Greetings!
I hope you had a great holiday season and you and yours are staying healthy and safe. I heard from a number of folks that they enjoyed my letter in August. Thereby encouraged, I will try to keep these letters up a couple of times each year. What follows is my take on issues Council will be working on in the coming year and news since August.
Looking Forward
Critical Infrastructure
At our December meeting, City Council provided direction for staff to move forward with concrete plans to finance needed improvements to our decaying critical infrastructure. Specifically, we directed staff to lay the groundwork for a (likely) combined ballot measure to convert from a general law to a charter city and to raise funds through a real estate transfer tax. This direction follows on more than ten years of public hearings by City Council and three separate Citizens’ Committees aimed at developing a policy response to risks presented by natural disaster to our City’s critical infrastructure. A good summary of the challenges faced and the policy responses recommended can be found at: www.belvedere-cip.org. A deeper dive can be taken by wading through the minutes of the three Citizens’ Committees (the Citizens’ Flood Zone Committee, the Committee to Protect Belvedere’s Seawalls, Levees and Utilities, and the Belvedere Finance Committee) here.
There will be ample opportunity for more public debate on the Critical Infrastructure Project and my mind will remain open until the public has fully weighed in. That said, I think it might be worthwhile sharing a couple of my preliminary thoughts on the issue.
A. The Critical Infrastructure Project benefits all property owners in Belvedere and is needed to protect essential utility services and roadways from seismic risk.
In 2009, City Council established a Citizens’ Flood Zone Committee (the “CFZ”) to address insurance and development challenges relating to new flood plain regulations promulgated by FEMA. The CFZ recommended (and City Council commissioned) two major engineering studies to determine whether the City’s levees and seawalls could be improved in order to permit remapping of the Belvedere Flood Plain area and/or whether improvements could be made to protect low lying property from flooding One study, partially funded by FEMA beginning in 2010, primarily addressed the first issue and a second, partially funded by the California Department of Water Resources beginning in 2014, primarily addressed the second. The upshot of these engineering studies was that (i) no feasible improvement to the levees and seawalls would permit remapping of the floodplains to the benefit of lagoon home owners and (ii) in addition to significant flooding risk due to both existing conditions and rising sea levels, Belvedere’s seawalls and levees are subject to substantial seismic risk that endangers vehicle access, power, and water supplies to Belvedere Island. Indeed, a significant majority of the investment the City is contemplating is for purely seismic upgrades to roads and utilities that run along Belvedere's levees on Beach and San Rafael Roads.
B. The Charter City/Transfer Tax route is a normal way for municipalities to raise revenue, will not alter nature of City governance, and is the most equitable and least burdensome way for us to finance our critical infrastructure investments.
Raising revenue through a charter city-enabled transfer tax is a widely used municipal financing measure that is used by at least 36 cities in California including well managed (albeit larger) peers like Hillsborough and Mountain View. While it is true that “special taxes” funding capital projects through bond measures can require a two/thirds majority, other tax measures, such as the one we are discussing, require only a majority vote.
Belvedere’s conversion to a charter city will not change the fundamental nature of our city government. Under California law, a city can (with certain exceptions) elect to enact a charter that permits it to enact any ordinance dealing with municipal matters - even if that ordinance conflicts with state law. I will not support (and suspect my fellow council members will not support) such a broad charter. Instead, I expect us to pass a limited charter that leaves the City a general law city for all matters other than with respect to the specifically proposed transfer tax. Note that a change to a City charter can only be made by going back to the voters and so nothing fundamental will change about how we are governed.
Finally, while both a transfer tax and an ad-valorem parcel tax would carry broad public support and be reasonable ways to finance our critical infrastructure investment, I think the transfer tax creates less burden and more equity for Belvedere taxpayers. Because the tax will not become due until the sale of a taxpayer's property, buyers and sellers will only be out-of-pocket as substantial funds become available at closing of escrow. This result is also more equitable in that it defers the burden of taxation on older residents who are retired and living on fixed income. Also, please be assured that I do not expect the tax to apply to interfamily gifts or bequests.
California State Housing Mandates – Objective Design and Development Standards
At its January or February meeting, City Council will likely take up a recommendation from the Belvedere Planning Commission to enact a set of objective design and development standards (the “ODDS”) relating to the development of certain multi-unit zoned parcels in the City of Belvedere. In recent years, the California State legislature has passed a number of laws (SB 330, SB 35, and the Housing Accountability Act) intended to address California’s housing shortage. In general, these laws will limit the City’s review of certain development projects to the application of permissible objective, non-discretionary design standards set out in the City’s Municipal Code. Because the City has not developed such standards, it is urgent that we do so. While the ODDS will (at least initially) apply only to areas of the City already zoned for multi-unit housing, the enactment of SB 9 (which allows by-right subdivision of single family lots for multi-unit housing) means these standards, in some form, will likely need to be extended to the entire City. There is an excellent discussion of the issue and the most recent draft of the ODDS in a recent staff report considered by the Planning Commission here.
The Mallard Pointe Development
I am well aware of the concern many in our community have around the proposed development for “Mallard Pointe,” especially the apartment building envisioned on Community Road. Staff has been working diligently to fairly evaluate the proposed project and consider the concerns of the community. I am confident their work will be “by the book” and the applications will be reviewed in a way that is fair and neutral to all stakeholders.
It is frustrating to me, and it will be frustrating to many of you, that members of Council cannot engage more directly on the issue at this time. As I understand it, the application as of this date will likely be for a single multi-parcel entitlement (as opposed to, say, an application for re-zoning). If so, the matter would not ordinarily come within the direct policy or oversight functions of our City Council. However, given the public concern expressed around this project, and the investment at stake for the applicant, there is a significant possibility that Council will be asked to sit as a quasi-judicial body and hear an appeal from any Planning Commission decision regarding the matter. In light of this, and in order to provide fairness and due process to all stakeholders, it is important that neither I nor my colleagues engage in this issue substantively until it comes before us. Please be assured that if a related issue (such as a rezoning) arises that requires us to make policy or provide direct oversight, we will engage thoroughly with the public over this important matter.
Construction Impact Mitigation
At our upcoming workshop, I will urge our Council to appoint a citizens’ committee to address the negative impacts that construction is having on life here in Belvedere. I have lived here 23 years and worked from home the entire time. It is unclear to me whether there is significantly more construction now compared to other busy periods during my time here. That said, what has changed is that there are clearly many more of us working from home or trying to enjoy “staycations” these days. Put another way, while the level construction may not have increased (the jury is out on this), its impact clearly has. I would like to see this new committee address issues related to traffic, parking and noise. There may be other issues to tackle as well and I am anxious to hear from City staff and my colleagues on City Council regarding what other concerns have been raised in the community. Hopefully, the new committee will make sensible recommendations that balance our quality of life with the need to continually improve our built environment.
Looking Back
In my August letter, I shared important advances your City Council made in the areas of police oversight and transparency as well as in responsible pension financing. I also discussed important developments at the Richardson Bay Regional Authority. If you missed the August update, you can still read it here. Since then, there have been a few additional developments that I describe briefly below.
Staff and Advisor Changes at City Hall
In December, our City Administrative Manager, Amber Johnson and City Attorney, Emily Longfellow departed to take advantage of new opportunities to continue their careers outside of our City. In addition, the year saw the retirement of Belvedere Police Sargent Chris Poole and Public Works staffer Max Sandoval. We wish the best of luck and a bright future to Amber, Emily, Chris and Max and are looking forward to getting their replacements (to be named later) up and running soon.
Re-Organization of City Council
My colleagues on City Council and I elected Sally Wilkinson as our new Mayor in December. Sally was appointed to City Council in the summer of 2020. Even before that, she served as a whirlwind of good policy development as a leading member of the Yellow Bus Challenge, the Belvedere Committee on Seawalls, Levees Utilities and the Campaign for Proposition E. Since coming onto Council, Sally has led both our pension and critical infrastructure financing initiatives. I have really enjoyed my work on City Council with Sally and know she will be a fantastic Mayor. I can’t begin to say enough about departing two-time Mayor James Campbell. James has been a great listener, a builder of consensus on our Council, and a good friend. I am glad he is still around for another year as a member of our City Council and will look forward to his continued contribution.
Mission to Our Sister City, Portofino
