Publication Date: Friday, February 13, 2004
Storm drains still clogged
Storm drains still clogged
(February 13, 2004) Sixteen months of studies and no action
by Bill D'Agostino
It's been nearly 16 months since a committee of Palo Alto residents presented their ideas for repairing the city's ailing system of rainwater-collecting drains, pipes and pumps.
Since then, there's been no substantive forward movement. No significant repairs. No public meetings. No decisions.
"I think it should have been addressed earlier," said Larry Klein, a former mayor who chaired the storm drain committee. "This is an important issue; it's time the community acted on it."
On Monday night, the City Council will hear a report on the storm drains, learning about the system and its various shortcomings, but will not be presented with any options to fix the system. In March, city staff will finally present its ideas to a council committee for ways to fund the needed repairs.
A number of incidents got in the way of the city moving forward sooner, including the City Council election in November, according to Public Works Director Glenn Roberts. The issue was too politically charged to present during an election.
"This was not an issue that would have been well-timed during an election," Roberts said. Three-and-a-half years ago, voters defeated a city proposal to raise storm drain fees.
Some neighborhoods currently have no storm drains, and older portions of the system in other neighborhoods can't handle the amount of rainwater accumulated in a major storm, leading to the possibility that homes will flood and streets will continue to degrade.
"Every time you have standing water for some period of time, it eats away at the asphalt," Klein said.
In theory, the city's homeowners pay to upkeep the storm drain system through a fee. But funds from the current $4.25 per month bill have not been adequate to pay for the approximately $40 million in needed improvements. Even ongoing maintenance requires a $1 million subsidy from other city funds.
Upgrades to the system include replacing old pipes, improving drainage along Alma Street, and replacing old pump stations.
In fall of 2000, the city held an election to increase the storm drain fee to $9 per month, but that failed to receive approval from property owners. Due to state Proposition. 218, property owners, not residents or the City Council, vote to increase such fees.
In 2002, the citizen committee recommended that the city hold an election to raise the storm drain fee to $13.90 a month. Because that was deemed politically unpalatable, there will be new ideas floated next month by the city staff.
One member of the citizen committee, attorney Richard Alexander, believes the city's general fund should pay for the upgrades, something the city could not afford without cuts to other services.
"Either way, it's real money that comes out of people's pockets," Klein said.
Also on the council's plate Monday night is a proposal from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation to expand its main Palo Alto campus. That proposal was appealed by a neighbor, although the Planning and Transportation Commission recommended its approval last month.
The foundation, which provides primary health care to more than half of Palo Alto's residents, wants to build a new, 41,000-square-foot outpatient building.
The Palo Alto City Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday inside the City Council Chambers (250 Hamilton Ave.).
Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com
E-mail a friend a link to this story. | 
