Featured - page 82

A mechanical issue forced a civilian helicopter to land in the Kmart parking lot in Redwood City on Saturday.

The helicopter had a minor mechanical issue while en route to San Carlos Airport, so the pilot made a safe and controlled landing in the parking lot of the store at 1155 Veterans Blvd., according to the Redwood City Police Department.

Mechanics from the San Carlos Airport were notified and they came to fix the issue. At 6:26 p.m., the helicopter returned safely to San Carlos Airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board was notified and an incident report was taken, police said.

“No injuries, no damage to the aircraft and no damage to public or private property,” police said.

Photo credit: Redwood City Police Department

It’s that time of year again, and we are excited to announce the Climate Best Awards 2019 kicks off Monday!

Last year we celebrated the first annual Climate Best Awards. The Climate Best Awards is an opportunity to recognize and highlight the people, organizations and businesses who make Redwood City a special place to live and work.

We’re counting on community members to decide which Redwood City restaurants, bars, coffee shops and other businesses should be recognized. We encourage you to nominate local businesses that fall into a number of categories.

The nomination period will begin this Monday, March 25th followed by a voting period, and the award winners will be revealed at the Climate Best Awards event in May.

Stay tuned to Climate online and our Facebook page for more Climate Best Awards updates.

Redwood City Mayor Ian Bain boasted a long list of city accomplishments in 2018 during Monday’s State of the City address. That paved the way for a council discussion on priorities for 2019, which includes, in this order of priority, housing, transportation and children and youth.

A video played during the State of the City showcased accomplishments made under seven strategic priorities, such as:

• Expansion of Neighborhood Watch in alignment with Neighborhood associations
• Expanded inclusive programs and recognized as a model statewide
• Enhanced library early childhood technology activities
• Began construction on the Magical Bridge Playground
• Advanced the Veterans Memorial Senior Center City- YMCA project
• Established a Retail Task Force and adapted recommendations to develop a Downtown retail vision
• Implemented a cannabis-related permit regulations and new tax
• Designated as a Green Power Community by the EPA
• Ranked #7 nationwide for Green Energy Consumption
• Implemented the City’s new inclusionary housing ordinance
• Generated funds for affordable housing through developer fees
• Approved $6 million in funding to support two 100% affordable housing projects
• Fire Department received prestigious Class 1 ISO rating
• Increased training for police personnel to interact with those experiencing a mental health crisis

Following the video, all seven city council members gave their comments on their priorities for Redwood City this year. Three focus areas were selected for the coming year: housing, transportation and children and youth.

HOUSING

Housing is the city’s top priority. As is elsewhere in the region, high demand  and short supply for housing units have led to skyrocketing prices and displacement. Currently, the city is working on three housing rehab projects that will preserve over 150 affordable units. In addition, council recently allocated $6 million in affordable housing funds will advance housing projects “building 297 low or very low-income level housing units this year,” the city said.

Affordability remains a problem, however, as skyrocketing rents have led to protesting. Some housing advocates say renter’s protections installed by the council last year aren’t doing enough.

The city says it is assessing the impact of the recent regulations and looking at new approaches to support renters. It also aims to inspire more accessory dwelling units by making them easier and less expensive to build, to seek new sources of affordable housing funds from both the state and local employers, and, in the longterm, create more affordable housing via developer fees and affordable unit mandates on new development.

TRANSPORTATION

Specific priorities include moving forward with installing ferry service to Redwood City, the U.S. Highway 101 Managed Lanes project, and various rail projects including Caltrain electrification and modernization, High Speed Rail, and the potential Dumbarton Rail project. The city also wants to work with employers to reduce the number of people driving solo to work in Redwood City by developing a Transportation Demand Management program.

Other projects noted: U.S. Highway 101 Pedestrian Undercrossing; U.S. Highway 101/84 Interchange; Middlefield Road Improvements and Utility Undergrounding; El Camino Real Corridor Plan; Broadway Street Car Study and Transit Center; and Whipple Grade Separation.

CHILDREN, YOUTH

The city recently launched an interactive map of childcare and preschool centers to help parents identify childcare. It also unveiled plans to increase the number of quality childcare spaces in the community. The City is working with developers and local partners and expects to create 500 childcare spots for local children over the next five years.

The City is also exploring more family fun venues and open space, and expanding community amenities, including developing three sites in the Downtown to create a large, linear park that extends from Downtown to the bay, and opening the Magical Bridge Playground and the Pirate Ship Imaginative Art Area.

