City Council Wednesday, October 14, 2026 Page 1 of 3
Notice and Agenda
Special Meeting
of the
La Cañada Flintridge City Council
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at 4:00 PM
City Hall
One Civic Center Drive
La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011
Jeanne K. Hobson, Mayor
Stephanie Fossan, Mayor Pro Tem
Quemars S. Ahmed, Councilmember
Kim Bowman, Councilmember
City Council Wednesday, October 14, 2026 Page 2 of 3
How to Attend and Participate in the Meeting Remotely
City Council meetings are held in person and on Zoom. The City Council Chambers are open to the public. If you cannot attend in person, you can join and speak remotely.
To watch the meeting (view only, no speaking), go to the City’s website: https://lcf.ca.gov/city-clerk/agendaminutes/ To access the meeting and provide public comment, log into the Zoom meeting or dial the telephone number.
You will be muted until the public comment period begins. Use the “Raise Hand” feature at the bottom of your screen, and when called on, unmute yourself.
Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83785440236 Meeting ID: 837 8544 0236 One-Tap Mobile: +16694449171,,83785440236# OR +16699009128,,83785440236# US Telephone Number: 1-669-444-9171
Technical Disruptions - If a technical issue prevents remote public observation or participation and City personnel cannot immediately correct the problem, the City Council will recess the meeting while the City takes further corrective action. If remote access cannot be restored within one hour, the City Council may continue the meeting only after confirming that the City made good faith efforts to restore service and finding that the public interest in proceeding outweighs the need for remote access. These procedures also apply to disruptions affecting Councilmembers participating remotely.
Comments from the Public - The public is encouraged to address the City Council on any matter posted on the agenda or on any other matter within its jurisdiction. If you wish to address the City Council, you may do so during the Comments from the Public period noted on the agenda. Each person is allowed 3-minutes speaking time.
Pursuant to provisions of the Brown Act, no action may be taken on a matter unless it is listed on the agenda, or unless certain emergency or special circumstances exist. The City Council may direct staff to investigate and/or schedule certain matters for consideration at a future City Council meeting.
Agenda Materials - Copies of staff reports and supporting documentation pertaining to agenda items are available for public viewing and inspection at City Hall, 2nd Floor Lobby Area, during regular business hours, and on the City’s website https://lcf.ca.gov. For further information regarding agenda items, please contact the office of the City Clerk at (818) 790-8880 or via e-mail at [email protected].
SB 343 – Any writings relating to an agenda item distributed to a majority of the City Council less than 72 hours prior to the meeting will be available for public review in the City Clerk’s Office during normal business hours and/or posted on the City’s website.
Levine Act - To promote transparency and fairness in government decision-making, the Levine Act imposes contribution prohibitions and disclosure requirements. Specifically, any elected or appointed City officer is prohibited from making or attempting to influence a decision in a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use if the officer received a contribution of more than $500 within the preceding 12 months from a party or their agent. (Gov. Code § 84308(c)(1).) Additionally, parties to proceedings involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use pending before any elected or appointed City officer must disclose any campaign contributions exceeding $500 that they made within the preceding 12 months. (Gov. Code § 84308(e)(1).) For more information please visit: https://lcf.ca.gov/city-clerk/levine-act/.
Reasonable Accommodations - In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Government Code Section 54953(g), the City Council has adopted a "reasonable accommodations" policy to expedite accommodation requests. The policy can also be found on the City’s website. Please contact the City Clerk’s Office, (818) 790-8880 to make an accommodation request, or to obtain an electronic or printed copy of the policy.
City Council Wednesday, October 14, 2026 Page 3 of 3
4:00 PM City Council Special Meeting
Call to Order
Roll Call Jeanne K. Hobson, Mayor
Stephanie Fossan, Mayor Pro Tem
Quemars S. Ahmed, Councilmember
Kim Bowman, Councilmember
Comments from the Public - Public Comment cards are in the holder on the wall in the lobby.
Limited to 3 minutes per speaker for items on the Consent Calendar, items not on the Agenda, or any issue within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council. Public comment is limited to a maximum of 20 minutes. Speakers not able to speak due to the 20-minute time limit will be provided with the opportunity to speak at the end of the meeting. Please give a completed Public Comment Card to the City Clerk prior to the conclusion of this item. Speakers will be called in the order that public comment cards are received.
