Berkeley City Council
March 14, 2023

40 July 2022
Ideas for future improvements:
› Reduce the time it takes to hire staff
› Increase IT and legal support to match the
program size
› Add consultants to help with certain tasks in
project management
› Improve tools to aid in project management
› Streamline contracting policies, including bid
protest procedures and purchasing policies
It is important to note there will be overlap with
the T1 team completing the Phase 2 projects
and the Vision 2050 team ramping up. The future
organization will need to account for this to ensure
the success of both programs.

5.2 Research on Other Programs
The City and its consultants conducted interviews
with three cities implementing large capital
programs. Interview topics included organization,
tools, implementation, and accountability.

Successes, challenges, and lessons learned were
discussed with each group, too. Table 8 summarizes
the cities and their programs.

TABLE 8

CITIES INTERVIEWED AND THEIR CAPITAL PROGRAMS
City Program Description Budget and Staff
City of Oakland
› Measure KK’s funding allocations are a) $350 million for streets and roads, b) $150 million for facilities and c) $100 million for anti-displacement and affordable housing
› CIP projects are delivered through Public Works (PW) and Transportation (OakDOT). PW delivers non-transportation projects, such as sewer, drainage, and parks. OakDOT delivers transportation projects through two divisions: a) Great Streets (large projects) and b) Safe Streets (street repairs)
› Program management is primarily done with City staff with some consultant support. There are about 20 dedicated staff members for program management
› Staffing vacancies have been as high as 25%
$87M / 20 employees =
~$4.4M per employee.

41Vision 2050 Program Plan
City of Oakland (cont.)
› Oakland’s PCI was 53 in 2019 and increased to 58 in 2021.

They are using $100 M of Measure KK funds over 3 years to improve 350 miles of street surface
› Measure KK has a 9 member Public Oversight Committee.

The members were appointed by the Mayor and report to
the City Council
City of Sunnyvale
› The Public Works Engineering Division delivers all capital projects through four groups: a) special projects, b) project design, c) construction management, and d) land development
› The special projects group manages very large capital projects, e.g., $1 billion wastewater treatment plant re-build. Consultants handle the day-to-day project management but do not have monetary authority › There are 8 staff in the project design group, who manage the smaller on-going capital projects
› The City uses e-Builder software
› Staffing vacancies are a problem
› City Council’s target PCI is 80. Their current PCI is about 76 $176.5M / 30 employees
= ~$5.9M per employee.

City of San Diego
› The City delivers capital projects through two departments: a) Capital Projects and b) Strategic Capital Projects. Capital Projects perform projects that are $5 to 20 million in size, the work is long-term and they have about 700 staff. The Strategic Capital department works on projects over $100 million in size, the work requires special expertise, there are about 50 staff and there is a high reliance on consultants › The current 5-year CIP has a funding need of $8.4 billion › The City uses OCI (overall condition index) instead of PCI. The City’s target for OCI is 70
› Staff vacancies range from 15 – 20%
› A State of CIP Report is provided to City Council twice per year › San Diego is a participant is a California multi-agency benchmarking group
$830M / 750 employees
= ~$1.1M per employee

42 July 2022
While Berkeley uses City staff for project
management and consultants for planning, design,
and construction management, by comparison, the
larger programs are managed by a combination
of City staff and consultants. Berkeley’s 5 full
time equivalent employees are handling $45
million projects at present, a higher ratio than
these other cities. City staff make all financial
decisions, manage City processes, and complete
repeatable tasks. Consultants assist City staff with
a wide variety of tasks involving project planning,
design, construction management, and execution,
and provide necessary specialized expertise
and knowledge. Some program teams include a
dedicated group who administer grant funding.

Challenges experienced during large program
implementation include difficulty in recruiting and
retaining a talented workforce, having sufficient
administrative and support services, and having
effective and efficient hiring and on-boarding
processes, including a continuous
recruitment process.

These issues could be addressed in part by
including dedicated financial and recruiting staff
that are funded through the revenue measure, and
developing program-specific hiring policies
and procedures.

The recommendations presented in the section
below build off the successes and lessons learned
from implementation of Measure T1 and the
City’s regular capital program, and from the three
cities we interviewed and researched. These
recommendations will help in delivering a more
significant investment in the city’s infrastructure:
› Responsible organization – A Vision 2050
program management team should be formed
and report to the Public Works Director for the
first phase of improvements, given this phase’s
focus is likely within the right of way, which is
Public Works’ responsibility. This team would
be multi-discipline, meaning the team would
be responsible for implementing all aspects
of the Vision 2050 program, including projects
outside of the normal purview of Public Works.

In future phases, as determined by future Vision
2050 priorities, this program management team
could report either to Directors of Public Works
or Parks, Recreation, and Waterfront, a Deputy
City Manager, or the City Manager.
› Multiple Benefits – The Vision 2050 Framework
recommended infrastructure improvements that
have multiple benefits. Given this Plan’s initial
focus on streets and traffic safety, the program
management team will ensure projects are
delivered that, to the extent feasible, combine
paving, traffic safety, and green infrastructure
improvements. Recent annual paving projects
demonstrated progress in this regard, as they
have included paving, green infrastructure,
and various traffic safety features such as
traffic circles, traffic diverters, and pedestrian
islands. Given this plan prioritizes the co-
benefits of street paving and traffic safety,
staff have modeled how to meet both goals
simultaneously. By dedicating two-thirds of
streets-focused investments to paving and one-
third to traffic safety, this Plan’s goals can be met
in ten years or so.
› Program management team and
staffing – The City should initiate a recruitment
for a new full-time position, Vision 2050

5.3 Recommendations for Vision 2050 Implementation

43Vision 2050 Program Plan
Program Manager. The manager should have
an administrative support person and project
managers (the number to be determined
prior to implementation). The City team would
ideally include dedicated staff in lieu of 3-year
limited term positions, given the duration of the
work. In addition, the city team should include
both an in-house construction inspector and a
project coordinator to assist with time-intensive
tasks such as compiling budget data, preparing
public outreach materials, and coordinating
meetings. Outreach support should be included
on this team as well. The Program Manager
should also have a mix of staff and consultant
support in a blended team. Consultant support
may include: a) preparation of a project
management manual, b) project cost tracking,
c) performance indicator tracking, and d)
management of special projects.
› Engineering functions – As discussed above,
the engineering and capital delivery divisions
in the Public Works and Parks, Recreation and
Waterfront Departments will continue to
deliver ongoing projects. These include
aspects of street paving, sidewalk repairs,
sewer rehabilitation, and park and
playground improvements.
› Special projects – Projects that are not
normally handled by the City’s engineering
divisions should be managed by the program
management team or assigned to a consultant.

Examples of these projects may include utility
undergrounding, seismic improvement to
public buildings, public realm projects, etc
› Supporting departments – Advanced
planning needs to be held with the City’s
procurement, legal, human resources and
information technology departments.

Challenges experienced during large program
implementation include difficulty in recruiting
and retaining a talented workforce and having
effective on-boarding processes. In addition,
the City’s procurement procedures need
updating and improvement. The ideal Vision
2050 organization may include dedicated
recruitment and financial staff, as well as new
policies that are developed specifically for the
program. For example, the City of Oakland
cut 500 staff hours and months from project
timelines by reducing the number of project
and procurement approvals.
› Tools, software and procedures – An
evaluation of current and new tools will be
made for delivering the program. This will
include: a) procurement tools for goods and
services, b) project scheduling and tracking
software, c) document management,
and d) reporting.

44 July 2022
06 SUPPORTING STRATEGIES
This section describes the performance monitoring, oversight and reporting and on-going maintenance that will be a part of implementing a successful Vision 2050 program.
44 July 2022

45Vision 2050 Program Plan

6.1 Performance Indicators
TABLE 9
VISION 2050 KEY PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

1. Streets are Safer, More Sustainable, Improved to a Good Condition, and Maintained Paving condition % of sidewalks in safe condition
Three year average of severe injuries/fatalities % of Bicycle, Pedestrian, and ADA Transition Plans implemented
% of 2020 pavement surface converted to pervious surface Public satisfaction with right of way % of commute trips by solo occupant vehicle % of trips by walking, micro mobility or transit

2. Infrastructure is Resilient, Protects the Environment, and is Adapted to Climate Change Impacts Citywide GHG reductions % of public buildings fossil-fuel free Citywide natural gas consumption % of automobiles that are EV citywide % of Stormwater and GI plans implemented % of sea level rise, undergrounding, and evacuation route projects completed
% of target acres treated by Green Infrastructure % of 2022 vacant street tree sites planted % of public buildings seismically retrofitted

3. Open Space, Parks, and Recreation Improve our Quality of Life % of Backlog Addressed Annually Diversity of the Urban Forest # of Street Trees/Tree Canopy Ratio Public satisfaction at Parks and open spaces

4. Public Facilities are Safe and Provide Community Placemaking % of public realm/placemaking opportunities implemented % of Backlog Addressed % of ADA Transition Plan implemented in buildings Public satisfaction in public spaces % of public buildings with battery storage
A large complex program like Vision 2050 can benefit from identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track progress. An initial list of KPIs is shown on Table 9 and are organized around the four Vision 2050 outcome objectives. The indicators go beyond the traditional tracking of cost and schedule progress and incorporate indicators that reflect sustainability and resilience goals.

It will be important to update these KPIs at the beginning of each phase of this thirty-year program, and more frequently in some areas, in order to incorporate changing conditions, new technologies, and new priorities.

46 July 2022

6.2 Equity

6.3 Reporting and Oversight
Incorporating equity into infrastructure is a core
value of the Vision 2050 Framework, and is
something Berkeley residents want. Three-fourths
of voters said an infrastructure measure should
incorporate equity.

Poorly maintained infrastructure is inherently
inequitable, as it is more detrimental to Berkeley’s
most vulnerable residents. Those with mobility
impairments can find potholes, deficient sidewalks,
failing hand rails, or out-of-service elevators as
insurmountable challenges. Those on bikes or
walking, instead of in vehicles, are more at risk of
death or serious injury on streets with potholes,
failing pavement markings, and lacking traffic safety
controls. As reported by the city auditor, low-income
residents who depend on their automobile to get
to work face greater risk from the estimated annual
$1,049 repair bill attributable to poorly maintained
streets. The state of our parks, recreation and senior
centers has a serious impact on the programs and
services delivered to children of color and lower
income seniors.

In implementing equity into Vision 2050,
Berkeley will build on recent progress. The City’s
transportation plans prioritize projects in historically underinvested neighborhoods in Berkeley, including
improvements like bus bulbouts and dedicated
bus lanes which help lower income residents more
likely to use transit. Many capital projects approved
in Measure T1 implementation advanced equity.

These projects include the African American Holistic
Resource Center, South Berkeley Senior Center,
the Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Services Center,
and public restrooms citywide approved as part of
Measure T1, Phase 2. In addition, Phase 1 projects
such as paving and park improvements at San Pablo
Park and 10 play structures in West Berkeley also
advance equity.

A Vision 2050 program team will prepare a Program
Management Manual. The manual will include the
performance indicators and a format for reporting
progress. Typically, performance monitoring reports
are prepared on a semi-annual basis. The reports will
be provided to Council and will be available to the
public via the Vision 2050 website.

To ensure accountability, independent oversight
for the revenue measures will be provided by two
of the City’s Commissions: Transportation and
Infrastructure, and Parks, Recreation, and Waterfont.

These Commissions will review expenditures
for conformance with the measure’s purposes,
propose how future revenue measures proceeds are
spent, and monitor progress toward Vision 2050’s
outcomes and performance indicators.

47Vision 2050 Program Plan

6.4 Lifecycle Maintenance
Asset Management is an important concept in
which the city’s infrastructure systems are managed
throughout the life cycle from ‘cradle to grave.’
Taking an asset management approach was
a key part of the City Council adopted Vision
2050 recommendations.

A Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) was
recently submitted to City Council and the Council
adopted an Asset Management Policy. The SAMP
develops policy guidance, reviews the city’s
current maintenance practices, and prepares a
roadmap of key initiatives for implementing a full
Asset Management Program (AMP) in Berkeley’s
Public Works and Parks, Recreation & Waterfront
Departments. Critical systems that we depend on
every day are simply wearing out. Recent budgets
were inadequate for infrastructure capital and
maintenance needs, let alone modernizing them. An
AMP is needed to manage our infrastructure assets
throughout their useful life.

The city retained a consultant to assess the city’s
current asset management practices against a
global standard benchmark on Asset Management
in six areas: asset strategy and planning, asset
management decision-making, lifecycle delivery,
asset information, organization and people, and risk
assessment. Based on the benchmark, Berkeley’s
average assessment was in the ‘developing’ level of
asset management implementation and comparable
to many U.S. cities, but not nearly good enough.

The consultant worked with city staff to develop
a ‘Roadmap’ of key initiatives in the next two
years to implement an effective AMP .

The components include:
› Prepare an Asset Management policy for City
Council’s adoption
› Form an Asset Management team, consisting of
a team leader and two program staff
› Form an AM Steering Committee to guide the
program implementation
› Provide consultant support
› Prepare the strategies, procedures and analyses
to implement an AMP
The SAMP conducted an asset-by-asset review of
annual infrastructure maintenance funding and
found that some asset categories such as streets
and city buildings had insufficient maintenance
funding by a wide margin, while other assets like
sewer and streetlights had adequate maintenance
funding. Assets such as stormwater have sufficient
maintenance funding now. However, climate change
and green infrastructure might make current funding
commitments insufficient in future years.

48 July 2022

6.5 General Fund Support for Infrastructure Maintenance The level of General Fund contribution for public
infrastructure in the last 12 years has remained flat
in nominal terms. Given escalating annual costs,
this led to a decline in General Fund support for
infrastructure. A common theme from community
engagement has been to grow General Fund
support for infrastructure and, at the very least, that revenue from any new measures not replace existing
General Fund commitments to infrastructure.

In recognition of the need for more infrastructure
funding, the City Council has revamped its capital
budget and allocated an additional $14M+ for
street maintenance, $5M+ for the Waterfront and
Parks, and $4M+ for other infrastructure. If these
investments become a new “floor” for the City’s
infrastructure, the City will be on track to achieve a
resilient and sustainable infrastructure by 2050.

The FY 2022 CIP in Brief was the beginning of
melding Vision 2050 into the City’s capital budget

49Vision 2050 Program Plan
07 APPENDICES
A. Acknowledgements
City of Berkeley
Paul Buddenhagen, Deputy City Manager
Liam Garland, Director, Public Works
Scott Ferris, Director, Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Ray Yep, Vision 2050 Implementation Team Member (volunteer) Margo Schueler, Vision 2050 Implementation Team Member (volunteer) Gordon Wozniak, Vision 2050 Implementation Team Member (volunteer) Andrew Brozyna, Deputy Director, Public Works
Christina Erickson, Deputy Director, Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Farid Javandel, Deputy Director, Public Works
Joe Enke, Manager of Engineering, Public Works
Input from the Leadership Teams in the Public Works and Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Departments

Consultant Team
V.W. Housen and Associates:

Dave Richardson, Principal
Daniel Windsor
Josh Uecker
Stephanie Hubli
Vivian Housen, Project Manager
Morgan DeAngelis, Project Engineer
Woodward & Curran:

50 July 2022
B. GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
Terminology Definition
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act
AMP Asset Management Program
Asset categories A logical grouping of similar assets or equipment types used to categorize, organize, and manage the asset portfolio.

Asset management
Data driven planning that improves operational, maintenance and capital forecasting of potential needs, and optimization of investments to realize the greatest value from assets while operating over their lifecycle.

CEQA California Environmental Quality Act
CIP Capital Improvement Program
City City of Berkeley
Council City Council of Berkeley
EBMUD East Bay Municipal Utility District
Envision
Developed by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure and Harvard University, Envision provides industry-wide sustainability metrics for all types and sizes of infrastructure to help users assess and measure the extent to which their project contributes to conditions of sustainability across the full range of social, economic, and environmental indicators.

KPI Key Performance Indicator
General obligation bond
A General Obligation bond is a common type of municipal bond that is secured by a government’s pledge to use legally-available resources, including tax revenues, to repay bondholders.

Parcel tax
The parcel tax is a tax on parcels of real property collected as part of a property tax bill.

Unlike the property tax, the parcel tax cannot be based on property value. To impose a parcel tax, governments must win support from two-thirds of voters.

PCI Pavement Condition Index, which is a scale of 0 to 100 (with 100 being the best) that indicates the condition of an asphalt street surface.

Program plan A structured approach to organizing a long term complex array of subcomponents. The plan typically describes the project components, schedule, outcomes, funding, and reporting.

SAMP
Strategic Asset Management Plan. This is a high level plan that reviews an organization’s policies, assesses its maturity on maintenance, and develops a roadmap to implement a lifecycle maintenance management program.

U.S. EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency
Vision 2050
An initiative of Berkeley’s Mayor Jesse Arreguin to take a long term approach to improving Berkeley’s aging infrastructure. The approach incorporates sustainability and resiliency and anticipating a future world with climate impacts.

WMP Watershed Management Plan

51Vision 2050 Program Plan
C. Reference Documents

1. Information on Vision 2050 can be found on its website: BerkeleyVision2050.org.

2. R
eference documents referenced in this program plan can be found on the City of Berkeley website (BerkeleyCA.gov
) using the search feature

3. Information on Berkeley’s Measure T1 program can be found on its website:

BerkeleyCA.gov/your-government/our-work/ballot-measures/measure-t1.

4. Information on the Envision process can be found on the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s website: SustainableInfrastructure.org.

MEET YOUR COUNCILMEMBERS
MAYOR DISTRICT 1 DISTRICT 2

JESSE ARREGUIN RASHI KESARWANI TERRY TAPLIN
Term Expires 11/30/2024 Term Expires 11/30/2022 Term Expires 11/30/2024 DISTRICT 3 DISTRICT 4 DISTRICT 5

BEN BARTLETT KATE HARRISON SOPHIE HAHN
Term Expires 11/30/2024 Term Expires 11/30/2022 Term Expires 11/30/2024 DISTRICT 6 DISTRICT 7 DISTRICT 8

SUSAN WENGRAF RIGEL ROBINSON LORI DROSTE
Term Expires 11/30/2024 Term Expires 11/30/2022 Term Expires 11/30/2022 VISION TO REALITY A March to 2050 A CIP IN BRIEF • 2021 JULY 2022VISION 2050 PROGRAM PLAN

Office of the City Manager
2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 ● Tel: (510) 981-7000 ● TDD: (510) 981-6903 ● Fax: (510) 981-7099 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.CityofBerkeley.info/Manager

WORKSESSION
January 20, 2022
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Dee Williams-Ridley, City Manager
Submitted by: Paul Buddenhagen, Deputy City Manager
Subject: Discuss Vision 2050, Infrastructure Priorities, Stakeholder and Community Engagement, and City’s Bonding Capacity; and Seek Direction on November 2022 Revenue Measure(s)

SUMMARY
This report provides an update on Vision 2050 and its recommended exploration of an infrastructure-focused revenue measure or measures for the November 2022 ballot. It includes results of recent stakeholder and community engagement, comparisons of revenue measure options, and an update on the City’s bonding capacity; and seeks City Council’s direction on revenue measure options for the November 2022 ballot.

City Council adopted the principles, strategies, and actions laid out in the Vision 2050 Framework in September 2020, after a resident-led, volunteer effort to develop a long- term plan centered on resiliency and sustainability. Strategy Four of the Vision 2050 Framework identified inadequate funding of the City’s infrastructure and recommended action to address this need through new revenue. The City Manager formed a Vision 2050 implementation team and, as a result of this team’s work, City Council approved a project in FY 2022 to explore a significant revenue measure or measures focused on infrastructure, including affordable housing. In Fall and Winter 2020, staff hired a consulting team, conducted a scientific survey (topline results in Attachment 1), opened and closed an online community survey, held more than 20 stakeholder meetings, performed financial analysis on the measure alternatives, and made progress on the study of the City’s bond capacity.

Staff seeks City Council’s direction on several questions that will drive the next actions on the project:

1. Is the November 2022 election the right time to include an infrastructure-focused revenue measure or measures?

2. If yes, should it be one infrastructure-focused measure or multiple measures? And what should be the approximate dollar amount of the measure(s)?

Discuss and Seek Direction on Potential November 2022 Revenue Measure(s) WORKSESSION January 20, 2022

3. What should the top infrastructure spending priorities be for the measure(s)? And should affordable housing and traditional infrastructure both be addressed in such measure(s)?
In addition, staff seeks to learn what City Council would like to see incorporated in the upcoming Vision 2050 Program Plan for which public input will be solicited in March and April.

With direction from City Council, staff will proceed to draft a Vision 2050 Program Plan, engage Commissions and the public on the draft Program Plan, conduct a follow-up scientific survey of voters in April, and return to City Council in May with a proposed Program Plan and language for revenue measure(s) for City Council to consider placing on the November 2022 ballot.

CURRENT SITUATION AND ITS EFFECTS
Most of Berkeley’s streets, sidewalks, sewers, parks, playgrounds and public buildings were built over 75 years ago and need repair. However, local revenues have not kept pace with the need for investments to maintain and/or update aging infrastructure or promote sustainability and housing affordability. This underinvestment has led to an estimated $1.2 billion in deferred maintenance as shared with the City Council during the development of the FY 2022 budget.1 (An updated estimate will will be reported to City Council as part of the Program Plan in May 2022.)
Studies show that $1 spent in early maintenance of infrastructure, such as streets, can save $7 in later, more expensive repairs. This explains why delays in addressing deferred maintenance in the City’s streets will quadruple the cost of addressing these needs by 2050.

The $1.2 billion in citywide infrastructure needs is an undercount, as this estimate does not include significant affordable housing need, nor does it include many needs related to new or improved infrastructure, such as utility undergrounding, bicycle and pedestrian improvements recommended in adopted City plans, some improvements that make the City’s infrastructure more sustainable and resilient, or costs to transform the City’s public spaces and commons.

Nevertheless, this size and scale of these infrastructure needs is very important, as they show the challenge ahead. This challenge exists despite proactive steps taken to address these needs in the last decade. Local voters approved the first phase of upgrades to local infrastructure through the passage of Measure M ($30M) in 2012, the Parks Tax increase in 2014, Measure T1 in 2016 ($100M), and Measure O in 2018 1 Attachment 2 provides the infrastructure needs reported to City Council at the March 16, 2021 session on Unfunded Liability Obligations and Unfunded Infrastructure Needs. In response to questions raised in stakeholder meetings, staff have added a second page to explain how these infrastructure needs were derived.

Discuss and Seek Direction on Potential November 2022 Revenue Measure(s) WORKSESSION January 20, 2022

($135M). Together, these measures have provided additional resources to address affordable housing and the repair and improvement of Berkeley's aging infrastructure, including sidewalks, storm drains, parks, streets, senior and recreation centers, watershed and other City facilities.

While marking important progress, these measures have not been large enough to address this size of the infrastructure and affordable housing need. A measure or measures on the November 2022 ballot would secure a dedicated funding source to support local infrastructure and affordable housing, and accelerate the City’s path toward sustainability and resilience as envisioned in the Vision 2050 Framework.

Scientific Survey of Berkeley Voters. A random, representative sample of 500 Berkeley voters were surveyed regarding their infrastructure priorities in October 2021 via telephone and text-to-online technology using professional interviewers. The survey had a margin of error of +/- 4.4%, and top line survey results are found in Attachment 1. It elicited respondents’ infrastructure priorities, and support or opposition to an infrastructure-focused general obligation (or “infrastructure”) bond, parcel tax, or sales tax increase.

The survey found that voters’ top priorities included:
 Increasing affordable housing for low-income and homeless residents (79% rated as “important”),
 Upgrading storm drains, green infrastructure, and watersheds to keep pollution from the Bay (79% important);
 Developing climate change resiliency, including protecting against sea level rise, wildfires and drought (78% important),
 Undergrounding utilities to reduce the risk of wildfire (73% important), and  Repairing deteriorating streets (73% important).

This survey found broad support for an infrastructure-focused revenue measure, but support fell short of the two-thirds necessary to pass a revenue measure dedicated to infrastructure, whether an infrastructure bond, parcel tax, or sales tax. Voters’ support and opposition did not differ much between the larger-sized measures and the smaller- sized measures. The “No” vote (between 27-32%) common to these measures is higher than previous pre-placement surveys, and the undecided vote is smaller than previous surveys.

The survey also found that three-fourths of this representative group of voters believe an infrastructure measure should address equity, and a majority support a definition of equity where infrastructure benefits are provided first (or more) to lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color that have been historically underfunded.

Revenue Measure Options. The survey tested three revenue measure options:

Discuss and Seek Direction on Potential November 2022 Revenue Measure(s) WORKSESSION January 20, 2022

 General Obligation (or Infrastructure) Bond: debt issued to fund capital improvements that is repaid over the bond duration by property tax revenues.

