Next Week's Meetings

The Finance Committee meets on Tuesday, March 1 at 2:00 p.m. - Agenda

The Environmental Programs Committee meets on Tuesday, March 1 at 4:00 p.m. - Agenda

The City Council meets on Wednesday, March 2 at 2:30 p.m. - Agenda

Atherton Tree Awards

The Tree Committee will present the 2016 Atherton Tree Awards at the April City Council meeting.

You may enter an outstanding tree based on all or any of the following: size, age, condition, species, location, best preserved, historical significance, etc.

Nomination forms are available at the permit center, post office or at the town's website by following the Tree Awards Link. Deadline for entries is April 12^th.

For more information contact Sally Bentz the Town Arborist.

A Fowl Update

The City Council held a public hearing last week to take comments from the public regarding an ordinance of the Atherton Municipal Code related to the keeping of fowl. The Council identified and discussed issues related to noise, odor, setback, lot size constraints, number of fowl permitted based on each lot size, size of the coop, size of the run, and permitting/enforcement.

The Council directed staff to amend the ordinance as discussed retaining a permit process together with an inspection, clarify the educational uses and limitations, modify the setback requirements to a graduated scale based on 50% of the lot’s required setback, eliminate the 50 foot from structure on adjacent property requirement, and limit the number of chickens to 3 for ½ acre to 1 acre lots.

The item will return to Council at the March 16 regular City Council Meeting.

El Camino Real / Selby Lane

The Town of Atherton, in coordination with the County, the City of Redwood City and Caltrans, is evaluating potential improvement alternatives to the intersection of El Camino Real and Selby Lane.

Our goal is to improve safety for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists.

The project team will present preliminary design alternatives and seek feedback on the alternatives at a meeting this Monday night.

Meetings Details
Monday, February 29, 2016
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Selby Lane School
170 Selby Lane

Town Encroachment Guidelines

Chapter 12.06 of the Town's Municipal Code describes the guidelines for encroachment regulations. The intent of the ordinance is to help make the lot frontage strip portion of the public right-of-way safe, and clear of obstacles and impervious surfaces, for drainage, parking, access and other similar uses.

The guidelines at a glance.....

…within the first 3 feet from the edge of the roadway:

no above grade structures are allowed
no landscaping over 5 inches in height
no logs, curbs, rocks or similar obstructions

…from 3 feet to 6 feet from the edge of the roadway:

no above grade structures are allowed
no landscaping over 3 feet in height
no logs, curbs, rocks or similar obstructions

…after 6 feet to the property line:

trees and shrubs are permitted so long as they are not a safety hazard
keypads and intercoms are permitted
decorative fencing, pedestals, irrigation and other improvements are permitted

…a visibility triangle is required to be free of obstruction:

the visibility triangle is formed by intersecting the edge of the roadway back 30 feet from the corner to form a triangle. Improvements are limited to 3 feet in height in these areas

…mailboxes are permitted within the right-of-way and closer than 6 feet to the roadway edge if required to meet postal regulations.

If you have any questions you can contact Public Works Superintendent Steve Tyler at 650-752-0541 or Code Enforcement Officer Monica Diaz at 650-752-0553.

Staff Departure

It is with regret that the Town must announce the departure of our Accountant Jun Pan. Jun has accepted a position with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in San Francisco. His last day with the Town will be Friday, March 11.

Jun joined the Town in 2009, where he quickly became the Finance Department’s right hand. Jun’s accomplishments include assisting with the transition from a DOS financial system to a windows based platform. Jun has been instrumental in overseeing and processing payroll, actively involved in assisting and overseeing the annual audit process, maintaining the Springbrook Financial and General Ledger system, and has been a vital component in the preparation of the annual budget process.

Jun has been a tremendous asset to Town of Atherton.

We wish Jun success as he assumes his new position with the District.

Thank You!

Thank you for being a part of Atherton Online.

Have a great weekend.

Theresa DellaSanta
City Clerk
650-752-0529
tdellasanta@ci.atherton.ca.us