City Council Meeting Page 1 of 22 April 8, 2024
7 City of Lafayette
City Council Minutes
Lafayette Library and Learning Center – Don Tatzin Community Hall April 8, 2024 3491 Mount Diablo Boulevard, Lafayette, California 6:30 p.m.
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City Council Meeting Page 2 of 22 April 8, 2024
Mayor Dawson called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Dawson, Vice Mayor Kwok; Councilmembers Anduri, Candell, and McCormick
Absent: None
Staff Present: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager; Patrick Golier, Transportation Program Manager; Mala Subramanian, City Attorney; Joanne Robbins, City Clerk.
3. Disclosure and/or Take Action on Remote Participation due to Just Cause or Emergency Circumstances Pursuant to AB 2449 (Gov. Code section 54953(f).)
4. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Candell) to adopt the agenda, as amended, to add the reading of the Land Acknowledgement Statement. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, Candell, and McCormick; Noes:
None).
5. PUBLIC COMMENTS (For Items on the Closed Session items) – None
6. CLOSED SESSION
Conference with Legal Counsel –Existing Litigation (Gov. Code section 54956.9 (d)(1)) Kris Leamy, et al. v. City of Lafayette, Contra Costa Superior Court, Case No. C20-02456.
REPORT OF CLOSED SESSION
City Attorney Mala Subramanian announced there was no reportable action taken in Closed Session.
7. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Mayor Dawson led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT STATEMENT
Mayor Dawson read the Land Acknowledgement Statement: We acknowledge that Lafayette is part of the unceded, ancestral homeland of the Bay Miwok people. The Bay Miwok and neighboring Ohlone people have lived in and moved through this place for thousands of years. They stewarded and shaped this land for hundreds of generations. We express our appreciation and gratitude for this profound legacy, which enhances and contributes to our lives to this day. We will strive to honor this land and strengthen our ties with the Indigenous communities that continue to live and work in our East Bay region as our neighbors and community members. We acknowledge and honor them and their ancestors, elders, and next seven generations.
8. PUBLIC COMMENTS (For items not on the agenda)
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NIKKI COWGER read a statement into the record regarding a group of people outside Lafayette Elementary School holding signs that condemn transgender youth which is intended to spread fear and contempt for vulnerable children and their families. She asked that the City take a stand against activities that promote discrimination and intolerance, promote more open and public dialogue, and understanding among residents of different backgrounds and implement comprehensive measures to combat hate speech through educational programs, community outreach initiatives, and the enactment of time, place, and manage restrictions in the community that prohibit discrimination and harassment of their children.
MATT COWGER said his family and Lafayette has been attacked by disgraceful people supported by international organizations. The purple signs come from a UK group that exists solely to do this and nonresidents that live outside of Lafayette. They masqueraded as support for kids that have medical needs that must be met which are best understood by their parents and doctors, and not a purple sign from the UK. They pretend their message is one of safety and kindness, but it is not.
They recognize this is a message specifically designed and crafted to avoid criticism of the underlying fear and hate while sowing further seeds of fear and distrust in the community and in our children. The school district’s opinion is to ignore these people for fear they might become louder, a position of which is faulty.
This position ensures that what elementary school children hear is the voice that ensures they are ashamed and afraid. He refused to adopt that stance and he asked the Council to also do so. He asked for messages from the Mayor that transgender kids are welcomed and loved and not once a year with a flag.
Councilmember Candell asked if they are still coming to the school, and she asked what time they are coming. Mr. and Mrs. Cowger said they were at the school yesterday and today about 15-30 minutes before the children are set to arrive, stay and take a midday lunch, and then they return for plenty of time for families to start arriving back at LES. They rotate two positions when Stanley School’s children are walking by intersections, so they are elementary and middle school groups.
Councilmember Candell asked if they are blocking sidewalks, and Mrs. Cowger said last week there were two individuals with purple signs that were blocking the intersection at Brook and Moraga. She videotaped them and asked them to move, and they did, but likely children would not ask them.
Councilmember Anduri asked for precise times, and Mrs. Cowgen said school starts at 8:30 and parents can drop off at 8:15, so they are typically there at around 8:00. They stay for longer than drop-off. Today they left at around noon, and then last week they were back in the afternoon in time for pickup at 2:15 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 1:15 on Wednesdays.
Councilmember Anduri asked what is the UK group called. Mrs. Cowgen said they are called “First, Do No Harm” and they publish a lot and have an on-line manifesto about their posters which people can purchase.
Councilmember Candell said the Council did have some conversation about that and were going to issue a statement. She asked if that is still the plan.
City Attorney Mala Subramanian said she believes the Council discussed whether they were going to add it to a Council agenda.
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Mayor Dawson commented that the City welcomes everyone in the City, strives to be inclusive, and they do not condone or agree with the message of these demonstrations. She understands Vice Mayor Kwok will be meeting with Mrs. Cowger tomorrow. They have also worked with the City Manager, Police Chief and the Lafayette School District to obtain more information. It is a protection of First Amendment rights.
The demonstrators are on public property and not allowed on the school grounds. They can hand things to the children, so the City needs to ensure the school district is helping to educate as well about what is not acceptable and help protect the students. She thanked the Cowgers for speaking and expressing concerns.
MARY ANN HOISINGTON, the City’s Library Commissioner, stated next week is National Library Week and the City celebrated it at the last meeting, but she could not attend. She recognized Rob Tygett, who is doing a great job and welcomed Carol Varney, who is stepping into her position very well. The County has circulated its Annual Report and referred to hours that can be added to current 40 basic hours provided by the County of staff time. Each City can make up its mind as to whether it would like to add some hours such as 6, 12, or 16. In the past, the Council has added 16 hours. She asked the Council to add the 16 hours, said she was not sure if the City or Foundation pays for these hours, and the letter should be returned by May 31st. This has nothing to do with Sunday hours, as the problem involves staffing.
City Manager Srivatsa commented that she recalled it comes from the Friends of the Library, will review the City’s budget and also confirm via email to the Council. The extra hours would come to the Council during budget review for a decision.
NINA MOSETPAN echoed the Cowger’s comments, said she is a Stanley Middle School parent and her child attended Burton Valley. She has spent any time she can out counter-protesting and these people are targeting kids because not only do they come during pickup and drop-off at schools, but last week during Spring Break they were not there at all. They know where kids must pass to get to and from school. She shared there was a guy before Spring Break who was very vocal, yelling very terrible things, calling us child mutilators and other things that kids do not need access to.
She understands free speech rights, but she literally had to ask a student and their mom if she wanted her to use her umbrella to guard them from him as they walked by on the street. This is a very impactful situation and thinks it is causing kids a lot of upset and would love if the Council could help with the situation.
