City Council Meeting Page 1 of 38 July 24, 2023
7 City of Lafayette
City Council Minutes
Lafayette Library and Learning Center – Don Tatzin Community Hall July 24, 2023 3491 Mount Diablo Boulevard, Lafayette, California 6:00 p.m.
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City Council Meeting Page 2 of 38 July 24, 2023
Mayor Anduri called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: City Council: Mayor Anduri; Vice Mayor Dawson; Councilmembers Candell, Gerringer, Kwok (participating from New Hampshire via Zoom)
Absent: None.
Staff Present: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager; Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director; Greg Wolff, Planning and Building Director; Sonia Urzua, Assistant Planning and Building Director; Renata Robles, Senior Planner; Arly Cassidy, Senior Planner; Lt.
Ben Alldritt, Police Chief; 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
Councilmember Candell requested moving Item 14.B to be heard just after Item 6; Public Comments.
City Manager Srivatsa announced that staff is not quite ready for the Police Academy Graduation, and she asked Item 7.B.1 be removed and not considered this evening. The Chief will schedule it at a subsequent meeting. Secondly, Item 13.C; the appointment of the DRC needs to be brought forward so the DRC can hold its meeting tonight.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Dawson/Candell) to adopt the agenda, as amended. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
5. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Arlita Smith, President of The Assistance League of Diablo Valley, led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
6. PUBLIC COMMENTS – (For items not on the agenda)
ANTOINETTE ST. JOHN, Field Representative for Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, introduced herself and said she is excited to connect their office to the City. She will cover the Lamorinda area, and she is able to provide her contact information.
14. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
B. E-mail from Jackie Curtis, Vice President Marketing Communications for the Assistance League Diablo Valley, requesting a proclamation recognizing their 45th Anniversary celebration on July 29th.
Recommendation: Approve the proclamation recognizing the 45th Anniversary celebration for the Assistance League Diablo Valley.
City Manager Srivatsa stated the City’s favorite thrift store is celebrating its 45th anniversary in July, specifically on July 29th. Staff has prepared a proclamation for the Council’s consideration and representatives from the Assistance League are present.
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Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
Arlita Smith, Assistance League Diablo Valley, thanked the community for their support over these 45 years and their contributions. They raise about $550,000 a year which all goes back to the County. They are holding a special celebration this Saturday, with 45% off items in the store.
Councilmembers recognized and thanked the Assistance League for their generosity during fundraising for the Library and for their partnership on Community Day and special events in the City.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Gerringer/Candell) to approve the proclamation recognizing the 45th Anniversary celebration for the Assistance League Diablo Valley. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
13. COUNCIL/COMMISSION REPORTS
C. Councilmember Candell and Vice Mayor Dawson
Resolution 2023-45 Appointing members to the Design Review Commission Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2023-45 Appointing members to the Design Review Commission.
Councilmember Candell reported holding interviews of candidate Glen Cass who is a current Commissioner and she and Vice Mayor Dawson recommend Mr. Cass be re-appointed. Unfortunately, the other two interviewees did not show and there are still 2 advertised openings.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Dawson/Candell) to adopt Resolution 2023-45 re-appointing Glen Cass to the DRC.
Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
7. PRESENTATIONS
A. Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director
Introduction of Lafayette interns Anika Ramaswamy (Planning), Freya William and Will Francis (Engineering)
Recommendation: Receive and file.
Administrative Services Director Tracy Robinson introduced summer interns Freya William and Will Francis who will both work in the Engineering Department, and Anika Ramaswamy who will be working in the Planning Department. She provided a background on each intern and welcomed them to the City of Lafayette. City Manager Srivatsa commented that the City offers a robust intern program and are always looking for students to join the City and noted a number of staff members began as interns.
Mayor Anduri and Councilmembers welcomed Ms. Ramaswamy, Ms. William and Mr. Francis to the City of Lafayette.
B. Lt. Ben Alldritt
1. Citizen Police Academy Graduates from Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 Recommendation: Recognize and congratulate Lafayette’s Citizens Police Academy Graduates.
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This item was removed from the agenda.
2. Mid-Year Police Department Report
Recommendation: Receive and file.
Police Chief Ben Alldritt gave an update and PowerPoint on the Department’s crime statistics, traffic collisions, activities in the Police Department, accomplishments relating to crimes, and upcoming public events.
Councilmember Gerringer referred to traffic collisions, injury and property and confirmed these are broken down to people in the car, injured, and pedestrians and bikes through a new system that allows them to export data on a monthly or weekly basis. These can be tied to and shared with City staff when tackling problematic roadways.
Councilmember Gerringer referred to assessments and focusing on improving in areas relating to fuel management. She asked if Con Fire Crew 12 are providing staff or resources to help with those assessments or she asked if it is the responsibility of the City.
Chief Alldritt said typically this has been complaint-driven and they are conducting better assessments to be proactive in getting compliance and managing that. It does fall to the City as to whether the evacuation routes are being maintained at the level they are supposed to be such as height and width. He thinks it will be a heavy lift, but he cited very proactive HOAs that are engaging in Firewise.
Vice Mayor Dawson asked if there are trends or patterns with residential burglaries the public should be aware of. Chief Alldritt said there is nothing than different from the past. They did have a residential burglary which is where no one was home that was fairly significant, and they have some very successful leads. There are things to consider when having estate sales as it is a chance to see what valuables may be in the home, so these are things to consider.
Chief Alldritt noted there have been conversations about an increase in shoplifting. He looked at the data ahead of this meeting. With 2022 being a low number, they are seeing a slight uptick. They just met with the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors to discuss this concern. It is a crime that happens consistently but not at the levels it occurs in other towns. Their success rate in apprehensions is very high, but factors play into this. If an item is $950 or less, it requires someone from the business to sign a citizen’s arrest. Some feel differently about this, but police need that component to make that arrest.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
MARY ANN HOISINGTON said she was calling to say she could not hear the Chief talking, but not she can.
Ms. Robinson stated staff was having some technical difficulties during the presentation because of the Internet connection, and there is about 4 minutes without any sound early on in his presentation, and she apologized.
ROBERT LAVOIE asked how are the locations determined for the new traffic analysis, how are they prioritized, what data is captured, asked to share the link of the analysis on the website, and asked if the Pleasant Hill Road at Stanley on the east side has been analyzed yet, given there is controversy there to show how many bikes are on there and also pedestrians.
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Chief Alldritt said when they began the prioritization and they went with known commute routes through town, also routes leading to and from school sites. They worked with Mr. Golier and Mr. Moran looking for feedback from them, and they also work based on residents who complete a Traffic Action Request form. They are prioritizing main roadways, started out doing passive data collection using the black box and moving to the radar display signs to see how it affects driver behaviors. They plan to try to go back around after doing enforcement and flashing signs and do that passive collection to see if it increased, determine if it had any effects, and determine whether more enforcement is needed.
When they located a device they leave it there for at least 7 days for good data collection. The exact link to the City’s website will be at Lovelafayette.org. They have not posted anything yet, but equipment came in at different times, and they have a set of data they will post starting next week and plan to share all raw data, which he described. He thinks they have every section of Pleasant Hill Road which will go on the website this month.
CHERYL MACDONALD asked if the link will be on the home page with a link to wherever it will be, or she asked if it will be inside the site.
Chief Alldritt said they plan on having it very visible. The data links themselves will not be on the main home page, but how to get to it will. He will work with Suzanne Iarla on this, and they will make sure it is advertised in the Weekly Round Up and via social media, and each data set will be easily labeled.
Mayor Anduri and Councilmembers thanked Chief Alldritt for the update, the work the Police Department is doing and coordination with City staff.
C. EBMUD Reservoir Tower: Report from citizen’s group
Recommendation: Receive and provide comments.
Mayor Anduri said EBMUD has appeared before the Council several times to provide updates on the Lafayette Reservoir Tower. At the last Council meeting, the Council authorized a letter to the California Division of Safety of Dams (CDSD) supporting EBMUD’s request for a pause or postponement to give time for the Council to hear from the Citizen Advisory Group and time to hear from residents as to what they think about what should be done and to absorb the information available about the tower. This evening, the Council will hear from the Citizen’s Advisory Group. It is no surprise that Lafayette has some of the leading seismic engineers in the world and they have been willing to lend their time.
Gordon Chong has been organizing and leading the Citizen’s Advisory Group who served as Chair of the DRC. He asked Mr. Chong to introduce the group and provide an update.
Gordon Chong said it is the Citizen Advisory Group’s contention that the City of Lafayette and the broader regional recreational area which is served by the Reservoir would be better served if the existing tower could remain in its existing configuration while still providing the required necessary seismic improvements they also believe are important.
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He introduced members Mr. Mason Walters who is a Senior Principal with a nationally recognized firm known for their seismic evaluations and work; Mr. Matt Bertics, a leading structural engineer; Jack Moehle, a Ph.D. professor and researcher with UC Berkeley and is an internationally recognized expert in concrete structures. He has been involved in the development of design guidelines and codes and just about everyone who works with these codes. Many of the practicing engineers had their beginning classes with Dr. Moehle at UC Berkeley. He has provided consultant and expert peer review on water distribution systems for the San Francisco CPUC, the New York City Aqueducts as well as serving as a peer reviewer for the cities of Los Angeles, Reno, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. The fourth member of their team is Loring Wiley, Senior Principal with an engineering firm and shares the national reputation similar to Mr. Walters in seismic design. He has a 30-page resume, and he is past Chair of the State Historic Building Safety Board. While they appreciate the tower and reservoir is not a registered historic structure, Loring’s experience of being able to evaluate and analyze various methods of strengthening older buildings and be able to retain their historic context is very important and he has been a great contributor to their team.
The common characteristic of this group is that they all have and continue to assist in the development of seismic design, standards, guidelines, and codes used by all structural engineers in California and beyond.
They are the authors of many of these guidelines with great credibility and understanding of their implementation and use. All 4 of the members live in Lafayette. Their efforts to date have been guided by 4 principles and the first guiding principle is 1) to protect the public interest against the threat of risk from the seismic event; 2) any analysis and proposed alternative must be grounded in meeting realistic construction and cost constraints; 3) focus their analysis on alternatives presented by EBMUD’s consultants called AECOM themselves rather than proposing experimental or new alternatives at this time. They will not be presenting any new architectural alternatives to the Council, but instead, the group has chosen to do a deep dive into the work undertaken by EBMUD and to provide the Council their experience, expertise, and impressions of the ability to move to other alternatives other than the shortening of the existing facility. Finally, as a community advisory group they would like to work collaboratively and cooperatively with EBMUD more as professional peer reviewers. This is an important relationship that would be meaningful to the City and to EBMUD.
The Council may recall in the previous presentations by EBMUD, EBMUD presented 4 different alternatives. They evaluated and ranked each of those in terms of 4 criteria—1) seismic safety; 2) environmental conditions including aesthetic and biological sensitivity; 3) constructability and 4) cost. So, the Council can see the line between what their principles are, their ranking system, and what the Citizen’s Advisory Group is concerned about. He asked to keep these 4 criteria in mind when the Council listens to the presentations.
