CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting: February 15, 2022
Subject
Commissions and Committees Workshop
Recommended Action
Conduct Commissions and Committees Workshop and provide direction to staff Background
As part of the FY 2019‐2020 City Work Program, the City Council requested that staff explore the possibility of creating additional commissions or committees to address Cupertino’s needs. The City Council specified the City’s need to address traffic and transportation as well as economic development. As part of the FY 2021‐2022 City Work Program, the City Council requested that staff also consider the City’s need to further support the senior community.
In addition, as part of the FY 20‐21 the City Council requested a review of the scope of the Environmental Review Committee. The FY 21‐22 City Work Program also includes the development of ordinances codifying the Fiscal Strategy and Economic Development Committees as well as a name change for the Fine Arts Commission.
This item was brought to the City Council in December 2021 where the City Council directed staff to bring this item back for a study session in February.
Commissions and Committees in Cupertino
The City Council has created a total of ten commissions plus the Design Review Committee, which is a standing subcommittee of the Planning Commission. The primary role of commissions is to advise the City Council in the formation of policy by weighing public input and examining issues to render a recommendation to the City Council. The following table summarizes the City’s commissions and Design Review Committee with brief descriptions of their community priority areas.
Commission
Summary Description
Bicycle Pedestrian Commission
Advises Council on transportation matters within Cupertino including bicycle and pedestrian traffic, parking, education, and recreation.
Fine Arts Commission
Advises Council and encourages the realization, preservation, and advancement of fine arts for the benefit of the citizens of Cupertino.
Housing Commission
Advises Council on housing policies and strategies, affordable housing projects, and sources of funding for affordable housing.
Library Commission
Advises Council regarding library service in the community and serves as liaison between the City and the Santa Clara County Library JPA.
Parks & Recreation Commission
Advises Council on parks and recreation related activities, including park site acquisition and development, community activities, and recreation policies.
Planning Commission
Advises Council on land use matters such as specific and general plans, zonings, and subdivisions. Reviews other matters as specified by City ordinances or Title VII of the Government Code of California. ‐ Design Review
Committee
A subcommittee of the Planning Commission that reviews aspects of site and architectural design.
Public Safety Commission
Advises Council on areas relating to public safety, traffic, police, fire and other areas where public safety may be of concern.
Sustainability Commission
Advises Council on major policy areas related to the environmental goals in Cupertino’s Climate Action Plan and General Plan’s Environmental Resources/Sustainability Element.
Teen Commission
Advises Council and staff on issues and projects important to youth in the Cupertino community.
Technology, Information, & Communications Commission (TICC) Advises Council on all matters relating to telecommunications in Cupertino and provides support for community access television.
Currently, the City has six standing committees. These committees are subject to the Brown Act and are subcommittees of the City Council where one or two councilmembers are assigned as members, along with members from the public or staff. The purpose of committees is generally to review specific topics affecting the City and to take action as delegated by the City Council. However, the Municipal Code prohibits the City Council from delegating the City Council’s oversight of City operations through the City Manager to any individual councilmember or committee. The following table summarizes the City’s committees with brief descriptions of their priority areas.
Committee
Summary Description
Audit Committee
Reviews external and internal audit reports, monthly treasurer’s report, and city investment policies. Recommends appointment of external and internal auditors and recommends a budget format.
Disaster Council
Supports the City’s emergency management and preparedness responsibilities.
Economic Development Committee
Enhances and promotes a strong local economy to provide municipal services that businesses and residents desire and need to maintain the communityʹs quality of life.
Environmental Review Committee
Evaluates the initial study of a proposed project to determine whether the project may or may not have a significant effect on the environment.
Fiscal Strategic Plan Committee
Confers, strategizes, and plans for current as well as future activities that have a fiscal impact on the City.
Legislative Review Committee
Makes recommendations on legislative advocacy issues and authorizes position letters for legislation that aligns with the Cityʹs Council‐approved Legislative Platform.
The scopes of these commissions and committees can be viewed in Attachment C, except for the Economic Development and Fiscal Strategic committees as the ordinance codifying those committees will be developed following this City Council discussion.
Discussion
In addition to reviewing Cupertino’s current commissions and committees, the commissions and committees in 13 other cities in Santa Clara County were also reviewed (Attachments A and B). While cities may use varying terminology, bodies that included members of the public to advise Council were included as commissions for the purposes of this analysis. Long‐standing, active bodies that are not categorized as commissions and include members of Council were included as committees in this report.
The following table shows that only Mountain View has more commissions and committees than Cupertino. The table also includes each cities’ full‐time employee count, excluding police and fire departments, and its overall population for comparison.
