The San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District has reported that West Nile virus, a sometimes debilitating contagious disease spread by mosquito bites, has been detected in two dead birds found in our COWnty in June. One bird was found near Hillsdale and the other was found in the Hayward Park area in San Mateo,. Five cases were found in the COWnty last year, and more are expected this year as the weather warms up and mosquitoes start to breed in earnest. The virus was first found in the United States in 1999 and in California in 2003, becoming more common each year. You can learn all of the facts about West Nile here.

West Nile is often passed between infected birds by mosquitoes, and humans can be infected when an infected mosquito bites a person, though this is fairly rare. So far this year 20 cases have been discovered throughout the State, with one human case reported in Sacramento. Other animals can be infected as well – both dogs and cats can get it, though they generally have few symptoms. Horses as well are vulnerable to West Nile virus, which can cause fever, limb weakness or paralysis, and even seizures and comas. A vaccine is available for horses but not for other animals or humans.

In human beings, eighty percent of the people who are infected have no symptoms. The other twenty percent, however, get symptoms that feel like flu – fever, aches, skin rashes and nausea. One in 150 people however can get severe neurological symptoms that can include disorientation, tremors, paralysis, coma, blindness or death! So obviously, if you feel like you are ill, you should seek medical attention immediately. People older than age 55 are most vulnerable.

The best way to combat West Nile virus is to be smart about mosquitoes. Eliminate standing water on your property and anywhere that mosquitoes can breed, put mosquito fish into ponds available for free from the San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District., as well as putting tight fitting screens on your home. Avoid areas and times of day with mosquito activity and wear repellants with DEET.

The District also asks that you report freshly-dead squirrels and birds to them for testing. Both species can harbor the virus and will give a clearer picture of West Nile prevalence in our area. You can report what you find by calling 877-968-2472 or online here.

Be safe and smart outdoors this summer!

The meeting kicked off with a celebration of Town Clerk Janet Koelsch’s 25 years of service with the Town government. Mayor Anne Kasten read the proclamation highlighting Ms. Koelsch’s record with the Town, which began back on May 16th, 1988. The item wasn’t listed on the agenda, because otherwise it wouldn’t have been a surprise – the Town Clerk is the one who compiles the agenda for every meeting. We want to congratulate Janet and express our appreciation for the good job that she does.

During Communications, Thalia Lubin of the Woodside History Committee announced that the Committee was awarding the first three Historical Preservation Awards at the Woodside History Museum. While we celebrate the awarding of recognition to COWs who choose to help preserve Woodside’s wonderful history, we remain concerned over the possibility of future historical preservation efforts that may restrict homeowner’s rights to enjoy their properties as they see fit.

Next, the COWncil interviewed Steven Patrick for the open seat on the ASRB. Three candidates are up for the position, but only Mr. Patrick was able to make the beginning of the meeting (one other candidate arrived later and graciously agreed to come back next meeting, as this meeting went very long). The COWncil was familiar with Mr. Patrick’s record of service in the Town (he served on the General Plan Update committee, as well as serving on the Planning Commission for years ending eight years ago) as well as his professional credentials as an architect. The COWncil members spoke highly of him during the interview, though they asked him the necessity that he recuse himself from matters he brings before the Town in a professional capacity. He indicated that it would not be a problem. He also stated that the new review process which the ASRB conducts is good, considering it “less adversarial”. The other two candidates will be interviewed and the matter will be decided during the June 11th meeting.

A variance to allow a house to connect to a different sewer district than the one it was already in was granted quickly, and then the COWncil turned to the progress report on the Town Center Area Plan Task Force. The COWncil discussed the issue for hours, with a lot of passionate debate from Town residents. The COWncil will study the issue further and we will definitely be tracking this!

Finally, as the night got late, the COWncil turned to the matter of the Farmer’s Market. The Farmer’s Market is already operating in two locations – one at Cañada Corners as well as at the Elementary School. The Elementary School location was always meant to be a temporary location, and the School has made it clear that they don’t want to accommodate the Market forever. The hope of the Market was to move to the Town Center parking lot, but staff’s reading of Woodside Measures 1 and J (passed decades ago to prevent development of the Town Center area) is that it’s not allowed under current code (a contention COWncil member Ron Romines, who was involved with passing Measure J, and the author of Measure J dispute).

There was a big crowd weeks ago at a COWncil meeting urging the COWncil to take action and allow the Farmer’s Market to move to Town Center, talking in depth about how much they loved having the Market in Town and being able to buy fresh food. The COWncil asked staff to study the issue, and at this meeting staff asked for direction on whether to put an ordinance on the ballot in November to allow the Market.