Funds from a bond measure may only be used for capital investments and cannot be used for maintenance, operations, or services. Bond measures are generally considered among the most progressive forms of taxation since they are based on the assessed value of properties.
 Parcel Tax: a form of property tax typically based on the square footage of one parcel. Funds from a parcel tax measure are flexible and can be used for both capital, operations, maintenance, and services. The tax is based on the improved square footage of properties. It is generally considered a progressive form of taxation since larger properties pay more than smaller properties, and exemptions for seniors and low-income property owners are allowed.

OPTIONS FOR FUNDING MECHANISMS
TYPE Bond2 Parcel Tax3 Sales Tax4
AMOUNT $27 per
$100,000 AV
$54 per
$100,000 AV
$0.15 per
square foot
$0.30 per
square foot
$0.05 per
$1.00

ESTIMATED

TOTAL FUNDING
$250 million $500 million $12M/yr or
$250 million
if bonded
$25M/yr or
$500 million if
bonded
$9M/yr, $110
million if
bonded
AVG. ANNUAL

PROPERTY

OWNER COST
$200 $400 $300 $600 Varies
TAX BASIS Assessed Value (AV) Building square footage Taxable purchases
USE OF FUNDS Capital only Capital + Maintenance Capital + Maintenance
TAX
PROGRESSIVITY Progressive Progressive Least
Progressive
EXEMPTIONS None Low income/senior Essential
purchases
PROS Relative tax burden lessens as AV
increases
Fixed payments, funds both
operations/mtce and capital
Visitors pay
share
CONS Cannot pay for maintenance or
operations
Relative tax burden stays
flat if citywide square
footage does not increase
Impact on
low-income
residents
2 These calculations assume four equal issuances over the first eight years and an interest rate of 4%.

The average assessed value is for a single-family home of $647,972. 3 These calculations assume 83,073,012 taxable square feet and an average single-family home of ~2,000 square feet.
4 These calculations assume $6.5 million of the additional $9 million in revenue would be available for bonding.

Discuss and Seek Direction on Potential November 2022 Revenue Measure(s) WORKSESSION January 20, 2022

 Sales Tax: this is a consumption tax on the sale of goods and services for which the City has State permission to raise one half-cent per dollar more. Funds from a sales tax measure are flexible and can be used for capital, maintenance, operations, and services. Sales taxes are generally considered a less progressive form of taxation since low-income residents spend a larger portion of their incomes on taxable purchases than higher income populations. However, essential purchases like groceries and prescription medicine are exempt from sales tax and the cost is paid by anyone who shops locally, not just residents.

Stakeholder and Community Engagement. Staff held meetings with 20+ community organizations and the following Commissions: Community Environmental Advisory, Disability, Disaster and Fire, Energy, Parks and Waterfront, Public Works, and Transportation. These meetings were an opportunity to share more about the City’s infrastructure needs, solicit input on possible revenue measures, answer questions, and highlight an online community survey that was opened in October 2021 and closed on January 12, 2022.

From the 20+ meetings with various stakeholders, the following issues and themes emerged:
 Request for more explanation of the $1.2B in infrastructure need  General belief that November 2022 was the right time for an infrastructure- focused measure
 Importance of trees, biodiversity, and green space in investment priorities  Desire to see an integrated approach to infrastructure investments  Some concern that a “fix-it-first” approach to infrastructure did not align well with ambition of Vision 2050 or the City’s climate and resilience strategy  Sales tax was not preferred given the impact on low-income residents  Some concern over voters’ (mis)trust of the City’s financial management  Varying opinions on whether affordable housing and traditional infrastructure should be included in one measure, split between two, or dealt with in different elections
 Support for equity in any measure
 Some concerns about the tax burden of an infrastructure bond versus parcel tax on new(er) property owners versus long-time owners
 Request for better understanding of results from affordable housing investments  Request that federal, state, and regional grant funding be leveraged  Some interest in a parcel tax given its ability to fund both capital improvements and ongoing maintenance
 Concern that ongoing maintenance be adequately funded to ensure whatever is constructed is properly maintained

Discuss and Seek Direction on Potential November 2022 Revenue Measure(s) WORKSESSION January 20, 2022

For the online survey, a total of 1,024 responses were received. For the most part, the results from the online survey aligned with the scientific survey. However, the online survey afforded additional insight. For example, respondents were asked to rank their top three priorities for a potential measure from a list of infrastructure priorities. More so than the scientific survey, street repair stood out as a clear top priority followed by affordable housing. The top five ranked priorities are listed below, with percentages indicating the number of respondents who ranked the particular item as top priority:

1. 28.5% – Street Repair

2. 19.2% – Affordable Housing

3. 8.3% – Bike Lanes/Safety

4. 7.5% – Climate Change Resiliency

5. 6.8% – Pedestrian Safety
When respondents were asked to rank the urgency of various infrastructure priorities, repairing deteriorating streets stood out as a top priority, with housing and other infrastructure priorities considered urgent but less so. Respondents ranked the priorities on a five-point scale, with one the most urgent and five the least urgent, and the numbers in parentheses refer to the average rating of each item:

1. Repairing deteriorating streets (1.96)

2. Improving traffic safety (2.25)

3. Upgrading storm drains, green infrastructure, and our watersheds to keep pollution from the Bay (2.35)

4. Repairing sidewalks to improve pedestrian safety and ADA accessibility (2.37)

5. Undergrounding utilities to help reduce the risk of wildfire (2.40)

6. Climate change resiliency including protecting against sea level rise, wildfires, and drought (2.42)

7. Planting and caring for trees (2.52)

8. Increasing affordable housing for low-income and homeless residents (2.57)

9. Expanding bike lanes and improving bike safety (2.62)

10.Upgrading traffic signals, pavement markings, and street signs (2.66) Bond Capacity Study. The Finance Department has engaged the Government Finance Officers Association to initiate a study of the City’s bond capacity. Initial findings from that study will be shared during the staff presentation at the January 20th Work Session.

Vision 2050 Program Plan. After gaining City Council’s direction, staff will develop a Program Plan and return to City Council for approval of this plan, along with proposed measure(s) for November 2022. The Program Plan will lay out a long-term program to address Berkeley’s infrastructure needs through 2050, address this and future revenue measures, describe the impacts of infrastructure investments, identify an organizational approach to delivering on funded projects, and recommend a process for developing and approving projects funded by this and future revenue measures. While this plan will

Discuss and Seek Direction on Potential November 2022 Revenue Measure(s) WORKSESSION January 20, 2022

not be binding and will be flexible enough to adapt as infrastructure needs evolve, it will provide a blueprint for future action. Other issues the Program Plan may address include:
 Ensuring capital improvements are properly maintained, and where maintenance is not properly funded for a particular infrastructure asset, recommend actions to address the shortfall.
 Reconciling immediate repair needs in the City’s infrastructure, especially the City’s street condition, with the re-envisioning of the public commons/space suggested in Vision 2050.
 Explaining how these investments will promote sustainability, and address climate change and resilience.
 Exploring an approach where property owners’ tax burden stays level between 2023 and 2050, while still addressing significant infrastructure need.

November 2022 Election and Measure Options
The November 2022 election may include state, county, school, special district or additional City measures. Staff believe the ballot will not include a Berkeley Unified School District measure. Staff will request City Council’s placement of an Article 34 measure, which is required by the California Constitution in order to develop affordable housing projects with state or local public financing. Such an approval has occurred in at least four previous elections and has had strong support. More information about state, regional, and Alameda County measures will be available in the spring or summer. Needless to say, there is a lot of uncertainty leading up to the November 2022 election given ongoing challenges with inflation, employment, and the global pandemic.

With that context and the findings from community and stakeholder engagement to date, staff seek direction among four possible revenue measure options.

Option #1, $500M Infrastructure Bond. Such as measure could have the following investment priorities:
 $200 Million - Street repair and traffic safety
 $150 Million - Affordable housing for low-income and homeless residents  $75 Million - Climate change, sea level rise, wildfire prevention and protection  $75 Million - Other public infrastructure improvements5 5 Other Public Infrastructure Improvements could include one-time projects, e.g., Old City Hall, Veterans Memorial Building, Waterfront and Marina, etc.

Discuss and Seek Direction on Potential November 2022 Revenue Measure(s) WORKSESSION January 20, 2022

This option funds voters’ top priorities—affordable housing, street repair, and climate change—and invests most in street repair, as it is the top and most urgent need identified by online survey respondents. This option overall is large enough to address a significant portion of the City’s infrastructure needs. Investments in affordable housing at this range would generate up to 660 new affordable units, pave more than 120 street miles, and improve traffic safety. If City Council direct staff to pursue a measure of this size and type, the Program Plan will provide more detail on how these funds may be spent and results attained.

Option #2, Multiple Measures. These measures could include:
 A parcel tax of $12M annually (or $250M if bonded against) to address street repair and traffic safety.
 An infrastructure bond of $150M to address affordable housing for low-income persons and the unhoused.
 An infrastructure bond of $100M to address climate change, wildfire prevention and protection, and other public infrastructure.

This option also funds voters’ top priorities and provides more flexible sources of funding that could address maintenance needs. Results from these investments are likely to track the results from Option #1. However, each of these measures would have to separately meet the two-thirds threshold for approval, which is likely to be more difficult than one measure meeting the two-thirds threshold.

Options #3, Variants of the above options. City Council could direct staff to develop Options #1 or #2 but with different funding mechanisms, e.g. Option #1 but with a similarly-sized parcel tax in lieu of infrastructure bond, at different funding levels (lower or higher amounts), or with different investment priorities, e.g., more or less for affordable housing, street repair, etc.

Option #4, None of the above. City Council could choose to delay this discussion until a future election; ask for other measure options, such as the sales tax, to be developed further; or direct staff to consider an option not yet considered.

BACKGROUND
Vision 2050 is a City Council-supported, resident-engaged initiative to address Berkeley’s $1.2+ billion in infrastructure needs. With voter approval of Measure R, Vision 2050 was defined as engaging residents and experts in developing a 30-year plan to identify and guide implementation of climate-smart, technologically-advanced, equitable and efficient infrastructure to support a safe, vibrant and resilient future for Berkeley.

On April 27, 2021, City Council approved a referral to the City Manager to “explore various options for a future city bond measure in November 2022 to support the growing

Discuss and Seek Direction on Potential November 2022 Revenue Measure(s) WORKSESSION January 20, 2022

need for infrastructure investment, including street repaving, Complete Streets infrastructure that promotes bike and pedestrian safety, restoration of public buildings and facilities, and affordable housing citywide.” The adopted FY 2022 budget included a $400,000 project to execute on this project after which the City Manager convened a working team of residents and City staff to assist with Vision 2050 implementation.

The table below summarizes activities both completed and anticipated for the potential revenue measure(s).

Month Activities
Sep. 2021  Begin various analyses and start drafting outreach materials.  Establish contracts with TBWBH Props and Measures and V.W.

Housen & Associates for Vision 2050 Implementation Services.

Oct. 2021  Conduct community survey #1.
 Begin virtual stakeholder meetings.

Nov. 2021  Continue virtual stakeholder meetings.

Dec. 2021  Continue virtual stakeholder meetings.

Jan. 2022  Hold January 20 work session to gain City Council direction.

Feb. 2022  Informational mailer to residents with invitation for input at March and April public meetings.

Mar. 2022  Present draft Program Plan to Commissions and large area public meetings for feedback.

Apr. 2022  Continue Program Plan meetings.

May 2022  Conduct community survey #2.
 Present survey results and seek City Council’s approval on Vision 2050 funding measure(s) and Program Plan.

Aug. 2022  Last date to submit measure(s) to County Registrar of Voters.

Nov. 2022  Election
After the January 20 work session, the interdepartmental team will incorporate City Council’s direction. In March and April, the team will present a draft Program Plan to Commissions and obtain public feedback through five large area virtual meetings that combine two City Council districts per meeting, similar to the public meetings held during the T1, Phase 2 process. Then staff will return to City Council on May 31 with the results of this public engagement, a draft Program Plan, and proposed revenue measure(s) that have been reviewed by the City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk.

Progress on overall implementation of Vision 2050 has continued. This includes completion of short-term items, such as convening a Vision 2050 team, preparing an implementation plan, participating in Council workshops, and submitting a Vision 2050 budget. There are also a number of other items underway, including development of a

Discuss and Seek Direction on Potential November 2022 Revenue Measure(s) WORKSESSION January 20, 2022

Strategic Asset Management Plan. This work is described in more detail in the November 16, 2021, Council report.6
As indicated in this 16-page information guide, progress on implementation of T1 continues. During Phase 1 (2017-2022), $40M was spent on 39 different projects, leveraging an additional $23M from grants and special funds to deliver $63M in infrastructure improvements. T1, Phase 1 projects resulted in seismically safe, solar- equipped, and accessible community buildings, repaving some of the City’s most neglected streets, new green infrastructure, replaced play structures, increased resilience through improvements that reduce water consumption, a renovated Rose Garden, and an Aquatic Park with much improved water quality. This phase’s planning projects included the San Pablo Park Community Center and new pool, the Willard Clubhouse, citywide restrooms, and the community space/restroom at the Tom Bates Sports Complex. Phase 2 (2021-2026) is currently underway and includes an additional $60M on various projects, including South Berkeley buildings, citywide restrooms, paving, and sidewalk repairs. The John Hinkel Park project, which includes repairs to the creek, lower picnic area, play area and amphitheater, is the first T1, Phase 2 project to be under construction and will be complete in late Spring of 2022.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE IMPACTS
Implementing Vision 2050 would result in more resilient public infrastructure that creates fewer greenhouse gases, and reduces conflict between our built and natural environment. More affordable housing in Berkeley would reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by employees finding lower cost housing farther away from employment centers and requiring longer commutes.

FISCAL IMPACTS OF POSSIBLE FUTURE ACTION
If a potential revenue measure or measures are placed on the ballot and subsequently approved by voters, the City would receive additional funds from increased tax revenues. One goal for any potential revenue measure or measures is to ensure any resulting increased tax burden is held steady over the long term.

CONTACT PERSON
Paul Buddenhagen, Deputy City Manager, (510) 981-7000
Liam Garland, Director, Public Works, (510) 981- 6300
Attachments:
1: Topline of October 2021 Scientific Survey Results
2: Prior Estimate of Infrastructure Need and Methodology 6 https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/2021/11_Nov/Documents/2021-11- 16_Item_08_Vision_2050.aspx

City of Berkeley Community Survey
Live Phone and Text-to-Online
October 12 – 17, 2021

FINAL WEIGHTED TOPLINES

N=500 Likely Nov 2022 General Election Voters
Splits: A/B, C/D, E/F

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

Region
Council District 5/6/8 ................................ ................. 42 46 41 Council District 3/4/7 ................................ ................. 29 27 27 Council District 1/2 ................................ .................... 29 26 32

Party Registration
Democrat ................................ ................................ .. 80 77 84 Republican ................................ ................................ .. 2 3 1 No Party Preference ................................ ................. 16 19 12 Others ................................ ................................ ......... 2 1 2

Q1. Before we begin, I need to know if I have reached you on a cell phone, and if so, are you in a place where you can talk safely?

Yes, cell and can talk safely ................................ ...... 34 40 31 Yes, cell and cannot talk safely [CALL BACK] ........... 0 0 0 No, not on cell, but own one ................................ ...... 10 10 10 No, not on cell, and do not own one ............................ 2 2 2 (Don’t know/refused) [TERMINATE] .......................... 0 0 0 Text to online ................................ ............................ 54 48 57

Q2. Could you please tell me your gender? [DO NOT READ OPTIONS]

Male ................................ ................................ .......... 44 100 0 Female ................................ ................................ ...... 52 0 100 Non-binary/other ................................ ......................... 4 0 0 (Refused) ................................ .............. [TERMINATE]

City of Berkeley – October 2021 2

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

Q3. Although it is some time from now, what are the chances of you voting in the November 2022 general election for Governor, Congress, and other offices? Are you almost certain to vote, will you probably vote, are the chances about 50-50, are you probably not going to vote, or are you definitely not going to vote?

Almost certain to vote ................................ ................ 95 94 95 Probably will vote ................................ ........................ 5 6 5 50-50 [TERMINATE] ................................ ................... 0 0 0 Probably not [TERMINATE] ................................ ........ 0 0 0 Definitely not [TERMINATE] ................................ ........ 0 0 0 Don't know [TERMINATE] ................................ ........... 0 0 0

Q4. [T] Generally speaking, do you think that things in the city of Berkeley are going in the right direction, or do you feel things are off on the wrong track?

Right direction ................................ ........................... 48 48 49 Wrong track ................................ .............................. 32 31 31 (Don't know) ................................ ............................. 21 21 20

Q5. [T*] How would you rate the job the city of Berkeley is doing in providing services to its residents — excellent, good, fair, or poor?

Excellent ................................ ................................ ..... 6 7 5 Good ................................ ................................ ......... 45 45 48 Fair ................................ ................................ ........... 30 31 29 Poor ................................ ................................ .......... 15 15 14 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 4 2 5

Excellent /good ................................ ......................... 51 52 52 Just fair /poor ................................ ............................ 45 46 43

Q6. [T] How much of an impact has the coronavirus pandemic had on you and your household – thinking about all of the effects, including financial concerns and physical and mental health, would you say the impact on your household has been very serious, fairly serious, moderate, minor, or no impact at all?

Very serious ................................ .............................. 15 15 13 Fairly serious ................................ ............................ 23 22 23 Moderate ................................ ................................ ... 40 41 40 Minor ................................ ................................ ......... 18 18 19 No impact ................................ ................................ .... 4 4 4 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 0 0 0

Very /fairly serious ................................ .................... 38 37 37 Moderate /minor /no impact................................ ....... 62 62 63

City of Berkeley – October 2021 3

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

Q7. The next set of questions is about infrastructure needs in Berkeley. I am going to read you some areas that have been identified as types of infrastructure needing repair, investment, or improvement in the City of Berkeley. For each one, please tell me how important that is to you as a resident of Berkeley – extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not too important or not important at all:
[RANDOMIZE]

Sorted by Extremely Important
B7l.Increasing affordable housing for low -income
and homeless residents ................................ ...... 54 47 55 7p.Developing climate change resiliency including
protecting against sea level rise, wildfires, and
drought ................................ ................................ 48 39 54 A7k.Increasing affordable housing for low -income
residents ................................ ............................. 42 31 47 7c.Undergrounding utilities to help reduce the risk of
wildfire ................................ ................................ . 40 31 45 7a.Repairing deteriorating streets ............................. 35 33 36 B7e.Repairing sidewalks to improve access for
those with disabilities ................................ ........... 34 19 45 7y.Providing free transit passes for low -income
residents ................................ ............................. 34 25 37 A7u.Upgrading storm drains, green infrastructure,
and our watersheds to keep pollution from the
Bay ................................ ................................ ...... 31 20 40 7j.Planting and caring for trees ................................ .. 30 19 38 7t.Increasing availability of solar energy, solar
batteries, and electric vehicles and equipment .... 28 23 31 A7d.Repairing sidewalks to improve pedestrian
safety ................................ ................................ .. 27 20 34 A7f.Improving traffic safety ................................ ........ 27 22 32 B7g.Improving traffic safety and flow ......................... 26 14 37 B7v.Upgrading storm drains to reduce flooding and
protect against sea level rise ............................... 25 13 33 7i.Expanding bike lanes and improving bike safety ... 25 21 27 7cc.Making public buildings, streets, and sidewalks
more accessible to people with disabilities .......... 25 18 27 B7aa.Upgrading City buildings to be energy efficient,
seismically safe, and COVID-safe ....................... 23 14 30 7o.Decommissioning natural gas lines to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions ................................ .. 21 14 25 7ee.Upgrading traffic signals, pavement markings,
and street signs ................................ ................... 18 19 17 7h.Improving streetlighting ................................ ........ 17 12 22 7x.Providing more publicly available electric vehicle
charging ................................ .............................. 16 13 19 7r.Repairing Berkeley Pier, including recreational
and ferry upgrades ................................ .............. 16 15 17 7s.Improving the Berkeley waterfront, including

City of Berkeley – October 2021 4

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

docks, pilings, streets, parking lots, pathways,
and marina dredging ................................ ........... 15 9 19 7w.Making improvements to recreational facilities ..... 13 8 17 B7n.Renovating Berkeley's Civic Center Buildings
and Park to include music and theatre
performance spaces, a children's play area, café
kiosk and seating, and enhancing green space ... 12 7 14 7q.Replacing the community center and building a
public pool in San Pablo Park .............................. 12 7 15 7b.Expanding lanes, parking, and charging for e -
bikes (electronic bikes), e -scooters, and app -
based car, bike, and scooter-shares .................... 11 9 14 A7m.Improving seismic safety of historic buildings in
Civic Center, including Old City Hall and the
Veterans Building ................................ ................ 11 7 14 7bb.Upgrading playgrounds ................................ ...... 11 7 14 7dd.Upgrading senior centers ................................ ... 11 6 14 A7z.Upgrading City buildings ................................ ...... 4 6 3

a. Repairing deteriorating streets

Extremely important ................................ .................. 35 33 36 Very important................................ ........................... 38 36 40 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 24 26 21 Not too important ................................ ........................ 3 4 1 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 0 0 1 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 1 0 1

Important ................................ ................................ ... 73 69 76 Not important ................................ ............................ 27 31 23

b. Expanding lanes, parking, and charging for e-bikes (electronic bikes), e-scooters, and app-based car, bike, and scooter-shares

Extremely important ................................ .................. 11 9 14 Very important................................ ........................... 21 27 18 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 32 27 37 Not too important ................................ ...................... 20 22 16 Not important at all ................................ .................... 12 12 13 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 3 3 3

Important ................................ ................................ ... 33 36 32 Not important ................................ ............................ 64 61 65

City of Berkeley – October 2021 5

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

c. Undergrounding utilities to help reduce the risk of wildfire

Extremely important ................................ .................. 40 31 45 Very important................................ ........................... 33 37 30 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 16 17 16 Not too important ................................ ........................ 7 10 4 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 3 2 4 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 2 3 1

Important ................................ ................................ ... 73 68 75 Not important ................................ ............................ 26 29 24

d. SSA: Repairing sidewalks to improve pedestrian safety

Extremely important ................................ .................. 27 20 34 Very important................................ ........................... 39 41 37 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 23 22 23 Not too important ................................ ........................ 9 14 5 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 2 3 1 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 0 0 0

Important ................................ ................................ ... 66 61 71 Not important ................................ ............................ 34 39 29

e. SSB: Repairing sidewalks to improve access for those with disabilities

Extremely important ................................ .................. 34 19 45 Very important................................ ........................... 33 40 27 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 24 28 22 Not too important ................................ ........................ 5 7 4 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 3 6 1 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 0 0 0

Important ................................ ................................ ... 67 59 72 Not important ................................ ............................ 33 41 28

f. SSA: Improving traffic safety

Extremely important ................................ .................. 27 22 32 Very important................................ ........................... 37 36 38 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 27 31 23 Not too important ................................ ........................ 5 6 5 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 2 2 2 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 2 4 1

Important ................................ ................................ ... 64 57 70 Not important ................................ ............................ 34 39 30

City of Berkeley – October 2021 6

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

g. SSB: Improving traffic safety and flow

Extremely important ................................ .................. 26 14 37 Very important................................ ........................... 37 41 32 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 23 28 17 Not too important ................................ ...................... 10 12 9 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 2 4 1 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 2 1 3

Important ................................ ................................ ... 63 55 69 Not important ................................ ............................ 35 44 27

h. Improving streetlighting

Extremely important ................................ .................. 17 12 22 Very important................................ ........................... 29 27 32 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 34 41 28 Not too important ................................ ...................... 16 18 14 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 3 2 4 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 1 0 1

Important ................................ ................................ ... 46 39 54 Not important ................................ ............................ 53 60 45

i. Expanding bike lanes and improving bike safety

Extremely important ................................ .................. 25 21 27 Very important................................ ........................... 26 25 29 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 30 31 28 Not too important ................................ ...................... 12 16 8 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 6 6 7 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 1 0 2

Important ................................ ................................ ... 51 46 56 Not important ................................ ............................ 48 54 42

j. Planting and caring for trees

Extremely important ................................ .................. 30 19 38 Very important................................ ........................... 33 36 31 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 29 32 26 Not too important ................................ ........................ 7 10 4 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 2 3 1 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 0 0 0

Important ................................ ................................ ... 62 55 68 Not important ................................ ............................ 37 45 31

City of Berkeley – October 2021 7

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

k. SSA: Increasing affordable housing for low-income residents

Extremely important ................................ .................. 42 31 47 Very important................................ ........................... 34 45 26 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 14 11 16 Not too important ................................ ........................ 4 3 4 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 6 8 4 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 1 1 2

Important ................................ ................................ ... 75 76 73 Not important ................................ ............................ 23 23 25

l. SSB: Increasing affordable housing for low-income and homeless residents

Extremely important ................................ .................. 54 47 55 Very important................................ ........................... 26 24 30 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 10 12 9 Not too important ................................ ........................ 6 10 4 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 3 5 2 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 1 2 0

Important ................................ ................................ ... 79 71 85 Not important ................................ ............................ 19 27 14

m. SSA: Improving seismic safety of historic buildings in Civic Center, including Old City Hall and the Veterans Building

Extremely important ................................ .................. 11 7 14 Very important................................ ........................... 31 32 32 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 43 44 39 Not too important ................................ ...................... 10 9 10 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 4 5 3 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 2 3 1

Important ................................ ................................ ... 42 39 46 Not important ................................ ............................ 56 58 53

City of Berkeley – October 2021 8

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

n. SSB: Renovating Berkeley’s Civic Center Buildings and Park to include music and theatre performance spaces, a children’s play area, café kiosk and seating, and enhancing green space

Extremely important ................................ .................. 12 7 14 Very important................................ ........................... 24 19 30 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 34 44 28 Not too important ................................ ...................... 20 21 19 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 7 7 8 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 2 2 2

Important ................................ ................................ ... 36 26 44 Not important ................................ ............................ 61 71 55

o. Decommissioning natural gas lines to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Extremely important ................................ .................. 21 14 25 Very important................................ ........................... 26 22 29 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 25 27 24 Not too important ................................ ...................... 13 18 10 Not important at all ................................ .................... 10 13 7 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 5 6 4

Important ................................ ................................ ... 47 36 54 Not important ................................ ............................ 48 58 41

p. Developing climate change resiliency including protecting against sea level rise, wildfires, and drought

Extremely important ................................ .................. 48 39 54 Very important................................ ........................... 30 31 30 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 16 22 12 Not too important ................................ ........................ 3 4 2 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 2 3 2 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 0 0 0

Important ................................ ................................ ... 78 70 84 Not important ................................ ............................ 21 30 16

City of Berkeley – October 2021 9

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

q. Replacing the community center and building a public pool in San Pablo Park

Extremely important ................................ .................. 12 7 15 Very important................................ ........................... 18 14 21 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 28 27 29 Not too important ................................ ...................... 22 28 17 Not important at all ................................ .................... 12 15 9 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 9 9 9

Important ................................ ................................ ... 30 22 36 Not important ................................ ............................ 62 70 55

r. Repairing Berkeley Pier, including recreational and ferry upgrades

Extremely important ................................ .................. 16 15 17 Very important................................ ........................... 26 23 30 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 31 31 31 Not too important ................................ ...................... 19 19 16 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 6 8 4 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 3 3 3

Important ................................ ................................ ... 42 39 46 Not important ................................ ............................ 56 58 51

s. Improving the Berkeley waterfront, including docks, pilings, streets, parking lots, pathways, and marina dredging

Extremely important ................................ .................. 15 9 19 Very important................................ ........................... 28 30 29 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 38 43 33 Not too important ................................ ...................... 15 14 14 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 2 2 2 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 2 2 3

Important ................................ ................................ ... 43 40 48 Not important ................................ ............................ 55 58 49

t. Increasing availability of solar energy, solar batteries, and electric vehicles and equipment

Extremely important ................................ .................. 28 23 31 Very important................................ ........................... 32 32 33 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 28 26 29 Not too important ................................ ........................ 8 13 4 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 4 5 3 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 0 1 0

Important ................................ ................................ ... 60 55 64 Not important ................................ ............................ 40 44 36

City of Berkeley – October 2021 10

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

u. SSA: Upgrading storm drains, green infrastructure, and our watersheds to keep pollution from the Bay

Extremely important ................................ .................. 31 20 40 Very important................................ ........................... 47 53 43 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 16 21 11 Not too important ................................ ........................ 4 3 5 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 1 0 1 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 1 3 0

Important ................................ ................................ ... 79 73 83 Not important ................................ ............................ 20 25 17

v. SSB: Upgrading storm drains to reduce flooding and protect against sea level rise

Extremely important ................................ .................. 25 13 33 Very important................................ ........................... 37 32 40 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 22 30 17 Not too important ................................ ...................... 10 17 5 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 2 4 1 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 4 4 4

Important ................................ ................................ ... 62 45 73 Not important ................................ ............................ 34 51 23

w. Making improvements to recreational facilities

Extremely important ................................ .................. 13 8 17 Very important................................ ........................... 28 27 29 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 39 45 35 Not too important ................................ ...................... 13 11 14 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 3 5 2 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 3 4 3

Important ................................ ................................ ... 41 35 46 Not important ................................ ............................ 56 61 51

City of Berkeley – October 2021 11

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

x. Providing more publicly available electric vehicle charging

Extremely important ................................ .................. 16 13 19 Very important................................ ........................... 25 25 25 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 32 29 35 Not too important ................................ ...................... 19 22 14 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 7 9 6 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 1 1 1

Important ................................ ................................ ... 41 39 44 Not important ................................ ............................ 58 60 55

y. Providing free transit passes for low-income residents

Extremely important ................................ .................. 34 25 37 Very important................................ ........................... 33 35 33 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 24 26 23 Not too important ................................ ........................ 5 6 3 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 5 7 3 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 0 1 0

Important ................................ ................................ ... 67 60 70 Not important ................................ ............................ 33 39 30

z. SSA: Upgrading City buildings

Extremely important ................................ .................... 4 6 3 Very important................................ ........................... 18 11 25 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 40 41 39 Not too important ................................ ...................... 23 24 21 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 5 6 5 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 9 12 7

Important ................................ ................................ ... 23 17 28 Not important ................................ ............................ 68 71 65

aa. SSB: Upgrading City buildings to be energy efficient, seismically safe, and COVID-safe

Extremely important ................................ .................. 23 14 30 Very important................................ ........................... 35 34 34 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 30 39 24 Not too important ................................ ........................ 8 10 6 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 4 3 4 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 1 0 2

Important ................................ ................................ ... 58 48 64 Not important ................................ ............................ 41 52 35

City of Berkeley – October 2021 12

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

bb. Upgrading playgrounds

Extremely important ................................ .................. 11 7 14 Very important................................ ........................... 29 27 33 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 36 38 35 Not too important ................................ ...................... 17 21 12 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 4 5 4 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 2 3 2

Important ................................ ................................ ... 40 34 47 Not important ................................ ............................ 57 63 51

cc. Making public buildings, streets, and sidewalks more accessible to people with disabilities

Extremely important ................................ .................. 25 18 27 Very important................................ ........................... 36 38 36 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 28 28 29 Not too important ................................ ........................ 8 11 5 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 3 5 2 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 1 1 1

Important ................................ ................................ ... 60 55 63 Not important ................................ ............................ 39 43 37

dd. Upgrading senior centers

Extremely important ................................ .................. 11 6 14 Very important................................ ........................... 30 28 33 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 37 37 36 Not too important ................................ ...................... 14 14 13 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 3 5 1 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 6 9 3

Important ................................ ................................ ... 40 34 47 Not important ................................ ............................ 54 57 50

ee. Upgrading traffic signals, pavement markings, and street signs

Extremely important ................................ .................. 18 19 17 Very important................................ ........................... 30 29 32 Somewhat important ................................ ................. 33 31 34 Not too important ................................ ...................... 15 17 13 Not important at all ................................ ...................... 4 4 4 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 1 1 0

Important ................................ ................................ ... 47 48 49 Not important ................................ ............................ 52 51 51

City of Berkeley – October 2021 13

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

Now, I’m going to read several versions of a ballot measure that may appear on the ballot in Berkeley next year. I am going to ask about different ways of funding the measure and different dollar amounts for each.

[RANDOMIZE Q8/9, 10/11, 12]

The [first/next] version of the ballot measure I’m going to ask you about is a bond measure.

Q8. SSC [BOND MEASURE 27 CENTS] To:
• improve aging infrastructure and facilities, including streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, parks, restrooms, senior and recreation centers, and
• provide affordable housing to prevent displacement of vulnerable populations, including low to middle-income households, veterans, artists, seniors, and people with disabilities and provide supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness;

Shall the City of Berkeley enact a measure issuing bonds of 250 million dollars, at rates of 27 cents per 100 dollars of assessed property value, on average, generating approximately 25 million dollars annually while bonds are outstanding and requiring independent oversight?

If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no on this measure, or are you undecided?

[IF YES/NO]: And is that Yes/No strongly or not so strongly? [IF UNDECIDED]: Well, to which side do you lean?

Yes - strongly ................................ ............................ 28 26 29 Yes - not so strongly ................................ ................. 13 10 16 Lean yes ................................ ................................ ... 14 11 15

Yes ................................ ................................ ........... 55 48 60 Undecided/DK ................................ ........................... 16 19 14 No ................................ ................................ ............ 29 33 26

Lean no ................................ ................................ ....... 9 10 9 No - not so strongly ................................ ..................... 4 4 3 No - strongly ................................ ............................. 16 19 14

(Refused) ................................ ................................ ... 0 0 0

City of Berkeley – October 2021 14

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

The [first/next] version of the ballot measure I’m going to ask you about is a bond measure.

Q9. SSD [BOND MEASURE 54 CENTS] To:
• improve aging infrastructure and facilities, including streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, parks, restrooms, senior and recreation centers, and
• provide affordable housin g to prevent displacement of vulnerable populations, including low to middle-income households, veterans, artists, seniors, and people with disabilities and provide supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness;

Shall the City of Berkeley enact a measure issuing bonds of 500 million dollars, at rates of 54 cents per 100 dollars of assessed property value, on average, generating approximately 50 million dollars annually while bonds are outstanding and requiring independent oversight?

If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no on this measure, or are you undecided?

[IF YES/NO]: And is that Yes/No strongly or not so strongly? [IF UNDECIDED]: Well, to which side do you lean?

Yes - strongly ................................ ............................ 35 35 36 Yes - not so strongly ................................ ................. 11 16 8 Lean yes ................................ ................................ ... 12 6 16

Yes ................................ ................................ ........... 58 57 59 Undecided/DK ................................ ........................... 12 7 18 No ................................ ................................ ............ 29 37 23

Lean no ................................ ................................ ..... 10 9 11 No - not so strongly ................................ ..................... 8 7 7 No - strongly ................................ ............................. 12 20 5

(Refused) ................................ ................................ ... 0 0 0

Q8/9. Combined Bond Measure

Yes - strongly ................................ ............................ 32 31 32 Yes - not so strongly ................................ ................. 12 13 12 Lean yes ................................ ................................ ... 13 8 15

Yes ................................ ................................ ........... 57 52 59 Undecided/DK ................................ ........................... 14 13 16 No ................................ ................................ ............ 29 35 25

Lean no ................................ ................................ ..... 10 10 10 No - not so strongly ................................ ..................... 6 6 5 No - strongly ................................ ............................. 14 20 10

(Refused) ................................ ................................ ... 0 0 0

City of Berkeley – October 2021 15

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

The [first/next] version of the ballot measure I’m going to ask you about is a parcel tax.

Q10. SSE [PARCEL TAX 15 CENTS ] To:
• improve aging infrastructure and facilities, including streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, parks, restrooms, senior and recreation centers, and
• provide affordable housing to prevent displacement of vulnerable populations, including low to middle-income households, veterans, artists, seniors, and people with disabilities and provide supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness;

Shall the City of Berkeley enact a measure levying 15 cents per building square foot, generating approximately 13 million dollars annually until ended by voters, with low-income exemptions, independent oversight and all funds staying local?

If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no on this measure, or are you undecided?

[IF YES/NO]: And is that Yes/No strongly or not so strongly? [IF UNDECIDED]: Well, to which side do you lean?

Yes - strongly ................................ ............................ 37 35 37 Yes - not so strongly ................................ ................. 14 20 8 Lean yes ................................ ................................ ..... 9 4 14

Yes ................................ ................................ ........... 60 60 58 Undecided/DK ................................ ........................... 13 8 17 No ................................ ................................ ............ 27 32 25

Lean no ................................ ................................ ....... 8 5 11 No - not so strongly ................................ ..................... 4 5 3 No - strongly ................................ ............................. 15 22 11

(Refused) ................................ ................................ ... 0 0 0

City of Berkeley – October 2021 16

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

The [first/next] version of the ballot measure I’m going to ask you about is a parcel tax.

Q11. SSF [PARCEL TAX 30 CENTS] To:
• improve aging infrastructure and facilities, including streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, parks, restrooms, senior and recreation centers; and
• provide affordable housing to prevent displacement of vulnerable populations, including low to middle-income households, veterans, artists, seniors, and people with disabilities and provide supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness;

Shall the City of Berkeley enact a measure levying 30 cents per building square foot, generating approximately 26 million dollars annually until ended by voters, with low-income exemptions, independent oversight and all funds staying local?

If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no on this measure, or are you undecided?

[IF YES/NO]: And is that Yes/No strongly strongly or not so strongly? [IF UNDECIDED]: Well, to which side do you lean?

Yes - strongly ................................ ............................ 35 34 37 Yes - not so strongly ................................ ................. 14 12 13 Lean yes ................................ ................................ ... 11 7 15

Yes ................................ ................................ ........... 61 53 65 Undecided/DK ................................ ........................... 12 13 12 No ................................ ................................ ............ 27 33 22

Lean no ................................ ................................ ....... 6 7 6 No - not so strongly ................................ ..................... 3 3 3 No - strongly ................................ ............................. 18 24 13

(Refused) ................................ ................................ ... 0 0 0

Q10/11. Combined Parcel Tax

Yes - strongly ................................ ............................ 36 35 37 Yes - not so strongly ................................ ................. 14 16 11 Lean yes ................................ ................................ ... 10 6 14

Yes ................................ ................................ ........... 60 57 62 Undecided/DK ................................ ........................... 13 11 15 No ................................ ................................ ............ 27 33 23

Lean no ................................ ................................ ....... 7 6 8 No - not so strongly ................................ ..................... 3 4 3 No - strongly ................................ ............................. 17 23 12

(Refused) ................................ ................................ ... 0 0 0

City of Berkeley – October 2021 17

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

The [first/next] version of the ballot measure I’m going to ask you about is a sales tax.

Q12. [SALES TAX HALF CENT] To:
• Improve aging infrastructure/ facilities, including streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, parks, restrooms, senior/recreation centers; and
• Provide affordable housing to prevent displacement of vulnerable populations, including low to middle-income households, veterans, artists, seniors, people with disabilities and provide supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness;

Shall the City of Berkeley enact a measure increasing the local sales tax by one half cent, generating approximately 9 million dollars annually from residents and visitors until ended by voters, with exemptions for essential purchases like groceries/prescription medicine and requiring independent oversight?

If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no on this measure, or are you undecided?

[IF YES/NO]: And is that Yes/No strongly or not so strongly? [IF UNDECIDED]: Well, to which side do you lean?

Yes - strongly ................................ ............................ 34 34 35 Yes - not so strongly ................................ ................. 17 20 16 Lean yes ................................ ................................ ..... 8 7 8

Yes ................................ ................................ ........... 59 60 59 Undecided/DK ................................ ............................. 9 6 12 No ................................ ................................ ............ 32 34 29

Lean no ................................ ................................ ....... 8 7 9 No - not so strongly ................................ ..................... 6 8 4 No - strongly ................................ ............................. 18 20 16

(Refused) ................................ ................................ ... 0 0 0

City of Berkeley – October 2021 18

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

Q13. In this survey I asked about three different ways to fund this measure: [RANDOMIZE]

_a sales tax increase
_a bond measure
and
_a parcel tax.

Note that the measures generate different amounts of revenue to invest in the city’s infrastructure and housing needs. [RANDOMIZE STATEMENTS]

The sales tax would generate 9 million dollars annually for these investments.

The bond measure would generate [SSC: 25 million dollars / SSD: 50 million dollars] annually for these investments.

The parcel tax would generate [SSE: 13 million dollars / SSF: 26 million dollars] annually for these investments.

Which of these, if any, do you think is the most appropri ate way to increase city funding for the infrastructure and affordable housing needs outlined in the ballot measure? You may choose as many as you like. [ACCEPT MULTIPLE RESPONSES]

Bond measure................................ ........................... 46 41 49 Parcel tax ................................ ................................ .. 32 34 29 Sales tax increase ................................ ..................... 28 29 25 (None) ................................ ................................ ....... 10 13 8 (Don't know) ................................ .............................. 14 9 18 (Refused) ................................ ................................ .... 0 0 0

Q14. The measures I’ve read to you include different funding priorities for the City of Berkeley. If you had to choose, which one or two of these are the highest priorities for you personally? [RANDOMIZE] [ACCEPT UP TO TWO]

Providing affordable housing for low-income people . 53 49 55 Providing supportive housing for people
experiencing homelessness ................................ ...... 50 45 52 Improving streets ................................ ...................... 28 32 26 Improving traffic safety and expanding services for
pedestrians and bicyclists ................................ ......... 22 25 20 Improving parks and related facilities ........................ 11 12 10 Improving senior and recreation centers ..................... 5 2 8 (None) ................................ ................................ ......... 3 4 3 (Don't know) ................................ ................................ 2 1 3 (Refused) ................................ ................................ .... 0 0 0

City of Berkeley – October 2021 19

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

Q15. Now thinking just about providing affordable housing in Berkeley, which of the following would be the highest priority for you personally? [RANDOMIZE]

Acquiring and building affordable housing units ........ 33 32 33 Providing supportive housing for people
experiencing homelessness ................................ ...... 29 29 29 Providing housing vouchers so low -income
residents have better opportunities for affordable
housing ................................ ................................ ..... 15 15 16 Preserving existing affordable housing units ............. 10 10 10 (None) ................................ ................................ ......... 7 9 6 (Don't know) ................................ ................................ 6 5 6 (Refused) ................................ ................................ .... 0 0 0

Q16. How important is it to you personally that a proposed infrastructure measure include an aspect of equity, whatever that means for you? Would you say it is very important, somewhat important, not to important, or not at all important?

Very important ................................ ......................... 48 38 54 Somewhat important ................................ .............. 28 32 27 Not too important ................................ ........................ 6 7 5 Not at all important ................................ ...................... 7 13 3 (Don't know) ................................ ............................. 10 9 11 (Refused) ................................ ................................ ... 1 1 1

Important ................................ ................................ ... 76 69 80 Not important ................................ ............................ 13 20 8

Q17. SSA: Now I am going to read some ways that people have defined equity in Berkeley. Please tell me which definition is most in line with what equity means to you. [RANDOMIZE]

Distributing more infrastructure benefits to lower -
income neighborhoods and communit ies of color
that have been historically underfunded. ................... 55 51 56 Distributing more infrastructure benefits to the most
vulnerable, like children, people with disabilities, and older Berkeleyans. ................................ .................... 18 21 17 Distributing infrastructure benefits equally between
Berkeley's eight City Council districts .......................... 9 13 6 Distributing infrastructure benefits to areas of
Berkeley where there are fewer parks, open spaces,
and trees. ................................ ................................ .... 9 8 9 (Don't know) ................................ ................................ 9 7 10 (Refused) ................................ ................................ .... 1 0 1

City of Berkeley – October 2021 20

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

Q18. SSB: Now I am going to read some ways that people have defined equity in Berkeley. Please tell me which definition is most in line with what equity means to you. [RANDOMIZE]

Distributing infrastructure benefits first to lower -
income neighborhoods and communi ties of color
that have historically been underfunded .................... 52 50 51 Distributing infrastructure benefits first to the most
vulnerable, like children, people with disabilities, and older Berkeleyans ................................ ..................... 15 18 14 Distributing infrastructure benefits equally between
Berkeley's eight City Council districts ........................ 13 15 12 Distributing infrastructure benefits to areas of
Berkeley where there are fewer parks, open spaces,
and trees. ................................ ................................ .... 8 6 9 (Don't know) ................................ .............................. 10 7 14 (Refused) ................................ ................................ .... 2 3 0

Q17/18. Combined Equity Definition

Distributing infrastructure benefits (first) to lower - income neighborhoods and communities of color
that have historically been underfunded .................... 54 50 54 Distributing infrastructure benefits first to the most
vulnerable, like children, people with disabilities, and older Berkeleyans ................................ ..................... 17 19 15 Distributing infrastructure benefits equally between
Berkeley's eight City Council districts ........................ 11 14 9 Distributing infrastructure benefits to areas of
Berkeley where there are fewer parks, open spaces,
and trees. ................................ ................................ .... 8 7 9 (Don't know) ................................ .............................. 10 7 12 (Refused) ................................ ................................ .... 1 2 1

Q19. People in Berkeley have differing opinions about the amount of taxes we pay to fund city services.

Some say the amount of taxes we currently pay is appropriate for the services the city provides, while some [ROTATE]

_think taxes are too high
and others
_would be willing to pay more in taxes in order to fund more services.

What about you?

Taxes are too high ................................ .................... 33 31 34 Would be willing to pay more in taxes ....................... 33 35 31 Current amount is appropriate ................................ ... 25 25 25 (Don't know) ................................ ................................ 9 8 10 (Refused) ................................ ................................ .... 1 1 1

City of Berkeley – October 2021 21

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

Finally, I would like to ask you a few questions for statistical purposes only.

Q20. In terms of local politics, do you consider yourself progressive, liberal, moderate, or conservative?

Progressive ................................ ............................... 43 40 43 Liberal ................................ ................................ ....... 29 26 34 Moderate ................................ ................................ ... 19 24 16 Conservative ................................ ............................... 3 4 3 (Don't know) ................................ ............................... 3 4 2 (Refused) ................................ ................................ ... 2 2 2

Q21. What is the last year of schooling that you have completed?

1 - 11th Grade ................................ ............................. 0 0 0 High School Graduate ................................ ................. 2 3 3 Vocational or technical school ................................ ..... 2 2 2 Some college but no degree ................................ ..... 13 14 10 Associate degree ................................ ........................ 7 4 9 4-year college graduate or bachelor's degree ........... 34 37 31 Graduate School or advanced degree ....................... 40 36 44 (Refused) ................................ ................................ ... 3 4 2

Non-college ................................ ............................... 24 23 23 College grad ................................ ............................. 74 74 75

Q22. Do you have any children 18 years of age or younger living at home with you?

Yes ................................ ................................ ........... 21 22 22 No ................................ ................................ ............ 76 75 76 (Don't know/refused) ................................ ................... 3 3 3

Q23. [IF Q22=YES] Are any of your children currently enrolled in Berkeley public schools?

N= 106 49 57

Yes ................................ ................................ ........... 67 63 70 No ................................ ................................ ............ 32 37 28 (Don't know/refused) ................................ .................. 1 0 2

Q24. Do you own your own home or do you rent?

Own ................................ ................................ .......... 50 51 53 Rent ................................ ................................ .......... 45 43 44 (Other) ................................ ................................ ....... 2 3 1 (Don't know/refused) ................................ .................. 2 3 2

City of Berkeley – October 2021 22

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

Q25. How long have you lived in Berkeley? [DO NOT READ, RECORD WITHIN RANGE]

Less than two years ................................ .................... 6 7 3 Two to less than five years ................................ ........ 13 13 12 Five to less than ten years ................................ ........ 18 20 15 Ten to less than twenty years ................................ .... 19 18 20 Twenty years or more ................................ ............... 33 29 38 All your life ................................ ................................ .. 8 8 9 (Don't know/refused) ................................ .................. 4 5 3

Q26. [T] Just to make sure we have a representative sample, could you please tell me whether you are from a Latino, Hispanic, or Spanish-speaking background? Q27. [ASK ALL] [T] And please tell me which one, or more than one, of these racial or ethnic groups you identify with.
[RANDOMIZE/READ CHOICES]
[ACCEPT MULTIPLE RESPONSES]
[IF “OTHER” OR “BIRACIAL” OR “MULTI-RACIAL”:] Well which two or three of these do you identify with the most?

White or Caucasian ................................ ................... 58 60 60 Black or African American ................................ ......... 10 9 11 Latino/Latina or Hispanic ................................ ............. 9 9 9 Asian American or Pacific Islander ............................ 12 9 13 Native or Indigenous American ................................ ... 4 2 5 Middle Eastern ................................ ............................ 2 1 1 (Other) ................................ ................................ ....... 3 4 2 (Don’t know/Refused) ................................ ................. 7 9 5

City of Berkeley – October 2021 23

TOTAL MEN WOMEN
N= 500 221 262

Age
18 - 24 ................................ ................................ ...... 11 14 6 25 - 29 ................................ ................................ ........ 9 9 8 30 - 34 ................................ ................................ ........ 8 9 6 35 - 39 ................................ ................................ ........ 9 9 10 40 - 44 ................................ ................................ ........ 6 6 7 45 - 49 ................................ ................................ ........ 9 9 9 50 - 54 ................................ ................................ ........ 8 6 9 55 - 59 ................................ ................................ ........ 5 8 4 60 - 64 ................................ ................................ ........ 8 6 11 65 - 69 ................................ ................................ ........ 6 5 8 70 - 74 ................................ ................................ ........ 8 7 10 75 & older ................................ ................................ . 12 12 14 (don’t know) ................................ ............................... 0 0 0

Under 30 ................................ ................................ ... 20 23 14 30 - 39 ................................ ................................ ...... 17 19 16 40 - 49 ................................ ................................ ...... 15 15 16 50 - 64 ................................ ................................ ...... 21 20 24 65 & older ................................ ................................ . 27 24 31

City Council District
CCD 1 ................................ ................................ ....... 13 15 12 CCD 2 ................................ ................................ ....... 16 11 19 CCD 3 ................................ ................................ ....... 15 13 16 CCD 4 ................................ ................................ ......... 8 9 7 CCD 5 ................................ ................................ ....... 17 15 19 CCD 6 ................................ ................................ ....... 13 17 11 CCD 7 ................................ ................................ ......... 5 5 4 CCD 8 ................................ ................................ ....... 12 14 11

Infrastructure Need as Compiled Prior to FY 2022 Budget Adoption FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026 Total
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 1- 5
Parks, Park Buildings, Pools, Waterfront, and Camps
Available Funding(1) $1,400,000 $1,400,000 $1,400,000 $1,400,000 $1,400,000 $7,000,000 Expenditures $1,400,000 $1,400,000 $1,400,000 $1,400,000 $1,400,000 $7,000,000 Capital & Maint. Need (2) $217,039,000
Unfunded Liability ($219,951,780) ($222,922,816) ($225,953,272) ($229,044,337) ($232,197,224) ($232,197,224) Public Buildings
Available Funding $800,000 $800,000 $800,000 $800,000 $800,000 $4,000,000 Expenditures $800,000 $800,000 $800,000 $800,000 $800,000 $4,000,000 Capital & Maint. Need $282,300,000
Unfunded Liability ($287,130,000) ($292,056,600) ($297,081,732) ($302,207,367) ($307,435,514) ($307,435,514) Sidewalks
Available Funding $700,000 $700,000 $700,000 $700,000 $700,000 $3,500,000 Expenditures $700,000 $700,000 $700,000 $700,000 $700,000 $3,500,000 Capital & Maint. Need $11,120,000
Unfunded Liability ($10,628,400) ($10,126,968) ($9,615,507) ($9,093,818) ($8,561,694) ($8,561,694) Streets & Roads
Available Funding $6,820,000 $6,820,000 $6,820,000 $6,820,000 $6,820,000 $34,100,000 Expenditures $6,820,000 $6,820,000 $6,820,000 $6,820,000 $6,820,000 $34,100,000 Capital & Maint. Need $250,000,000
Unfunded Liability ($248,043,600) ($246,048,072) ($244,012,633) ($241,936,486) ($239,818,816) ($239,818,816) Sewers
Available Funding $21,974,583 $16,456,882 $20,188,912 $24,206,893 $24,700,000 $107,527,270 Expenditures $21,974,583 $16,456,882 $20,188,912 $24,206,893 $24,700,000 $107,527,270 Capital & Maint. Need $193,800,000
Unfunded Liability ($175,261,925) ($161,981,144) ($144,628,077) ($122,829,608) ($100,092,200) ($100,092,200) Storm Water
Available Funding $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $6,500,000 Expenditures $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $6,500,000 Capital & Maint. Need $245,820,000
Unfunded Liability ($249,410,400) ($253,072,608) ($256,808,060) ($260,618,221) ($264,504,586) ($264,504,586) Traffic Signals & Parking Infrastructure
Available Funding $400,000 $400,000 $400,000 $400,000 $400,000 $2,000,000 Expenditures $400,000 $400,000 $400,000 $400,000 $400,000 $2,000,000 Capital & Maint. Need $14,838,800
Unfunded Liability ($14,727,576) ($14,614,128) ($14,498,410) ($14,380,378) ($14,259,986) ($14,259,986) TOTAL
Available Funding $33,394,583 $27,876,882 $31,608,912 $35,626,893 $36,120,000 $164,627,270 Expenditures $33,394,583 $27,876,882 $31,608,912 $35,626,893 $36,120,000 $164,627,270 T1 Funding: $100M Infrastructure Bond(3) $10,650,000 $10,650,000 $10,650,000 $10,650,000 $10,650,000 $53,250,000 Capital & Maint. Need $1,214,917,800
Unfunded Liability ($1,194,290,681) ($1,179,649,613) ($1,160,983,693) ($1,137,926,474) ($1,113,915,004) ($1,113,915,004) (3) The remaining $53.25M of the bond allocated to project budgets is estimated to be equally distributed over 5 years, ($10.65 million/year). (1) Unless otherwise noted, available funding includes recurring sources of capital and major maintenance funding. (2) Capital & Maint. Needs are current estimates of unfunded needs. Needs are estimated to increase at a rate of 2% per year.

Methodology for Infrastructure Need By Asset Category
Streets and Roads
This represents the one-time cost to raise the City's pavement condition to excellent, as shown by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Street Saver Program. The Street Saver Program includes the City's entire street inventory and each street segment's condition, both of which are audited for accuracy biannually and reported through the City's Pavement Management Plan. Curb ramps are included in this estimate, but improvements from a variety of other plans/policies are not included: Bicycle, Complete Streets, Green Infrastructure, Pedestrian, Watershed Management, Strategic Transportation (BeST), and Vision Zero.

Sewers
This represents the one-time cost to rehabilitate 61 miles of the City's sewer pipes, which would complete the City's goal of rehabilitating all of the City's sewer pipes per the City's adopted plans. The amount declines over time as a result of the ongoing sewer program and its annually charged sewer fee. The sewer fee is adjusted after a Proposition 218 compliant process every five years, and if more revenue is needed for this asset category, the fee will adjust accordingly.

Public Buildings
Parks, Park Buildings, Pools, Waterfront, and Camps
Sidewalks
These costs include all infrastructure associated with the City’s 52 parks such as irrigation, paths, recreation centers, restrooms, sports fields, and play structures; the waterfront including streets, buildings, paths, docks, parking lots and the pier; resident camps including structures, pools, bridges, pathways and water systems; and pools including locker room buildings, decking, mechanical systems and pool shells.

This includes 50 Public Works-maintained buildings, including Public Safety Building, Fire Stations, 1947 Center, HHCS buildings, Animal Shelter, Corp Yard, and off-street parking garages. These are not included: Transfer Station, Old City Hall, Veterans Building, Libraries, all PRW buildings, and EV charging stations. Estimates are derived both from staff and from completed facility condition assessments.

This includes the City's backlog of resident-requested sidewalk repairs at approximately 3600 properties. The ADA Transition Plan is underway and includes a proactive condition assessment of sidewalks. This assessment will likely result in approximately $50M in additional unfunded need not included in this calculation.

Storm Water
This represents the $204M of need as extrapolated from the cost estimates for the Potter/Codornices Creek watersheds identified in the Watershed Management Plan (2012). Staff projected an additional need of $37M for unfunded capital and maintenance needs in the City's inlets, pipes, cross drains, etc. Staff are initiating the process to adopt a comprehensive stormwater plan to update these needs.

Traffic Signals and Parking Infrastructure
Replacements of 2100 parking meters and 240 pay stations at or nearing the end of their useful life, and upgrades to existing traffic signals, including detection at 67 locations, ADA accessibility/pedestrian push buttons at 103 locations, and battery back-ups at 124 locations. New traffic signals, pedestrian hybrid beacons, and rectangular rapid flashing beacons are not included.

2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 ● Tel: (510) 981- ● TDD: (510) 981-6903 ● Fax: (510) 981- E-Mail:

CONSENT CALENDAR
March 14, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Councilmember Taplin (Author), Councilmember Rigel Robinson (Co- Sponsor)
Subject: Resolution Supporting Unionization Efforts by Urban Ore workers

RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a Resolution in support of workers at Urban Ore unionizing under representation by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) Union 670.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
None.

BACKGROUND
In 2023, workers at the Urban Ore retail store in Berkeley filed for a labor union representation election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), asking to be represented by IWW Union 670.1 To date, Urban Ore management has not yet recognized the unionization effort. The NLRB recommends that workers obtain recognition from their employers to maintain the democratic spirit of union elections.

In the recovery following the COVID-19 recession, tight labor markets have led to a resurgence in labor organizing and union activity. The NLRB has reported that union representation petitions increased by 57% in the first half of Fiscal Year 2022. Workers at major corporations like Amazon and Starbucks have recently seen major victories in obtaining union representation. While the overall amount of unionized workers declined amid pandemic-related job losses in 2020 and 2021, the share of unionized workers in the workforce increased, in part because unionized jobs were more resilient.2 Union representation has helped improve working conditions and provide more stable benefits3 while closing wage gaps for women and racial minorities in the workforce.4 1 Kwok, I. (2023, Feb. 2). Workers at Urban Ore, Berkeley’s last salvage store, announce union drive.

Berkeleyside. Retrieved from https://www.berkeleyside.org/2023/02/02/workers-at-urban-ore-berkeleys- last-salvage-store-announce-union-drive
2 Shierholz, H., et al. (2022). Latest data release on unionization is a wake-up call to lawmakers.

Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://www.epi.org/publication/latest-data-release-on- unionization-is-a-wake-up-call-to-lawmakers/
3 Zoorob, M. (2018). Does ‘Right to Work’ Imperil the Right to Health? The Effect of Labour Unions on Workplace Fatalities. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 75(10), 736–738, https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2017-104747.
4 Farber, H.S., et al. (2021). Unions and Inequality Over the Twentieth Century: New Evidence from Survey Data. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 136(3), 1325–1385, https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjab012.

Urban Ore Union CONSENT CALENDAR
March 14, 2023

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE IMPACTS
None.

CONTACT PERSON
Councilmember Taplin Council District 2 510-981-7120
Attachments:
1: Resolution

RESOLUTION NO. ##,###-N.S.

RESOLUTION SUPPORTING UNIONIZATION OF URBAN ORE WORKERS WHEREAS, workers at Urban Ore in Berkeley filed a union representation petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in February, 2023; and WHEREAS, the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 enables workers to petition for union representation by obtaining signatures of at least 30% of the potential bargaining unit; and
WHEREAS, union representation has been consistently shown in empirical studies to improve working conditions; access to healthcare and sick pay; and wage parity for women, Black and Latinx workers, and other disadvantaged groups; and WHEREAS, workers in major corporations such as Amazon and Starbucks have recently won major victories in obtaining union representation; and WHEREAS, the NLRB reports that union representation petitions increased by 22% in the first half of Fiscal Year 2022, representing major potential for a stronger labor movement in the United States;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Berkeley that Urban Ore management is hereby urged to recognize the union representation petition by its employees seeking to unionize under the Industrial Workers of the World Union 670.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Berkeley supports the labor movement in the United States, and welcomes the significant wave of unionization efforts across the country.

CONSENT CALENDAR
DATE: March 14, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Councilmember Taplin (Author), Councilmember Robinson (Co-Sponsor) Subject: Support for SB-58: controlled substances

RECOMMENDATION
Send a letter of support for Sen. Wiener’s Senate Bill 58, which would decriminalize psilocybin, psilocyn, MDMA, DMT, ketamine, mescaline, and ibogaine; expunge criminal records for use and possession of these substances; and establish a commission to provide recommendations to the state legislature on therapeutic uses.

BACKGROUND
In 2021, State Senator Scott Wiener introduced Senate Bill 519 to decriminalize the possession and personal use of the following substances: psilocybin, psilocyn, 4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (“MDMA”), Lysergic acid diethylamide (“LSD”), ketamine, Dimethyltryptamine (“DMT”), mescaline (from non-peyote sources) and ibogaine, given these substances can have therapeutic and medicinal benefits. The Berkeley City Council sent a letter of support for SB 519 in 2021. The bill stalled in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, but it has been reintroduced for the current session as Senate Bill 58.

SB 519 would also have expunged any criminal records for people convicted of possession or personal use of these substances, as well as establishing a commission that will provide the Legislature with regulatory recommendations that California should adopt to legalize personal and therapeutic use of these specified substances.

Existing law lists psilocybin, psilocybin, mescaline, MDMA, LSD, DMT and ibogaine as Schedule I Drugs. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Schedule I Drugs have “no accepted medical use and high potential for abuse.” Ketamine is listed as a Schedule III drug and is Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved to treat depression. California law criminalizes the possession, sale, and transfer of Schedule I drugs.

In the 1950s, LSD was studied for its potential benefits in treating alcoholism.1 Research on the medicinal uses of psychedelics and other controlled substances largely halted after the 1970 signing of the Controlled Substances Act by President Nixon. In later interviews, former Nixon adviser John Ehrlichman explained that Nixon’s War on Drugs was explicitly designed for racist and political ends, rather than for public health and safety:
“The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies:
the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news.

Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”2 In recent years, emerging medical research has revived an interest in therapeutic uses of psychedelics and other controlled substances.3 Washington, D.C. voters passed Initiative 81 in 2020, which decriminalized personal use and possession of plant-based psychedelics.4 In the state of Oregon, voters approved two ballot measures decriminalizing non-commercial possession5 of all scheduled substances, and creating a state-licensed psilocybin-assisted therapy program.6 In the state of California, two municipalities (Oakland and Santa Cruz) have introduced decriminalization ordinances.

In recent years, the FDA has issued “Breakthrough Therapy” distinctions to MDMA- assisted therapy for PTSD and psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression, respectively, which expedites the process for approval as treatment for serious or life-threatening conditions.7
Mental health treatment and ending the War on Drugs are both racial equity issues.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Black adults are 1 Costandi, M. (2014). A brief history of psychedelic psychiatry. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/science/neurophilosophy/2014/sep/02/psychedelic-psychiatry 2 Baum, D. (2014). Legalize it all: How to win the war on drugs. Harper’s Magazine. Retrieved from https://harpers.org/archive/2016/04/legalize-it-all/
3 Carhart-Harris, R. L., & Goodwin, G. M. (2017). The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelic Drugs: Past, Present, and Future. Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 42(11), 2105–2113. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2017.84
4 https://decrimnaturedc.org/wp-
content/uploads/2020/02/Entheogenic_Plant_and_Fungus_Policy_Act_of_2020_published_2_18_2020.pdf 5 http://oregonvotes.org/irr/2020/044text.pdf
6 http://oregonvotes.org/irr/2020/034cbt.pdf
7 Serkis, S. (2020). Psychology Trends For 2021: Psilocybin, MDMA, and Covid-19 Aftereffects. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniesarkis/2020/12/09/psychology-trends-for-2021-psilocybin-mdma- and-covid-19-aftereffects/?sh=a7ab8a95ce03

more likely to report persistent symptoms of emotional distress, but are least likely to receive adequate care for mental health.8

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
None.

FISCAL IMPACTS
None.

CONTACT
Councilmember Terry Taplin, District 2, 510-981-7120

ATTACHMENTS/SUPPORTING MATERIALS

1. Letter of Support
8 https://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=24

The Honorable Sen. Scott Wiener
State Capitol, Room 5100
1021 O St., Suite 8620
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Support for SB 58: controlled substances

Dear Senator Wiener:

The City Council of the City of Berkeley hereby registers its support of Senate Bill 58, to decriminalize the possession and personal use of the following substances: psilocybin, psilocyn, MDMA, LSD, ketamine, DMT, mescaline (from non-peyote sources) and ibogaine, as an incremental step to dismantle the white supremacist War on Drugs policies that have harmed Black and brown communities for decades. This legislation will also expunge any criminal records for people convicted of possession and personal use of these substances, and establish a working group to provide recommendations to the Legislature on therapeutic use.

In the 1960s, researchers were conducting promising studies on the effectiveness of psychedelic substances to treat ailments such as depression and PTSD, until the War on Drugs halted this work. Today, we know this racist policy framework does not improve public safety, deter personal use, or help people who may be experiencing substance use disorder. Modern research on psychedelics shows promising signs for mental health treatment.

California must stop criminalizing substances that have potentially major medical potential.

Thank you for your leadership with this important legislation.

Respectfully,
City Council
City of Berkeley
2180 Milvia St
Berkeley, CA 94704
cc: Senator Nancy Skinner
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks

CONSENT CALENDAR
March 14, 2023
To: Members of the City Council
From: Councilmember Rigel Robinson (Author), Mayor Jesse Arreguin (Co- Sponsor), Councilmember Sophie Hahn (Co-Sponsor), Councilmember Kate Harrison (Co-Sponsor)
Subject: Letter in Support of SB 466

RECOMMENDATION
Send a letter to Senator Aisha Wahab (cc: Governor Gavin Newsom, Senator Nancy Skinner, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks) in support of SB 466, which would reform the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.

BACKGROUND
Currently, the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act restricts local rent stabilization ordinances to only apply to buildings built after February 1, 1995, or to buildings built after a given municipality implemented rent stabilization — whichever is earlier. Since Berkeley implemented rent stabilization in 1980, newer buildings are exempt from rent stabilization.

The justification for restricting rent stabilization to older buildings is that applying it to newer buildings would decrease potential rents and profits for developers, disincentivizing development. However, freezing eligibility for rent stabilization at one point in time is not useful or necessary to prevent disincentives to development.

It is not unprecedented in California to establish a rolling limit on when restrictions on rent increases may apply. AB 1482 (2019) prevents rent from being increased by more than 5% plus inflation or 10% — whichever is lower — on multifamily buildings older than 15 years and single-family homes owned by real estate corporations.1 AB 1482 has been an essential measure to prevent severe rent-gouging statewide, but it is important that municipalities such as Berkeley that are facing the most extreme rent levels statewide have the tools they need to prevent displacement. SB 466 would, like AB 1482, only apply to buildings older than 15 years — preventing any potential adverse impacts on incentives for new development.
1 Bill Text - AB-1482 Tenant Protection Act of 2019: tenancy: rent caps.

The City of Berkeley has consistently advocated for reform or repeal of Costa-Hawkins.

In 2009, Council adopted Resolution No. 64,687-N.S. calling on the State Legislature to amend Costa-Hawkins to not preempt inclusionary zoning requirements. In 2015, Council adopted Resolution No. 67,245-N.S. calling for the repeal of Costa-Hawkins. In 2017, Council adopted Resolution No. 67,894-N.S., in support of AB 1506 which would have repealed Costa-Hawkins. In 2018, Council placed Measure Q on the ballot, which was approved by Berkeley voters. One part of Measure Q amended the Rent Stabilization Ordinance to extend rent stabilization to newly constructed units 20 years after completion, in the event that Costa-Hawkins is repealed.

Rationale for Recommendation
Rent stabilization has been an essential tool for the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board to prevent displacement — especially in Berkeley’s most diverse and low-income communities. Costa-Hawkins restricts the ability of the City to protect its residents from extreme rent increases that force them to leave the City and their communities.

SB 466 does not implement a mandate on cities; rather, it gives cities like Berkeley that have a significant need for anti-displacement measures more tools to address their local impacts of the statewide housing crisis. Implementing rent stabilization allows cities to prevent rising average rent levels from rapidly displacing longtime residents; without rent stabilization in Berkeley, gentrification would have a more significant impact on many individuals and communities and impede the ability of Berkeleyans to grow and sustain a strong sense of community and belonging. SB 466 would expand the amount of units eligible for rent stabilization without adversely impacting development incentives, and would allow Berkeley to strengthen housing security and stability for both present and future renters in the City.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
None

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
None

CONTACT PERSON
Councilmember Rigel Robinson, (510) 981-7170
Sam Greenberg, Legislative Assistant, [email protected] Attachments:
1: Letter

March 14, 2023
Senator Aisha Wahab
1021 O Street, Suite 6530
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Senator Wahab,
The City of Berkeley writes to express its strong support for SB 466, and more broadly for reforming the outdated and harmful Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act. Costa-Hawkins severely limits the ability of municipalities to protect tenants from eviction through rent stabilization, and the original legislation did not foresee the monumental housing crisis now facing California and the displacement that results from it.

The City of Berkeley’s Rent Stabilization Board provides resources and education for tenants, in addition to administering the City’s Rent Stabilization and Eviction for Good Cause Ordinance. Berkeley and cities across the Bay Area and California are facing a historic housing affordability crisis, and the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act drastically restricts the ability of the Rent Board to address the housing crisis in Berkeley and protect existing tenants—including longtime residents— from extreme and hostile rent increases.

It is important that Berkeley and other cities have access to tools of greater scope to address the housing crisis. Allowing for abundant construction of housing—especially affordable housing—is critical but will not have an impact as immediately as is necessary. In addition to construction, it is essential that municipalities are able to use rent stabilization to protect their most vulnerable residents from displacement as housing costs rise rapidly.

Rent stabilization is an essential tool cities and counties should have access to in order to prevent displacement. By preventing displacement of longtime and vulnerable residents, rent stabilization allows cities like Berkeley to build a sense of community and neighborliness among residents. The City of Berkeley strongly supports SB 466, and strongly supports expanding the ability of municipalities to broaden access to rent stabilization to make our communities more resilient, stable, and vibrant.

Sincerely,
The Berkeley City Council
cc: Governor Gavin Newsom
Senator Nancy Skinner
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks

2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 ● Tel: (510) 981-7170 ● TDD: (510) 981-6903 E-Mail: [email protected]

CONSENT CALENDAR
March 14, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Councilmember Rigel Robinson (Author), Councilmember Sophie Hahn (Co-Sponsor)
Subject: Resolution and Letter in Support of H.R. 852, the Investing in Safer Traffic Stops Act of 2023

RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a Resolution in support of H.R. 852, the Investing in Safer Traffic Stops Act of 2023, and send a letter of support to Representative Ritchie Torres, Representative Barbara Lee, Senator Alex Padilla, and Senator Dianne Feinstein.

BACKGROUND
The Investing in Safer Traffic Stops Act of 2023 was introduced on February 6, 2023 by U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres. H.R. 852 would direct the U.S. Attorney General to create a grant program to provide funding to state, local, and tribal governments to hire civilian employees or purchase traffic monitoring technology for the purpose of enforcing traffic violations without the direct involvement of law enforcement officers. For fiscal years 2024 through 2029, $100,000,000 would be allocated to the program each year.

Traffic enforcement is one way that municipalities can address dangerous driving behavior such as speeding and red light violations. However, it is well-documented that traditional enforcement conducted by police officers results in disproportionate enforcement actions against people of color, particularly Black people. According to the Stanford Policing Project, police pull over more than 20 million motorists per year, making traffic stops the most common interaction Americans have with police.1 The City of Berkeley has committed to exploring civilian traffic enforcement through the BerkDOT process. The grant funding provided by H.R. 852 would support these ongoing planning efforts.

Black and brown people are disproportionately affected by traffic injuries and fatalities, whether while walking, biking, or driving.2 If thoughtfully implemented, traffic monitoring technologies have the potential to address disparities in traffic violence while also reducing racial bias in police interactions. While automated speed enforcement is currently illegal in California, the City of Berkeley has supported state legislation to change this.
1 https://openpolicing.stanford.edu/findings/
2 https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/racial-disparities-traffic-fatalities/

Support of the Investing in Safer Traffic Stops Act of 2023 CONSENT CALENDAR March 14, 2023

However, it is critical to carefully consider camera placement and other program aspects in order to avoid disparate impacts. Black and brown neighborhoods that have been historically under-invested in tend to have less pedestrian infrastructure, wider streets, and fewer traffic calming measures to slow drivers down. An analysis of Chicago’s speed camera program found that the cameras that issued the most tickets were placed on four-lane roads, primarily in majority Black census tracts. On the other hand, the speed cameras that issued the fewest tickets were on two-lane streets, primarily in majority non-Black census tracts.3 Cameras that were placed near freeways and in less dense neighborhoods also issued a higher share of tickets. Any traffic camera technology deployed through this grant program must avoid unnecessarily punitive fines and take steps to ensure that people of color are not overburdened by tickets.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
None.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
None.

CONTACT PERSON
Councilmember Rigel Robinson, (510) 981-7170
Angie Chen, Legislative Assistant
Attachments:
1: Letter of support
2: Resolution
3: Bill text: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/852/text?s=1&r=1 3 https://www.propublica.org/article/chicagos-race-neutral-traffic-cameras-ticket-black-and-latino-drivers- the-most

Support of the Investing in Safer Traffic Stops Act of 2023 CONSENT CALENDAR March 14, 2023

March 14, 2023
United States Representative Ritchie Torres
1414 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
RE: City of Berkeley, California’s Support for H.R. 852, the Investing in Safer Traffic Stops Act of 2023
Dear Representative Torres,
The Berkeley City Council would like to convey our strong support for the Investing in Safer Traffic Stops Act of 2023. The grant program created by this bill would provide critical funding to state, local, and tribal governments to explore alternatives to traditional traffic enforcement.

Time and time again, we have seen traffic stops turn deadly. Civilianization and automation of traffic enforcement have the potential to save lives by not only reducing dangerous driving, but also by reducing racially-biased police interactions that can escalate into violence. At the same time, automated enforcement can reproduce existing disparities caused by infrastructure under-investment in Black and brown neighborhoods. We urge you to take steps to ensure that the traffic monitoring technologies funded by this grant program do not overburden low-income people of color with punitive fines and fees.

We thank you for introducing this bill to support municipalities across America in our efforts to reimagine traffic enforcement.

Respectfully,
The Berkeley City Council
CC: Representative Barbara Lee
Senator Alex Padilla
Senator Dianne Feinstein

Support of the Investing in Safer Traffic Stops Act of 2023 CONSENT CALENDAR March 14, 2023

RESOLUTION NO. ##,###-N.S.

