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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-08-20 Retail Committee Summary MinutesRETAIL COMMITTEE SUMMARY MINUTES Page 1 of 8 Regular Meeting August 20, 2025 The Retail Committee of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Community Meeting Room and by virtual teleconference at 9:00 AM Present In-Person: Reckdahl (Chair), Burt, Lythcott-Haims Absent: None. Call to Order Chair Reckdahl called the meeting to order. Roll was taken. Public Comments There were no requests to speak. Agenda Items 1. Recommend that Retail Committee review and recommend City Council Adopt: Four Ordinances to Amend and Reorganize Stormwater and Wastewater Management Requirements by Amending PAMC Chapter 16.09 (Sewer Use Ordinance), Amending Chapter 16.11 (Stormwater Pollution Prevention), Adding New Chapter 16.13 (Requirements for Food Facilities Related to Water Pollution Prevention and Management of Fats, Oils, and Grease), and Adding New Chapter 16.66 (Hauled Liquid Waste); Two Resolutions Establishing Regulations to Implement PAMC Chapters 16.11 and 16.13; A Resolution Amending and Restating the Administrative Penalty Schedule and Civil Penalty Schedules for Certain Violations of the PAMC; CEQA Status – Exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15308 Pam Boyle Rodriguez, Stormwater Program Manager began a slide presentation including the Staff recommendations, proposed ordinance changes (municipal code chapters) and summary of food facility/stormwater requirements. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 2 of 8 Retail Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 08/20/2025 Chair Reckdahl queried if someone has to clean up grease if it spills when dumping. Ms. Rodriguez replied the person is required to clean it up. Chair Reckdahl asked if the people running the Farmer’s Market are responsible for dumping out wastewater. Ms. Rodriguez confirmed the people running Farmer’s Market would be responsible. Public Works staff maintains the storm drain system. They go out on Sunday, talk to the vendors and maintain the area. The vendors are instructed not to put anything in the storm drain. Gaba Stauffer, Fats, Oils and Grease Inspector, added the Farmer’s Market vendor has an agreement all businesses sign that talks about these issues. A BMP fact sheet has been provided to vendors and the Farmer’s Market. Chair Reckdahl questioned if it has been confirmed whether there is food waste in the sewers. Ms. Stauffer explained the Public Works Service inspects the storm drains and will report back if anything is found and clean it. Ms. Stauffer looks at the vendors’ setup, remind them of BMPs, give pointers and write a warning letter if necessary. Councilmember Burt wanted a better understanding of how to address the rodents other than upstream prevention areas and how to hold the Farmer’s Market accountable for performance. Ms. Stauffer explained there is an enforcement response plan in the group involving inspections and education first to the vendor and Farmer’s Market. If no progress is made, the enforcement plan will be stepped up to notices of violations and citation level as necessary. Councilmember Burt mentioned the trash bins overflowing on the weekends contributing to the rodent issue. Karin North, Public Works Assistant Director, stated notes would be taken of all the comments. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims asked how a wet problem could be removed from Cal Ave without spilling into the storm drain. Ms. Stauffer replied the tarps are required to cover beyond the stall. It is required to have a spill kit on hand. Kiely Nose, Assistant City Manager, added the Farmer’s Market occurs only once during the week. There are people eating and drinking on that street other than the Farmer’s Market. Samantha Engelage, Regulatory Compliance Manager, joined the slide presentation including proposed hauled liquid waste ordinance overview, hauled liquid waste proposed changes, sewer use ordinance overview, summary of significant changes to sewer use ordinance, public outreach highlights and staff recommendations. Chair Reckdahl wanted a description of a general discharge permit and slug control plan. Ms. Engelage explained a general discharge permit is one permit that covers multiple categories. Slugs are discrete discharges of highly concentrated processed water that could cause a bad effect downstream. A slug cannot be defined because different contaminants or pollutants have different levels that become threatening. A slug control plan is specific to a facility where the most threatening pollutants are looked at and ways to avoid spills to the sanitary sewer or inadvertent discharges are identified. There are local limits that identify specific pollutants for industrial dischargers and what amount is safe to discharge. There is a salinity limit. Councilmember Burt added the slugs are where there is a contaminant with a normally low level of permitted discharge and this would be a violation that would be exceptionally threatening to the treatment plant. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 3 of 8 Retail Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 08/20/2025 Councilmember Lythcott-Haims wanted to know where the waste goes. Ms. Engelage replied it gets hauled off and disposed of as hazardous waste. Depending on the pollutant that makes it toxic determines how it is disposed of. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims queried how far the hazardous waste facilities are. Ms. Engelage stated they tend to be out of state. Councilmember Burt added most normal facilities have processes to treat waste onsite but when it is offsite, it is a combination of going to a hazardous waste landfill or to offsite recycling depending on the material. Public Comment: 1. John S. (Zoom) opined similar policies should be implemented to address stormwater inlets where RVs are and there should be mitigation for the contaminants that come off roofs of restaurants. There should be consideration of the GCDs based on food type. 2. Alex G. echoed the previous commenter’s sentiments. The method of how a containment system would work based on cuisine was unclear. It is difficult to manage employees’ understanding of what is a contaminant. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims asked what proposals are controversial or different than the standards other might be adopting. Assistant Director North responded the ordinance had been streamlined to model the pretreatment ordinance. The stormwater ordinance models the stormwater municipal regional code that everyone has to comply within all of the Bay Area counties. The other ordinances codify what is being done. Caio Arellano, Chief Assistant City Attorney, stated Palo Alto’s culture of being at the forefront of protecting the environment is being embraced but not at the extreme of being unfriendly to businesses or difficult to work with. The overall regulations and revisions to ordinances are generally common and agencies that have not seen them can expect to see the in the next 5 to 10 years. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims inquired to what extent the department is looking into what is going into the stormwater inlets from the RV dwellers on the street. Assistant Director North explained the department is working with the city manager’s office on that. If there is an issue, the department helps with cleanup, education and outreach but not with enforcement. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims wondered how often cleanup was required. Assistant City Manager Nose indicated that will be discussed at the meeting on the 25th. Councilmember Burt questioned if there is a sense of how much of a problem the RV dwellers is compared to other problems. Assistant Director North said storm drains are not sampled and the discussion would be taken offline. Councilmember Burt asked if there is anything that looks at reducing mass discharge as opposed to focusing on concentration. Ms. Engelage explained the local limit sections that allow a mass versus concentration limit has been kept in the proposed changes. Wastewater treatment plant data shows those efforts decreased how much metals were seen coming into the wastewater treatment plant. It has stabilized and hit a baseline. Councilmember Burt asked how toxic organics that are not well-defined are addressed. Ms. Engelage agreed there has been a significant shift away from heavy industry SUMMARY MINUTES Page 4 of 8 Retail Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 08/20/2025 and more toward research and development and more tech fields that have changed the wastewater being sent to the plant. The wastewater influent is tested periodically as well as in trunk lines not only for routine contaminants but also special studies to look for contaminants that were not previously on the radar. There is a significant surveillance program to help answer those questions and look ahead to the next upcoming pollutant. Councilmember Burt queried what was seen in terms of reduction from the Palo Alto Copper Brake Pad Initiative. Assistant Director North answered the copper load has been declining due to the initiative. Chair Reckdahl asked if there is less copper regenerating or if the source is being captured better. Assistant Director North stated it is a combination but a lot due to the source control through pretreatment and other source reduction. Chair Reckdahl wanted an overview of how GCDs are sized and maintained. Ms. Stauffer replied it is sized on flow rate per the California Plumbing Code but cuisine type along with number of meals served is now taken into account. If things change, servicing more frequently or possibly adding an additional GCD is required. Chair Reckdahl asked what is done for runoff from equipment. Ms. Rodriguez answered the new fog ordinance has a new requirement for rooftop containment systems. It is generally the same company that maintains the actual exhaust. Ms. Stauffer added this is already implemented so the ordinance will be codifying it. Ms. Rodriguez stated there are some requirements through other ordinances that are not related to stormwater like hazardous material containment that would have to have secondary containment. Chair Reckdahl asked about pools. Ms. Engelage stated any pools are included. The proposed ordinance seeks to clarify an exemption for residential pools that can discharge safely to their own cleanout without a permit. A typical residential pool size is estimated to be 20,000 gallons. Anything above that or being discharged into a City manhole requires a permit. Councilmember Burt questioned if the treatment process fully and readily treats chlorine. Ms. Engelage confirmed that it does. Councilmember Burt suggested promoting using UV treatment for removal of destruction of contaminants in pool water in the future. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims inquired if it is possible for someone in an RV to have their sewage pumped out in the City of Palo Alto. Ms. Engelage explained someone would call one of the several haulers that are active within the City of Palo Alto and arrange for them to come to their RV to pump out the tank. That hauler would drive that waste to the wastewater treatment plant and discharge it for treatment. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims asked about regulatory means. Ms. Engelage said the regulations apply to the haulers and the company can determine safety or possible restrictions. The haulers cannot pump out industrial waste. They have to track the waste and where it is discharged to. Those regulations are from the City as well as the county. The majority of the haulers’ customer base are residential septic tanks and Port-A- Potties. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims asked how to find the phone number for the haulers. Ms. Engelage indicated phone numbers can be found by Googling septic haulers and on the City’s website. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 5 of 8 Retail Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 08/20/2025 MOTION: Councilmember Burt moved, seconded by Councilmember Lythcott-Haims, to recommend the City Council adopt: 1. Ordinance amending PAMC Chapter 16.09 (Sewer Use Ordinance) (Attachment B); 2. Ordinance amending PAMC Chapter 16.11 (Stormwater Pollution Prevention) (Attachment C); 3. Resolution creating regulations to implement PAMC Chapter 16.11 (Attachment D); 4. Ordinance adding new PAMC Chapter 16.13 (Requirements for Food Facilities Related to Water Pollution Prevention and Management of Fats, Oils, and Grease) (Attachment E); 5. Resolution creating regulations to implement PAMC Chapter 16.13 (Attachment F); 6. Ordinance adding new PAMC Chapter 16.66 (Hauled Liquid Waste) (Attachment G); and 7. Resolution amending and restating the Administrative Penalty Schedule and Civil Penalty Schedules for Certain Violations of the PAMC (Attachment H). MOTION PASSED: 3-0 2. Economic Development Activity Report August 2025 Ruth Carias, Economic Development Specialist, and Assistant City Manager Nose provided a slide presentation including retail property metrics Q2 2025, notable retail openings and departures, 2025 economic development and priority objectives – Q2 updates and upcoming events and activations. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims was curious about why Chico’s and Good Vibrations are closing. Ms. Carias responded the consensus was half of them was negotiating the rent for one business and the other one was the landlord hoping to take back the space from the business. Chair Reckdahl asked if they would be reopening elsewhere. Ms. Carias’ understanding was there was no thought of expanding or relocation. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims wondered about the current methodology being used to facilitate business openings and how it compares to the past. Ms. Carias said the department is brainstorming how to get them right before the permitting process by using a different report that informs as soon as someone applies for a use and occupancy report to filter out businesses new to the City. Through those reports, a list is compiled of opening businesses that are tracking new and getting into contact with the business owner and contractor. Assistant City Manager Nose added the backend of this is ensuring that internally Ms. Carias has the support from the broad swath of people that engage with business openings. City Manager Shikada added a common missing link was between the contractor the team is dealing with and the SUMMARY MINUTES Page 6 of 8 Retail Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 08/20/2025 businesses. Ms. Carias’ interface helps ensure direct contact providing a consistent and readily available contact to ensure communication is getting back to the business or property owner. Councilmember Burt asked about restructuring in the Economic Development Office reporting structure. Assistant City Manager Nose clarified the department will be recruiting for that position as it is going to become vacant. Councilmember Burt discussed the need to track occupancy trends in retail. Councilmember Burt inquired if information on the Ramona upgrade would be rerouted to this Committee. City Manager Shikada replied the item brought forward asked the Council to ratify what the Committee had given as direction to use a more expanded process involving the HRB and ARB toward a more comprehensive approach to the urban design of the street. It would bear fruit to have further discussion with this Committee on what will be done in the interim. There is not bandwidth to pick up on the comprehensive approach. In the interim, the team will rely on any individual business interested in placing a new parklet or structure in the street in order to respond as an application with context and as appropriate engagement of HRB and ARB understanding these are not temporary structures or outdoor activations. Councilmember Burt thought there was concern that the staff recommendation went further than what the Committee thought was being endorsed. There were extensive written comments from a number of the retailers on Ramona who are volunteering to create their own stakeholder group to come up with more near-term, lower-cost recommendations that will work well within the context of Ramona. Councilmember Burt wanted the opportunity to endorse that approach with an understanding that it would be come back as their recommendations on their dime. It would be effective for a stakeholder group to have an occasional check in with Staff and let them come forward with recommendations to see whether Staff and Council wants to endorse them. City Manager Shikada would be happy to discuss that further and agreed to follow up. Councilmember Burt queried if there is a plan to replace the temporary sandwich boards at the gateways on Cal Ave with other signage. Assistant City Manager Nose replied Staff is working on permanent signage. Councilmember Burt asked for an update on sign replacement on Page Mill. Assistant City Manager Nose will be working with the Public Works team on what can and cannot be fabricated in-house. The next step is to go to ARB to move through sign design review. Councilmember Burt encouraged expediting that. Councilmember Burt talked about ways to move away from gas heating for parklets and encouraged looking at electronic kiosks for downtown. Councilmember Lythcott-Haim asked questions about signs. Assistant City Manager Nose replied the current design would be monument signs replacing the sign at Cal Ave and ECR. City Manager Shikada that sign as well as the Oregon Expressway sign are the immediate next steps and are in the process of being handed off to Public Works. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims questioned what the next set of signs are called. Bruce Fukuji, Assistant to the City Manager, stated that signage plan needs an implementation program. A cost estimating exercise and funding process need to be reviewed. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims inquired what could be done to support moving that along. Mr. Fukuji indicated the budget currently allows for the SUMMARY MINUTES Page 7 of 8 Retail Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 08/20/2025 Oregon Expressway sign and replacing the entrance sign on Cal Ave/El Camino. They have been designed consistent with the signage program. Steps are being pulled together to get it implemented. City Manager Shikada said part of the context for that has been the necessity of engaging the businesses in a level of self-governance. Mr. Fukuji added banner signs are a low cost thing that could be done on the existing pictures. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims wanted to know what the future of the project looks like. Assistant City Manager Nose stated the directory signage is longer term but the immediate of the monument signage as well as the signage on El Camino is moving toward transitioning to the Public Works team to implement. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims recalled talk of wayfinding signage. City Manager Shikada indicated that was an alternative. The arch over the street at El Camino Real is the concept being worked on. This will be on the plate of the next economic development manager with the expectation of being a priority. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims asked if it went to Council for which strategy to move forward with. Mr. Fukuji answered the signage was presented in February at a study session. There was no formal Council action. It was reviewed by the Architectural Review Board and feedback was received. The two signs are being implemented as part of a capital improvements program budget. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims asked for an update on the entertainment zone. Assistant City Manager Nose indicated that has not been worked on as other areas have been prioritized. Council authorized the ordinance for open containers for Third Thursdays which is being implemented. Research on the entertainment zone is on the workplan focusing on the Cal Ave outdoor dining guidelines and onboarding of businesses. Chair Reckdahl asked if the work of other cities could be copied regarding the entertainment zone. City Manager Shikada replied there is some research the city attorney wanted to do in order to identify the path forward. There is no schedule for the turnaround for that. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims and Chair Reckdahl encouraged prioritizing moving forward on that. City Manager Shikada reminded the Committee that Council has adopted priorities focusing on helping businesses open. Due to being shorthanded, ability to take on on-the-fly projects is limited unless accompanied by reduction in other existing priorities. Chair Reckdahl understood the situation but opined it would be beneficial to Cal Ave to balance the priorities. Assistant City Manager Nose indicated the Cal Ave priorities to be street redesign, the signs being discussed and outdoor dining activation. Chair Reckdahl agreed with collaborating with the Ramona people and with making it easier for businesses to open. Having a contact point as an advocate would be valuable. City Manager Shikada indicated Ms. Carias is the initial point of contact but it extends to the entire team to be advocates for helping all customers get to approval and opening. Chair Reckdahl asked about the increased permit activity. Assistant City Manager Nose stated it is primarily new businesses but also adjustments from existing businesses. City Manager Shikada added there has been an increase seen in new businesses post-COVID. Chair Reckdahl inquired if there is an automated way of figuring out where sales tax is being received from. City Manager Shikada explained sales tax has been aggregated for specific sub SUMMARY MINUTES Page 8 of 8 Retail Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 08/20/2025 areas downtown included as part of the quarterly sales tax report to Council. The new parking guidance system will have the ability to get counts on an ongoing basis in public garages. Chair Reckdahl assumed sales tax is tied to a specific address. Assistant City Manager Nose indicated it is tied to a permit with a business with the CDTFA. Chair Reckdahl asked if how many discrete addresses are given a sales tax to tell how many non-vacancies there are. Assistant City Manager Nose explained it would depend on how the businesses are reporting their sales tax when it comes in and the locations. At this time, there is not another source for Staff to determine the difference between it is leased versus the doors open for a customer to walk in. There were no requests to speak for public comment. Future Meetings and Agendas Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 10:55 AM.