The Atherton City Council will tackle several major issues of importance to town residents — civic center financing, license plate readers, leaf blowers restrictions, a potential off-leash dog park, and town traffic — during its Wednesday, Nov. 20, meeting.

The council will examine several financing options for funding the town's $31.6 million new civic center project, scheduled for completion in 2021, according to a town staff report prepared for the meeting. Funding options include a written commitment from Bob and Connie Lurie to donate $500,000 in exchange for naming rights to the Cafe Terrace area, which will be located on the outdoor deck in front of the town's new library.

The council will also consider a "certificates of participation" financing mechanism (COPs) at about $7 million over a 10-year term to finance part of the project's construction costs. Without an influx of cash, the town's general fund is projected to be in the red by $1.9 million by October 2020, according to staff.

Town staff will also present other options, including a $9 million line of credit.

Staff notes that there may be opportunities to boost the financial commitments of some of the people who have already promised donations through Atherton Now, a nonprofit formed to raise private funding for the new center. Although Atherton Now has said that none of the donors has specifically requested naming rights, offering such an option might increase a donor's contribution, staff suggests.

The town had to go back to the drawing table after bids for construction of the new center came in 40 percent higher than expected in 2018, at $56.4 million.

Leaf blowers

The council will take another look at the town's policy on the use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers in town with an eye toward reducing noise and pollution, according to a town staff report. In September, council members asked staff to estimate the amount of time it would take for it to look into restricting use of gasoline-powered blowers. The staff found that researching and amending the current ordinance would cost between $33,800 and $38,800, according to the report.

"There would be costs associated with the preparation of a draft, amended Ordinance to the Town's regulations pertaining to leaf blowers," according to the report. "Further, it is noted that subsequent implementation costs would occur, and may vary depending on both the specifics of amendments proposed, details of any final community outreach efforts/programs identified, as well as upgrade costs that may be identified from (any) facility needs assessment study prepared."

The charges include staff research; staff attendance at town council and committee meetings; and community outreach. The biggest cost would be for outside consultants to implement a new ordinance (between $10,000 and $15,000), according to the report.

Monitoring and enforcement of a new ordinance would also likely increase town staffing needs, according to the report. Any proposed amendments should also consider the financial impacts to both the town, its residents, the Circus Club and all private schools, the report states.

The town now restricts the hours that leaf blowers can be used, but not the type of blower, according to staff. (Leaf blowers may be used between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday.)

In January, the Portola Valley Town Council amended an existing noise ordinance to ban the use of gasoline-powered blowers. The council agreed to a two-year delay before the regulations go into effect to allow gardeners and homeowners to replace their equipment. Los Altos banned gas-powered leaf blowers in 1991, Palo Alto in 2000, and Los Gatos in 2014.

The town's Environmental Programs Committee recommended in May that the council support phased restrictions on gas-powered leaf blowers.

“The Town’s adopted Climate Action Plan (CAP) includes a series of identified Greenhouse (GHG) reduction measures in order to reduce the Town’s emission levels in accordance with state mandates,” according to the report. “While restrictions and/or a ban on the use of gas-powered lawn blowers are not specifically identified in the CAP, leaf blowers are considered as part of the Town’s transportation generating GHG emissions. Reducing air-borne pollutants generated by lawn blowers could be considered supportive of the CAPs overarching approach to sustainability.”

License plate readers

The council could review and affirm its current policy on automated license plate readers, known as ALPRs, which are mounted on police cars or on fixtures such as road signs and bridges according to a staff report. It could also choose to revise the policy.

In October, the council asked staff to begin testing such devices, but didn't specify how many to test or where to test them. During that meeting, a member of San Francisco Peninsula People Power, a local civil liberties organization, noted that oversight of police use of cameras and license plate readers is important. He suggested that Atherton emulate jurisdictions that require annual reports by police on the number of times data from the cameras is used.

Town staff expect to begin a 30-day camera testing period at the Holbrook-Palmer Park entrance and exit by the end of November, according to a report by City Manager George Rodericks.

The town decided to explore adding more license plate readers in town following a rash of 20 home burglaries between November 2018 and February 2019. So far this year, there have been 18 residential burglaries, Police Chief Steve McCulley said at a community meeting on Monday, Nov. 18.

Traffic calming measures

The council will vote on amending a contract with transportation consulting firm TJKM to include an additional fee of up to $149,300 for community outreach efforts related to traffic-calming projects in town, according to a staff report.

Town staff worked with the consultant to focus on four areas for community outreach meetings: east of Middlefield Road (Lindenwood); between El Camino Real and Middlefield Road (Menlo Park Villas/Lloyden Park/Atherton-Fair Oaks); between Alameda de las Pulgas and El Camino Real – north of Atherton Avenue; and between Alameda de las Pulgas and El Camino Real – south of Atherton Avenue.

In July, the council asked staff to study priority projects to keep traffic moving on the most heavily used streets. Council members, who received a traffic report in April from TJKM, said at the time that they prefer a strategy of moving traffic smoothly through town on major roadways such as El Camino Real and Marsh Road, rather than trying to discourage drivers from traveling through town on residential and secondary streets.

Off-leash dog park

Also on the agenda, the council will consider a recommendation from the Park and Recreation Committee to build build an off-leash dog park in Holbrook-Palmer Park, according to a town staff report.

The committee determined four potential locations for a dog park in the town's only park. The committee recommends a location on the south side of the North Lawn. It also considered a space on the North Lawn, a space just east of the North Lawn and a space just south of the Jennings Pavilion parking lot.

Committee member Christine David drafted a proposal for a 21,000-square-foot dog park near the tennis courts and estimated it would cost between $65,000 and $100,000. But the recommended location is smaller than David’s proposed location.

The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. in Holbrook-Palmer Park's Pavilion at 150 Watkins Ave. in Atherton.

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