SUPPORT OF H.R. 852, THE INVESTING IN SAFER TRAFFIC
STOPS ACT OF 2023
WHEREAS, H.R. 852 would create a grant program to provide funding to state, local, and tribal governments to hire civilian employees or purchase traffic monitoring technology for the purpose of enforcing traffic violations without law enforcement officers; and
WHEREAS, for fiscal years 2024 through 2029, $100,000,000 would be allocated to the program each year; and
WHEREAS, traffic stops are the most common interaction Americans have with police, and too often open the door for racial bias and police brutality; and WHEREAS, the City of Berkeley has committed to exploring civilian traffic enforcement as a strategy to reduce unnecessary police interactions, focus traffic stops on street safety, and promote a racial justice lens in transportation; and WHEREAS, the City of Berkeley has also supported reforms that would enable cities in California to deploy automated speed enforcement technologies, which if done in an equitable manner, would reduce both dangerous driving behavior and racial bias in traffic enforcement; and
WHEREAS, the funding provided by this grant program could support ongoing traffic enforcement civilianization efforts in the City of Berkeley and similar planning processes in cities across the country.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Berkeley City Council hereby endorses H.R. 852, the Investing in Safer Traffic Stops Act of 2023.

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SUPPLEMENTAL

AGENDA MATERIAL
for Supplemental Packet 1

Meeting Date: February 28, 2022
Item Number: 19
Item Description: Reforms to Public Comment Procedures at meetings of the Berkeley City Council
Submitted by: Councilmember Robinson (Author), Councilmember Susan Wengraf (Co- sponsor)

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a Resolution revising the City Council Rules of Procedure and Order: Section IV. Conduct of the Meeting and Appendix C Temporary Rules for The Conduct of City Council Meetings Through Video Conference During The Covid-19 Emergency to:

1. Consolidate non-agenda public comment, public comment on the Consent Calendar, and public comment on Action Items, excluding public hearings, appeals, and/or other quasi-judicial matters, into a single public comment period toward at the start of the Council meetingAction Calendar, (consistent with the Berkeley Unified School District’s public comment procedure), and continue to provide for additional time for public comment at the end of meetings and separate public comment periods toward the beginning of the Council meeting for the Consent Calendar and information items, and for non-agenda matters.;

2. Adopt reasonable limits on the overall number of public speakers (consistent with rulings from the Second District Court of Appeal) with a mechanism for the City Council to extend public comment; and

3.2. Rescind Resolution No. 70,091– N.S

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Rationale for Recommendation
Public comment plays a critical role in the policy-making process. However, the current system for scheduling public comment leaves significant room for improvement. Rresidents should be able to opine and advocate to the City Council without having to wait for many hours before the item is taken up, and even sometimes learning that the item will not be heard at all. In order to improve the predictability of the flow of Council meetings, members of the public should have some certainty that they will have the opportunity to advocate to their elected representatives at a reasonable hour in the evening. That can be achieved by holding public comment on Action Calendar items at a single time, immediately after the adoption of the Consent Calendar.

The original Former Councilmember Droste’s version of this item sought to consolidate all public comment into a single comment period, as well as creating protocols for council to limit the total number of speakers. This supplemental item does not recommend those proposals. This supplemental does not seek to limit the ability, in any way, of the public to give public comment.

The purpose of this supplemental item is to create a better a more equitable system for public comment, one where residents can show up to a council meeting and reasonably expect that they will be able to address the council by 9 PM. Those who wish to continue to listen to the council’s business until the council adjourns are welcome and encouraged to do so.

Additionally, by taking public comment on action items at the start of the Action Calendar, the presiding officer may be better equipped to identify which items the council will have time to address during a given meeting. This has benefits for the public, as well as for city staff, who have at times been in the position of being on hand all evening to present on an item that is not ultimately heard.

By scheduling comments on action calendar items at the start of the Action Calendar, we can prioritize the perspectives of the public and respect both staff’s and the public’s time.

Current Situation and Its Effects
City Council has occasionally tried to rebalance the City’s approach to public comment at Council meetings to create a more welcoming atmosphere, conduct the people’s business efficiently, and ensure elected officials have time to give items due consideration. Unfortunately, members of the public, applicants/appellants, and staff frequently have to wait for hours before an item is heard or unexpectedly moved to another meeting. This is due to the way public comment was established prior to the tenure of any of the current Councilmembers or the Mayor. This prevents many ordinary people, particularly those who have small children or work long hours, from having a reasonable opportunity to provide public comment and hear the Council deliberate. It also deprives the Council of the time needed for adequate consideration of items, especially major policy efforts, and frequently pushes important items to future meetings.

Background and Rationale
Pursuant to the Brown Act, Section 54954.3, members of the public shall be afforded the opportunity to speak on any agenda item of a substantive nature providing they are first recognized by the presiding officer. City Council greatly values input and comment from a broad cross-section of the public on legislative matters. The City of Berkeley and Councilmembers appreciate and admire the dedication of the many mainstays who voice their oprinionsopinions at public comment. Nevertheless, other community members often feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the prospect of enduring hours-long City Council meetings, not just to provide public comment but to even hear the Council’s discussions. Having to wait through hours of Formatted: Font: Not Bold

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public commenthours of discussion on many different action items (much of which is often duplicative) before one gets to participate at an unspecified, unpredictable time and/or hear the position of one’s elected representatives is neither fair, equitable, nor good for democracy.

Especially for those with young children or who work in the evenings, the unpredictable and onerous way that Action Calendar public comment currently operates is inequitable and prevents valuable community members from participating in the public process.

Public comment and Council procedures have undergone iterations before. Most recently, Mayor Arreguín offered an amendment to require three councilmembers to agree to pull an item from the Consent Calendar to the Action Calendar, instead of one councilmember or four public speakers. This change dramatically helped meetings run smoother and ensured that uncontroversial and broad-consensus consent calendar items were not subject to attempts at obstructionism or unduly long debates which extended meeting times.

Even with that positive change, the current approach to public comment ironically does not likely widen opportunities for civic engagement; but instead serves to preclude a more representative sample of participants—as political scientists from Boston University have found. Currently, many residents must wait for extended periods of time in order to provide public comment on specific legislationaction items on Action, since no specific times are available for when a piece of legislation will be heard. assigned. This means that people who may care deeply about a particular issue are discouraged from participating in favor or those who have a general interest in speaking and the time to sit through the entirety of a meeting. Although their commitment and interest are commendable, such individuals are not necessarily representative of the broader public.

The Brown Act actually provides leeway for the City to consider other approaches to public comment. Under the Brown Act, the City must allow the public to comment on any agenda item; and there are certain items that require ensuring public comment from all interested parties (e.g., quasi-judicial proceedings and public hearings where due process demands allowing comment from all participants). But for most items, the Brown Act permits agencies to limit the amount of time for public comment on any given item, provided that such limits are content- neutral. consolidate public comment. While this could entail moving all public comment into a single comment period, this supplementaitem merely combines public comment on Action Calendar items—excluding public hearings, appeals, and/or other quasi-judicial matters—into one comment period at the beginning of the Action Calendar.

The current approach to public comment on the Action Calendar is inequitable and discourages participation from many community members. Consolidating Action Calendar public comment into one comment period would make the time that public comment occurs on action items far more predictable and boost the ability of community members to participate in public comment.

Especially for working families and those with evening obligations, waiting potentially five hours to speak on an action item that will be taken up at an unspecified time—or may be continued to another meeting instead—is not feasible. While the time the Action Calendar is taken up would remain unspecified, the window in which it is likely to be would be far narrower and earlier in the meeting than the window during which individual items may currently be discussed or removed from the agenda.For example, for most Council items, the City Council would be permitted under the Brown Act to impose a 10-minute limit on public comment, comprising ten speakers with one minute each, with the speakers determined on a lottery or first-come, first-served basis.

Alternatively, the City Council could also adopt a content-neutral limitation on the number of

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speakers for a general public comment period at the start of each meeting which covers all agenda and non-agenda comments—as proposed in this item.

In its decision in the 2018 Ribakoff v. City of Long Beach, et al. decision, the Second District Court of Appeal ruled in part:

“On the other hand, having no limit on either the length of any particular presentation by a member of the public or on the number of public speakers (or on the total time for public comment) has the potential for endless discussion—given the potential that there will be a far greater number of members of the public who may wish to speak to an issue than there are staff and guests who make presentations concerning it. The number of staff and invited guests speaking on a topic will clearly be limited; the potential for public speakers is potentially extensive and needs some reasonable limitation.

We do not suggest that members of the public may not have expertise, or that their presentations would be of lesser value than those of the invited, expert staff and guest speakers, only that their number must be considered in weighing the time allotted to public participation. Indeed, this concern was a factor in shaping the text of Government Code section 54954.3 as it moved through the Legislature with amendments to the Brown Act adopted in 1986. On the one hand, the Legislature declared the importance of open governance and the public’s right to participate. On the other, it validated enactment of limits on public speakers so that the business of government could function. (Gov. Code, § 54954.3.)23[emphasis added]”

Members of the public would still have ample additional means of addressing their concerns to councilmembers, including in-person meetings and office hours, written correspondence, emails, telephone calls, and social media/online platforms. Although it is beyond the scope of this item, the City may also wish to explore expanding and enhancing Berkeley Considers to provide a new platform for community members to provide comments on upcoming Council items. Berkeley could potentially pioneer having a “one-stop shop” for members of the public to provide feedback on upcoming Council items and have that feedback delivered to Council in a formalized and easily visualized format.

Best Practices
Berkeley Unified School District
The Berkeley Unified School District has adopted a practice that is likely more conducive to allowing a broader participation of residents in the civic process. There are two opportunities for public comment, one at the beginning and one at the end of the meeting. By allowing public comment at the beginning of the meeting, individuals do not have to wait for hours for an item with an unknown start time. And In other cities, the presiding officer can limit individual presentations, the amount of time allotted for public input, and/or limit the number of speakers with similar positions.

This item supplemental item simply proposes to combine public comment on the Action Calendar into one comment period, leaving public comment on the Consent Calendar and other items unchanged. This would significantly increase the predictability of when public comment on many important action items will occur while still providing a separate opportunity to comment on other items.proposes to use the approach used by BUSD.

Fiscal Impacts
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De minimis costs for staff to revise local and public-facing digital copies of the City Council’s Rules of Procedure and time and materials costs for any printing of physical copies.

Long-term fiscal impacts are speculative, but reduced Council and staff time for the receipt and management of in-person and virtual public comment have a strong potential to reduce City costs. The cost reductions would be highly variable depending on the number and nature of staff present at any given City Council meeting.

Alternative Actions Considered
Alternative Actions include but are not limited to:
• Leaving existing public comment policies and procedures unchanged. • Adopting a limit on the number of combined public speakers, or on the number of public speakers for each item.
• Combining all public comment into a single public comment period toward the beginning of each meeting.

These options were rejected in favor of the more “tried and true” approach currently used by the Berkeley Unified School District, as well as other jurisdictions and agencies across California.an approach that solves the most fundamental issue with public comment procedure—the unpredictability of when individual action items will be taken up—while maximizing public participation by leaving other public comment periods unchanged.

Contact Person
Councilmember Lori Droste (legislative aide Eric Panzer)Rigel Robinson (510-981-7170) Sam Greenberg, Legislative Aide
([email protected])[email protected] Phone: 510-981-7180

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RESOLUTION NO ##,###-N.S.

RE-ADOPTING THE CITY COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE AND ORDER AND RESCINDING RESOLUTION NO. 70,091–N.S.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Berkeley that the revised sections of the City Council Rules of Procedure and Order attached hereto as Exhibit A shall replace wholesale the corresponding sections of the existing City Council Rules of Procedure and Order attached hereto as Exhibit B and incorporated by reference.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the revised City Council Rules of Procedure and Order (Exhibit B as amended by Exhibit A) shall govern all proceedings of the City Council therein described, subject to the exceptions and deviations provided for in such rules.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that violation of these rules shall not be construed as a penal offense, except as provided for by the adopted Rules of Procedure and Order.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council shall review its Rules of Procedure and Order in March of each odd-numbered year per April 26, 2016 City Council action.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Resolution No 70,091–N.S. is hereby rescinded.

Exhibits
Exhibit A: Sections of the City Council Rules of Procedure and Order to be revised Exhibit B: Existing City Council Rules of Procedure and Order

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Exhibit A: Sections of the City Council Rules of Procedure and Order to be Revised

IV.CONDUCT OF MEETING

A. Comments from the Public
Public comment will be taken in the following order:
• An initial ten-minute period of public comment on non-agenda items, the consent calendar, action items (excluding public hearings, appeals, and/or other quasi-judicial matters), and information items, after the commencement of the meeting and immediately after Ceremonial Matters and City Manager Comments. • Public comment on the Consent and Information Calendars. • Public comment on the Action Calendar
• Public comment on action items, any appeals, and/or public hearings, and/or other quasi-judicial matters requiring extended public comment for due process purposes, as they are taken up under procedures set forth in the sections governing each below. • Public comment on non-agenda items from any speakers who did not speak during the first round of non-agenda public comment at the beginning of the meeting.

Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one other speaker, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes. A speaker wishing to yield their time shall identify themselves, shall be recognized by the chair, and announce publicly their intention to yield their time.

Disabled persons shall have priority seating in the front row of the public seating area.

A member of the public may only speak once during any single at public comment period on any single item, unless called upon by the Mayor or a Councilmember to answer a specific inquiry, or unless the individual is speaking with respect to a public hearing, a quasi-judicial matter, and/or any other item requiring unrestricted public comment as a matter of due process.

Prior to the general public comment period, the Presiding Officer shall announce any planned changes to the order of the agenda, including any items which are being moved to the Consent Calendar and/or any items that are being removed from the agenda at the prerogative of the Presiding Officer and/or the item’s sponsor(s).

The Presiding Officer will request that persons wishing to speak, line up at the podium, raise their hands on Zoom, or otherwise indicate their intent to speak in order to be recognized and to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time.

If ten or fewer persons are interested in speaking virtually or in person, each speaker may speak for two minutes at the discretion of the Presiding Officer. If there are more than ten persons interested in speaking, the Presiding Officer shall limit the public comment for all speakers to one minute per speaker. Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one another, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes.

A maximum of 50 individuals shall be permitted to speak or yield time during the general public comment period. This maximum shall apply whether speakers are virtual, in person, or a combination of the two. In the event that more than 50 individuals wish to speak at a fully virtual or fully in-person Council meeting, speaking opportunities shall be given on a “first come, first served” basis.

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In the event that more than 50 individuals wish to speak at a “hybrid” Council meeting (with both a virtual and in-person component), 25 in-person speakers shall be allowed to speak first, followed by 25 virtual speakers. For both the virtual and in-person queues, speakers shall be recognized in the order they lined up or provided virtual notification of their intent to speak. If the queue for either type of speaker is exhausted while speakers of the other type remain, the remaining individuals in either queue will be allowed to speak, up to the overall 50-speaker maximum.

The maximum number of speakers/yielders may be increased up to 100 total individuals by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the City Council. Increases above 100 total individuals speaking or yielding shall require a unanimous vote of the City Council. In no case shall these limits be applied to items which require unconstrained public comment to ensure due process.

These procedures/limits also apply to public hearings except for those which would be precluded by the types of due process public hearings specifically provided for in Section 2, below.

1. Public Comment on Consent Calendar and Information Items.

As described above, public comment on the “Consent Calendar” will be taken as part of the general public comment period at the start of the Council meeting following Ceremonial Matters and any comments from the City Manager.

Prior to this initial general public comment period, Tthe Council will first determine whether to move items on the agenda for “Action” or “Information” to the “Consent Calendar,” and/or move “Consent Calendar” items 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.”

The Council will then take public comment on any items that are either on the amended Consent Calendar or the Information Calendar. A speaker may only speak once during the period for public comment on Consent Calendar and Information items. Following the initial period of general public comment, the three or more members of City Council may still move items from the “Consent Calendar” to “Action,” but Nno additional items can be moved onto the Consent Calendar once public comment has commenced.

At any time during, or immediately after, the initial period of general public comment on Information and Consent items, the Mayor or any Councilmember may move any Information or Consent item to “Action.” Three or more members of the City Council, including the Mayor, may move any 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.

2. Public Comment on Action Items.

After the initial ten minutes of public comment on non-agenda items, public comment on consent and information items, and adoption of the Consent Calendar, the public may comment on each remaining item listed on the agenda for action as the item is taken up.in a single public comment period at the beginning of the Action Calendar.

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The Presiding Officer will request that persons wishing to speak, line up at the podium to be recognized and to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time.

If ten or fewer persons are interested in speaking, each speaker may speak for two minutes.

If there are more than ten persons interested in speaking, the Presiding Officer may limit the public comment for all speakers to one minute per speaker. Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one other speaker, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes.

This procedure also applies to public hearings except those types of public hearings specifically provided for in this section, below.

32. Appeals Appearing on Action Calendar.

With the exception of appeals from decisions of the Zoning Adjustments Board and Landmarks Preservation Commission, appeals from decisions of City commissions appear on the “Action” section of the Council Agenda. Council determines whether to affirm the action of the commission, set a public hearing, or remand the matter to the commission.

Appeals of proposed special assessment liens shall also appear on the “Action” section of the Council Agenda. Appeals from decisions of the Zoning Adjustments Board and Landmarks Preservation Commission are automatically set for public hearing and appear on the “Public Hearings” section of the Council Agenda. The procedures for public comment on appeals from these two bodies and attendant public hearings shall be the same as described below for all other commission appeals.

Time shall be provided for public comment for persons representing both sides of the action/appeal and each side will be allocated seven minutes to present their comments on the appeal. Where the appellant is not the applicant, the appellants of a single appeal collectively shall have seven minutes to comment and the applicant shall have seven minutes to comment. If there are multiple appeals filed, each appellant or group of appellants shall have seven minutes to comment. Where the appellant is the applicant, the applicant/appellant shall have seven minutes to comment and the persons supporting the action of the board or commission on appeal shall have seven minutes to comment. In the case of an appeal of a proposed special assessment lien, the appellant shall have seven minutes to comment.

After the conclusion of the seven-minute comment periods, members of the public may comment on the appeal. Comments from members of the public regarding appeals shall be limited to one minute per speaker. Any person that addressed the Council during one of the seven-minute periods may not speak again during the public comment period on the appeal.

Speakers may yield their time to one other speaker, however, no speaker shall have more than two minutes. Each side shall be informed of this public comment procedure at the time the Clerk notifies the parties of the date the appeal will appear on the Council agenda.

43. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Matters.

Immediately following Ceremonial Matters and the City Manager Comments and prior to the Consent Calendar, persons will be selected by lottery to address matters not on the Council agenda. If five or fewer persons submit speaker cards for the lottery, each person selected will be allotted two minutes each. If more than five persons submit speaker cards for the lottery, up to ten persons will be selected to address matters not on the Council agenda and each person selected will be allotted one minute each. Persons wishing to address the Formatted: Not Strikethrough
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Council on matters not on the Council agenda during the initial ten-minute period for such comment, must submit a speaker card to the City Clerk in person at the meeting location and prior to commencement of that meeting.

Individuals wishing to address the Council about non-agenda matters may do so during the initial period of general public comment, and will count toward the overall limit on the number of individuals making public comment.

The remainder of the speakers wishing to address the Council on non-agenda items will be heard at the end of the agenda. Speaker cards are not required for this second round of public comment on non-agenda matters.

Persons submitting speaker cards are not required to list their actual name, however they must list some identifying information or alternate name in order to be called to speak.

For the second round of public comment on non-agenda matters, the Presiding Officer retains the authority to limit the number of speakers by subject. The Presiding Officer will generally request that persons wishing to speak, line up at the podium, raise their hand on zoom, or otherwise to be recognized to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time. Each speaker will be entitled to speak for two minutes each unless the Presiding Officer determines that one-minute is appropriate given the number of speakers.

Pursuant to this document, no Council meeting shall continue past 11:00 p.m. unless a two- thirds majority of the Council votes to extend the meeting to discuss specified items. If any agendized business remains unfinished at 11:00 p.m. or the expiration of any extension after 11:00 p.m., it will be referred to the Agenda & Rules Committee for scheduling pursuant to Chapter II, Section F. In that event, the meeting shall be automatically extended for up to fifteen (15) minutes for public comment on non-agenda items.

54. Ralph M. Brown Act Pertaining to Public Comments.

The Brown Act prohibits the Council from discussing or taking action on an issue raised during Public Comment, unless it is specifically listed on the agenda. However, the Council may refer a matter to the City Manager.

APPENDIX C. TEMPORARY RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS THROUGH VIDEO CONFERENCE DURING THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY

Public Comment Speaking Time

With the exception of prescribed times in the Rules of Procedure for public hearings, the amount of time for each speaker during public comment is limited to twoone minutes maximum and that speakers can only address an agenda item once, however the Presiding Officer has the discretion to reduce speaker time if needed in order to allow the orderly conduct of the meeting, subject to the consent of a majority of the City Council. Speakers may yield their time for a maximum of four minutes per individual. If a speaker wishes to yield their time, they must indicate so when called on by the Presiding Officer and state who they are yielding their speaker time to. The Presiding Officer will keep a list with the names and amount of time yielded to individuals.

In order to inform members of the public of their place in the speaker's queue, the Presiding Officer will call the names of 5 speakers at a time.

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Public Comment on Non-Agenda Matters willmay be conducted in the order of hands raised on the Zoom platform or based upon a lottery or similar system, and will be limited to either the first 10 speakers during the initial round of Non-Agenda public comment, as well as all hands raised during the closing round of Non-Agenda public comment at the conclusion to the meeting, until such time that the meeting adjourns. If there are five or fewer speakers with hands raised for Public Comment on Non-Agenda Matters, each speaker will have two minutes to address the City Council. If there are more than five speakers with their hands raised then speaker time will be limited to one minute per person. The procedure for selection of Non-Agenda speakers prescribed in the Rules of Procedure by random draw is suspended for videoconference meetings where there is no physical meeting location.

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Exhibit B:

City Council Rules of Procedure and Order

Lori Droste
Councilmember, District 8

ACTION CALENDAR
March 14, 2023
(Continued from February 28, 2023)
To: Honorable Mayor Jesse Arreguín and Members of the City Council From: Councilmember Lori Droste
Subject: Reforms to Public Comment Procedures at meetings of the Berkeley City Council Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution revising the City Council Rules of Procedure and Order: Section IV. Conduct of the Meeting and Appendix C Temporary Rules for The Conduct of City Council Meetings Through Video Conference During The Covid-19 Emergency to:

1. Consolidate non-agenda public comment, public comment on the Consent Calendar, and public comment on Action Items into a single public comment period toward the start of the Council meeting (consistent with the Berkeley Unified School District’s public comment procedure), and continue to provide for additional time for public comment at the end of meetings;

2. Adopt reasonable limits on the overall number of public speakers (consistent with rulings from the Second District Court of Appeal) with a mechanism for the City Council to extend public comment; and

3. Rescind Resolution No. 70,091– N.S

POLICY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
On January 30, 2023, the Agenda and Rules Committee adopted the following action: M/S/C (Arreguin/Bartlett) to send the item to the City Council with a negative recommendation that no action be taken on the item. Vote: Ayes – Bartlett, Arreguin; Noes – None; Absent - Hahn.

Current Situation and Its Effects
City Council has occasionally tried to rebalance the City’s approach to public comment at Council meetings to create a more welcoming atmosphere, conduct the people’s business efficiently, and ensure elected officials have time to give items due consideration. Unfortunately, members of the public, applicants/appellants, and staff frequently have to wait for hours before an item is heard or unexpectedly moved to another meeting. This is due to the way public comment was established prior to the tenure of any of the current Councilmembers or the Mayor. This prevents many ordinary people, particularly those who have small children or work long hours, from having a reasonable opportunity to provide public comment and hear the Council deliberate. It also deprives the Council of the time needed for adequate consideration of items, especially major policy efforts, and frequently pushes important items to future meetings.

Background and Rationale
Pursuant to the Brown Act, Section 54954.3, members of the public shall be afforded the opportunity to speak on any agenda item of a substantive nature providing they are first

recognized by the presiding officer. City Council greatly values input and comment from a broad cross-section of the public on legislative matters. The City of Berkeley and Councilmembers appreciate and admire the dedication of the many mainstays at public comment. Nevertheless, other community members often feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the prospect of enduring hours-long City Council meetings, not just to provide public comment but to even hear the Council’s discussions. Having to wait through hours of public comment (much of which is often duplicative) before one gets to participate and/or hear the position of one’s elected representatives is neither fair, equitable, nor good for democracy.

Public comment and Council procedures have undergone iterations before. Most recently, Mayor Arreguín offered a very successful and equitable amendment to require three councilmembers to agree to pull an item from the consent calendar to the action calendar, instead of one councilmember or four public speakers. This change dramatically helped meetings run smoother and ensured that uncontroversial and broad-consensus consent calendar items were not subject to attempts at obstructionism or unduly long debates which extended meeting times.

