City Council Meeting Page 1 of 15 September 23, 2024
7 City of Lafayette
City Council Minutes
Lafayette Library and Learning Center – Don Tatzin Community Hall September 23, 2024 3491 Mount Diablo Boulevard, Lafayette, California 7:00 p.m.
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City Council Meeting Page 2 of 15 September 23, 2024
Mayor Dawson called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Dawson; Vice Mayor Kwok; Councilmembers Anduri and McCormick
Absent: Councilmember Candell
Staff Present: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager; Tracy Robinson, Administrator Services Director; Mike Moran, Engineering and Public Works Director; 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/Kwok) to adopt the agenda. Vote: 4-0-1 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, and McCormick; Noes: None; Absent: Candell).
5. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by Mayor Dawson.
6. PUBLIC COMMENTS (For Items not on the agenda).
PETER LINGANE, said the passage of Measure H will not allow the City to fund important unmet needs in the community. In particular, three staff positions will not be funded, the Campana property will not be redeveloped for parking, the costly repairs to the Community Center will not be done, and there will be no increased road construction. He suggested selling the Community Center property of 8 acres which would avoid millions of dollars in HVAC repairs and repaving. Secondly, the City does not receive the full 1% from the sales tax, and he suggested the City marshal its citizens to change the rules, scour the budget for low priority items that could be better used for other purposes.
For example, the Spirit Van program costs $58/ride which is two to three times the amount Uber or Lyft would charge to go to Martinez, and it also duplicates the Contra Costa Link program. The City also saved $45,000 by outsourcing one Facilities Maintenance position and he questioned what would 10 positions would save to outsource. He suggested referral to the Finance Subcommittee to discuss these considerations.
DOUG GARDNER, brought attention to continued parking violations by neighbors living at 3562 and 3661 Boyer Circle after the City painted lines and posted “no parking” signs around the entire circle. These neighbors are the cause of the “no parking” action taken by the City due to their unwillingness to work with all other neighbors on the street for a solution. These two families continue to illegally park their cars on the street and do so fragrantly, openly, and without concern both day and night as they know the City’s parking enforcement does not work past 6 p.m. Specific neighbors on Boyer Circle took complaints to the City about these two families parking cars in areas where emergency vehicles could not pass. Against the opinion of many neighbors, the City unilaterally decided to ban all parking on Boyer Circle without providing any concrete solutions that impact everybody on Boyer Circle except for the two families who continue to park on the street.
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With knowledge of the parking ban, several families have spent thousands of dollars to create parking spaces on their own property. The residents of 3562 and 3661 Boyer Circle have ample on-property parking, yet they continue to park on the street in a direct, purposeful, and obstinate manner. Despite call to the Police Department for enforcement, these cars are not being ticketed and they will continue to be embolden without ramifications that only the City of Lafayette can administer. They have been informed that the property owner at 3661 Boyer Circle will continue to park on the street no matter how many parking tickets he receives. These two families continue to benefit from on-street parking despite the law and the City must take action or allow for on-street parking for all property owners on Boyer Circle. This is a double standard without repercussions.
Additionally, in the rush to ban parking on Boyer Circle, the City has not provided any guidance to property owners related to on-street parking options for contractors, holidays, and any other situations where homeowners will have no choice but to have temporary on-street parking. He provided the Council with photos of the two vehicles parked in the same areas on the street and at two of the narrowest points of the circle. He asked the City to either enforce this law or reinstate parking on Boyer Circle. A lack of enforcement is beyond the control of the property owners on Boyer Circle and creates a situation where the needs of the many are outweighed by flagrant behaviors of the few, specifically the neighbors at 3562 and 3661 Boyer Circle. He then presented photos to the Council.
MARIO DIPRISCO, said as the City Manager recently stated in the Weekly Round Up, Lafayette has been in a structural deficit for years and it has only been from windfalls from the federal government and Moraga developer payments and under-staffing that their budgets have been nominally balanced.
Measure H is only for seven years, so there is an urgent need to either cut expenses or increase revenue.
