CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
City of Campbell, 70 N. First St., Campbell, California
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CAMPBELL CITY COUNCIL
Wednesday, February 28 , 202 4 – 3 :3 0 PM
Campbell Community Center – Room Q80
1 W. Campbell Ave., Campbell, CA 95008
This City Council meeting was duly noticed pursuant to open meeting requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act (G.C. Section 54956).
CALL TO ORDER
The City Council of the City of Campbell convened this day in the special meeting place, Campbell Community Center – Room Q80 , 1 W. Campbell Ave., Campbell, CA 95008.
ROLL CALL
Attendee Name Title Status
Susan M. Landry Mayor Present
Sergio Lopez Vice Mayor Present
Elliot Scozzola Councilmember Present
Dan Furtado Councilmember Present
Anne Bybee Councilmember Present
STAFF PRESENT:
Brian Loventhal, City Manager; Angelique Gaeta, Assistant City Manager; Jose Zetino, Administrative Analyst; Andrea Sanders, City Clerk; Kristen Epolite, Deputy City Clerk; Bill Seligmann, City Attorney; Rob Eastwood, Community Development Director; Will Fuentes, Finance Director; Shannon Brangan, Executive Assistant to Finance Director; John Formale, Accountant; Todd Capurso, Public Works Director; Amy Olay, City Engineer; Ron Taormina, Public Works Superintendent; Ryan Favila , Interim Inf ormation Technology Manager; Jenny Le-Christensen, Human Resources Manager; Natasha Bissell, Recreation & Community Services Director; Lauren Merriman, Recreation Services Manager; Gary Berg, Police Chief ; Ian White, Police Captain; Brad Rice, Police Captain; and Andrea Atkinson, Support Services Manager .
PUBLIC COMMENT
Elise Habra, Campbell resident , spoke of the financial hardship she experienced due to the 30% rent increase imposed on her unit and she requested a cap on rent increase percentages or con sider rent control.
Dan Orloff, President of the Campbell Chamber of Commerce Board, and part-owner of Pruneyard Cinemas and Cedar Room, spoke on behalf of Campbell bar and restaurant Minutes of February 28 , 202 4 Special City Council Meeting Page 2 owners and requested consideration to allow business owners to charge a cover or minimum charge when hosting live music events.
The City Council took a five-minute recess and reconvened at 3:45 PM.
PRIORITY SETTING SESSION
1. Develop Fiscal Year 2024-25 Citywide Priorities
Recommended Action: That the City Council review Fi scal Year 2023-24 citywide priorities and receive updates on department workplans; and adopt the Fiscal Year 2024-25 citywide priorities.
City Manager Loventhal provided an introduction and overview of the meeting structure and process. He noted that following Councilmember feedback staff will develop workplan items that will accomplish the Council priorities. The priority workplan items will return to the Council in April as part of the budget study session.
City Manager Loventhal asked the City Council m embers to provide their preliminary expectations for the meeting.
Vice Mayor Lopez commented that he was supportive of the process that was explained by staff.
Councilmember Bybee noted th at many workplan items are currently in progress and requested an update of those and the impacts th ey would have on staff and new workplan items.
Councilmember Scozzola requested more information on current priorities and looked forward to discussing his current priorities.
Councilmember Furtado agreed with City Manage r Loventhal ’s recommendation to not spend as much time on department presentations to allow additional time for Council discussion and requested an update on current priorities.
Mayor Landry requested the impacts on ongoing items , what new items will take priority , and if any older items would need to be removed.
City Manager Loventhal described the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024 Priorit y Categor ies as 1.) Long-Term Land Use Planning 2.) Sustainability 3.) Measure O
4.) Financial Stability 5.) Community Health & Safety.
He discussed the Priority Based Budget approach implemented last year which link ed the budget to the se Council priorities and associated workplan items. He detailed the workplan items and noted the large number of ongoing projects .
City Manager Loventhal highlighted significant workplan projects by department.
He requested Councilmember feedback on priorities that would be of interest to them.
Councilmembers asked questions related to the City Man ager presentation.
Minutes of February 28 , 202 4 Special City Council Meeting Page 3 Councilmember Scozzola comment ed on commercial property vacancies and noted he would like more information on a vacant parcel tax.
Councilmember Bybee asked about workplan items that had not been started yet such as Traffic Calming , Irrigation controller for JDM Park , and , the Ainsely House fences.
Public Works Director Capurso noted that the traffic calming project is a bandwidth issue, but staff is working on various traffic projects and was hoping the other items would begin by the end of the fiscal year.
Mayor Landry asked if anyon e from the public wished to speak.
Meghna Varma , Campbell resident, requested the City eliminate single-use plastic from events and social gatherings to help raise awareness and make the City more sustainable .
The City Council began discussing their priorit ies of interest to add to staff ’s workplan items .
Councilmember Furtado desired to look at the Campbell Fire Station facilities, to ascertain their needs as related to their infrastructure in order to best maintain their quality of services. He asked staf f for additional focus on Historic Preservation and the use of advertising of Campbell ’s history as a marketing tool.
