City Council Meeting Page 1 of 28 February 27, 2023
7 City of Lafayette
City Council, Public Art Committee
Meeting Minutes
Teleconference Meeting – Watch on the City of Lafayette’s YouTube Channel at February 27, 2023 http://bit.ly/LoveLafayetteYouTube Submit public comments to [email protected] 6:30 p.m. before or during the meeting.
To protect public health, our residents, officials, and staff, and aligned with the Governor’s recent executive order N-29-20, certain teleconference requirements of the Brown Act have been suspended, including the requirement to provide a physical location for members of the public to participate in the meeting. Here is how to participate in the meeting and provide public comment:
1) Watch or Listen: Meetings are broadcast on the City of Lafayette’s YouTube Channel:
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City Council Meeting Page 2 of 28 February 27, 2023
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Anduri called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. via teleconference.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: City Council: Mayor Anduri, Vice Mayor Dawson; Councilmembers Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok
Absent: None
Present: Public Art Committee: Vice Chair Patrick Dunne; Committee members Janice Peacock and Yuki Fugimoto
Staff Present: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager; Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director; Mike Moran, Engineering and Public Works Director; Jonathan Katayanagi, Parks and Recreation Director; Renata Robles, Senior Planner; Suzanne Iarla, Communications Analyst; Mala Subramanian, City Attorney; Joanne Robbins, City Clerk
3. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Dawson) to adopt the agenda. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
4. PUBLIC COMMENTS – (For Closed Session items) – None.
5. CLOSED SESSION
A. Conference with Labor Negotiators (Gov. Code section 54957.6) Agency designated representatives: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager and Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director
Employee organization: Association of Lafayette Employees (ALE) B. Conference with Labor Negotiators (Gov. Code section 54957.6) Agency designated representatives: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager and Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director
Employee organization: All employees, excluding the City Manager and those within ALE OPEN SESSION – 7:09 p.m.
Mayor Anduri announced there was no reportable action taken in Closed Session.
6. PUBLIC COMMENTS (For items not on the agenda)
CHERYL MACDONALD said she believes the GPAC workshop in March may not be virtual but in person.
Many people believe it should be hybrid to get the greatest amount of attendance. She asked if the Council or staff could confirm the workshop could be hybrid and/or asked that it be placed on an upcoming agenda.
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KRISTEN ALTBAUM referred to a city job opening for a Senior Civil Engineer for $119,000 to $157,000 per year plus benefits and saw it relates to bike path planning. She spoke about modern transportation planning being completely different than it was 5 years ago and recommended the City investigate contracting with a company in San Francisco called StreetLight Data that analyzes cell phone analytics in real time and can generate reports about congestion and bottlenecks in minutes. A year’s subscription to StreetLight Data is $25,000 for the City’s size and $50,000 for a transportation consulting firm like Fehr and Peers who has used StreetLight Data. This is a one-time expenditure in lieu of $150,000 salaried job each year, and she asked that the Council talk to those who have used this in lieu of hiring staff.
JENIFER PAUL said she has been following the Lamorinda Action Plan and on February 15th the City did not notice the LPMC-TAC meeting and she was unaware it had occurred. She asked that it be re-held so they can move forward with the March 6th draft they will do for CCTA. When the City goes back to in-person meetings she would suggest starting to say the Pledge of Allegiance again, which she misses as part of the Council meetings.
7. PRESENTATIONS
A. Mary McCosker, President, Lafayette Historical Society Celebrating 175+ Years of Lafayette History
Recommendation: Receive and file.
Mary McCosker, President, Lafayette Historical Society, spoke about the time of Spanish and Mexican California periods in the Americas and the meaning of “rancho” which is a place where people gather, and mostly was a cattle farm. The 1700’s and Spanish explorers where they claimed land for the kings and queens of Spain which belonged to the native people, establishment of missions, towns and ranchos which were built and run with Indian labor. Many natives died from disease brought by the Spanish as well as from cruel treatment. Government Land grants were given in Alta, California which gave land rights to Spanish settlers to occupy the land and grazing rights for cattle. Ranchos were often thousands of acres of land.
After Mexican independence from Spain, ranchos provided a livelihood for people who owned and worked on the ranchos. Over the years, raising cattle and livestock became the main activity in Alta, California and created the rancho economy. Ranchero was a title given to people who had been loyal to Spain and had shown they were able to successfully farm the land. The first rancheros were soldiers who came to the region as early as 1769.
She presented a photo showing in the late 1700’s the 21 California missions that were built along the coast, noting that the 81,000 natives were baptized into the Catholic Church. After Mexican independence, the rancheros called themselves Californios because they felt closely connected to the land.
Cattle also provided hides that could be converted into many products and taken to ports to meet sailing ships for sale. Fat from cattle was melted into tallow for making soap and candles and the hide and tallow trade became a very important part of the rancho economy.
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In 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain and the land came under control of the Mexican government. The Californios were given ownership of the land. New laws were passed that allowed foreigners to acquire land, but the laws favored Mexican citizens. In 1833, the Mexican government secularized all the missions and took away the land from the Catholic Church. Each rancho required a staff of workers to operate it, and native Indians maintained households. There were workers in the fields where corn and wheat were grown. There was time for entertaining and socializing, with rancho dwellers enjoying singing, dancing, or “Fandangos”, playing cards, and telling stories.
Most rancho houses were earth, grass, branches, and reeds but as they grew, they were built of adobe or wood. The Alta, California rancho houses would later inspire the home style throughout the western U.S. known as the ranch style house. Ms. McCosker then described local ranchos with adobes on them in Lafayette and Moraga. When California became part of the U.S. in 1850, rancho owners needed to prove to the U.S. government that the land belonged to them, having to hire lawyers to defend their properties and ending up selling their land to pay expenses. By the end of the 1860’s most of the ranchos in California had been broken up and sold to new owners.
Ms. McCosker thanked the Council and asked to stay tuned next week for history of the Pioneers.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
Mayor Anduri and Councilmembers thanked Ms. McCosker for her presentation.
B. Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director
Introduction of new employee: Nichole Zittel, Assistant Planner Recommendation: Receive and file.
Administrative Services Director Tracy Robinson introduced new employee, Nichole Zittel, Assistant Planner. She described her background and experience.
Mayor Anduri and Councilmembers welcomed Ms. Zittel to the City.
Nichole Zittel, Assistant Planner, thanked Ms. Robinson for her introduction and said she is looking forward to continuing her work in the Planning Department and in-person meetings.
C. Public Art Committee – 2023 Annual Accomplishments and Goals Recommendation: 1) Receive the 2023 Annual Accomplishments and Goals report. 2) Authorize drafting a revised city arts plan expanding the Public Art Committee’s mission to include promotion of both visual public art and performance public art, whether permanent or temporary, a single event or piece, a series of installations or events, or part of an ongoing process enhanced over time; and draft revisions to the Lafayette Municipal Code to reflect the expanded mission.
Jenny Rosen, Staff Liaison, PAC, stated tonight the Vice Chair will present a brief PowerPoint presentation on their accomplishments and goals for the future.
Vice Chair Patrick Dunne gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Public Art Committee’s 2022 accomplishments:
• Created the photographic catalog of the collection;
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• Updated the list of preferred artists;
• Established Public Art Committee (PAC) member liaison program; • Witnessed installation of a couple of art development requirement projects; • Installed a public art display case at the Library;
• Exhibited the work of 7 local artists in three shows at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center; • Held 4 shows at Town Hall Theatre Galley;
• Formed 2 subcommittees; one for murals and the other for the public art plan; • Collaborated with the Lafayette Historical Society on the City’s 175th anniversary utility wrap project;
• Drafted an update of the public art plan and he displayed images showing exhibitions; • Member Erling Horn sourced the new high-quality display case for the Library; and • Displayed some public art exhibits on Brown Avenue/Diablo and Lafayette Circle Regarding current work, they formed a mural subcommittee which has been developing the project and looking at proposals, which has many subcomponents, and next steps include seeking approval of the mural program proposal.
Regarding future goals, the PAC’s tasks include:
• Updating the labels of artwork from wear and tear at the Library and Learning Center; • Develop a cleaning and maintenance plan for artwork;
• Review revising the LMC to eliminate the sunset clause; • Revising the State density bonus ordinance to establish a minimum public art requirement; • Exploring more funding alternatives, including public-private partnerships, and looking at grants to try and increase the amount of available resource to support activities in the City; • Looking to extend the mission of the PAC beyond the current scope of just curating and advising the Council to achieve acquisition of art; and reviewing public art proposals from development projects with a public art requirement
Vice Chair Dunne stated the current mandate of the PAC includes exhibiting work of local artists, managing the 1% art requirement process, making recommendations to the City Council regarding gifts and acquisitions of art, and review of public and performance art both permanent and temporary. The PAC seeks to expand the definition of public art to include a single event or pieced or series of installation events as something that is enhanced over time, adding a sense of discovery and vibrancy to the town, creating locations and destinations that help elevate the economic viability of the town, and make art more pervasive in town. Examples include a mural program, commissioning and moving beyond permanence and enabling the commissioning of temporary art events, walking and guided tours.