He knows some work has been done by staff around expenses, but he encouraged the Council and staff to begin work today on two tracks—one task force looking into reducing expenses structurally and not just taking 10% off of every department, and another one looking at increasing revenues. Some of these plans could take years, and he encouraged real community involvement to get as many perspectives and ideas out as possible. The community is blessed with talent and a diversity of perspectives, and all should be welcomed in these important challenges. Regardless of the outcome in November, he volunteers his time, and he believes many others will join him. Seven years seems like a long way off, but it is never too early to start necessary work.
7. CITY MANAGER’S UPDATE
City Manager Niroop Srivatsa gave the following update on department activities:
• From Engineering and Public Works:
• The Art & Wine Festival was amazing over the weekend, and Public Works crews are now cleaning up the downtown and removing barricades.
• As they complete the punch list items for this summer’s roadway projects, the engineers have also started to work on the final designs for next year’s projects which the Council will see as part of next year’s budget.
• The City’s contractor continues to work on the storm drain project that traverses Moraga Boulevard property near Victoria Avenue.
• From Senior Services:
City Council Meeting Page 4 of 15 September 23, 2024
• A reminder that this Saturday, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon at the Veteran’s Hall, the Community Foundation will be holding the Annual Senior Symposium. People can register on-line.
• From Administration:
• The City sent out an informational brochure about Measure H which many residents have received. On November 5th, Lafayette voters will be asked if they want to approve a local sales tax of one-half cent for a period of seven years to provide funding to maintain the current level of services. She encouraged people to visit the website at lovelafayette.org/Measure H and if community members have any questions about Measure H, they should send an email to [email protected].
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
8. PRESENTATIONS
A. Lamorinda Arts Council - Art of Mixology Event
Sue Farmer, President and Ali Kozoll, Executive Director Recommendation: Receive and file.
Sue Farmer, President, Lamorinda Arts Council, introduced Ali Kozell, Executive Director, said she is looking forward talking about their organization and all of the things they do in the arts for Lafayette, Orinda, and Moraga. Practically all of them are volunteers. They have visual arts for all high schools and do 2D, 3D, photography, digital art, prizes for students, and also have an extensive music program. There are children from kindergarten through high school that enter, and they scale it down to have them perform in the schools with judges. They then choose those that are most ready to perform in front of an audience. The children also learn how to speak in front of an audience and gain self-esteem, and they just finished having them sing at the Orinda Theater called “Lamorinda Idol.” Writers get together with artists and four times a year they hold “Art Embraces Words” which also includes poetry. They are grateful to the Lafayette Community Foundation that makes this possible for them. The programs are extensive throughout the year, and she introduced Ali Kozell, who will talk about their fundraiser called The Art of Mixology.
Ali Kozell, Executive Director, stated this is their 11th year holding fundraising events and this year is called, “The Art of Mixology” on Saturday, October 19th from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. in Orinda Theater Square Promenade. It is a celebration of hand-crafted cocktails and this year, new mocktails aka “non-alc’s” where local professional and amateur bartenders compete for cash prizes, trophies, and the honor of being named Mixologist of the Year. They hope to expect about 250 attendees, and it is a lot of fun because the bartenders wear costumes and come up with cute and fun names for their cocktails, they have a table staging category, and they go all out. It is a fun community event where they can come together and celebrate the arts and support the Lamorinda Arts Council programming.
Ms. Farmer added that in addition to cocktails and about 18 to 20 bartenders, they also do a flash mob.
Justin Cole, who has a dance school in Moraga, sent them videos so they can dance towards the end of the event. She asked the City to spread the word, said they have two galleries in Orinda, and she thanked the Council for allowing them to present.
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Mayor Dawson and Councilmembers thanked Ms. Farmer and Ms. Kozell for bringing arts and events to communities and for the work they do. He noted that Lamorinda Idol takes over when there are Friday Concerts in the Park and this year, it was packed with people watching and cheering the singers on.
B. Thomas Adams, Avenu Insights and Analytics
Sales Tax Performance and Comparisons
Recommendation: Receive and file.
Thomas Adams, Avenu Insights and Analytics, said he is the City’s sales tax consultant, and gave a brief PowerPoint presentation on the state of sales tax in Lafayette. He provided an overview of Q1 data of the January-February-March period. Overall, sales tax has been flat or negative for most of 2023 and the first two quarters of 2024. Some reasons are statewide sales tax from retail purchases have been slowing or declining due to a shift from consumers purchasing taxable goods towards more non-taxable services. This might be a hangover from some of the cumulative high levels of high inflation.