SARAH said for anyone with a child going through such incredible troubling situations like gender confusion, her heart goes out to those parents. She would never assume a parent would elect to put their child through something that would ultimately harm them and cause permanent damage. She thinks the message conveyed by the previous speakers about people standing on Moraga Road trying to convey a message of warning is being misconstrued. These people are trying to say that there is not a reason to tell a child they were born in a wrong body, and it is becoming more and more apparent that some of the so-called affirming care models are actually doing grave harm. They have seen a 15-year study come out in the last week showing that kids actually outgrow it. Another study shows individuals who go through surgery actually come out of it on the other side with more suicidal tendencies. Boys that take puberty blockers actually have such severe atrophy in their testicles they are not able to reproduce and cannot have intimacy as an adult.
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So, to portray this as people targeting children is absolutely false. They are out there on the busiest road at the busiest time of day trying to get a message across to Lafayette residents. These are members of the community out there. Further, this Council has on multiple occasions responded to public commenters saying they are not going to respond because it is not an agendized item, yet the Council are being hypocrites, asking questions and responding.
Mayor Dawson said public comments are public comments, and Councilmembers may wish to ask questions to obtain more information, but it does not become an agenda item they discuss.
Councilmember Anduri agreed there is no hypocrisy here. If Councilmembers want something clarified or find out about hours people are there, they ask questions and do not make comments.
ROBERT LAVOIE said he agrees with Sarah that there are many residents on the side of the protesters, and they are trying to get the schools to treat this sensitive topic with a balanced perspective instead of taking a controversial position and not displaying the opposite view as required by their Board policy.
Some of the commenters said these are outsiders which is not true. There may be some people from Moraga or Alamo that live nearby affected by Lafayette’s schools, but they are also residents there. He watched them himself and Lisa, who is one organizer, was attacked by a transwoman. That person was arrested. None of them protesting attacked anybody else, even though there was some foul language used. He was called a racist and a Nazi and he thinks the Council knows he is not.
It is very upsetting to see people saying this is not a controversial topic. He wrote a letter to Brent Stephens along with several other members of the community and these are not published because they claim privacy. But they were complaining about the school taking such a strong position on a controversial issue and Brent Stephens claims it is not controversial. Clearly it is when looking at the protest. When people drive by you either get the middle finger or the thumbs up. There are no handouts and yet the teachers are promoting things like the gender spectrum to these kids that are not even old enough to understand what sex is. Free speech is important, and he hopes the Council does not try to limit that.
Councilmember Anduri thanked Mr. Lavoie for providing a fuller picture and all information the Council receives adds to the picture. He said Mr. Lavoie mentioned that protesters want the school district to take a balanced view. He asked why are they out there at drop-off and pickup times each day. He asked if they feel this is the easiest way to reach the school board.
Mr. Lavoie said he thinks their audience are the parents of kids who may not be aware of what is going on in schools because these are things the school board does in their meetings one night a month. Very few people attend the meetings, yet Brent Stephens sends out a letter promoting the affirming care model. There was a letter to parents in Burton Valley that referenced someone’s discussion about how you talk to your kids about transexual issues, and these are important topics, but schools need to stay out of the middle of this or present two sides of the issue and this is what people are trying to get across to parents and to the school.
9. CITY MANAGER’S UPDATE
City Manager Niroop Srivatsa gave the following update on activities on department activities:
• As of July 1st, the gas leaf blower ban will be in effect. The Environmental Task Force has prepared lawn signs. Those interested can visit the City’s website and sign up for them.
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• From the Police Department, a reminder that the Spring Citizens Academy starts tomorrow. • From Parks, Trails and Recreation, the Age-Friendly community meeting will be held on Thursday, April 25th at 10 a.m. in this hall. The Two Parks Collaborative meeting will be held at the Gazebo on Mt. Diablo on Saturday, April 27th at 9 a.m.
• She was not able to attend, but the Public Art Committee and Land Acknowledgement Task Force are both delighted to be present today when the street signs were unveiled at the intersection of Lafayette Circle and Mt. Diablo Boulevard. There was also unwrapping of the utility box. • Regarding an update from Caltrans, since 2020/21, the El Curtola overpass has been the site of gatherings where people wanting to express their rights of free speech gather. They affix signs to the fence, have added flags, and this has caused concerns among residents who try to use the bridge which is very narrow with narrow sidewalks. The Council has also discussed it and is concerned about the safety of motorists on Hwy 24.
More recently, starting in October they have had vigils with people gathering on the freeway overpass, and staff and Mayor Dawson have been trying to reach Caltrans because this is a stateowned bridge. As such, Caltrans is responsible for any activity that takes place on the overpass.
Finally, in early March, they were able to connect to the Caltrans District Director thanks to Senator Glazer who set up the meeting. At that meeting, Caltrans described their policy and staff asked them to put it in writing and send it to the City. Caltrans was also reminded that for the last few years, residents have been writing to them and have not received a response. Naturally and understandably, they have turned to the City for some direction.
Following that meeting, the City Attorney had a meeting with the Caltrans attorney who confirmed that the bridge is under Caltrans’ jurisdiction and enforcement will take place by the CHP, a sister state organization. Staff has been sending all emails they have received and any special events to Caltrans in the hopes they will take action.
The email regarding the vigil held last Sunday was sent to Caltrans last week. Immediately, Caltrans reached out on Thursday to the Mayor, Police Chief, and herself and asked for a meeting that day via Zoom. Caltrans indicated they had prepared a position on their procedures and also pledged to post signs on the bridge citing sections of the code where signs cannot be affixed to the fence. The City asked what would happen if there were gatherings, and Caltrans said CHP would enforce, but they were not positive it was CHP and said they would follow-up.
Late last Friday, staff received a 3-page letter from Caltrans outlining Caltrans’ position. It validates what the Council was talking about for the last couple of years, and she read a portion:
“The potential of any upcoming community event on a freeway overpass raises significant safety concerns for the traveling public. A community event on an overpass or the display of signs, banners, flags, or other messages on Caltrans’ structures or fencing presents a distraction to motorists on State Route 24, potentially causing motorists to be inattentive and draw a motorist’s eye away from the freeway while traveling at freeway speeds or to suddenly slow down, resulting in traffic shock waves or erratic maneuvers that increases safety risks.” There was an event on Sunday which was much larger than the regular events. At the meeting with Caltrans, the Police Chief again indicated that the bridge is not under Lafayette’s jurisdiction but said there would be police officers in the area should there be an altercation. There was no enforcement by the state and understandably, people were very concerned because they had seen the signs and they had thought the rules would be enforced.
