin in the Fire
Department, that the hillsides were one of the worst, because of the narrow roads and constant parking
on the sides at night, rendering it impossible for emergency vehicles to maneuver. She stated this had
to be taken care of immediately.
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A further concern of the Fire Department was the 8 -foot height limit on trees that hang over streets;
however, should they be lower than 8 -feet, the top of the fire engine would be damaged.
She requested that these two issues be taken care of, and requested that the City continue to maintain
the trees and sidewalks along Lincoln Avenue and on the hillsides. Better lighting was needed for
pedestrians, especially over crosswalks, and the open space at the top of San Rafael Hill needed to be
maintained for health and safety reasons. She noted they depended on fire abatement procedures
initiated on an annual basis and maintaining this area clean and up to date would be great.
Marianne Nardo, stated she wished to revisit the NH -38a language on the Mahon Creek flooding issue.
She displayed an exhibit depicting an example of what happens in her neighborhood two to three times
per year, due to the impedance of the flow of water through the Mahon Creek area. Ms. Nardo
expressed her support for the language that her neighbor Kevin Stockmann submitted to the effect that
the City develop a long-term creek management plan for the San Rafael Mahon Creek area because
there are still some houses in Gerstle Park that are quite affected by the impediment of the creek flow
every year. This was the reason they stressed the importance of developing a creek management
program so that the water could flow through easily. Realizing it was a complex problem, Ms. Nardo
stated this was one issue they believed should be addressed.
Maureen Zuess, 614 C Street, addressing the flood issue, stated that she and Public Works Director
Andy Preston had a long history together. She indicated that when the initial repairs took place on C
Street to Treanor, she experienced two years without any flooding, noting she had lived in her house for
approximately fourteen years; however, it did not last. Ms. Zuess stated that before the drainage
repairs her home flooded approximately five to six times in a year, between four to eight inches of
water going through the entire downstairs, i.e., the garage and a unit. She reported having used fire
engine type pumps and hoses and had spent thousands of dollars in wraps, etc. With flooding now
taking place once or twice yearly, she indicated she cannot let her guard down, and when rain is
anticipated she and her neighbors at the basin of C Street search the neighborhood for higher ground
to park their cars. She reported that in order to park her car safely she is required to go across First
Street and up by the Yoga Center parking lot. Intending to lease a new car for her business this year,
Ms. Zuess indicated she would not feel safe taking a new car up the street to park. Her present pick-
up truck requires an extensive locking system and it was difficult having it a block away. She noted that
in flooding situations it was extremely dangerous to maneuver the street. While noting Mr. Preston's
statements that he would do what he could, she indicated this was not a nice way to live.
Ms. Zuess reported that when she bought the house this was not disclosed to her because there had
not been any flooding in the previous four years. She stated she had spent thousands of dollars on
legal expenses without any recourse.
Indicating she had recently spent $45,000 shoring up and painting her house, Ms. Zuess stated she
worried about what it would look like with 2 — 3 feet of debris piles running around it.
Stating she wished to make a correction to the record, Ms. Zuess indicated that with regard to the
Responses to Comments on the Draft General Plan 2020, May 25, 2004, Page IV20, 2nd paragraph,
she indicated she was listed as stating her situation had improved 90%. She noted that moving from
four floods per year to two or one was a terrific improvement. Regarding the cost, she stated that when
it floods, she has to use heaters, fans, bleach, etc., and her electricity bill rises by $150 - $200 because
of her efforts to dry the house out to avoid mildew. Ms. Zuess stated her address is 614 C Street and it
was noted that in the past 6 years or so there had only been one or two occasions where a property
had been subject to high water; however, she would like this to reflect one or two occasions per year.
She urged the City Council to do whatever is takes to attempt to have the flooding taken care of.
John Ortega, 50 Sonoma Street, San Rafael, referring to Page 214 — 1-14 — Telecommunication
Improvements — stated this was probably one of the most civilized considerations ever presented in
Marin County. Referring to a city program in Somerville, MA, a classic public access television location
supported by Comcast, Mr. Ortega stated that San Rafael was ready for some leadership in the area of
dealing with public access. He suggested that perhaps space could be made available with the
forthcoming expansion of Pickleweed Community Center, or somewhere in San Rafael, for a studio to
produce programs. While this would be an amateur undertaking, the range could cover from Police
Information to How To. Noting the Canal area had a high incidence of "Hit and Run" he believed
something dealing with that situation in Spanish, law enforcement, etc., would be very appropriate,
together with medical issues, such as providing assistance for mothers having children, etc.
