Saturday, June 13, 2020
David P. Donery, Town Manager

Weekend Street Markets Slated to Open in San Anselmo starting on June 19th for "On the Avenue"

Parts of San Anselmo Avenue will be opening to pedestrian use during summer weekends for a new project called "On the Avenue"

At the June 9 Town Council meeting the Town Council adopted an urgency ordinance to allow staff to approve temporary street openings and temporary outdoor uses on private property to facilitate reopening San Anselmo businesses. This will allow businesses to use parking lots, sidewalks and other outdoor spaces for the next six months.

Starting on June 19th, the Town will open the vehicle lanes on San Anselmo Avenue between Tunstead Avenue and Tamalpais Avenue and from the Pine Street parking lot to Woodland Avenue for pedestrians, outdoor restaurant seating and retail uses as allowed by the Shelter in Place Order. The Avenue be open from 3 p.m. on Friday to midnight on Sundays. The hours of the street opening may change for future weekends.

"We need to go big and embrace the realm of the possible" said Council Member Brian Colbert. "This is a really important morale builder for our community" said Council Member Alexis Fineman. Business owners spoke in support of the ordinance and some downtown retail business owners urged caution about closing portions of San Anselmo Avenue due to the loss of parking. Director of Building and Public Works indicated staff would be flexible and modify hours and procedures as necessary and that the project can pivot as needed.

Ford Greene noted, "we are in a life or death situation" and "it makes more sense to act bigger rather than lesser since you can always shave back."

Contact permits@townofsananselmo.org for more information.

CREEKSIDE COMMONS RIBBON CUTTING - Friday, June 19th at 6:00 PM

The community is invited to a ceremonial ribbon cutting commemorating the opening of Creekside Commons. Creekside Commons is a new, temporary park created at 632-636 San Anselmo Avenue. This park represents phase one of the Reimagine Creek Park vision. In 2021, the concrete abutments built within the creek bed are scheduled to be removed at which time phase two of the vision will be undertaken. Look for informational project signage to be installed at the 'Commons' in the near future.

Attendees are strongly encouraged to wear a face covering and observe physical distancing during the ribbon cutting ceremony.

A BIG NOTE OF THANKS goes out to Public Works Director Sean Condry and his staff for working tirelessly to turn the recently demolished site into what will become a welcoming, well thought-out space for our residents. Well done Sean and Co.!

Council adopts formal statement in response to the death of George Floyd

At the June 9, 2020 meeting, Council adopted the following statement in response to the death of George Floyd:

The killing of George Floyd by law enforcement in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the latest offense perpetrated against African Americans. It reflects the legacy of the deeply troubling history of racism in our country, the United States of America.

That history continues into the current-day structure of our systems. For too many African Americans, our system denies equality with respect to individual and group rights, status, and the opportunities to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, and it perpetuates myriad other injustices.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the rights of all citizens to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and to petition the government for the redress of grievances. The current mass, peaceful protests clearly exercise those rights.

The San Anselmo Town Council recognizes and respects as legitimate, important and necessary the mass protests across the country catalyzed by the killing of George Floyd. The police killing of Mr. Floyd, in addition to the ever-growing compilation of similarly horrifying incidents including Breonna Taylor, Eric, Garner, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown and countless others, present blatant examples of violent police attacks upon, and oppression of, persons of color, particularly of African Americans, that should shock the conscience of all Americans.

Public frustration regarding the continued heinous and racist abuses of authority exemplified by this killing has led to some burning and looting in cities across the nation. Some say that the extreme injustices that are a legacy of our racist history justify such a destructive response. From organized lynching to racist attacks by police and others, these injustices have led to the killing of people. But we are unconvinced that further destruction of property and lives can lead us closer to the promise of a country that is free and equal for all.