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As next steps, she sent all letters and emails staff received today to Caltrans and copied Senator Glazer. She plans to follow-up with him tomorrow and they would like to bring Caltrans and CHP together to understand where their enforcement will come from.
Councilmember Candell referred to the large accident on Hwy 24 right underneath the freeway during one of the demonstrations which was about one month ago and closed down five lanes of traffic on a Friday afternoon.
Mayor Dawson thanked staff for their work, and she appreciates the follow-up with Senator Glazer.
Councilmember Anduri thanked the City Manager for the follow-up work done and when getting to agenda Item 16, he will ask that this be placed on a future agenda. He commented that it does not matter what the cause is being promoted. The City is completely content-neutral on this, and he would like to hold a full discussion.
Councilmember McCormick asked and confirmed the CHP was in the meeting in early March but was not at the Caltrans meeting last Thursday.
Mayor Dawson stated the City will post the formal letter so residents can be aware of Caltrans’ response.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
10. PRESENTATIONS – None
11. CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Dawson asked if there were any public comments or items Councilmembers or the public wish to remove from the Consent Calendar, and there were none.
A. Minutes
1. March 23, 2024
Recommendation: Approve.
2. March 25, 2024
Recommendation: Approve.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Candell) to adopt Consent Calendar Items A.1 and A.2. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes:
Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, Candell, and McCormick; Noes: None).
12. OLD BUSINESS
A. Patrick Golier, Transportation Program Manager
Ordinance 690 – Consider Speed Limit Reductions on Eight Roadway Segments Recommendation: Uphold Ordinance 690, adopted November 2023 to accomplish the following:
1) Comply with the California Vehicle Code Sections 22358 and 22358.7 and formally adopt speed zones as shown in Exhibit A of Ordinance 690, which are supported by Engineering and Traffic Surveys and which results in reduced speed limits for eight roadway segments, as presented.
The public hearing was opened.
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13. STAFF REPORTS
A. Patrick Golier, Transportation Program Manager
Ordinance 692 – Designate Reduced School Zone Speed Limits Recommendation: Introduce Ordinance 692 adopting school zone speed limits consistent with AB 321, California Vehicle Code Sections 515, 627, 22358.4 and 22352(b)(2) and continue to April 22nd for second reading and adoption.
Transportation Program Manager Patrick Golier stated the presentation will cover both Items 12.A and
13.A.
Mayor Dawson opened the public hearing.
Transportation Program Manager Patrick Golier gave the staff report and said staff will review recommendations from the 2023 Engineering and Traffic Survey Study discussed last November, as well as include a discussion of the results of the recently completed School Zone Speed Limit study. He is joined tonight by his colleague from Parametrix Engineering, David Hoffman, via Zoom.
Between 2021 and 2023, the City collectively accomplished quite a bit with regard to speed and safetyrelated initiatives that the City has initiated over the past few years and that are firmly aligned with the two technical studies that are being discussed tonight. They completed a series of rapid implementation school safety plans around each of the City’s schools that resulted in a series of recommended and prioritized engineering improvements that have contributed to improve safety on City streets around the schools. They also completed the Local Road Safety Plan that resulted in a framework for identifying, analyzing and prioritizing safety improvements on roadways, and the Police Department launched the Slow Down Lafayette campaign to address speeding throughout Lafayette through education and enforcement efforts in order to create a culture of safe speeds.
Last fall, the City completed its engineering and traffic survey study that re-established enforceable speed limits across Lafayette, and which resulted in recommendations to reduce the speed limits by 5 mph on 8 roadway segments. The follow-up study provides an understanding of State guidelines around school zone speed limits and concludes with recommendations for speed limits on the streets around schools.
The purpose of Items 12.A and 13.A tonight is to reconsider the recommendations from Ordinance 690 that was approved last November and introduce Ordinance 692 that would designate speed limits around schools.
David Hoffman, Parametrix Engineering, consultant, stated Parametrix presented the engineering and traffic survey results in November 2023. He provided a PowerPoint presentation of the Citywide speed limit study which includes the system-wide recommendations map, requirements for conducting the study referred to an E&TS and conditions set by AB 43 which were used for school survey efforts, provided an overview of AB 43, and said he will present the recommendations to reduce the speed limit by 5 mph on 8 roadway segments with an overview of the School Zone Speed Limit Study, and information on the State guidelines regarding the zones and resulting recommendations.
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Mr. Hoffman then spoke about AB 321 which established additional ability for speed limit reduction under certain conditions as well as amending Section 22358.4 of the California Vehicle Code (CVC). He then presented the conditions under AB 321, described the many cities that have implemented provisions of AB 321 in order to improve safety outcomes near schools, presented a flow chart showing the evaluation process for determining applicable school zone speed limits, the 10 schools that would show speed reductions in 19 locations or segments overall, 13 of which would have speeds reduced to 15 mph when children are present and the other 6 segments would set speeds at 25 mph when children are present.
Mr. Golier described proposed next steps which is to introduce Ordinance 692 adopting school zone speed limits consistent with AB 321, California Vehicle Code Sections 515, 627, 22358.4 and 22352(b)(2) and continue to April 22nd for second reading and adoption. If speed limits are to be reduced, staff will coordinate the implementation as one coordinated effort that would take place over the upcoming summer when schools are not in session. They would also prepare a communication effort pre- and postimplementation to promote awareness of new speed limits and coordinate efforts with the Police Department to ensure officers are helping to communicate new limits as enforcement efforts ramp up in the fall.
Councilmember McCormick referred to and asked about the Happy Valley characterization of it not being primarily a residential area. Mr. Golier said the CVC has a prescriptive definition of what a residential district is which is at least 16 dwellings per quarter mile on both sides of the street or 13 dwellings per quarter mile on one side of the road.
Councilmember McCormick said without meeting that criteria he asked and confirmed the City does not have the authority to change speeds.
Councilmember Candell referred to Item 12.A; from Mt. Diablo from First Street to Pleasant Hill Road, she asked for the justification to bring that down to 30 mph when the prevailing speeds are so much higher than that.
Mr. Golier said now the City has more flexibility in reducing speed limits per the CVC. The justification can be made one of two ways; one by characterizing it as a safety corridor and it is listed as a high injury network in the Local Roads Safety Plan. But also, if the land use surrounding that roadway generates pedestrian and bicycle activity. There are sidewalks, bike facilities, bus stops, including for the Lamorinda Bus Program, two senior facilities, and commercial stores generating pedestrian activity.
Councilmember Candell asked for thoughts on additional considerations in trying to reduce speeds to get to the 30 mph besides just posting signs.