The PAC would like authorization to draft a revised City arts plan and prepare revisions to the LMC to reflect an expanded mission, exploring specifically LMC Chapter 6-26; public art to include temporary works of art from a legal standpoint. The main issue is the verbiage constraining creative expression to permanent, and they will look to resolve this moving forward.
Mayor Anduri said several things described, including the request to expand the PAC’s mission, the PAC has worked in collaboration with the City Attorney and has been advised on that. The 1% that comes from development can only be spent on permanent art, so this makes it complicated to change the City ordinance. The PAC is asking the Council to broaden the scope of the PAC’s role and changes in the ordinance.
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Councilmember Gerringer recognized the wonderful work of the PAC as seen around town, asked and confirmed with the Mayor that the PAC hopes to return to the Council in March to receive initial feedback and thereafter, approval from the Council, regarding development of a mural program. Also, the PAC is looking this evening for the Council to approve the expansion of its mission, but it could be deferred to a future meeting. In order to change the PAC’s mission, the Council would direct the City Attorney and PAC to work on the change that would then return to the Council. The 1% from the developer fees must be spent on permanent art.
City Attorney Subramanian explained that the ordinance was created initially to require a fee of developers which requires certain development standards. They either provide that development standard which is art on their property, or they can pay an in-lieu fee. As heard, there is a desire to expand the duties of the PAC and by doing so, it will also require an additional funding source because that fee cannot be used for anything temporary.
Councilmember Candell thanked the PAC asked if the expanded work is or is not part of the Council’s Work Plan if they move forward. City Manager Srivatsa stated the PAC falls under the Administrative Services Department and that work plan includes some updates to the LMC.
Councilmember Candell asked if this could or would be part of the GPAC process. Ms. Srivatsa said she believes it can be a stand-alone document. There is already a public art master plan and a code section that describes the duties of the PAC, so those two can be updated independent of the General Plan.
Councilmember Candell said the PAC is asking to add funding to the State density bonus ordinance. She asked if this can be done and asked if a nexus study would be required. City Attorney Subramanian said the City lists potential waivers in the inclusionary ordinance. One of them may be waiving the art in-lieu fee and the desire is to remove that language from the density bonus ordinance.
Ms. Rosen confirmed that the PAC desires removal of the waiver and allow for a minimum requirement that would be $25,000 or .01%.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
MARY ANN HOISINGTON opposed any further murals in the City. Art, in general, is in the eye of the beholder, and if one goes inside to the Tatzin Gallery or to the Library itself and see the display or in Town Hall, it is terrific, but people have that choice to look at it. This is not the case of the mural downtown now. She must look at the mural every time she goes downtown, and it upsets her.
Councilmember Gerringer said she is supportive of the PAC moving forward with its 2023 plan on the assumption its scope has been expanded and to ask the City Attorney to prepare revisions to the LMC that allow for that expansion.
Councilmember Candell said she could not support approval of an expansion of the duties without knowing the added cost. Mayor Anduri said the PAC is asking that it be allowed to consider their scope be expanded and there may be activities that require no cost, and the PAC must come to the Council to ask for any funding.
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Councilmember Candell asked for more definition and better estimate in cost of how the PAC plans to expand.
Vice Mayor Dawson said what the PAC is looking for is that if the Council authorizes them to look into this, they can explore what the expansion plan would look like so the Council can see the steps and potential expense.
Councilmember Kwok said he is supportive of a wider mission that includes more than just permanent art, temporary art, and other types of art. He is grateful that the PAC is willing to exert their creativity and time to enrich the City in that fashion. He sees it giving the group a wider mission but at the time the budget is zero. Like every other Commission, the PAC can request its budget each year for approval and if they can raise their own funding, it is better. But he does not see there is a financial risk here in just expanding the mission.
Mayor Anduri echoed Councilmember Kwok’s comments; to expand the scope and then put in place the ordinance that allows that, and it is a budget issue each year.
Councilmember Kwok made a motion, seconded by Vice Mayor Dawson to adopt the recommendation on the agenda to authorize expansion of the mission and ask the City Attorney to draft revisions to the LMC which would return to the City Council for consideration at a future meeting.
Councilmember Candell said it sounds like most of the Council supports the PAC’s expansion without any estimate of a budget.
Mayor Anduri confirmed. He noted that the recommendation is authorizing drafting a revised public arts plan to expand the mission to include temporary art and performance art, and then drafting revisions to the LMC, all of which will return to the Council for approval.
Councilmembers held discussion regarding the staff report’s recommendation and the motion suggested.
Councilmember Kwok read the recommendation: “Authorize drafting a revised City Arts Plan expanding the PAC’s mission to include promotion of both visual public art and performance public art, whether permanent or temporary, a single event or piece, a series of installation or events, or part of an on-going process enhanced over time and draft revisions to the LMC to reflect the expanded mission.” He added on a request to bring back the ordinance revisions to the Council.
Councilmember Candell said she likes the wording in the recommendation, but she asked the PAC to bring back the work plan and possible budget when the item returns.
Councilmember Gerringer stated she is supportive of the motion and second but is uncomfortable with the City spending dollars and money in staff time to move this forward and asked for a budget to be brought forward.
Mayor Anduri confirmed with Councilmember Candell that any LMC revisions are not what the Council is discussing tonight or in the motion. City Attorney Subramanian agreed and said the motion only has to do with the expansion of duties for the Commission. It would be a separate motion regarding the art inlieu fee because it is a separate issue.
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ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Dawson) to authorize drafting a revised City Arts Plan expanding the PAC’s mission to include promotion of both visual public art and performance public art, whether permanent or temporary, a single event or piece, a series of installation or events, or part of an on-going process enhanced over time and draft revisions to the LMC to reflect the expanded mission; and request the City Attorney to draft revisions to the LMC which would return to the City Council for consideration at a future meeting. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
8. CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Anduri asked and confirmed there were no Councilmember requests for removal of items. There were no public members wishing to speak or remove items.
A. February 13, 2023 – Minutes
Recommendation: Receive and file.
B. Revised meeting calendar for 2023
Recommendation: Adopt the attached meeting calendar for 2023.
C. Parkland Acquisition and Development Plan
Recommendation: Receive and file.
D. Resolution 2023-15 Terminating the Local Emergency in the City of Lafayette regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2023-15 Terminating the Local Emergency in the City of Lafayette regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19).
E. Surplus Equipment
Recommendation: Declare that equipment described is surplus property.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Dawson) to adopt Consent Calendar Items A, B, C, D and E. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes:
Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
9. OLD BUSINESS
A. Renata Robles, Senior Planner
Filling vacancies for primary and alternate members on the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC)
Recommendation: Direct staff to contact remaining applicants to gauge their continued interest in being selected and then assist the Mayor in conducting another lottery to select alternates for the geographic district and nonprofit representatives.
Senior Planner Renata Robles gave the staff report, history, and overview of the item regarding filling vacancies for current vacancies for alternate members on GPAC.
Councilmember Candell asked staff to ensure the new requirements for in-person meetings, the Brown Act, and they cannot serve remotely. Regarding non-profits, she asked if the City specified they must be 501(c)(3) organizations or not.
Ms. Robles said they stated primarily servicing Lamorinda and a 501(c)(3) organization to be eligible.
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Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
CAROL SINGER said she does not remember what kind of non-profit. She thinks the non-profit must be based locally in Lafayette and a 501(c)(3) and not an advocacy group. It must be a non-profit for something in Lafayette like the Library Foundation. She asked how alternates will keep up with everything when meeting in person. She asked if they will attend meetings or not, and how would they have an idea of what the GPAC has done, especially if they must take over.
Mayor Anduri asked which non-profit had been in the GPAC alternate spot, and Ms. Robles said this was Lafayette Methodist Church.
CHERYL MACDONALD said she understands staff time and costs but asked how far behind would an alternate be if they were to wait some time before they were appointed.
Mayor Anduri said the staff proposal is for the 5 geographic positions and the one non-profit position, the City go out and see who is still interested. If they have a reasonable pool, they can draw names. The second question is how do they help those alternates be involved to keep up to date on the work.
Councilmember Candell voiced support of the recommendation and suggested a motion.
Councilmember Gerringer referred to the recommendation to fill alternate spots now and asked if the motion should be amended.
Ms. Robles said her previous recommendation had been to poll the remaining applicants to gauge their interest. If there are enough applicants for each position to conduct a lottery. If not, they would do a full recruitment and lottery again. She wanted to revise the recommendation to still poll applicants on their interest and hold a lottery. If there is not enough interest to do a lottery, to hold off until there is a vacancy of a primary GPAC member to then conduct a full recruitment effort to fill all positions and get a refreshed pool of applicants.
Councilmember Kwok voiced support of the approach, but he would like for staff when they approach candidates to remind them they are back in person meetings. Secondarily, they would want to identify areas of focus GPAC will be working on to ensure candidates are interested in those topics to contribute in those areas.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Candell/Gerringer) to direct staff to contact remaining applicants to gauge their continued interest in being selected and, (a) if there is sufficient interest, assist the Mayor in conducting another lottery to select alternates for the geographic district and nonprofit representatives, and (b) if there is not sufficient interest, wait until there is a vacancy in the primary position and then conduct recruitment for applicants and carry out a lottery.
Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
Mayor Anduri asked and confirmed with the City Attorney that if the Council wished to include an additional body into the hybrid meeting category, this would be brought back at a future meeting for discussion. Councilmember Candell asked also to consider all Town Halls and Workshops to be hybrid.
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Mayor Anduri asked staff to return an informational report about how much this would cost at the next meeting, and he asked to include wording to review cost estimates and then consider acting at another meeting if the Council wished to move forward.
City Manager Srivatsa said staff has not begun the in-person meetings as of yet and she would like to give staff a couple of meetings to test how they work before returning to the Council. They may need more staff to help, so she asked for a month to test this out and then return in April. Councilmember concurred.
10. STAFF REPORTS
A. Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager
1. Land Acknowledgement Statement
Recommendation: 1) Appoint members to the Land Acknowledgement Task Force with a deadline of November 2023 to return with recommendations. 2) Approve an interim land acknowledgement for use at the dedication of the First Street Rain Garden.
City Manager Srivatsa gave the staff report and overview of the recommendation to 1) create a Land Acknowledgement Task Force as a short-term committee with a deadline to return to the Council in November 2023; 2) The task force would look at a series of questions and offer their recommendations; and 3) Should the City have a land acknowledgement statement, what should the wording be and when should such a statement be read at a public meeting.
The Mayor has contacted 5 individuals who are all willing to serve. John McCormick as Chair, Steve Kalogeras, Mary McCosker, Cheryl MacDonald, and Janet Thomas have agreed to serve, and she will staff this committee.
Finally, they are expecting the dedication of the First Street Rain Garden in one month or so, and staff offered a suggested interim Land Acknowledgement and the Mayor has recommendations for edits, and staff recommends the Council adopt this limited term task force and approve an Interim Land Acknowledgement Statement for the Rain Garden opening.
Mayor Anduri stated two edits is that millennia is spelled with two “n’s” and in the second sentence, instead of starting it as, “They have been living and working” and changing it to “Their ancestors lived and worked…”. They are also authorizing an Interim Land Acknowledgement Statement for this one-time use.
Councilmember Kwok asked how the date of November was selected as the deadline. Ms. Srivatsa said the Committee needs to address some rather meaty issues, and staff proposes giving them a little over 6 months to return with a recommendation so staff can implement this at the start of the new year.
Mayor Anduri asked Councilmember Kwok if he considered this too late or too early. Councilmember Kwok suggested it state “no later than November”. If they finish it earlier, then they could. Ms. Srivatsa confirmed this is staff’s intent.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
LIBBY HENRY questioned the definition of a Land Acknowledgement Statement.
Mayor Anduri responded that the staff report includes this, and it is acknowledging those who came before us on the land.
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Ms. Srivatsa agreed to send Ms. Henry a copy of the staff report tomorrow.
ROBERT LAVOIE asked if the City knows that the Saklan Tribe is the only tribe that lived in this area or he asked if those were the ones when the Spanish arrived. Secondly, if the City is considering those responsible for the land originally, he suggested acknowledging the creator of the universe, God. He offered an alternative acknowledgement from Genesis 1:11, which he read into the record.
Mayor Anduri stated the task force will be able to consider Mr. Lavoie’s request if the Council approves appointment of its members.
Councilmember Kwok said he is supportive of this overall initiative. He has heard three things that underscore how profound this question they heard from Ms. Henry was—what is a land acknowledgement. It is a simple question but with a profound answer, which in the second comment goes to God and religion as one interpretation. Ms. McCosker talked about the history of the City’s lands. He thinks there are many profound issues around asking the question of the City acknowledging from whom this land we live on and whose land was it, how it was gotten, and what makes him have the right to title to this land today. So, this begs the question for that group in that maybe their goal is not just to come up with a sentence of land acknowledgement but to explore this topic and not be boxed in with the assignment.
Mayor Anduri echoed Councilmember Kwok’s comments and agreed this assignment was not meant to box in this task force. It is very complicated and profound to be top down as has been done in other municipalities.
Councilmembers echoed comments, said they fully supports the group serving on the task force and the task ahead of them.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Candell/Gerringer) to 1) Appoint members to the Land Acknowledgement Task Force with a deadline of November 2023 to return with recommendations. 2) Approve an interim land acknowledgement for use at the dedication of the First Street Rain Garden, with the modifications proposed by Mayor Anduri. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
BREAK
Mayor Anduri called for a 5-minute break at 8:55 p.m., and thereafter reconvened the meeting at 9:00 p.m.
Mayor Anduri noted that the fourth question is a very important one; should the City undertake other actions in addition to adoption of a land acknowledgement. This is something that has been critical with other institutions and cities that have considered this. Secondly, he thanked the 5 residents who agreed to serve on this task force. Third, he thanked the City Manager to personally staff this task force.
2. Appropriations requests to state and federal representatives Recommendation: Approve the list of projects to be submitted to state and federal representatives.
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City Manager Srivatsa said before the Council is a list of projects that are not new but those the City has either designed or placed on its wish list for many years. Every year around this time, the City receives requests from their State and Federal legislators for projects they can add to their appropriation list called, “Community Project Funding” projects. Last year, the City was able to get $3.1 million with the help of Senator Padilla and Congressman DeSaulnier for the School Street Safety project. This year again the City has been asked to submit a list by Senators Feinstein and Senator Padilla and they expect to receive similar requests from other legislators.
She then reviewed the list developed together by staff, as follows:
1. Project Name: Synthetic Turf for City Fields
Amount Requested: $2,500,000
Project Description: The project will save water, lower maintenance costs, create pig proof fields and allow for more youth sport opportunities including the underserved girls’ softball groups, and boys and girls lacrosse groups.
2. Project Name: West Reach Creeks
Amount Requested: $900,000
Project Description: The project will stabilize the banks of Lafayette Creek, restore native riparian wildlife habitat, and educate the public about improving climate change resilience.
3. Project Name: Pleasant Hill Road Pathway to Acalanes High School Amount Requested: $4,300,000
Project Description: The project advances safe routes to school, reduces automobile trips and emissions, increases user safety, and completes a regional bikeway and walkway network.
4. Project Name: Pedestrian & Bicycle Pathway Along the EBMUD Aqueduct Right-of-Way in Downtown Lafayette (design)
Amount Requested: $675,000
Project Description: The design project would result in improved mobility, access and safety via the provision of a low-stress pedestrian and bicycle facility along the EBMUD right-of-way 3 through Lafayette’s downtown; a vibrant area that includes a mix of residential, public transit, commercial, educational and institutional land uses.
Mayor Anduri said if the City submits all four, he asked if they would be prioritized, or provide a narrative indicating the one project if there is to be one, etc.
Ms. Srivatsa said last year they zeroed in on the School Street project. In previous years, staff worked with its lobbyist and grant writers, Townsend Public Affairs. They have a sense of how much legislators are willing to fund, so in Year 1 they submitted the Synthetic Turf, West Creek project, and a request to fund their public radio station. They received funds for AM 1670. So, it depends on the year, the amount legislators can accommodate for individual cities, so it is the Council’s choice.
Councilmember Candell referred to Item 3; the Pathway for Acalanes High School. There have been no public meetings or feedback, and she asked if they wait for a later date so the City has at least one public hearing which might help the Council decide. In looking at the options, there are big differences in price, and she wondered if they could receive more feedback and hold a meeting on March 13th.
