Item No. 9
Town of Atherton
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT – CONSENT AGENDA
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
GEORGE RODERICKS, CITY MANAGER
FROM: ANTHONY SUBER, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER/ CITY CLERK
DATE: SEPTEMBER 16, 2026
SUBJECT: ADOPT A RESOLUTION DESIGNATING A VOTING DELEGATE
AND UP TO TWO ALTERNATES FOR THE LEAGUE OF
CALIFORNIA CITIES ANNUAL CONFERENCE, SEPTEMBER 23
– 26, 2026
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Council Adopt Resolution 26-XX designating a voting delegate and up to two alternatives to the League of California Cities Annual Conference, September 23 – 36, 2026.
BACKGROUND
The League’s 2026 Annual Conference in scheduled for Wednesday, September 23 through September 26, being held in Long Beach, CA. The League’s Annual Business meeting is scheduled for the Friday of the Conference. At this meeting, the League membership considers and acts on Resolutions that establish League policy. Once the Resolution Packet for 2026 is available it can be found at www.calcities.org. The Conference Voting Procedures are available here:
https://www.calcities.org/advocacy/resolutions-and-the-general-assembly To vote at the Annual Business Meeting, the City Council must designate a voting delegate.
Council may also appoint up to two alternate voting delegates, one of who may vote if the designated voting delegate is unable to serve in that capacity.
The voting delegate and alternates must be registered to attend the conference. They need not register for the entire conference; they may register for Friday only. In order to cast a vote, at least one person must be present at the Business Meeting and in possession of the voting delegate card.
Presently, Council Member Widmer is registered to attend the conference and in the absence of alternative direction at the September 16 meeting, Council Member Widmer will be listed as the Primary Voting Delegate
League of CA Cities Voting Delegate
SEPTEMBER 16, 2026
Attachment 1 – League of CA Resolution will be used to designate the Council’s choices for primary delegate and alternate.
Voting delegate information is available at https://www.calcities.org/advocacy/resolutions-andthe-general-assembly. This will outline the rules for nominating voting delegates, general assembly voting guidelines, and how resolutions become policy committee items for review throughout the year to develop recommended positions to take on bills and regulatory proposals.
There is only one League Resolution submitted by the City of Murrieta. Attachment 2 is the League Resolution Packet. The packet contains the proposed resolution, background information, supporting letters from cities and city officials, and an analysis of the resolution by Cal Cities. The packet includes detailed information on the resolution process and the next steps for the resolution.
Murrieta is asking the League of California Cities to create a working group to pursue a state constitutional amendment (or other legislative, policy, or ballot-based strategy) that would restore and strengthen final local authority over housing and land use decisions, including general plans, housing elements, zoning, density, design and development standards, project siting, and approval or denial of housing development applications.
The resolution's stated rationale is that state housing mandates and streamlined approval laws have increasingly overridden locally adopted plans and zoning without accounting for differences in infrastructure capacity, water availability, wildfire risk, and other local conditions, and that state housing goals could instead be advanced through funding, streamlined environmental review, and voluntary partnerships rather than preemption of local control.
The resolution includes safeguards: any amendment or strategy pursued should still preserve the state's authority to set broad statewide housing goals and enforce constitutional/civil rights protections, fair housing law, building and life-safety codes, and generally applicable environmental protections. It would not shield a city that hasn't planned in good faith to meet its regional housing needs allocation.
It directs the League to evaluate and develop the amendment or strategy (legal, fiscal, and policy analysis; stakeholder and city engagement; coalition-building) with a target of the November 2030 General Election, or another timeframe the working group sets.
The resolution has letters of concurrence from Banning, Calimesa, Canyon Lake, Moreno Valley, Norco, Torrance, San Jacinto (Mayor Ruiz), and Temecula (Mayor Alexander), and has been referred to the Housing, Community, and Economic Development Policy Committee, which meets September 17 to make its recommendation ahead of the Resolutions Committee and General Assembly at the Annual Conference.
League of CA Cities Voting Delegate
SEPTEMBER 16, 2026
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to this item. The 2026/27 budget includes funding for the conference attendance
GOAL ALIGNMENT
This Report and its contents are in alignment with the following Council Policy Goals:
• Goal D - Be Forward Thinking
• Goal F - Build Community & Promote Civic Engagement
POLICY FOCUS
Attendance at the Annual League Conference is encouraged for continuing Council education, experience, and networking opportunities. The Conference provides the Council with the opportunity to engage with a broader section of California communities that may face similar challenges. There is also the opportunity to participate in educational workshops that focus on relevant local and statewide topics and solutions.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Public notification was achieved by posting the agenda, with this agenda item being listed, at least 72 hours prior to the meeting in print and electronically. Information about the project is also disseminated via the Town’s electronic News Flash and Atherton Online. There are approximately 1,200 subscribers to the Town’s electronic News Flash publications. Subscribers include residents as well as stakeholders –to include, but be not limited to, media outlets, school districts, Menlo Park Fire Protection District, service provides (water, power, and sewer), and regional elected officials.
COMMISSION/COMMITTEE FEEDBACK/REFERRAL
This item has not been before a Town Committee or Commission
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution League of California Cities – 26-XX
2. League Resolutions Packet