South San Francisco City Council Regular Meeting - March 12, 2025

The South San Francisco City Council held a regular meeting on March 12, 2025, at 6:30 PM in the Council Chambers. The meeting featured presentations and proclamations, council committee reports, public comments, a consent calendar, and a key administrative business item to introduce a local preference ordinance for deed-restricted affordable housing.

Presentations & Proclamations

• Certificate of Recognition for Ray Reyes, wrestling coach at El Camino High School and PAL Director, named 2024-25 CCS Honor Coach. Reyes spoke, thanking the community and acknowledging mentors.
• Proclamation recognizing March as Women's History Month – Honored Planning Commission Chair Sarah Funes Osork and Vice Chair Aisha Pomuko. Both gave remarks emphasizing community service and equity.
• Proclamation celebrating March as Irish Heritage Month – Presented to Frank Macaulay, former Sister City president. The city will fly an Irish flag at City Hall. Macaulay noted the St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 15.
• Proclamation recognizing March as National Nutrition Month – Honored Robert Chan, Director of Nutritional Services, and the South San Francisco Unified School District team. Chan reported that last year the district served over 200,000 breakfasts and over 700,000 lunches.

Council Comments & Requests

• Councilmember Coleman announced Edith Arias's appointment to the San Mateo County Board of Education and reported on a productive school district liaison meeting covering immigrant support, traffic safety, and Measure T bond projects (including Sunshine Gardens upgrades, Westboro Middle School turf field, high school modernization, and a new central kitchen).
• Councilmember Nagales reported on the signing of a project partnership agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood walls at the water quality control plant and pump station, protecting against inundation for at least 50 years. He requested the meeting be adjourned in memory of Irene Marcelo Cruz.
• Vice Mayor Addiego highlighted the Little League parade, thanked organizers, noted the Police Association's St. Patrick's Day celebration (800 attendees), announced his March 19 town hall, and congratulated new Deputy Fire Chief Devin Flannery.
• Mayor Flores reported on the Linden and Pine park preferred concept open house (over 65 attendees), the grand reopening of Baden Coin Laundromat, the opening of Brew Cha (500 people waited), and an emergency preparedness training at the Housing Authority. He also thanked Genentech for featuring local vendors at a community event.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Olga Perez complained that residents were not verbally notified about toxic soil at the Linden and Pine park site and expressed outrage over receiving the book "Fun Home" from the Project Read book club, calling it pornography. She criticized the library for distributing it to minors. (City Manager Sharon Ranals responded that soil studies and remediation are in place, with no public danger; soil scientists and licensed geologists have been involved.)
• Sam Shikuti criticized Mayor Flores and the City Attorney for rebutting his prior comment about spending on undocumented immigrants. He argued the mayor is violating his oath by aiding illegal aliens and weaponizing taxpayer resources.
• Patricia Althaus thanked the council and staff for supporting all neighbors regardless of immigration status, stating that rights apply to everyone and the city is helping keep people safe.

Consent Calendar

• Motion to approve the minutes of February 8 and February 26, 2025.
• Resolution authorizing acceptance of $127,000 in grant funding from San Mateo County for the Big Lift Little Steps Preschool at the Gene Mullin Community Learning Center and amending the Parks and Recreation Department's FY 2024-25 operating budget (Budget Amendment 25.044).
• Vote: Approved unanimously (5-0) via roll call.

Discussion Items

• Item 7 / 7a: Ordinance establishing a local preference for deed-restricted affordable housing – Pierce Abrahamson, Management Analyst II, presented. The ordinance gives one preference point in the affordable housing lottery to applicants who live, have lived (former residents), or work (at least 20 hours/week) in South San Francisco, or have accepted a job offer. The policy aims to prevent displacement, allow return for displaced residents, and codify existing practice. Fair housing legal analysis found no discriminatory effect; data showed a 36% decrease in Hispanic/Latino households earning under $150,000 from 2012-2022. The policy is modeled after Redwood City. Councilmembers expressed strong support, noting it addresses community concerns about housing being for local residents. Questions were asked about documentation and the lack of a minimum residency requirement. The ordinance was introduced.
• Vote: Unanimous (5-0) to introduce the ordinance.

Key Outcomes

• The consent calendar was approved unanimously, including the $127,000 preschool grant.
• The local preference ordinance (Item 7) was introduced and approved unanimously, prioritizing current and former residents and local workers for affordable housing lotteries.
• The council adjourned to closed session for items 8-11: real property negotiations at 366 Grand Avenue and 201 Baden Avenue, public employee performance evaluation of the City Manager, and labor negotiations with the City Manager (unrepresented employee).