If the matter on which you wish to speak is an Agenda item (other than a Consent Calendar item), you will be provided the opportunity to address the City Council when the matter is considered. Please give a completed Public Comment Card to the City Clerk prior to the beginning of the item.
Item for Consideration
1) Interviews of Applicants for the Vacant City Council Seat Applicant Name Time
Cheryl Clary 4:00 p.m.
Nerses Aposhian 4:30 p.m.
Ashley Grace 5:00 p.m.
Jill Henley 5:30 p.m.
Ernest Koeppen 6:00 p.m.
Jason Middleton 6:30 p.m.
Ali Shirazi 7:00 p.m.
Donald R. Voss 7:30 p.m.
All interview scheduled times are approximate and may vary Comments from the City Council
Comments from the City Manager
Adjournment
Motion to Adjourn
I certify under penalty of perjury that the agenda was posted on the City Hall bulletin board at One Civic Center Drive at least 24 hours prior to the meeting, in accordance with Government Code Section 54954.2.
Tania Garcia, City Clerk
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APPLICATION FOR CITY COUNCIL VACANCY
Ashley Grace, MSW
Please describe your community involvement and activities (in both La Cañada Flintridge and elsewhere):
My community involvement reflects a longstanding commitment to children, families, education, and public service, both in La Cañada Flintridge and throughout the greater Los Angeles area.
In La Cañada Flintridge, I served a full term on the Paradise Canyon Elementary School Site Council, including as Vice President, and never missed a meeting. This past spring, I co-chaired the Field Committee for the Measure LCF campaign, helping organize community outreach that contributed to the measure’s passage. I am also in my second year as a board member of the La Cañada Flintridge Educational Foundation, where I continue to support efforts to strengthen our public schools. My interest in serving the City itself is not new. I have twice applied to serve on the Parks and Recreation Commission, including during its initial recruitment, when I was the only applicant to submit an application by the original deadline.
Professionally, I am a social worker and college professor. My social work experience includes working in a San Fernando Valley high school with specialized student populations, including pregnant and parenting students, foster youth, and formerly incarcerated youth. For the past three years, I have taught in the Child and Adolescent Development Department at California State University, Northridge. I have also volunteered my time providing training to preschools and families in the San Gabriel Valley on the impacts of childhood trauma.
Beyond my professional work, I have been actively involved in policy advocacy on behalf of survivors of sexual assault and other vulnerable populations. I have worked with legislators and advocacy organizations on legislative policy reform, including efforts that contributed to the passage of workplace protections for vulnerable populations. That work has given me experience bringing people together around difficult issues, communicating with policymakers, and translating lived experiences and community concerns into practical policy solutions.
I also have extensive community involvement of the less formal, but equally important, variety. I am the mother of three young children, an active classroom volunteer at Paradise Canyon Elementary, taxi driver of AYSO soccer players, amateur cheerleader at taekwondo tournaments, and enthusiastic attendee of Movies in the Park. Raising my family here means that I experience La Cañada Flintridge not only through meetings, boards, and organizations, but through the everyday life of our schools, parks, programs, businesses, and neighborhoods.
As both a parent and a professional who has spent my career working with children and families, I care deeply about making La Cañada Flintridge a community that works well for residents at every stage of life. Across these roles, I have contributed through our schools, local initiatives, volunteer service, professional work, and advocacy. I would welcome the opportunity to bring that experience, perspective, and commitment to public service to the La Cañada Flintridge City Council.
Please describe your education and work experience/training that you believe would be relevant in your role as a City Council member.
I am a proud summa cum laude graduate of the University of Southern California, where I earned my Master of Social Work with a concentration in Children, Families, and Youth. While at USC, I also earned my Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC) and Child Welfare and Attendance (CWA) credential, qualifying me to provide social work services in California public schools.
During my time working in a San Fernando Valley high school, I provided counseling and support to vulnerable student populations and worked alongside school personnel, community organizations, and support and emergency services to connect students and families with needed resources. That experience gave me firsthand knowledge of how public and community systems function in practice, including where they work well, where gaps exist, and how challenging they can sometimes be for residents to navigate. It also taught me the importance of collaboration across agencies and institutions when addressing the needs of a community.
Prior to earning my master’s degree, I received my Bachelor’s degree in Child and Adolescent Development from California State University, Northridge, after earning my Associate degree in Early Childhood Education from Santa Monica College. My own educational path has taken me through community college, the California State University system, and a private university.
