City Council Meeting Page 1 of 16 March 27, 2023
7 City of Lafayette
City Council
Meeting Minutes
Lafayette Library and Learning Center – Don Tatzin Community Hall March 27, 2023 3491 Mount Diablo Boulevard, Lafayette, California 6:30 p.m.
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City Council Meeting Page 2 of 16 March 27, 2023
Mayor Anduri called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. via teleconference.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: City Council: Mayor Anduri, Vice Mayor Dawson; Councilmembers Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok
Absent: None
Staff Present: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager; Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director; Greg Wolff, Planning and Building Director; Steve Goetz, Contract Planner; Lt.
Ben Alldritt, Police Chief; Suzanne Iarla, Communications Analyst; Mala Subramanian, City Attorney; Joanne Robbins, City Clerk
3. Disclosure and/or Take Action on Remote Participation due to Just Cause or Emergency Circumstances Pursuant to AB 2449 (Gov. Code section 54953(f).)
4. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Dawson) to adopt the agenda. Roll Call Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Candell, Dawson, Gerringer, Kwok, and Anduri; Noes: None).
5. PUBLIC COMMENTS – (For Closed Session items)
MICHAEL DAWSON expressed his appreciation for Councilmember Candell and City Manager Srivatsa for the recent work in trying to get PG&E to come to the table for a solution on the project that has been going on for years. Tomorrow is the 6-year anniversary since the City signed the tree agreement and PG&E said they wanted to ensure access to the pipeline and ensure that pipelines would not be damaged by tree roots. The only way to do that was to cut trees. When they heard this 6 years ago, they had some questions and at first, PG&E was not as forthcoming. They said when they asked for the tree list and map, they said it is unfit for public consumption. They have not taken that answer for something they could be happy with, so they continued to ask questions, and that is what they have been doing over the last 6 years.
Nearly 3,000 people have signed their petition that have asked for no tree cutting to happen. They have had so many meetings, many data requests of PG&E, filed a lawsuit to stop the agreement while they could talk about this issue, and then they formed the Gas Safety Alliance, which has been a very important tool for them to talk about these issues.
At this time, he thanked former Mayor Mike Anderson and Vice Mayor Cam Burkes for their strong support and leader as Mayor and Vice Mayor during that time. He hopes this continues with this Council.
What they discovered over the last 6 years is that trees really are not an issue with the pipeline at all.
There has never been an accident caused by an underground transmission pipeline in 92 years that PG&E has been in existence. There is no law stating that they need to cut trees. There is no agency that supports it. In fact, FIMSA, the federal regulator has clarified in a letter that says trees are not required to be taken from the pipeline. So, he thinks PG&E has misrepresented the need to cut trees in the original agreement.
City Council Meeting Page 3 of 16 March 27, 2023
What they also found while doing this survey almost from the very beginning in looking at the trees and data is that there are major safety concerns that are in the community and that do need to be addressed.
Those are exposed pipelines, untested pipelines that are 60-70 years old. There is integrity management concerns. There is the ability for PG&E to adequately identify where high consequence areas are like the Girls Scout Camp which they have not done. The Gas Safety Alliance have made these comments and PG&E has taken their suggestions which is appreciated for most of these items. There are still other items they need to continue to do, especially around testing, around automated shut-off valves. Therefore, he requested continuing to work together solidly with citizens, all the people who have been involved, and with the City Council. They would like to leave the trees, make the pipeline safe, and resume their Alliance meetings that have been on pause during COVID.
Councilmember Candell asked Mr. Dawson to send the Council from PHMSA, and Mr. Dawson said he will be sending the letter to the Council and will summarize their 6 years’ worth of work in one packet.
Vice Mayor Dawson read the following public statement before recusing herself from participating in Closed Session:
“I am recusing myself from this agenda item because as a co-Found of Save Lafayette Trees I am associated with the legal proceedings. However, my interest and efforts on behalf of Community Pipeline Safety, utility safety in general, continues.
There are many valid safety concerns and mandated safety issues that this discretionary “Community Pipeline Safety Agreement” does not touch upon and that was not brought to Council nor our community when this proposal was initially presented.
Important information that came from PG&E only came after the agreement was made shows vintage pipeline had not been tested. Multiple areas of exposed pipeline were not addressed, let alone PG&E knowledgeable of their disposition until residents brought it to bear on fellow safety stakeholders.
I hope that as you discuss the item, you keep these concerns about transparency and holding the utility accountable to true community pipeline safety measures, in mind – so that maybe it can be more of an effort that resembles it’s supposed intent.