Mr. Golier said they could work on narrowing the travel lanes. The City applied for a grant proposal to add rapid flashing beacon at the unprotected crosswalk at Hampton, just added a signal along that stretch, so they are over time adding more safety treatments to that eastern segment of Mt. Diablo.
Councilmember Candell referred to Item 13.A; Pleasant Hill Road near Acalanes. She knows they cannot slow it down below 25 mph. From Deer Hill Road past the school when there are no crosswalks, she asked what is the justification they can use to try to slow it down there.
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Mr. Golier said they have kids crossing at Deer Hill as well as Springhill as well. It is already signed for 25 mph, and there are 6 to 8 signs that say, “Speed Limit 25 mph when children are present.” Likely, drivers are exceeding 25 mph and he would have to refer to Officer Comly’s report.
Vice Mayor Kwok said a closing comment was about timing of roll out, and how the plan would be one coordinated effort. He understands the Transportation Circulation Commission reviewed this topic and there was a discussion of whether it might be better to phase this out versus one shot. It was discussed then and there were letters written after that. He asked if Mr. Golier could summarize that as to whether it is better to phase this out versus do it in one shot.
Mr. Golier said the comments he received from some Commissioners at the February Transportation Circulation Commission was that this is a lot for the City to implement at one time. In his opinion, they should be changing the speed limits in the summer when schools are out so when they return, they can communicate they have done this collective effort. They also have currently existing school zone speed limit signs around most of the schools. So, this effort ensures alignment with current State guidelines and ensuring that signs are sited correctly and are enforceable. In his opinion, if it is done piece meal, it adds more confusion than not, particularly given they have existing school zone speed limit signs around most of the schools.
Councilmember Anduri asked if doing it all at once during the summer was mentioned to the Commission.
Mr. Golier said yes, it was. He personally would not want to change the speed limits around schools in the middle of a school year. There was not further guidance from the Commission about the length of the phasing, meaning would it be done over one, two or three summers so he did not get that input from the Commission.
Councilmember Anduri referred to the letter from the Chair of the Commission telling them that the Commission wanted to do it in phases. Mr. Golier confirmed they heard his viewpoint on this and despite this, they still wanted to do it in phases.
Mr. Hoffman added comments of his experience in Marin County around this, stating when there was an opportunity to lower speed limits from 25 to 15 mph, there are 17 separate school districts. There was an effort to lower speed limits in the County and the decision was made in concert with many of the municipalities to reduce speed limits and it was done all at once over the summer so that when the school year began, parents and schools were fully informed.
He said Marin County has a robust Safe Routes to Schools program and so there was a good vehicle to get this information out to families, students, and administrators. It was a very smooth process, so in most schools in Marin County there is a 15-mph speed limit and very little pushback once that went into place.
Phasing it seemed to be confusing, as Mr. Hoffman said. There was some discussion about if they did it in Novato but not in San Rafael, for example, what would drivers think, so it was done all at once and very successful.
Councilmember Anduri referred to Ordinance 692, he could not find an effective date and asked if one is needed. Mr. Golier said they are permitted to implement school zone speed limits whenever the ordinance is adopted.
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City Attorney Subramanian confirmed that after second reading, which would happen at the next meeting if the Council were to introduce the ordinance tonight, it would go into effect 30 days thereafter, and the City cannot enforce until signage is placed.
Councilmember Anduri asked if AB 321 allows a prima facie extension from 500 feet to 1000 feet for the 25 mph around the school. Mr. Golier said if the 15-mph speed limit from 500 feet from the school was on a 30-mph street, the State’s thinking was that transitioning from a 30-mph to a 15-mph speed limit is very abrupt and gave jurisdictions the ability to slow vehicles to 15-20 mph as a transition zone. It does not apply to anywhere in Lafayette.
Mr. Hoffman agreed and the way the ordinance is written is up to 1000 feet. So, instead of 500 the Council could do it for 600 feet. There is a recognition that not all roads are built the same.
Councilmember Anduri said the Council received a comment letter from Bill Falkson and asked if staff had any response to his comments.
Mr. Golier said if implemented, there are signs required by the State to make this enforceable. Staff would attempt to minimize the number of new signs they would install and would try to replace existing signs on existing poles.
Councilmember Anduri said this afternoon the Council received a letter from Stella Wotherspoon and asked for staff’s response on her suggestions.
Mr. Golier said Ms. Wotherspoon proposed starting and ending the new speed limits at intersections and he thinks there might have been 3 intersections she proposed to shorten to start at the nearest intersection which he would agree with.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period first for Item 12.A.
LIBBY HENRY said Mr. Golier did not cover Item 12.A and residents were given a 110-page traffic study for the 8 designated areas. The consultant and Mr. Golier seemed to think it is a given that all speed limits simply should be reduced. She wrote a letter and the only letter that supports that is from the President from HVIA. There are 1100 families in Happy Valley and only 106 people answered, and she was one of them. Of those 79 people said they were in favor of the speed reduction and 106 is approximately 10% of families. Having to drive on Happy Valley every day, if she is behind someone going the speed limit, there is a line of cars backed up. All 8 studies show the vast majority of people drive at or very near the speed limit in all cases, so she questioned why reductions are recommended.
DAVID CLARK referred to enforcement and wondered if it figures into any of this. He took the Citizens Police Academy a number of years ago and one session was taught by motorcycle officers. What they said was they know the CVC backwards and forwards and not to argue with them about it. Most of the time, if someone gets pulled over by a motorcycle officer, they will get a ticket. Possibly a way to enforce is twice daily before kids arrive at schools or afterwards. He suggested they park at a point and cause a slowdown. Secondly, the City Manager made a comment at a Chamber meeting recently that the people driving vehicles are going fast are residents and not people cutting through from Walnut Creek. So, part of the awareness program to get people slowdown is to remind them these are our kids or “we are all in this together.” This might be a way to sell this.
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Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period for Item 13.A.
LIBBY HENRY said studies were not done about schools. Most people in Lafayette in school zones obey the speed limits already. There have not been accidents, collisions, and speed are not the cause. The City is asking people for more money to pay for a deficit when studies cost the City a lot of money to be done.
Lafayette is safe, there are safe speeds, and most people prefer what is in effect now. She is angry that 110 pages of study shows there is no problem, but the City is paying for a fabricated idea for Vision Zero, which is a pipe dream. Happy Valley and Upper Happy Valley both have pedestrian pathways the entire length of each road. They have stop signs, warning signs, a speed reduction around the sharp turn, and the one fatality in Happy Valley occurred on December 15, 1972, because it was her friend. The speed limit at that time was 35 mph and lowered to 30 mph. To lower the speed limit to 25 mph so the entire length is like a school zone when no speed issues have occurred is wrong.