It is the committee’s initial conclusion that, following additional analysis by EBMUD’s consultants of our recommended approach, that they will find our recommendation to be at least as structurally safe as the shortening proposal that they are suggesting, definitively more environmentally responsive to aesthetic and biological sensitivities, at least as easily constructed as the shortened tower, and potentially as costeffective. He only says potentially in all these cases because he thinks studies need to be undertaken before making that absolute comment. In reviewing a chronology of what they have done to date and where they are, on June 23rd EBMUD submitted to them 2 comprehensive reports dated March 2019 and May 2020 as well as relevant directives from the Division of Safety of Dams. Their team spent considerable effort to review the 2 documents. These were over 300 pages of dense, technical analysis, data, graphs, formulas, and codes. It was important to study them to understand the rationale for EBMUD’s current proposal.
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On July 18th they shared their initial findings with EBMUD only to discover the information provided to them on June 23rd by EBMUD was either not the most current version of the work or what they received was incomplete. The older version they received focused on the potential threat of the tower collapse and unfortunately omitted an appendix analyzing the potential damage to the outlet piping conduit which DSOD and EBMUD later considered to be of equal importance.
On July 20th, EBMUD resubmitted corrected reports for their review, and they began to review this added information. The Council will hear some of the review comments Matt and Mason have been able to prepare in a very short time between receiving that information and tonight. As the Mayor indicated, at the request of the City, EBMUD has agreed to postpone their community review meeting originally scheduled for July 26th which is greatly appreciated so they can gather their own thoughts more comprehensively to be included in their presentation to the community.
On July 19th, EBMUD met with DSOD without the group’s involvement where EBMUD sought an extension of time to permit their review. They have been informed by EBMUD that DSOD did not address the requested extension but noted that any alternative to DSOD’s recommended alternative of tower shortening would require more modeling and a new application. This has many ramifications in terms of time, cost, and effort. He then asked Mr. Walters to share the group’s finding about the tower and its seismic condition and the tower’s relationship to the outlet conduit and piping.
Mason Walters thanked Mr. Chong for coordinating the group, acknowledged Mr. Chong as a renowned architect in San Francisco and very sought after. There are 2 distinct aspects of interest in the reservoir tower/dam complex aside from the dam itself. There is the tower which everyone can see and then the horizontal conduit buried in the mud. They are both very important parts of being able to control the water flow out of the reservoir when needed and be able to turn the spigot on and off at will. If the tower were to fall down or the conduit were to collapse, EBMUD would lose some aspect of the control of that water. Either they could not control it leaving and it potentially lead to a quick, uncontrolled release or not be able to get water out at all and it could get plugged up.
Those are the 2 threats they learned about, but they had these 2 reports which were thorough, and they involve lots of engineering terminology and reviews of analytical computer models that simulate the actual structure of the dam, the rock, the soil, the tower, and the conduit. The 2 initial reports they looked at were focused on the tower in 2019 and 2020. They did a deep dive into those reports and broke them all down. The advisory group got together and had a meeting of the minds and consensus about what actually would be the most pragmatic approach if the DSOD was willing to go the next step to taking another look. As Mr. Chong also mentioned, there were 4 schemes they looked at which were retrofit schemes which differed. Only one was cutting off the top 50 feet of the tower. The others involved some way of saving the tower and one was a scheme to reinforce the tower going all the way from the top of the tower down into the rock. It would involve the removal of the control house on top and then replacement in kind, so the appearance stayed the same.
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When they looked at all the numbers tabulated in the report and models, they all agreed that this scheme would be very appropriate, but in their opinion they had overshot the need of that particular scheme and over-designed it probably out of a need to make sure they provided a scheme that would work no matter what and they had not had a chance to go back and completely re-analyze it. This is just his speculation because he has been in that position before. But, what they understood after looking very closely, a very modest amount of reinforcement could replace the very large amount they had planned for that particular scheme. If they used that scheme as a comparable to the removal of the top of the tower, it would be very cost-competitive and the amount of work and time involved would be similar, and as mentioned, just as safe.
He prepared a summary, the group agreed on it, and they had a meeting with EBMUD and their consulting group, AECOM and explained their position. They had a chance to review the summary, as well, and AECOM referred to another report which dealt strictly with the conduit, and they implied that was one of the reasons they had over-designed the first scheme and without that over-design they would not be covering all the potential problems that do not seem to be supported necessarily by data but that they were concerned about going forward.
EBMUD sent them those reports; one strictly on the conduit and also another one that had to do with failure modes that they were compelled to develop at the request of the DSOD. Out of all of that only he and Matt Bertics have had a chance to dissect that report. It did not have the effect of changing the group’s recommendations. They would still recommend the following 3 steps for EBMUD and their consultant to undertake in order to save the tower and its appearance and also make it safe. These particular steps would be:
1. For EBMUD/AECOM to perform another iteration on their computer model with the full height tower and with the moderate reinforcement that the group is proposing.
2. Secondly, it would be to amend their study of the outlet conduit using the full height tower assumption because their initial outlet tower study was done only under the assumption that the tower itself would be cut off. So, they had not studied the effects of the other solutions that they proposed for the tower on the conduit itself.
The group’s assessment is a judgmental one because they are not the analysts, but just as having a lot of experience with structural models like this, they think that the conduit needs to be retrofitted and this is something EBMUD and AECOM agree on, but that it would need to be retrofitted in any case and the extra height on the tower is not really going to change either that or the effectiveness of the retrofit schemes they have proposed for the conduit. Either way, they are going to retrofit the conduit. It is an important element. They will retrofit the connection of the base of the tower to the conduit to make sure that does not fall apart or crack up. So, they must do that anyway and he thinks it is a very reasonable request for the City to make to encourage or compel EBMUD just as he thinks it would be very appropriate for ratepayers in the area to do the same thing—to ask EBMUD to go back one more step, do one more iteration on each of those models. It is not a ground up change. It is not something that should take a lot of time and he told Mr. Chong it would probably take more time for the DSOD to review the reports and approve them than it would for AECOM and EBMUD to actually execute the iterations.
3. Thirdly, once they do the iterations, they would then compare the costs with the removal of the top of the tower. That was the basis on which they chose to take off the top of the tower.
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Mayor Anduri asked for questions of the Council and then they will open public comments.
Councilmember Candell said the decision to go back and look at EBMUD’s existing alternatives instead of going forth with their own design was done because they read the comments from DSOD. She asked what in those comments made them back off from the new designs in particular.
Mr. Walters said it was not the DSOD comments that they were evaluating that closely. The DSOD’s comments and philosophy underlies everything that is done with dams in California, but they were looking at the actual numerical results of the analysis they provided which was a simulation of the dam’s behavior during an earthquake, together with the tower and the conduit. So, what they found is that the intensity of those things is concentrated in the upper half of the tower height. The prediction of damage on the tower is strictly in the upper portion of the tower. It is not in the lower portion.
So, although it makes sense at first blush to cut off the problem, it is not that simple. And there are things that can be done to the top of the tower to make it very effective in resisting the loads that they predicted because the top of the tower is simply unreinforced. It always was. It does not have enough of what it should have and because it is at the top it is easier to access than the rest of the tower and it is something that can be done mostly above the water line and not even get wet.
Mayor Anduri asked what the group’s alternative would entail if they were to go forward with the tensioning system. In order to do that, the top of the tower would need to be removed and not 50 feet of the tower. Mr. Walters said they would remove the “house” on top.
Mayor Anduri asked and confirmed with Mr. Walters that the existing house would be replaced in kind.
Mr. Walters said this is what they had assumed for that scheme. It probably needs more maintenance than any aspect of the entire tower anyway.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
JOHN COLEMAN, EBMUD Board of Directors, thanked the 4 experts who have been working on this project. They have substantiated a number of his thoughts with this. He felt from the beginning it was pre-determined what was wanting to be done and that does happen in projects. But what is important is to have all the facts out there that are clear, concise, and accurate to be able to make the right decision.
He looks forward to the final report and he has spoken with EBMUD staff about delaying the process as much as they can in order to get those facts out there so the EBMUD Board of Directors can make the right decision, but without the 4 experts, they would not be here today, and he thanked them.
RAVI REDDY asked what is the history of the Reservoir itself and it sounds like it was built in 1933 and is something people are seeking to protect in the City. He asked what is its function in terms of the geology and drainage patterns historically in the environment.
Mr. Walters said none of them are hydrologists here, so the latter part of the question is difficult to answer. He can say that the Reservoir was completed in 1928. It is an earth-filled dam which is the safest kind of dam for seismic events and much safer than an arched dam. The tower and the dam were built together, and he thinks the tower was actually built for deeper water than is the situation there now because the dam settled significantly during construction and the tower was built to the height and is such a prominent feature. It took a little gravity to compact that soil and make it the dam it is.
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Mayor Anduri confirmed there was no other public comment. He noted there is a great history in the Lafayette Historical Society’s newsletter in the last year that addresses this, and it can be accessed through the link on the City’s website. There is a full article on the history of the Reservoir and why they are where they are now.
Councilmember Kwok said he thinks there has been a lot of information shared. He and Mayor Anduri are the Council’s representatives to EBMUD, and they have worked in depth on this topic. What has not been talked about is 1) he wants to appreciate EBMUD for their cooperation in accommodating the City over the past months. EBMUD has responded to requests for written information, provided reports, come to numerous meetings of the City Council to report on their status, have met with members of the community on a number of occasions, and have accommodated the request of the community group to meet with their engineering firm, AECOM.
Based upon the commentary, both sides have gotten into very deep technical discussions. While anytime technical experts are brought together, they will agree on many things and there will be some things they do not agree on. From what he has seen it is very professional. Both sides have handled themselves in a collaborative fashion and he cited the collaboration over the last few days which has been significant. This is something still in progress and he is pleased with all the hard work put in by the community and thankful EBMUD has been accommodating for what will be the best outcome for the community.
Councilmember Candell thanked the advisory group on behalf of the community in Lafayette for taking the time to do this. This was a heavy lift. As much as she does not like abandoning the plans that they have seen, keeping the current one and retrofitting it seems like a great plan. She thanked Mr. Coleman for his collaboration and the advisory group for providing this option.
Vice Mayor Dawson echoed thanks, appreciates the methodology of going back to the original studies and discerning what could work. She asked for next steps, noting it sounds like the two experts will be able to review the conduit report.
Mr. Walters said in terms of review, they are at the end of review they need to do in order to establish an approach. The main message is that the tower is the focus. It is not just their focus. Even though the conduit is very important it is not in contention, and it needs to be retrofitted. It is how to make the tower safe in the most economical and most environmentally-sound way. He is speaking not only of elimination or reduction of waste but also preservation of appearance. Architectural aesthetic is very important because it is a regionally symbolic structure, very unique, and it identifies Lafayette.
He would defer to Mr. Chong and others to work closely with EBMUD to indicate this is what they have been told and ask them to study the iteration to demonstrate whether or not it meets the standards. He thinks this is what should happen next.
Mayor Anduri said what the group is recommending to the Council is that the City ask EBMUD to do 2 things: 1) do another computer modeling on the alternative the group is suggesting, using the data they already have; and 2) to amend Appendix E which is their study of the conduit and to do that with the assumption of the full tower, and then provide the information so the group and EBMUD can look at that.
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Mr. Bertics stated this is correct. The first rationale for it is pretty obvious. AECOM has all of the data that they can re-utilize in generating the next iteration the group is recommending. Secondly, it is their Alternative No. 1 which is entitled, “Through the Wall Post Tension Alternative” that the group is recommending they look at once again. When they say “their recommendation” he asked the Council to understand it is EBMUD and AECOM’s Alternative No. 1 that they are suggesting be looked at again. Given the fact they have all the data, he is hopeful they can turn this around reasonably and with great credibility, more than starting again on a new scheme.