Thank you for your work.”
6. CLOSED SESSION
A. Conference with Legal Counsel - Existing Litigation (Gov. Code 54956.9(d)(1)) Save Lafayette Trees, et al. v City of Lafayette, et al., Contra Costa Superior Court Case No. 17- 1142
PG&E Corporation v. City of Lafayette, United State Bankruptcy Court – Northern District of California, Case No. 19-30088 (DM)
REPORT OUT FROM CLOSED SESSION
City Attorney Subramanian announced that no reportable action was taken in Closed Session.
7. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – 7:00 p.m.
City Council Meeting Page 4 of 16 March 27, 2023
Drew Powell from Troop 219 led the Pledge of Allegiance.
8. PUBLIC COMMENTS (For items not on the agenda)
JEFF GOYART referred to Lafayette’s permit process, which he believes is cumbersome. He spoke about other cities where permits can be pulled and completed within 30 days, spoke about difficulties in delayed appointments, assignment for projects, changes that take 30 days longer, and excessive time taken to get on a DRC agenda. He is planning for a master bedroom addition, said there is a 10-day waiting period after approval before getting permits from the County which then might take more time, and he asked that the Council look into the matter.
MARY ANN HOISINGTON, Library Commissioner, said she hopes the Council has received a letter from herself and Dorothy Walker, Lafayette’s Alternate Commissioner. At their last Commission meeting, their County Librarian, Allison McKey, asked them to go to their City Council to be sure they read her letter which should reach the Council by the end of the month asking to indicate to her how many extra hours, if any, they wish to fund for the library. In 2020/21, the amount for basic service was raised to 40 hours for every library in their county, except for Richmond. Each City Council can decide they want to pay for extra hours and the most amount one can pay for is 56 hours which is what they have right now. She and Ms. Walker are requesting the Council continue that same amount which allows them to be open Monday through Thursday from 10 AM to 8 PM every day, and on Friday and Saturday, from 10AM to 6PM.
She said what is a problem for them is that they really miss their Sunday hours. They have had so many people come to use the library on Sunday afternoon that she brought this up at the Commission meeting and Ms. McKey said she will bring this up at their May meeting. It has to do with staffing and the union because she cannot force individuals to work on Sundays, but she asked the Council to fund the 56 hours Councilmember Candell asked and confirmed the entire County libraries are closed on Sundays, and they would like to have at least Sunday afternoon hours.
Councilmember Candell asked if the comments from Mr. Goyart relating to planning hours typical.
City Manager Srivatsa said these hours were typical during COVID and she and Mr. Wolff met today and spoke about a return to expanded hours and walk-in hours, so Planning will come up with a proposal since they are now back in person.
9. PRESENTATIONS
A. Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director
Introduction of Beatriz Rodriguez and Philippe Morel
Recommendation: Receive and file.
Administrative Services Director Tracy Robinson introduced Beatriz Rodriguez and Philippe Morel who are working behind the scenes to make the hybrid meetings work. She gave a brief background on Ms.
Rodriguez and Mr. Morel’s experience and education, and Mayor Anduri and Councilmembers welcomed them to the City.
B. Lt. Ben Alldritt
Annual Police Report
Recommendation: Receive and file.
City Council Meeting Page 5 of 16 March 27, 2023
Police Chief Lt. Ben Alldritt gave a PowerPoint presentation on the City’s Annual Police Report. He presented 2022 statistics, stating they had 12,674 calls for service, over 1,200 police reports, 259 arrests, and issued 1,000+ citations. They participated in several city, school, and community events, participated in various training sessions and sending staff to instructor schools, and staffing levels.
Chief Alldritt spoke of uniform crime reporting to the FBI on statistics, collection of data, comparisons with other agencies, and nationwide statistics which will change this year. He provided various statistics for Lafayette. He spoke about the City’s 10-year comparison, stating in 2022 they had the lowest number of Part 1 crimes; however, there are a few categories such as residential burglaries which are higher than he would like, but lower than the national average, especially in the violent crime category. Trends are good and he is proud of their team.
He then presented a graph for calls for service which went down in 2020 and 2021 but they are starting to come back up. During that time, staffing has remained the same and if they increase, they will prioritize differently and manage it. He then spoke about their highest priority cases involving injuries, such as assault with a deadly weapon which is a domestic violence case, kidnappings, armed and strong-armed robberies, increase in residential burglaries, solve rates, increased commercial burglaries, and auto burglaries. There were 51 property damage only traffic collisions, no fatalities, 16 injury collisions, and 48 hit and runs.
