Category: San Mateo, H’borough & Millbrae

  • City Council: Another year, another rotation

    The city council returned to chambers in City Hall Monday night for the first time in almost three years.  The occasion was the annual rotation of the mayor and vice mayor roles.  Thankfully, B'game stuck to established procedure unlike San Mateo and Millbrae this year.  Chaos ensued in both places.  Some things were different in chambers.  For one, the heat seemed like it needed some maintenance work from a master technician.  Each chair on the dais and in the staff area was equipped with a screen and two large screens have been installed on the sidewalls to accommodate hybrid live/Zoom meetings.  Zoomers' voices are now piped into the PA system giving a bit of an eerie feel to comments.  I may have to comment remotely sometime just to hear the effect!

    The big event of the evening was Ann O'Brien Keighran's retirement after 17 years on the council and 7 years on the Planning Commission.  The DJ piece with some quotes is here. Plenty of regular locals turned out for the event as resolutions were read and plaques presented.  Diane Papan read her own resolution and Dave Pine's staff member, Linda Wolin, stood in for Pine.  Ann's council peers and some members of the public recounted some of the big events of her tenure; with the Safeway project bringing up many memories.  David Bowlby, a Safeway consultant back in the day, recounted meetings with Ann and my wife who were the Safeway sub-committee members. He also recalled meeting with the Citizens for a Better Burlingame.  Just hearing the CBB name mentioned reminded me of all those morning meetings to strategize and commiserate over the original monster Safeway design.  Historical Society president Jen Pfaff and my wife dug deep into the Society archives to construct a scrapbook for Ann that captured many of the early events in her 24-year service including the time that Joe Galligan tried to get her and dearly missed Stan Vistica replaced on Planning.  Ah, the Old Days.

    Ann concluded her time on the dais with remarks that brought tears to her eyes near the end–even as she said she wouldn't let that happen.  I had a nice view sitting behind her parents, Denis and Katie O'Brien, as mom and daughter reached for tissues at the same time.

    Following Ann's closing remarks, Ricardo Ortiz was sworn in by Diane Papan.  Michael Brownrigg was sworn in by Library Trustee Kris Cannon and her husband Jim while thanking long-time advisor Jeff Londer.  Finally, new councilman Peter Stevenson was sworn in by city manager Lisa Goldman.  Many locals showed up for this renewed annual event especially from Peter's new district 5 including local DJ and disaster preparedness expert Jeff Tateosian and commercial realtor Jim Sobel.  I chatted with Burlingame Neighborhood Network board members David Harris and Ann Hinckle, local realtor Erik Winkler and our local waste wizard Joe La Mariana of ReThink Waste.

    As witnessed by the night's events and attendees, B'game still has a small-town feel.  I have no idea how long it will last given the notion that we must comply-or-else with Sacramento's demands for growth even as the state population shrinks.  But for one night it still felt small.  Here is the new dais set-up and Ann Keighran's appearance on the new big screen.  Happy retirement–she's gonna love it.

    Council 121922

    Ak 121922 retirement

  • San Mateo council chaos as a harbinger

    I've had a motivation challenge on making new posts since last week's very difficult post, so here are a couple of simple "just taking notice" posts to get back on track.  Our southern neighbor, San Mateo, is in city council turmoil as noted by the DJ in both the news pieces, a deluge of letters to the editor and Mark Simon's column.  With three new members and an open seat from Diane Papan winning an Assembly seat, the 2-2 tug-of-war over the mayorship is a sight to behold.  Simon notes

    Most of the time, the title of mayor rotates between councilmembers and is largely ceremonial — the person presides at council meetings, cuts ribbons, gets to deliver a largely fungible “state of the city” address and is the center of attention for a year. Ah, not this time.

    Having been married to a mayor, I can tell you there's a bit more to it than that.  Committee assignments, setting the bi-monthly agenda, certain management tasks and setting the direction of inter-city interactions are some examples.  But all of that aside for the moment, we should ask if the chaos in San Mateo is a harbinger of things to come in B'game?  Back to Simon

    There were announcements of recall efforts targeting both Diaz Nash and Lee. Some flatly declared that blocking the election of a mayor violated the city charter, which it does not, and that it ran contrary to published guidelines on how the council is supposed to elect a mayor, which it does. But guidelines are, you know, only guidelines.  Monday night’s (city council meeting) hootenanny laid bare some significant incisions within the body politic.