Vice Mayor Gerringer thanked the advisory group and the City Manager for their leadership and Mr.
Coleman for continuing to advocate as the City’s representative to the EBMUD Board.
Mayor Anduri asked if there were any comments on that request. If they move forward, this can be communication from the City Manager to the General Manager of EBMUD. He confirmed there was Council consensus. He recognized the great relationship with EBMUD over the years and said they look forward to the continued collaboration.
He said there was to have been a community forum on July 26th which will be postponed. He is assuming EBMUD will take their request into consideration and when the analysis is completed EBMUD will be in a much better position to hold that meeting and receive public input. In the meantime, there has been a lot of discussion about safety. This is the primary objective. He noted in 2017 when they began to look seriously at seismic concerns with the tower, EBMUD put out a press release which is on their website, to assure the community there was not a great safety risk. There have been on-going communications with EBMUD engineers about what precisely are the safety risks. Safety risks come into play if 2 things happen, neither of which have ever happened before. One is the maximum credible earthquake occurs and either before, during or after the maximum credible earthquake, they get a maximum precipitation event which is 36” of rain in 72 hours which is 150% of the City’s average annual rainfall in 3 days. There is a chance these things can happen, but there is time for EBMUD and the City to get this right for a long-term solution that checks all boxes; aesthetics as well as safety.
Most importantly, he thanked the advisory group members for taking the time to review this and the City greatly appreciates this.
8. CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Anduri asked if there were removal of items, and Councilmember Candell requested removal of Item C. He asked and confirmed there were no public comments or requests for removal of items.
A. Minutes – July 10, 2023
Recommendation: Approve.
B. Authorize the City Manager to sign Grant Applications and Funding Agreements for the Lamorinda Spirit Van Senior Transportation Program and for Program Coordinator to sign reports and invoices for payment
Recommendation: 1) Authorize the City Manager or her designee to sign grant applications and funding agreements for the Lamorinda Spirit Van Senior Transportation Program; 2) Authorize the City Manager or her designee to sign the new 5310 Federal Grant application due August 30, 2023, requesting operating funds; 3) Authorize the Program Coordinator to sign periodic grant reports and invoices for payment of funds.
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D. Matching Funds with Local Nonprofit All Ages Recreation Downtown (AARD) Recommendation: Direct staff to bring the Memorandum of Understanding with Local Nonprofit All Ages Recreation Downtown (AARD) to City Council for approval. Approve a $35,000 transfer of General Funds to the Park Facilities Fund for the conceptual design phases of Leigh Creekside and Gazebo parks, in advance of receiving donated funds from AARD.
E. Appeal of the Planning Commission’s Approval of HDP05-23 Reddy (Owner), R-20 Zoning:
Request for reapproval of: (1) Phase I Hillside Development siting & massing; (2) Exception for Development within a Class II Ridgeline Setback; (3) Design Review for height exceeding 17’; (4) Grading to exceed 200 cu. yards; and (5) Tree removal of seven trees, to construct a new 2,850 sq. ft., 35’ tall single-family residence on an undeveloped lot within the Hillside Overlay District and Class II Ridgeline Setback located at 3933 Quail Ridge Road. APN 248-130-012. CEQA: The City Council certified the EIR for the project on September 30, 2020 (SCH# 2019071038) Recommendation: The appellant has requested a continuance. Continue the matter to September 11, 2023, without discussion on July 24, 2023.
F. Legislation Committee Recommendations on Bills of Local Importance
1. AB 531 (Irwin): The Behavioral Health Infrastructure Bond Act of 2023 Recommendation: Authorize the Mayor to send a letter of support.
2. ACA 10 (Haney): Fundamental Human Right to Housing
Recommendation: Watch.
3. SB 450 (Atkins): Housing Development: Approvals
Recommendation: Watch.
4. SB 532 (Wiener): San Francisco Bay Area Toll Bridges: Tolls: Transit Operating Expenses
Recommendation: Authorize the Mayor to send a letter opposing the bill.
5. Bill Matrix
Recommendation: Receive and file.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Candell/Dawson) to adopt Consent Calendar Items A, B, D, E, and F. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
9. OLD BUSINESS – None.
10. STAFF REPORTS
A. Greg Wolff, Planning & Building Director; Renata Robles, Senior Planner; Diana Elrod, Housing Consultant
6th Cycle Housing Element Update – Verbal report out on staff’s meeting with HCD regarding additional housing programs to meet statutory requirements to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing, based on direction from the City Council provided on July 10, 2023.
Recommendation: Receive verbal report from staff on meeting with HCD and direct staff.
City Council Meeting Page 13 of 38 July 24, 2023
Senior Planner Renata Robles gave an update on items relating to the 6th Cycle Housing Element which were previously discussed at the Council’s July 10th meeting. Staff presented 8 proposals to address comments relating to AFFH and all draft programs were based on similar programs included in certified Housing Elements elsewhere in the State. The Council received approximately 40 public comments and considered the merits and impacts of each draft program.
After deliberation, the Council directed staff to discuss the 6 programs which she displayed with minor amendments which are included in the staff report and to discuss these with the City’s HCD reviewer and receive preliminary feedback on whether those programs could satisfy the AFFH requirement.
On July 12th, staff met with the HCD reviewer and received initial feedback. The City’s new reviewer, Paul McDougall, provided suggestions on how to further refine the programs to fulfill the intent of the AFFH requirement, but indicated general support for the Council-recommended programs. Given this response from the HCD reviewer, staff does not recommend moving forward with Programs 1A and 1B. These can still be considered at a later date.
Further, staff received additional comments on the proposed program regarding prohibiting un-hosted short-term rentals like Airbnb’s and VRBO’s. Since that July 10th meeting and the public’s request for additional time for consideration and outreach, staff indicated that potentially hundreds of units could be returned to the housing stock if removed from short-term rental platforms. Staff identified approximately 100 rentals that include an entire housing unit across many platforms, though not all units represented un-hosted rentals. Given the limited impact of this program, if only restricted to un-hosted rentals, and the public’s request for more consideration, staff also recommends Draft Program 4 not be put forward in the updated Housing Element at this time.
It is with Council’s direction that staff would continue working to refine 5 programs; Programs 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 per HCD’s feedback and return with those programs more flushed out for review by the public and Council at a future meeting. Additionally, staff has continued to work to respond to other HCD comments through both narrative edits as well as additional analysis. The second HCD comment letter specifically requested further analysis on the City’s opportunity sites and, in conducting this analysis of the sites, staff finds there will likely need to be additional review and potential modifications made to the sites. Staff needs additional time to evaluate these potential changes and will return to a future Council meeting with more details and recommendations, but wanted to provide advanced notice to the Council and public that this matter will need to be discussed.
Councilmember Candell said staff stated the reviewer had other ideas for the City, and she asked what they were. Ms. Robles stated they were additional refinements to the programs presented. An example was with regards to the existing single-family structures being divided into multiple units, working to provide more preliminary criteria that would qualify structures for that program. It was not anything beyond what the Council discussed and was more in regards to those programs presented.
Mayor Anduri asked if staff feels if Program 4 is left out there are still an adequate suite of programs. Ms.
Robles said yes. The short-term rental program was not held up as a key piece of that suite of programs.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
SHARON FARLEY asked when might they see a map with the one-quarter mile from downtown boundary that includes street names rather than just zoning so neighbors have a better idea of what one-quarter from downtown is.
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CHERYL MACDONALD echoed Ms. Farley’s request for more information on streets and the starting point.
She referred to multi-family and asked if these were duplexes or other multi-family types.
STELLA WOTHERSPOON commented on the religious organizations’ density which she thinks is a bit high given their distribution in the City. She would be more supportive of 15 or 20/du acre for that program.
RAVI REDDY said he is curious about the short-term rental issue. He is hearing a number around that there are over 100 short-term rentals in Lafayette. He would like to draw the Council’s attention to this issue and would love to see what staff has that backs that up. After his own investigation into this, it reveals not more than one-half to one dozen rentals, and he is questioning how the City can have over 100 shortterm rentals in the City.
ROBERT LAVOIE echoed requests for the one-quarter mile map as well. The last time it looked like staff took the existing downtown area and then went one-quarter mile from the outside of the area defined as the downtown area, but this was not very rationale. If you take one-quarter mile from the ends of the City, this is 2 miles from anything important. He looked at the map and there are 1,300 feet between Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods which he would say is the key areas of the downtown with the transit hub, grocery, essential services, library, and main restaurants. So, he suggested taking one-quarter mile from that and going around would provide a realistic area for those people looking for homes that they can walk to and from. So, he asked that the map be tightened up. As they noted from the people in the presentation at the last meeting from Sunflower, they talked about the keys to high density housing and walkability, so he wanted to focus on that.
Regarding Item 7; increasing density, he retracted his support for that after considering other comments from people reminding them how many times they discussed increasing density in other areas outside the downtown during the GPAC meetings and multiple City Council meetings. He thinks this should be removed from the table. He is fine with churches and going to 30 du/acre, and he voiced comments the last time on ADUs and JADUs about any kind of limits over 5 years which is a significant intrusion on property rights. It might cause people to keep properties off the market which is against what the City is trying to do. They also have to allow people to be flexible with their property so they can use it for their own needs, as people’s lives change, and they might not need it anymore.
Mayor Anduri said there were several comments on the quarter mile and how that is determined. His understanding is that the Council will be considering this at the August 28th meeting, and Ms. Robles confirmed and each item the Council requests follow-up on will be included in the staff report, along with a detailed map which staff is working on.
Mayor Anduri said Cheryl MacDonald had asked about the definition of multi-family in the context of the item. Ms. Robles said the program is to allow for existing single-family residences to be within the existing building envelope split into 2-4 units in that quarter mile boundary. So, it is not a change in the zoning. It is what is allowed in the existing building footprint.
Mayor Anduri said he took her question to refer to multi-family in the multi-family zones, the definition of which would be any types of multi-family housing. She knows duplexes are possible.
City Council Meeting Page 15 of 38 July 24, 2023
Mr. Wolff said broadly, multi-family is 2 or more units. By district or program, upper limits and other parameters can be imposed whether it is Multi-Family Residential Townhome (MRT) District or MultiFamily Residential A District. They are both multi-family, but they have different upper limits in terms of density. If the question relates to what constitutes multi-family, it is 2 or more units.
Mayor Anduri said what that means is that if someone had an acre in any low-density multi-family zones or Program 7, the City would be saying they could do a 20-unit development on that acre. Ms. Robles said yes, that would be the allowable density for an acre of land. They could build 20 units.
Mayor Anduri said there was the question about short-term rentals which is off the table. Ms. Robles said she can follow-up with the commenter separately.
Councilmember Gerringer said she watched the last meeting when she was absent and appreciates the discussion and staff report and looks forward weighing in more, the discussion, and how they got to the recommendations.
Councilmember Candell asked if staff is coming back with the quarter mile downtown specified in streets where staff will split streets and not just a bubble map. Ms. Robles said the new requirement would likely be applied to the parcel and there would be a quarter mile boundary buffer from the outer boundary of the downtown districts and then parcels within that quarter mile buffer would be subject.