Ms. Srivatsa said the Council can do as it wishes. If they feel a project is not ready, it can be removed off the list or keep it and submit it at a later date.
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Public Works Director Mike Moran concurred and said out of the 4 items, the Council could indicate they do not have enough public input yet and this is the Council’s choice. There has been one public meeting for the pathway at Acalanes and a second one is scheduled for March 8th but that is as far as they are.
They are at preliminary design and taking public comments which are incorporated where the design goes because it is just a design project and not a funded construction project.
Councilmember Candell asked if it is true that the difference in the cost between the two options is pretty significant. Mr. Moran said he would not say that is true. The difference in the two options presented is that one, they need some land that is not the City’s and the other is, they can control it but it would have negative implications on vehicles in the northbound direction because they would remove a dedicated right-hand turn lane. Those are basically the two options though the cost to build them may be similar Councilmember Candell said they would have to reconfigure Pleasant Hill Road on Option 2. Mr. Moran said yes, but there would be some reconfiguring regardless so they are both very expensive projects and without a more detailed design, he could not say which is more expensive.
Councilmember Candell said she knows federal projects do better if they get state and local funding secured first. She asked if that is true of these federal grants.
Ms. Srivatsa said she is not aware of that clause but can check with the City’s lobbyist, but unfortunately, the federal government is asking for a list before the local legislators.
Councilmember Candell asked when the next time the legislators will ask for these, and Ms. Srivatsa replied next year around this time.
Vice Mayor Dawson referred to the project for the synthetic turf and asked what is the coverage and whether it is for all parks.
PTR Director Jonathan Katayanagi said the request is for Lafayette Community Park and does not include the Buckeye Fields. Staff has increased the estimate because of other improvements that went into the Park CIP that was approved in May 2021. They are estimated almost $1 million over the request to do the entire set of improvements they want to do on the site. The City is currently collecting fees in their Facility Fees to do those improvements, but it is at the later half of their CIP. This would help to move them forward and open their ability to complete other projects, as well.
Vice Mayor Dawson asked if synthetic turf is the best option based on the cost benefit versus maintaining a grass field.
Mr. Katayanagi said there is still significant cost at the 25-30-year mark where they must replace the underlying pad as well as the turf. There are cycles they must spend during the turf’s life. From a General Fund standpoint, staff must establish sinking funds to ensure they can handle those maintenance replacements. Regarding cost effectiveness, it changes, and they are getting towards a neutral estimate as water costs are rising, but it has to do with the price of materials, mobilization for construction, etc.
City Council Meeting Page 14 of 28 February 27, 2023
This also assumes an organic infill which is a higher cost. The PTR Commission was very supportive of not going with the crumb rubber and maintaining an organic option. From a maintenance standpoint, they are also feeding the field those materials and there are infills that last longer. Based on the research they did for the Deer Hill site, the Commission settled on an infill that had the longest life, for its cooling, was the most organic, and safest for the community.
Mayor Anduri asked if they are sure this is pig-proof. Mr. Katayanagi said some people will say nothing is entirely pig proof, but one can walk down Murray Lane and see the difference after residents replaced their front lawns. They are going for insects that they would have to go through the many layers on the turf, so they are not digging up the synthetic turf. They also still maintain edge fencing which helps keep them out which has helped.
Mayor Anduri asked what is the total cost for the synthetic surface and lights for each of the fields at Community Park. Mr. Katayanagi said the estimate is $3.5 million which is in the CIP which includes the lights.
Councilmember Kwok thanked staff and the subcommittee for looking into organic and safe alternatives to the crumb rubber base. He asked and confirmed that the Commission reviewed a Zeo-fill which is a mineral compound of broken up rock like kitty litter. They also looked at the cork-o-nut which was a mix of coconut and cork. There were a number of organic infills they consider, all very similar cost, and if they were getting to a point where the project was moving forward they would look at whatever the latest organic options are and allow the community to weigh in on the best option for the participants.
Councilmember Kwok recognized the letters received and the synthetic turf and whether chemicals used in it were dangerous to human health. The EPA had begun to study this in 2016 and with the Product Safety Commission as well as the Center for Disease Control. There is a multi-agency federal effort to address this question about the safety of synthetic turf. They were slowed down by the pandemic in 2020 and their conclusions are not yet published, but that said, one of the issues was a PFAS and he wondered whether the product recommendation has this in it or not.
Mr. Katayanagi said he did not have this information tonight, and he confirmed that the grass is a synthetic plastic.
Mayor Anduri said they do not know the timing of Congressman DeSaulnier’s request. For the Park Theater Trust, they have held discussions with him about an earmark for their renovation, and he personally would like to see the Council support that, but the question is what is the best way for the Council to be ready if they hear from Townsend that the Congressman needs his recommendations by March 13th.
Ms. Srivatsa said since the matter is not agendized for a letter of support from the Park Theater Trust, the Council cannot give staff direction tonight. If they have a deadline past March 13th staff can bring a support letter for the Council to act on at the next meeting.
Mayor Anduri asked if the Council can only discuss recommendations to the two Senators. Ms. Srivatsa said the recommendation is to authorize a submission of these projects for funding in an upcoming appropriation cycle so the Council can recommend to anyone. Ms. Subramanian said her concern is that if the Council is trying to add the Park Theater to the list, it is not a City project.
City Council Meeting Page 15 of 28 February 27, 2023
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
LAUREN HERPICH said there is no one other than Eric Law who wants to see the Pleasant Hill Dedicated Bike and Pedestrian Path project happen. She has seen how long it takes to get projects done which is too long for kids to enjoy them. Based on conversations with neighbors, they are against the project. She does not agree with the request that the City support should be completely withdrawn from this project because of community opposition.
Therefore, she asked the request be made instead to fund outstanding projects studied in the Safe Route to Schools Project as outlined in the Toole report which have already been vetted, recommended by outside expert consultants, and can make a difference in the lives of kids, families, and community. She looks forward to learning more about the proposed bike and pedestrian bridge over Springhill and invited the Council and the public to the next Town Hall meeting on March 8th.
Mayor Anduri said there are many projects in the Toole report which are very expensive, and the Council needs to decide tonight. He asked if there is one project Ms. Herpich specifically would like the Council to consider.
Ms. Herpich asked if it was last year’s funding request covering the permanent construction of the School Street Bike Pathway or she asked if it was the temporary bollards that are up now.
Ms. Srivatsa replied it is the permanent extension of the First Street pathway.
Ms. Herpich said this would be her priority. She looked at the public comments, understands the frustration and confusion in their project not being fully vetted, there are many contingencies, and she understands how long it takes to get funding, and this is why she agreed for a request to be made concurrently. She does not want to see neighbors pitted against each other and she asked for time to go back and look at the Toole report to specifically call in her recommendation on what they want to prioritize and go back to her notes where the public has been great supporters.
ERIC LAW said as fellow volunteer and someone who spent 5 years on this project for the Safe Routes to Acalanes project, there have been many public meetings. They have a small group that does not agree, does not like bike paths and prefers autos, but most of the City supports this project. It scored very well last year on the CCTA rankings. They took second and the Council proposed the one for Stanley on School Street. But, the City is way behind in building bike and pedestrian infrastructure. This is infrastructure which is very inclusive and environmentally friendly. These projects connect to Acalanes High School and is the first project that will connect North Lafayette to Briones and eventually to Springhill, and he asked not to delay that. They have an opportunity with a large potential partner, as well, and he did not want to ruin that opportunity. He asked to explore the EBMUD bike path and pedestrian path, make citizens healthier, clear up air, reduce pollution, and reduce stress on people.
BRAD ROSENTHAL stated there seems to be a lack of studies done on the bike path project and it does not incorporate a number of factors, the first being safety studies particularly related to the impact of additional traffic along Acalanes Avenue. There was an EBMUD site engineer who was speaking with neighbors and said the aqueduct that runs across the neighborhood is volatile and old and has had a history of leaks due to movement of the earth and just traffic. This neighborhood has a very high-water table and if there are more leaks it could cause further damage to properties around here. Acalanes Avenue in particular, does not have sidewalks and is very narrow.
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Given there will be added traffic, it will result in unsafe issues, particularly for small children. This project seems to be an “If you build it they will come” situation with the idea that kids will bike to school. From November to mid-March, it is too cold to ride bikes to the high school and other communities will not use it either. He thinks speed humps or signs could prevent people from cutting through Acalanes Avenue, but this has not been proposed yet. Therefore, the City should promote things like synthetic turf which will be used by thousands of kids every year rather than is sort of a “field of dreams” situation.