He noted the Somerville, MA, endeavor was an entire program on Access Television, part of the cost of
which was being borne by Comcast.
Mr. Ortega stated his suggestion was that it be cost effective, i.e., producing preventive programs run
by the people themselves to communicate with the entire County.
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Mayor Boro invited Mr. Ortega to submit the Somerville, MA. Mission Statement to City Manager Gould,
for comment at a future meeting. He recalled having discussed this issue with Mr. Ortega and noted
San Rafael had a policy through the MOU to work with all other cities on public access.
Mr. Ortega stated he had submitted a list of 22 independent agencies (independent of government) to
Mr. Gould previously.
Tymber Cavasian, 22 Bayview Street, stated that with regard to Mahon Creek maintenance and
flooding problems, somewhere in the General Plan, whether it be Infrastructure, Neighborhoods,
Safety, etc., there should be room for this ongoing problem. She indicated that the restoration
appeared to be covered very well in CON -8 and she would like to see that it not only functions well, but
could become the community asset described with different ingress points for bicycles and pedestrians,
etc.
Ms. Cavasian stated that the other concern with Mahon Creek was the impact of further development,
i.e., what is the problem: more hardscape, what is happening with the water runoff, and if this could be
figured out, perhaps it would be possible to discern the impacts of more development on the problem.
Page 220 — GSe. — Advocacy at Regional and State Level — Ms. Cavasian stated she supported the
City's program to improve the advocacy at the state and regional levels, since things happen especially
there that affect all.
Regarding Culture and Arts, Ms. Cavasian indicated her support for the short-term priority for the
necessary library facility enhancements.
Page 239 — CA — 14a — Inventory Update — Ms. Cavasian stated Mr. Landecker covered this very well.
She noted the added language that the Planning Commission or staff added concerning districts, not
just a single property, as all too often the character of a whole block or neighborhood shifts. She
supported it being a high priority to get that program up and underway with an updated inventory and
strong preservation policy.
Page 245 — PR -3 — Neighborhood Recreational Needs — Ms. Cavasian stated that a lot was heard
concerning the Lincoln/San Rafael Hill Neighborhood needing a park and she suggested this be added
as one of those needs. Noting three neighborhoods were listed, this one should definitely be on the list.
Pages 246/7 — PR -6/7 — Community Center Improvements — Ms. Cavasian questioned whether this
should include some acknowledgement that more enforcement of homeless and loitering in parks is
needed. Referring to Albert Park specifically, she indicated there was a problem there, and since it is a
community resource it was at odds, because there were safety concerns and the trash was
unappealing when getting to the community center. She suggested mention of where this is covered or
included would be advantageous.
Page 280 — N-1 a — Acoustical Studies — Ms. Cavasian stated that the program language on Acoustical
Studies needed to change from should to shall to be consistent with the policy language change the
Planning Commission made. She wholeheartedly agreed with the shall as especially, in dense places,
noise was a huge concern.
Page 282 — N-3 — Planning and Design of New Development — Ms. Cavasian inquired where the
mention of trees was, as she liked trees better than sound walls. She questioned whether the merits
for sound absorption and deflection were considered and whether they could be included on that list of
bullet items.
Ms. Cavasian concurred with Ms. Murphy's comments on the Community Policing Program — G -11a
and Ms. Starkweather's comments on the Open Space Element, which she, too, considered to have
been well done.
John Mitguard, referring to a report prepared for San Rafael by consultants many years ago,
appreciated the need to deal with financial constraints in terms of addressing the flooding. He indicated
that perhaps one of the main issues would be maintenance of Mahon Creek again from B Street out. In
a study conducted in 1957, he stated it was found that a maintenance program was initiated, silt
removal, etc., behind Mahon Creek from West Francisco Boulevard to B Street. The cost was
determined to be minimal and the benefits extraordinary, and this appeared to concur with the City's
sentiments that the capacity of the creek is reduced significantly by debris, silting, and also certain
obstructions. Mr. Mitguard stated the City had already done a lot of what was recommended in this
report, all the way out to the Bay, except for the railroad trestle.
Believing there were perhaps issues with development, Mr. Mitguard stated the flooding appeared to
have worsened in the last three years at his home, i.e., flooding in areas not flooded heretofore. He
indicated this also coincides with the development of the Corporate Center and some housing units,
previously fields. He noted that more water was running into the creek and it could not handle the
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capacity, and in an area with a long history of flooding, capacity to move water away should not be
lost. Mr. Mitguard stated they would like to see this issue addressed in the General Plan in a concrete
way as it was not something that would go away. They realized it was a portion of the City that floods
regularly and perhaps with putting heads together a way could be found to help alleviate the problem
somewhat.