ROBERT LAVOIE said he focused on the east side of Mt. Diablo Boulevard and disputes the fact it is a high injury network road. They did a lot of research trying to find out about the one incident relating to a couple of high school girls at 10 p.m. at night where they are proposing the crosswalk and they do not know if there is any speeding involved or not, but it was not mentioned in the police report. This is the only accident over the last 5 years on that street involving pedestrians. There are also not many pedestrians on that section of road. There are a few businesses like Ace Hardware, the car wash, Starbucks, and a bike shop, but it is not a generator of many people or bikes. He thinks by putting the blinkers in, the City can deal with the need for a crosswalk in the middle of that road.
The prima facie safe speed under the old regulation would have been 40 mph as he reads it. The 85th percentage was 38 mph, and it was already lowered from 40 to 35 and now it is proposed to be lowered to 30 mph. This means they have 90% of the people driving on the road that are driving safely who will now be considered speeders. He just does not think this is justifiable.
Mayor Dawson referred to questions under Item 12.A and said the City Council reviewed studies in November of 2023 and the Council is revisiting that and discussing it.
Mayor Dawson then closed the public hearing.
Councilmember Anduri asked Mr. Golier if the City is required to do these studies by State law, and Mr.
Golier replied yes, the Engineering and Traffic Survey Study is required by the State to maintain enforceable speed limits.
The Council then held discussion regarding Item 12.A.
Councilmember Anduri said last November the Council adopted the ordinance and agreed they would bring it back for a full hearing. Now, the Council is basically saying whether they want to keep what they have already adopted or not, and asked procedurally what the Council can do.
City Attorney Subramanian said if the Council wishes to continue with the ordinance, it is in effect. If the Council wished to change it, staff would need to bring back additional materials.
Councilmember Anduri voiced support of Item 12.A to uphold the adopted ordinance.
City Council Meeting Page 13 of 22 April 8, 2024
Councilmember Candell said she still has a big problem with Mt. Diablo Boulevard First Street to Pleasant Hill Road. Mr. Lavoie said it went from 40 to 35 mph and now the City is going down to 30 mph, which is a big change for a fast road segment. It seems like the City would behoove itself to do some of the nice treatments to help slow traffic down. If they have the road 30 mph, they could have an enforceability issue with everyone going more than 30 mph. It does not seem that has ever been allowed. It does not seem the City has satisfied the burden of proof in the study, so she has difficulty with approving that segment, but would support the rest of them.
Mayor Dawson asked if the study satisfies the requirements that the Council is able to look at lower speed limits. Mr. Golier said yes, it gives the City the option to lower it.
Mayor Dawson said originally when the presentation was given, Mr. Golier explained how speeds were set. If 85% of people are going this fast then the speed limit is set that way, which was not necessarily logical. If everyone is speeding, they will have a higher rate of speed which does not make sense in a downtown corridor. She would like to see if be a more logical and safe speed. She thinks the graph with the 5-mph difference can save lives which is important in the downtown, especially given there will be more people potentially as they build out with the Housing Element. While it is different, it is the City’s responsibility to be safe and it is a lesser cost than treatments the City might pay for.
Councilmember Candell said she just thinks they will not get the results they want. It will be a frustration point, a political problem, and not a real defensible thing to just have. She thinks they are just not doing it right in her opinion. If they want 30 mph she thinks they should ask people to maintain the speed limit and if not, then get the lower speed limit implemented.
Councilmember Anduri said he understands what Councilmember Candell is saying but he thinks setting the speed limit is the first step as opposed to anything else. This is where the evolution has come along under the CVC over the last 20 or so years. It used to be they could not take into consideration bicyclists, pedestrians, etc., and now they can. If they are saying they want to be a more bike-friendly and pedestrian-friendly city, he thinks they need to reduce speeds.
He did not think anyone can argue anyone will be seriously inconvenienced by reducing the speed from 35 to 30 and anything that can be done to reduce speeds should be done. The physics is overwhelming here, and he voiced support to move forward with it. They will have a Slow Down Lafayette campaign meeting tomorrow and they can talk about steps they can take, but the first step is the City saying they want the speed to be 30 mph. He knows there will be requests for enforcement right away, but he suggested publicizing it and posting it, and if it is not reduced, the City can take additional steps.
Then, over the next 10 or so years, if they need to reconfigure the boulevard, they can talk about whether they widen sidewalks, narrow lanes, and those sorts of things, and he thinks it is a necessary first step at this point.
Vice Mayor Kwok asked what is the speed on Mt. Diablo Boulevard from Uncle Yu’s down to City offices.
Mr. Golier said it is 25 mph between First and Dolores.
City Council Meeting Page 14 of 22 April 8, 2024
Councilmember McCormick said he is sympathetic to Councilmember Candell’s concern about Mt. Diablo.
In reflecting on what Mayor Dawson said, there is much higher housing density downtown, but they are not precluded from changing speed limits later if they have a lot more housing. Mr. Golier said this is true and they could do it later if they wanted to.
Councilmember McCormick asked and confirmed that the Council has approved this already with the 30 mph. speed limit.
Vice Mayor Kwok said out of these 8 streets, Happy Valley Road is probably one he has driven most in his 20+ years because his kids went to elementary school there and he rides his bike down there a lot, and he can relate to it. The road for 30 mph seems to be doing fine. This is the speed he thinks would be reasonable. He sees the recommendation here for 25 mph and slowing down.
He asks himself whether it really matters what he thinks or are they looking to the studies and reports or what the community is saying. On that point, he thanked HVIA for spending the time to conduct that survey of 1,000 residents and getting 100 responses is a good response rate. It was interesting to read the responses which he found interesting because there are many friends of his who were on opposite sides of the issue. Some people want things to slow down, and others say not to touch it. So, it was an expression of how reasonable people can disagree on this.
Where he ends on this is he thinks the community is trying to slow things down. They are such a frantic society, always in a rush, not paying attention, and driving fast. He thinks they are trying to make room for other modes of transportation via pedestrians, bicyclists, and to transition society to be less car centric and more welcoming of all forms of safer travel. The City’s Vision Zero is a core iteration of that belief.
So, he finds it consistent with their move as a community to slow things down. He 100% agrees with Councilmember Anduri in the difference between driving at 30 mph versus 25 mph, 10 seconds is saved in getting from one place to another. It will not be a material difference. Some people will like it, some people will not, and he can agree on the 8 stretches it is an overall effort to slow things down.
Specifically, as to Mt. Diablo Boulevard, he also sympathizes with the east side. It is so wide, and it is very inviting to go fast, and it will seem awkward to travel at that lower speed. But, to the point they are trying to set expectations for the future, make room for crossings, and in the spirit of making room for pedestrians and bicyclists, he thinks it is consistent. In the grand scheme of things, they can set the tone that in the downtown it will be a different speed there and he can accept that, as well. So, the concept of slowing down Lafayette and being less frantic, he would support keeping the ordinance as is.
Mayor Dawson agreed and said all efforts have been to slow down Lafayette. It is a safety issue where they are trying not to be so car centric. There are distractions even when pulling out of driveways. When talking about downtown, it is a mix of mixed use, more businesses and more people living there and hopefully people crossing the street. This is the Council’s responsibility to live in a safe place as well as more welcoming and conscious of the fact that people need to be mindful of the speed limit. Therefore, she would uphold the existing ordinance.
City Council Meeting Page 15 of 22 April 8, 2024
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Kwok) to uphold Ordinance 690, adopted November 2023 to accomplish the following: 1) Comply with the California Vehicle Code Sections 22358 and 22358.7 and formally adopt speed zones as shown in Exhibit A of Ordinance 690, which are supported by Engineering and Traffic Surveys and which results in reduced speed limits for eight roadway segments, as presented. Vote: 4-1 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, and McCormick; Noes: Candell).
The Council then held discussion regarding Item 13.A.
Councilmember McCormick referred to the timing and staggering or phasing, and he agreed with the staff recommendation to do this all at once. He thinks the outreach and work makes much more sense doing it all at once.
Councilmember Candell agreed and thanked Mr. Hoffman for sharing his experience in Marin which helps drive that decision. The one she has a problem with is around Burton Valley and Bill Falkson’s comments.
The City has done so much work around that school and have achieved what needs to be done. They are so sensitive about the signs, and she asked if there is a way to limit a lot of new signs.
She asked and confirmed the proposal is a first reading of the ordinance, and she requested staff to ensure to alert the public they are changing existing signs and not creating a lot of new signage for Burton Valley’s both streets. She likes Ms. Wotherspoon’s suggestions to stop at intersections especially if they are stop signs and metered.
Councilmember Anduri agreed with that and noted the introduction of the ordinance would need to be amended.
City Attorney asked and confirmed that staff can list out the signage for Burton Valley.
Councilmember Candell said rather than going out 500 feet and stopping at intersections that are called out, there are a couple of intersections shorter than the 500 feet.
Mayor Dawson also thanked the Superintendent, Officer Comly, and Mr. Paxson for their support of this.
She appreciated the ending picture by Mr. Paxson.
Councilmember McCormick said he is frustrated they cannot lower Happy Valley from Happy Valley School to 20 mph. These are very helpful guidelines, but just because Happy Valley happens to have larger lots, they were unable to lower it based on the CVC, which is unfortunate.
Councilmember Anduri referred to Exhibit A, the Council would be changing it so under Acalanes High School, the second road is Stanley Boulevard, where it states “from” and “to” would be “to Camino Diablo” and not “200 feet east of Camino Diablo.” Under Burton Valley, in the from column they would be deleting “200 feet north of” so it would just be Sandalwood, and Mr. Golier has the third one which is along School Street, to end at Topper Court.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Candell) to introduce Ordinance 692, as amended, conduct first reading and continue to April 22, 2024, for second reading and adoption. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, Candell, and McCormick; Noes: None).
City Council Meeting Page 16 of 22 April 8, 2024
B. Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager
1. City Council Goals Priorities for FY24-25
Recommendation: Confirm the priorities for the next fiscal year. Direct staff to evaluate workloads, staffing, funding and available resources to develop work plans and budgets for the City departments.
City Manager Srivatsa stated the Council held a special workshop on March 24th to discuss and review the status of the Council’s current priorities and set desired priorities for the upcoming fiscal year with desired outcomes. The Council set three priorities which are all iterations of the current year’s priorities. The recommendation is to request the Council confirm these are the Council’s priorities and staff will use the Council’s guidance to develop the budget, review resources, and return to the Council during the months of May and June for budget adoption.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period.
DAVID CLARK referred to the 10th item in the staff report for the Downtown Mt. Diablo Corridor Enhancement Plan got dropped off. There is an item on how to make Mt. Diablo a great street, which is in the body of the document but not in the staff report and he thinks it should be there. He did not attend the meeting but as part of the items for the Downtown Mt. Diablo Corridor Enhancement Plan, the 8th one is “Plan for parks and other amenities.” He was not sure the Council talked about what some of those other amenities might be, but if they happen to be things like creek pathways, trails, or signage he thinks it would be helpful to spell those out.
He also did not see anything about GPAC that will look at the Land Use Element which should mesh with this. Thirdly, he did not see anything about volunteers in general. There is a lot about staffing and how it will be hard to do some of these things. They have a wonderful volunteer system that works through committees and commission structure, and staff attends meetings and helps move projects through. He suggested using these volunteers as a vehicle to funnel ideas or things the Council wants to get done that might take the pressure off staff.
ROBERT LAVOIE referred to the definitions and comments about making Mt. Diablo Boulevard multimodal and a beautiful street and reminded everyone this is the main thoroughfare through town, and he asked if work could be done for the bike path of the EBMUD pipeline easement. He asked if this is the thinking in saying this because he did not want to see this as the City’s goal to throttle the center of downtown when there is only one road. He said San Francisco made a mess for the street where they made a bike lane in the middle and are now considering redoing it. He asked to consider evacuation for traffic and businesses being successful, as well as consider the amount of people in the area with all of the new housing being proposed with inadequate parking within one-half mile of the BART as well as the development on the BART parking lot.
Mayor Dawson said the Council discussed many things around fiscal sustainability issues and how money will impact all of these things. This will return to the Council after staff reviews what can be done. The Council is also aware of GPAC, and the General Plan is being worked on as a mode of business moving forward and has been. She thanked the idea for volunteers from committees and commissions which the Council discussed, knowing staff is impacted. Regarding keeping the EBMUD easement in mind, they are and are not looking to throttle the downtown, and this is an on-going discussion the public will be part of.
City Council Meeting Page 17 of 22 April 8, 2024
Councilmember Anduri referred to priorities and said he has no comments on #1. He had none on #3 until David Clark spoke. In number 8, he asked to change that to “Plan for parks, creek pathways, and other amenities” given they have put a priority on making the creek a major amenity for the downtown corridor.
Mr. Clark also pointed out where “Make Mt. Diablo a great street” go, and this has been moved up to #2.