Similarly, sales tax from restaurants and markets has stabilized into low single-digit growth. They might look at this as reaching its new normal on the restaurant and market side. In terms of new and used autos, the City does not have this area, but service stations. They saw a higher-than-normal prices in 2022,so they have been comparing back to normal prices which has led to some lower numbers in 2023 and for the first quarter. Finally, statewide construction and B2B sales tax have been declining as the economy overall has been cooling a bit with higher-than-normal interest rates over the past few years.
In recent history, in terms of what has been going on with some various events including the Ukraine war and those sorts of things that pushed up energy prices and some of the pandemic recovery which has pushed up things. The federal funds rate is where the Federal Reserve sets interest rates for banks borrowing overnight money and then trickles down into the rest of the economy. Those rated much higher recently and they had good news this week that the Federal Reserve started easing those rates which they expect to continue. Inflation has ramped up almost all the way up to 9% levels, which has since come back down to the 2% to 3% range and the expectation is that this should get down at the 2% level within the next 3 to 6 months.
In looking at cash, this is the most important aspect of sales tax for the City. Again, they can see negative numbers in the last six quarters and there was one quarter that was a little higher. Overall, this mirrors most of the results seen statewide. They numbers are close to flat or negative for most of the last year and onehalf.
Regarding what drives sales tax within the City of Lafayette, primary drivers are restaurants which create about one-quarter of the sales tax, retail is at 19%, Internet and non-local transactions at 19%, food and liquor markets at 14%, and gas stations and auto repair at 13%. Some of the smaller segments are construction at 5%, B2B transactions at 4%, and other miscellaneous is 1%.
In terms of the last six benchmark years that are the year ending in the quarter he is showing, the most recent quarter shows in terms of total receipts they are at an all-time high at about $3.4 million for the four quarters. Part of the reason is the City is about $600,000 for net pools. The local business is slightly down from a year ago. They were about $2.8 million, and the City is just shy of that. Individual drivers are retail and food, restaurants at an all-time high, transportation has come down because of prices for gas coming down, a little decline in construction and B2B areas mirroring the state’s overall softening for those two sectors.
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In looking at the most recent quarter and most recent four quarter annual period, both of these are negative numbers and about $50,000 down for the year. They can see some of the declining segments for the year are retail down about $17,000, transportation down about $21,000, construction down about $15,000 and B2B about $7,000.
Regarding the future, Lafayette is staying around similar rates going forward. Most of the recovery from COVID 19 pandemic has occurred and they are getting back towards what we might consider a new normal.
They are looking at slight growth for next fiscal year at about 3.425% and in the 1% to 2% growth rates annually going forward. He then presented a graph about recovery and projections for a more normalized growth pattern going forward.
In looking forward, there is still some uncertainty in the economy. There has been some market volatility overall recently within the last couple of months, and there is still the possibility for a recession. So far, they have been pulling off what is referred to as a soft landing, but there is still uncertainty. Inflation rates have been coming down; however, at the same time, unemployment has been creeping up. Likely, the Federal Reserve will continue to cut rates into the middle of next year. They should get down to 3.5% for the federal funds rate, and they are anticipating this to add some energy back into the economy and help the overall economy.
Regarding trends in California, they have seen some population shifts away from coastal areas to inland and out of state, which appear to be ending. Those were a result of reactions to the pandemic as well as cost of living considerations. Overall, statewide costs continue to remain high for housing, energy, and other essentials and these high costs have eroded some of the overall consumer capacity for taxable sales. They have had about four years of turbulence related to the pandemic and they are still waiting until the dust completely settles and they have that new normal period where they turn the corner from negative numbers seen to more what they consider to be typical growth rates seen in the pre-pandemic. He concluded his presentation and said he was available for questions.
Councilmember McCormick referred to Slide 4 and said he is trying to understand that Orinda and Morage that have sales tax rates that are 1% higher than Lafayette’s. He is surprised looking at the ratio of Lafayette’s cash it gets between Orinda and Moraga. He asked if this takes their entire sales tax revenue or just looking at the 8.75% part of it. He would think they would be significantly higher relative to Lafayette after their sales tax rate which is higher.
