Mr. Gonzales, Tear Down the Building!!

I was among the attendees to the May 17th Council meeting. I'm also a neighbor concerned with the recommendation to the Board of Supervisors of rezoning back to residential status 3821 Fair Oaks Avenue, currently occupied by BACE. The recommendation was voted, unanimously, by all Council members present. So far so good.

I'm concerned about the process and, ultimately, the conditions under which the rezoning will be in effect. According to opinions expressed during the meeting by Ms Jensen and a representative of the Planning and Zoning division, even though the rezoning will be considered and perhaps approved by the Board of Supervisors (the San Mateo County Planning and Zoning website says rezoning could take as long as 6 to 12 months), it would still not go into effect until the commercial parcel in question changes ownership. Since time was short and comments kept brief, it was not clear if the current owner was willing to convert to residential 3821 Fair Oaks Ave, among other reasons because Mr. Gonzales was not present. This option could expedite the process of preventing BACE to remain in the premises in order to complete the lease term.

I'm inclined to believe that BACE should not be obligated to remain in the current location, under a different guise, based on a lease probably signed under false pretense. This business is leaving the premises not because they have outgrown the place, they are leaving because they don't need unhappy neighbors. If there had been no complains, BACE would have stayed as long as it was convenient for the business.  As things stand now, we're are stuck with them until the new location is remodeled, and then three years more because of a lease that didn't account for the suitability of the premises?. 

MR. GONZALES, TEAR DOWN THE BUILDING!!

MEETING AT FAIR OAKS COMMUNITY CENTER

• What: Fair Oaks Council Meeting
• Why: Peggy Jensen, Deputy County Manager will update on Bay Area Catering
• When: Thursday, May 17th at 7:00 PM
• Where: Fair Oaks Community Center, Rooms 1 & 2, 2600 Middlefield, Redwood City, CA 94063

County's Meeting Topics

Below are the County's talking points for the May 17th meeting at the Fair Oaks Community Center:

Memorandum

Office of the San Mateo County Manager

To: North Fair Oaks Community Council Members
From: Peggy Jensen, Deputy County Manager
Date: May 14, 2012
Re: Update on Bay Area Catering and Events

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Background
At the March Council meeting, the Council heard concerns from North Fair Oaks residents about a variety of issues related to the location and operation of Bay Area Catering and Events (BACE).  BACE is located on Fair Oaks Avenue in a primarily residential section of North Fair Oaks.  In response to community concerns, I told the Council that I had met with the business owners and that BACE was planning to move their catering operation to a larger facility sometime in the summer.  At the March meeting, residents also had questions about the process for changing the zoning of the BACE building from commercial to residential.  Planning and Building staff and I offered to return to the May North Fair Oaks Council meeting with an update on the BACE move and also a short presentation on the process for changing land use and zoning in the County.    
Update
On Monday, May 14, 2012, the business owners provided a copy of the construction plans for their new facility, which is located in Redwood City.  They expect to submit these plans to the City tomorrow for review.  The owners told us the majority of the improvements at the new site are equipment installation, not construction.  They have already ordered the new equipment, so once permits are issued, build-out at the new location should go quickly.  The owners anticipate a July/August move-in date.

All of the BACE catering work will be done at the new facility.  This means that all deliveries, their delivery trucks and most all their employees will be relocated to the new Redwood City site.      

BACE has a five year lease on the North Fair Oaks building with two more years remaining on the lease.  The owners plan to turn the North Fair Oaks location into a morning and lunch deli/café offering coffee, French pastries from a bakery in San Francisco and other food items.  The business owners would welcome the opportunity to meet with neighbors to learn what types of products and services the neighbors would like to see at the BACE North Fair Oaks location.  The County has offered to have the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center (PCRC) facilitate such a meeting.  The owners also mentioned that they would be willing to re-paint the North Fair Oaks location and would welcome community input on the new color(s) for the building.      

In response to the community concerns about commercial land uses in predominantly residential areas of NFO, Planning and Building staff will explain the process for changing land uses and zoning at the May 17th meeting.  An action that the Council could take, if there is interest in having some commercial areas in North Fair Oaks re-zoned, is to vote to have County staff take a re-zoning request back to the Board of Supervisors for consideration. 

Recommended Council Action

1. Request County staff to arrange a facilitated meeting between the owners of Bay Area Catering and Events (BACE) and the residents of the neighborhood surrounding the BACE location.

2. Request that County staff take a recommendation from the North Fair Oaks Community Council to review commercial areas in primarily residential sections of North Fair Oaks to the Board of Supervisors for consideration

Before and After

Before

After

Candidate Visit Summary

Thank you to all those who came out on Mother's Day to show your support and express your concern. Below is a brief summary composed by Teresa:


Summary:

2:00 pm - First to arrive to the meeting at the corner of Fair Oaks Ave and San Benito Avenue was Board of Supervisor candidate Memo Morantes who quickly stated he couldn’t stay long because it was Mother’s day. Welcoming Morantes was Mitch and Andrea, Dave and Teresa. Shortly after, neighbors gathered and other candidates arrived, such as Carlos Romero, Ernie Schmidt and K. Keith who introduced themselves and share the common opinion, among the candidates, that for this meeting all they could do was listen. They would not take sides or favor one version of events as it would compromise future actions regarding the issue if one of them were to become elected Supervisor.

Mitch made a brief presentation of the problem the neighborhood is having with BACE and with the response from the San Mateo County zoning department.

Neighbors expressed persistent disappointment with, and distrust of the County Planning and Zoning department, not just because of the current problem regarding BACE but because other zoning violations brought to their attention on previous occasions and the equally dismissive response the neighborhood received. The mood is of concern regarding expectations of enforcement of zoning regulations as the recently new North Fair Oaks Plan goes into effect.

The candidates offered suggestions as how to go about getting the attention of the commission or, ultimately, the Board of Supervisors.

Carlos Romero suggested we could have a strong case to argue in court, if nothing else works. He also discussed working within the precepts of due process.

Kirsten Keith advised us to be persistent and insist on getting a place on the agenda of the Board of Supervisors to plead our case.

Memo Morantes was of the opinion that the neighborhood problems with BACE and the Planning and Zoning department came with the territory. Basically, as a home owner, you should know "What you buy and Where you buy". In a conversation, separate from the group, he admitted to Mitch and Teresa that he knew Jaime Gonzales, the proprietor of BACE building, who has endorsed his candidacy, and whose sister was also a “dear friend".

Ernie Schmidt offered his help to guide us in the process of dealing with the Planning and Zoning commission.

4:00 pm - The meeting concluded with a outdoor “tour” of the premises where the candidates could observe the conditions of the building, the parking situation, the installation of the blower on top of the building and constant hum from ventilators.

Calling All Neighbors

CALLING ALL NEIGHBORS!

Come Sunday May 13^th at 2 pm on Fair Oaks Ave across from Bay Area Catering

We will meet with Board of Supervisors candidates. They are coming to our neighborhood to hear our grievances with the FOOD FACTORY at 3821 Fair Oaks Ave.

Featuring*

ü Kirsten Keith

Mayor Menlo Park

ü Memo Morantes

Trustee, San Mateo Board of Education

ü Ernie Schmidt

Former Chair RWC Planning Commission

*Confirmed. Others pending.

Come and voice your concern and let our future supervisor know our struggle to keep enjoying our neighborhood’s charm & character.

Check for continual updates regarding the food factory at:

northfairoaks.blogspot.com

Join up:

north-fair-oaks-community@googlegroups.com

Below is a brief presentation detailing some of the issues made by one of our neighbors: