Monday, January 10, 2022 AGENDA Page 1
PROCLAMATION
CALLING A SPECIAL ME ETING OF THE
BERKELEY CITY COUNCI L
In accordance with the authority in me vested, I do hereby call the Berkeley City Council in special session as follows:
Monday, January 10, 2022
4:30 PM
JESSE ARREGUIN, MAYOR
Councilmembers:
DISTRICT 1 – RASHI KESARWANI DISTRICT 5 – SOPHIE HAHN
DISTRICT 2 – TERRY TAPLIN DISTRICT 6 – SUSAN WENGRAF
DISTRICT 3 – BEN BARTLETT DISTRICT 7 – RIGEL ROBINSON
DISTRICT 4 – KATE HARRISON DISTRICT 8 – LORI DROSTE
PUBLIC ADVISORY: THIS MEETING WILL BE CONDUCTED EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH
VIDEOCONFERENCE AND TELECONFERENCE
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e) and the state declared emergency, this meeting of the City Council will be conducted exclusively through teleconference and Zoom videoconference. The COVID -19 state of emergency continues to directly impact the ability of the members to meet safely in person and presents imminent risks to the health of attendees. Therefore, no physical meeting location will be available.
Li
ve audio is available on KPFB Radio 89.3. Live captioned broadcasts of Council Meetings are available on Cable B -TV (Channel 33) and via internet accessible video stream at http://www.cityofberkeley.info/CalendarEventWebcastMain.aspx.
T
o access the meeting remotely: Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or Android device: Please use this UR L https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84572745991. If you do not wish for your name to appear on the screen, then use the drop down menu and click on "rename" to rename yourself to be anonymous. To request to speak, use the “raise hand” icon by rolling over the bottom of the screen.
T
o join by phone: Dial 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (Toll Free) and enter Meeting ID: 845 7274 5991. If you wish to comment during the public comment portion of the agenda, Press *9 and wait to be recognized by the Chair.
P
lease be mindful that the teleconference will be recorded as any Council meeting is recorded, and all other rules of procedure and decorum will apply for Council meetings conducted by teleconference or videoconference.
T
o submit a written communication for the City Council’s consideration and inclusion in the public record, email [email protected].
T
his meeting will be conducted in accordance with the Brown Act, Government Code Section 54953. Any member of the public may attend this meeting. Questions regarding this matter may be addressed to Mark Numainville, City Clerk, (510) 981- 6900. The City Council may take action related to any subject listed on the Agenda. Meetings will adjourn at 11:00 p.m. - any items outstanding at that time will be carried over to a date/time to be specified.
1 Monday, January 10, 2022 AGENDA Page 2
Preliminary Matters
Roll Call:
Public Comment – Limited to Items on this agenda only
Consent Calendar
The Council will first determine whether to move items on the agenda for “Action” or “Information” to the “Consent Calendar”, or move “Consent Calendar” items to “Action.” Three members of the City Council must agree to pull an item from the Consent Calendar for it to move to Action. Items that remain on the “Consent Calendar” are voted on in one motion as a group. “Information” items are not discussed or acted upon at the Council meeting unless they are moved to “Action” or “Consent”.
No additional items can be moved onto the Consent Calendar once public comment has commenced. At any time during, or immediately after, public comment on Information and Consent items, any Councilmember may move any Information or Consent item to “Action.” Following this, the Council will vote on the items remaining on the Consent Calendar in one motion.
For items moved to the Action Calendar from the Consent Calendar or Information Calendar, persons who spoke on the item during the Consent Calendar public comment period may speak again at the time the matter is taken up during the Action Calendar.
Public Comment on Consent Calendar and Information Items Only: The Council will take public comment on any items that are either on the amended Consent Calendar or the Information Calendar. Speakers will be entitled to two minutes each to speak in opposition to or support of Consent Calendar and Information Items. A speaker may only speak once during the period for public comment on Consent Calendar and Information items.
Additional information regarding public comment by City of Berkeley employees and interns: Employees and interns of the City of Berkeley, although not required, are encouraged to identify themselves as such, the department in which they work and state whether they are speaking as an individual or in their official capacity when addressing the Council in open session or workshops.
Consent Calendar
1. Resolution Making Required Findings Pursuant to the Government Code and Directing City Legislative Bodies to Continue to Meet Via Videoconference and Teleconference
From: City Manager
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution making the required findings pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e)(3) and determining that as a result of the continued threat to public health and safety posed by the spread of COVID-19, City legislative bodies shall continue to meet via videoconference and teleconference, initially ratified by the City Council on September 28, 2021, and subsequently reviewed and ratified on October 26, 2021, November 16, 2021, and December 14, 2021.
Financial Implications: To be determined
Contact: Farimah Brown, City Attorney, (510) 981-6950
2 Monday, January 10, 2022 AGENDA Page 3
Adjournment
I hereby request that the City Clerk of the City of Berkeley cause personal notice to be given to each member of the Berkeley City Council on the time and place of said meeting, forthwith.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand
and caused the official seal of the City of Berkeley to be affixed on this 6th day of January, 2022.
Jesse A
rreguin, Mayor
Public Notice – this Proclamation serves as the official agenda for this meeting.
ATTEST:
Date: January 6, 2022
Mark Numainville, City Clerk
NOTICE CONCERNING YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS : If you object to a decision by the City Council to approve or deny a use permit or variance for a project the following requirements and restrictions apply:
1) No lawsuit challenging a City decision to deny (Code Civ. Proc. §1094.6(b)) or approve (Gov. Code 65009(c)(5)) a use permit or variance may be filed more than 90 days after the date the Notice of Decision of the action of the City Council is mailed. Any lawsuit not filed within that 90- day period will be barred. 2) In any lawsuit that may be filed against a City Council decision to approve or deny a use permit or variance, the issues and evidence will be limited to those raised by you or someone else, orally or in writing, at a public hearing or prior to the close of the last public hearing on the project.
Live captioned broadcasts of Council Meetings are available on Cable B-TV (Channel 33), via internet accessible video stream at http://www.cityofberkeley.info/CalendarEventWebcastMain.aspx
and KPFB Radio 89.3.
Archived indexed video streams are available at http://www.cityofberkeley.info/citycouncil.
Channel 33 rebroadcasts the following Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. and Sunday at 9:00 a.m.
Communications to the City Council are public record and will become part of the City’s electronic records, which are accessible through the City’s website. Please note: e-mail addresses, names, addresses, and other contact information are not required, but if included in any communication to the City Council, will become part of the public record. If you do not want your e-mail address or any other contact information to be made public, you may deliver communications via U.S. Postal Service to the City Clerk Department at 2180 Milvia Street. If you do not want your contact information included in the public record, please do not include that information in your communication. Please contact the City Clerk Department for further information.
Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the City Council regarding any item on this agenda will be posted on the City's website at http://www.cityofberkeley.info .
Agendas and agenda reports may be accessed via the Internet at http://www.cityofberkeley.info/citycouncil
COMMUNICATION ACCESS INFORMATION:
To request a disability-related accommodation(s) to participate in the meeting, including auxiliary aids or services, please contact the Disability Services specialist at (510) 981-6418 (V) or (510) 981-6347 (TDD) at least three business days before the meeting date.
Captioning services are provided at the meeting, on B-TV, and on the Internet. 3 Office of the City Attorney
CONSENT CALENDAR
January 10, 2022
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Madame City Manager
From: Farimah Faiz Brown, City Attorney
Subject: Resolution Making Required Findings Pursuant to the Government Code and Directing City Legislative Bodies to Continue to Meet Via Videoconference and Teleconference
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution making the required findings pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e)(3) and determining that as a result of the continued threat to public health and safety posed by the spread of COVID-19, City legislative bodies shall continue to meet via videoconference and teleconference, initially ratified by the City Council on September 28, 2021, and subsequently reviewed and ratified on October 26, 2021, November 16, 2021, and December 14, 2021.
FISCAL IMPACT OF RECOMMENDATION
To be determined.
CURRENT SITUATION AND ITS EFFECTS
The City Council made the initial findings required under the Government Code on September 28, 2021. The Council must make the findings every thirty days in order to continue to meet exclusively through video conference or teleconference.
Pursuant to California Government Code section 8630 and Berkeley Municipal Code Chapter 2.88.040, on March 3, 2020, the City Manager, in her capacity as Director of Emergency Services, proclaimed a local emergency due to conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the City as a consequence of the global spread of a severe acute respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (COVID-19), including a confirmed case in the City of Berkeley. As a result of multiple confirmed and presumed cases in Alameda County, the County has declared a local health emergency. On March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a Proclamation of a State of Emergency due to the spread of COVID-19. On March 10, 2020, the City Council ratified the Proclamation of Local Emergency with the passage of Resolution No. 69-312.
4 On March 17, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-29-20, which suspended certain portions of the Ralph M. Brown Act (Cal. Gov. Code § 54950 et seq.) related to the holding of teleconferenced meetings by City legislative bodies. Among other things, Executive Order N-29-20 suspended requirements that each location from which an official accesses a teleconferenced meeting be accessible to the public.
These changes were necessary to allow teleconferencing to be used as a tool for ensuring social distancing. City legislative bodies have held public meetings via videoconference and teleconference pursuant to these provisions since March 2020.
These provisions of Executive Order N-29-20 will expire on September 30, 2021.
COVID-19 continues to pose a serious threat to public health and safety. There are now over 4,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 55 deaths in the City of Berkeley.
Additionally, the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (“Delta”) variant of COVID-19 that is currently circulating nationally and within the City is contributing to a substantial increase in transmissibility and more severe disease.
As a result of the continued threat to public health posed by the spread of COVID-19, state and local officials continue to impose or recommend measures to promote social distancing, mask wearing and vaccination. Holding meetings of City legislative bodies in person would present imminent risks to the health and safety of the public and members of legislative bodies, and therefore public meetings cannot safely be held in person at this time
Assembly Bill 361 (Rivas), signed into law by Governor Newsom on September 16, 2021, amended a portion of the Brown Act (Government Code Section 54953) to authorize the City Council, during the state of emergency, to determine that, due to the spread of COVID-19, holding in-person public meetings would present an imminent risk to the health or safety of attendees, and therefore City legislative bodies must continue to meet via videoconference and teleconference. Assembly Bill 361 requires that the City Council must review and ratify such a determination every thirty (30) days.
Therefore, if the Council passes this resolution on January 10, 2022, the Council will need to review and ratify the resolution by February 9, 2022.
This item requests that the Council review the circumstances of the continued state of emergency posed by the spread of COVID-19, and find that the state of emergency continues to directly impact the ability of the public and members of City legislative bodies to meet safely in person, that holding public meetings of City legislative bodies in person would present imminent risks to the health and safety of attendees, and that state and local officials continue to promote social distancing, mask wearing and vaccination. This item further requests that the Council determine that City legislative bodies, including but not limited to the City Council and its committees, and all commissions and boards, shall continue to hold public meetings via videoconference and teleconference, and that City legislative bodies shall continue to comply with all provisions of the Brown Act, as amended by SB 361.
5 BACKGROUND
On March 1, 2020, Alameda County Public Health Department and Solano County Public Health Department reported two presumptive cases of COVID-19, pending confirmatory testing by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), prompting Alameda County to declare a local health emergency.
On March 3, 2020, the City’s Director of Emergency Services proclaimed a local emergency due to the spread of COVID-19, including a confirmed case in the City of Berkeley and multiple confirmed and presumed cases in Alameda County.
On March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a Proclamation of a State of Emergency due to the spread of COVID-19.
On March 10, 2020, the City Council ratified the Proclamation of Local Emergency.
Since that date, there have been over 4,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 57 deaths in the City of Berkeley.