Mr. Adams said this does not include the 1% Moraga has as an additional add-on which is about double from what the Council sees from their Bradley Burn. Line 19 is from the 1% they receive, and they receive an additional amount from their local voter-approved 1% measure which creates about an additional $2.6 million for them.
Councilmember McCormick asked if Mr. Adams could show the Council both the next time he provides an update. Mr. Adams said should the measure pass in November, he would receive the data for both and can provide them.
Councilmember Anduri said in the chart on slide 4, the Lafayette numbers under the most recent four quarters total $3.396 million and he asked if this is everything that Lafayette gets from sales tax revenue.
Mr. Adams said yes, this is correct.
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Councilmember Anduri asked and confirmed the numbers for Orinda and Moraga which only reflects the 1% Bradley Burns amount. In Moraga’s case, their additional 1% brings them double of what they receive from their voter-approved tax, or $3.9 million as a result of having the 1% sales tax increase.
Councilmember McCormick referred to slide 6 regarding food products and restaurants are broken out. He asked if the other part of that is just grocery store amounts. Mr. Adams said yes, grocery stores is another segment within the food products category. Liquor stores are a third segment within the food products category.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
Mayor Dawson and Councilmembers thanked Mr. Adams for his presentation and update.
9. CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Dawson asked if there were any requests for removal of any items. Councilmember Anduri requested removal of Item 10B and City Clerk Robbins requested removal of Item 10A. There were no public requests or public comments.
C. ZT01-24 Accessory Dwelling Units City of Lafayette: City-initiated Zoning Text Amendment to Title 6 of the Lafayette Municipal Code, modifying Chapter 5, Article 3, entitled “Accessory Dwelling Units” to comply with California State Law regarding ADUs and program implementation of Lafayette’s Housing Element.
Recommendation: Receive and file. A future hearing date will be scheduled, and new public notice will be provided at that time.
D. GPAC Update
Recommendation: Direct staff to suspend the Committee until the first quarter of 2025 to allow staff time to complete the work associated with the Housing Element.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Kwok) to adopt Consent Calendar Items C and D. Roll Call Vote: 4-0-1 (Ayes:
Anduri, Kwok, McCormick and Dawson; Noes: None; Absent: Candell).
10. OLD BUSINESS – None.
11. STAFF REPORTS – None.
12. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. Patrick Golier, Transportation Program Manager
Resolution 2024-34: Implementing the City of Lafayette’s Residential Parking Permit Program on Carol Lane
Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2024-34 to include the block of Carol Lane between Mt. Diablo Boulevard and Marlene Drive in the City’s Residential Parking Permit Program.
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Public Works Director Mike Moran gave the staff report on behalf of Transportation Program Manager Patrick Golier, stating he attended the Circulation Commission meeting which was approved for referral to the City Council. He said staff has received a residential request for a portion of Carol Lane to be added to the Residential Parking Permit Program and this would be for the segment of Carol Lane from Mt. Diablo Boulevard to Marlene, a short section. There are a couple of businesses and homes on each side of the road. This would impact a total of six homes if implemented.
Mr. Moran stated currently there is 2-hour parking weekdays 9-5 at this location. This has historically been a 2-hour parking zone for a long time. At one corner there is Ace Hardware, offices, a couple of residential homes, and across the street the car wash, swim school, and a few homes. Staff evaluated this and thought there would not be a negative change or impact to the overall parking scheme if they were to allow the parking program and there was that recommendation put to the Transportation Circulation Commission. If every household participated in the program, it would be one permit each for a total of six through the weekdays 9-5 timeframe.
Staff received three written public comments; from a household in favor and they would partake in the program if it passed. One was received from the car wash and the Lafayette Park Hotel. It does not seem the car wash, or the hotel are against this program for the six households, but they did have concerns with 2-hour parking and the 2-hour parking being enforced. It has been 2-hour parking for some time and this item does not address the 2-hour parking and it is not to change anything other than to add an exception for the residents that live there so they can park in front of their homes.
Mr. Moran said the staff report has a resolution attached. Since the staff report made it to the Council, staff received comments from the City Attorney’s office to add to Item 3 of the resolution under the “Now, Therefore” clause, number 3, add “signs giving adequate notice have been placed.” He recommends the Council adopt the resolution as amended that would include this phrase.