Along the way, I studied and worked with diverse communities throughout Los Angeles County and developed an understanding of community needs from both an individual and systems-level perspective.
My professional experience has also required me to communicate effectively with very different audiences. My earlier career in entertainment, my collegiate success in forensic speech competitions, my work as a social worker, and now my role as a university professor have made me very comfortable speaking publicly. More importantly, they have taught me how to communicate complicated or sensitive information in a way that is accessible, engaging, and responsive to the people in the room. I believe listening to residents, clearly explaining decisions, and making local government feel accessible are important responsibilities of a City Councilmember.
My work in legislative policy and advocacy has given me additional experience that I believe would be particularly valuable on the Council. I have worked with advocates, legislators, and government officials to advance policy reforms and, through that work, have developed strong professional relationships at the local and state levels. I understand that good policy does not end with its passage. It requires implementation, evaluation, and a willingness to identify areas for improvement when policies or practices produce unintended results.
Collectively, my education and professional experience have trained me to approach problems from both the individual and systems level, to listen carefully to people with different perspectives, to navigate complex institutions, and to turn community needs into practical solutions. I would bring those skills, along with established relationships throughout our region and a genuine willingness to learn where my experience is limited, to my service on the La Cañada Flintridge City Council.
Please describe any expertise and/or specialized knowledge that you possess that would be relevant in your role as a City Council member.
My areas of specialized knowledge are rooted in policy analysis, education and child development, nonprofit governance, community engagement, and the practical implementation of public policy.
Through my academic and advocacy work, I have experience researching, writing, and analyzing policy proposals, with particular attention to how a policy will function once it moves from paper into practice. I am accustomed to asking not only whether a proposal has a worthwhile objective, but whether it is workable, what resources it will require, who will be affected, whether there may be unintended consequences, and how its effectiveness can be evaluated after implementation. I believe that perspective would be particularly useful when considering new City policies as well as revisiting existing ones that may no longer be producing their intended results.
My service on nonprofit and community boards has also given me practical experience with one of the most persistent challenges facing public institutions: needs and priorities frequently exceed available resources. I have participated in conversations about funding, competing priorities, community engagement, and how organizations adapt when anticipated resources change or disappear. Those experiences have taught me to be pragmatic about limited resources without losing sight of the people those resources are intended to serve.
I also bring significant professional knowledge in education, child development, and family systems. Given the particularly close relationship between the City and our schools, I believe that background would allow me to serve as a natural liaison and thoughtful partner in matters where the work of the City and the La Cañada Unified School District intersect.
Perhaps most importantly, my understanding of La Cañada Flintridge does not come exclusively from professional experience. As a Field Committee co-chair for the Measure LCF campaign, I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with hundreds of LCF residents. I heard directly from neighbors about taxes and local financial obligations, our schools, development, infrastructure, public spaces, and their broader hopes and concerns for the future of our community. Those conversations gave me a much broader understanding of the range of perspectives within our city, including perspectives that differ from my own.
My expertise is in understanding people, systems, policy, and the space where those three intersect. I know how to ask difficult questions, listen to people with competing priorities, examine whether a policy is working as intended, and adjust when it is not. I believe a strong City Council benefits from members with different areas of expertise, and I would bring a perspective grounded in public service, education, community engagement, and the real-world impact of the decisions government makes.
Understanding that the City Council regularly meets every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, please describe any time constraints or limitations on your availability (days of week, evenings, weekends, frequent, and/or extended absences, recurring business obligations) that might limit your availability for special meetings or community events.
I do not foresee any professional or personal conflicts that would limit my ability to fulfill the responsibilities of a City Councilmember, including regular and special meetings, community events, evenings, or weekends as needed.
I take the commitments I make very seriously, and my attendance record across my professional and community service roles reflects that. When I commit to serving, I show up, prepared and ready to participate. I would approach service on the City Council with that same level of responsibility, including not only meeting attendance expectations, but being responsive, prepared, and meeting or exceeding the deadlines associated with the role.
Please describe your personal goals and what you would like to see accomplished by the City Council, if appointed:
Public safety would be a top priority for me. In La Cañada Flintridge, that necessarily includes continued attention to wildfire prevention and preparation, emergency response, evacuation planning, and ensuring that residents understand not only what the City is doing, but what they can do individually to prepare.
Public safety also includes maintaining a strong partnership with local law enforcement. I believe we can prioritize the safety of our residents while also expecting that interactions between law enforcement and members of our community are dignified.