LIBBY HENRY referred to Mr. Law’s comments and said she objects to being referred to those who support the Pleasant Hill project. She would like to know why haven’t any studies been done if they have been working on it for 5 years. There are no examples of any place anywhere else where this sort of project would be done, and many people have much better solutions. She attended the first meeting with Matt Luttropp and said the way it was presented in the meeting was getting the money, but it can only be used to build what she considers as an insane project. The idea of a sidewalk bridge over Pleasant Hill Road makes sense, understands Caltrans is willing to install timed traffic lights at the exits by the underpass, but she thinks this was ill-conceived, not studied, and bad, and asked not to include it in the City’s actions.
She referred to the Park Theater and does not know why the City Attorney is saying it is not public. She also questioned the safety of artificial turf from falls.
HUNTER DAVIS, Quant Road, said he lives just beyond the intersection where the right turn lane is proposed as being removed to put in the path. He strongly objects to Mr. Law’s characterization of those residents in the neighborhood as being anti-bike and pro-auto. They are willing to have a conversation around this topic. There has only been one meeting and there should be several more before requesting any funding. He thinks the nature of this coming up in the initial plan where the right-turn lane was eliminated was shocking to most of them in the neighborhood.
Pleasant Hill Road North is regarded as the worst intersection in Lafayette and it has an F LOS in the afternoon rush hour and a breakdown condition where the line of traffic exceeds capacity. So, to talk about a project where one traffic lane will be removed used by 10% of the drivers going through that intersection was beyond comprehension for those living in the neighborhood. The obvious solution to the problem is for cars to go down Acalanes Avenue which is a neighborhood filled with children, petwalking, pedestrians, bicyclists, and it seems like Mr. Law is trading off his own and his children’s interests in his 15 year old future children crossing two highway off-ramps which are cross-walked and marked which soon will have reflective lights, with very little consideration for children’s safety other than the traffic study to put up a sign to restrict it to local traffic only.
Lastly, he would like to examine the relationship between Mr. Law and Mr. Luttropp on the engineering team. They seem to have a very close relationship working on this project. From public comments, Mr.
Law in a collegial manner replied to Mr. Luttropp referring to him protesting or speaking against the project to remove the right turn lane as “nut jobs” in the public comments page 60. He thinks if the Council questions this project in Mr. Law’s mind, then the Councilmember are also “nut jobs” which is not a characterization any of the citizens of Lafayette or the City Council approves of being referred to. So, he asked the relationship between Mr. Law and Mr. Luttropp investigated to see what discussions have been going on behind the scenes. They have both referred to members of the community that the project will not go forward if it involves removal of the right turn lane, but an email correspondence from Mr.
Luttropp would not commit to that. Also, if the right turn lane is removed, the travel time is increased by 2 minutes, or 190 cars by the traffic study.
City Council Meeting Page 17 of 28 February 27, 2023
MICHAEL GRIFFITHS said the current pathway proposal has significant shortcomings. He listed four items:
1) no air quality analysis, although the Air District has already declared this an unhealthy, dangerous area particularly for children riding uphill; 2) an egregiously incorrect statement by the Engineering Manager on this proposal regarding the cost of the alternative pedestrian ramp overpass. He described it as enormously more expensive. In fact, it is less expensive as per Kristen Altbaum’s proposal which would satisfy a solution for many more children at a much lower cost; 3) there has been no analysis of local school children bike traffic so the City is asking for money which has no basis or fact; 4) this proposal comes across as rushed, over-priced, inadequate, and it does not show the City or its administration in their best light.
Locally, the staff proposals do not come close to satisfying the wishes of most residents. He used to be a high school teacher and would strongly encourage the Council to give proper serious consideration to the draft proposal by Kristen Altbaum which protects many more students at a much lower cost.
JANET THOMAS, Palomares Street which is parallel to Acalanes Avenue adjacent to the bike path being discussed. Neighbors feel that without a public hearing a vote should not be made on this issue. It is very important their neighborhood have a chance to voice their opinions as there are several concerns. She thanked Mr. Moran and so many that have been looking at the safety of schools. They have a new crosswalk near their house, and speed bumps that really helped slow down and pay attention to children present. She thanked Lauren Herpich who has been very involved in this project and thanked her for recommending this be taken off the list.
JENIFER PAUL said the community has been stating for a long time that safety around schools is a huge priority. They have already identified projects at all of the school sites. They have been vetted several times over. What she has heard for the last 17 years is “all we need is funding.” She therefore requested they bundle projects that are currently unfunded just as Lauren Herpich has suggested, get striping, crosswalks, walkways, and ask State representatives to help the City finish its goal. As an example, she worked with Safe Routes for Schools for the 2013 report for Springhill which is now 10 years old. It has been studied three times over since then and there are several items still unfunded.
She would also like to understand how the projects are chosen to be on the list. Four items have come to the Council tonight from staff with little chance to get input from the public before items must be submitted, nor can the public or the Council tonight, including the Park Theater. They cannot come up with other ideas on such a short timeframe and she does not feel this process is really indicative of how the city should work nor the way she thinks they do work in general. She thinks the City is better than that. It does not present to be transparent and it does not allow for public input they are used to. So, she asked to be straight-forward with this kind of process. She asked to look for funding earlier, allow for public input and do the process correctly.
CAROL SINGER said as a long-time PTR Commissioner she wanted to comment on the ballfields and artificial turf. She said the turf project would benefit the most people of any funds the City could spend, especially with lights and being able to play in the evenings and this has been a long-standing need of the Commission. Regarding the bike lane at Acalanes, totally missing from this is a study of what the kids think. She has two grandchildren who are seniors at Acalanes High School now and she asked them how many kids bike to school. They replied, “zero.” They have heard of them but there are very few.
City Council Meeting Page 18 of 28 February 27, 2023
She suggested there be a study in asking kids if they will ride their bike to school. If there is not a parent car, they ride with a friend and do not ride their bikes once they have their license. For many parents, it does not make sense sending their children off to college when they have never driven anywhere. It is where they learn how to drive. So, she asked for a study and how many bike and drive, and not just adults saying they would ride if there was a bike lane.
STELLA WOTHERSPOON said she is speaking as a private citizen and not in her capacity as a Transportation Circulation Commissioner. She supports holding off on submitting the Pleasant Hill Road Multi-use Pathway for consideration for earmarks. The last public hearing on this pathway was on July 12th and many residents expressed considerable concern about a loss of a dedicated right lane among other items.
However, just three days later an OBAG 3 grant application was submitted for this project. She does not believe the City should repeat this pattern and submit an earmark request on March 3rd or March 13th when the next public meeting is March 8th. She asked to wait until after the next public hearing on March 8 th and hear what the public think of the two design options that will be presented, one of which is new and only posted publicly last Friday. She thinks the Council should also wait until the plan seeks subsequent hearings of Transportation Circulation Commission and City Council before submitting the project for funding opportunities. Public participation is important, and the community should be included in the project development process.
KRISTEN ALTBAUM echoed Ms. Wotherspoon’s comments. She thinks there needs to be more from the public. She submitted another design option last Friday and those who might not be privy to that, it is basically a bridge between Springhill and Acalanes that the bridge estimators believe is not going to exceed $3 million and would connect the north end of the Acalanes parking lot next to the district building with the other side of the street that is going to be made into a pedestrian pathway by O’Brien Land Company through the Terraces.
There are things to work out with that and this is somewhat new, but she got a lot of information and it comes late. She was not aware that this grant funding was even available. She thinks if there is $4.3 million up for grabs from a transportation standpoint, that information needs to be made available to the public so the public can put ideas on the table for staff to look at. She would encourage the Council that if it is looking to spend money tonight she suggested spending about $75,000 on a combination of hiring StreetLight Data for one year and a reputable unbiased traffic consulting team that can set priorities for the whole City. She does not know if the pedestrian bridge is the right thing for the City. All she knows is that North Lafayette has a tremendous amount of traffic issues than South Lafayette. To give anything to South Lafayette that will make things worse in North Lafayette seems like a terrible idea. They need help and need priorities set, and they need that to happen without staff’s input. Staff is too sided with certain people.
ROBERT LAVOIE referred to the Pleasant Hill Path project and said he has ridden that road with his junior high school-aged kids on their bikes, so he is familiar with it. He attended a public meeting which Mr.
Luttropp posted a few months ago and in his opinion it seems to indicate that the public was not supportive of the project especially with elimination of the right turn lane. There were significant concerns about traffic congestion on the regional route of significance where they already have backups onto the freeway at 4:30 p.m. in the reverse commute direction. So, adding 2 minutes to the light at Stanley would put more cars out on the freeway potentially causing rear end accidents. The bridge option seems like a much more viable option. It is cheaper and would eliminate road crossings there so it would help with the traffic situation which is what is needed. Also, Caltrans indicated they are installing flashing beacons on all on- and off-ramps so that impact will be appreciated.