Councilmember Anduri asked if Mr. Moran is aware of the level of enforcement over the years. Mr. Moran said no but based upon public comment it seems it has been inconsistent. He knows for a fact that a household or two along this stretch in 2016/17 did receive citations and also knows the City lessened its enforcement citywide when COVID hit, and he does not believe it has been up to full force. However, a resident was recently cited so there may have been an upswing in enforcement and hence, this request.
Councilmember McCormick said there are 6 residents affected and he asked if it was one resident or more.
Mr. Moran said everybody is on board and most would take advantage of the parking.
Councilmember McCormick recognized it is a short stretch, but he asked if there is a reason for the entire stretch extending into the businesses instead of mostly in front of the residences themselves. Mr. Moran said the idea was not to change the overall parking, and if a resident is not parked in front of their home, they could have had just residential parking in front of their homes, but this does not open it up to businesses during the day when residents are not parking in front of their homes. This would then be reserved for permits only, and again, if at the car wash or at Ace Hardware, someone could park a little way down the street if that spot is available.
Vice Mayor Kwok asked for clarification, and asked and confirmed with Mr. Moran that today there is no change to the 2-hour parking limitations. What the Council is considering is whether the six homes can apply and have a special residential permit to park longer than 2 hours and not longer than 72 hours, which Mr. Moran confirmed.
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Councilmember Anduri said in terms of general practice with parking restrictions, he knows the 2-hour parking is common in retail areas, but he asked why this was determined to be a 2-hour area. Mr. Moran said in general they needed turn-over because there have been people parked there all day whether they were residents or employees. He would say every place the City instigated parking restrictions, there was a request and a reason to do so because the parking places were not available to the people who wanted to use them. It varies also as there is some 30-minute parking around the corner in front of Ace Hardware, but it is usually geared towards what works for the business and the area in general. All businesses were within the City’s noticing radius, and some have commented.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period.
JESS WELLEN, clarified that he has never been noticed for this resolution and is home 5 ½ days a week and he read it on-line in the resolution for the meeting. He is the owner of the Lafayette Car Wash Detail Center, one of the oldest and most active businesses in town. He does not object to the permits for residents between Mt. Diablo and Marlene; however, he proposes a different solution to remove all 2- hour parking restrictions on the subject streets because there are no retail businesses on this street that need restrictive parking as it is true for the downtown. There would be no need for permits to exempt residents from 2-hour parking if it were eliminated. There is a need to allow unrestricted parking for his 60 low wage employees at the car wash and other non-retail businesses. These employees have been using this parking with no enforcement for as long as he has owned the business of 35 years. Two office buildings across the street at 1080 and 1078 Carol have their own parking lot with 20 spaces each. Subway across has a parking lot with 26 spaces, Ace has two parking lots at the store and annex, Greg’s Muffler, Big-O, German Auto, Diablo Services, Lafayette Auto have parking on-site.
The car wash employees leave the parking spaces by 5:30 p.m. after closing time of 5:00 p.m. The car wash has been there since 1965, and he has owned it for 35 years. It has always had the ability to have employees park on the street unrestricted. He also noted the Lafayette Park Hotel with a similar situation of 100 employees has no restricted parking across the street from them.
He then read Nick’s statement from the hotel as a summary: “He strongly believe that imposing a 2-hour parking limit in our industrial zone would create more problems than it solves. I ask the Council to take into consideration the unique needs of this area and explore more appropriate solutions that would neither hinder the operation of local businesses.”
Mr. Wellen asked noted that only 2 of the 6 houses on the street have appropriate parking off-street. The ones on the east side have no parking in front of their houses. In fact, one does not even have an entrance or exit on the noted street. There are two houses next to the pool and they seem to have a need for parking, but he would be glad to have none of his employees not park there anymore which would solve their problem.
Councilmember McCormick asked if there are 60 cars on the street at one time, or he asked how many people are at the car wash working at one time. Mr. Wellen said it varies because some people carpool or do not have a car, but they fill up most of the spaces in the subject strip of the boulevard being discussed.
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Councilmember McCormick asked if they currently park in front of the residences that have parking along the street. Mr. Wellen said he believes in those two residences, there might be as many as two or three parking spaces in the front of their homes not including their driveway.