    Not the least of which is that district elections have wrought a profound change on local politics, including an unprecedented political immunity. Opponents can launch a recall effort to oust Diaz Nash, but it is likely she and her views are completely safe in her district.

    Tiny little districts (ours average about 6,000 people each and voter turnout is usually around 15-18%) may make for safe seats or they may make recalls easier to qualify–or both.  The time, money and hassle of special elections and spot campaigning of it all is completely predictable.  And sad.

  • Fall 2022 Treehugger Post

    I try to stick to B'game and our trees for the Spring and Fall treehugger posts like last year that you can find here.  But this time around, a stunning pair of brilliant trees in the Baywood section of San Mateo just stopped me in my tracks.  They are near the famous Baywood tree that the neighborhood is named after.  Even a native New Englander was taken by these gorgeous examples.

    Fall 2022 colors

  • Shocking Electric Virtue Signaling in San Mateo

    The early refrain about "reach codes" to force march people to use the fuel the masters want them to use regardless of the cost or hassle was that "it doesn't affect you, only new construction".  Well, toss that out in San Mateo as their virtue signaling extraordinaire city council just reached further into everyone's pocket.  And they did it with minimal public support.  From the Daily Journal piece

    The ordinance addresses existing building construction through remodels. Panel upgrades in residential buildings will require capacity for future electrification, while all residential kitchen and laundry renovations in single-family homes must include outlet installation for future electric use. Residential buildings will be prohibited from fuel gas infrastructure extension for fire pits, grills and pools. When new air conditioning is installed or replaced in homes, heat pump air conditioning will be required. Heat pump water heaters are required during addition or alteration projects that include water heater replacement.

    For electric vehicle charging stations, all homes must have a level two EV-ready space and a level one EV-ready space if a second space is provided. Residential and office buildings must also build up level two charging station capacity.

    I hope the city council members get more than just a card at Christmas from the electricians' union.  The piece goes on to note "Questions about the financial impact remain…."    You bet they do.  It's not just the higher cost of the appliances or their availability, but also the direct labor costs and the "soft cost" of the homeowner having to project manage all of this.  Remember when you could call a plumber, ask for a new hot water heater and the only question was 40 gallon or 50?  And the whole job was done in 45 minutes?  No more.  The cost of the electricity alone is enough to bust the budget and all the virtue signalers point to is subsidies from PCE–like that is some sort of free money.

    We allowed the camel's nose to slip under the tent in Burlingame back in 2020, but let's hope the rest of the animal stays in San Mateo.  It's also time to get into the generator business.

  • Banning Natural Gas: Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

    I sort of get it.  You're just back from the long Labor Day weekend.  The news is slow unless you want to talk about the heat and blackouts.  So what to do as a Daily Journal reporter?  Curtis Driscoll pulled out his abacus and dashed off an article about the percentages of supporters who want to ban natural gas in San Mateo.  It's an impressive show of support!

    Public sentiment is in favor of more stringent reach codes in San Mateo around new construction and home renovations to eliminate gas, with most speakers at an Aug. 30 meeting supporting the city’s potential updates.

    Polling at the end of the meeting following discussions found the vast majority strongly supported stricter electric reach codes around home renovations, new construction and electric vehicle infrastructure. More than 80% strongly supported requiring heat pump water heater installation for projects, including a water heater replacement in homes, requiring new pools to use electric or solar heating, and prohibiting extending the use of gas fire pits, grills and water heating in residences.

    Wow!  Four out of five dentists recommend it.  Go big on Green.  Save the planet now.  I guess the message is getting through to people.  But wait!

    The poll had 25 respondents of the 35 people who attended the meeting.

    Now hold on.  Depending on which data source used and which iteration of some data sources, like the US Census, San Mateo has between 102,200 and 105,674 residents.  You don't have to spend 30 years in market research like I did to know that somethin' ain't right.  Were the 25 respondents self-selected by attending in the first place?  Yup.  Were they all even from San Mateo?  Dunno, but knowing how these greenie flash mobs go, I'll bet maybe half were.  Were the votes visible to all?  Did the 10 people who did not respond feel pressure to support the natural gas ban, but chose to abstain because they don't?  Good bet.  So the headline should read "Will apathy allow climate fanatics to load new costs on homeowners?"  With the meeting in question taking place virtually on Aug. 30, that is closer to the true story.

