Height limits

Seems the two sides might be raring to fight sooner rather than later but that just might be words. When it comes to height and density limits and the city’s general plan, the next few years should be interesting, that is, of course, if you’re into this type of thing.

Unfortunately, most folks in San Mateo aren’t really paying attention to the height limit debate and the General Plan process so the conversation tends to gravitate toward the extremes. The extremes are: Get rid of height limits as soon as possible since we are in a major housing crisis or leave them be for as long as possible since traffic is bad and this is a suburban area after all.

For those interested or with a potential for interest, the issue this week was whether the City Council should pass a non-binding resolution that would keep the limits of Measure P until the General Plan was complete. That measure passed in 2004 to keep the same restrictions as Measure H, which was passed in 1991 to establish 55-foot height limits in most of the city and restrict how densely housing and commercial developers can build, along with requiring residential developers provide at least 10 percent of below-market-rate units on site. The resolution considered this week would say that the council would keep the restrictions until the General Plan passed which is estimated to be somewhere around 2023. If nothing happens, it would take a General Plan amendment to change the restrictions after the 2020 sunset and that would take about 18 to 24 months so we are talking about 2022 before anything new might occur and that’s if the city jumped on it from day one.

The issue, it seems, is that those opposed to the height limits want them gone as soon as possible, but there is a wind-down that simply can’t be forced. In the meantime, proponents of extending Measure P are facing a “what now?” moment in that the 7,000 signatures they collected for a ballot measure are still in limbo. To catch you up, members of the San Mateans for Responsive Government collected the signatures to extend Measure P past its sunset date but was later found by the city attorney to have violated a section of the elections code requiring voter initiatives to state the substance of the law that would be enacted if the measure was successful. Though there is some dispute over that interpretation, the council listens to the city attorney and took the interpretation to mean it couldn’t legally put it on the ballot in 2018.

So here we are, back at square one. Sort of. Measure P will expire in 2020. It will take 18 to 24 months for it to be changed. The General Plan update is estimated to be done in 2023, if not sooner. There is not currently language for a measure the council feels is legal to place on the ballot. There has been some talk about a compromise measure, but nothing so far has come to fruition. This non-binding measure, while not popular with the crowd interested in the topic because the council could change members or its mind or it may have created the impression that the council was endorsing the measure, may have been the city’s way of saying “we tried.”

So while it may not have been popular, maybe it was smart.

***

It doesn’t seem that long ago that Susan Manheimer came to San Mateo to replace outgoing police chief John Stangl. But it was 19 years ago, about the same age as the Daily Journal. Manheimer seemed to indicate she isn’t done when she announced her retirement this week, so I wonder what’s next for her. Manheimer and her department set the gold standard for quick, steady and respectful communication with the press and, ultimately, the public. We appreciate that.

***

Another pending retirement that won’t fly under the radar is that of Ken White, the executive director of the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA. When White arrived at the PHS, morale was terrible and its facilities were in shambles. Fast-forward nearly two decades and it has a new headquarters, another facility being rebuilt and a sanctuary in the works. Nothing to sneeze at.

***

Overheard in the newsroom. Reporter One: “Did you know Half Moon Bay is 60 years old?” Reporter Two: “It’s over the hill.”

Jon Mays is the editor in chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on Twitter @jonmays.