Regarding code enforcement, there were 268 calls for service and 1,500 recorded actions for those cases such as on-site inspections, sending out warning, violation notices, research on property, etc. On emergency preparedness, they revamped their wildfire guide in 2022, sent them to all homes, spent their last dollars on the Cal OES grant and will report back on projects awarded, and he praised the work of the Public Works contract crew during the rainy season who have been great to work with. Alert Wildfire cameras are the hub for the County, which comes to the Police Department through a relay hub and then out live to the web, and this has given them a seat at the table. He appreciated the work of Con Fire to work through Firewise applications.
Chief Alldritt concluded his presentation and said he loves the opportunity to work with a great community. He asked if the campaign slogan this year will be Slow Down-It’s Our Town or Go Slow Lafayette, or Slow Down. They will be putting out education regarding the campaign in a month or two and he wanted the Council to think about whether they need to make the campaign slogan official.
Mayor Anduri thanked Chief Alldritt for his presentation and asked if there were any Council questions.
Vice Mayor Dawson said when police go to schools and do training with Active Threat, she asked if there is a wildfire evacuation training. Chief Alldritt stated they do not do training at each school site and the school district trains the teachers on this, similar to their lock down drills. School administrators ask the police department to review their evacuation plans which is an on-going process.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
Councilmembers thanked Chief Alldritt for his presentation, recognized the Chief for his 5 years with the City, voiced appreciation of his and the department’s efforts, and Chief Alldritt briefly spoke about upcoming education and posts on what the Police Department is working on.
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In response to Mayor Anduri’s question on when speed radar equipment will arrive, Chief Alldritt said everything except the radar trailers are expected to be delivered in the next 2 weeks or less, the radar trailers likely in the next 4 weeks, and believes it would be helpful for the Council to come to a decision on the campaign slogan in the next 4 weeks.
10. CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Anduri requested removal of Item 10.A. He asked and confirmed there were no other requests for removal of items and no public members wishing to speak.
B. Resolution 2023-22 Changing the regular meeting day and time for the Emergency Preparedness Commission .
Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2023-22.
C. Revised meeting calendar for 2023 to reflect the change to the Emergency Preparedness Commission meeting day and time.
Recommendation: Adopt the attached revised meeting calendar for 2023.
D. Terminating the Local Emergency in the City of Lafayette regarding December 2022 – January 2023 Storms
Recommendation: Terminate the Local Emergency in the City of Lafayette regarding December 2022 – January 2023 Storms.
E. Designation of Applicant’s Agent Resolution as Required by California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Reimbursement.
Recommendation: Adopt the resolution, Designation of Applicant’s Agent Resolution for NonState Agencies (Cal OES Form 130).
F. FY 2022-23 Budget Adjustments
Recommendation: Approve the budget adjustments as indicated on Exhibit A (attached) ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Dawson) to adopt Consent Calendar Items B, C, D, E and F. Roll Call Vote: 5- 0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
11. OLD BUSINESS
A. Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager and Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director Resolution 2023-24 Financing for Purchase of the Police Station at 3471 Mt. Diablo Blvd.
Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2023-24 Declaring Intention to Reimburse Expenditures from the Proceeds of Tax-Exempt Obligations.
Administrative Services Director Tracy Robinson gave the staff report and overview of the City’s current process of purchasing 3471 Mt. Diablo Boulevard, which is the police station for approximately $1.7 million per the lease agreement. The City can either use cash from the General Fund Reserve or finance the transaction with bonds. She has spoken with her industry contacts and if the City financed for 30 years with a rate of 3 ½% the cost would be $90,000 a year, which is a savings of $47,000 per year as compared to the rent. If the City paid cash, it would cause the City’s General Fund Reserve to go below the 60% threshold. It is possible the City has other real estate options potentially in the future.
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The escrow on the property is due to close in mid-April. The City does not have to get the financing done by then, but if the Council is interested in financing this property, the Council needs to adopt Resolution 2023-24 which declares the intention to reimburse expenditures from the proceeds of tax-exempt obligations. This would allow the City to affect the purchase, pay themselves back through selling the bonds, and in the resolution she indicated “authorize up to $2 million” which would ensure the City has money to pay for the transaction costs. Staff would bring back the item before doing anything and bring the banker to a meeting regarding the options. At this point, even though the rules say the resolution can be adopted up to 60 days after the costs are paid, the bond counsel has opined it is usually better to adopt it in advance of paying costs to avoid potential problems.