City Council Meeting Page 19 of 28 February 27, 2023
There are safer routes to get to the school. One can take Old Tunnel Road, cross at El Portola Bridge, and come down Camino Diablo and completely avoid the terrible error in the traffic corridor and you do not reduce the traffic flow on a regional route of significance. It is much more attractive place to ride a bike as well, so if this is an alternate for safe routes to school, that should be considered. Regarding Astroturf, they talked about the no pigs. If they could do the lights, this is a no-brainer whether the City does the Astroturf or not. He wondered if there is a payback with the water savings and it sounds like some of that will be eaten up with the replacement of the carpet, but he would like to see a payback calculated. One concern if using organic materials for the infill, he wondered if that will rot over time and create bumps all over the surface. Regarding the case where people are going to say if we put this bike trail at Pleasant Hill Road, more people will use it, there is a steep hill there. The elementary school kids are too young to ride that and the high school kids have a lot to haul back and forth to school. So, he does not think there is demand for it.
JEREMY LEVINE thanked the Council, staff, and Townsend Public Affairs lobbyists to prepare these proposals. These are all important that reflect the City’s priorities, some of which have been discussed for many years. There is a controversial one—the Pleasant Hill Bike Lane Project he wants to comment on.
Under all the controversy of this project, there is one claim he hears people say which is, “The City has not studied enough.” The project has been discussed for several years and there have been some studies done about options, impacts, and he is looking at a 270 page preliminary analysis right now with a lot of traffic study in it, so it is not that it has not been studied. It is people do not like what some of the study says. He thinks the question is not about whether or not they need to study more. It is about what options are and how they are going to move forward. The City has its public hearing process and there may need to be more hearings and they might not even move forward with this project, but there has been a study and it has been discussed for a long time.
Secondly, the City wants nice things. They want public paths, public parks, dog parks, bike lanes, pickleball courts, but it is hard when they bog every single infrastructure down in endless years of deliberation and process. The Safe Route for Acalanes project has been discussed for a long time. People might not like the options, but they have had time to discuss them and make comments on them in the past. So, he thinks if people want nice things in the future, he asked how to make it easier to build them. In closing, he thinks whatever the Council decides will be the best for the City.
JOHN said he wants to comment on comments he has heard. He thinks many people might say they discussed this bike lane path for years, but the project has been conceived by Eric Law and others as a solution and that has been pushed for many years. There have not been studies as to what the problem is, what the City is trying to achieve, and he thinks input should come from the entire community on the best way to solve those problems and then move forward with a solution.
There was an initial solution which is stick this bike lane down the middle of a 4-lane highway. Eric Law talked about getting fresh air with bike lanes, but this is the last place someone would want to get fresh air. There seems to be significant flaws in the initial analysis done on this bike path. It was initially thought it would fit with the existing amount of space they had and there was a significant amount of work and design done. When turned over to a consulting group, they realized they do not have enough room and the right turn lane was proposed to be removed. So, to say there has been lots of input over the years is not correct. The community was only involved very recently. Before that it was a pet project between Eric Law and members of staff that have worked with him on it.
City Council Meeting Page 20 of 28 February 27, 2023
COLIN ELLIOTT said it is what projects that have not been starting which is frustrating people. He said if he was working for a client and said here is the project, here is the cost and engineering, but he did not determine who would use it, he would be fired. This is the piece missing here. If a survey of students was done now, there are not many people biking now, but whenever staff does anything, they must do fiscal impact studies. They can look at how many students live in the southeast part of the City, what is a reasonable estimate, and some surveys can be done of students of who might use this and start to quantify it. It is up to $4.3 million for 700 yards of bike lane. He asked the Council to stop and think.
He thinks the priority should be on some of the other safety projects around other schools if they are going to go after that kind of money. This is one where the “king has no clothes” and no one wants to say that on the City’s side. Anytime anything is labeled as a safe route to school and for children, who on the Council would stand up and be labeled as not being in favor of safety for kids. This is the problem with this. He is against it and thinks there are far better uses of money like this. The City has no idea of how many people are going to use it and it is a tiny stretch of lane.
They know Caltrans will put in flashing beacons which will solve many problems, but he thinks the Council should withdraw the proposal this year, hold public meetings, and asked to do a demand side study of this.
CHERYL MACDONALD said she agrees with the last two speakers and she appreciates Stella Wotherspoon’s comments. This project has had one meeting and she was there. The meeting lasted hours and most of the people there were against this project, many of whom lived in the neighborhoods surround it, as well as many who lived outside of that area. Many were surprised without much warning that this project was even happening and got very little notice. She does not think that as much as this project costs should go forward. They have a meeting on March 8th and the public deserves a chance to hold meetings before a project is referred for funding, so she hopes this is earmarked at a later time.
Regarding the ballfields, she asked if this field will create injuries to knees and shins from people falling as the old turfs did.
PETER SCHEIRER said he is a 13-year resident, lives by the Lafayette Park Hotel, and has an 11th grader at Acalanes High School. When he heard about the bike lane project, his initial reaction was that it is a great idea, but he needs to set aside his own personal preferences and re-imagine how it could happen otherwise. He likes the idea of the demand side survey of the high school students and ask them if they had a choice, would they like to bike to school which would resolve several issues right away.
Mayor Anduri stated Mr. Lavoie asked if there is a payback on the water savings and he asked that this be expanded in terms of comparison between artificial turf and grass, recognizing there is greater use with artificial turf.
Mr. Katayanagi said you maximize the benefit by adding the lights, as the hours of play increase from roughly 1600 to 1900 hours to nearly 3,000 available hours by adding synthetic turf and lights. The biggest benefit comes from lights which in some ways could be achieved with just adding the lights and not adding the synthetic turf. Regarding the use with artificial turf plus lights, he does not have that specific calculation tonight, but it is insignificant in its impact. They have water savings with synthetic turf but being in drought they have had less impact with rain. It does not help with the pig protection or the drought protection, given the rising costs of water. For safety reasons, when they enter drought conditions there are talks about asking municipalities to dial back their water and sometimes it comes to a point where fields become unsafe and unplayable and they must be closed.
City Council Meeting Page 21 of 28 February 27, 2023
He said there were times this last season where it was beginning to look like the turf was getting to a point where they might have had to shut down the entire season for Lafayette Little League which could impact soccer or Little League, which are the only two leagues playing on the fields because they have such limited play time and high demand. Another reason they are asking for lights is to increase that available play time.
Regarding Ms. MacDonald’s question about injuries to knees and shins from artificial turf. Mr. Katayanagi said there are many studies about injuries from turf in different types of play. Many injuries have to do with larger athletes than they are dealing with out on the City’s fields. They have limited ages and they would like to increase that. The turf itself has infill which is a one-inch layer that is embedded in the grass.
Below that is a pad. The pad they specified when looking at the turf was the thickest and safest pad they could have for the industry standard level and so they could incorporate various sports.
Councilmember Gerringer asked Mr. Katayanagi to state again exactly which fields would be included in the turf proposal. Mr. Katayanagi said this request for the grant would be for Community Park upper and lower fields.
Councilmember Gerringer cited concerns from people about the proximity to Stanley, Burton Valley, and other school-related properties and she asked if those are included in this grant proposal. Mr. Katayanagi said no; only the City’s owned and controlled fields would be, so it would be Community Park and Buckeye Fields. The first ask would be Community Park.
Councilmember Gerringer thanked the public for their comments, asked and confirmed with Ms. Srivatsa that the City learned about the Senator’s deadlines for this year’s cycle about two to three weeks ago, that the path project has been before the Council, Transportation Circulation Commission’s joint meeting with the Council, and community groups and have been on the Work Plan, that the next meeting will be March 8th and then a Council meeting, that PTR Commission have studied and prioritized the turf and lights which has received public input, and the EBMUD Aqueduct Trail has been added but this area has been studied and it goes way back. If a design for a dog park could go in, she would appreciate the idea for that project, as well.
Therefore, she believes every project on this list is transparent, that staff works very hard, and she is offended on staff’s behalf that people make assumptions about biases and whose side they are and are not on. Many comments accused staff of this, which she thinks is not correct. Because of the timing and for this list of grants going to the Senate, she supports the projects but not the path project. She thinks they will continue moving forward with studying it but does not think with the time they have she would necessarily support keeping it on the list. She supports moving forward with the turf and lights project as staff presented, and then coming back at another meeting to look at how to do letters of support for other community options that might be brought forward to the House, given their deadline is April 28th.