    If you learned nothing from this week's events, it is that putting all of your household energy eggs in one basket is unwise.

    SM DJ Electricity fake news

    Here is some additional information to buttress the argument about dual-sourcing your energy needs:

    Palo Alto power outages

    Birds, squirrels, balloons, Oh My.

  • Worrying About Wildfire (Up the Hill)

    Yesterday was the longest day of the year and it was especially long if you lived in the Emerald Hills section of Redwood City or the surrounding parts of Woodside.  In addition to the County text alert, I got a couple of texts from friends who were under evacuation orders that didn't last too long, but according to the DJ piece, the fire was not contained last night:

    The seven-alarm Edgewood Fire in the hills of San Mateo County is at 25 acres and was not contained as of Tuesday evening, according to a spokesperson for Cal Fire.  There was one injury to a firefighter and no structures were damaged. A Pacific Gas and Electric substation was threatened and had units on it to ensure fire stayed away from it, Cal Fire CZU Deputy Chief Jonathan Cox said.  Large swaths of San Mateo County were out of power due to a downed PG&E transmission line, the utility said.

    I've been worrying about this for sometime as I learn more about woodland management from my experience in Tahoe.  As a member of an HOA in Tahoe, we have put a good amount of time, effort and money into carving out a buffer zone.  Then I drive up Chateau Dr. or Black Mountain Rd in H'borough and I wonder what the Town of H'Borough is doing about all that fuel laying around on the ground.  It's pretty much everywhere you look.  Are we just one lightning strike or foolish act (or crazy arsonist) away from a real problem here "down the hill"?  It sure feels like it.

    Download Emerald Hills fire_062122

    This is a bit of video from the television coverage of the fire last night.  We will see if the link works.

  • Turf vs. Grass: More to it than meets the eye

    Millbrae is leading the way in examining whether or not artificial turf is a good residential lawn — or not — according to the DJ

    Artificial turf may soon be illegal to install in Millbrae, at least for a period of time, with the City Council citing environmental concerns and the need to establish permanent rules surrounding the landscaping material often seen as a low maintenance and low water use alternative to real grass.

    The move comes amid a worsening drought in the state leading many residents to seek alternate yard treatments that require less water. But according to experts, the environmental drawbacks of artificial turf likely outweigh the upsides. The city is now seeking a moratorium on the installation of the plastic material until permanent guidelines on its use can be researched and established.  Among concerns are increased heat, reduced water absorption and toxic runoff from disintegrating plastic — problems that could exacerbate climate issues often linked with drought. 

    “You have in the case of a field … baked, sealed, compressed dirt that is completely dead underneath,” said Diana Conway, president of Safe Healthy Playing Fields, a volunteer organization that advocates against artificial turf. “That means not only is there no worm or bee activity, you have no runoff capacity, you have no water infiltration capacity, you have no carbon sink that you would have with grass.”  Additionally, artificial turf is 30% to 60% hotter than ambient temperatures on a warm sunny day, Conway said.

    There is more here concerning whether or not the turf is really recyclable as claimed and whether or not Millbrae cracking down on people paving their yards will use artificial turf to try to avoid the lot paving coverage limits.  No mention of how bad it is for any trees that are nearby and thus  do not get watered properly.  As usual, the Law of Unintended Consequences kicks in.  Kudos to Millbrae for taking a look.  B'game, what say you?  Perhaps we can copy something smart?

  • ECR: The Renewal Project Goes off the Rails

    This is a tough post for me to write.  That's why it has taken me two weeks to write it since the Caltrans virtual meeting about the El Camino Real Roadway Renewal project on July 14th.  I really want to see some things fixed on ECR as noted here, here here and here.  But sometimes the cure can be worse than the illness and from what I heard, this is one of those times.  The virtual meeting had numerous presenters each with their own piece of the project, but the overarching view was obscured by bureaucracy and over-regulation along with some over-engineering.  We heard about this "once in a generation project" which is an understatement–a generation is 20-30 years–and while the project may take half of that to complete (certainly more than the 2 years stated), we will be living with the results for much longer—if it happens.