On March 17, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-29-20 which suspended certain portions of the Ralph M. Brown Act (Cal. Gov. Code § 54950 et seq.) to allow teleconferencing of public meetings to be used as a tool for ensuring social distancing. As a result, City legislative bodies have held public meetings via teleconference throughout the pandemic. The provisions of Executive Order N-29-20 allowing teleconferencing to be used as a tool for social distancing will expire on September 30, 2021.
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE IMPACTS
Not applicable.
RATIONALE FOR RECOMMENDATION
The Resolution would enable the City Council and its committees, and City boards and commissions to continue to hold public meetings via videoconference and teleconference in order to continue to socially distance and limit the spread of COVID-
19. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS CONSIDERED
None.
CONTACT PERSON
Farimah Brown, City Attorney, City Attorney’s Office (510) 981-6998 Mark Numainville, City Clerk, (510) 981-6908
Attachments:
1: Resolution Directing City Legislative Bodies to Continue to Meet Via Videoconference and Teleconference
6 RESOLUTION NO. –N.S.
RESOLUTION MAKING THE REQUIRED FINDINGS PURSUANT TO GOVERNEMNT CODE SECTION 54953(E)(3) AND DIRECTING CITY LEGISLATIVE BODIES TO
CONTINUE TO MEET VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE AND TELECONFERENCE WHEREAS, in accordance with Berkeley Municipal Code section 2.88.040 and sections 8558(c) and 8630 of the Government Code, which authorize the proclamation of a local emergency when conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territorial limits of a City exist, the City Manager, serving as the Director of Emergency Services, beginning on March 3, 2020, did proclaim the existence of a local emergency caused by epidemic in the form of the global spread of a severe acute respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (“COVID-19”), including confirmed cases in California and the San Francisco Bay Area, and presumed cases in Alameda County prompting the County to declare a local health emergency; and WHEREAS, on March 10, 2020, the City Council ratified the Proclamation of Local Emergency with the passage of Resolution No. 69-312; and WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a Proclamation of a State of Emergency pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act, in particular, Government Code section 8625; and
WHEREAS, the Proclamation of a State of Emergency issued by Governor Newsom on March 4, 2020 continues to be in effect; and
WHEREAS, on September 16, 2021, Governor Newsom signed into law AB 361, which authorizes the City Council to determine that, due to the continued threat to public health and safety posed by the spread of COVID-19, City legislative bodies shall continue to meet via videoconference and teleconference; and
WHEREAS, the City Council does find that the aforesaid conditions of extreme peril continue to exist, and now include over 4,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 55 deaths in the City of Berkeley; and
WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes that the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (“Delta”) variant of COVID-19 that is currently circulating nationally and within the City is contributing to a substantial increase in transmissibility and more severe disease; and WHEREAS, as a result of the continued threat to public health posed by the spread of COVID-19, state and local officials continue to impose or recommend measures to promote social distancing, mask wearing and vaccination; and
7 WHEREAS, holding meetings of City legislative bodies in person would present imminent risks to the health and safety of the public and members of legislative bodies, and therefore public meetings cannot safely be held in person at this time; and WHEREAS, the City Council made the initial findings required by the Government Code on September 28, 2021; and
WHEREAS, the City Council made subsequent findings required by the Government Code on October 26, 2021, November 16, 2021, and December 14, 2021; and WHEREAS, the City Council will need to again review the need for the continuing necessity of holding City legislative body meetings via videoconference and teleconference by February 9, 2022.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Berkeley that, pursuant to Government Code section 54953, the City Council has reviewed the circumstances of the continued state of emergency posed by the spread of COVID-19, and finds that the state of emergency continues to directly impact the ability of the public and members of City legislative bodies to meet safely in person, that holding public meetings of City legislative bodies in person would present imminent risks to the health and safety of attendees, and that state and local officials continue to promote social distancing, mask wearing and vaccination.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that City legislative bodies, including but not limited to the City Council and its committees, and all commissions and boards, shall continue to hold public meetings via videoconference and teleconference.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all City legislative bodies shall comply with the requirements of Government Code section 54953(e)(2) and all applicable laws, regulations and rules when conducting public meetings pursuant to this resolution.
8 9