City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 1 of 33 December 9, 2024 7 City of Lafayette
City Council
Commission Minutes
Lafayette Library and Learning Center – Don Tatzin Community Hall December 9, 2024 3491 Mount Diablo Boulevard, Lafayette, California 6:00 p.m.
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City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 2 of 33 December 9, 2024 Mayor Dawson called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
City Attorney Subramanian announced Councilmember Candell is participating remotely given she has a contagious illness, requiring all votes to be by roll call. In addition, she will keep her camera on at all times and if there is an adult in the room, she will need to announce that. Lastly, if the City has a technical difficult on its side, they will need to stop the meeting.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: City Council: Mayor Dawson; Vice Mayor Kwok; Councilmembers Anduri, Candell (participating remotely), and McCormick
Present: Senior Services Commission: Chair Black; Vice Chair Breece; Commissioners Federighi and Walker; absent Commissioners Carrasco and McCahan Staff Present: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager; Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director; Greg Wolff, Planning and Building Director; Sonia Urzua, Assistant Planning and Building Director; Mike Moran, Engineering and Public Works Director; Jonathan Katayanagi, Parks and Recreation Director; Molly Cohen, Senior Services Recreation Coordinator; Riki Juster, Senior Transportation Coordinator; Mala Subramanian, City Attorney; Joanne Robbins, City Clerk
Disclosure and/or Take Action
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: 5-0 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, Candell, and McCormick; Noes: None).
5. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by Mayor Dawson.
6. MAYOR DAWSON
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.
7. PUBLIC COMMENTS (For Closed Session Items) 6:00 p.m.
8. CLOSED SESSION
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 3 of 33 December 9, 2024 A. Public Employee Performance Evaluation (Gov. Code Section 54957) Title: Niroop K. Srivatsa, City -Manager
B. Employee Performance Evaluation (Gov. Code Section 54957) Title: Mala Subramanian, City Attorney
C. Conference with Labor Negotiators Gov. Code Section 54957.6 City designated representative: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager Employee organization: Association of Lafayette Employees (ALE) D. Conference with Labor Negotiators Gov. Code Section 54957.6 City designated representative: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager Unrepresented employees: All employees, excluding the City Manager and those within ALE E. Conference with Labor Negotiators Gov. Code Section 54957.6 City designated representative: Mayor Dawson
Unrepresented employee: Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager
RECONVENE/REPORT ON CLOSED SESSION
City Attorney Subramanian announced there was no reportable action.
9. PUBLIC COMMENTS (For Items not on the agenda) - 7:00 p.m.
JOHN LARSEN referred to the Council’s deliberation on the height of the Reservoir Tower at the last meeting. While he is not a Lafayette resident, he has lived in the East Bay all his life. At the last meeting, speakers claimed people outside Lafayette consider this tower to be a valuable iconic structure, and he has heard from many of his friends that walk the Reservoir that they do not consider the tower to be iconic. He has enjoyed hiking in the East Bay for years and never heard about the tower and only noticed it for the first time when he began walking around the Reservoir recently. He felt the tower stuck out in a way that detracted from the beauty of the lake. He does not know of anyone except people at the last meeting that think otherwise.
First, safety is relative and not absolute, and safety should not be compromised for aesthetics. He doubts the tower adds anything to the value of any part of Lafayette. People come to the Reservoir for the beauty of the lake and downtown Lafayette for restaurants and other businesses and not for the tower.
Finally, the City fails to look at what is really at issue here. It is not just safety and aesthetics but money.
People in the EBMUD service territory do not want to pay more for unnecessary costs associated with the project in any amount. This is not the City’s tower, and they are ignoring the interests of ratepayers.
EBMUD should not spend any more time in ratepayer money on maintaining an unnecessarily and undesirably tall tower and he and others look forward to seeing it shortened.