He has a minor issue with that because making it a great street is a broader concept. It takes away from both concepts to combine those. For #2, the Council really needs to focus on how they re-imagine, if they can, how they can redevelop the Mt. Diablo Corridor, so they do not have to add more cars. This is one of the biggest things they have to do right away because so many things flow from that.
Most of his comments are on the second one; wildfire. For example, in #2, it states “Participate in the countywide emergency evacuation plan.” He asked if they can add “CCTA” before “countywide”, so everyone knows what they are talking about.
Then, in #3, he would like to add after “additional shaded fuel breaks” insert “additional fire ignition detection resources.” This was one of the two things he mentioned along with the one that is there; “additional fire suppression resources.”
He asked for changes in #4: “Work with legislators and other relevant parties to ensure wildfire risk is considered by the State when determining the next Regional Housing Needs Allocation and when establishing land use policies are being formulated.”
For a #5, he asked to add something that reads: “Develop an objective standard for wildfire risk to apply when making land use planning decisions.” As background, he does not expect that to be done in the next year. He would like this on there as a marker because he feels very uncomfortable voting for any development in a high fire severity zone without having a more objective way of evaluating what the risk is.
Mayor Dawson said she would like to add under Wildfire, that “The City work with utility and communication partners as outlined in the Safety Element.” ACTION: It was M/S/C (Candell/Kwok) to confirm the priorities, as amended, for the next fiscal year; direct staff to evaluate workloads, staffing, funding and available resources to develop work plans and budgets for the City departments. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, Candell, and McCormick; Noes: None).
2. Homeowners/Fire Insurance Nonrenewal
Recommendation: Authorize the mayor to send a letter of concern to the Insurance Commissioner.
City Manager Srivatsa stated State Farm has sent several notices of non-renewal to its clients in the Bay Area. It appears in Lafayette, 30% of the State Farm clients will receive non-renewal notices. This is not as high as Diablo, Orinda, Calistoga, or Los Gatos, but still significant. It is a concern. The Council has heard from many constituents before and this is a growing concern, and State Farm may not be the only insurance carrier that goes through with non-renewals.
Staff communicated with the City of Orinda last week. They have sent a letter to legislators and to the Insurance Commissioner urging them to step in and take some action, and she is recommending the Council authorize the Mayor to do the same.
City Council Meeting Page 18 of 22 April 8, 2024
Councilmember McCormick said they have seen the example of the Orinda letter, and he asked and confirmed that staff will write one that is unique to Lafayette along these lines. He thinks the Orinda letter is somewhat gentile to him. They are in a crisis of unprecedented proportion and the wording respectfully asks they look into this matter. They are well beyond that phase. There are homeowners which are important, but apartment building owners cannot get insurance, businesses are losing their insurance, all of which should also be addressed. In reading the Orinda letter, it is good, but he was sort of unimpressed admittedly.
Mayor Dawson agreed and said therefore, Council is asking staff to “put some fire into this.” This is a crisis for residents and businesses.
Vice Mayor Kwok commented, stating he read the Orinda letter to say we have been good citizens with MOFD to work hard for 10 years to reduce vegetation. They have programs, raised money to implement measures to reduce risk, yet insurance companies are not only not rewarding them for reduction of risk.
They are not renewing policies. The complaint that cities that are doing something should be rewarded, and in looking at Lafayette’s letter, he thinks they are making good progress and he does not know their ask will be exactly the same. He thinks the other piece of the message is that they are very concerned on behalf of their residents, businesses and so forth about coverage, which is not a matter of City jurisdiction, but the State recognizes it is an insurance crisis too. He would like the measures the City is taking to harden their homes and reduce risk to be rewarded and he is not sure, given what this particular insurer has done has contemplated that.
Councilmember McCormick said it is like they are almost past that unfortunately. He agrees they continue to do a lot, but they are not at the point where they should be rewarded or mitigated. They are just canceling policies anyway. It feels the City is well past that unfortunately. Not only are they not doing increases, they are losing ground considerably. There is the letter Orinda wrote which talks about mitigation and for the policies they do have, their citizens should be rewarded. But also, they are losing all these policies and what can they do about that.
Councilmember Anduri said the third level is, they are asking the City to add 20% more housing and how will they insure that housing. They are writing as a City which has a 48% high fire severity zone, and he thinks this should be highlighted; that there are cities that have these big problems.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period.
DAVID CLARK said this is a huge problem and he thinks it would be a mistake to copy the gist of the Orinda letter and send that. This is a very, very small piece of this problem. In fact, Farmers canceled their policy 6 months ago and he and Vice Mayor Kwok had a conversation about hardening in general. That hardening in his case, had he done this, he got the Fair Plan and Farmers is still insuring everything except fire. But the hardening would have resulted in a 2% to 4% discount. It is nothing compared to what we are talking about, so if the Council writes a letter about not rewarding those from hardening, they are addressing 2% of the problem. He just thinks the letter has to be broader than that. Also, he read the Orinda letter to say, look, they have hardened their community and go find some other community to cancel their insurance and make sure to keep ours.
City Council Meeting Page 19 of 22 April 8, 2024
Another part of the problem is that many of these same companies ceased writing new policies. They will not renew policies for people, and they quit writing new policies last year. What worries him is the California Fair Plan is going bankrupt. They have hundreds of billions of dollars of exposure, and he read something that said they are “one major fire away from the whole house of cards falling down.” He asked how to address that with legislators and others. Writing letters is great, but he thinks the California Fair Plan was Governor Newsom’s idea. He knows it is there and there are at least 2 or 3 letters written for public comment for this item and there are some wonderful ideas in there, such as Christine Rasmussen’s letter. He thinks the Council can draw from a lot of that content to come up with drafting the letter which needs to be much more expansive than what they have as a sample because of the magnitude of the problem.
Councilmember Candell said she is one of the people who got her insurance canceled. She reached out to an independent broker that people were saying people might have contacts with other insurance agents around there. He came back saying, you only get the Fair Plan which is the only thing left. She asked him who he used to be able to contact and how that is not possible anymore. He said, “In a normal market he writes with Safeco, Travelers, Hartford, Nationwide, Hippo, Progressive, Stillwater, Bamboo, Chub, CSE, and American Modern which are the major ones. He is an independent agent.