Mayor Anduri said he has never seen an example where staff are working with a select group against the interest of the community, or even to the exclusion of the community or showing any slight favoritism to a particular group or individual. He and the City Manager had a conversation this afternoon and a proposal might be to create a running list of projects so they have them prioritized far in advance of when these deadlines come up so they will have talked about all projects people are interested in, that people come out, and he thinks if they had more time they might bundle some of the Safe Routes to School Projects and go for a bundle.
City Council Meeting Page 22 of 28 February 27, 2023
Ms. Srivatsa said she appreciates the public’s comments that there is not enough time. None of these projects are new, but it would be good to have a list of priorities from each department where staff knows the projects have been supported by the Council. It is only recently that they have started becoming aggressive at the Council’s direction to apply for grants, particularly in the CIP arena. But, they can work at the staff level to develop a calendar and possibly come up with a process by which this time next year when staff is out getting requests, there will be a list that the Council will have already seen and endorsed.
Councilmember Candell asked if it would be helpful to add input from the Legislative Subcommittee for efficiency and speedy timelines and asked if there is time to add a dog park to the aqueduct plan.
Ms. Srivatsa said if they have a site for the dog park, they can add it. Mayor Anduri said if they prioritized the Pedestrian Bicycle Pathway, that is one of the things that could be reviewed, but he did not think they need to specify that now.
Councilmember Candell said she is not comfortable with including Item #3 in the grant proposals at this moment for many reasons and comments.
Mayor Anduri asked how Items #1, 2 and 4 would be prioritized. He thinks it would be useful to do this.
Councilmember Candell said she thinks the Aqueduct is a priority, so her priority would be #1, #4, and then #2. But, it would be up to Townsend as to which they think the City would get.
Vice Mayor Dawson agrees that Item #3 should wait, agreed with staff’s work, and voiced some issues with synthetic turf. These are forever chemicals and would want to understand it better. She wondered if there were issues with stormwater runoff into the creeks from this material. But, she would want to submit something under #1 for the lights which will add to play time so if she were to prioritize, it would be #1 with lights, #4 EBMUD, and then #2 the creeks.
Councilmember Gerringer said she would prioritize the list as #1 project as presented, #4 EBMUD, and then #2 creeks.
Councilmember Kwok said he is excited about #1; EBMUD Aqueduct project which is timely for the Housing Element and DSP and he is supportive of the lights. Secondly, #2; the West Reach Creek work is not controversial, so he would endorse those two to move forward.
For #3; the Pleasant Hill Road Bike Path, he is in favor of finding a solution to make it better for everybody.
He thinks the progress made with the community is moving forward. They took away a right-hand lane and now it is back in, and hopefully with positive feedback, they can make it better so it is not ready to submit in March and can wait to get the community on a win/win situation.
The last would be #1 on the turf and lighting. He would like to know the composition of the materials being used. If it uses PFAS that would concern him. The State of Maine is the first place to put regulations in place to phase out the sale of items manufactured with PFAS because of health concerns. He likes the research by staff on the crumb rubber, but he is not ready to vote to put this forward for funding.
City Council Meeting Page 23 of 28 February 27, 2023
Mayor Anduri thanked staff for all of the work, particularly Mr. Moran and Mr. Golier who put together Item #4 which he thinks is very important. That would be his first priority. He thinks finding ways to get around the downtown on foot or bikes will be critically important in the years ahead. They need to be ready. He recognizes how ambitious this could be but if this takes cars off the street, they need to be ready to consider it.
He then puts Item #2; West Reach Creeks as the second priority. He realizes how important it is to have the playing fields, but he has a concern about synthetic turf on playing fields and PFAS and thinks the City needs to look at this further. They need the extra time on the field and possibly putting in a request for lighting if it would cause any issues later with moving to a synthetic turf.
Mr. Katayanagi said it is something that may need to be taken into consideration with the design and the community may want to talk about drought impacts as well as pig impacts and how that will work with the fields. It will likely need to return to the PTR Commission for further discussion and research products that go into the turf.
Councilmember Gerringer said she would think the lights by themselves is not as appealing or competitive on a grant for a community like Lafayette. She agrees with concerns, still would love to support moving forward with that because of benefits with schools and supported additional research before a grant award would take place. If they leave the turf project on, she suggested it remain as turf and lights and not just lights. She thinks the trail project and active transportation is still a priority in these decisions and she asked to find a way to add the creeks in, but she would still support the EBMUD project but only turf and lights and not just lights.
Mayor Anduri said he is hearing that the Council will put forward 3 projects, prioritize them as follows: 1) #1--The playing fields turf and lights with the understanding that starting now, PTR Commission will look into the issues raised tonight. 2) #4—the Pedestrian Bicycle Pathway along the EBMUD Aqueduct; and 3) #2—the West Reach Creeks project.
Vice Mayor Dawson stated for the record, she would personally not support #1 as a priority, stating she has problems with synthetic turf. If they specifically go out for turf and lights, they will need to spend the funds if awarded, but she will agree with fellow Councilmembers.
Mayor Anduri said the PTR Commission will review that in the next 3 months, and they will know more about it, and may have to withdraw that request. He also shares the concerns that Councilmember Kwok and Vice Mayor Dawson have about synthetic turf.
Ms. Srivatsa stated staff will work with their lobbyist and funding consultant because they might say #4 is more attractive to a certain legislator, so she asked to give staff that flexibility to slot these projects in the best possible fashion, and Councilmembers concurred.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Gerringer/Candell) to approve the list of projects, except for #3; with the priority project as #1, #4, and #2 to be submitted to state and federal representatives, and to provide the City Manager with flexibility to slot projects based upon discussions with the lobbyist and funding consultant.
Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
EXTEND MEETING
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ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Dawson) to extend the Council meeting until 12 midnight. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes:
Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
B. Lt. Alldritt, Chief of Police and Patrick Golier, Transportation Program Manager Improving Pedestrian and Traffic Safety – Slow Down Lafayette Campaign Recommendation: Authorize purchases and study to update program policy document within the current allocated budget.
Chief of Police Lt. Ben Alldritt said he will talk about the Slow Down Lafayette Campaign to slow vehicular traffic and improve pedestrian and traffic safety. He referred to officers stopping a car today associated with the auto burglary and theft in Dublin. Officers located the vehicle and make a stop, but this takes away from other priorities in the City. In looking at how they can be more effective, he is proposing that they invest in technology to better utilize resources to slow vehicles down.
If someone calls and states vehicle are flying by their residence all the time, they want that input. But if this results in having to put an officer there to issue citations, the best way to utilize a finite resource, he is recommending purchasing some equipment to allow them to collect better data. The goal is to share the data publicly in the form of portable Lidar radar signs throughout town, speed trailers that collect data, black boxes, or speed recording data boxes where people do not notice them, and also invest in equipment for officers to do speed enforcement.
They have not invested in this at the Police Department for some time. The existing speed trailer is barely kept alive. Their radar units are aged, and they have one portable radar sign and they want to invest in more of those. The current black box is over a decade old, and they want to collect better data. The goal is deploying resources more wisely or more efficiently. If they have the data they will make more informed decisions. The equipment in the staff report will allow them to be more effective.
He meets quarterly with City Finance personnel to evaluate their budget at the Police Department, and currently they are doing well. The purchases proposed can be accommodated with his existing Police Services budget with no additional request from the Council at this time. In the future, they may return with data that tells us we need to do more enforcement, which may involve authorizing overtime, but now it might not be money well spent versus investing in technology that has a long lifespan.
His goal is if approved, they can make the data publicly available on the City’s website, and he has discussed this with staff. If approved, staff will start purchasing these items and put a timeline together to identify trigger roadways, main commuter routes, getting input from staff, and being accessible to the public through the Traffic Action Requests (TARs).
Public Works Director Mike Moran said this compliments what they want to do on the public works and transportation planning side. They are completing a Local Roadway Safety Plan, have their fourth meeting coming up, but to compliment that plan, staff wants to update its Traffic Calming Guide or Manual from 20 years ago. Part of that manual will basically say, if you are making a request for traffic calming you will have to have some data that supports needing traffic to slow down. Taking advantage of this technology is going to be a big part of that and having mobile equipment will be helpful too. Staff is receiving many requests to slow people down, but with limited enforcement resources there is only so much they can do.