Councilmember Furtado requested the o rdinance for abatement of hazardous vegetation be updated and the Weed Abatement Program to be evaluated.
Additionally, Councilmember Furtado requested the signals and stop lights be evaluated for a more modern system with better timing.
Councilmember Scozzola requested public transit be a higher priority and encouraged staff to work with Valley Transpor tation Authority (VTA) for program and funding support. He requested staff contact the indigenous groups to see what colors best represent them for the water tower lighting on Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples ’ Day . In response to the Health & Safety priority, Councilmember Scozzola requested additional outreach and efforts be put into food distribution programs in Campbell. He requested staff conduct a study to determine if the retail sale of cannabis in the City would be beneficial. He noted that a vacant p arcel tax , rent control , and tenant rights were high priorities for him.
Vice Mayor Lopez was supportive of the five main priority categories that were presented. He suggested consideration of a 2-year budget process. He requested staff look into VTA and transit -oriented partnerships and funding opportunities. He spoke about the transit signal priority and VTA funding availability . Vice Mayor Lopez was supportive of eliminating single-use plastics to support the Sustainability Priority. He was supportive of exploring the live music issue . Vice Mayor Lopez requested strengthening the City ’s communication channels through social media, the City website , and a potential Public Information Officer position. Additionally, he requested reviewing tenant/landlord rights generally and programs in connection with the Community Development Housing program.
Minutes of February 28 , 202 4 Special City Council Meeting Page 4 Councilmember Bybee was supportive of the five main priority categories that were presented. Her main focus was fiscal stability as it related to City infrastructure, PERS, the City financial system , and revenue enhancements.
Councilmember Bybee was supportive of reviving the rent mediation program and a Fire facilities assessment. Councilmember Bybee spoke about single-use plastics and increasing public awareness through our current environmental programs.
Mayor Landry requested more emphasis on sustainability, such as increased public and staff awareness as it related to recycling and conservation. S he emphasized increase d awareness of new State guidelines, such as n ew turf restrictions , water usage , and native plan ts. She spoke of redwood tree maintenance in Campbell. She requested a review of Reach Codes in light of recent litigation. Mayor Landry requested a review of City smoking policies in multi-family housing , and questioned what is going to be the City policy on AI.
She spoke of Civic Center improvements, specifically the Ai nsley House and Orchard City Green. Mayor Landry requested continued work on traffic calming and an updated policy.
Mayor Landry took addi tional public comment.
Nikki Canotas of Mike & Niki ’s Honey Company said stated she wanted to open her business based in Campbell but found the process and requirements too difficult.
The City Council took a 15-minute recess and reconvened at 5:31 PM.
The City Council discussed their main priorities and workplan items.
The City Council discussed tenant rights, rent control, reviving the Rental Increase Fact Finding Committee, a no smoking ordinance , and other rental/landlord policies .
There was a general Council consensus to add Rental Policies to the list of potential future workplan items .
The City Council discussed County Fire s ervices , facilities assessments , and the potential of consolidating with the Fire District. Staff noted that a fire facility update will be brought forward with the budget ’s Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) . The Council expressed satisfaction on this topic if staff were to provide an update with budget.
The City Council discussed signal timing and Transit Signal Prioritization.
The City Council discussed cannabis and permitted uses in Campbell. There was not a Council consensus to move forward with any studies or programs on this topic.
The City Council discussed financial stability which included discussions of future revenue measures and a vacant parcel tax.
Minutes of February 28 , 202 4 Special City Council Meeting Page 5 The City Council discussed sustainability and adding more emphasis on education, staffing , and public engagement o n City environmental programs. It was also discussed that the City work with outside agencies such as West V alley Solid Waste Authority and West Valley Sanitation District to further achieve sustainability goals.
Public Works Director Capurso noted that staff could develop workplan items to address the environmental programs and sustainability outreach .
Mayor Landry asked if anyone from the public wished to speak.
Sean Mendelson, Campbell resident spoke in support of sustainability and a Climate Action Plan and wants to see the actions of how the Plan will be implemented. He requested the electrification of all p arking spaces in apartments and single-family homes.
The City Council discussed the following potential workplan items : historic preservation, a weed abatement policy and program, food distribution programs, water conservation and native plants, and an AI Policy. There was no consensus on moving th ese forward as potential workplan items.
There was a City Council consensus for the following areas to be added to future workplan items : Rental Policies, Transit Signal Priori ti zation , Financial Stability, Sust ainability and Communications.
M/S: Bybee/Scozzola – That the City Council review Fiscal Year 2023-24 citywide priorities and receive updates on department workplans; and adopt the proposed Fiscal Year 2024-25 citywide priorities with workplan items coming back for prioritization . The motion was adopted by the following roll call vote:
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Bybee
SECONDER: Scozzola
AYES: Landry, Lopez, Scozzola, Furtado, Bybee
ADJOURN
Mayor Landry adjourned the meeting at approximately 7: 05 PM APPROVED:
ATTEST:
Susan M. Landry, Mayor
Andrea Sanders, City Clerk