City Manager’s Update
Daniel Barros, City Manager
Are you ready for some Chicken? Colma is very excited to welcome the long-awaited arrival of Raising Canes to the 280 Metro Center with a Grand Opening later this month scheduled for November 19th. Raising Canes is a popular Louisiana-based fast-food chain serving a variety of fried chicken favorites. Please help us welcome Raising Canes to the Colma family.
At last month’s October 23rd City Council Meeting, the City Council approved a parking variance that will allow for the demolition of the failing Home Depot Parking Structure. The demolition is scheduled to take place this month. The Home Depot will remain open for business during construction activities. However, the parking lot will be impacted for a short while as we ask for your patience and understanding during this time.
Lastly, November is a reminder that winter and the wet-weather season is fast approaching. Preparation for winter storms is essential to preserving life and property. Many preparation measures can be done proactively prior to a storm’s arrival. Proactive measures include but are not limited to:
- Cleaning and clearing roof gutters and drainage channels around your property
- Be aware of low elevation spots on your property susceptible to flooding
- Prepare sandbags in areas of historical flooding or ponding
- Trim and remove potentially hazardous tree limbs that could become problematic in high winds
- Be prepared for a potential power outage by gathering flashlights and charging devices early and stock up on extra batteries
During active storms, stay connected to the Town of Colma (social media platforms) and San Mateo County (SMC Alerts) communication channels for ongoing storm updates and information. Please report any issues or hazards you encounter to the Colma Police Department at (650) 997-8321. If you come across a down power line, do not touch it and call 911 immediately.
Planning Department Update
Farhad Mortazavi, City Planner
The Planning Department is currently working on the following projects. You could contact the Planning Department at (650)757-8888, if you have any questions.
Colma’s Current Planning Section Projects Update
The Current Planning Section processes all residential, commercial, mixed-use and cemetery-related proposals. To exemplify a few, the following projects are currently in process or have been completed: Raising Caine’s restaurant at 123 Colma Boulevard is nearly completed with the grand opening in mid-November; Kia dealership new service center construction is on-going; Home Depot’s parking Variance was approved by the council on October 23rd for the allowance of the parking structure removal; Colma community center’s solar panel design was approved and built in 2024, in addition the proposal for the Town Center’s solar panel was approved by the council in September 2024.
Town’s Zoning Code Update
The Zoning Code Update – for it to be compatible with the Town’s adopted General Plan 2040 (March 23, 2022), as required by the state law -began its process in 2022 and was completed in November 2023 and adopted by the council in January 2024.
Town’s Housing Element Update
Town’s Planning Department is putting more efforts into Housing Element Update (HEU) since the General Plan 2040 is completed and major efforts has been made to include the public outreach/participation by providing a survey, and three different community events. The Town submitted the first draft of the document to the State Housing and Community Development Agency (HCD) in June 2022. Several drafts of the HEU were forwarded to HCD for review and the final submittal was approved by the council and then certified by HCD in March 2024.
Revised Sign Ordinance
Staff began the process for the revision of the sign ordinance in 2003, as the continuation of the Town’s Zoning Code Update, with the final version reviewed and approved by the council on August 8, 2004.
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