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It makes sense to target the worst offenders and utilize this technology and implement physical elements such as speed humps but to use them where needed most. The data will back up what is done, and he thinks it will be helpful. They have some consultant fees, but they believe Engineering can absorb in its operating budget engineering consultant fees to get work on the traffic calming manual. They have a moratorium on some of the traffic calming elements the Council put in place until they complete the Local Roadway Safety Plan and the plan is a statewide document that has a certain format and it is not necessarily intended to be that traffic calming manual. So, they learned they needed an update to the City’s own traffic calming manual.
Councilmember Gerringer said she is very excited about the ability to have this data and be able to enforce speeding. She referred to the low-profile radar boxes and said no cost estimate was included for this.
Chief Alldritt apologized and said he did not include it, but he will locate it. The number of items per technology is about $50,000 to $60,000 overall which can be absorbed within his Police 210 budget.
Specifically, on the Lidar Radar Signs, he has heard good results from other police departments on these.
They are a lower cost item and very effective so they may look at investing in a couple more. Some of these items are more educational, more passive, and educational, some will flashlights that vehicles are speeding, but none of these record license plates or personal data.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
STELLA WOTHERSPOON expressed her support for this request, said she was very happy to see this in the Council’s packet, thinks it is great to leverage technology and make a dent in the City’s speeding problem.
ROBERT LAVOIE voiced support of these devices as well and wondered how soon police could locate a box on Pleasant Hill Road before the March 8th meeting. It seems exciting and a way to get data to help make decisions about the need for calming and other things.
Chief Alldritt said he could not find the estimate, but based on the feedback, if approved tonight, he can get an estimated time of arrival for each piece of equipment and generate a memo on their delivery. They have already identified a staff member in the Police Department, Andy Comley, who will help manage the deployment, data, and sharing of the data with the public and traffic engineer.
Councilmember Kwok said he thinks this is a smart proposal, thanked the Chief again for continuing to build technology resources and finding cost-effective solutions for the City that are forward-thinking and powerful.
Mayor Anduri said he is very excited about the proposal and for the Police Department and Public Works Department coming together on the proposal. He thinks it will have a great impact on the safety of the community. The public transparency part of it is a great factor. The more information they can put out on what is happening on the streets will be very informative.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Candell/Gerringer) to authorize purchases and study to update program policy document within the current allocated budget. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
11. PUBLIC HEARINGS – None.
12. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT—None.
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13. COUNCIL/COMMISSION REPORTS
A. Councilmembers report on activities and consideration of matters a Councilmember wishes to initiate for placement on a future agenda.
Councilmember Kwok reported on February 22nd he represented the City Council at Senator Glazer’s Town Hall in Orinda where there were about 80 to 100 attendees from Lamorinda. He is glad Lafayette had a good turnout. The Senator shared his 2022 legislative successes, along with his 2023 legislative plans including focusing on a 4-year graduation rate, consumer protection initiatives for on-line hotel bookings, student loan forgiveness, being exempt from income tax, and other items. He gave him three minutes to provide an update on Lafayette and he used it to say all is well; however, things could be better.
His main ask was that on the Housing Element, their relationship with State agencies could be much improved in 2023. He asked for better collaboration between State agencies and City staff, given the existence of adversarial roles.
Councilmember Candell said she is a member of the California Alliance with Local Electives and had Attorney General Bonta on last night and echoed comments about wanting to get along with State agencies and people like him a lot better and collaborate and work on real solutions to affordable housing problems. Unfortunately, the consensus from members if they too felt from him there is an animosity.
They are being looked upon as enemies and not willing to cooperate even though they are. The dialogue needs to change, and she suggested changing it and being partners in fixing real problems.
Vice Mayor Dawson she and Councilmember Gerringer attended the Recycle Smart Workshop this last week discussing their goals for the next year. They will be looking into what the structure of the contracts will look like and working with the Director and staff. The rates have gone up and information went out to communities. Marin Clean Energy also had a rate adjustment and she also sits on those deliberations, as well. It is working out well and they are focusing on more Deep Green conversions.
She would like to pursue working on creating a relationship with their regional vice president at PG&E because they have issues regarding utility safety. She would like to develop a letter to send to invite a meeting regarding status of the pipeline improvements, the schedule and what has been happening, the electrical and PSPS summer preparation and events, on wildfire preparation, working on electrification and ensuring they are aligning with public works projects and with developers.
Mayor Anduri asked if MCE rate increases have impacted the level of the Deep Green users in Lafayette.
Vice Mayor Dawson said she did not have those numbers and Lafayette has a lot more to go in committing to Deep Green, and many of the spikes people are seeing are really on gas prices.
Councilmember Gerringer thanked Ms. Iarla for putting out the information and FAQs and agreements around holding Republic Services accountable about missed pickups. People can call and be refunded for missed service pickups and as they enter contract negotiations, performance on these measurables will be considered on new contract negotiations.
Regarding meeting with PG&E, she reported there is a new CPUC representative who has reached out to her and to meet with her. She asked if a letter would come out one of the committees and asked how this works when a Councilmember wishes to develop a letter.
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Ms. Subramanian said she thinks this could be discussed and considered as a letter from the Mayor, the Council, or City Manager.
B. City Manager’s Update
Recommendation: Receive and file.
City Manager Srivatsa reminded everyone that March 2023 marks the 3-year anniversary of the Declaration of Emergency due to the spread of a severe acute respiratory illness caused by a novel, new Corona virus, or COVID-19. The world changed in many ways as did the City’s practice of holding public meetings. They switched to virtual platforms and continued the work of the City. In the last 3 years, the Council has held 90 meetings on Zoom and the City’s commissions, committees, and task forces have held nearly 1,000 meetings on Zoom.
The Council dealt with several important and challenging tasks during this period, all on Zoom. The Housing Element was adopted, the Terraces project approved, a DEIB committee created, work was initiated on safety improvements around schools, Town Hall meetings were held on wildfire preparedness, the Council dispersed over $3 million to local businesses and non-profits to mitigate impacts of the pandemic, and launched a Shop Local E-Card Program. This was done and a lot more on Zoom.
This has come to an end. The State’s Emergency Order will be lifted tomorrow, and as of March 1st, all regular public meetings will return to being held in person. As a courtesy and technology permitting, members of the public may participate via Zoom at regular meetings of the City Council, Planning Commission, DRC, and Transportation Circulation Commission. All other task force, commission, and committee meetings will be held in-person without a hybrid option. The City cannot guarantee teleconferencing technology will be uninterrupted with the four boards mentioned and unless required by the Brown Act, the meeting will continue even if members of the public are having technical difficulties.
Voting members of these boards will be required to attend in-person with very limited exceptions. A change to the way the City accepts public comments for the four boards are remote public comments via Zoom will now be audio only. It does speed up participation of the public and it is a more efficient way of doing so. This means members of the public wishing to address the Council will be allowed to speak live; however, their video will no longer be shown, and screen sharing will not be an option. So, if there are materials someone would like to present, an individual would have to be present in person. It is with a small twinge of sadness that she marks the end of the Zoom era, but she is looking forward to seeing everyone in person.
Mayor Anduri and Councilmembers thanked Ms. Iarla for the work she has done to get the City ready.
Councilmember Gerringer said if people emailed something ahead of time to screen share, she asked if staff could present it. Ms. Srivatsa said she will check with Ms. Iarla and let Councilmembers know.
Councilmember Kwok asked to take a group photo waving good-bye to Zoom for the last time with Ms.
Robbins and Ms. Iarla.
14. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
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A. Letter from Jay Lifson, on behalf of Lafayette Rotary, requesting permission to use Lafayette Plaza and close Plaza Way and a portion of Golden Gate Way on Saturday, April 8th from 9:30am through 10:45am for the Annual Candy Scramble.
Recommendation: Approve request to use Lafayette Plaza on Saturday, April 8th and adopt Resolution 2023-14 authorizing certain street closures and temporary no parking zones.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Gerringer/Dawson) to approve request to use Lafayette Plaza on Saturday, April 8 th and adopt Resolution 2023-14 authorizing certain street closures and temporary no parking zones. Roll Call Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Candell, Dawson, Gerringer, Kwok, and Anduri; Noes: None).
15. ADJOURNMENT – 11:34 p.m. in memory of and in honor of Colin Porciuncula. Colin passed away on February 14 at the age of 20 after his battle with an aggressive form of cancer. He grew up in Lafayette and graduated from Acalanes in 2021. He joined Troop 224 in 2013, becoming an Eagle Scout in 2019 and receiving one of the highest honors awarded to any scout, the National Medal for Outdoor Achievement. The Council and City staff send their condolences to his family.
APPROVED:
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Carl Anduri, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Joanne Robbins, City Clerk