Even with that positive change, the current approach to public comment ironically does not likely widen opportunities for civic engagement; but instead serves to preclude a more representative sample of participants—as political scientists from Boston University have found. Currently, many residents must wait for extended periods of time in order to provide public comment on specific legislation, since no specific times are available for when a piece of legislation will be heard. This means that people who may care deeply about a particular issue are discouraged from participating in favor or those who have a general interest in speaking and the time to sit through the entirety of a meeting. Although their commitment and interest are commendable, such individuals are not necessarily representative of the broader public.

The Brown Act actually provides leeway for the City to consider other approaches to public comment. Under the Brown Act, the City must allow the public to comment on any agenda item; and there are certain items that require ensuring public comment from all interested parties (e.g., quasi-judicial proceedings and public hearings where due process demands allowing comment from all participants). But for most items, the Brown Act permits agencies to limit the amount of time for public comment on any given item, provided that such limits are content- neutral. For example, for most Council items, the City Council would be permitted under the Brown Act to impose a 10-minute limit on public comment, comprising ten speakers with one minute each, with the speakers determined on a lottery or first-come, first-served basis.

Alternatively, the City Council could also adopt a content-neutral limitation on the number of speakers for a general public comment period at the start of each meeting which covers all agenda and non-agenda comments—as proposed in this item.

In its decision in the 2018 Ribakoff v. City of Long Beach, et al. decision, the Second District Court of Appeal ruled in part:
“On the other hand, having no limit on either the length of any particular presentation by a member of the public or on the number of public speakers (or on the total time for public comment) has the potential for endless discussion—given the potential that there will be a far greater number of members of the public who may wish to speak to an issue than there are staff and guests who make presentations concerning it. The number of staff and invited guests speaking on a topic will clearly be limited; the potential for public speakers is potentially extensive and needs some reasonable limitation.

We do not suggest that members of the public may not have expertise, or that their presentations would be of lesser value than those of the invited, expert staff and guest speakers, only that their number must be considered in weighing the time allotted to public participation. Indeed, this concern was a factor in shaping the text of Government Code section 54954.3 as it moved through the Legislature with amendments to the Brown Act adopted in 1986. On the one hand, the Legislature declared the importance of open governance and the public’s right to participate. On the other, it validated enactment of limits on public speakers so that the business of government could function. (Gov. Code, § 54954.3.)23[emphasis added]” Members of the public would still have ample additional means of addressing their concerns to councilmembers, including in-person meetings and office hours, written correspondence, emails, telephone calls, and social media/online platforms. Although it is beyond the scope of this item, the City may also wish to explore expanding and enhancing Berkeley Considers to provide a new platform for community members to provide comments on upcoming Council items. Berkeley could potentially pioneer having a “one-stop shop” for members of the public to provide feedback on upcoming Council items and have that feedback delivered to Council in a formalized and easily visualized format.

Best Practices
Berkeley Unified School District
The Berkeley Unified School District has adopted a practice that is likely more conducive to allowing a broader participation of residents in the civic process. There are two opportunities for public comment, one at the beginning and one at the end of the meeting. By allowing public comment at the beginning of the meeting, individuals do not have to wait for hours for an item with an unknown start time. And In other cities, the presiding officer can limit individual presentations, the amount of time allotted for public input, and/or limit the number of speakers with similar positions. This item proposes to use the approach used by BUSD.

Fiscal Impacts
De minimis costs for staff to revise local and public-facing digital copies of the City Council’s Rules of Procedure and time and materials costs for any printing of physical copies.

Long-term fiscal impacts are speculative, but reduced Council and staff time for the receipt and management of in-person and virtual public comment have a strong potential to reduce City costs. The cost reductions would be highly variable depending on the number and nature of staff present at any given City Council meeting.

Alternative Actions Considered
Alternative Actions include but are not limited to:
 Leaving existing public comment policies and procedures unchanged.  Adopting a limit on the number of public speakers for each item.

These options were rejected in favor of the more “tried and true” approach currently used by the Berkeley Unified School District, as well as other jurisdictions and agencies across California.

Contact Person
Councilmember Lori Droste (legislative aide Eric Panzer) [email protected]
Phone: 510-981-7180

RESOLUTION NO ##,###-N.S.

RE-ADOPTING THE CITY COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE AND ORDER AND RESCINDING RESOLUTION NO. 70,091–N.S.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Berkeley that the revised sections of the City Council Rules of Procedure and Order attached hereto as Exhibit A shall replace wholesale the corresponding sections of the existing City Council Rules of Procedure and Order attached hereto as Exhibit B and incorporated by reference.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the revised City Council Rules of Procedure and Order (Exhibit B as amended by Exhibit A) shall govern all proceedings of the City Council therein described, subject to the exceptions and deviations provided for in such rules.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that violation of these rules shall not be construed as a penal offense, except as provided for by the adopted Rules of Procedure and Order.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council shall review its Rules of Procedure and Order in March of each odd-numbered year per April 26, 2016 City Council action.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Resolution No 70,091–N.S. is hereby rescinded.

Exhibits
Exhibit A: Sections of the City Council Rules of Procedure and Order to be revised Exhibit B: Existing City Council Rules of Procedure and Order

Exhibit A: Sections of the City Council Rules of Procedure and Order to be Revised IV.CONDUCT OF MEETING
A. Comments from the Public
Public comment will be taken in the following order:
 An initial ten-minute period of public comment on non-agenda items, the consent calendar, action items (excluding public hearings, appeals, and/or other quasi-judicial matters), and information items, after the commencement of the meeting and immediately after Ceremonial Matters and City Manager Comments.  Public comment on the Consent and Information Calendars.  Public comment on action items, any appeals, and/or public hearings, and/or other quasi-judicial matters requiring extended public comment for due process purposes, as they are taken up under procedures set forth in the sections governing each below.  Public comment on non-agenda items from any speakers who did not speak during the first round of non-agenda public comment at the beginning of the meeting.

Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one other speaker, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes. A speaker wishing to yield their time shall identify themselves, shall be recognized by the chair, and announce publicly their intention to yield their time.

Disabled persons shall have priority seating in the front row of the public seating area.

A member of the public may only speak once at public comment on any single item, unless called upon by the Mayor or a Councilmember to answer a specific inquiry, or unless the individual is speaking with respect to a public hearing, a quasi-judicial matter, and/or any other item requiring unrestricted public comment as a matter of due process.

Prior to the general public comment period, the Presiding Officer shall announce any planned changes to the order of the agenda, including any items which are being moved to the Consent Calendar and/or any items that are being removed from the agenda at the prerogative of the Presiding Officer and/or the item’s sponsor(s).

The Presiding Officer will request that persons wishing to speak, line up at the podium, raise their hands on Zoom, or otherwise indicate their intent to speak in order to be recognized and to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time.

If ten or fewer persons are interested in speaking virtually or in person, each speaker may speak for two minutes at the discretion of the Presiding Officer. If there are more than ten persons interested in speaking, the Presiding Officer shall limit the public comment for all speakers to one minute per speaker. Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one another, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes.

A maximum of 50 individuals shall be permitted to speak or yield time during the general public comment period. This maximum shall apply whether speakers are virtual, in person, or a combination of the two. In the event that more than 50 individuals wish to speak at a fully virtual or fully in-person Council meeting, speaking opportunities shall be given on a “first come, first served” basis.

In the event that more than 50 individuals wish to speak at a “hybrid” Council meeting (with both a virtual and in-person component), 25 in-person speakers shall be allowed to speak first,

followed by 25 virtual speakers. For both the virtual and in-person queues, speakers shall be recognized in the order they lined up or provided virtual notification of their intent to speak. If the queue for either type of speaker is exhausted while speakers of the other type remain, the remaining individuals in either queue will be allowed to speak, up to the overall 50-speaker maximum.

The maximum number of speakers/yielders may be increased up to 100 total individuals by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the City Council. Increases above 100 total individuals speaking or yielding shall require a unanimous vote of the City Council. In no case shall these limits be applied to items which require unconstrained public comment to ensure due process.

These procedures/limits also apply to public hearings except for those which would be precluded by the types of due process public hearings specifically provided for in Section 2, below.

1. Public Comment on Consent Calendar and Information Items.

As described above, public comment on the “Consent Calendar” will be taken as part of the general public comment period at the start of the Council meeting following Ceremonial Matters and any comments from the City Manager.

Prior to this initial general public comment period, Tthe Council will first determine whether to move items on the agenda for “Action” or “Information” to the “Consent Calendar,” and/or move “Consent Calendar” items 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.” The Council will then take public comment on any items that are either on the amended Consent Calendar or the Information Calendar. A speaker may only speak once during the period for public comment on Consent Calendar and Information items. Following the initial period of general public comment, the three or more members of City Council may still move items from the “Consent Calendar” to “Action,” but Nno additional items can be moved onto the Consent Calendar once public comment has commenced.

At any time during, or immediately after, the initial period of general public comment on Information and Consent items, the Mayor or any Councilmember may move any Information or Consent item to “Action.” Three or more members of the City Council, including the Mayor, may move any 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.

2. Public Comment on Action Items.

After the initial ten minutes of public comment on non-agenda items, public comment on consent and information items, and adoption of the Consent Calendar, the public may comment on each remaining item listed on the agenda for action as the item is taken up.

The Presiding Officer will request that persons wishing to speak, line up at the podium to be recognized and to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time.

If ten or fewer persons are interested in speaking, each speaker may speak for two minutes.

If there are more than ten persons interested in speaking, the Presiding Officer may limit the public comment for all speakers to one minute per speaker. Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one other speaker, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes.

This procedure also applies to public hearings except those types of public hearings specifically provided for in this section, below.

32. Appeals Appearing on Action Calendar.

With the exception of appeals from decisions of the Zoning Adjustments Board and Landmarks Preservation Commission, appeals from decisions of City commissions appear on the “Action” section of the Council Agenda. Council determines whether to affirm the action of the commission, set a public hearing, or remand the matter to the commission.

Appeals of proposed special assessment liens shall also appear on the “Action” section of the Council Agenda. Appeals from decisions of the Zoning Adjustments Board and Landmarks Preservation Commission are automatically set for public hearing and appear on the “Public Hearings” section of the Council Agenda. The procedures for public comment on appeals from these two bodies and attendant public hearings shall be the same as described below for all other commission appeals.

Time shall be provided for public comment for persons representing both sides of the action/appeal and each side will be allocated seven minutes to present their comments on the appeal. Where the appellant is not the applicant, the appellants of a single appeal collectively shall have seven minutes to comment and the applicant shall have seven minutes to comment. If there are multiple appeals filed, each appellant or group of appellants shall have seven minutes to comment. Where the appellant is the applicant, the applicant/appellant shall have seven minutes to comment and the persons supporting the action of the board or commission on appeal shall have seven minutes to comment. In the case of an appeal of a proposed special assessment lien, the appellant shall have seven minutes to comment.

After the conclusion of the seven-minute comment periods, members of the public may comment on the appeal. Comments from members of the public regarding appeals shall be limited to one minute per speaker. Any person that addressed the Council during one of the seven-minute periods may not speak again during the public comment period on the appeal.

Speakers may yield their time to one other speaker, however, no speaker shall have more than two minutes. Each side shall be informed of this public comment procedure at the time the Clerk notifies the parties of the date the appeal will appear on the Council agenda.

43. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Matters.

Immediately following Ceremonial Matters and the City Manager Comments and prior to the Consent Calendar, persons will be selected by lottery to address matters not on the Council agenda. If five or fewer persons submit speaker cards for the lottery, each person selected will be allotted two minutes each. If more than five persons submit speaker cards for the lottery, up to ten persons will be selected to address matters not on the Council agenda and each person selected will be allotted one minute each. Persons wishing to address the Council on matters not on the Council agenda during the initial ten-minute period for such comment, must submit a speaker card to the City Clerk in person at the meeting location and prior to commencement of that meeting.

Individuals wishing to address the Council about non-agenda matters may do so during the initial period of general public comment, and will count toward the overall limit on the number of individuals making public comment.

The remainder of the speakers wishing to address the Council on non-agenda items will be heard at the end of the agenda. Speaker cards are not required for this second round of public comment on non-agenda matters.

Persons submitting speaker cards are not required to list their actual name, however they must list some identifying information or alternate name in order to be called to speak.

For the second round of public comment on non-agenda matters, the Presiding Officer retains the authority to limit the number of speakers by subject. The Presiding Officer will generally request that persons wishing to speak, line up at the podium, raise their hand on zoom, or otherwise to be recognized to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time. Each speaker will be entitled to speak for two minutes each unless the Presiding Officer determines that one-minute is appropriate given the number of speakers.

Pursuant to this document, no Council meeting shall continue past 11:00 p.m. unless a two- thirds majority of the Council votes to extend the meeting to discuss specified items. If any agendized business remains unfinished at 11:00 p.m. or the expiration of any extension after 11:00 p.m., it will be referred to the Agenda & Rules Committee for scheduling pursuant to Chapter II, Section F. In that event, the meeting shall be automatically extended for up to fifteen (15) minutes for public comment on non-agenda items.

54. Ralph M. Brown Act Pertaining to Public Comments.

The Brown Act prohibits the Council from discussing or taking action on an issue raised during Public Comment, unless it is specifically listed on the agenda. However, the Council may refer a matter to the City Manager.

APPENDIX C. TEMPORARY RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS THROUGH VIDEO CONFERENCE DURING THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY
Public Comment Speaking Time
With the exception of prescribed times in the Rules of Procedure for public hearings, the amount of time for each speaker during public comment is limited to twoone minutes maximum and that speakers can only address an agenda item once, however the Presiding Officer has the discretion to reduce speaker time if needed in order to allow the orderly conduct of the meeting, subject to the consent of a majority of the City Council. Speakers may yield their time for a maximum of four minutes per individual. If a speaker wishes to yield their time, they must indicate so when called on by the Presiding Officer and state who they are yielding their speaker time to. The Presiding Officer will keep a list with the names and amount of time yielded to individuals.

In order to inform members of the public of their place in the speaker's queue, the Presiding Officer will call the names of 5 speakers at a time.

Public Comment on Non-Agenda Matters willmay be conducted in the order of hands raised on the Zoom platform or based upon a lottery or similar system, and will be limited to either the first

10 speakers during the initial round of Non-Agenda public comment, as well as all hands raised during the closing round of Non-Agenda public comment at the conclusion to the meeting, until such time that the meeting adjourns. If there are five or fewer speakers with hands raised for Public Comment on Non-Agenda Matters, each speaker will have two minutes to address the City Council. If there are more than five speakers with their hands raised then speaker time will be limited to one minute per person. The procedure for selection of Non-Agenda speakers prescribed in the Rules of Procedure by random draw is suspended for videoconference meetings where there is no physical meeting location.

Exhibit B:

City Council Rules of Procedure and Order

2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 ● Tel: (510) 981-6900 ● TDD: (510) 981-6903 ● Fax: (510) 981-6901 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.cityofberkeley.info/citycouncil

The Berkeley City Council
Rules of Procedure and Order

Adopted by Resolution No. 70,091–N.S.

Effective October 26, 2021

2 Table of Contents
I. DUTIES .................................................................................................................................... 4 A. Duties of Mayor ......................................................................................................................... 4 B. Duties of Councilmembers ........................................................................................................ 4 C. Motions to be Stated by Chair ................................................................................................... 4 D. Decorum by Councilmembers ................................................................................................... 4 E. Voting Disqualification ............................................................................................................. 4 F. Requests for Technical Assistance and/or Reports .................................................................... 5 II. MEETINGS .............................................................................................................................. 6 A. Call to Order - Presiding Officer .............................................................................................. 6 B. Roll Call.................................................................................................................................... 6 C. Quorum Call ............................................................................................................................. 6 D. Council Meeting Conduct of Business ..................................................................................... 6 E. Adjournment .............................................................................................................................. 7 G. City Council Schedule and Recess Periods ............................................................................... 7 H. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag ................................................................................................ 8 I. Ad Hoc Subcommittees ............................................................................................................. 8 III. AGENDA .................................................................................................................................. 9 A. Declaration of Policy ................................................................................................................. 9 B. Definitions ................................................................................................................................. 9 C. Procedure for Bringing Matters Before City Council .............................................................. 11 D. Packet Preparation and Posting ............................................................................................... 16 E. Agenda Sequence and Order of Business ................................................................................ 17 F. Closed Session Documents ...................................................................................................... 18 G. Regulations Governing City Council Policy Committees ....................................................... 19 IV. CONDUCT OF MEETING .................................................................................................. 24 A. Comments from the Public ...................................................................................................... 24 B. Consent Calendar ..................................................................................................................... 26 C. Information Reports Called Up for Discussion ....................................................................... 27 D. Written Communications ......................................................................................................... 27 E. Public Hearings for Land Use, Zoning, Landmarks, and Public Nuisance Matters ............... 27 F. Work Sessions ......................................................................................................................... 28 G. Protocol.................................................................................................................................... 29 V. PROCEDURAL MATTERS ................................................................................................ 30 A. Persons Authorized to Sit at Tables ......................................................................................... 30 B. Decorum .................................................................................................................................. 30 C. Enforcement of Decorum ........................................................................................................ 30 D. Precedence of Motions ............................................................................................................ 30 E. Robert’s Rules of Order ........................................................................................................... 31 F. Rules of Debate ....................................................................................................................... 31 G. Debate Limited ........................................................................................................................ 32 H. Motion to Lay on Table ........................................................................................................... 32 I. Division of Question ................................................................................................................ 32 J. Addressing the Council ........................................................................................................... 32 K. Addressing the Council After Motion Made ........................................................................... 33 L. Use of Cellular Phones and Electronic Devices ...................................................................... 33 VI. FACILITIES .......................................................................................................................... 34 A. Meeting Location Capacity ..................................................................................................... 34

3 B. Alternate Facilities for Council Meetings ............................................................................... 34 C. Signs, Objects, and Symbolic Materials ................................................................................. 34 D. Fire Safety ............................................................................................................................... 34 E. Overcrowding ......................................................................................................................... 34 APPENDIX A. POLICY FOR NAMING AND RENAMING PUBLIC FACILITIES...................... 35 APPENDIX B. GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING AND WRITING COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS .................................................................................................................................................................... 38 APPENDIX C. TEMPORARY RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS THROUGH VIDEO CONFERENCE DURING THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY ........................... 43

4 I. DUTIES
A. Duties of Mayor
The Mayor shall preside at the meetings of the Council and shall preserve strict order and decorum at all regular and special meetings of the Council. The Mayor shall state every question coming before the Council, announce the decision of the Council on all subjects, and decide all questions of order, subject, however, to an appeal to the Council, in which event a majority vote of the Council shall govern and conclusively determine such question of order. In the Mayor’s absence, the Vice President of the Council (hereafter referred to as the Vice-Mayor) shall preside.

B. Duties of Councilmembers
Promptly at the hour set by law on the date of each regular meeting, the members of the Council shall take their regular stations in the Council Chambers and the business of the Council shall be taken up for consideration and disposition.

C. Motions to be Stated by Chair
When a motion is made, it may be stated by the Chair or the City Clerk before debate.

D. Decorum by Councilmembers
While the Council is in session, the City Council will practice civility and decorum in their discussions and debate. Councilmembers will value each other’s time and will preserve order and decorum. A member shall neither, by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings of the Council, use personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks, nor disturb any other member while that member is speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the presiding officer or the Council, except as otherwise provided herein.

All Councilmembers have the opportunity to speak and agree to disagree but no Councilmember shall speak twice on any given subject unless all other Councilmembers have been given the opportunity to speak. The Presiding Officer may set a limit on the speaking time allotted to C ouncilmembers during Council discussion.

The presiding officer has the affirmative duty to maintain order. The City Council will honor the role of the presiding officer in maintaining order. If a Councilmember believes the presiding officer is not maintaining order, the Councilmember may move that the Vice- Mayor, or another Councilmember if the Vice- Mayor is acting as the presiding officer at the time, enforce the rules of decorum and otherwise maintain order. If that motion receives a second and is approved by a majority of the Council, the Vice- Mayor, or other designated Councilmember, shall enforce the rules of decorum and maintain order.

E. Voting Disqualification
No member of the Council who is disqualified shall vote upon the matter on which the member is disqualified. Any member shall openly state or have the presiding officer announce the fact and nature of such disqualification in open meeting, and shall not be subject to further inquiry. Where no clearly disqualifying conflict of interest appears, the matter of disqualification may, at the request of the member affected, be

5 decided by the other members of the Council, by motion, and such decision shall determine such member's right and obligation to vote. A member who is disqualified by conflict of interest in any matter shall not remain in the Chamber during the debate and vote on such matter, but shall request and be given the presiding officer's permission to recuse themselves. Any member having a "remote interest" in any matter as provided in Government Code shall divulge the same before voting.

F. Requests for Technical Assistance and/or Reports
A majority vote of the Council shall be required to direct staff to provide technical assistance, develop a report, initiate staff research, or respond to requests for information or service generated by an individual council member.

6 II. MEETINGS
A. Call to Order - Presiding Officer
The Mayor, or in the Mayor's absence, the Vice Mayor, shall take the chair precisely at the hour appointed by the meeting and shall immediately call the Council to order.

Upon the arrival of the Mayor, the Vice Mayor shall immediately relinquish the chair .

In the absence of the two officers specified in this section, the Councilmember present with the longest period of Council service shall preside.

B. Roll Call
Before the Council shall proceed with the business of the Council, the City Clerk shall call the roll of the members and the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes. The later arrival of any absentee shall also be entered in the minutes.

C. Quorum Call
During the course of the meeting, should the Chair note a Council quorum is lacking, the Chair shall call this fact to the attention of the City Clerk. The City Clerk shall issue a quorum call. If a quorum has not been restored within two minutes of a quorum call, the meeting shall be deemed automatically adjourned.

D. Council Meeting Conduct of Business
The agenda for the regular business meetings shall include the following: Ceremonial Items (including comments from the City Auditor if requested) ; Comments from the City Manager; Comments from the Public; Consent Calendar; Action Calendar (Appeals, Public Hearings, Continued Business, Old Business, New Business); Information Reports; and Communication from the Public. Presentations and workshops may be included as part of the Action Calendar. The Chair will determine the order in which the item(s) will be heard with the consent of Council.

Upon request by the Mayor or any Councilmember, any item may be moved from the Consent Calendar or Information Calendar to the Action Calendar. Unless there is an objection by the Mayor or any Councilmember, the Council may also move an item from the Action Calendar to the Consent Calendar.

A public hearing that is not expected to be lengthy may be placed on the agenda for a regular business meeting. When a public hearing is expected to be contentious and lengthy and/or the Council’s regular meeting schedule is heavily booked, the Agenda & R ules Committee , in conjunction with the staff, will schedule a special meeting exclusively for the public hearing. No other matters shall be placed on the agenda for the special meeting. All public comment will be considered as part of the public hearing and no separate time will be set aside for public comment not related to the public hearing at this meeting.

Except at meetings at which the budget is to be adopted, no public hearing may commence later than 10:00 p.m. unless there is a legal necessity to hold the hearing or make a decision at that meeting or the City Council determines by a two-thirds vote that there is a fiscal necessity to hold the hearing.

7 E. Adjournment

1. No Council meeting shall continue past 11:00 p.m. unless a two-thirds majority of the Council votes to extend the meeting to discuss specified items; and any motion to extend the meeting beyond 11:00 p.m. shall include a list of specific agenda items to be covered and shall specify in which order these items shall be handled.

2. Any items not completed at a regularly scheduled Council meeting may be continued to an Adjourned Regular Meeting by a two- thirds majority vote of the Council.

F. Unfinished Business
Any items not completed by formal action of the Council, and any items not postponed to a date certain, shall be considered Unfinished Business. All Unfinished Business shall be referred to the Agenda & Rules Committee for scheduling for a Council meeting that occurs within 60 days from the date the item last appeared on a Council agenda. The 60 day period is tolled during a Council recess.

G. City Council Schedule and Recess Periods
Pursuant to the Open Government Ordinance, the City Council shall hold a minimum of twenty-four (24) meetings, or the amount needed to conduct City business in a timely manner, whichever is greater, each calendar year.

Regular meetings of the City Council shall be held generally two to three Tuesdays of each month except during recess periods; the schedule to be established annually by Council resolution taking into consideration holidays and election dates.

Regular City Council meetings shall begin no later than 6:00 p.m.

A recess period is defined as a period of time longer than 21 days without a regular meeting of the Council.

When a recess period occurs, the City Manager is authorized to take such ministerial actions for matters of operational urgency as would normally be taken by the City Council during the period of recess except for those duties specifically reserved to the Council by the Charter, and including such emergency actions as are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety; the authority to extend throughout the period of time established by the City Council for the period of recess.

The City Manager shall have the aforementioned authority beginning the day after the Agenda & Rules Committee meeting for the last regular meeting before a Council recess and this authority shall extend up to the date of the Agenda & Rules Committee meeting for the first regular meeting after the Council recess.