Paul Hineman, 527 C Street, stated he also had experienced the flooding and urged the City Council to
find a way to alleviate this. Having lived in Santa Venetia and being flooded three times to
approximately 2 — 3 feet of water, destroying his house, this was somewhat of a concern. He
concurred with his neighbor's comments about the mold and health situations because once the water
gets into the walls, it is impossible to dry it out and it continues to mold.
Jim Ganzman, Marin Audubon Society, expressed support for the comments made by Ms.
Starkweather earlier this evening, and in particular, he wished to focus on the Gallinas Creek habitat.
Noting the Marin Audubon Society funded the study referred to, he explained that it was a study that
looked at sites from San Rafael to Vallejo, and surprisingly, that study found the largest concentration
of breeding Clapper Rails in the North Bay (from Richmond to the Golden Gate Bridge) in Gallinas
Creek. He noted Council was responsive to Ms. Starkweather's request, and was confident it would be
included, commenting that he just wanted to enforce this unbelievable natural asset.
Sharon Barnett, Gerstle Park, stated she was a victim of the flooding and to echo previous speakers, it
was horrendous. It was a safety and health issue and in addressing the situation, she indicated they
would try to work along with the City to have the problem rectified as soon as possible. She realized it
would take time and money and they were willing to work with the City.
There being no further comment from the audience, Mayor Boro closed the public hearing
Mayor Boro noted that Mr. Brown had been taking notes on the items brought up, had been answering
questions over the past several days, and would respond in writing to Council and the public on
questions raised.
Regarding the flooding issue, Mayor Boro indicated that Mr. Preston would respond more in writing. He
noted there were two issues: maintenance of the creek, and the physical elimination of the flooding.
Public Works Director Andrew Preston stated that reluctantly, he had to agree with all of the speakers
this evening regarding the flooding on Mahon Creek. He indicated he had been working with Ms.
Maureen Zuess, C Street, for at least 20 years in an effort to reduce the flooding as much as possible;
however, it was a serious situation and he had no problem in supporting adding a section of a creek
management plan to periodically dredge Mahon Creek. Unfortunately, Mr. Preston indicated that was
not the silver bullet the residents thought it would be, as it would not address the flooding.
Referring to both reports mentioned this evening, the latest being 1998, Mr. Preston quoted "a
combination of strong storm events and extreme high tides causes flooding into surrounding
neighborhoods" and this is what happens on Mahon Creek. At low tide with the water out in the Bay,
there is normally sufficient capacity in the creek to take all of the storm water run-off from the drainage
basin. He explained this is a very large drainage shed, going all the way up to Miracle Mile, and Sun
Valley, and is one of the largest drainage sheds the City has, all draining down into Mahon Creek. Mr.
Preston stated that unfortunately, when there is a high tide out in the Bay, because this is a tidal
estuary, the tide comes up in the creek and fills with water. He reported having taken photographs last
Friday and with a 5.8 tide (medium high tide), the water was backed up all the way to B Street and from
there to C Street. Mr. Preston stated that regardless of how deeply the creek/canal is dredged, when
the tide comes in, it would be full of water.
To make matters worse, Mr. Preston stated that in the winter months when there are some fairly strong
windstorms out in the ocean, this also pushes the water into the creek. He indicated he could record
values on flow gauges in Mahon Creek that could be one foot or eighteen inches above the predicted
high level in the Bay; therefore, with the 7.2 or 7.5 tides in November or December, it could be even 1'
or 1'6" higher in the creek. Mr. Preston added that for some strange phenomenon it appeared the high
tides in November, December and January coincide with the high rains. He noted that last year in the
Sun Valley area there were four inches of rain in six hours, and during that time it probably peaked in
intensity at a one in one -hundred year storm event for a short duration of time. Mr. Preston indicated
that at that time there was a very high tide, probably 6.0, in San Rafael Creek and the rains had
nowhere to go because the creek was already filled with water.
Mr. Preston reported that this is one of the oldest flood plains in San Rafael. It is on the FEMA flood
plain map of one in a hundred years and the flood plain map predicts shallow floods of between one
and three feet during these storm events. He indicated that when the houses were first built there,
some up to one hundred years ago, most of the residents were aware of the flooding; therefore, the
houses were built 5 — 7 feet above the ground, the area underneath being basements or garages. Mr.