Councilmember McCormick asked and confirmed Mr. Wellen would like the Council to eliminate the 2- hour parking which is similar to what is across from the hotel because they are in an industrial and business area where they do not have to have frequency of movement. There are no dress shops, toy stores, no one has to have the constant movement of vehicles to shop there. They have employees they must worry about. If his employees cannot park, they could not do business, as well as other businesses.
Councilmember McCormick asked if Mr. Wellen would keep the spaces in front of the residences free from the employee parking. Mr. Wellen said he can do that, but it has not been discussed. They would not need then a permit because they would not have 2-hour parking. He clarified there are only 2 houses that need parking in front of their homes.
Councilmember Anduri asked if Mr. Wellen is concerned that the residents parking there would take spaces than the employees might otherwise take. Mr. Wellen said no, this does not seem to be a concern.
They just want to make sure they had no one parking in front of their house. From his perspective, he would not be concerned about that.
LAURA LAMOTTE, said the history of the ticketing on the street has been that maybe every 4 years she would get a ticket for parking in front of their house. So, it largely has not been enforced. More recently, it has been enforced and this is why they think they need permits for their cars. In front of her house and the house next door each have three parking spaces in front. They usually are full every day and they get people from the car wash parking in front which is fine. Sometimes she cannot get a space in front of her house, and she parks up the hill, but everything has been working out. The thing that is tricky is they are looking into the future trying to determine what would happen in different scenarios. If they removed the 2-hour parking limit and had no limit, she is not sure if people would really start parking in front of their house. She wondered if the sign deters some people from parking there all day or not. So, she is thinking maybe it is better to get the permit and keep the 2-hour parking, but again, it is hard to know.
As far as parking spaces for everybody, the swim school seems to be set. The car wash needs spaces. They used to have spaces on their property but took them out and put some detailing tents there, so they have less spaces than they used to.
Councilmember McCormick said he thinks it is difficult because there is not a baseline. Enforcement has been inconsistent, and he understands how this happens. People who rent buildings are not the owners of the buildings where a notification gets sent to. Unfortunately, the business most impacted is the car wash and he was not informed and could not participate in the Transportation Circulation meeting and would have if he knew about it. Given he is the business most impacted, he thinks there are not enough facts, and the car wash owner has not had a chance to weigh in.
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Councilmember Anduri said in going back to why the City has this policy, it seems times have changed because the two major employers in the area are asking the City not maintain this policy. So, circumstances have changed since the time it was adopted until now. If people go to the hotel for conferences, they do not want to have to move their car every 2 hours, and he agrees the City cannot do anything tonight. He thinks they should have Transportation Circulation Commission look at this with Mr.
Wellen’s input, the hotel’s input, and think about whether the 2-hour parking is still needed. No changes can be made tonight because residents were not expecting these topics to be raised, so he suggested returning the item to the Transportation Circulation Commission.
Mayor Dawson said what is before the Council are six parking permits for residents. Taking into consideration Mr. Wellen and the hotel to remove the 2-hour parking restrictions, this can still happen and in her opinion, and in the meantime, they can also allow parking permits for residents. She knows a grant was received for doing a parking study to look at issues like this for parking around the city in residential areas nearby the downtown.
Mr. Moran said to this point, there is a current parking study that is going to include from Risa Road to Pleasant Hill Road along Mt. Diablo Boulevard. The grant was received, and the work is being done by outside consultants. It contains this section of Carol Lane and spurs off of Mt. Diablo Boulevard as one would expect for Core Area parking. This is on-going and he thinks in six months the study would be done, so there will be more information, and the study will look at shared uses, things like employees parking here all day, or if employees did not park there all day and what would happen, and whether there is a residential parking permit need. So, conditions may have been changed and the study will speak the best to it.
Mayor Dawson said before the Council is being responsive to the petition by residents and this has gone through Transportation Circulation. What business owners bring up are a larger issue which will come back after the study has been completed.
Vice Mayor Kwok said on the upcoming parking study that is being conducted in the City, he asked if there is opportunity for public engagement, and he asked when businesses would be notified to participate.
Mr. Moran said yes, there is always a public engagement point, but it is an independent consultant looking at this, and he was not sure when they would be notified to participate. He was not sure if they are doing intense surveys of every business, every home, etc., but there has been a lot of information brought up about Carol Lane and the businesses which could be used towards the recommendations for that area.
