Town Manager's Newsletter

Saturday, October 29, 2022

David P. Donery, Town Manager

Central Marin Police Authority:

Information & Laws regarding E-Scooters
and E-Bikes

The Central Marin Police Authority and the Town of San Anselmo would like to remind our community of laws and rules of the road regarding the use of E-Scooters and E-Bikes. They are rapidly increasing in popularity in our community, particularly E-bikes.

It's important that everyone knows the California, County and Town laws and are prepared to manage the increased speeds and maneuverability of these new modes of transportation both before making a purchase and when preparing to venture out onto the road ways.

The Town has created a new page on the website with resources and information about this important topic. You can find that link HERE!

The Hanging Flower Basket season
has come to an end in
Downtown San Anselmo

Thank you to Nancy Altman and the San Anselmo Beautification Committee for adorning San Anselmo Avenue once again with the beautiful flower baskets. They seem to be more spectacular each year.

The San Anselmo Beautification Committee raises funds and curates the baskets each year for our Town's benefit. Thanks to all of the donors!

Special thanks to Ed Healy for his care of the baskets; watering and keeping them looking fresh for the entire summer.

After the first of the year - the fundraising will begin for the 2023 flower baskets. If you'd like to get involved or for more information about this project, please contact:
Nancy Altman at nnaltman@me.com

Live on the Avenue is a wrap for 2022

Dine. Shop. Stroll. Dance

In order to help us better plan for 2023 and beyond, if you haven't already, please take a few minutes to answer our Survey!

CLICK HERE FOR THE: SURVEY

Housing Element Update

On November 3, 2022, the Housing Element Advisory Committee (HEAC) will be conducting Meeting #5 to discuss developing goals, policies, and programs to help ensure the Town’s housing goals are achieved. The policies and programs also help provide guidance to decision makers.

To help guide the development of the goals, policies, and programs, a Feedback Survey has been prepared. The Survey can be accessed on your mobile device by on the yellow box below, or you can access the Survey at the San Anselmo Housing Element Update website. Your input is important, so please take a few moments to fill out the survey.

Click on the yellow square to complete the Survey

For more information on the Town’s current Housing Element’s Goals, Policies, and Program, read Section VI (starting on page 100) of the 2015-2023 Housing Element.

Upcoming Dates:
December 12, 2022: Public Release and Notice of Draft Housing Element (30-day public review period)
December 15, 2022: HEAC Meeting #6: Review Draft Housing Element and provide comments and recommendation to the Planning Commission and Town Council.
December 19, 2022: Planning Commission public meeting to review Draft Housing Element and provide comments and recommendation Town Council.
January 10, 2023: Town Council meeting to review Draft Housing Element and consider HEAC, Planning Commission, and public comments to date.

Housing Element Frequently Asked Questions:
To help address any questions and concerns from community members about the Town's 2023-31 Housing Element Update, we have developed a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

You can access the complete list: HERE

Further information on the Housing Element Update can be found at the Town’s Housing Element Update webpage and public comment via email may be sent to Heidi Scoble, Planning Director: hscoble@townofsananselmo.org.

Creek Park Plaza Update

Please click HERE for more information and answers to Frequently Asked Questions, such as Why is Creek Park Plaza fenced off from public use?

Town Council Subcommittee Update

At the October 25, 2022 Town Council meeting, Mayor Fineman provided an update from the Creek Park Plaza/Building Bridge #2 Town Council subcommittee:

The Mayor reported that the subcommittee, consisting of herself and Council member Brian Colbert, along with Town staff including the Town Manager, Public Works Director, Assistant Public Works Director and Town Attorney, met with County and Flood District staff including Supervisor Katie Rice, the County Administrator, the Public Works Director and County Counsel. Also in attendance was Flood Zone 9 Advisory Committee chair Bruce Ackerman of the Fairfax Town Council.

Mayor Fineman stated, “This first meeting was a chance to develop a baseline understanding of the closure timeline and different goals for the longtime vision of the space and to try to figure out ways to move forward in partnership. The Town is advocating very much for opening the structure back up and for doing what needs to be done to make it safe. It does not look like it like that is possible this winter. We hope by our next meeting in a month we will have a better sense around timeline and scope for mitigation to inform our position.”