There are carriers that only work with their own agency force, namely State Farm, Farmers, AAA, Allstate which he does not have access to. As to the Fair Plan, they have been overwhelmed with applications and requests for quotes. Normally, they return a quote within a day or two. The last firm quote one step after on-line price indication where they do a quick underwriting, it took over two months to return a final bondable quote. Not only that, the Fair Plan is a basic plan that only covers smoke, fire, and explosion. No other perils are covered. So, to get fully covered, people have to buy another supplemental plan called a ‘difference in conditions plan.’ Yes, I work to try to help California homeowners who are in a precarious position like getting a dreaded cancellation letter, no fault of their own, results in fear and frustration in looking for a replacement policy. If unsuccessful, it will result in a forced placed policy adding even more expense on top of already expensive housing costs.”
She thinks this is a crisis of something unthinkable that people never thought they would have to face. She never thought she would have to face this in her lifetime, and it is frightening. Therefore, she supported a stronger letter. One of the other things they need to add is that the information she read is that the way the plans are set up now, they have to use old data. They are forced to use historical data in their projections. The problem with that is that things change with California’s climate and risk. Like it or not, they have to let them put in the real analysis they need to do. They will charge people more, but if California must bear the brunt of this, this could be a bankruptcy for California. They must tell legislators to get off of whatever they are doing right now, gut and amend some of the laws they are trying to get through and address this. If they do not address it in this cycle, next year there will be a calamity. So, she would add this.
Councilmember McCormick agreed and in reading about it, they must average 20 years back and this is a problem because of so many major fires in the last 7 years, the data is all skewed. To Councilmember Candell’s point and Mr. Clark’s point, writing to the Governor is fine but maybe it should be to their legislators to actually find a real solution and complaining about it will not do anything.
Mayor Dawson said it could be written to the Governor with copy to their representatives.
City Council Meeting Page 20 of 22 April 8, 2024
Vice Mayor Kwok pointed out one interesting statistic included in the report which was that State Farm looked at zip code 94549. They write 3,142 policies in this City and out of 10,000 residences, if they do 31% of the market share that is a significant player. Of those 3,142, 956 or 1/3 of them did not get renewals.
So, this is close to 1,000 of the City’s 10,000 population affected by this one carrier. So, this is significant for the community.
Mayor Dawson said her family has State Farm and their letter was that in July they might have another notification, so there could be more non-renewals.
Councilmember Anduri asked if anyone knows what is happening with mortgage lenders because if people are not able to renew their insurance, mortgage lenders may step in and take action. This would be an even worse disaster if that started to happen.
City Manager Srivatsa pointed out that at last week’s Mayors’ Conference, Orinda did bring this subject up and Mayor Dawson also spoke about it. She thinks there is strength in numbers in having the Contra Costa Mayors’ Conference send a letter. She can work with the Orinda City Manager to see if she can make a request to Gary Pokorny to see if this can be added to the agenda. She does not think it affects other Contra Costa cities as much as it affects Lafayette now, but it could happen in the future. She would encourage Councilmembers to speak to their counterparts in other cities and urge them to bring this topic up for discussion. She was struck by all of the zip codes and many cancellations.
Councilmember Anduri asked about direction for staff. Councilmember McCormick said he is supportive of a single writer who will give a more compelling letter. He is also intrigued with Councilmember Anduri’s comments and to put in the impact of additional housing the City is being mandated to build.
Ms. Srivatsa said she can work with Ms. Iarla to craft a letter including all comments.
Mayor Dawson said this also aligns with their Council priorities to educate residents about implications of insurance.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Kwok) to authorize the Mayor to send a letter of concern to the Insurance Commissioner. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, Candell, and McCormick; Noes: None).
14. PUBLIC HEARINGS – None
15. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT – None
16. COUNCIL/COMMISSION REPORTS
A. Councilmembers report on activities and consideration of matters a Councilmember wishes to initiate for placement on a future agenda.
City Council Meeting Page 21 of 22 April 8, 2024
Councilmember Anduri reported the unveiling of the 175+ Land Acknowledgement event about the City’s Native American past, held at 2:00 p.m. at the corner of Tuyshtak and Lafayette Circle. Vice Mayor Kwok did a great job of MCing the event and Councilmember McCormick spoke. They unveiled the wrap on the utility box which looks beautiful with the land acknowledgement on one side and unveiling the street signs.
They look great and he thanked the Land Acknowledgement Task Force, the Public Art Committee, Historical Society, and Lafayette staff members who contributed towards this. It was a great community effort and CBS and NBS did extensive on-camera interviews.
Vice Mayor Kwok said he was proud to be there with his colleagues. Putting this image in the heart of their City in the downtown at the intersection is an understatement. It was a great presentation and touching to see the City honor their indigenous history and to make it as permanent as they can to raise education and awareness.
Councilmembers provided additional comments relating to inspiration for other cities, news coverage, and the wonderful recognition to honor the City’s history and historic people.
Vice Mayor Kwok reminded everyone that Earth Day will be celebrated in the Lafayette Plaza on April 21st from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., hosted by Sustainable Lafayette. The Environmental Task Force will be present talking about the City’s transition to electric leaf blowers, and he will be there and welcomed other Councilmembers and the public to join him.
He also reported the Emergency Preparedness Commission talked about a number of activities coming up.
On May 4th it is Wildfire Community Preparedness Day. They plan to do some chipping on May 6th the following Monday. The Commission is trying to make an effort to elevate this and take tangible action.
Councilmember Candell questioned next steps for the school protests and the El Curtola Bridge protests and work with CHP and Caltrans.
Brief discussion ensued, and City Attorney Subramanian said if it is a statement, staff can work with the Mayor and City Manager and craft something and in response to a request, the City Manager can provide more frequent updates on Hot Topics on the City’s website and return the El Curtola Bridge issue back at the next meeting.
Councilmember Candell reported she had the opportunity to be part of a great meeting last Thursday organized by Our Neighborhood Voices, which she is a part of and a proponent of. They were able to have present as host the President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Aaron Peskin. They sent out invitations to all coastal elected Officials in the State of California and discussed the four bills that could forever change their coastlines and that are absolutely attacking the authority of their Coastal Commission.
Unfortunately, they cannot untangle all the pieces that have been enacted in any other way than a Constitutional Amendment to bring back local land use and zoning and also restore the Coastal Commission’s authority of land use and planning. So, it is exciting, and they are getting a lot of buy-in and emails from many mayors up and down the state.
City Council Meeting Page 22 of 22 April 8, 2024
Mayor Dawson reported on her attendance to the Mayors’ Conference last week. There was a presentation by Central Sanitation and unfortunately they are looking at a funding option because they have also been impacted by high infrastructure cost and inflation. This affects all agencies they work with, and a workshop will be coming up to discuss and brainstorm ways to raise funding.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
17. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS - None
18. ADJOURNMENT – 9:40 p.m.
APPROVED:
__________________________________
Gina M. Dawson, Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________
Joanne Robbins, City Clerk