OTHER PRIORITIES

Other major themes discussed by the council Monday: ensuring the city’s financial health and economic development, strengthening the City’s governance practices and campaign finance initiatives, further public safety priorities such as a new Community Emergency Response Team program in partnership with San Mateo County, and training for police staff who interact with those experiencing mental health crisis.

Mayor Bain also discussed updating the City’s General Plan and addressing the threat of sea level rise.

“We have to think of the future and figure out what we will allow and which areas,” the mayor said. “We have established a sea level rise committee that will work closely the county to coordinate against efforts between the two.”

He recognized a few notable dignitaries in the crowd: Former Mayor Jeff Gee, Belmont Mayer Davina Hurt, as well as Redwood City Fire and Police Chief.

You can watch the full State of the City Address here.

University leaders celebrated Redwood City becoming “Stanford’s second home” at a festive ribbon-cutting this morning showcasing new buildings where employees are already coming to work.

President Marc Tessier-Lavigne and other Stanford officials heralded the “bold new vision” that led to the decision more than a decade ago to purchase 35 acres along Broadway and Bay Road which were in recent years the site of the Mid-Point Technology Park — and decades before that, the home of Ampex Corporation.

Members of the board of trustees and others long ago recognized that additional land beyond the original campus eventually would be needed to support the core academic mission, and Stanford Redwood City is the result of that vision, Tessier-Lavigne said.

“This represents Stanford’s first significant footprint outside the main campus,” he told the audience, “and it’s one of the largest financial investments our board of trustees has ever approved in the entire history of the university. This campus is a strategic investment in Stanford’s future.  It’s central to our plan for how Stanford will tackle the challenges, not just of the next decade, but of the next century.”

Tessier-Lavigne and other Stanford speakers said they appreciated the welcome from Redwood City and San Mateo County. “At every step,” Tessier-Lavigne said, “the city officials and county officials have been true partners.” At the suggestion of the Redwood City Council, he added, Stanford is providing “educational enrichment” including speaker programs, courses for entrepreneurs taught by the Graduate School of Business, and leadership training.

Altogether, Stanford’s project will provide more than $15 million in public benefits, according to the university, including neighborhood and street enhancements, a water tank expansion, and storm water, bus shelter and bike lane improvements.

Mayor Ian Bain delivered a welcome on behalf of Redwood City and said he hoped Stanford employees would sample the city’s restaurants, parks, culture and night life. “I hope over time you love Redwood City as much as I do,” he said.

About 175 people were on hand for the ceremony, held in a palm-tree-lined plaza in between an office building called “University Hall” and “Cardinal Hall,” which houses a light-filled café and coffee shop looking out over a grassy landscape. This morning’s audience included the first wave of the 2,700 employees who will be settling into offices five miles north of Palo Alto.  The others will move in over the spring and summer, working in support departments such as business affairs, human resources, development and libraries and archives.

Echoing other Stanford speakers, Provost Persis Drell thanked the “trailblazer” employees who are embarking on something quite new for the university.  “This is a big change for Stanford and it will require everyone – and I mean everyone – to work in new ways,” she said.

Drell added, “I just want to say how excited and how proud we are to be joining the Redwood City community. Thank you for the warm welcome.  We’re looking forward to a long and productive relationship.”

The campus is being developed in phases, based on the university’s ongoing needs. The first, which will be completed this fall, includes four office building complexes, a landscaped greenway, a child care center and over two acres of open space.

Among the happy employees on hand for the celebration was Redwood City resident Tricia Hall, who is a member of the city’s Parks and Arts Foundation. She joined Stanford recently and works at the new recreation and wellness center. Stanford Redwood City, Hall believes, brings “a new opportunity for growth in downtown Redwood City” and will add to the character of the community.

The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday it will not file criminal charges against two officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Redwood City father late last year.

But the family of Kyle Hart said his death was preventable, and has called for change in law enforcement practices in the wake of four office-involved deaths in Redwood City in two years.

Hart, a 33-year-old married father of two young children, was fatally shot at his home in the 400 block of Lincoln Avenue on Dec. 10.

Police responded to the home about 8:50 a.m. after his wife called saying Hart was cutting himself with a large kitchen knife in an attempt to commit suicide, according to the DA’s investigation. Two Redwood City police officers, Roman Gomez and Leila Velez, arrived at the home and encountered Hart’s wife covered in blood in the front yard.

