Atherton Mayor Elizabeth Lewis is forging ahead with a list of goals for her third time as mayor after a year of great personal loss.

Lewis, who was reelected for her fourth term on the City Council in November, made the difficult decision to stay in the council race as her husband Joe Lewis battled kidney cancer. He died in December, but had urged Lewis to run because he knew she loved her council work.

"There were complications over the summer of 2020 and all the treatment and medical geniuses just couldn't really make him well," she said. "He died in my arms on Dec. 5 very peacefully. I was really sad."

And her 2020 council run was unlike any other for Lewis, given the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no election parties, no meet and greets.

"It was mostly via a lawn sign campaign," she said. "It was kind of a public affirmation to get everyone you know to host a lawn sign." There were about 150 lawn signs on display in support of Lewis and campaigning took place over email, she said.

Lewis said the council work brings her focus, purpose and "the continuation of some normalcy" in her life.

"We're in a really abnormal environment with this COVID pandemic," she said. "As I look to 2021, I know it has to be better. I'm hoping that on a community level, COVID gets beaten back."

Lewis welcomes the addition of recently elected Councilwoman Diana Hawkins-Manuelian as another female voice on the council. Hawkins-Manuelian brings a "forward thinking" and "collaborative" approach, Lewis said. Lewis said she will miss her former council colleague Cary Wiest, who lost his bid for reelection this fall.

A major priority for the town has been completing its long-awaited $31.6 million civic center revamp, which includes new police, administration and planning offices, and a library. After about two years of construction, around July or August, the town will begin transitioning the police department and other employees into the administrative building because construction workers need to demolish what is left of the police department building to complete the project. The official opening is slated for October.

In addition to providing employees an efficient, new place to work, she hopes the renovated council chambers and library cafe can serve as places for people to socialize.

"I'm hoping and praying the (COVID-19) vaccines will be distributed and we can return to some kind of normal socialization," she said.

Leaf blowers

Towns and cities on the Midpeninsula, including Atherton, have explored banning the use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers.

After past discussions about limiting the use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers in town, the council took action last week to start a pilot project to purchase battery-powered electric leaf blowers (for a cost of $1,210 in total for batteries, the leaf blowers and chargers, according to a report prepared by staff for the Jan. 20 council meeting) for use in town spaces Holbrook-Palmer Park and public streets. (The council opted not to pursue an ordinance to restrict hours for using leaf blowers at this time.)

The council will work with the Environmental Programs Committee to develop communications and information for the public relating to two- and four-stroke engines and the benefits of electric leaf blowers. It also directed town maintenance crews to not use leaf blowers on Spare the Air days.

As part of the fiscal year 2019-20 midyear budget in February 2020, an adjustment in the amount of $38,000 was allocated for development and implementation of a leaf blower ordinance. Such funds would account for staff time developing the ordinance and any future public education and outreach program. Costs to the town would be associated with both staffing resources and equipment costs.

The town surveyed local institutions about their leaf blower use. The Menlo Circus Club indicated it uses both gas and electric blowers every day for varying lengths of time, according to the staff report. Menlo School mostly uses gas blowers daily in the mornings and Sacred Heart Schools uses both gas and electric blowers every day, both for varying amounts of time. Menlo College said it uses gas-powered leaf blowers three to four days a week and/or as needed, for about 24 hours a week.

In nearby Portola Valley, officials implemented a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers this month.

Portola Valley has created a trade-in program to support conversion to electric leaf blowers. If residents buy a new, electric leaf blower, and bring in their old gas-powered model, the town will give them 40% off the cost of the electric version up to $120.

The town has partnered with a local recycling/repurposing agency that will responsibly recycle the gas-powered leaf blowers.

Housing element

Atherton will need to put together a new housing element, a state-mandated plan for providing housing to people of all income levels. The town is in the midst of developing its latest plan for the next housing element cycle, which runs 2023 through 2031 and is required to be certified by the state by Jan. 1, 2023, according to a town staff report.

For this cycle, the town is required to plan for the development of 298 new housing units. Some 74 would need to be very low-income housing, 43 low-income, 51 moderate-income and 130 for above moderate-income, according to the report.

In November, then Mayor Rick DeGolia submitted a letter to the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) on behalf of the City Council expressing concerns with RHNA calculations and methodology used to determine the town's Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). He said that Atherton is a small, residential community with public and private schools and aside from local school operations, the town's primary land use is residential, and does not allow commercial development. As the town does not anticipate growth, let alone job growth within the town limits, this methodology is not applicable to Atherton, he wrote.

"As a result, there are very few jobs outside of the limited number of town employees and employees of local schools," he wrote. "It is also important to note that Caltrain no longer serves this community and transportation options are very limited. The RHNA methodology relies heavily on proximity to jobs as a factor. Neighboring jurisdictions regularly approve large scale commercial developments that result in job growth, demands on local resources, and a demand for new housing in those communities. Those communities in turn, also benefit from the resulting tax bases and should be required to provide their fair share of housing and resource amenities to meet a healthy job-to-housing ratio."

Of the 93 units allocated in the current housing element cycle, for the period of 2014-2019, Atherton has reported production of 126 housing units, of which 34 are very low-income; 12 low; three moderate; and 77 above moderate.

The ABAG executive board finalized its draft allocation methodology at its Jan. 21 meeting. Allocations are anticipated to be finalized in the spring.

Traffic calming measures

Over the summer, the council continued to gather resident input on ways to mitigate traffic throughout Atherton.

In 2021, the town will look at beginning to implement yet-to-be determined calming measures from installing stop signs to speed bumps. A 2020 town survey found that most residents saw speeding as the greatest traffic issue, following by pedestrian safety. Residents said Stockbridge Avenue is the corridor of town that has the most traffic issues.

Lewis said there has been a small reduction in traffic during the pandemic with more people staying at home and not driving to work, but there are more people outside walking. But neighborhood streets don't have sidewalks, she said.

"It's hard for people driving to understand that," she said.