The San Anselmo Town Council above all recognizes the injustices laid bare in recent months. Therefore we support the movement currently known as “Black Lives Matter” and officially join in the national protest of the killing of George Floyd. We urge all citizens of San Anselmo to continue to work to be honest about and rectify our country’s history of racial injustice

View June 11th Q&A with Police Chief Michael Norton

Thank you to everyone who participated in Thursday morning's Q & A session with Central Marin Police Chief Michael Norton. If you missed it, you can find the Zoom event recording at this link:

https://zoom.us/rec/share/1cNSIZjq6H5IYtLy-HnlX6x5L4XrT6a8hyBNrvZZy0ntXsf-kxka4Xf5NO7ftyr1

The access password is: 9V&6iU37

Join the Mayor on the Town's online community forum, OPEN TIME

June 17th Featured Topic: Wildfire Protection & Response with Fire Chief Jason Weber

OPEN TIME provides the chance to hear local information about issues being discussed, projects that are happening and about how our small town is coping during the age of COVID-19. Participants will be able to ask questions and make comments during the 30 minute program. Each forum will include a featured discussion regarding a local subject.

OPEN TIME forums will take place every other Wednesday. The forums begin at 5:00pm and are scheduled to run for 30 minutes.

Featured Discussion: Wildfire Prevention and Response with Ross Valley Fire Chief Jason Weber

OPEN TIME forums will be aired on the Zoom Webinar platform
Please click the link below to join the June 17th webinar:
:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87024703699

Dial-In:
US: +1 (669) 900-6833
Webinar ID: 870 2470 3699

Participation Information: The Zoom Webinar platform utilizes a "raise hand" feature which notifies the host that you would like to speak. When your virtual hand is raised, you will be given time to speak when the opportunity arrives.

If accessing the meeting with a computer or smart phone, you will find the raise hand button at the top or bottom of your screen, depending on your device.There is also a Q&A button, which allows for participants to type out their questions
If using a landline, you would push *9 to raise your hand.

San Anselmo Community Fund Launches COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund

On June 11, 2020, the SACF (San Anselmo Community Foundation, a 501c3, non profit organization) begins a focused 23-day crowdfunding campaign, seeking to raise a minimum of $100,000 aimed to directly support local businesses with grants and to drive new commerce initiatives through a strategic and sustainable 2020 San Anselmo Recovery Marketing and Ad campaign. $1,000 Grants will be given to local qualifying San Anselmo small businesses as a "Quick Boost" to support their recovery and reopening efforts. The fast crowdfunding effort ends on July 4, Independence Day for Merchants and Businesses in our town. More information at www.SanAnselmoFund.org and GoFundMe to donate.

New Guidelines Allow Indoor Retail, Home Cleaning

Marin amends shelter-in-place order to allow additional businesses, activities

Indoor retail sales and personal cleaning services are allowed to proceed starting June 12 under the newest Marin County Public Health guidelines as long as certain restrictions are in place to help mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Indoor retail will be allowed if proprietors and store managers strictly limit patron assembly inside businesses and take all recommended public health precautions. This includes limiting occupancy to 50% capacity or less, upholding physical distancing and facial covering requirements, installing protective screens where maintaining 6 feet of distance is not possible, among other requirements.

Indoor cleaning services, such as housekeeping and janitorial services, will be allowed to operate with limitations and conditions. Some examples of the limitations and conditions include:

Cleaning of residential properties must take place when the resident is not home;
Commercial properties cannot have a tenant or member of the public present in the immediate office or space during cleaning, and;
Cleaning and janitorial services shall follow all applicable state and federal guidelines, including the COVID-19 Industry Guidance: Limited Services and the safer cleaning methods set forth by the California Department of Public Health.

An overview of business sector reopenings is available on MarinRecovers.com.

Approved Fee Schedule

The Town Council approved a new fee schedule to go into effect on July 1, 2020.

Changed fees from prior year:

In order to promote Climate Action Plan, fees have been waived for gray-water projects and cool roof initiatives.

In order to promote affordable housing, building permit fees were waived for ADUs recorded with affordable unit deed restriction of 55 years that reserves occupancy by a low income household at affordable rent.

Lot line adjustment fee ($935.83) and Administrative Design Review ($48.18), and a violation fee for parking in a restricted EV charging spaces ($40) are all new fees this year.

The remaining increases to fees are a 2.51% current price index increase where the CPI applies.