The City Manager shall make a full and complete report to the City Council at its first regularly scheduled meeting following the period of recess of actions tak en by the City Manager pursuant to this section, at which time the City Council may make such findings as may be required and confirm said actions of the City Manager.

8 H. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
At the first meeting of each year following the August recess and at any subsequent meet
ing if specifically requested before the meeting by any member of the Council in order to commemorate an occasion of national significance, the first item on the Ceremonial Calendar will be the Pledge of Allegiance.

I. Ad Hoc Subcommittees
From time to time the Council or the Mayor may appoint several of its members but fewer than the existing quorum of the present body to serve as an ad hoc subcommittee. Only Councilmembers
may be members of the ad hoc subcommittee;
however, the subcommittee shall seek input and advice from residents, related commissions, and other groups , as appropriate to the charge or responsibilities of such subcommittee . Ad hoc s ubcommittees must be reviewed annually by the Council to determine if the subcommittee is to continue.

Upon creation of an ad hoc subcommittee, the Council shall allow it to operate with the following parameters:

1. A specific charge or outline of responsibilities shall be established by the Council.

2. A target date must be established for a report back to the Council.

3. Maximum life of the subcommittee shall be one year, with annual review and possible extension by the Council.

Subcommittees shall conduct their meetings in locations that are open to the public and meet accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act .

Meetings may be held at privately owned facilities provided that the location is open to all that wish to attend and that there is no requirement for purchase to attend.

Agendas for subcommittee meetings must be posted in the same manner as the agendas for regular Council meetings except that subcommittee agendas may be posted with 24-hour notice. The public will be permitted to comment on agenda items but public comments may be limited to one minute if deemed necessary by the Committee Chair. Agendas and minutes of the meetings must be maintained and made available upon request.

Ad hoc subcommittees will be staffed by City Council legislative staff. As part of the ad hoc subcommittee process, City staff will undertake a high- level, preliminary analysis of potential legal issues, costs, timelines, and staffing demands associated with the item(s) under consideration. Staff analysis at ad hoc subcommittees is limited to the points above as the recommendation, program, or project has not yet been approved to proceed by the full Council.

Subcommittees must be comprised of at least two members. If only two members are appointed, then both must be present in order for the subcommittee meeting to be held. In other words, the quorum for a two-member subcommittee is always two.

Ad hoc subcommittees may convene a closed session meeting pursuant to the conditions and regulations imposed by the Brown Act.

9 III. AGENDA
A. Declaration of Policy
No ordinance, resolution, or item of business shall be introduced, discussed or acted upon before the Council at its meeting without prior thereto its having been published on the agenda of the meeting and posted in accordance with Section III.D.2.

Exceptions to this rule are limited to circumstances listed in Section III.D.4.b and items continued from a previous meeting and published on a revised agenda.

B. Definitions
For purposes of this section, the terms listed herein shall be defined as follows:

1. "Agenda Item" means an item placed on the agenda (on either the Consent Calendar or as a Report For Action) for a vote of the Council by the Mayor or any Councilmember, the City Manager, the Auditor, or any
board/commission/committee created by the City Council, or any Report For Information which may be acted upon if the Mayor or a Councilmember so requests. For purposes of this section, appeals shall be considered action items.

All information from the City Manager concerning any item to be acted upon by the Council shall be submitted as a report on the agenda and not as an off -agenda memorandum and shall be available for public review, except to the extent such report is privileged and thus confidential such as an attorney client communication concerning a litigation matter. Council agenda items are limited to a maximum of four Authors and Co- Sponsors, in any combination that includes at least one Author.

Authors must be listed in the original item as submitted by the Primary Author. Co- Sponsors may only be added in the following manner:
• In the original item as submitted by the Primary Author • In a revised item submitted by the Primary Author at the Agenda & Rules Committee
• By verbal request of the Primary Author at the Agenda & Rules Committee • In a revised item submitted by the Primary Author in Supplemental Reports and Communications Packet #1 or #2
• By verbal or written request of the Mayor or any Councilmember at the Policy Committee meeting or meeting of the full C ouncil at which the item is considered

2. Agenda items shall contain all relevant documentation, including the information listed below:
a) A descriptive title that adequately informs the public of the subject matter and general nature of the item or report;
b) Whether the matter is to be presented on the Consent Calendar or the Action Calendar or as a Report for Information;

10 c) Recommendation of the report’s Primary Author that describes the action to be taken on the item, if applicable;
d) Fiscal impacts of the recommendation;
e) A description of the current situation and its effects; f) Background information as needed;
g) Rationale for recommendation;
h) Alternative actions considered;
i) For awards of contracts; the abstract of bids and the Affirmative Action Program of the low bidder in those cases where such is required (these provisions shall not apply to Mayor and Council items); j) Person or persons to contact for further information, with telephone number; k) Additional information and analysis as required. It is recommended that reports include the points of analysis in Appendix B - Guidelines for Developing and Writing Council Agenda Items.

3. “Author” means the Mayor or other Councilmembers who actually authored an item by contributing to the ideas, research, writing or other material elements.

4. “Primary Author” means the Mayor or Councilmember listed first on the item. The Primary Author is the sole contact for the City Manager with respect to the item.

Communication with other Authors and Co- Sponsors, if any, is the responsibility of the Primary Author.

5. “Co-Sponsor" means the Mayor or other Councilmembers who wish to indicate their strong support for the item, but are not Authors, and are designated by the Primary Author to be co-sponsors of the council agenda item.

6. "Agenda" means the compilation of the descriptive titles of agenda items submitted to the City Clerk, arranged in the sequence established in Section III.E hereof.

7. "Packet" means the agenda plus all its corresponding agenda items.

8. "Emergency Matter" arises when prompt action is necessary due to the disruption or threatened disruption of public facilities and a majority of the Council determines that:
a) A work stoppage or other activity which severely impairs public health, safety, or both;
b) A crippling disaster, which severely impairs public health, safety or both.

Notice of the Council's proposed consideration of any such emergency

11 matter shall be given in the manner required by law for such an emergency pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.5.

9. “Continued Business” Items carried over from a prior agenda of a meeting occurring less than 11 days earlier.

10. "Old Business" Items carried over from a prior agenda of a meeting occurring more than 11 days earlier.

C. Procedure for Bringing Matters Before City Council

1. Persons Who Can Place Matters on the Agenda.

Matters may be placed on the agenda by the Mayor or any Councilmember, the City Manager, the Auditor, or any board/commission/committee created by the City Council. All items are subject to review, referral, and scheduling by the Agenda & Rules Committee pursuant to the rules and limitations contained herein.

The Agenda & Rules Committee shall be a standing committee of the City Council.

The Agenda & R ules Committee shall meet 15 days prior to each City Council meeting and shall approve the agenda of that City Council meeting. Pursuant to BMC Section 1.04.080, if the 15 th day prior to the Council meeting falls on a holiday, the Committee will meet the next business day. The Agenda & Rules Committee packet, including a draft agenda and Councilmember , Auditor, and Commission reports shall be distributed by 5:00 p.m. four days before the Agenda & Rules Committee meeting.

The Agenda & Rules Committee shall have the powers set forth below. a) Items Authored by the Mayor, a Councilmember, or the Auditor.

As to items authored by the Mayor, a Councilmember, or the Auditor, the Agenda & Rules Committee shall review the item and may take the following actions:
i. Refer the item to a commission for further analysis (Primary Author may decline and request Policy Committee assignment).
ii. Refer the item to the City Manager for further analysis (Primary Author may decline and request Policy Committee assignment).
iii. Refer the item back to the Primary Author for adherence to required form or for additional analysis as required in Section III.B.2 (Primary Author may decline and request Policy Committee assignment).

iv. Refer the item to a Policy Committee.
v. Schedule the item for the agenda under consideration or one of the next three full Council agendas.

12 For referrals under Chapter III.C.1.a. i, ii, or iii, the Primary Author must inform the City Clerk within 24 hours of the adjournment of the Agenda & Rules Committee meeting whether they prefer to:
1) re-submit the item for a future meeting with modifications as suggested by the Agenda & Rules Committee; or
2) pull the item completely; or
3) re-submit the item with revisions as requested by the Agenda & Rules Committee within 24 hours of the adjournment of the Agenda & Rules Committee meeting for the Council agenda under
consideration; or
4) accept the referral of the Agenda & Rules Committee in sub paragraphs III.C.1.a. i , ii, or iii , or request Policy Committee assignment.

If the Primary Author requests a Policy Committee assignment, the item will appear on the next draft agenda presented to the Agenda & Rules Committee for assignment.

In the event that the City Clerk does not receive guidance from the Primary Author of the referred item within 24 hours of the Agenda & Rules Committee’s adjournment, the item will appear on the next draft agenda for consideration by the Agenda & Rules Committee.

Items held for a future meeting to allow for modifications will be placed on the next available Council meeting agenda at the time that the revised version is submitted to the City Clerk.
b) Items Authored by the City Manager. The Agenda & Rules Committee shall review agenda descriptions of items authored by the City Manager.

The Committee can recommend that the matter be referred to a commission or back to the City Manager for adherence to required form, additional analysis as required in Section III.B.2, or suggest other appropriate action including scheduling the matter for a later meeting to allow for appropriate revisions.

If the City Manager determines that the matter should proceed notwithstanding the Agenda & Rules Committee’s action, it will be pl aced on the agenda as directed by the Manager. All City Manager items placed on the Council agenda against the recommendation of the Agenda & Rules Committee will automatically be placed on the Action Calendar.

13 c) Items Authored by Boards and Commissions. Council items submitted by boards and commissions are subject to City Manager review and must follow procedures and timelines for submittal of reports as described in the Commissioners’ Manual. The content of commission items is not subject to review by the Agenda & Rules Committee unless referred for policy review to the Agenda & Rules Committee.
i) For a commission item that does not require a companion report from the City Manager, the Agenda & Rules Committee may act on an agendized commission report in the following manner:

1. M ove a commission report from the Consent Calendar to the Action Calendar or from the Action Calendar to the Consent Calendar.

2. Re-schedule the commission report to appear on one of the next three regular Council meeting agendas that occur after the regular meeting under consideration. Commission reports submitted in response to a Council referral shall receive higher priority for scheduling.

3. Refer the item to a Policy Committee for review.

4. Allow the item to proceed as submitted.
ii) For any commission report that requires a companion report, the Agenda & Rules Committee may schedule the item on a Council agenda. The Committee must schedule the commission item for a meeting occurring not sooner than 60 days and not later than 120 days from the date of the meeting under consideration by the Agenda & Rules Committee . A commission report submitted with a complete companion report may be scheduled pursuant to subparagraph c.i. above.
d) The Agenda & Rules Committee shall have the authority to re- order the items on the Action Calendar regardless of the default sequence prescribed in Chapter III, Section E.

2. Scheduling Public Hearings Mandated by State, Federal, or Local Statute.

The City Clerk may schedule a public hearing at an available time and date in those cases where State, Federal or local statute mandates the City Council hold a public hearing.

3. Submission of Agenda Items.
a) City Manager Items. Except for Continued Business and Old Business, as a condition to placing an item on the agenda, agenda items from departments, including agenda items from commissions, shall be furnished to the City Clerk at a time established by the City Manager.

14 b) Council and Auditor Items. The deadline for reports submitted by the Auditor, Mayor and City Council is 5:00 p.m. on Monday, 22 days before each Council meeting.
c) Time Critical Items. A Time Critical item is defined as a matter that is considered urgent by the sponsor and that has a deadline for action that is prior to the next meeting of the Council and for which a report prepared by the City Manager, Auditor, Mayor or Councilmember is received by the City Clerk after established deadlines and is not included on the Agenda & Rules Committee’s published agenda.

The Primary Author of the report shall bring any reports submitted as Time Critical to the meeting of the Agenda & Rules Committee. Time Critical items must be accompanied by complete reports and statements of financial implications. If the Agenda & Rules Committee finds the matter to meet the definition of Time Critical, the Agenda & Rules Committee may place the matter on the Agenda on either the Consent or Action Calendar. d) The City Clerk may not accept any agenda item after the adjournment of the Agenda & Rules Committee meeting, except for items carried over by the City Council from a prior City Council meeting occurring less than 11 days earlier, which may include supplemental or revised reports , and reports concerning actions taken by boards and commissions that are required by law or ordinance to be presented to the Council within a deadline that does not permit compliance with the agenda timelines in BMC Chapter 2.06 or these rules.

4. Submission of Supplemental and Revised Agenda Material.

Berkeley Municipal Code Section 2.06.070 allows for the submission of supplemental and revised agenda material. Supplemental and revised material cannot be substantially new or only tangentially related to an agenda item.

Supplemental material must be specifically related to the item in the Agenda Packet. Revised material should be presented as revised versions of the report or item printed in the Agenda Packet. Supplemental and revised material may be submitted for consideration as follows:
a) Supplemental and revised agenda material shall be submitted to the City Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. seven calendar days prior to the City Council meeting at which it is to be considered. Supplemental and revised items that are received by the deadline shall be distributed to Council in a supplemental reports packet and posted to the City’s website no later than 5:00 p.m. five calendar days prior to the meeting. Copies of the supplemental packet shall also be made available in the office of the City Clerk and in the main branch of the Berkeley Public Library. Such material may be considered by the Council without the need for a determination that the good of the City clearly outweighs the lack of time for citizen review or City Councilmember evaluation.

15 b) S upplemental and revised agenda material submitted to the City Clerk after 5:00 p.m. seven days before the meeting and no later than 12:00 p.m. one day prior to the City Council meeting at which it is to be considered shall be distributed to Council in a supplemental reports packet and posted to the City’s website no later than 5:00 p.m. one day prior to the meeting.

Copies of the supplemental packet shall also be made available in the office of the City Clerk and in the main branch of the Berkeley Public Library. Such material may be considered by the Council without the need for a determination that the good of the City clearly outweighs the lack of time for citizen review or City Council evaluation.
c) After 12:00 p.m. one calendar day prior to the meeting, supplemental or revised reports may be submitted for consideration by delivering a minimum of 42 copies of the supplemental/revised material to the City Clerk for distribution at the meeting. Each copy must be accompanied by a completed supplemental/revised material cover page, using the form provided by the City Clerk. Revised reports must reflect a comparison with the original item using track changes formatting. The material may be considered only if the City Council, by a two- thirds roll call vote, makes a factual determination that the good of the City clearly outweighs the lack of time for citizen review or City Councilmember evaluation of the material.

Supplemental and revised material must be distributed and a factual determination made prior to the commencement of public comment on the agenda item in order for the material to be considered.

5. Submission of Late Urgency Items Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2(b)
Late Urgency Items are items proposed for submission to the Council Agenda pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2(b)
All items to be submitted for consideration for addition to an agenda as Late Urgency Items shall be accompanied by a cover sheet that includes 1) boxes to check for the Author to affirm whether the item is submitted under the Emergency or Immediate Action Rule (and a short explanation of what is required to meet each rule, as well as the vote threshold required for the item to be placed onto the agenda by the City Council); 2) a disclaimer in BOLD 14pt. CAPS stating that the item is not yet agendized and may or may not be accepted for the agenda as a Late Urgency Item, at the City Council’s discretion according to Brown Act rules; 3) a prompt requiring the author to list the facts which support consideration of the item for addition to the agenda as either an Emergency or Immediate Action item; and 4) a copy of the City Attorney memo on Late Urgency Items.

Late Items must be submitted to the City Clerk no later than 12:00 p.m. (noon) the day prior to the meeting.

All complete Late Items submitted by the deadline will be distributed with Supplemental Communication Packet #2 by 5:00 p.m. the day before the Council meeting. A Late Item is not considered “complete” and will not be distributed unless submitted with the required cover sheet, filled out in a complete manner.

16 Very Late Urgency Items of an extremely urgent nature (e.g., earthquake, severe wildfire, pandemic) may be submitted for addition to the agenda after the deadline of 12:00 p.m. the day before the meeting to accommodate unforeseeable, extreme and unusual circumstances. A Very Late Urgency Item will be distributed at the Council meeting prior to any vote to add it to the agenda and the Presiding Officer may provide an appropriate break to allow Councilmembers and the public to review the item before voting on whether to add it to the agenda and possibly again, at the Presiding Officer’s discretion, before the item is voted on.

The required cover sheet should be included with the Very Late Urgency Item unless extremely exigent circumstances underlie the Very Late Urgency Item submission and a written cover sheet could not be prepared (for example, power is out and printing or emailing is not possible), in which case the individual “walking in” the item should be ready to provide all required information verbally at the meeting before a vote is taken to add or not add the item to the Agenda.

6. Scheduling a Presentation.

Presentations from staff are either submitted as an Agenda Item or are requested by the City Manager. Presentations from outside agencies and the public are coordinated with the Mayor's Office. The Agenda & Rules Committee may adjust the schedule of presentations as needed to best manage the Council Agenda.

The Agenda & Rules Committee may request a presentation by staff in consultation with the City Manager.

D. Packet Preparation and Posting

1. Preparation of the Packet.

Not later than the thirteenth day prior to said meeting, the City Clerk shall prepare the packet, which shall include the agenda plus all its corresponding agenda items. No item shall be considered if not included in the packet, except as provided for in Section III.C.4 and Section III.D.4.

2. Distribution and Posting of Agenda.
a) The City Clerk shall post each agenda of the City Council regular meeting no later than 11 days prior to the meeting and shall post each agenda of a special meeting at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting in the official bulletin board. The City Clerk shall maintain an affidavit indicating the location, date and time of posting each agenda.
b) The City Clerk shall also post agendas and annotated agendas of all City Council meetings and notices of public hearings on the City's website. c) No later than 11 days prior to a regular meeting, copies of the agenda shall be mailed by the City Clerk to any resident of the City of Berkeley who so requests in writing. Copies shall also be available free of charge in the City Clerk Department.

17 3. Distribution of the Agenda Packet.

The Agenda Packet shall consist of the Agenda and all supporting documents for agenda items. No later than 11 days prior to a regular meeting, the City Clerk shall:
a) distribute the Agenda Packet to each member of the City Council; b) post the Agenda Packet to the City’s website;
c) place copies of the Agenda Packet in viewing binders in the office of the City Clerk and in the main branch of the Berkeley Public Library; and d) make the Agenda Packet available to members of the press.

4. Failure to Meet Deadlines.
a) The City Clerk shall not accept any agenda item or revised agenda item after the deadlines established.
b) Matters not included on the published agenda may be discussed and acted upon as otherwise authorized by State law or providing the Council fi nds one of the following conditions is met:
• A majority of the Council determines that the subject meets the criteria of "Emergency" as defined in Section III.B.8.
• Two thirds of the Council determines that there is a need to take immediate action and that the need for action came to the attention of the City subsequent to the posting of the agenda as required by law.
c) Matters listed on the printed agenda but for which supporting materials are not received by the City Council on the eleventh day prior to said meeting as part of the agenda packet, shall not be discussed or acted upon.

E. Agenda Sequence and Order of Business
The Council agenda for a regular business meeting is to be arranged in the following order:

1. Preliminary Matters: (Ceremonial, Comments from the City Manager, Comments from the City Auditor, Non-Agenda Public Comment)

2. Consent Calendar

3. Action Calendar
a) Appeals
b) Public Hearings
c) Continued Business
d) Old Business
e) New Business

18 4. Information Reports

5. Non-Agenda Public Comment

6. Adjournment

7. Communications
Action items may be reordered at the discretion of the Chair with the consent of Council.

The Agenda & Rules Committee shall have the authority to re-order the items on the Action Calendar regardless of the default sequence prescribed in this section.

F. Closed Session Documents
This section establishes a policy for the distribution of, and access to, confidential closed session documents by the Mayor and members of the City Council.

1. Confidential closed session materials shall be kept in binders numbered from one to nine and assigned to the Mayor (#9) and each Councilmember (#1 to #8 by district). The binders will contain confidential closed session materials related to Labor Negotiations, Litigation, and Real Estate matters.

2. The binders will be maintained by City staff and retained in the Office of the City Attorney in a secure manner. City staff will bring the binders to each closed session for their use by the Mayor and Councilmembers. At other times, the binders will be available to the Mayor and Councilmembers during regular business hours for review in the City Attorney’s Office. The binders may not be removed from the City Attorney’s Office or the location of any closed session meeting by the Mayor or Councilmembers. City staff will collect the binders at the end of each closed session meeting and return them to the City Attorney’s Office.

3. Removal of confidential materials from a binder is prohibited.

4. Duplication of the contents of a binder by any means is prohibited.

5. Confidential materials shall be retained in the binders for at least two years.

6. This policy does not prohibit the distribution of materials by staff to the Mayor and Councilmembers in advance of a closed session or otherwise as needed, but such materials shall also be included in the binders unless it is impracticable to do so.

19 G. Regulations Governing City Council Policy Committees

1. Legislative Item Process
Al
l agenda items begin with submission to the Agenda
& Rules Committee.

Full Council Track
Items under this category are exempt from Agenda & Rules Committee discretion to refer them to a Policy Committee. Items in this category may be submitted for the agenda of any scheduled regular meeting pursuant to established deadlines (same as existing deadlines). Types of Full Council Track items are listed below.

a. Items submitted by the City Manager and City Auditor b. Items submitted by Boards and Commissions
c. Resolutions on Legislation and Electoral Issues relating to Outside Agencies/Jurisdictions
d. Position Letters and/or Resolutions of Support/Opposition e. Donations from the Mayor and Councilmember District Office Budgets f. Referrals to the Budget Process
g. Proclamations
h. Sponsorship of Events
i. Information Reports
j. Presentations from Outside Agencies and Organizations k. Ceremonial Items
l. Committee and Regional Body Appointments

The Agenda & Rules Committee has discretion to determine if an item submitted by the Mayor or a Councilmember falls under a Full Council Track exception or if it will be processed as a Policy Committee Track item.

Policy Committee Track
Items submitted by the Mayor or Councilmembers with moderate to significant administrative, operational, budgetary, resource, or programmatic impacts will go first to the Agenda & Rules Committee on a draft City Council agenda.

The Agenda & Rules Committee must refer an item to a Policy Committee at the first meeting that the item appears before the Agenda & Rules Committee. The Agenda & Rules Committee may only assign the item to a single Policy Committee.

For a Policy Committee Track item, the Agenda & Rules Committee, at its discretion, may either route item directly to 1) the agenda currently under consideration, 2) one of the next three full Council Agendas (based on completeness of the item, lack of potential controversy, minimal impacts, etc.), or 3) to a Policy Committee.

20 Time Critical Track
A Time Critical item is defined as a matter that is considered urgent by the sponsor and that has a deadline for action that is prior to the next meeting of the Council and for which a report prepared by the Mayor or Councilmember is received by the City Clerk after established deadlines and is not included on the Agenda & Rules Committee’s published agenda.

The Agenda & Rules Committee retains final discretion to determine the time critical nature of an item.

a) Time Critical items submitted on the Full Council Track deadlines, that would otherwise be assigned to the Policy Committee Track, may bypass Policy Committee review if determined to be time critical. If such an item is deemed not to be time critical, it may be referred to a Policy Committee. b) Time Critical items on the Full Council Track or Policy Committee Track that are submitted at a meeting of the Agenda & Rules Committee may go directly on a council agenda if determined to be time critical.

2. Council Referrals to Committees
The full Council may refer any agenda item to a Policy Committee by majority vote.

3. Participation Rules for Policy Committees Pursuant to the Brown Act a. The quorum of a three-member Policy Committee is always two members. A majority vote of the committee (two ‘yes’ votes) is required to pass a motion.

b. Two Policy Committee members may not discuss any item that has been referred to the Policy Committee outside of an open and noticed meeting.

c. Notwithstanding paragraph (b) above, two members of a Policy C ommittee may be listed as Authors or Co-Sponsors on an item provided that one of the Authors or Co -Sponsors will not serve as a committee member for consideration of the item, and shall not participate in the committee’s discussion of, or action on the item. For purposes of the item , the appointed alternate, who also cannot be an Author or Co- Sponsor, will serve as a committee member in place of the non-participating Author or Co-Sponsor.

d. All three members of a Policy Committee may not be Authors or Co-Sponsors of an item that will be heard by the committee.

e. Only one Author or Co-Sponsor who is not a member of the Policy Committee may attend the committee meeting to participate in discussion of the item.

21 f. If two or more non-committee members are present for any item or meeting, then all non-committee members may act only as observers and may not participate in discussion. If an Author who is not a member of the committee is present to partici pate in the discussion of their item, no other non-committee member Councilmembers, nor the Mayor, may attend as observers.

g. An item may be considered by only one Policy C ommittee before it goes to the full Council.