Councilmember Candell said she would hate to have the last house just beyond the quarter mile and then all of a sudden it has a different designation than all the rest of them on the street. She does not think staff should be strict on the quarter mile if there were other boundaries that made sense.
Mr. Wolff said he agrees that there should be some ideally logical or common sense brought to district boundaries. Historically when the City established zoning, the boundary lines between districts were drawn and often it was not uncommon for a parcel to be in 2 different zoning districts. So, there are provisions in the code on how to address that. He agrees that for ease of administration and for property owners, it would be best to have only one zoning on a property. If it is a cul-de-sac street and it is just that last parcel, he thinks staff can probably make that adjustment and then it becomes a matter of degrees.
There are many streets that have multiple zoning districts on it because of its length and how it appears.
So, the point is well taken, and staff will do its best to bring logical boundaries.
Councilmember Candell said with Robert Lavoie’s statement she asked if the HCD representative would agree that if the City only limited it to the downtown core would that still get them to their goals. Ms.
Robles said no, that would not fulfill the AFFH requirement.
Mayor Anduri said the Council has received the report, has given direction to staff to return with followup items and will hear the Housing Element on August 28, 2023.
BREAK
Mayor Anduri called for a brief recess and reconvened the regular meeting at 8:22 p.m.
B. Patrick Golier, Transportation and Circulation Program Manager Local Road Safety Plan
Recommendation: Adopt the Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP) for Lafayette.
City Council Meeting Page 16 of 38 July 24, 2023
Transportation and Circulation Program Manager Patrick Golier gave an introduction of the Lafayette Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP) and introduced Alison Mills from Toole who will provide a presentation to describe the elements that make up the LRSP, inputs behind the recommendations and a description of how the LRSP will be used moving forward.
Alison Mills, Toole Design Group, gave a PowerPoint presentation and overview of the LRSP, described funding opportunities, the plan’s actions and projects needed to prevent deaths and serious injuries on roadways in the City, Vision Zero, Safe System approach framework, efforts that work together to create one transportation system that is safe, equitable, and accessible, the Task Force formed to lead the process to develop parts of the LRSP, 4 open meetings held, community engagement process and virtual open house, web map survey which helped to identify locations where people felt unsafe, take-a-ways, high injury network and crash risk maps, engineering field visits, safety strategies used to address emphasis areas and identified high injury network, and safety strategies which are included in a table in the plan.
Mayor Anduri thanked Ms. Mills, Mr. Golier, the Task Force and Council liaisons for their work.
Vice Mayor Dawson referred to bus stops at intersections, and asked what is the issue in terms of crash analysis there. Ms. Mills said she would have to look at the data closer to see what was occurring in particular crash types and what they heard from the community.
Mr. Golier noted the crash analysis did look at where the collisions were occurring and there was an output that identified many of them were near intersections where there were bus stops. So, it islocation-based.
Mayor Anduri referred to page 3 which says, “Lafayette has established a goal of eliminating road deaths and serious injuries in the City by 2033.” He asked and confirmed with Mr. Golier that the 2033 date came from the Task Force and the 10 years was chosen in a need to be aspirational. The further out you go yields a lesser sense of urgency. There was also discussion the City has a low number, and it may be achievable in that timeframe.
Mayor Anduri said with respect to the low number, much of this is emphasized as data in the presentation.
He asked if the City has enough data to draw conclusions. It seems so much of what occurs are one-offs in the City. He asked if the data was robust enough to make generalized conclusions.
Ms. Mills said part of the reason it was not just the KSI’s that were considered was exactly that. That is why there is also the aspect of considering the density of crashes. So, in addition to the number of KSI’s, the data was definitely based on that number of crashes and consideration those 2 factors such as where it will be worthwhile to focus resources and efforts.
Mr. Golier said Mayor Anduri is correct. Because they have a relatively low number of KSI collisions those one-off’s do skew the results as opposed to a larger city with thousands of KSI collisions.
Councilmember Candell referred to Table 3 on page 49 (page 57 of the PDF) and said there and it was the CCTA Vision Zero. It does not have an “x” on the interactions between pedestrians and motorists. There is one for bicyclists and motorists, but then not one for pedestrians and motorists.
Mr. Golier said he can confirm that with CCTA and double-check that.
City Council Meeting Page 17 of 38 July 24, 2023
Councilmember Candell asked for page numbers on the counter measures toolbox, and she referred to the counter measures, Footnote 5 which states Lafayette has 10 emphasis areas: bicyclists, bus stop, distracted driver, failure to yield, and she asked if these are just listed and not prioritized.
Mr. Golier confirmed emphasis areas are not prioritized.
Councilmember Candell said evacuation routes were something the Council asked to get put in here and page 60 in the last sentence of paragraph 2 states “Some of the counter measures may require additional consideration by local emergency responders.” She said this is required by the California State Fire Code law that they go through that, which she quoted, and it seems there are so many places where they should have been calling this out and they did not.
She asked if there was a reason for that and she asked if they can get those tightened up like in the Safety Element. The Traffic Calming Guidebook has a policy that says you must ensure traffic calming measures do not create traffic issues on other streets or disrupt emergency vehicle or evacuation access. The City does not have a policy in the LRSP for that. Some of these should be highlighted if they are on an evacuation route which must be cleared with the Fire Marshal. If someone read this, they might think it is optional and it is not by State code.
She also said they received a comment about Topper Lane and how it is mentioned in the Location Profile description for School Street. It was called out that Topper Lane has no sidewalks and also children are forced to walk in the street around the curve because there is no sidewalk but there is no mention that the path is right next to it. She asked if these concerns can be addressed.
Mr. Golier said he saw the public comment and he will address that in the location profile and appendix.
He thinks they will remove mention of anything outside of School Street and mention a lack of pedestrian and bicycle facilities for the communities from the south to the school or to School Street.
Mayor Anduri asked Councilmember Candell if she sees the Council adopting this tonight. Councilmember Candell said no given the number of her comments.
Councilmember Gerringer said at the meeting they talked about including an asterisk or a footnote that talked about these comments, and she believes the language is in the Safety Element. As all the plans tie to the LRSP, the Safety Element, and traffic calming and all pieces, at that meeting her understanding was they would have the asterisks in the toolbox to ensure whenever this was reviewed it was raised to talk to the Fire Marshal. If this was the case, she would be prepared tonight to vote for this if they add that as an asterisk or a footnote.
She thinks the language around how the LRSP ties to the safety plan and all pieces around the evacuation assessment that it interacts with those.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
JINEE ELLIS thanked Mayor Anduri and Councilmember Candell for their comments around the lack of data and whether it is enough to evaluate and draw conclusions. She appreciates Councilmember Candell taking into consideration the letter regarding those comments in the appendix.
City Council Meeting Page 18 of 38 July 24, 2023
She appreciates Mr. Golier acknowledging they will remove the 2 bullet points related to Topper Lane in the appendix given Topper Lane is not in scope of the priority locations; however, the way Mr. Golier responded and indicated there is a lack of pedestrian and bicycle facilities for the communities to the south of School Street. She clarified School Street connects directly to the trail which actually is a pedestrian and bike facility that would connect to all communities south of School Street, so she asked to re-think what they are going to add related to that because she does not think the adjustment is enough, accurate, or reflective of the true environment of School Street.
ROBERT LAVOIE said he saw some studies looking at Vision Zero results versus the reality in Los Angeles County from 2012 to 2018 and then 2015 to 2021. Some of their concerns were related to obstructions of the road and the safety Councilmember Candell mentioned. He wondered if that study had been done for some of the other cities that have adopted Vision Zero and some of these ideas to compare the results versus the goals.
Mayor Anduri asked Mr. Lavoie if he was referring to obstructions in an evacuation context.
Mr. Lavoie said he thinks evacuation is one of the issues, but he thinks the results were broader than just narrowing it to concerns about evacuations. He did not think deaths or accidents were increased as a result of just evacuations. So, it is general road safety.
CHERYL MACDONALD said serious accidents and deaths are horrible events that happen in town, and she is glad the number is on the low side. She knows the study does not include this information, but she thinks it is important that the Council and public understand the difference between the numbers that are deaths versus serious accidents, and also understand the time of day and the situation that might have taken place for the accident as a whole. Possibly, the Chief of Police could update the Council on that information. She did not think it would be hard because that is what they do.
Mayor Anduri asked if there were comments on Mr. Lavoie’s question about road calming measures and the impact those were found to have on safety in Los Angeles.
Mr. Golier said he has not seen the Los Angeles study, but staff can look into it.
Mayor Anduri asked Mr. Lavoie to send the information on this to Mr. Golier so he can get back to him.
Regarding Ms. MacDonald’s comment, he assumed staff had the complete accident reports as to time of day, etc. Mr. Golier said yes, they had all of this to take into consideration.
Councilmember Gerringer asked if staff wanted to speak to the questions from other public commenters about why the LRSP does not seem to cover the west side of town, particularly the area from the Reservoir to the downtown core, and the commenter asked to consider adding safety measures along Mt. Diablo from Hanna Glass and Jennifer McCarthy.
Mr. Golier said that segment is not on the high injury network largely because there were no KSI collisions which is a good thing. But the LRSP does not preclude staff from implementing pedestrian safety and bicycle measures in the future, particularly with the new housing developments that are happening. It is his intent to update the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans in the upcoming years so those measures could be installed in the future.
City Council Meeting Page 19 of 38 July 24, 2023
Councilmember Gerringer said a process question that might be helpful is the TARs or the action request forms to encourage the public to submit requests via the existing system if they think there are things missing that would contribute to safety, protected bike lanes, sidewalks, etc. Mr. Golier said he added TARs in the background section of the report which is something new from the last version.
Councilmember Candell said she very much enjoyed working on this. This is a terrific document that they are creating for the City. It feeds in so well with their Safety Element, with the traffic calming guidebook, and everything they are doing. She will send Mr. Golier all the places they should be including evacuation routes as a note, and she can work with staff on that for the next edit.
Mr. Golier commented that he took Councilmember Candell’s notes from the last Transportation and Circulation Commission meeting and there were several mentions on the need to work with emergency services. The LRSP is not meant to be a prescriptive document but more of a framework or blueprint so the notes he added were not prescriptive, but he confirmed Councilmember Candell would like them more prescriptive for those required by law.
Mayor Anduri asked if this works in terms of the process, and Mr. Golier confirmed staff can accommodate Councilmember Candell’s comments.
Councilmember Gerringer said she went back and looked at her notes and she thought at that meeting, through Transportation and Circulation Commission that they had reached agreement the fact it tied through all the different plans and while it was not an intent to have a full evacuation plan and impact in this document, it was there. She is supportive of it returning and thinks staff changes they had agreement on with members there of the LRSP and Transportation and Circulation Commission except the counter measure toolbox and to highlight with an asterisk the things like the road diet, lane narrowing, or these kinds of things, the State code under the footnote to ensure they did the outreach to emergency service providers and other agencies that might be impacted.
Councilmember Candell said the problem was that a couple of these things were in policies too and it was not nearly as clear,so she emphasized the need for asterisks. This is where she was just trying to close the gap on all those so people know they have to think of them a little differently when they are called out.
Vice Mayor Dawson agreed with Councilmember Candell wherever they can add more clarity, as well as going back and looking at the research and making sure things are included.
Mayor Anduri asked if staff was pressed on time and Mr. Golier said there is no specific deadline.
Councilmember Kwok said he is fine to see revisions made by staff as long as when it comes back to do a redlined version so the Council can see the changes which would make it faster to review the next time.
Mayor Anduri asked and confirmed there were no other areas the Council would like to comment on or changes to be seen.
Councilmember Gerringer said they could hold a meeting to make sure the changes are made, and this way it might come back on the Consent Calendar and agreed with the need for a redlined version.
City Council Meeting Page 20 of 38 July 24, 2023
Mayor Anduri said he observes that this plan impacts what he sees as the most important circulation related plan the City should have which is the plan that deals with the Mt. Diablo Boulevard corridor in the context of the Mt. Diablo Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan. They mentioned doing the Master Bike Plan and he thinks these need to wait until they look at the DSP because this is where development will occur, where they will likely make the most major changes, and it will impact each master plan. Lastly, he thanked Ms. Mills and Mr. Golier for their report and presentation.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Candell/Dawson) to continue to August 28, 2023 with direction to staff to make revisions. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
11. PUBLIC HEARING
A. Arly Cassidy, Senior Planner
GP02-23 Safety Element Update: City-initiated update of the General Plan Safety Element to analyze and improve the City’s preparedness for and resilience to local hazards related to drought, wildfire, hazardous materials, flooding, inundation, landslides, and climate change.
CEQA Determination: A Safety Element Addendum to the Housing Element Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act.
Recommendation: Receive a presentation summarizing the Draft Safety Element, ask questions of staff, hold a public hearing to receive public input, provide feedback to staff, and continue the item to August 28, 2023.
Senior Planner Arly Cassidy gave the staff report and overview of the introduction of the Draft Safety Element to the City Council. State law requires the Safety Element be updated whenever the Housing Element is updated. The Planning Commission will meet on August 7th and will be asked to make a recommendation of approval to the City Council. The staff report also includes an Addendum to the Housing Element EIR which conducts a thorough CEQA analysis of potential impacts of the Safety Element and finds that the proposed Safety Element is consistent with the Housing Element and its potential environmental impacts are within the scope of those addressed by the EIR.
She asked the Council to focus attention on 3 questions which are contained in the staff report and Mr.
Krispi will display them at the end his presentation.
Eli Krispi, PlaceWorks, gave a PowerPoint presentation on details of the Safety Element. The Safety Element will return to the City Council for formal adoption, including the cyber-security language as well as other comments and revisions the Council may make tonight. The element does not need to be adopted by a specific date and staff asks the Council consider the following questions:
1. Do the Safety Element and accompanying technical background report accurately characterize the hazard conditions in Lafayette? Is there anything the Safety Element misses or does not address?
2. Is there anywhere where they should go further or anything walked back or made more limited?
3. Do the goals, policies, and programs support everything the City should be doing to improve community resilience and to address hazards?
The recommendation is to receive the presentation summarizing the draft Safety Element, ask questions of staff, hold a public hearing to receive public input, provide feedback to staff, and to continue the item to the August 28, 2023 City Council meeting.
City Council Meeting Page 21 of 38 July 24, 2023
Mayor Anduri referred to cyber-security. He asked and confirmed that staff anticipates the Planning Commission will approve language on August 7th and this will come back to the Council on August 28th.
Mayor Anduri asked what aspect of cyber-security did the Planning Commission want to include.
Mr. Krispi said there are two areas the Commission focused in on. One would be potential disruption of the City’s communication systems or other key computer/telecommunications networks. If these were to be attacked or brought down in some way particularly during, before or after an emergency event, that could have very serious ramifications for how the City was able to respond and to recover. The other topic of concern was if any of the City’s infrastructure or infrastructure systems in the community such as traffic control, sewer/water systems, PG&E’s power grid were to be attacked or brought down by cybersecurity. This could result in a loss of service or could exacerbate any consequences if it happened during an emergency event.
Councilmember Kwok cited the massive amount of work put into the Safety Element, and that it references and incorporates by reference the County, Con Fire, and many other agencies. He complemented Mr. Krispi and Ms. Cassidy for the incredible efforts that went into all three documents.
Many of the recommendations were around new development and what could be done for mitigation, but the community is mostly built-out so many buildings at risk are already existing structures. While he read many things about new development he asked if there is something incorporated that addresses the existing built environment to make sure that portion is safe and not just new development.
Mr. Krispi said there is policy around improving the resilience of the existing environment, especially on the wildfire topic. There are a number of policies to continue to maintain defensible space, conduct regular inspections, ensure water supply systems are working, etc. Part of why there is a bit more on the new development side is because it is something the City is able to influence more directly once a building is constructed. Another part is there are also requirements from the State that say the Safety Element must contain policies that address “x, y and z” in new development. So, while some of that makes sure the City is being responsive, resilient and doing everything they can to ensure new development is as safe as possible, some of those policies are more of a check-the-box exercise to ensure they are doing what the State directs them to do.
Councilmember Kwok said in taking the example of defensible space, if they were to say to existing homeowners and businesses that they should ensure they have appropriate defensible space, he asked if there are policies and strategies in this document that guide the City towards implementing programs that do that.
Mr. Krispi said yes, there are and these are conducted in partnership with Con Fire.
Councilmember Kwok referred to page 52, Goal S-1 which states, “Prepare for and respond to natural and human-caused disasters, avoiding loss of life, and minimizing the impacts on health, property and community welfare.” One thing the City is leading in is investing in the technologies and partnerships for early detection of wildfire such as camera systems, software, hardware, the Alert wildfire network, and sensors. Alerts were mentioned in the presentation, but in reading the documents he did not see an emphasis that cities could and should use technologies and partnerships with other agencies around technology to prepare for human-caused disasters or wildfires. He asked if he missed that or asked if it was something staff could add to the document.
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Mayor Anduri said he wants to ask that question in a different way. What occurred to him is that they have had Council presentations from Donn Walklet which have emphasized ignition detection and rapid suppression. He did not see that in here. He asked if that was actively considered and decided not to put in here or was it not considered. One idea is to move to a satellite based system for ignition detection which is somewhere off but the proposal is to stay involved and try to become part of an initial program for developing that.
Mr. Krispi said he thinks the specific items referred to were not directly considered. This is part of the General Plan so they were trying to avoid getting very, very precise with particular technologies or particular programs. He thinks those types of efforts could fit into the higher level framework that the Safety Element is providing where it does talk about ensuring that the City is partnering with Con Fire, ensuring alerts are being made in a timely fashion, ensuring the City is doing everything it can to stay on top of these issues particularly during high wildfire weather, but they are not getting into those specific recommendations because that was felt not necessary for a General Plan document.
Councilmember Kwok thanked the Mayor for phrasing it that way. He had no further questions.
Councilmember Candell said she sent many questions to staff but will not go through all of them as she got answers back. She referred to her earthquake question and the Lettis Report which showed the 3- finger earthquake lines and they did not include that here. It sounds like it is not in the GIS mapping. It seems that is core to how they think about Lafayette with all of the gas pipelines and sheer zones. She asked if there is another way to include those in here even though they may not be on those maps.
Mr. Krispi said as they understand it, the faults are on the edges of the sheer zones; the numbers 1 and 4 are identified in the mapping but they just go by different names. The faults have been renamed since the Lettis Report came out. The Southampton Faults and the Franklin Fault are what are referred to in the Lettis Report as the West Lafayette fault and the Calaveras faults. So, the rough borders of the sheer zone are defined, but not all of the faults in the sheer zone are identified and they are not mapped in either the State or the National GIS database of fault lines. If the Council would like, they can try and identify on the maps a rough patch where they are located or can include language in the accompanying text that says there are these additional faults known, even though their boundaries may not be precisely defined.
Councilmember Candell said her big question was how to update this when they get the new high fire maps. It is not a big deal if they are not changed that much but if they are drastically changed like the Chief was alluding to, she knows they will publicize those, but she asked if there is anything in these documents they would need to change in anticipation of a greatly expanded very high fire map.
Mr. Krispi said there would be nothing the City would need to change immediately upon adoption. When the Safety Element comes up for an update in another 8 years, they would recommend the mapping be updated to reflect any changes to the wildfire zones. All of the regulator impact of the policies in the Safety Element that refer to very high fire hazard zones, which will change when the new fire mapping is adopted and those policies will automatically apply to whatever the revised zone is. It would be up to the Council’s discretion as to any process to change this, but it is not necessary and there is language in the Safety Element that always refers to the newest mapping from the State when considering whether something is in a wildfire zone or not. So, it is not required. There would not be a regulatory component but it would be at the Council’s discretion if they wanted that public disclosure.
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Councilmember Candell referred to earthquake damage and she knows in Turkey there were garages underneath and buildings on top which might be referred to as “soft story.” The document talks about apartments and she asked if there is a way that they should include a specific policy to identify those building types in Lafayette.
Mayor Anduri noted the Council received a letter that identified a fairly large number of units that had the soft story that could collapse. He was also looking for that, and Councilmember Candell said there is a small mention in Program S-3.5.3.
Mayor Anduri asked if that was considered by GPAC or the Planning Commission to have a program to look at that.
Mr. Krispi said there is a program or policy intended to do a survey of structures that may be vulnerable to earthquakes. So, even though soft story specifically is not identified, those buildings would be covered by that policy.
Councilmember Candell referred to the Fire Safety section and said there are many neighborhoods that are single ingress and egress. Some of them do not have gates. It is called out that all neighborhoods must have access to gates. She is thinking of Quant Road which has the large concrete barrier without a gate.
It created this single ingress and egress, and she asked if there is a policy that addresses getting better access into single ingress and egress.
Mr. Krispi said it is not specifically called out because adding ingress and egress to an existing neighborhood, particularly in Lafayette’s terrain, can often be challenging and there are a number of other factors that also come into play. There are policies in there around improving ingress and egress through various changes to roadway configurations and other strategies. So, that would not preclude getting at the type of solution Councilmember Candell is talking about. It is just not called out explicitly because it was felt adding entirely new roadways might not be entirely feasible in all cases. He thinks the language included would cover situations where it may not be significant, but they can always add language if the Council desired.
Vice Mayor Dawson said the CPUC map is listed with Tier 2 and 3, but they have no policy around that.
She wondered if they could pose that in terms similar to how they did with the Dams policy in terms of knowing inspection times for electrical, etc. which is regulated by the CPUC. This is all new law especially after all of the fires, and they have Tier 2 and 3 in Lafayette and it might be modeled to parallel our dam safety program for EBMUD in knowing the inspection schedules and go to the next level up as necessary.
Mr. Krispi said he believes they have added a policy around coordination with utility companies which would include PG&E. If they want to specifically call out PG&E, they can call that out.
Vice Mayor Dawson suggested adding a policy because it has been deemed that PG&E’s infrastructure imposes more risk into Lafayette around wildfire. Possibly it could require a bi-annual meeting with PG&E to have those checks and balances. The same with hazardous materials, the document identifies the transport of hazardous materials, but the gas pipelines transport hazardous materials, and there is regulation around that so she thinks this should be required as a policy for coordination of inspections and testing similar to EBMUD and dam safety.
Mr. Krispi said they can absolutely amend that policy so it explicitly mentions PG&E’s infrastructure.
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Vice Mayor Dawson said in the 2002 Safety Element it had the electromagnetic frequency. The City was very concerned about that at the time. She asked how this is weighed in terms of eliminating that from this newer version of the Safety Element.