The new fee schedule can be found here: https://www.townofsananselmo.org/DocumentCenter/View/25944/Fee-Schedule---2020-PDF?bidId=

Town Council Meetings Live Streamed with Virtual Participation

The San Anselmo Town Council will continue to hold its meetings every second and fourth Tuesday at 7 PM, in order to continue to conduct essential Town business. These meetings offer remote viewing and participation so that the public can stay involved and engaged.

As always, all of our meetings are streamed live and are also played back on the government channel of your cable provider. We will also be using the Zoom platform for viewing and for public participation.

How to watch the upcoming Town Council meetings:
Online*:Town-Council-Meeting-Packets or https://cmcm.tv/watch
Local television: Tune in to Comcast Channel 27 and AT&T Channel 99

How to provide comment:
Before the meeting: email your comments to towncouncil@townofsananselmo.org no later than 3 pm on the day of the Town Council meeting.

During the meeting: The Zoom web link and instructions for participation will be placed on each agenda. Agenda packets are uploaded on Friday afternoons prior to the meetings before 5 PM. It will be available here.

The zoom platform utilizes a "raise hand" feature which notifies the host that you would like to speak and will be given time to speak when the opportunity arrives.

If accessing the meeting with a computer or smart phone, you will find the raise hand button at the top or bottom of your screen, depending on your device.
If using a landline, you would push *9 to raise your hand.

Objective Design Standards Public Meeting

Join the Planning Commission to hear more about the Town’s Objective Design and Development Standards for multifamily developments on June 15 at 7:00 p.m. at a Zoom meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85412517566 or Dial in With Telephone: 1 (669) 900-6833 (San Jose) Meeting ID# 854 1251 7566

The project will result in a toolkit of standards that will ensure that design and aesthetic of developments address topics such as architectural style while accommodating current and future legislation requirements. Planning Commission will receive an overview of key findings from the Existing Conditions and Building/Place Types analyses, and next steps, followed by a discussion.

Library Curbside: By Appointment Only

Mondays and Wednesdays, 10am-2pm

Tuesdays, 2-6pm

Call 415-258-4656 or text 415-855-1597 to schedule your pickup appointment. Book drops are open Monday-Wednesday for returning items. All returns will be quarantined for 72 hours prior to check in and we will be waiving all overdue fines.

The library building remains closed to the public at this time. For hours of curbside service at other libraries, please visit https://marinet.lib.ca.us/screens/libpickup.html. If you no longer want the item(s) currently on hold for you, log into the catalog at https://marinet.bibliocommons.com/.

Sustainable Travel in Latin America

Monday, June 29 at 6:30pm on Zoom
The world has slowed down in 2020 and countries all over are seeing blue skies for the first time in many years. Rea Franjetic of Cosmopolitan Adventure Tours will talk about some of those incredible places, the people who protect their culture and environment, and where tourism has benefited the communities and local culture. Rea will share details about the Tompkins Projects in Chile and Argentina, the Bahia Bustamante in the Argentine Patagonia, and more in this virtual program on Zoom with your San Anselmo Public Library.

Email sleyland@townofsananselmo.org to register and get the Zoom link.

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Visit the Recreation website or use the links below to check out our new virtual and in person summer camps! Check back weekly for more updates.

Sign-up for Sports Summer Camps Now

Sign-up for Virtual Camps & Classes Now

More Information Coming Next Week
Back to Basics Summer Camp

IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT TOWN OPERATIONS

NOTIFICATION OF CLOSURES OF TOWN PROGRAMS AND PUBLIC FACILITIES

In an effort to limit potential exposure and community spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), the Town of San Anselmo has made the difficult decision to close all indoor public facilities and provide as many services as possible online, by email and by phone.

For specific information about our departmental operations, please visit https://www.townofsananselmo.org/1408/16772/Town-Operations---COVID-19?activeLiveTab=widgets

Opportunities to Get Involved!

Getting involved in the Town is a great way to give back to our wonderful community and meet new friends. There are currently opportunities available on the Town’s Boards, Commission and Committees. Please visit https://www.townofsananselmo.org/175/Boards-Commissions for further information.

Saturday, June 13, 2020 David P. Donery, Town Manager