Please note that Creek Park is still open:
This includes the Redwood grove picnic tables, and the Amphitheater grass and stage area. The Town has moved some plaza picnic tables back to that area to provide more seating. You can access Creek Park via the pedestrian bridge from San Anselmo Avenue or from Center Avenue and Sir Francis Drake Blvd.

Ross Valley School District
Facilities Advisory 7-11 Committee

The Ross Valley School District’s Board of Trustees is seeking members of the community who are interested in serving on the District’s facilities advisory 7-11 Committee. The purpose of the 7-11 Committee is to advise the Board, based on community input, regarding the use or disposition of school buildings, space, or property that is not needed for school purposes (Education Code Section 17388). At this time, Deer Park (located at 199 Porteous Avenue, Fairfax, CA 94930) is the only property that has been identified as not being needed for school purposes.

For more information and to access the application, please click here. Note the application deadline is 7:00am on Monday, November 7, 2022. If you have any questions about the District’s 7-11 process or committee, please email info@rossvalleyschools.org.

Library Events - adults

Art Talk Tuesday:

California Pop Art

Tuesday, November 8 at 12:00 pm on Zoom

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NAiXpiArSee7rwW1BgMWFQ

California artists may follow styles that originate in Europe or New York, but they put their own stamp on them – sometimes a bit more irreverent, sometimes more down to earth, but usually full of California color and verve. In the 1960s, California artists responded to the arrival of Pop Art – the flip and hip answer to the Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s – with California panache. Guest speaker Avril Angevine will share history and art about for our California’s Pop stars: Ed Ruscha, Wayne Thiebaud, Joan Brown, and Robert Colescott.

Lisa Napoli, author of
Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Members of NPR

Wednesday, November 2 at 1:00 pm

Register for this virtual author talk here: https://libraryc.org/sananselmolibrary/20036

In the years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, women in the workplace still found themselves relegated to secretarial positions or locked out of jobs entirely. But when a pioneering nonprofit called National Public Radio came along in the 1970s, and the door to serious journalism opened a crack, four remarkable women came along and blew it off the hinges. Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie is journalist Lisa Napoli’s captivating account of these four women, their deep and enduring friendships, and the trail they blazed to becoming icons. Lisa Napoli will share and discuss her group biography of the four women whose voices defined the NPR and her own deep connections in news and public radio.

Bonnie Garmus, author of
Lessons in Chemistry

Thursday, November 10 at 11:00 am

Register for this virtual author talk here: https://libraryc.org/sananselmolibrary/20210

Join us for a virtual author talk with Bonnie Garmus as she discusses her popular debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry. Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with--of all things--her mind. True chemistry results.
But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself the reluctant star of America's most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth's unusual approach to cooking proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn't just teaching women to cook. She's daring them to change the status quo.

Kwame Chistian, author of
How to Have Difficult Conversations about Race

Tuesday, November 15 at 9:00 am

Register for this virtual author talk here: https://libraryc.org/sananselmolibrary/21146

Join us for an enlightening hour with bestselling author Kwame Christian as he chats about his new book: How to Have Difficult Conversations About Race: Practical Tools for Necessary Change in the Workplace and Beyond. Negotiation expert Kwame Christian's motto is: "The best things in life are on the other side of difficult conversations." If we want a more equitable workplace, and a more equitable world, we have to talk to each other about race. But, for so many of us, that's easier said than done. How to Have Difficult Conversations About Race equips you with the skills you need to make these crucial conversations easier and more productive. With Kwame Christian guiding you, you'll never shy away from those important conversations again--instead approaching them with courage and conviction.

Eyes Up, Marin

Let’s Make our Streets Safer for Everyone!

From mid-October through the end of November, you’ll see bright and colorful banners and lawn signs popping up all over Marin asking people to keep their “Eyes Up” and be alert. These signs will be asking drivers to slow down, watch when turning and look for pedestrians in the crosswalk; bicyclists to yield to pedestrians and to follow the rules of the road; and those walking to pay attention when crossing the street.