At this meeting, the other side turned out in force and speakers (some of them local business owners whose businesses front the parking lots that would be affected) spoke against the plan, even implying strongly that they might sue over the issue. The COWncil also argued amongst themselves about whether it made sense to have a Farmer’s Market in Town Center when the larger traffic and parking issues remain unresolved.

In the end, with no Farmer’s Market supporters at this meeting, the COWncil accepted a motion from
Thomas Shanahan, to not work on bringing the Farmer’s Market to Town Center for the rest of 2013. Given the fact that it is more costly to but a measure on the ballot when there is no COWncil election, it is unlikely that this would be considered earlier than then the ballot in 2015. COWncil member’s Romines and Deborah Gordon were in favor of having an election to allow the Citizens to decide on whether to allow a Farmer’s Market and possibly a Craft Fair in the Town Center, while the rest of the COWncil was against it. In the final vote on taking no action for the rest of the year, COWncil member’s Romines, Gordon, and Mayor Kasten voted against it, while the rest of the COWncil voted to not consider the matter again until 2014. So, that unless COWs circulate an initiative petition, this ends the dream of having the Farmer’s Market in Town Center, at least for several years.

The almost four-and-a-half-hour meeting ended shortly thereafter.

The Grand Jury conducted a survey of the unincorporated COWnty and all 20 cities. They found that only the cities of Daly City and Redwood City have implemented water recycling programs. The cities of Brisbane, Foster City, Pacifica, San Bruno, South San Francisco, and San Mateo have water recycling programs under consideration. The cities of Atherton, Belmont, Burlingame, Colma, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Portola Valley, San Carlos, and Woodside, plus the COWnty, do not currently plan to develop water recycling programs. East Palo Alto did not respond to the Grand Jury’s survey. Our Town did not even cite a reason for not developing a program.

It stands to reason that since we are adjacent to Redwood City, we should be exploring how to tap into their system and expand recycled water into Woodside. You can read the report here.

On Saturday May 4th the Woodside Recreation COWmittees 22nd Fun Run will start off the day at 8:30am in front of the Woodside Library. Registration for the run begins at 7:30 you can find the registration form here. Started as a COWmunity event to coincide with the fun of the Parade (and to take advantage of parade road closures) and the carnival.

You can also sit, relax and enjoy a warm breakfast while waiting for the runner’s to return at the Rotary Club’s Annual Larry Wenrick Memorial Pancake Breakfast at Woodside Village Church!

Then at 10 am the fun filled parade will begin! Horse and Riders, classic cars, floats, trucks, other furry pets, bands and more will moo-sey on down Woodside Road for all to see!

After the parade there will be lots of animals, music and activities for all at the annual carnival where families can enjoy good food, games, and wonderful company.

Date: Saturday May 4th

Where: Woodside Elementary School

Time: 8 am (Fun Run and pancake breakfast) 10 am (Parade) After parade (Carnival)

Date: April 27th 2013. Time: 11am to 3pm. Attendance is limited and advance tickets are required. Tickets are $10 until April 19 ($12 after) and are available at Woodside Town Hall and Portola Valley Town Hall. No tickets will be sold the day of the event. To get there head northwest on Canada Road to Turn left on Runnymede just before Canada Road goes under the 280 overpass. The entrance will be on your left.

Cycling and carpooling to the event are encouraged. Each cyclist will receive a $2 cash gift. Event parking is along Runnymede Road. Wear comfortable hiking attire and bring your own water bottle.
For more information, contact Brandi de Garmeaux at 650.851.1700 ext. 222 orbdegarmeaux@portolavalley.net.

The evening got started with a COWmunity member speaking on the topic of trucks using their “jake brakes” – loud brakes that use compressed air on large diesel trucks - early in the morning. Trucks are using their jake brakes as early as 6 am, and the noise echoes for miles, disturbing resident’s sleep. According to the COWmunity member, other Towns ban the use of such brakes at early hours with noise ordinances.
Woodside doesn’t have a noise ordinance, but does have a disturbing the peace ordinance that might allow the sheriff to ticket if the Town requested it. There was also testimony that at least one motorcycle shop in San Francisco has been heard to encourage purchases to ride loudly through Woodside as Woodside “doesn’t enforce” noise rules. The COWncil was energized by this and told the Town Attorney and Town Manager to look into what could be done, and encouraged the COWmunity member to have his neighbors to send emails and show up at a future meeting, and he promised that they would.