Commissions and Committees in Other Cities
City
# of commissions and committees
Population
FTE*
Mountain View
19 82,272
253
Cupertino
17 66,762
198
Milpitas
17 84,196
230
Los Altos Hills
16 8,300
26 Los Altos
15 31,190
95 Palo Alto
14 67,019
711
Santa Clara
14 128,717
530
Gilroy
11 58,756
138
Campbell
11 42,288
104
Sunnyvale
11 156,503
735
Los Gatos
9 31,439
90 Saratoga
9 31,030
57 Morgan Hill
4 45,742
123
Monte Sereno
3 3,492
7 * Excluding Fire and Police Departments
On average, cities have 12 commissions and committees. Cupertino has a large number of commissions and committees, especially when considering its population size in comparison to neighboring cities. For a breakdown of the topics of each commission and committee, see Attachments A and B respectively.
Commissions in Other Cities
Of the 13 other cities reviewed, the most common commissions were related to planning, parks and recreation, transportation, youth, libraries, and the arts. Ten of the cities surveyed, including Cupertino, have a commission for each of these topics. Aside from Cupertino, only two other cities have a housing commission and public safety related commission. Cupertino and Milpitas are currently the only cities with a technology related commission.
The below table shows that there are only two cities, Los Altos Hills and Milpitas, with more commissions than Cupertino, while Gilroy and Los Altos have the same number as Cupertino.
Commissions in Other Cities
City
# of commissions
Population
FTE*
Los Altos Hills
15 8,300
26 Milpitas
12 84,196
230
Cupertino
11 66,762
198
Gilroy
11 58,756
138
Los Altos
11 31,190
95 Mountain View
10 82,272
253
Palo Alto
9 67,019
711
Santa Clara
9 128,717
530
Sunnyvale
9 156,503
735
Los Gatos
8 31,439
90 Saratoga
7 31,030
57 Campbell
6 42,288
104
Monte Sereno
3 3,492
7 Morgan Hill
3 45,742
123
* Excluding Fire and Police Departments
The average number of commissions among the cities surveyed was nine. Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara all have nine commissions despite having the largest populations and full‐time employee counts. Los Altos Hills has an unusually large number of commissions and is only able to maintain them by having the commissioners manage their own meetings, agendas, and minutes without staff liaisons. As a result, not all commissions have up‐to‐date records and minutes. In addition, Los Altos Hills and Los Altos share the Senior and Library Commissions but they are still reflected in both cities’ totals.
Committees in Other Cities
The following table shows that only Mountain View has more committees than Cupertino. In general, committees tend to be specific and unique to the corresponding city, such as for specific community events, local school districts, and railroads. Some of the most common committees include finance and audit committees, disaster councils, and economic development committees. Cupertino currently has all of the most common committees compared to the other cities reviewed in this report.
Committees in Other Cities
City
# of Committees
Population
FTE*
Mountain View
9 82,272
253
Cupertino
6 66,762
198
Milpitas
5 84,196
230
Palo Alto
5 67,019
711
Santa Clara
5 128,717
530
Campbell
5 42,288
104
Los Altos
4 31,190
95 Sunnyvale
2 156,503
735
Saratoga
2 31,030
57 Los Gatos
1 31,439
90 Los Altos Hills
1 8,300
26 Morgan Hill
1 45,742
123
Gilroy
0 58,756
138
Monte Sereno
0 3,492
7 * Excluding Fire and Police Departments
Commission Membership Requirements
Currently, commissioners are generally required to be residents of Cupertino. There are some exceptions when the commissioner is a business representative or provides a certain area of expertise. However, for the Planning Commission and TICC, the resident requirement is stated as a requirement that members be qualified electors. A qualified elector is someone who is eligible to vote in Cupertino, meaning they are at least 18 years of age, live in Cupertino, and are a US citizen. The remaining commissions only refer to a residency requirement. Staff needs policy direction from the City Council on whether the qualified elector requirement should be changed to a residency requirement for consistency. Once direction is received, a municipal code amendment will be brought for the City Council’s consideration if a change is required.
Traffic and Transportation
In 2017 and 2019 respectively, Los Altos and Los Gatos expanded their bicycle and pedestrian related commissions to Complete Streets Commissions to include other traffic and transportation related issues. The purpose of the complete streets commissions is to create multi‐modal transportation solutions for all commuters. On June 2, 2020, it was proposed to the City Council that Cupertino’s Bicycle Pedestrian Commission be expanded to a Complete Streets Commission. However, the proposal failed, and the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission remained unchanged. No other city surveyed has both a bicycle pedestrian related commission and a transportation commission. However, Saratoga does have both a traffic safety and a trails related commission. In its current capacity, the Cupertino Bicycle Pedestrian Commission regularly addresses topics that relate to Complete Streets and multiple modes, as the various modes often affect one another and must be considered holistically. Staff needs further direction from the City Council on whether they would like to pursue a Transportation Commission, a Complete Streets Commission, or continue resolving traffic and transportation issues as part of the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission.
