NEIGHBORHOODS AND QUALITY OF LIFE

By Bertha Hall Sanchez

It is the people who live in our various neighborhoods that are most concern about our quality of life. They are the ones most impacted by city officials decisions.

Our city has over 20 different neighborhoods each with its own concerns/issues which our city government must recognize. All the neighborhoods make up our wonderful city and there are general concerns that go across all neighborhood boundaries. What we have to realize is that all our neighborhoods have unique qualities; the good ones we have to nurture. Some neighborhoods need more of a helping hand about certain issues and we as a city must respect their needs and not ignore them.

1. Proposed and potential developments in our city is of great concern especially to those people living east of El Camino where there is the greatest potential for such projects to occur. I am not against growth but for reasonable growth with more resident participation especially for those neighborhood who will be the most greatly affected by such developments.
2. There must be more open and direct communication between the developers and the residents at the earliest stage so that a workable solution to residents concerns can be worked out and avoid a lot of the acrimony and contentious dialogue that often occur.
3. Perhaps it is time to revisit some of our city's goals, zoning and ordinances to fit today's needs in a more realistic view given the changes in our city for the last 10-15-20 years. A lot of these factors affect our quality of life today.
4. I will be available to listen to all concerns,and find answers in order to make a rational decision. My concerns are only for the residents of our city and I can make important decisions without having to consider how it will affect any run for future political advancement; as I am not interested in becoming a regular politician. This I can promise you that I will not be beholden to any group or special interests and I can concentrate and listen to the current concerns and needs of our residents and our city.
5. The High Speed Rail project promises to be an important issue to all those cities where the railroad tracks bisect their areas. We in San Mateo, especially the northern part of our city from Ninth Ave. to the Burlingame border are very vulnerable to the decisions made in the immediate and far future. Our present City Council supports tunneling in the northern part of our city and this I fully support. We need to stay on top of any future meetings to make sure that our interests and concerns will be heard. I have attended many meetings regarding high speed rail and will continue to do so.
6. Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is being touted in certain parts of our city along the transportation corridor. It is usually a mixed used development with retail, maybe some office and residential above. Supposedly it is to encourage more people to use public transit and not rely on their cars as much. I recently heard a developer say when asked about supporting child care, he said that they would be mostly catering to the single person, young couples, seniors and perhaps a family with only a few young children. In other words child care was not an important part of his project. TODs are catering to certain targeted groups of people and not necessarily families with school age children who would most likely live in a home. With TODs planned in the Delaware corridor especially between 25th Ave. and 16th Ave., the Sunnybrae, 19th Ave. Park and Fiesta Garden neighborhoods are VERY CONCERN about Traffic and Circulation, Hwy 92 on and off ramp and they have every reason to be concerned. Central and North Central are already feeling the impact of increased traffic on Delaware Street all the way to the Burlingame border and Bay Meadows Phase II has not yet been started. I can promise to ask the tough questions of any new development to make sure they have realistic goals. I often did this as a Planning Commissioner.
7. Developers often push the project to the MAXIMUM envelope that they are allowed under our present city codes/ordinances/zoning. They want to make as much money as possible so they will push to the limit. Developers have a right to do so; perhaps it is time to revisit some of our past goals and to consider easing the strain to the neighborhoods.
8. San Mateo City has been good about providing more housing especially for seniors (both BMR - below market rate- and market rate). There will be an increase of our BMR percentage starting Jan. 1, 2010 from 10% to 15% and this I support. New housing units that have occurred in San Mateo over the past 10 years have included both rental and for sale units. This will continue in future developments.
9. Some of the low lands of our city has been target by FEMA to be in the flood zone. Recently a special parcel tax was approved by voters in the targeted area south of Third Avenue. This will allow the needed improvements to be funded and take those people out of the flood zone. Unfortunately, the areas of North Shoreview and parts of North Central will remain in the flood zone. Some 13 million dollars in funding will be needed to fix the levees and pump station to take those areas out of the flood zone. I do not have an answer as to where to get funding but we as a city must continue to search for any grants, special funding that we could obtain to ensure that the improvements can be done. Flood insurance can be very onerous to the home owners in the affected area.
10. Sustainable programs need to be encouraged. How will there be enough water and energy to support future development? As a planning commissioner, I encouraged the use of solar panels for energy. I suggest finding uses for "gray water". If we want more people to use bicycles for work and recreation, then we have to provide safer places to park/store their bikes in Downtown and other shopping areas.
11. Recycling. We need to encourage recycling in homes, apartments, retail/commercial areas. Have more special recycling programs where car batteries, tires, etc. can be collected in our community at least once a year if not more often. Educate people about hazardous waste. We have a drop off place in San Mateo. If you only have a few small items, get together with your neighbors to gather more items and then make an appointment so one person can take the materials to the special site. We have a twice a year large pickup. Neighbors can get together to do a block pickup; this is easily done. It just takes someone to instigate and coordinate the project.
12. Beautification of our area. We can individually sweep in front of our own homes and the street to keep an area tidy. Report any dumping of furniture, trash immediately to Public Works so a particular spot doesn't become a blighted area. Keep an eye out for those who might be doing this.
13. Noise Pollution. We have a certain decibel level for noise in our city. Report loud music especially after 9 PM to non-emergency police number. This will help our quality of life. The most difficult part of enforcing our noise ordinance is the passing car with boom boxes are in full blast. They are a moving target and police often don't hear them.

Again, I can pledge to work diligently to try and find solutions to our problems. I will ask the tough questions. I also will collaborate towards finding the best possible solutions to the problems we might face.