More broadly, one of my personal goals would be to expand the number and diversity of residents who regularly engage with the City. Public meetings are important, but the people who attend them or submit public comment represent only a portion of our community. I would like to continue finding ways to reach residents who may never come to City Hall, attend a Council meeting, or feel comfortable speaking at a podium. Good local government requires hearing from more than the loudest or most familiar voices in the room.
I would also like to continue strengthening the relationship between the City and LCUSD. The progress made in recent years through joint working groups and increased collaboration is encouraging, and I would like to see that relationship become an enduring part of how our two institutions operate, rather than something dependent on the particular individuals serving at any given time. The Cornishon Corridor provides an immediate opportunity to demonstrate what meaningful City-District-community collaboration can look like. As that project moves forward, I would want residents, parents, students, educators, City staff, and the District to have meaningful opportunities to participate in shaping an area that is so central to daily life in our community.
I also recognize that the Council will continue navigating difficult questions surrounding housing, development, infrastructure, traffic, and the requirements increasingly placed on cities by the State. My goal would be to approach those decisions thoughtfully and pragmatically, protecting the qualities that make La Cañada Flintridge such a special place to live while recognizing the City's legal obligations and planning responsibly for its future.
Finally, I would like the City to continue evaluating the policies it adopts after implementation.
Passing an ordinance or approving a project should not be the end of the conversation. We should be willing to ask whether something is working as intended, listen when residents identify unintended consequences, and make adjustments when the evidence tells us we can do better.
My overarching goal would be fairly simple: to help preserve what residents love about La Cañada Flintridge while making sure we are preparing thoughtfully for what comes next. I would want residents to feel that their City is safe, well-managed, responsive, transparent, and accessible to them, whether they have lived here for fifty years or just arrived.
Please identify any potential conflicts of interest that could arise while serving as a City Council member including, but not limited to, financial, business and/or organizational affiliations.
I am not aware of any financial, business, or organizational affiliations that would create a conflict of interest with my service as a City Councilmember.
I understand that Councilmembers are required to complete a Statement of Economic Interests, Form 700, disclosing applicable financial interests, and I would have no concerns doing so fully and transparently. I also understand the importance of identifying potential conflicts as they arise and, when appropriate, seeking guidance and recusing myself from matters in which I may have a disqualifying interest.
Please provide your reasons for wanting to serve on the City Council and any other comments that you believe would be helpful to the City Council as it considers your application for appointment:
Since moving to La Cañada Flintridge in 2019, I have made a deliberate effort to become an active and contributing member of this community. I have tremendous respect for public service and have long hoped that, at the right time, I could offer that service directly to our City. Until now, the time was not right. I take commitments seriously, and I would never ask to serve in a role if I were not confident that I had the time and capacity to do the work well.
I have been fortunate that members of this community have already entrusted me with opportunities to serve them. I was elected to the Paradise Canyon Elementary School Site Council and later selected to serve on the board of the La Cañada Flintridge Educational Foundation. I have worked on local campaigns, volunteered in our schools, spoken with hundreds of residents, and twice sought an opportunity to serve the City through the Parks and Recreation Commission. Each experience has strengthened my interest in local government and my belief that I have something meaningful to contribute.
If appointed, I would bring a strong commitment to transparency, openness, and public trust. I believe residents should understand not only what decisions their local government makes, but how and why those decisions are made. I also believe strongly in creating meaningful opportunities for talented residents to participate in City government. La Cañada Flintridge is filled with people with extraordinary professional expertise, lived experience, and ideas to contribute. Our City is strongest when we actively seek out that talent and create pathways for new people to become involved.
I do not believe leadership requires being the person in the room who knows the most about every subject. Good leadership requires knowing how to listen, ask the right questions, identify expertise, cultivate the talent around you, and then make thoughtful decisions with the information available. I would bring that approach to the Council.
Finally, I would bring the same honesty to this role that I try to bring to every area of my professional and civic life. I will not always agree with every colleague or every resident, nor would I expect them always to agree with me. But I can commit to listening, being prepared, communicating openly, explaining my reasoning, and treating disagreement with respect.
I love raising my family in La Cañada Flintridge. I am applying because I am ready to do more than simply benefit from the community others have worked hard to build and maintain. I am ready to take responsibility for helping care for it, and for helping prepare it for the families and residents who will call it home after us.