Hart’s wife pointed the officers in the direction of her husband toward the backyard. Gomez had Velez pull out a Taser gun, and he pulled out his firearm, the DA’s report states.  The officers encountered a profusely bleeding Hart armed with a knife, standing about 37 feet away on a dirt pile. Hart “just stared” at Gomez when Gomez repeatedly asked him to drop the knife, the DA’s report states. Then at one point Hart raised his knife and charged down the dirt hill toward the officers, the report states.

When Hart was within 15 feet of the officers, Officer Velez discharged her Taser, striking him near his ear with only one of the two probes connecting. The Taser shot failed to provide an incapacitating charge, the report states.

When Hart was within 8 feet of the officers, Gomez fired five gunshots, striking Hart three times fatally. The officer believed there “was no time for an exchange of words ore really talk to him, or back [away] from him,” the DA’s report states.

Hart’s wife later told an investigator her husband of 13 years had never before indicated a desire to hurt himself and had been receiving longterm medical care and medication for anxiety. They had a normal life with a normal schedule previous to this incident, she said. His second child was born three days before the incident. The new arrival and the fixer upper home they had recently purchased  increased Hart’s anxiety, she told the investigator. Still, Hart’s wife expressed shock and confusion when she walked in on her husband cutting himself in the kitchen that morning.

The DA’s investigation ultimately found that criminal charges against the officers for Hart’s killing were not warranted.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe “has concluded that the use of force by the two officers which resulted in the death of Mr. Hart was justifiable pursuant to California Penal Code section 196,” the report states.

In a subsequent statement, Hart’s family expressed dissatisfaction with the DA’s response:

“While our community and families continue to grieve the loss of our dear Kyle, we are further saddened to learn that his cause of death was homicide due to gunshot wounds inflicted by the RWC PD. Upon arrival the two officers aggressively verbally confronted Kyle with raised guns, which caused him to move. He was shot [at] 5 times, three hit him. While the use of lethal force was deemed justified by the DA, the inadequacy of scene management and accessibility of other deescalation options and equipment must be addressed. Shots were fired within a minute of police arrival on scene, officers did not attempt to deescalate the situation or wait for the beanbag shotgun that arrived two minutes later. It is not reasonable that state-of-the-art equipment (body cams and other non-lethal tools) are not readily available to all officers.  Kyle’s death is the 4th Redwood City Officer involved death since March of 2017.  We believe that it is time that our city invest to improve and make readily available updated tasers, body cams, bean bag shot guns in every car, and review protocols related to scene management (during and after incidents) to protect and serve the citizens of this community.”

A gofundme.com account was launched to assist the Hart family at this difficult time. To contribute, click here.

Six people were displaced after three structures and an RV were damaged in a fire in North Fair Oaks Tuesday.

Just before 11:30 a.m., according to the Menlo Park Fire Protection District, multiple emergency calls were made about smoke coming from the backyard of a residential structure in the 500 block of Seventh Avenue. Responding firefighters arrived soon after to heavy fire coming from several structures to the rear of the uninvolved main house, fire officials said. Three buildings and an RV were on fire.

After determining no one was inside, firefighters took a defensive approach. A Redwood City fire engine was summoned to Sixth Avenue, the rear side, to ensure the fire didn’t spread to other structures, officials said. The fire was brought under control at 11:51 a.m. with help from 5 engines, 1 ladder truck and 2 battalion chiefs.

Investigators could not determine the cause and location of the fire due to the significant damages. The fire started 20 minutes after the property’s last occupant left the site.

A total of five adults and a child were displaced by the fire, and no one was injured. Although the Red Cross came to assist them, the individuals could not immediately be found.

County building inspectors identified “discrepancies in code compliant building standards,” fire officials said. The property was only permitted to have a smaller main home. All structures were “red tagged” and PG&E was directed to pull both the gas and electrical meters.

“Our Fire Investigators today estimated that the combined structural damage at over $100k and contents at $30k,” Fire Chief Schapelhouman said. “They will also be following up with the County on code compliance and actual permitting, which are always a potential underlying concern in North Fair Oaks. We understand and are sympathetic to the housing challenges and shortage, but potential illegal, non-permitted and compliant buildings can, and have, injured and killed residents and firefighters.”

Top Photo: Captain Ken Babcock wets down a hot spot at the fire on 7^th Avenue – Credit Fire Photographer Peter Mootz