COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

COUNTY MANAGER’S OFFICE

 

DATE:

March 23, 2006

BOARD MEETING DATE:

April 4, 2006

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

John L. Maltbie, County Manager

SUBJECT:

Shared Vision 2010: Report on More Livable San Mateo County

 

RECOMMENDATION:

A)

Accept the Report on More Livable San Mateo County;

   

B)

Adopt the resolution to enact the More Livable San Mateo County model policy; and

   

C)

Adopt the resolution to establish a More Livable San Mateo County Work Group

 

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Redesign our urban environment to increase vitality, expand variety and reduce congestion

Goal 12: Land use decisions consider transportation and other infrastructure needs as well as impacts on the environment and on surrounding communities.

 

BACKGROUND:

On July 26, 2005, the Board accepted the Shared Vision 2010: Update of Progress Measures 2005 Report that included among the next steps, agreement to conduct a series of community conversations. The first in that series, More Livable San Mateo County was to held on March 13, 2006, featuring Dr. Richard Jackson, California’s former Public Health Officer, pediatrician by training and former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health. Dr. Jackson’s focus and his considerable knowledge, expertise and energy are currently directed to minimizing the damaging effects of the built environment on community health and well-being. Dr. Jackson is Professor of Environmental Health at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health and co-author of Urban Sprawl and Public Health.

 

More Livable San Mateo County drew more than 250, diverse, active participants who engaged in a lively facilitated discussion on ways the community can work together and as individuals, to combat the effects the built environment: to prevent and reduce diabetes, obesity, depression, heart disease and cancer. For 45 minutes, 35 small groups of eight, brainstormed ways together as a community, as well as individually, we could act too improve the health and well-being of the people of San Mateo County. Some of the community actions identified during the facilitated discussion included: enact a junk food tax, eliminate junk food from schools, require land use decision consider walk-ability and access to transit, start a community tree planting project, learn “best practices” from other “more livable communities,” enact laws that restrict advertising during children’s TV hours, and patronize local farmer’s markets. A comprehensive list of the recommendations has been compiled and is being made available on the County’s web page for on-line voting to rank and prioritize the actions.

 

Additionally, More Livable San Mateo County participants were challenged to walk more and each received pedometers. Everyone attending received an updated list of local farmer’s markets and were given reusable grocery shopping bags. All were given a model policy to promote community health.

 

DISCUSSION:

The model resolution to establish a policy to promote community health for a More Livable San Mateo County proposes a policy to encourage and promote community health, prevent and reduce obesity, provide access to healthy foods, increase physical activity and connectivity for all neighborhoods by requesting that city and county General Plans, Zoning Ordinances and local codes be reviewed to address the above stated concerns.

 

Attached for your consideration is a (b) resolution directing the San Mateo County Planning Department, in consultation with representatives of the Health Department, Public Health, Aging and Adult Services, Human Services Agency, the Youth Commission and other community participants work over the next six months to review and make thoughtful recommendations on ways the County of San Mateo may amend its General Plan, Zoning Ordinance, or any other codes or policies to reduce the harmful effects of the built environment and improve the health outcomes for the people of San Mateo County. Additionally, the model ordinance, upon adoption, would be transmitted with a copy of this report to each of the 20 city councils and 25 school boards in San Mateo County, as well as to THRIVE, the non-profit alliance, to encourage each city, in consultation with the broader San Mateo County community, to also under take a review and make recommendations to improve planning and zoning decisions to promote healthy communities throughout San Mateo County.

 

Finally, the lively 45-minunte facilitated discussion that immediately followed Dr. Jackson’s insightful presentation resulted in the 250 participants identifying actions the community can take together, as well as individually, to make San Mateo County more livable. These actions have been compiled and are currently available for the community and the More Livable San Mateo County participants to vote on-line to rank and establish priorities.

 

In order to ensure the more livable action priorities are realized, your Board may consider (c) adopting a resolution to establish and convene a More Livable San Mateo County Work Group for a half-day session to develop strategies to implement the priorities into a community action plan. A resolution creating a More Livable San Mateo County Work Group is attached for your approval.