City Manager Weekly Update - February 3, 2017
Assistant City Manager
Join Santa Clara County Fire for a Community Workshop
The Santa Clara County Fire Department has served the Los Altos community for 20 years and continually strives to deliver the highest level of service possible. The Fire Department’s Strategic Plan serves as the guiding document for organizational decision-making. The #1 goal in the plan is to improve communications with residents. As a step to accomplish this goal, the Fire Department will host a Public Workshop:
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
9:30 a.m. - noon
The Garden House, 400 University Avenue, Los Altos
Participants are welcome to drop-in anytime during this 3-hour session. The Fire Department is interested in gathering your ideas and feedback about how they can better communicate with you, respond to neighborhood priorities, and provide meaningful information about their services. In addition to the workshop, County Fire’s newest fire engine will be on display – a unique “Type 6” wildland fire engine designed to access the surrounding open space areas.
For those unable to attend the workshop in-person, please consider sharing your thoughts via an online survey. Your involvement in this process is important, as it helps Santa Clara County Fire Department better serve the Los Altos community.
Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) Launches Electrical Power in Los Altos
Ten important facts to know about SVCE:
- SVCE will begin an automatic rollout of electrical power supply to some residential and business customers in April 2017
- Remaining customers will be automatically enrolled in SVCE in July and October 2017
- Customers will be automatically enrolled in SVCE GreenStart, 50% renewable and 100% carbon free electrical power
- GreenStart rates are slightly lower than current PG&E rates
- Customers will continue to receive billing, customer service and transmission service from PG&E
- Residents and business customers will receive 4 notification flyers from SVCE – 2 before service commences and 2 after service starts
- Residents and business customers are able to opt-out of SVCE enrollment at any time to remain with PG&E electrical power supply
- Customers can opt-up to GreenPrime to receive 100% renewable and 100% carbon free electrical power
- GreenPrime rates are slightly higher that current PG&E rates
- Using SVCE renewable energy is an easy, economical way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve our carbon footprint. It’s the single most effective way to accomplish the Los Altos communities’ climate action goals.
Learn More at an Upcoming Community Meeting
Wednesday, March 1, 2017 – 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Grant Park Community Center, Multipurpose Room
1575 Holt Avenue, Los Altos
Hosted by the City of Los Altos
Wednesday, March 15, 2017 – 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Los Altos Main Library, Orchard Room
13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos
Hosted by GreenTown Los Altos
For more information, please visit SVCleanEnergy.org or call (844) 474-SVCE.
City Clerk
Artistic Bicycle Rack Design Competition
The Public Arts Commission hosted the Second Artistic Bicycle Rack Design Competition in late 2016. 33 entries by 22 artists were submitted. Entries were displayed on the City’s website and throughout the City and community members were encouraged to vote for their favorite entries. The Public Arts Commission used the vote tallies and selected four entries to move forward into the design feasibility stage of the contest. These entries will be further reviewed to determine if they can be successfully turned into bike racks. The four entries are: A change of Seasons by Jan Davis, Ballet Barre by Jena Alsup, Squirrel! by Betty Chang, and Laced Up by Ashwin Mukherjee. The new racks are anticipated to be installed in May of this year.
Apply for a Los Altos Commission
The City Council invites Los Altos residents to apply for appointment to open seats on the Historical, Parks and Recreation, Planning and Transportation, and Senior Commissions as well as the Los Altos-Los Altos Hills Joint Community Volunteer Service Awards Committee. Each Commission and Committee contributes knowledge and expertise that helps guide and inform decisions made by the City Council. Applications are due by Friday, February 17, 2017. For more information and application materials, click here.
Community Development
Scoping Meeting Scheduled for Stanford Expansion Plans
On November 21, 2016, Stanford submitted an application to the County to update its General Use Permit (hereafter referred to as the 2018 General Use Permit). Under the 2018 General Use Permit, Stanford proposes up to 2,275,000 square feet of new academic and academic support space and up to 3,150 net new housing units/beds, of which up to 550 units would be available for faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars, and medical residents. The proposed academic and academic support space and housing units would be constructed on vacant land, infill sites and redevelopment sites within the Academic Growth Boundary. No site-specific projects and locations have been identified for development under the 2018 General Use Permit. Each individual building or project that would be developed under the 2018 General Use Permit would require submittal of an application to the County at the time proposed, and may be subject to additional review prior to consideration of approval by the County.
As the Lead Agency, the County of Santa Clara will prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Stanford University 2018 General Use Permit project. A Public Scoping/Community Meeting to solicit comments for the Notice of Preparation is scheduled as follows:
Public Scoping/Community Meeting
Palo Alto Arts Center auditorium, 1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto
Wednesday, February 8, 2017, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Written and/or email comments on the Notice of Preparation (NOP) should be provided to the County at the earliest possible date, but must be received by 5:00 p.m. on February 17, 2017.
Los Altos Grows – A Bit
On Wednesday February 1, 2017, the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approved the annexation of six parcels and a portion of a seventh to the City of Los Altos. These parcels, which have frontage on Jardin Drive, are presently within the Mountain View City limits. The parcels are the only ones on the south side of Jardin Drive at this location that are within the City of Mountain View – all the surrounding parcels are in Los Altos. This change to the boundaries between Los Altos and Mountain View will improve the delivery of services to these new residents and enhance emergency response times. The approval by LAFCO is the OK to move forward with the Boundary change – additional steps are still in the works and must be completed before the boundary change is official.
