[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6375017,"mediaKeyId","2142587-117c747c0127fd110c6d0ef193aefe90","parentId",2142587,"title","San Mateo council approves $328,000 agreement to begin historic ordinance update, requires owner consent before surveys or listings","audioSeconds",4510,"startMs",1971000,"endMs",6481000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2142587-117c747c0127fd110c6d0ef193aefe90&start=1971&end=6481","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2142587-117c747c0127fd110c6d0ef193aefe90/thumbnail_1971000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6375017/San-Mateo-City/San-Mateo-County/California/San-Mateo-council-approves-328000-agreement-to-begin-historic-ordinance-update-requires-owner-consent-before-surveys-or-listings","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6375017-43b598d6beac460845ca1e356089253e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771198287&Signature=oIroQqhxaiM8b0ZjOUmguVrPyCTziPo1ND0mvWbRQiOYejHtxULUR68UzBlb5HUjDlvYLNJSrGSbwqaz88TCUfgnzGnhY0Bfy76xJcQXkPC2bbPzxUWvKntEmW8GOguNH3Vw6fh8WXZPBv0t8JJd4dkKqqbAHLj8zRhhDixeRUiwLsgcL6scom85crn7C~d-dSY6sIhfJkzUYccEBDQQzC6WAEAAMUNeOeP~TG6E0ZsPEfAuyUVbHuzoEu3h~9DnEmr8LSCbP8Eofd5rdc2k95LT2U-uWKLhbNOz9JDSldGvTt6ReCcNy09ReY5DX2VUixXWFobAGglOoEioLeNHNg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of San Mateo, CA","date","2025-01-23T17:14:56.68Z","article","The San Mateo City Council on Tuesday approved an appropriation and professional-services agreement to start work on updating the city’s historic preservation ordinance and preparing a citywide historic context statement, and directed staff to require property-owner consent before any local survey, listing or designation is undertaken.

The motion, adopted 3-2 after extended public comment and council questions, funds a consultant contract that staff said would be paid from the city’s Advanced Planning Fund and would take roughly 12–14 months to complete. Staff and the chosen consultant presented two sequencing options: do the ordinance update and context statement concurrently (the option approved by council) or do them sequentially. The concurrent approach was presented as more efficient; staff estimated the concurrent option at approximately $328,000.

Why it matters: The work is intended to implement policies in the recently adopted General Plan 2040 that call for updated preservation rules and a historic-resource context to guide future evaluations. Supporters said an updated, citywide approach would provide clarity and protect culturally important places; opponents said the study could be used to push district designations and could impose costs and restrictions on property owners.

City staff and consultant overview
Zach Rudolph, community development director, said the package on the table was limited to a budget appropriation and a contract to begin the policy effort rather than any immediate designations. \"What's before council this evening for consideration would be a budget appropriation and awarding of a professional services contract to allow this policy effort to begin,\" Rudolph said. He said the city’s existing ordinance is decades old and lacks clarity on definitions and processes.

Rincon Consulting, the firm recommended after a competitive request-for-proposals process, described the two pieces of work it would produce: an updated local preservation ordinance and a historic context statement, which Rincon's team called a \"history report\" that frames themes, places and time periods but does not itself evaluate individual properties for designation. \"This context statement is going to provide a framework for the city's preservation program. It's basically a fancy word of saying a history report,\" said Julianne Murphy, architectural historian and project manager for Rincon.

Public comment and council concerns
The council heard 43 public speakers on the item. Commenters who favored the work cited preservation of cultural resources, environmental benefits from reusing buildings and the need to update a 30-year-old ordinance. \"If we don't know what historical treasures we have, how do we protect them and ensure they are here for future generations?\" said Michelle (last name not given), who identified herself in public comment as a supporter.

Opponents raised a range of concerns including property rights, possible insurance consequences for historic properties, the project's cost amid city budget pressures, and the risk that survey documents could be used by outside groups to pursue state-level designations without local consent. Several speakers urged a requirement that property owners provide explicit consent before any survey or local designation. \"No consent, no historic\" was a repeated refrain during public comment.

Council direction and vote
Council members debated sequencing, outreach and whether owner consent should be required. Council member (name in record) said that consent should be a firm, front‑end requirement: any ordinance developed should make clear that the city will not survey, list or designate a property or district without the property owner’s consent. Following that direction the council approved the staff-recommended concurrent option with Rincon, and the related appropriation, and the motion included the direction that staff build a consent requirement into the ordinance-development process. The final vote was 3 in favor, 2 opposed.