Housing Commission
In November 2020, Vice Mayor Chao and former Mayor Scharf expressed a desire to expand the scope of the Housing Commission to include social services. This is not recommended because the City does not have a social services component aside from providing Housing and Human Services Grant funding to social services providers. The County of Santa Clara Social Services Agency and the Office of Supportive Housing provides social services to residents of Cupertino. Regional social services providers, such as West Valley Community Services also provide these services to Cupertino.
Currently, the Housing Commission is already responsible for the review and recommendation of all Housing and Human Services Grant funding. This is an essential function of the Commission that enables the City to ensure that social services are being provided to Cupertino residents. The City’s Housing and Human Services Grants program provides approximately $550,000 annually in grant funding directly to eligible social service agencies. Of that $550,000, the City provided West Valley Community Services with approximately $330,000 in Housing and Human Services Grant funding in FY 2021‐2022. Of the cities surveyed, Sunnyvale is the only city with a Housing and Human Services Commission. Their commission is responsible for reviewing funding to human services agencies similar to what Cupertino’s Housing Commission already does. Expanding the scope of the Commission beyond its existing functions, which include advising on the Housing and Human Services Grant funding, would require significant resources and staff time, which is why it is recommended that the Commission’s scope is not expanded at this time. Staff needs further direction from the City Council on what they would like to consider for the Housing Commission.
Senior Commission/Senior Advisory Council
Of the 13 cities surveyed, six cities have a senior related commission, with Los Altos Hills and Los Altos sharing their Senior Commission. In Los Gatos, the Community Health and Senior Services Commission is more focused on community and human services in general and is not specifically addressing the senior community. The City of Cupertino had a Senior Commission previously; however, in 2009, the commission and the City Council agreed to dissolve it as there were significant overlapping functions with the Senior Advisory Council (SAC). The SAC has four Board Members and 15 committee members, which meet every other month. Currently, the SAC discusses programs at the Senior Center and receives updates on community group activities.
They address any issues or topics involving senior citizens such as Age Friendly Cities. Staff estimates that the Advisory Council requires about 3.5 hours of staff time a month.
Given that the Advisory Council requires minimal staff time with costs incorporated into the Senior Center program, staff has evaluated that the Senior Advisory Council is operating efficiently and does not require a new Senior Commission to be formed.
At the November 20, 2018 City Council meeting, the City Council revisited the idea of reinstating a senior commission and ultimately decided to continue the City’s partnership with the SAC with an addition to request the SAC to provide quarterly updates to the Parks and Recreation Commission.
Fine Arts Commission
The City currently has a Fine Arts Commission made up of five residents appointed by the City Council. The purpose of the commission is to foster, encourage and assist in the realization, preservation and advancement of fine arts for the benefit of the citizens of Cupertino. The Commission was first codified in 1987 and was originally named the “Fine Arts Commission”. The FY 2021‐22 City Work Program includes an item to change the name of the Fine Arts Commission, which was recommended by the commissioners. The Commissioners goal is to change the name of the commission in order to broaden the reach of potential interests, explore other arts outside of “Fine Arts,” and better align with commission goals. Staff is working on this name change for completion this fiscal year and will be presenting the City Council with the updated ordinance for consideration.
Economic Development Committee
The City currently has an Economic Development Committee (EDC) made up of four City staff members, two City Council members, one Planning Commissioner, and four representatives from the business community, including the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce. The primary purpose of this committee is to discuss news about local businesses and to provide staff initial feedback on business‐related City initiatives or projects.
The City Council has requested that the EDC be codified as an official committee as part of the FY 2021‐22 City Work Program. Out of the 13 other cities surveyed in this report, only Santa Clara and Campbell currently have active economic development focused committees that are subcommittees of Council. Gilroy has an ad hoc Economic Development Committee, which has not been active for many years.
Currently, two cities in Santa Clara County have economic development related commissions, which are made up of members of the public. The City of Milpitas has an Economic Development and Trade Commission and the City of Mountain View has a Downtown Committee, which works to encourage economic development in Downtown Mountain View. The City is conducting research on economic development committees in other cities to evaluate what would work best for Cupertino. Staff anticipates presenting this research for the City Council’s consideration in April 2022.
Fiscal Strategic Plan Committee
Currently Cupertino has a Fiscal Strategic Plan Committee that confers, strategizes, and plans for current as well as future activities that have a fiscal impact on the City. This committee meets annually and is made up of two councilmembers and staff. This committee generally reviews the upcoming Fee Schedule and discusses the financial strategy for the City. The City Council has requested that the Fiscal Strategic Plan Committee be codified as part of the FY 2021‐22 City Work Program.