Mayor Anduri said in a previous report Ms. Robinson had indicated if the Council adopted the resolution and later they decided not to, there is not a real penalty, but it is not looked kindly upon. Ms. Robinson agreed, and she thinks it is just potentially the IRS because these are tax-exempt bonds. If the Council were to go forward with the financing, she would move to start the process because it takes a couple of months to line up the financing, get the documents drawn up, and it is a relatively minor amount. But again, saving $47,000 a year is good and she would be nervous about taking that amount of money right out of the General Fund at this time.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
ROBERT LAVOIE said it sounds like the proposal is to sell bonds versus getting a traditional mortgage which sounds good and to save $47,000 a year which sounds good. His only thought was the purpose of the City’s reserve is to have reserves. But, if you had a building using up those funds to take the reserves down to what the Council would like it at but self-funding and saving the 3 ½%, the Council is essentially paying the City the 3 ½% and they could say the building is part of the Reserve. So, in an emergency the City could get a mortgage on it unless interest rates were extremely high.
Mayor Anduri said his thinking is in line with Mr. LaVoie. If the Council were also buying the McNeil property he would want to finance. But if they were not he would not want to finance. But, the Council does not know that yet and therefore, he would be in favor of financing. The City would save the $90,000 if the City uses its Reserve.
Ms. Robinson pointed out that it is not quite as easy as going back and getting a mortgage like they would for a home. So, turning that asset into cash would not be as easy.
Mayor Anduri agreed and said given their current circumstances, he favors bond financing.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Gerringer/Candell) to adopt Resolution 2023-24 Declaring Intention to Reimburse Expenditures from the Proceeds of Tax-Exempt Obligations. Vote 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
12. STAFF REPORTS – None.
13. PUBLIC HEARINGS
Mayor Anduri questioned and confirmed with the City Attorney that staff could provide the staff report and the Council could open all public hearings, discuss all 4 items, and then conduct the votes for each item.
City Council Meeting Page 8 of 16 March 27, 2023
A. Steve Goetz, Contract Planner
1. ZT02-22 City of Lafayette (Applicant): City-initiated Addendum to the Downtown Specific Plan Final Environmental Impact Report (SCH No. 2009062056) - Pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21166 and CEQA Guidelines section 15162, 15164, an addendum to a previously certified EIR has been prepared where all environmental impacts of the Items ZT01-22, ZT02-21, and ZT03-22 have been addressed within the EIR, no new or additional mitigation measures are required and none of the conditions requiring preparation of a subsequent EIR are present.
Recommendation: Review the draft Addendum, conduct the public hearing, provide comments, and adopt Resolution 2022-63 to approve and adopt the Addendum.
Project Planner: Steven Goetz, (925) 284-1976, [email protected]
2. ZT01-22 City of Lafayette (Applicant): City-initiated citywide zoning text amendment to amend Chapter 6-18 of the Lafayette Municipal Code updating the flood damage prevention ordinance, contingent on approval and adoption of ZT02-22 Addendum to the Downtown Specific Plan Final Environmental Impact Report. (CEQA Determination:
Pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21166 and CEQA Guidelines section 15162, 15164, an addendum to a previously certified EIR has been prepared where, as here, all environmental impacts have been addressed within the EIR, no new or additional mitigation measures are required and none of the conditions requiring preparation of a subsequent EIR are present).
Recommendation: Introduce Ordinance 684, waive reading, take public comment and continue the item to the April 10, 2023 meeting for second reading and adoption pursuant to the Addendum adopted pursuant to Resolution 2022-63.
Project Planner: Steven Goetz, (925) 284-1976, [email protected]
3. ZT02-21 City of Lafayette (Applicant): City-initiated amendment to the Downtown Design Guidelines for creeks and landscape, bicycle parking, and the Plaza District contingent on approval and adoption of ZT02-22 Addendum to the Downtown Specific Plan Final Environmental Impact Report. (CEQA Determination: Pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21166 and CEQA Guidelines section 15162, 15164, an addendum to a previously certified EIR has been prepared where, as here, all environmental impacts have been addressed within the EIR, no new or additional mitigation measures are required and none of the conditions requiring preparation of a subsequent EIR are present.) Recommendation: Review the draft amendment, conduct the public hearing, provide comments, and adopt Resolution 2022-64 to approve ZT02-21 Downtown Design Guidelines for creeks and landscape, bicycle parking, and the Plaza District (see Attachment) pursuant to ZT02-22 Addendum to the Downtown Specific Plan Final Environmental Impact Report adopted pursuant to Resolution 2022-63.