Funding and next steps
Staff said the work would be funded from the Advanced Planning Fund, a restricted planning account, and would not be paid from the city’s general fund. Rincon said the project team would include Secretary of the Interior–qualified architectural historians and community engagement specialists; staff said they expect to engage the public through in-person and virtual meetings and to return to council for study sessions on the draft ordinance and context statement before any adoption action.

What was not decided
Council members emphasized the vote did not itself create any historic districts, designate properties, or change the zoning code; those are separate policy decisions that would return to the council after the outreach and drafting process. Staff and Rincon also noted that state laws and federal review processes — including CEQA and the State Historic Preservation Office procedures — operate independently of this local study and could produce different outcomes.

Outlook
The project is scheduled to start once the agreement is executed and staff will report back with a community-engagement plan and draft documents. The council’s direction to require property-owner consent before survey or designation sets a high-level local policy guardrail for the work, but speakers on both sides of the debate said they plan to closely review how the community engagement and ordinance drafting proceed.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City Council Regular Meeting 1/21/25","oneSentenceSummary","The San Mateo City Council on Tuesday approved an appropriation and professional-services agreement to start work on updating the city’s historic preservation ordinance and preparing a citywide historic context statement, and directed staff to require property-owner consent before any local survey, listing or designation is undertaken.","taxTitle","San Mateo City, San Mateo County, California","taxId",3865,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6375012,"Council passes consent calendar including ERP appropriation; member voices concern about further spending",171,1745000,1916000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2142587-117c747c0127fd110c6d0ef193aefe90&start=1745&end=1916","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2142587-117c747c0127fd110c6d0ef193aefe90/thumbnail_1745000.jpg","/articles/6375012/San-Mateo-City/San-Mateo-County/California/Council-passes-consent-calendar-including-ERP-appropriation-member-voices-concern-about-further-spending","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6375012-89108977a31a6de56ba3675fc3de656b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771198287&Signature=DhxweZMJTlGtZLBAY8bUAsYOO3fMxtoaC9buE2we2jOjQdbI3CbfxrPAuV2mmwD-Eblex6yX8810M3R9uYUeXqMxr4eWOXLvArwqYbMWJlv6bpvEaKkrZciMXaaXAc2EDm8YT0TrknemI-HIOWLLGVBEmyCZ9hngz-YMfBayXl7R1iXEOZJUdFWZn5NjCd~7cP7z--mQcmtEEhfLQ5xOfDKrevVY-C3cCMpydJ6AwejOfAAUICGZpcLi2KXczFTNH252j8qsTE-4lWSS21Ma7ZotXSxgehjKMPqL-RdcRDlpLmT1ThXNPn-vKRIiuAe4aAaXxc7t1usMBrc7oHDJug__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The San Mateo City Council approved its consent calendar items 4 through 9 by a unanimous recorded vote.

Items approved (consent calendar):
- Item 4: CalHome housing rehabilitation loan program administration agreement (approved).
- Item 5: Wastewater treatment plant digester cleaning agreement (approved).
- Item 6: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software project—supplemental budget appropriation and change orders (approved). Council member Fernandez commented during the consent discussion that she is \"uncomfortable with the amount\" appropriated for the ERP project and said she would not be comfortable authorizing additional appropriations beyond this item.
- Item 7: Examination of sales or transactions and use of tax records approval (approved).
- Item 8: New construction reach codes for 2022 code cycle—ordinance adoption (approved).
- Item 9: Parks and Recreation department classification updates (approved).

Vote: The clerk recorded the consent motion carried 5-0.

Why it matters: The ERP appropriation is the most substantive item on the consent calendar for future city operations because the system will centralize payroll, human resources and finance functions. Council discussion before the vote included assurances from staff that the ERP effort is intended to finish by April and that the administration team would be held accountable for the schedule and budget.

What was said
Council member Fernandez said she monitored the ERP item closely before joining the council and remains concerned about the scale of spending. \"What I'm hoping is this this last appropriation will get us to the finish line, and I just want to make it very clear that I will not be comfortable in appropriating further funds on this project,\" she told the council.

Next steps
Items approved on the consent calendar were enacted by motion. Staff will proceed with contract implementation and administrative steps as described in each staff report.","San Mateo City Council approved consent calendar items 4–9 unanimously. Councilmember Fernandez voiced concern about the Enterprise Resource Planning software project on item 6 and said she would not be comfortable approving additional funds for that project in the future.","actionData","errors"]

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San Mateo council approves $328,000 agreement to begin historic ordinance update, requires owner consent before surveys or listings

Council passes consent calendar including ERP appropriation; member voices concern about further spending