Mayor Dawson said Mr. Golier sent a note out that this would be happening, and the study would include public engagement as part of the MTC grant with no matching funds. She imagines it will be fairly comprehensive, and per the Council’s tradition, they have public engagement and commissions’ review.
Vice Mayor Kwok said in response to Councilmembers Anduri and McCormick, he asked if they would prefer to not make a decision tonight. He would say there is a limited scope presented to the Council of 6 homes that would like a sticker for $51/year to park in front of their house. It would be a modest expense to the City to install signage, and they are not talking about changing the 2-hour rules, so he could see voting in favor of accommodating those families for now, knowing the Council received feedback on a wider question regarding 2-hour parking that fortunately there is a study underway.
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He said the fastest that would be is 6 months to a year before anything happened for a change, and so he would be willing to support staff recommendation today without pushing it back to Transportation Circulation Commission or waiting another year to decide.
Councilmember McCormick said the enforcement is the challenge. He is hearing it has been a 2-hour zone forever, but it has never been enforced. If you start a permit program in place, it is only effective if enforcement is increased of the 2-hour zones up and down the street. He then is concerned where this leaves parking for employees.
Mayor Dawson said she thinks it is also a matter of avoiding the ticket for those being permitted. There are still issues the Council can consider more holistically, but right now there are 6 parking permits being considered.
Councilmember Anduri asked if there was any input from the Lafayette Car Wash at the Transportation Circulation Commission level, and Mr. Moran said no, there was not. Councilmember Anduri noted this concerns him.
Mayor Dawson said she appreciates comments from Mr. Wellen and the hotel and thinks both say they do not object to the permit application process, but they have concerns about the 2-hour parking enforcement in general, which has been in place, and which she thinks needs reconsideration in other parts of town, as well. But they are still looking at the 6 parking permits to alleviate residents’ concerns for getting ticketed for parking in front of their homes.
Councilmember McCormick said Mr. Wellen’s letter was supportive of the permits, but he asked to remove the 2-hour parking, which is a larger issue. He worries that if it goes 6 months to one year with a parking study that may or may not shed any light on the situation, he did not want to wait.
Mayor Dawson asked and confirmed with Councilmember McCormick that there are businesses in town that need parking for their employees and that have to move every 2 hours or get ticketed along the entire stretch with enforcement. He was not sure how the business can operate with this.
City Attorney Mala Subramanian said she is concerned the Council is getting off of the agenda topic.
Mayor Dawson agreed and said the Council can request staff bring back the item on enforcement or the parking issue in general, but before the Council tonight are the parking permits.
Councilmember Anduri said while we can characterize the subject as just being the permits, it really exists with restriction, enforcement, non-enforcement, needs of the businesses and needs of residents. Because of these complexities, he is concerned that one major factor was not considered at the Transportation Circulation Commission, and he recommended having the Transportation Circulation Commission consider the permits in light of comments from the owner of the car wash. If the testimony is that it creates a major problem with enforcement of the 2-hour restriction, and the permit program allows more parking of 6 per day to be filled, he questioned what issues that would raise. He does not think the Transportation Circulation Commission has heard that.
Mayor Dawson agreed with returning this to the Transportation Circulation Commission with those considerations and then return with recommendations to the Council. Vice Mayor Kwok said he had no objection.
City Council Meeting Page 13 of 15 September 23, 2024
Ms. Subramanian recommended continuing the matter to a date certain so that the noticing for tonight done does not have to be re-noticed.
Mr. Moran said the Transportation Circulation Commission meets the first and third Mondays, and he suggested agendizing it for the first meeting on October 7th and then return it to the Council on October 28th.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/McCormick) to direct staff to return the item to the Transportation and Circulation Commission for further review and return with a recommendation to the City Council on October 28th. Vote: 4-0-1 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, and McCormick; Noes: None; Absent: Candell).
13. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT
A. Minutes – September 9, 2024
Recommendation: Approve.
City Clerk Robbins stated she and Vice Mayor Kwok have removed Item 10A.
Vice Mayor Kwok referred to page 16 under his ex-parte disclosure where he mentioned a meeting with the Circle K architect, Mr. Ibrahim. He had also mentioned Mike Ahmadi and another staff member named Mike were present as well, which were not included in the minutes and requested they be added.