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Preston stated that over the years people filled these in with some living units and these units are now
below the flood plain.
With regard to what to do about it, Mr. Preston stated he had no objection to adding a Creek
Management Plan and carrying out dredging; however, he did not believe it would address the problem.
To reduce the flooding it would be necessary to return to the Implementation Plan done by
CSW/Stuber-Stroeh in 1995. He indicated that so far basically all of the recommended improvements
had been implemented in the Bret Hart neighborhood, rebuilt in the Mahon Creek area, rebuilt the
Lindaro Street pump station, installed a storm drain system from C Street, right outside Ms. Zuess'
house, to the new storm drain pump station. He indicated that the creek had also been widened from
Albert Park Lane at Lindaro Street to Lincoln, and from Lincoln to Second Street, and this had reduced
some of the flooding. Mr. Preston stated that it would never be possible to prevent all of the flooding in
the area, rather attempt to reduce it.
Regarding the Implementation Plan, Mr. Preston reported that the next phase recommended is that
CalTrans raise the Irwin Street offramp bridge by 2 -feet, as presently it is in the way of the high tides.
He indicated that CalTrans had refused to do this because of the expense. Mr. Preston stated the next
impediment to the flow is the railroad trestle at Second Street. This is the Golden Gate Bridge District
trestle, and according to Planning, this needs to be removed, and the creek widened twice the width.
Having contacted the Golden Gate Bridge District a couple of years ago and discussing this issue, Mr.
Preston reported they obviously would like the trestle to be replaced with a bridge or other structure,
and they also requested the trestle be widened to accommodate two tracks. He explained that to widen
the bridge and lay the bank back, which would be necessary to obtain the width of the creek, would
cost in the $2 million to $3 million range.
Regarding the culvert into B Street, Mr. Preston stated this was inadequate in size and needed to be
widened also. He indicated that it was not possible to go any higher with these culverts because they
then would be above the surrounding streets.
Regarding C Street, Mr. Preston stated the culvert at C and Treanor should be removed and widened.
Regarding this existing culvert, he explained that when there is a high tide or big storm event, C street
being lower than the top of the box culvert, when there is a surcharge of water, it comes out of the
catch basins on the south part of C Street. The water coming down the box is therefore actually
coming up into the street so there is no way the water in the street can come down into the box.
Mr. Preston believed it would be impossible to ever correct the flooding in this area. What could be
done over the next twenty years is attempt to reduce the flooding by continuing to implement some of
the recommendations in the Implementation Plan.
Councilmember Heller inquired whether CalTrans had that bridge on their plans anywhere, to which Mr.
Preston responded in the negative.
Considering the changes discussed in the General Plan, Councilmember Phillips stated he was curious
as to staff's evaluation on whether or not there were features included that would make the problem
worse.
Mr. Preston indicated he did not believe so, stating that whatever improvements were carried out
upstream would be incremental, and with the situation so bad presently, it would not make it any worse
whatsoever. With regard to the development of the Fair Isaac site, he believed most of the storm
drainage came down through Lindaro Street, down to Second Street and into a different storm drain
system without being allowed to drain into the creek. He stated staff was very conscious of any of the
developments actually draining into the creek.
To summarize, Councilmember Phillips confirmed that in staff's view, nothing was being included that
would intensify the effort. Mr. Preston concurred.
Recognizing this to be a problem of long standing, Councilmember Cohen stated that when he lived at
514 C Street they were upstairs in what was probably a "lift and fill", and while his apartment did not get
flooded, his car certainly did. He understood that with the confluence of high tide and a heavy storm
event, this area would flood just based on the elevation of the ground. Setting aside the expense,
which would most likely be prohibitive, to the extent the upstream areas contribute to the problem,
Councilmember Cohen inquired whether it would be possible to divert water coming down C Street and
that area over to Woodland to the Francisco pump station if it were possible to fund a pipe. In terms of
the engineering possibilities, he questioned whether this had been studied.
Responding, Mr. Preston stated it had not been studied in the detail necessary. He reported having
personally looked at it casually to ensure that the elevations were sufficiently high on C Street to get
into that storm drain system. He looked at Elford, as this floods badly, to ascertain whether he could
get it into the pump system; however, it was not possible. Mr. Preston stated it could be possible to get
other parts of C Street, higher up, into that storm drain system; however, this was then diverting water
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from one drainage basin into the other and the new pump station constructed on Francisco Boulevard
was designed for the size of drainage basin sufficient for the time. Diverting another 50 — 100 acre feet
of water into that storm drain system could possibly cause overloading and flooding in the adjacent
area.