The COWncil approved the consent calendar and quickly moved to the matter of increasing sewer rates for the Town Center Sewer Assessment District, formed in 1987 and servicing 125 residential and 24 nonresidential parcels in the main system, as well as 32 additional parcels that were added to the system in 2004. Ratepayers pay fees that are supposed to fully cover the cost of supporting the system; however, with no rate increases in 18 years, the surplus that once existed in a fund for the system has been wiped out. Additionally, there are hundreds of thousands of dollars of needed improvements looming for the system, with no way to pay for them. In light of that, the COWncil approved an increase in sewer rates, with the possibility of more rate hikes in three years. There was some drama over the rate increase, with a Town Citizen complaining about the rate hike and as note above Dave Burow accusing former Town Manager Susan George and past Town COWncils of mishandling the issue. Council member Deborah Gordon disagreed.

After this, they moved on to the next item and approved a handful of new fees. A new fee of $1,315, the same cost as the setback exemption and analysis fee, was attached to the change of use of nonconforming structures. The COWncil also increased the cost of a full reproduction of the Town’s General Plan from $15 to a whopping $125 and added a charge of $25 for a copy of the Residential Design Guidelines, as well as a $100 fee for a printed copy of the Municipal Code. Is the COWNcil not aware that the Public Records Act limits charges for copying public documents? The COWncil waived the fee for a Conditional Use Permit for riding arenas until March 31st, 2014.

Then the matter of the Farmer’s Market proposed for the Town Center area was addressed. Dave Tanner took the extraordinary step of addressing the COWncil and those present to defend himself against charges that he was against the Farmer’s Market and planned to stop it, circulated in an email by Liz Dressel. He denied the charges in the letter. Dressel, in the audience, claimed that the charges were true. As noted above, you can see the show down on MooTube.

Staff reported that their analysis of Measures J and 1 showed that the Town was prevented from allowing commercial enterprises like a Farmer’s Market on the parcels the Town controls, and that this would have to be changed by the voters. While this interpretation got some pushback from Councul member Ron Romines, who served on the group that passed Measure J, and from Liz Dressel, ultimately the COWncil decided to not get creative with the Code and instead investigate the possibility of a ballot measure, possibly in November. Meanwhile, the Farmer’s Market will occur on school property.

The meeting finished with appointments to Arts and Culture, Livestock and Equestrian Heritage, and Woodside History Committees, and with Deborah Gordon thanking COWncil member Tom Shanahan for opening his home for a fundraiser for a regional trauma center for the Veterans Administration, stating that it was well attended and brought in a lot of money for a good cause. So, we’ll finish with a Hooves-Ray to Tom!

COWs should be concerned. The “industry standard” on historic buildings essentially is anything that was built 50 years ago or older may potentially qualify. That ladies and gentlemen means everything built on or before 1963 could potentially be deemed historic! The process being proposed is that every single structure (yes even the decrepit 20 sq. ft. shed in the corner of your property) must have an assessment of environmental impact written and submitted to the Town for review if you would like to remove, add or remodel the structure. The Towns Historical Committee, ASRB and staff will review this assessment. Now if it is found to have no significance then, yea! you are allowed to demolish it! But if they find it of historical significance based on who designed, built or even lived there, you will have to do a complete Environmental Impact Report on each structure the Town believes may have significance. This is a very long and costly process. These reports are again reviewed by the Town staff, ASRB and the History Committee (which has been proposed to be the designated decision making party).

Now here is the tricky part all of the committee members are also Town citizens, and the Town has stated they are trying to get away from neighbors, friends or in some cases enemies from having control over deeming others properties historic. This is great, however by giving the Historic Committee the decision making power on historic structures they have in turn given a small group of people who live in Woodside, with a special interest, that very power. You will have very little recourse if the Committee and Town agree that your structure is a historic resource. You can appeal to the Planning Commission, however this will not stop the historic review process and most likely won’t get you very far. Proposed penalties for violations go very far.

You should be concerned.

The Town has set up a study session for TONIGHT April 9th 2013 Town Council Meeting in order for the Council to review the draft Historic Preservation Ordinance and provide staff with any changes or recommendations.

Date: April 27th 2013. Time: 11am to 3pm. Attendance is limited and advance tickets are required. Tickets are $10 until April 19 ($12 after) and are available at Woodside Town Hall and Portola Valley Town Hall. No tickets will be sold the day of the event. To get there head northwest on Canada Road to Turn left on Runnymede just before Canada Road goes under the 280 overpass. The entrance will be on your left.

Cycling and carpooling to the event are encouraged. Each cyclist will receive a $2 cash gift. Event parking is along Runnymede Road. Wear comfortable hiking attire and bring your own water bottle.

For more information, contact Brandi de Garmeaux at 650.851.1700 ext. 222 or Email orbdegarmeaux@portolavalley.net