Mr. Krispi said part of it is they follow State recommendations and best practices. Those do not currently consider electromagnetic radiation or waves as a topic of concern to be addressed in the Safety Element.
The GPAC members did not raise it as a topic of concern they would like to see continued and extended.
There was not substantive data to refer to support addressing this matter and in light of those considerations, it was felt that did not need to be included in this update.
Ms. Robles added that since adoption of the 2002 Safety Element the City did adopt the wireless communications facility ordinance which addressed the predominant concerns that the previous Safety Element section was intended to address. This was another reason why this section was left out.
Mayor Anduri referred to Policy S-1.8; Emergency Power Supplies, it states, “Install emergency power supplies at City-owned and operated critical facilities and encourage the installation of emergency power supplies for residential properties in partnership with regional partners.” He asked if those emergency power supplies at each residential unit or he asked if it was generally having backup power for residential units generally.
Mr. Krispi said it is encouraging residential units to have backup power supplies so the City is not mandating it, but for persons who can afford it, are able to, and who would benefit from it, the City is more resilient having a backup emergency supply than going without it.
Mayor Anduri referred to Program S-3.11.3 on page 53 which states, “Maintain the tree protection ordinance to address fire risk created by dead, dying, or non-native trees.” He asked what this means.
Mr. Krispi said it means continue the City’s existing tree protection ordinance with appropriate modifications to ensure that those topics continue to be addressed. It was felt the City did not need to create an entirely new ordinance for it and that the existing ordinance may already cover these issues. To the extent it does not, the intent is to maintain and make improvements as necessary.
Ms. Robles added that an example of maintenance that might be needed is the current tree protection ordinance includes Bay Laurels as a protected species but since that ordinance was adopted that tree species has been identified as a fire hazard with the changing climate and the way the species interacts with those changes. This is an example of why they used “maintain” rather than a one-time update in case of future changes are needed.
Mayor Anduri asked if they could use language that does not sound like it is fixed and they are going to maintain it. Ms. Robles said yes, staff can review the language.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
CHERYL MACDONALD thanked the Council for the great questions and the Safety Element. She referred to cyber-security and asked if staff has contacted the cities that have had cyber attacks on them like Oakland and another city. It has been in the news that they have enhanced their defenses and they have learned things from it.
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ROBERT LAVOIE said he can see the impact of some of the public comments on the report from the draft and appreciates the work done to update the element and make it more relevant for Lafayette. Regarding climate change, there is talk about fossil fuels and CO2 emissions contributing to warming over the past 100 years about 1 degree centigrade mostly in colder parts of the world. Life on Earth thrived and was far greener when CO2 was up to 5 times higher than it is today, so he reminded people that CO2 is plant food. Also, more people die of cold than heat, so he thinks concerns about extreme heat when talking about 1 or 2 degrees over 100 years are not as big a concern as some of the other things. Fortunately, the report reflects that. Fossil fuels have made the City safer from climate disasters. They have ample cheap energy to air conditioning and controlling things in a much greater way. Climate disaster deaths dropped 98% over the last century. 97% of the scientists agree there is impact from humans on climate, but he believes it is not catastrophic and this is the difference.
Regarding points about California wildfires, negative effects of rising global temperatures on California impact the susceptibility. The Palmer Drought Index shows that they only have a slight increase in California drought since 1900. Historical evidence shows us that prior to manmade CO2 emissions, California experienced regular mega-droughts that could last over a century. The modern era has been very lush by comparison. Two important climate variables in wildfires are ignition by humans and availability of dry vegetation or fuel loads are under human control, which is from the USGS 2012-2016 California Drought Historical Perspective. Finally, the San Jose Mercury News cites California drought passed dry periods that lasted more than 200 years and Professor Lin Ingram from UC Berkeley mentions the same thing—that the 20th century has been much wetter than in the past.
Mayor Anduri referred to Cheryl MacDonald’s question and he thought the attacks that occurred in other cities were more data privacy related.
Mr. Krispi said he believes that is the case. The language under consideration would be higher level as it fits the General Plan and it would direct staff to look at the city’s cyber infrastructure networks, consider and determine what vulnerabilities might exist and to take appropriate action. He thinks at the time of that analysis, staff could reach out to Oakland, Hayward and other communities that have been affected and incorporate any lessons learned from those experiences.
Mayor Anduri said number 3 asks that the Council provide comments, and he thinks the easiest way to do that is to go through and give comments page by page on the actual report. He began with page 1 and continued.
Vice Mayor Dawson cited page 4, the very top of which talks about what PG&E is doing in Contra Costa.
They are doing 3 miles of undergrounding, but it is nowhere near Lafayette. She wondered if they should include this or not. Mayor Anduri said he had a question about this because it has nothing to do with Lafayette.
Mr. Krispi said that language was added at the request of GPAC, but it can be removed.
Vice Mayor Dawson said they are working on vegetation management programs which are similar to EBMUD and EBRPD, but specifically to Lafayette it would just be intensive vegetation management. She did not think they are doing enhanced reductions in Lafayette either. She would probably use language as to how it relates to the City which is intensive vegetation management in the City.
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Mayor Anduri said he had a comment on other agencies too and asked if EBMUD and EBRPD have done what the City has asked them to do with respect to dead trees or not. They are giving them all this credit and he is reading this and questions if it is true.
City Manager Srivatsa said PG&E has removed trees when notified.
Mayor Anduri said he wishes they would do it. Ms. Srivatsa said they have had some concerns with EBMUD when trees fronting their property have died or have been damaged. Although it is EBMUD’s responsibility to remove these frontage trees, that hasn’t occurred. The City has removed them but they have not been reimbursed by EBMUD so there is that issue.
Vice Mayor Dawson asked if this is necessary in the City’s Safety Element as to what other agencies are doing, especially if they do not know whether they are doing that in town. If the City needs them to do something to increase safety, then that should be included in the policies and programs as to how the City works with them.
Ms. Srivatsa said she thinks this was probably drafted after consultation with each of these agencies or from their website.
Councilmember Gerringer stated this is what their annual reports are stating they are doing, but the question is what they do in Lafayette. She likes Vice Mayor Dawson’s idea for it to be in a program and policy to develop a plan of collaboration.
Mr. Krispi said they have prepared Orinda’s Safety Element and they have done Walnut Creek’s Sustainability Action Plan and are working on the Safety Element for the County.
Mayor Anduri asked if this language is similar to Orinda’s. Mr. Krispi said the language is similar because those agencies operate in Orinda as they do in Lafayette, but they are not copying and pasting the language over. Mayor Anduri confirmed Mr. Krispi had guidance on this point and continued questioning if councilmembers had any comments on pages.
Mayor Anduri referred to page 5 and the top line, “severe weather events such as strong storms and high winds.” He thinks what they saw this year is high winds may be a bigger issue than in the past. They saw so many trees topple onto lines and into streets, and he did not know anymore what could be done in terms of programs. He questioned if there will be more safety concerns from high winds and if there are, he asked if there is anything they can think about doing.
Mayor Anduri said in terms of mentioning all of this in emergency preparedness, the Police Department has very proactively purchased and fitted a trailer that can be moved to different locations which is fully equipped to provide emergency operation assistance. He asked if that is worth mentioning here. He then continued naming off pages.
Vice Mayor Dawson referred to page 16 and asked for the correct map. Mr. Krispi said the correct map has been prepared and will be replaced.
Mayor Anduri referred to page 17 and did not see a reference to the Moraga Fault and he mentions it because it came up in their discussions regarding the Reservoir Dam and must use the Moraga Fault standards.
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Mr. Krispi said it is mapped on Figure S-5, but he thinks it was not included in the list because it did not meet the criteria they have there. But they can make mention of it. Mayor Anduri said this is not needed and said he only raised it for consideration. He then continued naming off the pages.
Vice Mayor Dawson referred to page 25 where they have historical wildfire perimeters. She said they did have the fires in 2019 and she wondered if this should be noted. Ms. Robles confirmed it is referenced.
Mayor Anduri referred to page 35 and Vice Mayor Dawson said she would like the policies and procedures mentioned about inspections.
Councilmember Kwok referred to page 42 which was his original question. He would like to suggest having something at the policy level where they say emergency operations plan: there is emergency operations center, public education, and these types of titles; What seems to be missing is early warning systems as a policy; that they would invest in early warning systems as one of the measures or strategies in preparing for such items. He asked if Councilmembers would agree.
Mayor Anduri asked if Councilmember Kwok means that they are aware of the hazard and then they warn as soon as possible of the hazard or they determine the hazard as quickly as possible.
Councilmember Kwok suggested stating that they invest in technologies and partnerships with other agencies that have sensors, cameras, satellite imagery, etc. that can detect and have early warning of wildfire or specific types of risks. Mayor Anduri and Councilmembers agreed.
Mayor Anduri referred to page 45, Policy S-1.13 and page 46, Policy S-1.20 which he read. He asked if Policy S-1.20 is just a more particular example of what they want to accomplish with S-1.13 and asked if they could be combined.
Ms. Robles said the City conducted the vulnerability assessment to identify populations most at risk for specific hazards. One of their most vulnerable populations are seniors. This program was intended to specifically address their vulnerability. This is keeping in mind that outreach to that population is different in some ways than households that have children in schools or other populations.
Mayor Anduri asked if providing that in S-1.20 would not prohibit the City from getting assistance for seniors under 1.13. Ms. Robles confirmed. Mayor Anduri said he was supportive of keeping both, but he thinks it did not need to be duplicated.
Ms. Robles agreed to remove the duplication but wanted to call out seniors in particular.
Mayor Anduri referred to page 46; S-1.18; the Red Flag Parking which he believes is new. Mr. Krispi said yes; it would be to explore creating that new type of program.
Councilmember Candell referred to page 51 and said it states, “Strengthen existing structures against seismic events.” When it puts the apartment complexes in there, the City does not control those and will not strengthen those, but the City can identify them and encourage the owners to do it. This is where she thought they might call out a different program for public facilities versus private facilities.
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Councilmember Gerringer said the next one talks about how to make sure members of the public know how to do that, so she suggested a way to tweak those two. Councilmember Candell agreed.
Councilmember Kwok referred to page 52; bottom, Vegetation Management. This answers the question he asked before that they require new development to have best practices, but this clause should require new and existing development and infrastructure in areas of elevated wildfire risk to establish and maintain vegetation management practices.” He commented that they should find ways to engage the public, especially existing homeowners to manage vegetation for the safety of all, but he did not propose a change.
Councilmember Gerringer added that in this section regarding those agencies who are property owners in the community; EBRPD, EBMUD, Caltrans, and PG&E, she asked for a program that directs them to work with the City. She sees the mutual aid agreements which states “participate in mutual aid agreements with the County and State firefighting agency” but she does not know if there is a way to talk about how they work that. At the County level, they are struggling to look at how to partner with those same agencies to collaborate on how they do things, even though the lines are drawn for each that have their own fuels management.
On the next page 53, she agrees with the Mayor about how to re-word the ordinance as necessary and “maintaining” the tree protection ordinance, they are not paying attention to the type of tree, the canopy, etc.
Mayor Anduri said he supports Councilmember Gerringer’s comment and thinks if they had a task force with the agencies or something that codifies the responsibility or focus on vegetation management responsibilities those agencies have in Lafayette. Something more must be done than they have now.