Project Planner: Steven Goetz, (925) 284-1976, [email protected] City Council Meeting Page 9 of 16 March 27, 2023
4. ZT03-22 City of Lafayette (Applicant): City-initiated amendment to the Objective Standards for New Multi-Family and Multi-Family Mixed Use Development in the Downtown for creeks and landscaping contingent on the approval and adoption of ZT02- 22 Addendum to the Downtown Specific Plan Final Environmental Impact Report. (CEQA Determination: Pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21166 and CEQA Guidelines section 15162, 15164, an addendum to a previously certified EIR has been prepared where, as here, all environmental impacts have been addressed within the EIR, no new or additional mitigation measures are required and none of the conditions requiring preparation of a subsequent EIR are present.)
Recommendation: Review the draft amendment, conduct the public hearing, provide comments, and adopt Resolution 2022-65 to amend the Objective Standards for New MultiFamily and Multi-Family Mixed Use Development in the Downtown for creeks and Landscaping (see Attachment B) pursuant to ZT092-22 Addendum to the Downtown Specific Plan Final Environmental Impact Report adopted pursuant to Resolution 2022-63.
Project Planner: Steven Goetz, (925) 284-1976, [email protected] Contract Planner Steven Goetz stated the four hearings are all related because they all help implement the Downtown Creeks Plan which the City adopted in 2017. These public hearings were introduced at the Council’s November 28, 2022 meeting, and the Council continued the matters to tonight to give time to develop some responses to public comments that were made on the hearing related to the amendment to Item 2; the flood damage prevention ordinance.
He acknowledged the great work of the City’s Creeks Committee who helped get these applications before the Council. They debated several issues for a number of months before getting to the point where they could recommend approval of these applications.
The first hearing would deal with applications ZT02-22 which is an Addendum to the Downtown Specific Plan (DSP) FEIR. Approval of the Addendum will provide environmental clearance for the other three Cityinitiated applications, the first being a Zoning Text Amendment to the municipal code, updating the flood damage prevention ordinance to promote the protection of natural resources in the creeks, and to enhance public access to the creeks in the downtown area.
The second application is a City-initiated Amendment to the Downtown Design Guidelines to apply creek and landscape, bicycle parking, and guidance to the Plaza District in the downtown. The third application is an amendment to the Objective Standards for new multi-family and multi-family mixed use development, where some additional standards are provided for creeks and landscaping.
These three applications help implement the Downtown Creeks Plan and they also constitute the Project Description which is evaluated in the Addendum included in today’s agenda. That Addendum is included as an exhibit to the resolution which is attached to the staff report. This Addendum assesses whether the impacts generated by the three applications create any new impacts or significantly increase impacts that were already identified in the DSP FEIR. The Addendum concluded that any potential environmental impacts from the applications would be less than or no greater than the impacts identified in the DSP FEIR. By approving this Addendum, the City can meet its obligations for CEQA and proceed with acting on the three applications.
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The Downtown Creeks Plan recommended changes to the flood damage prevention ordinance because there were opportunities when downtown properties develop which are adjacent to creeks to provide enhanced public access in the form of a trail or a viewing platform that would establish a view corridor into the creeks, and stormwater management features or landscaping that could improve the natural function of creeks. This application amends the ordinance to accomplish those objectives and it also makes changes to improve its consistency with the other laws, regulations, and guidelines that protect creek resources in the City.
At the November 8th Council meeting, the Council received public comments on the flood damage prevention ordinance amendment which are included as Attachment A of the written report. The February 6th Planning Commission meeting staff report gave a detailed evaluation of how the application was modified to comply with the Housing Crisis Act which streamlines review procedures to make it easier to approve certain housing projects. The City cannot amend a zoning ordinance that would reduce the residential density of a parcel and so staff reviewed the ordinance definitions that would apply to housing projects to ensure they were objective and removed proposed revisions that would have the potential to reduce the residential density of a parcel.
The next application as outlined in the staff report was the City initiated amendment to the Downtown Design Guidelines. These are used as guidance for development of downtown parcels along the creeks and these were reviewed when they worked on the Downtown Creeks Plan. They recommended certain revisions that would provide consistency with creek related design features, creeks and landscape, wayfinding and signage, fencing, and railings, bicycle parking, and how design is reviewed in the Plaza District.
The final application: ZT03-22, another City initiated amendment application to amend the objective standards on new multi-family and multi-family mixed use development in the downtown. The City first adopted these objective standards in 2019 in response to State legislation that eliminated the ability to apply discretionary review procedures on certain housing projects which is what the design guidelines do.
This application provides some additional standards to the objective standards that would support creeks and landscaping. Specifically, standards would require new fencing along the Lafayette Creek Flood Control Channel and new Creekside landscaping for any parcel that abuts a downtown creek.
Mr. Goetz concluded his presentation and suggested proceeding on the first hearing on ZT02-22 which is an Addendum to the DSP FEIR. Staff recommends the Council review the Addendum, conduct the public hearing, provide comments, and adopt the resolution attached to the staff report.
Councilmember Candell said it looks like YIMBY Law and Branagh Development attorneys wrote letters stating the City cannot enforce the ordinances. She asked if anyone else threatened the City about this.
City Attorney Subramanian said she is not aware of any additional correspondence and deferred to Mr.
Goetz. Mr. Goetz confirmed these are the only letters the City has received.
Councilmember Candell asked if the City has any further legal exposure if they pass these tonight. Ms.
Subramanian stated staff has worked internally and worked with the Creeks Commission to revise the ordinance to address concerns raised in those letters. At this time, staff believes they comply with the Housing Crisis Act.
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Councilmember Candell said the City cannot enforce many of the setbacks because of housing laws, but there were certain flood plain areas where the City can enforce, and she asked if this was the case. Mr.
Goetz said the issue was setting new setback standards that the City’s current ordinance do not provide for. For example, the setback proposed for the Lafayette Creek Flood Control Channel has no setback currently provided for improved channels. The Creeks Committee had recommended they do that because they would like to provide opportunities for creek enhancements in areas adjacent to flood control channels. Table 1 on page 4 of the staff report describes what the setbacks that would be on the Lafayette Creek flood control channel.
He explained that the setbacks are a function of the depth of the channel, so the deeper the channel the larger the setback. That setback would reduce the residential densities of the parcels along the channel.
Because the ordinance does not contain these requirements now, the City cannot add them. The Creeks Committee recommended having language in the ordinance that should the restrictions on the City for setbacks along the channel be removed, the ordinance would have a trigger to automatically apply them.
Councilmember Candell asked and confirmed with Ms. Subramanian that to the extent someone comes in with an ADU application for a specific type of ADU or request a density bonus concession, those could provide that the City does not enforce the current existing setbacks because there are exceptions under State law.
Mayor Anduri asked and confirmed with Mr. Goetz that in improved creek bank areas where it is channelized for the part of the ordinance that says if State law disappears, the City’s setbacks come into effect. His other concern the Creeks Committee had was they wanted to provide for riparian plantings along that area and they were concerned this could not be done without a setback. As he understands this, they are now putting in a standard calling for riparian plantings even next to the improved channelized creeks. Mr. Goetz confirmed; the Downtown Design Guidelines has a plant palette to select from so the landscaping in the area adjacent to and abutting the creek would have those types of plantings.
Mayor Anduri opened all four hearings and asked for public comments, and there were no speakers.
Mayor Anduri closed all 4 public hearings, and proceeded to take each item up individually, beginning with ZT02-22: the Addendum to the DSP FEIR.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Candell/Gerringer) to adopt Resolution 2022-63 to approve and adopt the Addendum to the Downtown Specific Plan Final Environmental Impact Report. Vote 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
Regarding Item 2; ZTO1-22, the City initiated Citywide Zoning Text Amendment updating the flood damage prevention ordinance, he asked for comments or questions. There were none from Councilmembers.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Dawson) to Introduce Ordinance 684, waived reading, take public comment and continue the item to the April 10, 2023 meeting for second reading and adoption pursuant to the Addendum adopted pursuant to Resolution 2022-63. Vote 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
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Regarding Item 3; ZTO02-21, the Downtown Design Guidelines for creeks and landscape, bicycle parking, and the Plaza District, Mayor Anduri asked if there was a motion.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Dawson) to adopt Resolution 2022-64 to approve ZT02-21 Downtown Design Guidelines for creeks and landscape, bicycle parking, and the Plaza District (see Attachment) pursuant to ZT02-22 Addendum to the Downtown Specific Plan Final Environmental Impact Report adopted pursuant to Resolution 2022-63. Vote 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
Regarding Item 4; ZTO3-22, amending the Objective Design Standards for new multi-family and multifamily mixed use development in the downtown for creeks and landscaping, Mayor Anduri suggested a motion.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Dawson) to adopt Resolution 2022-65 to amend the Objective Standards for New Multi-Family and Multi-Family Mixed Use Development in the Downtown for creeks and Landscaping (see Attachment B) pursuant to ZT092-22 Addendum to the Downtown Specific Plan Final Environmental Impact Report adopted pursuant to Resolution 2022-63. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
Mayor Anduri and Councilmembers thanked Mr. Goetz and the Creeks Committee for the work done on all 4 items.
14. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT
A. Minutes
March 13, 2023
Recommendation: Approve.
Mayor Anduri requested the following amendments to the minutes:
• Page 15 of 26, sentence that ends with, “Mayor Anduri said he is surprised people in Burton Valley would not be aware of what is going on here.”
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Gerringer/Dawson) to approve the Minutes of March 13, 2023, as amended. Vote:
5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
15. COUNCIL/COMMISSION REPORTS
A. Councilmembers report on activities and consideration of matters a Councilmember wishes to initiate for placement on a future agenda.
Councilmember Gerringer gave the following report:
• Lafayette Citizen of the Year was one of the most feel-good community events in a long time, honoring Mike Anderson.
• She attended the Lafayette Partners In Education (LPIE) Gala Annual Fundraiser. Mary McCosker was the recipient of the Tom Mulvaney Legacy award.
• They held a Tri-Cities meeting and Congressman DeSaulnier presented the grant check to the City of Orinda for $5 million for Smart signals which will come back to the Councils.
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• She attended a Recycle Smart meeting where Councilmember Inga Miller was elected as Chair and she is now the Vice Chair. Vice Mayor Dawson was appointed to the committee for developing an RFP, reviewing the contract and renegotiating the franchise agreement. • They received an update from Republic Services that if trash cans are not picked up on the scheduled day to contact them, and they are improving issuance of credits under their current contract. Additionally, the new Executive Director is meeting with all City Managers. • She attended the California League of Cities Conference with Councilmember Candell and heard legislators speak on bills.
• She and Vice Mayor Dawson serve on the City/Schools Subcommittee met. Each agency and CEOs gave updates on various programs, surveys, accreditation, addressing teacher shortages, introduction of beach volleyball as a new sport and promoting Girls Flag Football, graduation on May 26th, and the City Manager and Police Chief gave updates, as well as transportation updates by Patrick Golier.
Councilmember Candell reported there have been comments regarding potential removal of the Aim program at Burton Valley School, and Councilmember Gerringer stated they did not, and she did not have an update on that.
Councilmember Kwok reported tomorrow the Lamorinda Zero Waste Challenge will be launched with a presentation at 5:30 p.m. with the Mayor and him. It is a 2-part presentation, and he will talk about Zero Emission Homes and how we can electrify homes and new incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Many Councilmembers received an email from resident Ryan Buckley who is a County Sustainability Commission member and Assistant Professor at DVC. He announced on May 18th a gathering of Contra Costa County governments and agencies will focus on the Inflation Reduction Act and how federal incentives can be accessed by local governments. It is a day-long program set of workshops and conference at the DVC Pleasant Hill campus, and Commissions, Councilmembers and staff are invited to attend.
Councilmember Candell reported she and Mayor Anduri had their Legislative Day in Sacramento, and the City Manager will give the report. She attended the League of California Division meeting with Councilmember Gerringer, and Senator Glazer and 2 Assemblymembers were present. She spoke about the Vice Mayor of Pleasanton asking about the RHNA numbers being incorrect, that HCD is hard to work with to get Housing Elements approved, that cities will fail because there is not enough subsidy funding to build all of the affordable housing, and the question as to what the State will do to help cities.
She spoke about Senator Glazer’s candor in his comments, said she and many cities are frustrated with the League, are dropping their membership, and no comments were given from the League’s leadership in attendance.
Vice Mayor Dawson announced that the Safety Element public workshop will occur Wednesday, March 29th from 6PM to 8PM.
Mayor Anduri suggested Commission and Committee liaisons discuss holding a Saturday morning or evening get-together of all members to honor them; however, there is a sense that May and thereafter are very busy months, so he suggested the Council re-visit this in the fall.
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Mayor Anduri stated Councilmember Kwok is the primary member for EBMUD and he is the alternate.
They had a Zoom meeting with John Coleman and based upon that discussion and correspondence from the engineer which says they are accepting comments on the tower up until May 1 st which they ask be
limited as to how many arches will go around the circumference and how deep the arches will be. He proposes agendizing the item for the April 10th meeting for a discussion of the EBMUD tower and ask the two representatives to attend and report on what they have heard and response to the Council’s comments.
He said Gordon Chong, a former DRC members and former President of the American Institute of Architects, has taken an interest in this and would like to see a better design. He suggested stepping back and ask for a broader look.
Councilmember Gerringer disclosed she has also had a conversation with John Coleman and shared input.