Given the additional workload on the City’s Audit Committee, namely with the establishment of the internal audit function, staff have researched and recommend the Fiscal Strategic Plan Committee be converted to a Finance Committee that is recommended to be codified to meet monthly and be charged with the following powers, duties, and responsibilities:
Review Monthly Report of Receipts, Disbursements and Fund Balances Review Quarterly Treasurer’s Investment Report
Review Budget Format
To review City investment policies and internal controls of such policies Review Annual Fee Schedule Update
Review City’s Annual Fiscal Forecast Update
Pursuant to the establishment of the Finance Committee, the Audit Committee’s powers, duties, and responsibilities are recommended to be amended to transfer “B,” “C,” and “D” above. Staff plans to prepare the amendments for Audit Committees consideration in the coming months and will then bring the amendments for the City Council’s consideration this fiscal year.
Environmental Review Committee
Cupertino’s Environmental Review Committee (ERC) was codified in August 1990. The ERC’s primary function is to review public projects in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to determine whether a project may or may not have a significant effect on the environment by evaluating the preliminary analysis, also known as the Initial Study. As part of the FY 2020‐21 City Work Program, the City Council requested that a review of the scope of the ERC and research on best practices in other cities. Of the other 14 cities surveyed, none had a commission or committee related to Environmental Review. The majority of cities have staff, sometimes along with an environmental consultant, determine if an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is needed based on the environmental impact of a proposed project.
This review of the scope of the ERC was presented to the ERC on April 15, 2021. During that discussion there was a concern that there may be perceived conflict of interest issues with a Planning Commissioner and a City councilmember serving on the ERC prior to projects coming to the Planning Commission or the City Council for review. While the makeup of the ERC does not violate procedural process or fair hearing rights, the Planning Commissioner and Councilmember appointed to the ERC would need to be careful not to say or do anything during the ERC meetings (or during any other times) that would give the impression that they have made up their mind on how they will ultimately vote on the project application.
The ERC ultimately made the following three suggestions:
Roll the environmental review aspect of the ERC’s duties into the Planning Commission, which would result in either dissolving the ERC or changing the scope.
Expand the ERC’s scope to act in an advocacy capacity and provide education and engagement opportunities to the community.
Considering changing the composition of the ERC to address the potential for perceived conflicts issues.
Staff needs further direction from the City Council on which approach they would like to consider for the ERC.
Considerations for Adding Commissions
In Cupertino, each commission is assigned a staff liaison whose role is to provide administrative support and information that will assist commissioners throughout the process of advising the City Council. In addition to staff liaisons, department directors and administrative staff all work in certain capacities to facilitate and engage with commissioners. The following table shows an estimate of the number of hours staff spends on commissions annually, not including policy development and implementation as that would have occurred whether or not there was a commission to advise the City Council. These hours include staff time spent on administrative and staff liaison duties, such as attending meetings, writing minutes, and creating agendas.
CommissionHours Spent AnnuallyBicycle Pedestrian240Fine Arts200Housing220Library350Parks and Recreation750Planning1100‐Design Review40Public Safety200Sustainability220Teen300TICC120TOTAL3,740CommitteesHours Spent AnnuallyAudit230Disaster Council30Economic Development60EnvironmentalReview80Fiscal StrategicPlanning15Legislative Review400TOTAL812 Commission
Hours Spent Annually
Bicycle Pedestrian
240
Fine Arts
200
Housing
220
Library
350
Parks and Recreation
750
Planning
1100
‐Design Review
40 Public Safety
200
Sustainability
220
Teen
300
TICC
120
TOTAL
3,740
Committees
Hours Spent Annually
Audit
230
Disaster Council
30 Economic Development
60 Environmental
Review
80 Fiscal Strategic
Planning
15 Legislative Review
400
TOTAL
812
In addition to these hours, the City Clerk’s Office also spends over 100 hours per year on administrative duties for commissions such as orientation, training, and assisting with agendas. Hours from the City Attorney’s Office are also required for certain commission and committee items, particularly Planning Commission and ERC. This does not include staff support for numerous other boards and ad‐hoc committees that the City maintains.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council review this report and provide direction as needed.
Sustainability Impact
No sustainability impact.
Fiscal Impact
If the City Council chooses to add commissions or committees, additional staffing resources may be required and will be analyzed at that time. It is estimated that an additional commission would require 100‐1100 hours and an additional committee would require around 15‐400 hours of staff time annually depending on the demands of the commission or committee.
Prepared by: Astrid Robles, Management Analyst Reviewed by: Chris Jensen, City Attorney Dianne Thompson, Assistant City Manager
Katy Nomura, Deputy City Manager
Approved for Submission by: Jim Throop, City Manager
Attachments:
A – Matrix of Commissions in Other Cities B – Matrix of Committees in Other Cities C – Scopes of Commissions and Committees