Councilmember Gerringer said actually she found part of it identified on the next page 54; Program S3.11.6; Coordinate with Contra Costa County Fire Safe Councils. These can be revised which says “CalFire, EBRPD, Caltrans, etc. and it has them all right there.
Mayor Anduri said his question on S-11.6 was what is intended there. He would like to see more shaded fuel breaks around Lafayette. When they raise this with Con Fire they say to come to them with a proposal. So, he would like to see Con Fire say this is what would help you rather than the City because their key business is not fire suppression and prevention. He would like to look to the experts to tell them.
Therefore, he asked what was meant by S-11.6.
Councilmember Gerringer said she likes the idea of more coordination, having a set discussion about how they work together to close certain parks within the City so if there is a high fire danger alert all those things are being coordinated. She thinks it is on the City to implement the programs and policies. She asked if “vegetation management” is the right term or she asked if it should be “fuel management.” Mr. Krispi said “vegetation management” is a term Cal Fire have used and they are okay with that language if it works for the Council.
Vice Mayor Dawson referred to page 54 and asked if this would be a good place to insert “Coordinate with CCF and PD for prioritizing vegetation management along evacuation routes.” Or she asked if it should be in another section. Mayor Anduri suggested leaving this with staff to figure out.
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Mayor Anduri referred to page 54 and said under Policy S-3.13 and asked if that applies to single-family homes. Mr. Krispi confirmed it applies to any new development application, including single-family homes.
Mayor Anduri referred to page 55; Policy S-3.13.3; “For structures in or adjacent to very high fire hazard severity zones” he asked what “adjacent” means.
Mr. Krispi said he does not think it is defining any particular distance from the very high fire hazard zone.
He thinks it is intended to give the Building Official the appropriate flexibility to make that determination about whether a structure would need to have that type of roof covering.
Mayor Anduri said in the program they are requiring a higher degree of fire resistance. He asked what area are they requiring that in. He asked if “adjacent” means one-quarter mile from a high fire hazard zone or not. Mr. Krispi said it is written to avoid giving any specific distance. It would refer to those in much closer proximity and not necessarily one-quarter mile but those maybe a few hundred feet or so.
But again, it is written not to provide that specific distance and to be flexible to the needs of that situation.
Vice Mayor Dawson asked if the City could require a specific proximity.
Ms. Robles said one of the hesitations in being too specific in the General Plan is they want to defer to the Building Official and the building and residential codes as they need to be updated. Staff can look more closely as to what that reference code section specifies and defined as “adjacent” and come back with more information on that.
Vice Mayor Dawson referred to Policy S-3.20 on page 57. They have conflated electrical power and natural gas lines and she asked to make sure they are distinct.
Ms. Robles referred to S-3.19; Retrofitting City-Owned Roadways and S-3.21 and asked and confirmed this fulfills Vice Mayor Dawson’s request about prioritizing evacuation routes.
Mayor Anduri referred to page 59; Policy S-5.3, Prepare for reduced long-term water supply. He asked what should the City do because this is what EBMUD does, or he asked if it is coordinating with EBMUD.
Mr. Krispi said the language in the second line states, “including working with regional water providers to implement effective water conservation measures and ensure sustainable supplies.” Coordinating with EBMUD would be the primary intent there but they did not want to limit it specifically to that in case some other opportunities may arise. But, in the short-term it is likely what this policy would involve.
Mayor Anduri referred to Page 59, Program S-5.5.1; Evaluate and revise, as needed, city requirements for vegetative landscaping and tree planting to provide increased shade for sidewalks, parking lots, plazas, and other open space.” He asked what is intended there and he asked if they run into other concerns about trees being a fire hazard.
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Mr. Krispi said they would hope that any policy looking at landscaping or tree maintenance would also consider wildfire risk, and they have sections in the wildfire inspection that get to that. The intent of 5.5.1 is to provide more shaded areas, particularly in places where people are walking, parking cars, strolling, sitting and eating because as extreme heat events become more frequent and more intense, being able to provide shaded areas not only cools the area surrounding it, but provides needed relief for people in that immediate vicinity, which can also prevent to very serious health effects.
Mayor Anduri referred to page 60, S-5.8.2; Develop a landscape improvement program for residential properties that prioritize water conservation.” He asked how this relates to the WELO requirements the City adopted. Ms. Robles stated it is effectively the same.
Vice Mayor Dawson referred to page 61; S-5.1.3 and asked to insert “utility and communications providers” because they also have regulations to make sure they have backup on wireless, and she has experienced when the power went out and did not have any access to communications.
Mayor Anduri completed the page call outs and asked staff if they have enough input. Mr. Krispi said they have very thorough and complete notes, and he appreciates the attentiveness to detail.
Mayor Anduri and Councilmembers thanked staff and Mr. Krispi for all the work that went into this.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Gerringer/Candell) to direct staff to make revisions and continue the item to the August 28, 2023, City Council meeting. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
12. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT
C. Resolution 2023-46 Ministerial Review of SB 35 Applications Recommendations: Adopt Resolution 2023-46 Directing staff to review all SB 35 applications at a staff level, with public notice but without a public hearing before the City Council: 1) noticing to property owners within 300’, 2) Planning Director’s report to Planning Commission, 3) City Manager’s report to City Council, and 4) Inclusion of SB 35 applications in the Planning Applications Received monthly reports.
Councilmember Candell said she understands that approvals are ministerial and there is nothing the City can do. She enjoyed the recommendations from the Planning Commission. She thought they probably should add language to say “SB 35 and any extensions” because SB 423 is coming around the corner. It was the reporting of it, so if that came in the City Manager’s Report at midnight, she does not think this is good enough notice for her. She thinks the City can do better. It can be an item they do not discuss, but at the beginning of the meeting they could have an item for SB 35 projects with their full reports. She thinks the City will get inundated with community contact. She would probably include any “builder’s remedy” projects as well if they get them. They do not even have to discuss them or open them, but just to have it linked would be helpful.
Mayor Anduri asked staff for a report.
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Senior Planner Arly Cassidy said it appears the Council has a good understanding of what the staff report states. She can answer any questions, and she will make it clear that of the 4 steps outlined in the beginning of the staff report, this action would refer just to step 4 where the applicant would submit an eligibility checklist, staff would check it, the applicant would submit a preliminary application which would be the notice of intent to apply, and that would be used to take to the Native American tribes affiliated with the region which would then have the option to request a scoping consultation, the results of which would have to be a certain agreement that comes out of the consultation with the applicant which then results in them being allowed to apply.
Step 4 is the actual application and that is the required ministerial process which can be reviewed ministerially by staff or ministerially by a public body. The question before the Council is whether they are comfortable with it being at staff level, or whether they would like City Council review. The staff’s recommendation is to leave it at the staff level primarily because the public is generally unfamiliar with the ministerial review process and how that differs from the discretionary review process. There would be a lot of confusion and discomfort if public comments were received and in no way reacted to, which is not allowed in a ministerial process, so this is where staff’s recommendation comes from.
The Planning Commission heard that. There was a hearty debate about what kind of noticing should be allowed, if it was good or bad to hold a public hearing, and if it leads to more frustration or less, and the proposal detailed in the report is their solution where there is as much noticing as possible, public attention drawn to it without it being a full public hearing or public review.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
CHERYL MACDONALD said she is wondering if the Council would like to bring back a discussion of notification from 300 to 500 feet, especially with SB 35 being something coming around the corner. She thinks 300 feet is not very far and also find creative ways besides the notifications which only go out to 2,000 people. She asked for a way to have a greater notification process. These are really critical times, and she supports the Planning Commission and City Council having something on their agenda early on rather than discussing it at midnight and also possibly adding it to the local newspaper. She heard the Planning Commission meeting, which was very robust, thinks the public knows they do not really have a say, but suggested having some of the larger projects like after 6 units or a very tall project be opened and discussed.
Mayor Anduri asked and confirmed that if the decision is made by staff, the ministerial decision is not appealable. Mayor Anduri said if the Council decides to approve the staff recommendation, he asked and confirmed 6 months from now they can change their approach, and confirmed a second resolution would need to be approved.
City Attorney Mala Subramanian asked if there is somewhere in the code that says ministerial decisions are not appealable, because otherwise, she is aware of a provision in the LMC that states decisions of staff can get appealed. It usually goes to the City Manager, then to the Council.
Ms. Cassidy said the difference might be that a staff decision is sometimes discretionary such as a presentation to the Zoning Administrator whereas a ministerial decision is simply a checklist which is a “yes” or “no” so there can be no other decision if it meets the requirements.
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City Attorney Subramanian said she thinks it is still appealable unless they have it in the LMC. The decision may not change but technically, in order to exhaust administrative remedies, she suspects it will be appealable.
Mayor Anduri asked if it would go up to the City Manager and then to the Planning Commission and then to the Council. Ms. Subramanian confirmed.
Councilmember Candell said she agrees with this but thinks these projects will be a big deal when they come. She asked if there is a way to put it on the City Council agenda as a notification with a link to the project plans and not hear it.
Ms. Subramanian said they could technically put it on the Consent Calendar as a receive and file memo, but it could get pulled. So, the Council should treat it as the staff recommendation, which is the City Manager giving her update and, while people can comment on it, it cannot be a discussion point.
Mayor Anduri asked if there could be a report on the Consent Calendar from the Planning Director on the status of applications. Ms. Subramanian said yes, but it could be pulled and discussed by a member of the public or a Councilmember. The public member could have 3 minutes to discuss it and there could be a number of people. It would not technically be a public hearing, but you could see how, depending on the item, it could turn into a discussion.
Vice Mayor Dawson said she thinks they are looking for transparency so if the first few times it becomes a discussion until the community learns this is SB 35 she could see it being on the Consent Calendar.
Councilmember Candell asked if they could do the same thing for builder’s remedy projects.
Ms. Subramanian said it is not on the agenda so staff can bring this back.
Mayor Anduri said he supports the staff recommendation but agrees the Council should be sure they hear about every decision that is made. He thinks it would be helpful if they could approve staff’s recommendation understanding there will be a report to the Council that will go on the Consent Calendar.
Regarding the 300 feet, he asked how that was chosen as opposed to 500 feet.
Ms. Cassidy said this is the typical noticing distance for all zones that include anything smaller than LR.
City Manager Srivatsa asked if the Council is talking about bringing the report after action has been taken or when an application is in the pipeline, because it makes a difference.
Mayor Anduri said he is thinking of bringing it after the action is taken so the Council knows it is done.
Ms. Cassidy stated the suggestion from the Planning Commission is both the Planning Director’s Report to the Planning Commission, the City Manager’s Report to the City Council would come at the time of completeness of the application. So, it would not be officially approved but it is likely to be pretty “baked” at that point.
Mayor Anduri asked if the completeness of the application is itself the determination it is approved. If so, it would seem the Council would like to have both—when the application is deemed complete and what was done with it.
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Councilmember Candell said the one after it was done could be a statement of fact by the City Manager at the end of the meeting, but the one before it is more important to let the public know it is coming and will be approved. This may happen when people bring things up the first couple of times, but then they will understand the requirements of SB 35.
