Two seats on the San Bruno City Council are up for grabs with four candidates in District 1 and District 4 featuring an incumbent and a planning commissioner.
The vote for residents in District 1, which is made up of Pacific Heights, Rollingwood and neighborhoods near Skyline Boulevard will have a choice between Sandy Alvarez, businesswoman and consultant; Jeffrey Tong, environmental policy analysis and planning; John Strazzarino, a retiree; and Jeremy Sarnecky, a senior research associate.
On the other side of town, District 4 voters, which include residents wedged between Highway 101 and east of El Camino Real wrapping around the Shops at Tanforan, will have their choice of incumbent Marty Medina and Auros Harman, chair of the San Bruno Planning Commission.
Mayor Rico Medina is running for a two-year seat uncontested.
The elected candidates will adopt a portfolio of issues with which to grapple — housing production, managing a budget that has revenue uncertainties, environmental concerns and envisioning a future for downtown.
The city’s downtown is old and outdated and could use a strong vision to steer it into a thriving district that will revitalize the community and support the locally owned businesses.
Alvarez said the city used to have a state-funded grant for the facade program that she would like to have back, and wants to work with small business owners on San Mateo Avenue to focus on parking and beautification by planting more trees. Sarnecky said he wants to see more foot traffic downtown. He thinks the best approach is to give downtown and the Caltrain station a mural to add color that will show that San Bruno is a vibrant community, ultimately attracting visitors to the area. Tong, who served five years on San Bruno’s Bike and Advisory Committee, said that, while on the committee, he advocated for a protected bike lane to downtown. Strazzarino said he thinks more community-engaging events like the Posy Parade and electronic store additions that appeal to a broader clientele would be a good addition.
“There are all these traffic and parking problems in downtown so having non-automobiles transit way through there is important,” Tong said.
A shuttle and a community-based website are other viable options for bringing business to the downtown area, he added.
When considering housing production, Sarnecky said he voted, in 2014, for Measure N to increase the building height limits. He believes the city needs to build more but not so much that it destroys the character of the small town. Strazzarino said there needs to be more communication with developers to get the projects to follow through; however, he is worried that with more housing comes more parking needs. Tong said housing needs to be addressed but balanced with environmental factors in mind. Alvarez said she is focused on locations where public transportation is easily accessible because she believes the state is headed toward zero-emission requirements.
“We need more housing and if elected I will promote affordable housing,” Alvarez said.
Budgets have always been an issue, yet the council seems undecided on certain revenue measures. Tong believes the city should use an ecotourist economy by using the neighboring cities to patronize its restaurants and hotels and he would consider selling the city’s own water supply. Strazzarino believes cohesiveness with the council is the best approach to figuring out how to build revenue. Alvarez said she was opposed to the cannabis tax but feels that money isn’t always the solution. However, she said she is always open to working with the council, adding that she wants to be the voice for her constituents so she is willing to listen if that is what the residents want.
“If we bring in money — but at the same time it will create nuisance — then the city will basically have to spend money to avoid all the nuisance or to resolve it,” Alvarez said.
Sarnecky said that he wants to focus on taxing commercial property sales while leaving the residential units out.
“I was completely in support of commercial property transfer tax, the only thing I didn’t like was that it labeled itself as a commercial property transfer tax when it did include residential units with more than four units,” Sarnecky said. “I just think we need to be very clear when talking about the changes when transitioning to a charter city.”
For environmental concerns, Strazzarino and Alvarez noted they are not as familiar. Alvarez did say she would like to see fewer cars on the road by limiting parking requirements on future developments, while Strazzarino said he would focus on air pollution. Tong said traffic and water issues are his main focus and he wants to see fewer cars on the roads by proposing a shuttle. Sarnecky on the other hand said he would serve on Peninsula Clean Energy, the county’s community electricity provider, if he was elected.
Harman would like to see downtown become a walkable commercial hub; while Medina would like to see its appearance improve and see the seven parking lots transformed into housing.
“Our downtown has been neglected for many many years,” Medina said.
Medina believes the city has not done enough with housing production, although he said the city can only do so much by zoning and entitling a development but it is ultimately up to the developer to ensure the ground breaks. Harman argued Medina’s vote on the Mills Park Project has only exacerbated the housing issues in the city.
The Mills Park project would have added 427 residential units along El Camino Real with a Whole Foods Market and 669 parking spaces. However, neighbors were concerned about parking and the deal fell through after officials neared approving the project but it was voted down when Medina cast a sole dissenting vote in a split decision.
“I find that the Whole Foods was under-parked when you can go look at the parking study and it says hey it’s got more parking than comparable grocery stores down El Camino,” Harman said. “And it got the city sued under the Housing Accountability Act and I think you can draw a pretty straight line from that vote that two of the projects now are SB 35 projects where the developer just doesn’t have to ask the city for permission.”
Harman feels that the city needs to really act aggressively over the next four years and his goal is to no longer be subject to Senate Bill 35 during the next Regional Housing Needs Allocation. Senate Bill 35 allows certain projects to be approved by right if the city has not met its housing element goals.
Both candidates are interested in becoming a charter city to make way for a new tax request to diversify revenue. Harman is interested in small hotels for the tax and is interested in a convention center. Medina noted the progress the city has made with Measure G, the half-cent sales tax increase.
Both Medina and Harman are proud of the building codes passed beyond state environmental guidelines. Medina serves on Peninsula Clean Energy board and said the city should be the example for the residents.
“The reach codes are a big deal and now we need to start continuing expanding programs to have solar power at city buildings,” Medina said.
Additionally, Harman said he has spoken to the project manager for the new aquatic center about commercial-scale solar and battery options would be like from a price standpoint and feels it is a better option. He would also like to see more work done on city-operated battery backups.
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