Contents
Legal Review by City Attorney
Source: http://www.redwoodcity.org/government/council/packets/2008/0630/7A.pdf
#8 Would the initiative affect the South Bayside Systems Authority (SBSA) property?
Response: Yes, it could. The South Bayside Systems Authority (SBSA) is a joint powers agency created in 1975 in order to provide sewage treatment for the City and other neighboring cities, including Belmont, and San Carlos and Menlo Park Sanitary District. The SBSA plant is located in the Redwood Shores area and has a general plan designation of Government; some of the buffer area around the plant has a general plan designation of Unimproved Areas (Land or Water). The zoning designation for the SBSA pant site and buffer area is RSB (Redwood Shores Bayfront). As a result, both the plant and buffer area would be covered by the initiative.
A preliminary legal review shows that unlike county or federal agencies, which would not be covered by the initiative, a joint powers agency like SBSA is not exempt from Redwood City’s land-use laws. In fact, under state law, SBSA was required to decide which municipal law it would follow and it choose to follow the laws of Redwood City. As a result, SBSA has applied for and received use permits form the City. Thus, SBSA is subject to Redwood City’s land use requirements, including the two-thirds vote requirement.
SBSA is preparing to undertake a major infrastructure upgrade over the next decade, including possible expansion and significant upgrades to the existing facility. Although the complete scope of the upgrade is not known at this time, if such an expansion requires changes to the General Plan or Zoning Code or requires legislative action, such action could trigger the two thirds voter approval requirement. This could occur if, for example, SBSA proposed to build facilities on the Unimproved Area portion of the buffer area. In addition, even if the expansion does not require legislative action, it could still trigger the two-thirds voter approval requirement if use permits are required, for the reasons discussed in response to question 6, above. (see document)
Relevant Sections in Measure W
Highlights have been added for emphasis.
Section 6a
§ B. Definitions: For the purposes of this Section 6a, the following definitions apply:
(2) “Non-Open Space Uses” means any use other than the following: (a) Agriculture; (b) Extraction of chemicals from sea water by natural evaporation and extraction of oyster shells or other deposits from San Francisco Bay; (c) Public parks and public recreation areas or facilities; (d) Restored Wetlands; and (e) uses defined as accessory to the foregoing uses in the applicable zoning district as of March 13, 2008.”§ B. Definitions: For the purposes of this Section 6a, the following definitions apply:
“Open Space Lands” means all lands identified as either (a) “Park,”,“Unimproved Areas (Land or Water) Devoted to Preservation of Natural Resources, the Managed Production of Resources, Outdoor Recreation, or Public Health and Safety,” “Future Development Expanding Limits of Urbanization,” “Controlled Waterway (Redwood Shores Area),” or “San Francisco Bay Water” on the City’s General Plan Land Use Map as of March 13, 2008; or (b) “Tidal Plain” (“TP”) or “Redwood Shores Bay Front” (“RSB”) on the City’s Zoning Map as of March 13, 2008.”§ C. Implementation, Paragraph #4 states:
“No general plan amendment, rezoning, specific plan, precise plan, tentative subdivision map, parcel map, conditional use permit, planned community permit, or other discretionary entitlement for use shall be approved or issued unless consistent with the provisions of the Section 6a.”
All content in this article, unless otherwise indicated, is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