The Eyes Up, Marin campaign is part of the Street Smarts Program and Safe Routes to Schools, locally funded programs of the Transportation Authority of Marin. This traffic safety campaign educates drivers, pedestrians and cyclists about safety issues, including distracted driving. The goal is to encourage people to adopt and practice attitudes and behaviors that will reduce the number of traffic-related accidents and make our streets safer for everyone.

The program focuses on placing outdoor messaging at “hot-spots” throughout Marin County – bold reminders at the locations where traffic problems occur most frequently. The message placement was determined based on findings from the 2018 Marin County Travel Safety Plan as well as analysis of 2016-2020 countywide collision data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System.

Over 125 countywide partners including school districts, jurisdictions, emergency service providers, and community organizations will be sharing the new campaign images and safety messages widely. Please join this important effort to make our streets safer for all! www.streetsmartsmarin.org

First Aid Disaster Response Training for Residents of Ross Valley
Saturday, November 5, 2022

Come join the County of Marin Department of Public Health, Marin Medical Reserve Corps for a free 4 hour skill building workshop on Saturday, November 5, 2022 from 9:00 am -1:00 pm at the Fairfax Pavilion.

You'll focus on building skills to help save a life in the first few minutes to hours after a major disaster when 911 crews could be overwhelmed.

Space is limited so register now by CLICKING HERE

E-bike Discount Campaign & Workshops

Ride and Drive Clean is here to help you ride electric.

Sign up for our November E-bike Discount Campaign which goes live on November 1 - 21, 2022. In addition to discounts on a variety of E-bikes, you’ll receive the Ride Clean Package of Perks – free helmet, service plan, and no-interest financing.

We’re also planning two FREE E-bike webinars during the Campaign on November 2 & 10, 2022, to help consumers discover the benefits of E-bikes (including rebates), choose the E-bike that’s right for them, and learn important E-bike safety practices. The E-bike webinars will be posted on our Events page by November 1.

Sign up now and get ready for a fun, healthy, and emission-free new ride!

November 2022
Fire-smart Landscaping Tips
from UC Marin Master Gardeners

Plant Spacing in the Defensible Landscape

Plant spacing, size control and maintenance are more important than type of plant.

Space trees so that at maturity their crowns are 10 to 15 feet apart or more.
Avoid planting trees in rows or hedges.
Avoid planting woody shrubs or trees within 5 feet of your house.
Space trees, shrubs, and grasses into plant islands. Separate groupings of plants with hard-scaping to slow the transmission of fire.
Maintain adequate vertical clearance between top of shrub and lower tree branches (~3x shrub’s height) to avoid creating a fuel ladder.
The steeper the slope, the more space to leave between plants and trees

For More Fire-Smart Landscaping Information visit the
U.C. MARIN MASTER GARDENER website: HERE

CLIMATE ACTION UPDATE:

Electric Leaf Blower Rebate Offer Extended

If you haven’t already made the switch to an electric leaf blower, now is your chance to get a 50% rebate (up to $150) off the purchase of a new electric leaf blower from Jackson’s Hardware located in San Rafael.
As of January 1, 2022, San Anselmo no longer allows the use of gas-powered leaf blowers due to the impacts of this equipment on the environment, public health, and noise pollution.

To apply for the rebate, you’ll first need to go to the Leaf Blower Information page on the Town website to get instructions on dropping off your gas blower, and to download and complete the rebate application that provides further details about the program.

Limited funds remain for the rebates, so get yours now!

Town Seeking Community Applicants for
Boards, Committees and Commissions

There are open seats on the Town's community volunteer Boards, Committees and Commissions.

You can find more details here:
Boards/Committees/Commissions Information

San Anselmo's Boards,Committees and Commissions provide a vital link between Town government and the community for gathering public input, reviewing projects and making recommendations on key issues.
If you are interested, we encourage you to submit a completed application and you will be scheduled for an interview with Town Council. Positions will remain open until filled by Town Council.

To submit an application: Apply Here
For Youth Information & Application: Apply Here

Town Manager's NewsletterSaturday, October 29, 2022