Additionally, on page 19, reference to the Youth Commissioner appointee is spelled: Levand Koopah.
City Clerk Robbins stated public comments were inadvertently left off from Mario DiPrisco, which reads as follows: “As a candidate for City Council this November, he wanted to share that there were a series of house parties where everyone is invited to ask questions, share ideas and concerns on City-related issues. This invitation is extended to Councilmembers and staff. Times and dates of these parties are on my web page: Diprisco.org. If people are unable to attend, there is information on ways they can contact him. Like many residents, he is excited about the Art & Wine Festival and happy to see the City will have a booth there. He feels that good outreach and communication is part of what makes Lafayette special.
Thank you for all you do.”
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Dawson) to approve the Minutes of September 9, 2024, as amended. Vote:
4-0-1 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, and McCormick; Noes: None; Absent: Candell).
B. GFOA Certificate of Achievement for City’s FY23 Financials Recommendation: Receive and file.
Councilmember Anduri thanked Ms. Wakeman and Ms. Robinson for their great work, given this is the 9th straight year for the GFOA Certificate of Achievement for the City’s FY23 financials.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Anduri) to receive and file. Vote: 4-0-1 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, Kwok, and McCormick; Noes: None; Absent: Candell).
14. 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 14 of 15 September 23, 2024
Councilmember Anduri said the Engineering Department has done an incredible job this summer on surfacing, restriping, and new signage at the roundabout. He reminded everyone that this year The Day at the Library will be Saturday, October 20th during the day. The Night at the Library for which a ticket is required will be held Saturday, November 2nd. He encouraged everyone to participate in these events.
Mayor Dawson echoed the City Manager’s comments on how wonderful the Art & Wine Festival was, and she recognized the Chamber of Commerce, staff, Councilmember, Board Members, and volunteers.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
15. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
A. Designation of voting delegate for the League of California Cities Annual Conference on October 16-18, 2024
Recommendation: Discuss and direct staff.
Mayor Dawson noted that Councilmember Candell is not present, but she will be attending the conference, and no others are attending.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
Councilmembers agreed Councilmember Candell is the obvious choice and voiced their support as being the City’s voting delegate. City Clerk Robbins confirmed there is no voting alternate.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Anduri) to appoint Councilmember Candell as Lafayette’s voting delegate for the League of California Cities Annual Conference on October 16-18, 2024. Vote: 4-0-1 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, and McCormick; Noes: None; Absent: Candell).
B. Annual Conference Resolution for Consideration at the League of California Cities’ 2024 Annual Conference October 16-18. Resolution 1 – Fair and Equal Treatment of All Government Officials at All Levels.
Recommendation: Discuss and direct voting delegate.
Vice Mayor Kwok said it is interesting the staff of the League of Cities provided an analysis but no recommendation on how to vote on the resolution. They raised four items of concern of unintended consequences, that what might be a simple idea is not that easy to implement, and this caused him pause.
Things are set up in a certain way and he wondered a resolution of this nature, if changed, might cause more problems than it intended to do. He thinks it is well-intended, but he questioned whether the Council was ready to vote affirmatively on this yet, and he did not feel comfortable to vote in favor of it right now, although he thinks the idea is very good and merits more discussion beyond the 5 signatories from southern California proposing it. He would therefore not vote in favor of this at this time.
Councilmember Anduri agreed and was concerned particularly with the part of the analysis, the final sentence of the proviso that may undo the rest of it. With that concern being raised, he did not see how the Council could move forward.
City Council Meeting Page 15 of 15 September 23, 2024
Mayor Dawson agreed with comments and believed it would be nice to have a more statewide distribution. She confirmed there was not support at this time to recommend that Councilmember Candell either oppose or abstain on Resolution 1.
Vice Mayor Kwok said he thinks an abstention is essentially a “no” and he was happy to abstain and is glad someone brought this topic up, but it is something the Council might not approve, and Councilmembers agreed to direct Councilmember Candell to abstain from the vote.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
The Council gave unanimous direction to direct Councilmember Candell, Lafayette’s Voting Delegate, to abstain on Resolution 1 – Fair and Equal Treatment of All Government Officials at All Levels.
16. ADJOURNMENT – 8:34 p.m.
APPROVED:
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Gina M. Dawson, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Joanne Robbins, City Clerk