Planning and Transportation Commission Reviews CT Zone District Amendments
At its meeting last night, the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC) reviewed proposed amendments to the site development standards for the CT Zone District. This is the zoning designation for most of the parcels that have frontage on El Camino Real in Los Altos. The amendments covered an array of standards such as the height limit, setback requirements, and mechanical parking systems to name a few. After considering public testimony, the PTC developed a number of modifications to the proposed amendments and requested that staff return to them with a draft ordinance incorporating the modifications. Staff will bring a revised ordinance to the PTC at its meeting on February 16, 2017.
Police
Its Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week
Tax season has begun and Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week seeks to heighten awareness of common tax scams and educate individuals on how best to avoid becoming a victim. Tax scams targeting individuals have two primary objectives; to steal money and/or to steal personal identification information for identity theft. Many rely on confusion within the tax process or fear to victimize people. Please take a moment to review the following examples of common tax scams and recommendations on how to avoid them:
Masquerading as the IRS
Criminals may masquerade as IRS agents in person, over the phone, via email, or even through the mail. These scams typically rely on threats of legal action against the victim, requiring immediate payment to the “IRS agent.”
*Recommendation: IRS Agents will never require payment directly to the agent. Additionally, the IRS will first contact you by mail and will not require a specific type of payment.
False Tax Returns
Actors file false income tax returns using stolen identity information. This information may be purchased from a darknet market. Refunds are sent to pre-paid cards and victims are unaware until they attempt to file their actual returns.
* Recommendation: File returns early. If impacted, seek IRS assistance at irs.gov.
Masquerading as a Tax Preparer
Criminals may pretend to be tax preparers. They may:
- Cold call homes and offer free or discounted services
- Create fake websites and convince victims to enter their personal information
- Post fake phone numbers in online ads to get victims to call them
- Fake tax preparers may also set up fake physical locations
*Recommendation: Only trust reputable tax preparation companies.
IRS PIN Hijacking
Identity Protection Personal Information Numbers (PINs) were created by the IRS to give confirmed identity theft victims a way to verify their tax information. Unfortunately, thieves have accessed a person’s PIN to file a return using additional stolen information. Actors can access the PIN by:
- Stealing IRS PIN notification from the mail
- Using the online retrieval tool using knowledge-based identifiers
- Brute force (trying a list of PINs in the system)
*Recommendation: File returns early and report lost or stolen PINs to the IRS
Resources for Victims
If your identity is stolen and the information is used in a tax-related fraud, visit the IRS website for next steps.
For more on how to choose a tax return preparer, how to report fraud activity, common scams, and tax fraud investigations, visit justice.gov.
Public Works
GreenTown Los Altos “Watch Your Waste” Community Meeting
City staff, along with our Solid Waste Program consultant and a Mission Trail Waste System Inc. representative will attend the Greentown Los Altos “Watch Your Waste” community meeting on February 15, 2017. We will present our current accomplishments, efforts to achieve the 78% waste diversion goal and best practices in achieving higher diversion rates. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the Los Altos Library from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Engineering Staff Attend Stormwater Construction Inspection Workshop
Last week engineering staff attended a workshop presented by the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP) on both stormwater infrastructure installation practices and construction site inspection procedures. The City’s Municipal Regional Permit with State Water Resources Control Boards mandates that the City report on any new devices installed that treat stormwater before it is discharged into waterways and also requires construction sites to comply with best management practices for treating runoff from construction sites.
Sewer Improvements - Structural Reach Replacement
This capital improvement project replaces segments of pipes throughout the City which have been identified as having moderate to severe structural defects. This week, the City’s contractor, EPS, Inc. dba Express Plumbing completed work on the replacement of the sewer main on Westbrook Avenue. Minor restoration work will be completed next week and the contractor will begin work on Middlebury Lane.
Illuminated Crosswalk Improvement Project, Project No. TS-01031
Construction bids were recently received for a replacement of failed illuminated crosswalks at school locations on Almond Avenue (Almond Elementary), Fremont Avenue (St. Simon), and Springer Road (Springer Elementary). Staff anticipates awarding the construction contract at the February 28, 2017 City Council meeting.
Miramonte Avenue/Berry Avenue Crosswalk Improvements, Project No.TS-01036
Staff is preparing a 35% engineering design for crosswalk improvements at the intersection of Miramonte Avenue and Berry Avenue. The proposed improvements consist of a raised crosswalk, rectangular rapid flashing beacons, improved storm drain facilities and advanced pedestrian warnings signs. Staff will present the 35% design to the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Commission at their February 2017 meeting to gather comments.
VTA Next Network Meeting
This week, Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) staff met with two City Council members and staff to review the progress on their Next Network Project. The Next Network Project is a two-year planning and outreach effort to develop a redesigned transit network started in 2015. The project goals include increasing transit ridership, improving farebox recovery, and connecting to BART at Milpitas and Berryessa. The draft Next Network Plan was released in January 2017 for public review. VTA is conducting a series of public meetings to gather public comments and plans to adopt the final plan in April 2017. Based on the information provided at the meeting, there are no significant proposed changes to the existing transit services within City of Los Altos.