    Caltrans presented three options:  the No Build alternative, the Roadway rehab without undergrounding the utilities and the Roadway rehab with undergrounding.  At least the horrendous "road diet" option reducing regular users to one lane in each direction with a center turn lane and all sorts of other goodies for people who don't actually drive on ECR is "not viable".  The good news ends there, because once the anti-eucalyptus forces start drooling over the two Roadway rehab options, we are headed for a dramatic changes that will take years to recover.  PG&E and the city council want the utilities underground.  I'm still not sure why when you consider the historic, nationally-registered eucalyptus grove will be a casualty of that move.  The renderings of what a denuded ECR would look like were all "20 years post-build" and even after 20 years still looked like a sad shell of the canopy we have now.  One astute questioner noted that they drive south on ECR every weekday morning and there are several months of the year when the sun is directly in the eyes of drivers.  Only the towering eucs make for a partial sun shield that surely makes for safer driving and pedestrian crossings.  Been there, experienced that.  And it's not just sun blindness–remember this incident?

    Given how long it took to take out just one eucalyptus at Howard Ave. a couple years ago (about a week), we could be faced with a year or more of horrific traffic closures as there are 390 of them in the tree rows.  The claim is that only 3% of them are in "good condition".  And yet they go on year after year with minimal incidents.  It seems like selective replacement as we have been doing is better than a wholesale removal and replacement with 7 to 14' trees.

    As for the rough sidewalks pushed up by tree roots, one of the Caltrans personnel finally said what I have been thinking for years– why not just "bridge over slightly raised roots".  It is apparently allowed and would work in the places that are not too bad.  Throw in some serious digging at the 4 or 5 known flooding areas to clear roots and debris and rebuild the drains and you have what I would call a "Light Build alternative".  Public comment can be made at www.ElCaminoRealProject.com until next Monday, August 2nd.  I'm not sure it will do much good at this point, but a light build is all we need.

    ECR sidewalk

  • Wildfires and Sacramento Grifters

    Anyone have a relative who is constantly asking for a "little loan" but drives a nicer car than you do?  I don't–except for my state Assembly, Senate and Governor.  Wildfires are a long-term problem in the state that have been ignored by our electeds for years–maybe decades.  It's easier to blame PG&E and the Feds than to do anything about it.

    You might ask "why should we B'gamers care?"  I can think of two reasons.  First, with 20 of my neighboring Tahoe homeowners, I spent the morning clearing brush, pine needles and dead wood from the area around our Tahoe homes.  20 of us filled a 15 yard and a 5 yard dumpster in a couple hours and there is more to be done.  We cleared a space about the size of a single B'game lot–maybe two.  While we were cutting and raking it all up, my thoughts were on Mills Canyon and the vast expanses of Hillsborough that look like a fiery disaster-in-waiting.  It's easy to think about the Oakland Hills or Sonoma and say "it won't happen here" but don't bet on it.

    The second reason to care is the grifters from Sacramento are dipping into in our pockets again.  The state has a $75 Billion, with a "B" surplus this year and another $25 Billion with a "B" injection from the Feds for "Covid relief", but get this; as reported in today's Comicle–the grifters are pushing

    Among the bills being advocated by the fire-focused senators is SB45, which would place a $5.6 billion bond before voters next year.

    Really?  None of these geniuses can figure out that sending "tax rebate" money to Californians who didn't pay any state taxes in the first place while mortgaging the state's future with new bonds that we could easily finance now just out of current "surpluses" is a bad proposition?  Really?  

  • Music to my Ears… in San Mateo

    I got out to hear some live music this past week.  Local guitarist Sam Marshall was playing at the Coyote Point golf course Par 3 restaurant outside under a tent.   It was only the second show I have seen in more than a year, but it portends good things to come.  We had one new Covid case in B'game this week.  Yep, one.  We've had 56 in the last 30 days, so the rate is tailing off.  Lots of people are saying "just got my second shot".  I would say it's time for some carefully organized, outside entertainment to start here in B'game.  Let's not let San Mateans have all the fun!

    Here's Sam playing the blues and some classic rock accompanied by backing tracks on his phone.  His tip jar was filling up nicely too.

    Sam Marshall

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