What the CEO said at the Mayors’ Conference is that they are working on different alternatives, and she is in favor of holding the April meeting.
B. City Manager’s Update
Recommendation: Receive and file.
City Manager Srivatsa gave the following report:
• Legislative Day in Sacramento: The Mayor and Councilmember Candell had a very productive set of meetings in Sacramento. They began meeting with Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and her staff, updated her on her allocation of funds for the Pleasant Hill Road project and the public process. The Assemblywoman indicated that because the deadline to file taxes has been extended to October, the State will not have an idea of its revenues before the budget adoption deadline. She likened it to a rolling budget without the ability to make projections on, and as a result, they do not anticipate a significant request for appropriations being sent out to cities and constituents as of yet.
• They then moved to Senator Bill Dodd, Chair of the Senate Governance and Finance and met with his Chief of Staff. The emphasis there was emergency preparedness and wildfire prevention because the Senator is focused on that. Mr. Span told them about what he believes are the State regulations regarding defensible space, and staff is following up with Con Fire to see if those regulations apply only to the State Resource Areas or whether they are applicable to all jurisdictions.
• They then met with Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and this Council supported the Senator’s Brown Act Bill which would allow appointed bodies hold hybrid meetings. Unfortunately, this bill may only be focused on Los Angeles, but there are other bills they will be looking at.
• They finally met with Assemblymember Gregg Hart who also has a bill extending the teleconferencing abilities. They made a pitch for continuing to allow the flexibility for teleconferencing because it not only allows for greater public participation, but also allows participation amongst commissioners who can operate from home and serve as a commissioner.
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• As a follow-up to this, the Legislative Committee on March 30th will consider 3 bills by Senator Dodd, Senator Portantino, and Assemblymember Hart and it is a support recommendation for all 3 bills. They want to build consensus about who Lafayette is and how serious they are about housing production. They updated the handout distributed 3 years ago which includes all housing projects, number of affordable units in each, and the number of jobs lost as a result of that project.
They also handed out the wildfire guide, so all in all it was packed. They did a lot of strategizing with Casey Elliott, as well, and she thanked Councilmember Candell for driving them back and forth in what turned out to be one of the stormiest days. • Ms. Srivatsa also reported that Management staff met last Friday for an all-day workshop where they went through Council priorities, developed draft Work Plans, and got a greater appreciation of how each department operates, and how they really need each other to implement priorities.
Councilmember Gerringer asked if there was a plan to meet in district with Senator Glazer and his staff, stating he has some interesting bills. Ms. Srivatsa stated she will work to schedule a meeting.
C. Mayor Anduri and Vice Mayor Dawson
Resolution 2023-23 Appointing two members to the Planning Commission Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2023-23.
Vice Mayor Dawson said she and Mayor Anduri interviewed 2 candidates for the Planning Commission recently. There were 3 who applied but 1 withdrew his application. Both candidates were very wellqualified, one having been a former member and one former Citizen of the Year, and she recommended both be appointed to the Planning Commission.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
Mayor Anduri emphasized that the third applicant was the former Mayor of Pinole and had just moved to Lafayette. He is very interested in being involved so there will be other opportunities and he withdrew his application in deference to John McCormick’s candidacy.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Dawson/Kwok) to adopt Resolution 2023-23 appointing John McCormick and Anna Radonich to the Planning Commission. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
16. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
A. E-mail from Heather Schiffman, Director of Government & Public Affairs, Contra Costa Association of Realtors, requesting a proclamation recognizing April as Fair Housing Month in Lafayette.
Recommendation: Approve the proclamation recognizing April as Fair Housing Month in Lafayette.
Councilmember Candell commented that there is the local group and the national group, but not the California Association of Realtors in the resolution. She asked if this was something to consider and revise.
City Clerk Robbins stated David Schubb is the President of the Contra Costa Association of Realtors and he was in attendance and could comment.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
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DAVID SCHUBB, CRS, SRES, President, Contra Costa Association of Realtors, said he did not know why the California Association of Realtors has not asked for this proclamation from the City of Lafayette, but as President of Contra Costa’s Association of Realtors, he thanked the City for partnering with them in recognizing the 55th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. They would like to reiterate their commitment to the Fair Housing Act and their on-going efforts to ensure fair housing rights for every member of their community.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Candell/Dawson) to approve the proclamation recognizing April as Fair Housing Month in Lafayette. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
17. ADJOURNMENT – 9:06 p.m. in recognition of Lynn Hiden who has moved from the community and who has contributed her time to Lafayette over the years.
APPROVED:
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Carl Anduri, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Joanne Robbins, City Clerk