4. Functions of the Committees
Committees shall have the following qualities/components:
a. All committees are Brown Act bodies with noticed public meetings and public comment. Regular meeting agendas will be posted at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting.
b. Minutes shall be available online.
c. Committees shall adopt regular meeting schedules, generally meeting once or twice per month; special meetings may be called when necessary, in accordance with the Brown Act.
d. Generally, meetings will be held at 2180 Milvia Street in publicly accessible meeting rooms that can accommodate the committee members, public attendees, and staff.
e. Members are recommended by the Mayor and approved by the full Council no later than January 31 of each year. Members continue to serve until successors are appointed and approved.
f. Chairs are elected by the Committee at the first regular meeting of the Committee after the annual approval of Committee members by the City Council. In the absence of the Chair, the committee member with the longest tenure on the Council will preside.
g. The Chair, or a quorum of the Committee may call a meeting or cancel a meeting of the Policy Committee.
h. Committees will review items for completeness in accordance with Section III.B.2 of the City Council Rules of Procedure and Order and alignment with Strategic Plan goals.
i. Reports leaving a Policy Committee must adequately include budget implications, administrative feasibility, basic legal concerns, and staff resource demands in order to allow for informed consideration by the full Council. j. Per Brown Act regulations, any revised or supplemental materials must be direct revisions or supplements to the item that was published in the agenda packet.

Items referred to a Policy Committee from the Agenda & Rules Committee or from the City Council must be agendized for a commi ttee meeting within 60 days of the referral date.

22 Within 120 days of the referral date, either (1) the committee Chair may accept the Primary Author’s request, either in writing, or in person at a meeting of the committee, that the item remain in committee until a date certain (more than one extension may be requested by the Primary Author); or (2) the committee may vote to send the item to the Agenda & Rules Committee to be placed on a Council Agenda with a Committee recommendation consisting of one of th e four options listed below. The Committee Chair shall report any extension granted outside of a meeting to the Committee by email or verbally at the next Committee meeting.

1. Positive Recommendation (recommending Council pass the item as proposed),

2. Qualified Positive Recommendation (recommending Council pass the item with some changes),

3. Qualified Negative Recommendation (recommending Council reject the item unless certain changes are made) or

4. Negative Recommendation (recommending the item not be approved).

The Policy Committee ’s recommendation will be included in a separate section of the report template for that purpose.

A Policy Committee may not refer an item under its consideration to a city board or commission.

The Primary Author of an item referred to a Policy Committee is responsible for revisions and resubmission of the item back to the full Council. Items originating from the City Manager are revised and submitted by the appropriate city staff. Items from Commissions are revised and resubmitted by the members of the Policy Committee. Items and recommendations originating from the Policy Committee are submitted to the City Clerk by the members of the committee.

If a Policy Committee does not take final action by the 120- day deadline, the item is returned to the Agenda & Rules Committee and appears on the next available Council agenda. The Agenda & Rules Committee may leave the item on the agenda under consideration or place it on the next Council agenda. Items appearing on a City Council agenda due to lack of action by a Policy C ommittee may not be referred to a Policy Committee and must remain on the full Council agenda for consideration.

Policy Committees may add discussion topics that are within their purview to their agenda with the concurrence of a majority of the Committee. These items are not subject to the 120-day deadline for action.

Once the item is voted out of a Policy Committee, the final item will be resubmitted to the agenda process by the Primary Author, and it will return to the Agenda & Rules Committee

23 on the next available agenda. The Agenda & Rules Committee may leave the item on the agenda under consideration or place it on the following Council agenda. Only items that receive a Positive Recommendation can be placed on the Consent Calendar.

The Primary Author may request expedited committee review for items referred to a committee. Criteria for expedited review is generally to meet a deadline for action (e.g. grant deadline, specific event date, etc.). If the committee agrees to the request, the deadline for final committee action is 45 days from the date the committee approves expedited review.

5. Number and Make-up of Committees
Six committees are authorized, each comprised of three Councilmembers, with a fourth Councilmember appointed as an alternate. Each Councilmember and the Mayor will serve on two committees. The Mayor shall be a member of the Agenda and Rules Comm ittee.

The committees are as follows:

1. Agenda and Rules Committee

2. Budget and Finance Committee

3. Facilities, Infrastructure, Transportation, Environment, and Sustainability

4. Health, Life Enrichment, Equity, and Community

5. Land Use, Housing, and Economic Development

6. Public Safety

The Agenda & Rules Committee shall establish the Policy Committee topic groupings, and may adjust said groupings periodically thereafter in order to evenly distribute expected workloads of various committees.

All standing Policy Committees of the City Council are considered “legislative bodies” under the Brown Act and must conduct all business in accordance with the Brown Act.

6. Role of City Staff at Committee Meetings
Committees will be staffed by appropriate City Departments and personnel. As part of the committee process, staff will undertake a high-level, preliminary analysis of potential legal issues, costs, timelines, and staffing demands associated with the item. Staff analysis at the Policy Committee level is limited to the points above as the recommendation, program, or project has not yet been approved to proceed by the full Council.

IV. CONDUCT OF MEETING
24 IV. CONDUCT OF MEETING
A. Comments from the Public
Public comment will be taken in the following order:
• An initial ten-minute period of public comment on non-agenda items, after the commencement of the meeting and immediately after Ceremonial Matters and City Manager Comments.
• Public comment on the Consent and Information Calendars. • Public comment on action items, appeals and/ or public hearings as they are taken up under procedures set forth in the sections governing each below. • Public comment on non- agenda items from any speakers who did not speak during the first round of non- agenda public comment a t the beginning of the meeting.

Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one other speaker, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes. A speaker wishing to yield their time shall identify themselves, shall be recognized by the chair, and announce publicly their intention to yield their time. Disabled persons shall have priority seating in the front row of the public seating area.

A member of the public may only speak once at public comment on any single item, unless called upon by the Mayor or a Councilmember to answer a specific inquiry.

1. Public Comment on Consent Calendar and Information Items.

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.” 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.” The Council will th en take public comment on any items that are either on the amended Consent Calendar or the Information Calendar. A speaker may only speak once during the period for public comment on Consent Calendar and Information items. 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, the Mayor or 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.

IV. CONDUCT OF MEETING
25 2. Public Comment on Action Items.

After the initial ten minutes of public comment on non- agenda items , public comment on consent and information items, and adoption of the Consent Calendar, the public may comment on each remaining item listed on the agenda for action as the item is taken up.

The Presiding Officer will request that persons wishing to speak, line up at the podium to be recognized and to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time.

If ten or fewer persons are interested in speaking, each speaker may speak for two minutes. If there are more than ten persons interested in speaking, the Presiding Officer may limit the public comment for all speakers to one minute per speaker. Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one other speaker, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes.

This procedure also applies to public hearings except those types of public hearings specifically provided for in this section, below.

3. Appeals Appearing on Action Calendar.

With the exception of appeals from decisions of the Zoning Adjustments Board and Landmarks Preservation Commission, appeals from decisions of City commissions appear on the “Action” section of the Council Agenda. Council determines whether to affirm the action of the commission, set a public hearing, or remand the matter to the commission. Appeals of proposed special assessment liens shall also appear on the “Action” section of the Council Agenda.

Appeals from decisions of the Zoning Adjustments Board and Landmarks Preservation Commission are automatically set for public hearing and appear on the “Public Hearings” section of the Council Agenda.

Time shall be provided for public comment for persons representing both sides of the action/appeal and each side will be allocated seven minutes to present their comments on the appeal. Where the appellant is not the applicant, the appellants of a single appeal collectively shall have seven minutes to comment and the applicant shall have seven minutes to comment. If there are multiple appeals filed, each appellant or group of appellants shall have seven minutes to comment.

Where the appellant is the applicant, the applicant/appellant shall have seven minutes to comment and the persons supporting the action of the board or commission on appeal shall have seven minutes to comment. In the case of an appeal of proposed special assessment lien, the appellant shall have seven minutes to comment.

After the conclusion of the seven-minute comment periods, members of the public may comment on the appeal. Comments from members of the public regarding appeals shall be limited to one minute per speaker. Any person that addressed the Council during one of the seven- minute periods may not speak again during the public comment period on the appeal. Speakers may yield their time to one other speaker, however, no speaker shall have more than two minutes. Each side

IV. CONDUCT OF MEETING
26 shall be informed of this public comment procedure at the time the Clerk notifies the parties of the date the appeal will appear on the Council agenda.

4. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Matters.

Immediately following Ceremonial Matters and the City Manager Comments and prior to the Consent Calendar, persons will be selected by lottery to address matters not on the Council agenda. If five or fewer persons submit speaker cards for the lottery, each person selected will be allotted two minutes each. If more than five persons submit speaker cards for the lottery, up to ten persons will be selected to address matters not on the Council agenda and each person selected will be allotted one minute each. Persons wishing to address the Council on matters not on the Council agenda during the initial ten- minute period for such comment, must submit a speaker card to the City Clerk in person at the meeting location and prior to commencement of that meeting.

The remainder of the speakers wishing to address the Council on non- agenda items will be heard at the end of the agenda. Speaker cards are not required for this second round of public comment on non-agenda matters.

Persons submitting speaker cards are not required to list their actual name, however they must list some identifying information or alternate name in order to be called to speak.

For the second round of public comment on non- agenda matters, the Presiding Officer retains the authority to limit the number of speakers by subject. The Presiding Officer will generally request that persons wishing to speak, line up at the podium to be recognized to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time. Each speaker will be entitled to speak for two minutes each unless the Presiding Officer determines that one- minute is appropriate given the number of speakers.

Pursuant to this document, no Council meeting shall continue past 11:00 p.m. unless a two-thirds majority of the Council votes to extend the meeting to discuss specified items. If any agendized business remains unfinished at 11:00 p.m. or the expiration of any extension after 11:00 p.m., it will be referred to the Agenda & Rules Committee for scheduling pursuant to Chapter II, Section F. In that event, the meeting shall be automatically extended for up to fifteen (15) minutes for public comment on non-agenda items.

5. Ralph M. Brown Act Pertaining to Public Comments.

The Brown Act prohibits the Council from discussing or taking action on an issue raised during Public Comment, unless it is specifically listed on the agenda.

However, the Council may refer a matter to the City Manager.

B. Consent Calendar
There shall be a Consent Calendar on all regular meeting agendas on which shall be included those matters which the Mayor, Councilmembers, boards, commissions, City Auditor and City Manager deem to be of such nature that no debate or inquiry

APPENDIX A. POLICY FOR NAMING AND RENAMING PUBLIC FACILITIES 27 will be necessary at the Council meetings. Ordinances for second reading may be included in the Consent Calendar.

It is the policy of the Council that the Mayor or Councilmembers wishing to ask questions concerning Consent Calendar items should ask questions of the contact person identified prior to the Council meeting so that the need for discussion of consent calendar items can be minimized.

Consent Calendar items may be moved to the Action Calendar by the Council. Action items may be reordered at the discretion of the Chair with the consent of Council.

C. Information Reports Called Up for Discussion
Reports for Information designated for discussion at the request of the Mayor or any Councilmember shall be added to the appropriate section of the Action Calendar and may be acted upon at that meeting or carried over as pending business until discussed or withdrawn. The agenda will indicate that at the request of Mayor or any Councilmember a Report for Information may be acted upon by the Council.

D. Written Communications
Written communications from the public will not appear on the Council agenda as individual matters for discussion but will be distributed as part of the Council agenda packet with a cover sheet identifying the author and subject matter and will be listed under "Communications." All such communications must have been received by the City Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. fifteen days prior to the meeting in order to be included on the agenda.

In instances where an individual forwards more than three pages of email messages not related to actionable items on the Council agenda to the Council to be reproduced in the "Communications" section of the Council packet, the City Clerk will not reproduce the entire email(s) but instead refer the public to the City's website or a hard copy of the email(s) on file in the City Clerk Department.

All communications shall be simply deemed received without any formal action by the Council. The Mayor or a Councilmember may refer a communication to the City Manager for action, if appropriate, or prepare a consent or action item for placement on a future agenda.

Communications related to an item on the agenda that are received after 5:00 p.m. fifteen days before the meeting are published as provided for in Chapter III.C.4.

E. Public Hearings for Land Use, Zoning, Landmarks, and Public Nuisance Matters
The City Council, in setting the time and place for a public hearing, may limit the amount of time to be devoted to public presentations. Staff shall introduce the public hearing item and present their comments.

Following any staff presentation, each member of the City Council shall verbally disclose all ex parte contacts concerning the subject of the hearing. Members shall also submit a report of such contacts in writing prior to the commencement of the hearing. Such reports shall include a brief statement describing the name, date,

APPENDIX A. POLICY FOR NAMING AND RENAMING PUBLIC FACILITIES 28 place, and content of the contact. Written reports shall be available for public review in the office of the City Clerk prior to the meeting and placed in a file available for public viewing at the meeting.

This is followed by five- minute presentations each by the appellant and applicant.

Where the appellant is not the applicant, the appellants of a single appeal collectively shall have five minutes to comment and the applicant shall have five minutes to comment. If there are multiple appeals filed, each appellant or group of appellants shall have five minutes to comment. Where the appellant is the applicant, the applicant/appellant shall have five minutes to comment and the persons supporting the action of the board or commission on appeal shall have five minutes to comment.

In the case of a public nuisance determination, the representative(s) of the subject property shall have five minutes to present.

The Presiding Officer will request that persons wishing to speak, line up at the podium to be recognized and to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time.

If ten or fewer persons are interested in speaking, each speaker may speak for two minutes. If there are more than ten persons interested in speaking, the Presiding Officer may limit the public comment for all speakers to one minute per speaker. Any person that addressed the Council during one of the five-minute periods may not speak again during the public comment period on the appeal. Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one other speaker, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes. The Presiding Officer may with the consent of persons representing both sides of an issue allocate a block of time to each side to present their issue.

F. Work Sessions
The City Council may schedule a matter for general Council discussion and direction to staff. Official/formal action on a work session item will be scheduled on a subsequent agenda under the Action portion of the Council agenda.

In general, public comment at Council work sessions will be heard after the staff presentation, for a limited amount of time to be determined by the Presiding Officer.

The Presiding Officer will request that persons wishing to speak, line up at the podium to be recognized and to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time. If ten or fewer persons are interested in speaking, each speaker may speak for two minutes. If there are more than ten persons interested in speaking, the Presiding Officer may limit the public comment for all speakers to one minute per speaker. Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one other speaker, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes.

After Council discussion, if time permits, the Presiding Officer may allow additional public comment. During this time, each speaker will receive one minute. Persons who spoke during the prior public comment time may be permitted to speak again.

APPENDIX A. POLICY FOR NAMING AND RENAMING PUBLIC FACILITIES 29 G. Protocol
People addressing the Council may first give their name in an audible tone of voice for
the record. All remarks shall be addressed to the Counci l as a body and not to
any member thereof. No one other than the Council and the person having the floor shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either directly or through a member of the Council, without the permission of the Presiding Officer. No question shall be asked of a Councilmember except through the Presiding Officer.

APPENDIX A. POLICY FOR NAMING AND RENAMING PUBLIC FACILITIES 30 V. PROCEDURAL MATTERS
A. Persons Authorized to Sit at Tables
No person, except City officials, their representatives and representatives of boards and commissions shall be permitted to sit at the tables in the front of the Council Chambers without the express consent of the Council.

B. Decorum
No person shall disrupt the orderly conduct of the Council meeting. Prohibited disruptive behavior includes but is not limited to shouting, making disruptive noises, such as boos or hisses, creating or participating in a physical disturbance, speaking out of turn or in violation of applicable rules, preventing or attempting to prevent others who have the floor from speaking, preventing others from observing the meeting, entering into or remaining in an area of the meeting room that is not open to the public, or approaching the Council Dais without consent. Any written communications addressed to the Council shall be delivered to the City Clerk for distribution to the Council.

C. Enforcement of Decorum
When the public demonstrates a lack of order and decorum, the presiding officer shall call for order and inform the person(s) that the conduct is violating the Rules of Order and Procedure and provide a warning to the person(s) to cease the disruptive behavior. Should the person(s) fail to cease and desist the disruptive conduct, the presiding officer may call a five (5) minute recess to allow the disruptions to cease.

If the meeting cannot be continued due to continued disruptive conduct, the presiding officer may have any law enforcement officer on duty rem ove or place any person who violates the order and decorum of the meeting under arrest and cause that person to be prosecuted under the provisions of applicable law.

D. Precedence of Motions
When a question or motion is before the Council, no motion shall be entertained except:

1. To adjourn;

2. To fix the hour of adjournment;

3. To lay on the table;

4. For the previous question;

5. To postpone to a certain day;

6. To refer;

7. To amend;

8. To substitute; and

9. To postpone indefinitely.

These motions shall have precedence in order indicated. Any such motion, except a motion to amend or substitute, shall be put to a vote without debate.

APPENDIX A. POLICY FOR NAMING AND RENAMING PUBLIC FACILITIES 31 E. Robert’s Rules of Order
Robert’s Rules of Order have been adopted by the City Council and apply in all cases exc
ept the precedence of motions in Section V.D shall supersede.

F. Ru
les of Debate

1. Presiding Officer May Debate.

The presiding officer may debate from the chair; subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members, and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges as a member of the Council by reason of that person acting as the presiding officer.

2. Getting the Floor - Improper References to be avoided.

Members desiring to speak shall address the Chair, and upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine themself to the question under debate.

3. Interruptions.

A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it is to call a member to order, or as herein otherwise provided. If a member, while speaking, were called to order, that member shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined, and, if in order, the member shall be permitted to proceed.

4. Privilege of Closing Debate.

The Mayor or Councilmember moving the adoption of an ordinance or resolution shall have the privilege of closing the debate. When a motion to call a question is passed, the Mayor or Councilmember moving adoption of an ordinance, resolution or other action shall have three minutes to conclude the debate.

5. Motion to Reconsider.

A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Council may be made only during the same session such action is taken. It may be made either immediately during the same session, or at a recessed or adjourned session thereof. Such motion must be made by a member on the prevailing side, and may be made at any time and have precedence over all other motions or while a member has the floor; it shall be debatable. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any member of the Council from making or remaking the same or ot her motion at a subsequent meeting of the Council.

6. Repeal or Amendment of Action Requiring a Vote of Two-Thirds of Council, or Greater.

Any ordinance or resolution which is passed and which, as part of its terms, requires a vote of two -thirds of the Council or more in order to pass a motion pursuant to such an ordinance or resolution, shall require the vote of the same percent of the Council to repeal or amend the ordinance or resolution.

APPENDIX A. POLICY FOR NAMING AND RENAMING PUBLIC FACILITIES 32 G. Debate Limited

1. C onsideration of each matter coming before the Council shall be limited to 20 m
inutes from the time the matter is first taken up, at the end of which period consideration of such matter shall terminate and the matter shall be dropped to the foot of the agen da, immediately ahead of
Information Reports; provided that
either of the following two not debatable motions shall be in order:
a) A motion to extend consideration which, if passed, shall commence a new twenty-minute period for consideration; or
b) If there are one or more motions on the floor, a motion for the previous question, which, if passed by a 2/3 vote, shall require an immediate vote on pending motions.

2. The time limit set forth in subparagraph 1 hereof shall not be applicable to any public hearing, public discussion, Council discussion or other especially set matter for which a period of time has been specified (in which case such specially set time shall be the limit for consideration) or which by applicable law (e.g. hearings of appeals, etc.), the matter must proceed to its conclusion.

3. In the interest of expediting the business of the City, failure by the Chair or any Councilmember to call attention to the expiration of the time allowed for consideration of a matter, by point of order or otherwise, shall constitute unanimous consent to the continuation of consideration of the matter beyond the allowed time; provided, however, that the Chair or any Councilmember may at any time thereafter call attention to the expiration of the time allowed, in which cas e the Council shall proceed to the next item of business, unless one of the motions referred to in Section D hereof is made and is passed.

H. Motion to Lay on Table
A motion to lay on the table shall preclude all amendments or debate of the subject under consideration. If the motion shall prevail, the consideration of the subject may be resumed only upon a motion of a member voting with the majority and with consent of two-thirds of the members present.

I. Division of Question
If the question contains two or more propositions, which can be divided, the presiding officer may, and upon request of a member shall, divide the same.

J. Addressing the Council
Under the following headings of business, unless the presiding officer rules otherwise, any interested person shall have the right to address the Council in accordance with the following conditions and upon obtaining recognition by the presiding officer:

1. Written Communications.

Interested parties or their authorized representatives may address the Council in the form of written communications in regard to matters of concern to them by

APPENDIX A. POLICY FOR NAMING AND RENAMING PUBLIC FACILITIES 33 submitting their written communications at the meeting, or prior to the meeting pursuant to the deadlines in Chapter III.C.4.

2. Public Hearings.

Interested persons or their authorized representatives may address the Council by reading protests, petitions, or communications relating to matters then under consideration.

3. Public Comment.

Interested persons may address the Council on any issue concerning City business during the period assigned to Public Comment.

K. Addressing the Council After Motion Made
When a motion is pending before the Council, no person other than the Mayor or a Councilmember shall address the Council without first securing the permission of the presiding officer or Council to do so.

L. Use of Cellular Phones and Electronic Devices

The use of cell phones during City Council meetings is discouraged for the Mayor and Councilmembers. While communications regarding Council items should be minimized, personal communications between family members and/or caregivers can be taken outside in the case of emergencies. In order to acknowledge differences in learning styles and support tactile learners, note-taking can continue to be facilitated both with a pen and paper and/or on electronic devices such as laptop computers and tablets.

The use cell phones during Closed Session Meetings is explicitly prohibited for the Mayor and Councilmembers.

APPENDIX A. POLICY FOR NAMING AND RENAMING PUBLIC FACILITIES 34 VI. FACILITIES
A. Meeting Location Capacity
Attendance at council meetings shall be limited to the posted seating capacity of the meeting location. Entrance to the meeting location will be appropriately regulated by the City Manager on occasions when capacity is likely to be exceeded. While the Council is in session, members of the public shall not remain standing in the meeting room except to address the Council, and sitting on the floor shall not be permitted.

B. Alternate Facilities for Council Meetings
The City Council shall approve in advance a proposal that a Council meeting be held at a facility other than the School District Board Room.

If the City Manager has reason to anticipate that the attendance for a meeting will be substantially greater than the capacity of the Board Room and insufficient time exists to secure the approval of the City Council to hold the meeting at an alternate fac ility, the City Manager shall make arrangements for the use of a suitable alternate facility to which such meeting may be recessed and moved, if the City Council authorizes the action.

If a suitable alternate facility is not available, the City Council may reschedule the matter to a date when a suitable alternate facility will be available.

Alternate facilities are to be selected from those facilities previously approved by the City Council as suitable for meetings away from the Board Room.

C. Signs, Objects, and Symbolic Materials
Objects and symbolic materials such as signs which do not have sticks or poles attached or otherwise create any fire or safety hazards will be allowed within the meeting location during Council meetings.

D. Fire Safety
Exits shall not be obstructed in any manner. Obstructions, including storage, shall not be placed in aisles or other exit ways. Hand carried items must be stored so that such items do not inhibit passage in aisles or other exit ways. Attendees are strictly prohibited from sitting in aisles and/ or exit ways. Exit ways shall not be used in any way that will present a hazardous condition.

E. Overcrowding
Admittance of persons beyond the approved capacity of a place of assembly is prohibited. When the meeting location has reached the posted maximum capacity, additional attendees shall be directed to the designated overflow area.

APPENDIX A. POLICY FOR NAMING AND RENAMING PUBLIC FACILITIES 35 APPENDIX A. POLICY FOR NAMING AND RENAMING PUBLIC

FACILITIES
Purpose
To establish a uniform policy regarding the naming and r enaming of existing and future parks, streets, pathways and other public facilities.

Objective
A. To ensure that naming public facilities (such as parks, streets, recreation facilities, pathways, open spaces, public building, bridges or other structures) will enhance the values and heritage of the City of Berkeley and will be compatible with community interest.

Section 1 – Lead Commission
The City Council designates the following commissions as the ‘Lead Commissions’ in overseeing, evaluating, and ultimately advising the Council in any naming or renaming of a public facility. The lead commission shall receive and coordinate comment and inp ut from other Commissions and the public as appropriate.

Board of Library Trustees

Parks and Recreation Commission –Parks, recreation centers, camps, plazas and public open spaces

Public Works Commission –Public buildings (other than recreation centers), streets and bridges or other structures in the public thoroughfare.

Waterfront Commission –Public facilities within the area of the City known as the Waterfront, as described in BMC 3.36.060.B.

Section 2 – General Policy
A. Newly acquired or developed public facilities shall be named immediately after acquisition or development to ensure appropriate public identity.

B. No public facility may be named for a living person, but this policy can be overridden with a 2/3 vote of the City Council.

C. Public facilities that are renamed must follow the same criteria for naming new facilities.

In addition, the historical significance and geographical reference of the established name should be considered when weighing and evaluating any name change.

D. The City encourages the recognition of individuals for their service to the community in ways that include the naming of activities such as athletic events, cultural presentations, or annual festivals, which do not involve the naming or renaming of public facilities.

E. Unless restricted by covenant, facilities named after an individual should not necessarily be considered a perpetual name.

Section 3 – Criteria for Naming of Public Facilities
When considering the naming of a new public facility or an unnamed portion or feature within an already named public facility (such as a room within the facility or a feature within an established park), or, the renaming of an existing public facility the following criteria shall be applied: