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THE SPECTRUM
22
Local Interest
(continued from page 15)
Center.
Under the six-month agreement reached in July,
the county paid $5,000 in monthly rent for the
vacant building and has the option to buy the
2,780-square-foot land parcel and 2,580-squarefoot
building for $1 million. All $30,000 rent will
be credited toward the $1 million purchase price.
The property is currently zoned as part of the
central business district in Redwood City.
The county’s master plan always included acquiring
the space and neighboring land regardless of
the takeover bill, County Counsel Tom Casey
said at the time.
The space could be used for needed expansion
rather than an entirely new home if county
offices are not forced to relocate.
“Nothing has been decided yet about rebuilding
or moving but the land is within our campus area
so buying it makes sense. It is a good investment
and will be used for something at some point in
time,” said Jerry Hill, president of the Board of
Supervisors.
All 450 trial court facilities must be transferred
to the state by June 30, 2007, under the Trial
Court Facilities Act of 2002. In some counties,
the move is purely administrative and financial.
In counties such as San Mateo, where the courts
and the government share space, one must go or
shift to a tenant/landlord arrangement.
Under the law, transfers can be title, lease or
responsibility. The state only owns the facility if
the title is transferred.
County officials don’t expect the local transfer to
happen by next June’s deadline and have yet to
decide whether it is more financially feasible to
forfeit its equity in the building by moving or
become a tenant in the building it financed.
COUNTY DISBANDS
CONTROVERSIAL
DESIGN COMMITTEE
County officials disbanded the Emerald Lake
Hills Design Review Committee to prevent the
controversial group from making any more decisions
before the group is revamped.
The Board of Supervisors voted on an emergency
ordinance to eliminate the committee and temporarily
hand off any design review actions to the
county planning staff.
The decision is welcome to outspoken critics of
the committee like Michael Mangini, spokesman
for the Emerald Hills Community Coalition, who
have fought the committee’s regulations on
house size and appearance.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction and an
opportunity to get some public input. A person’s
home is their castle and the design rules touched
at the heart of people’s sense of privacy,”
Mangini said.
Emerald Hills includes more than 1,700 property
owners in unincorporated Redwood City. The
homeowners association spent two years promoting
32 pages of new design and building guidelines,
including types of plants and acceptable
exterior colors. Design guidelines are not law, but
offer a strict direction for the committee.
In response, the Emerald Hills Community
Coalition formed and collected nearly 1,000 signatures
opposing changes to house size, shape
and appearance.
At the prodding of the coalition, the county
agreed to rethink the design guidelines and
review process. Theoretically, the committee
could be reinstated with the same guidelines as it
currently follows but Supervisor Jerry Hill and
Mangini agree the hiatus is a chance to evaluate
the group without worrying about decisions it
makes in the meantime.
“We want to do it now rather than wait 30 days
to make it effective so that the committee doesn’t
have the opportunity to take actions that
might later be challenged,” Hill said.
Instead, he added, the county will be able to
decide if the committee represents community
standards before being allowed to reconvene or
move forward.
If needed, the Planning and Building Task Force
will look at any design review issues, according to
a staff report on the recommended disbandment.
Although Mangini headed the group fighting the
guidelines, he believes the county’s plan of attack
could be a win-win for both sides.
“If we do nothing, something is going to happen.
The basic thing is we need to figure out how
development and designs are going to affect the
neighborhood. The community as a whole should
be mature enough to want to decide together,”
Mangini said.
CAÑADA’S MAGICAL
SEASON ENDS
It was a bittersweet ending to a historic season
for the Cañada College women’s volleyball team.
The host and No. 6 seed Colts lost in four games
to No. 11 Foothill in a California Community
College Northern California playoff opener.
Game scores were 30-28, 30-18, 25-30, 30-27.
Cañada committed 12 service errors in the first
two games and, with the exception of its Game 3
win, could never put together a big run.
That’s because the Owls dug up everything in
sight, imposed their presence at the net and
played unbelievably in every phase of the game.
Kelly Burke led Cañada with 11 kills and 21 digs,
Grace Cordero pumped out 36 assists, Angel
vonBardeleben had 10 kills and Damilola Wusu
had four blocks.
Even though Cañada and Foothill are only 10
miles apart, this was the first time the teams
played each other this season because the Colts
are in the Coast Conference South Division and
the Owls in the North — never mind the fact
that Cañada is north of Foothill. Cañada coach
Kevin Kramer felt his team didn’t play its best,
but knows his players competed to the very end.
Now in its fourth year as a program, Cañada had
its best season in its short history, making the
postseason for the first time by playing some
great and inspired volleyball. It was a lesson in
perseverance and serendipity. With just seven
players, the Colts needed everyone and everything
to pan out. Things did — except last night.
“Every time the door opened, they tattooed us,”
Kramer said. “They didn’t make mistakes, they
dug everything and they reminded me of our win
against Cabrillo last week when we did everything
perfect. They did a good job of hitting
around us. If there was an empty spot on the
ground, they found it. They blocked the hell out
of the ball, and if they didn’t, they slowed it
down. It was almost amazing to watch. Their setter
could jump out of the gym and that definitely
played a factor because they were hitting over
us all night. It’s hard to deal with this and think
about the good things we’ve done all year,
because we didn’t play to our full potential.
“But the girls didn’t quit, and if you can walk out
of the gym and look in the mirror and know you
did everything possible, then you can make a
rationale that losing just happens. And I think
our team did that tonight. They left it all out on
the court.”
Burke and Setaita Filikitonga, two local products,
enrolled weeks before the season started. Libero
Angela Palmeri attended Sacramento State last
year before making her way to the hilltop.
Middle Alexis Taiviti, out of Moreau
Catholic–Hayward, was set on attending Chabot
College. But when Kramer got the gig at Cañada,
Taiviti followed her coach to Redwood City —
with the blessing of her parents, of course.
Setter Cordero and vonBardeleben have been
major keys to the team’s success. Cordero is from
American High–Fremont and the 23-year-old
vonBardeleben is the elder statesman on the
team. Cañada returns Wusu, Burke and
vonBardeleben, great centerpieces to build a
team around. Kramer has lifted the program to
new heights, and next year should be even better.
Especially if another Wusu comes around. The
freshman from Palo Alto was the team’s most
intimidating force at net with her long wingspan
and athleticism, and met Kramer for the first
time on the first day of practice in late August.
“Lola showed up on the first day and it was ‘Uh,
thank the Lord,’” Kramer said. “It’s very rare for
a kid you didn’t recruit to show up who has that
much talent. Then again, every player on this
team had something special.”
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