Councilmember Gerringer said she supports the staff recommendation. She could support putting it on the Consent Calendar for transparency, but it will probably be approved if it abides by the checklist staff is being tasked with approving under ministerial review. She listened to the Planning Commission meeting discussion and then went through all of these scenarios, had robust discussions, but it came down to the fact that SB 35, and if extended through SB 423, it is very black and white. It will not go the DRC or any other bodies. So, she likes the way the Planning Commission came to the very set ways to get the word out, including reports from the Planning Director and City Manager, and the Weekly Round Up where all applications are posted. They wanted to provide a category for SB 35 as well as an educational piece on why it is not going to hearing bodies.
Therefore, she supports the staff’s recommendation but there could be a transition where they do this for a little while on Consent but it muddies the water and creates more confusion for residents than it would if they followed staff’s recommendations.
Vice Mayor Dawson said on step 5 if they are including SB 35 applications on planning applications received on the Weekly Round Up, and she asked if some educational information could be included.
Councilmember Gerringer said yes, as well as reporting out by the Director and City Manager.
Mayor Anduri said he is hearing that in each of these 4 steps, the notice to the property owners, the Director’s report, the City Manager’s report and the inclusion on the planning applications, included in each of these would be an explanation of what ministerial approval means. So, the notice would not be a typical notice and it would explain what ministerial approval is.
Councilmember Kwok said he is willing to support the staff recommendation as is but is also willing to do some public education and outreach. The only other option he would say that instead of including it in the Consent Calendar, whatever document was going to be put on the Consent Calendar, he asked it to be included under the City Manager’s agenda item and published on the Wednesday before. At least the public could start reviewing that the Wednesday before and not wait until midnight. So, it is still a City Manager’s Report but not a Consent Calendar item.
Mayor Anduri said they have moved beyond putting it on the Consent Calendar. What they are talking about is putting it in the City Manager’s Report which would entail a written report.
Councilmember Candell asked if it would include all the project plans, etc.
City Attorney Mala Subramanian stated staff could put a “sub-A” that states “SB 35 Applications” and provide a memo or links with the information. That way, if a member of the public wanted to speak to it, they could.
Mayor Anduri said what he is hearing is consensus around the staff recommendation with the clarification that each of those 4 steps includes an explanation of what ministerial approval means. He asked for a motion.
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Councilmember Gerringer said on the last consideration, she asked if they are putting the list of applications with a description, but she asked if there is a request to have plans and a staff report.
City Manager Srivatsa said under the City Manager’s Report, if there were SB 35 applications that have been deemed complete, staff would list that on the agenda with links to the file.
City Attorney Subramanian asked if the Council was clarifying whether this is not an appealable decision.
Mayor Anduri said, no. He also wanted to clarify that the Planning Commission direction is that any new preliminary applications that have been filed and not that have been filed and have been deemed complete. So, he asked what the staff recommendation is relating to this.
Ms. Cassidy stated they could provide both, but the preliminary application is the earlier notification option which gives people more time to be aware of the project.
Mayor Anduri said he would support that. He asked if it would be noticed at the time of filing and when an application was deemed complete.
City Manager Srivatsa said her recommendation would be to do it once because people might get confused as to why it is returning because the status has changed.
Mayor Anduri asked if staff deems it is filed only when it is complete. Ms. Cassidy said the preliminary application is step 2 which is the applicant’s notice that they plan to apply fully in step 4, but it is also what triggers notification to the Native American tribes and that is why it is a separate process called out. It is an earlier step. At step 4 when they are allowed to apply and they submit an SB 35 application which is what is actually reviewed ministerially, once staff receives those materials, staff will review them and confirm whether they have the materials needed to do their review. If so, they deem it complete. If not, they deem it incomplete. Then, the actual review takes place.
Mayor Anduri asked at what point does staff intend to notify the public. Ms. Cassidy said she may have misspoken earlier, and it sounds like the Planning Commission suggested that both the Director’s Report to the Planning Commission and the City Manager’s Report to the City Council happen at the time of preliminary application which makes sense. It is when staff is getting noticed by the applicant that they plan to apply.
Mr. Wolff asked that the Council should understand that the preliminary application is not as robust in terms of materials. It can be very little information, a text document that simply indicates their intention and minimally describes the project. It would not contain the plans, elevations, site plan, etc. that is typically expected of a project when the City conducts public notice.
Mayor Anduri said if someone knows a preliminary application is filed, they can come in at a later point and ask to see the plans. Mr. Wolff confirmed. Mayor Anduri said then it is a question of whether the Council wants the public to know early on, which is what he thinks the Planning Commission is recommending. Mr. Wolff stated this is correct, and staff is recommending the Planning Commission’s direction.
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Councilmember Candell asked how easy it is to follow a project and find the full plans on the website without any notification. Mr. Wolff said he thinks finding information on the City’s website is extraordinarily easy. They have a web page dedicated to major projects and they can add these to the major projects page, but this would be going well above and beyond what the State requires, what is typical for ministerial and trying to inform the public. He realizes there is always more they could do, and this is one of those things where he thinks there is potential sufficient public interest and this spot can be the place where the public could visit and see the status on those applications and projects.
Councilmember Candell asked if they will know the size of the lot and they will know the basic size of the project. Mr. Wolff said yes to both.
Mayor Anduri asked to confirm that items in the staff recommendation 2, 3 and 4 are going to occur earlier than number 1; the notice to property owners. Ms. Cassidy said yes; the notice to property owners is the item that states “deemed as complete” so that is the later step.
Mayor Anduri said there is consensus that the Council is adopting the staff recommendation, adding for number 1 the notice to property owners is when the application is deemed complete, 2, 3 and 4 is the preliminary application, and in each case there will be an accompanying explanation of what ministerial approval means.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Gerringer/Candell) to adopt Resolution 2023-46 directing staff to review all SB 35 applications at a staff level, with public notice but without a public hearing before the City Council: 1) noticing to property owners within 300’, 2) Planning Director’s report to Planning Commission, 3) City Manager’s report to City Council, and adding for number 1 the notice to property owners is when the application is deemed complete; 2, 3 and 4 is the preliminary application; and in each case there will be an accompanying explanation of what ministerial approval means; 4) Inclusion of SB 35 applications in the Planning Applications Received monthly reports. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
13. COUNCIL/COMMISSION REPORTS
A. Councilmembers report on activities and consideration of matters a Councilmember wishes to initiate for placement on a future agenda.
Vice Mayor Dawson gave an update on business marketing which relates to recovery of downtown businesses, stating they are moving ahead with a website that will feature a business directory in town as well as the assets and opportunities people can discover and rediscover as residents in the City and frequent businesses. A mailer/postcard went out today to the business community to ensure they sign up to be a part of the directory. The Chamber is coordinating emails with the Chamber, and they will send out an email out as well. She thanked Ms. Iarla for her assistance with this as well as Thomas Myers. They anticipate the website being up by September.
She stated it is time to invite PG&E for an update on their work with the Gas Safety Task Force, learn the results from testing, as well as checking in with inspections on pipelines, and any work done on the Third Street Bridge. They came to the City 5 years ago and they have not had an update on the bridge which has seismic activity risks.
EXTEND MEETING
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ACTION: It was M/S/C (Gerringer/Candell) to extend the meeting to 11:30 p.m. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
Councilmember Gerringer said she does not a report, but she will conduct more research on the insurance issues. She is getting more calls and when she met with people whose policies have been canceled, she wants to know where the Insurance Commissioner is on this with legislation, and she will return with a request for the Council to look at this.
Councilmember Candell said she noticed that BART parking lots are now empty due to PG&E gas testing.
Yesterday, she was on a call with people regarding the lawsuit from Costa Mesa about the sober living facilities. The City tried to pass an ordinance that said they cannot be too clustered in any one neighborhood to reduce impacts and were immediately sued by the State and AG Bonta. They won their first trial, but the Appeals Court overturned it in a really broad way. They have an Orange County and greater Los Angeles group funding going to the U.S. Supreme Court over the issue. They are looking for other cities to file Amicus Briefs, but the Council cannot based on their schedule of August 28th which is beyond when they can do it but she wanted to report this. She thinks the City should follow that if they can. The well-run facilities are fabulous but there are many unlicensed and ‘bad actors’ in this group where they finally said enough is enough.
Councilmember Kwok said he had no specific report but supported Councilmember Gerringer’s discussion and interest in insurance. They did have a member of the California Insurance Commission give a report in the last year or two talking about the big picture. They could have a revisit from the State, but potentially as well as from private insurers in their city to explain their situation publicly. Firewise communities can get a discount, and this is something he would like to learn more about and which carriers are offering that, how much, whether it is meaningful, etc.
B. City Manager’s Update
Recommendation: Receive and file.
City Manager Srivatsa stated that fall registration for recreation programs is underway. All street and pathway projects are underway. The Children’s Deck is still not completed. There was a problem with a door that separates the deck and the building. It was too tall for the size of the opening, and staff is doing its best to get it done by August 10th opening of the Children’s Deck.
She reminded everyone to go to the Wayside and Thrift Store on July 29th for a 45% off sale.
Mayor Anduri noted the Mayors’ Conference will be held August 3rd in Lafayette. He asked Councilmembers to notify staff as to their attendance. City Manager Srivatsa stated staff invites previous Mayors to attend and she will work with Vice Mayor Dawson to prepare a list so that the Vice Mayor can introduce them.
Mayor Anduri apologized for not being able to attend the Mayors’ Conference.
D. Mayor Anduri
Resolution 2023-47 Support the Exoneration of the Port Chicago 50 Recommendation: Adoption Resolution 2023-47.
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Mayor Anduri said at the last Mayors’ Conference the Contra Costa Bar Association recommended the resolution be adopted. He would like to see Lafayette adopt it before the Mayor’s Conference adopts it.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Gerringer/Candell) to adopt Resolution 2023-37. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
14. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
A. Designation of Voting Delegate and Alternate for the League of California Cities Annual Conference on September 20-22, 2023
Recommendation: Discuss and direct staff.
City Manager Srivatsa said 2 members are attending the League conference, and she asked if Councilmember Kwok was planning to attend.
Councilmember Kwok said he is interested but not committed yet and will let staff know soon.
City Manager Srivatsa stated the City needs to designate a primary and an alternate voting member to vote on matters before the General Assembly on the third day of the conference. The actual resolutions will come before the Council at a later date before the conference is held.
Councilmember Gerringer said she would like to continue as the voting delegate and Councilmember Candell is the Alternate member.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Candell/Gerringer) to designate Councilmember Gerringer as the voting Delegate and Councilmember Candell as the Alternate. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson, Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
C. Email from Bay Area Council requesting that the City adopt a resolution opposing SB 532 (Bay Area Toll Increase).
Recommendation: Discuss and direct.
Mayor Anduri questioned if any Councilmember wished to adopt a resolution in addition to writing a letter.
City Manager Srivatsa stated the staff’s recommendation is that the letter should suffice and that the Council not adopt the resolution. She checked with the other city managers and no city has adopted the resolution thus far. The County is also waiting because they think there may be some changes to SB 532.
She can forward the letter to the Bay Area Council so they can include it in the list of cities that are opposing SB 532.
Mayor Anduri opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
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ACTION: It was M/S/C (Gerringer/Candell) to receive and file. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Anduri, Dawson Candell, Gerringer, and Kwok; Noes: None).
15. ADJOURNMENT – 11:15 p.m. in memory of Bill Robbins.
APPROVED:
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Carl Anduri, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Joanne Robbins, City Clerk