Councilmember Cohen noted the General Plan addresses Second Street and maybe eventually the
need for work to be done between A and E Streets. He stated it could be interesting to look at the
engineering of this and in the event of work being carried out on Second Street, perhaps that would be
a time to install a pipe to help divert some of the Sun Valley drainage. He reiterated his concern that
talking about a potential solution implied a commitment to fund and do it, and this one was very
problematic. Noting Mr. Preston indicated these houses were built at an elevation that fundamentally
would always have a problem in certain events, Councilmember Cohen stated that should there be a
way to solve it, the range of options should be ascertained.
Mr. Preston stated this was one possibility because of the pump stations in the City, the one at Second
Street at the old Corporation Yard was presently under capacity; therefore, diverting water down there
could be a possible solution. Councilmember Cohen indicated he would like to hear more about this.
Noting this issue would not be solved this evening, Mayor Boro stated it appeared there were at least
seven people present who had an interest in this. He believed they were understanding of the fact that
it was not a matter of the City not wishing to do something, rather the solutions were few and far
between. It appeared some solutions could be identified and these should be evaluated for practicality
and cost, and the information shared with the residents. Mayor Boro noted staff had agreed to modify
the plan to carry out maintenance and he requested the issue be returned to Council for discussion as
to whether there were workable long-term solutions. The question then would be to prioritize this for
funding when the money became available, which could be some years away.
Mr. Preston stated it would be his pleasure to meet with the residents on a regular basis to discuss the
issue.
Councilmember Miller stated that studying this General Plan had been a roller coaster of highs and
lows. The introductions that so wonderfully describe the riches of this City and the policy statements
that give direction to develop these assets, generate a high. He noted the 100 new programs and
projects that demand money and resources the City simply does not have, draw him down.
Councilmember Miller indicated he viewed the multiplicity and cost of the programs in this General Plan
from the platform that without significant organizational and financial structural change, San Rafael's
financial future is not sustainable. Even with cutting services and personnel to the bone, he stated San
Rafael's property and sales tax, amounting to $0.11 on every dollar collected, do not meet expenses.
Like private employers, he stated the City faces rapidly rising costs in health insurance, workers
compensation and pensions, and to add to the mix, the State of California is siphoning off for its
purposes $1 million this year and $2 million next. Councilmember Miller stated the City just does not
have the wherewithal to pay for all of these programs, which to him was downright depressing.
Noting, however, there was hope in this document, Councilmember Miller stated he had read every
element three times and had gone back four or five times to the Governance section because it raised
his spirit. He stated: "When I `people' the print on the page — this is what I see:
■ A mature Council that bears well the burden of responsibility and accountability and that
creatively works together to achieve the common good;
■ A lean, competent and compassionate group of employees who work smart to empower and
serve the people;
■ A related and engaged citizenry willing to give time, talent and tax dollars to ensure security,
liberty and justice for all the people in the care and use of every piece of land in every
neighborhood in this great community of communities, we call home."
With this as a background, Councilmember Miller indicated he had these requests:
In the Government Element on Page 217, place a definition of Community-based Governance, similar
to that included in the budget document.
To give greater flexibility so that a park can happen at Windward Way, in the Parks and Recreation
Element — section PR -9a — Page 248, please restore the Park and Recreation Commission's wording
"Consider development on a portion of the site for public or private non -recreational use if it would
benefit the neighborhood and provide funding for park improvements."
Page 86 — NH -38a — He believed very strongly in including the Creek Management Plan
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Councilmember Miller stated he fully and wholeheartedly supported Ms. Starkweather's remarks
regarding the Clapper Rail in Exhibit 37 in the Conservation Element.
Councilmember Cohen echoed Councilmember Miller's comments regarding the Windward Way site.
As a soccer coach, he stated this year the field space assigned to him for practice is at Pickleweed
Park, which is a wonderful facility; however, every square inch of turf was being used primarily by
soccer games, and while people were respectful of the scheduled organized groups, activities were
taking place all around the margins. Councilmember Cohen stated that careful consideration should be
given to giving away any public land, and perhaps some development needed to be traded for funding
to develop the remainder as a park. He suggested also, however, leaving the door open to trying to
find other creative ways that could occur in the next twenty years of locating funding that could turn the
entire area into a park to provide some alternative to what is currently available at Pickleweed, as there
is a huge demand.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM.
JEANNE M. LEONCINI, CITY CLERK
APPROVED THIS DAY OF 2004
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
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