JEAN FOLLMER said she began commenting on the minutes related to Libby Henry’s comments on the recent City Council election and the way Lauren Herpich was attacked by community members. Lauren was accused of being anti-LGBTQ and accused of being racist. She knows most of the Council know Lauren and you know that is not true, yet the Council stood by while she was attacked by supporters.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 4 of 33 December 9, 2024 As leaders in the community, she expects more, and she knows she is not alone. She said she likes Mayor Dawson very much and she reached out to her months ago on her personal email hoping to meet with her to help reset the political tone in this community after what happened and the horrible school board election of 2022. She hoped they could avoid that. She was afraid it would happen again, and it did. She wished they had been able to meet.
Unsurprisingly, the Lafayette School Board race was uncontested this year. Suzie Pak’s next-door neighbor walked onto that board. She asked what this is what Lafayette aspires to be; a place where people with genuine concerns are personally attacked and slandered as a warning to others who may have the audacity to run for office without being selected to do so. This City stood by while Citizens of the Year Ivor Sampson and Bill Fraser were attacked. Ivor moved out of State perhaps because of the kindness of this community. Bill Fraser was fired from his job as the Lacross coach at Acalanes. She urged the Council to please consider putting together a task force that works to restore civility to our community and to the local elections.
Mayor Dawson assured Ms. Follmer that the City definitely does not condone or abide hateful language of the sort described and she believes any one Councilmember had been made aware of those attacks on Lauren Herpich would have addressed that and said the City stands united against hatred. She appreciates Ms. Herpich came out and ran and believes it was a good and healthy campaign.
STELLA WOTHERSPOON said she is co-chair of the Citizens Committee for Measure H and said she is here to make some acknowledgements to the community, along with her fellow co-chair, Matt Pease. She thanked residents of Lafayette who voted for this measure. The City had 64.8% of resident voters who believed it was necessary to maintain core City services through this small local sales tax and have entrusted the City Council to oversee the City’s finances in the best interests of residents. Thanks also go to a number of community groups for their endorsements which are the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County, Inclusive Lafayette, Lamorinda Democratic Club, Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, Lafayette Homeowners Council, Lafayette Library and Learning Center, League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley, and Mercury News, and East Bay Times.
MATT PEASE said two others they would like to thank are the Yes on Measure H Committee. They had a group of tireless volunteers, many who had never been involved in an election before, including himself.
They did a great job of reaching out to voters and trying to help educate the public. This included Jim Cervantes, Grace Dixon, Andrea Hurst, Teresa Gerringer, Jamie Harris, Meredith Meade, Suzie Pak, Don Tatzin, Janet Thomas, Richard Whitmore, Steve Poling, and his co-chair Stella Wotherspoon who carried a huge load on this.
Finally, they want to thank the number of donors. They had individuals and families donate to their campaign because it costs money to run a campaign, and they appreciate them. There was a bit of money left over and they donated it to the Lafayette Community Foundation to help the community even further.
Mayor Dawson thanked Ms. Wotherspoon and Mr. Pease for their extraordinary efforts leading that volunteer group, and a round of applause followed.
10. CITY MANAGER’S UPDATE
City Manager Niroop Srivatsa gave a Year in Review video presentation:
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 5 of 33 December 9, 2024 The Administrative Services office consists of the City Clerk’s office, Human Resources, IT, Risk Management, Public Art, Communications and she introduced the staff. The City Clerk had a busy year especially with the number of Public Records Requests which have increased steadily not only in number but increased in complexity. Some of these requests take many weeks to complete and fulfill, and it takes up a lot of staff time.
The Finance Department does an outstanding job and in the 9th consecutive year, has received a Statewide award.
The City has a very active Public Art Committee and an equally active staff liaison. They expanded the scope of the public art programs the City offers.
Communications have increased tremendously through the Measure H campaign. The City was able to add subscribers to the Almost Daily Briefing and to the Weekly Round Up. They now have close to 20,000 people in the service area for NextDoor.com. Suzanne Iarla worked on 35 news stories.
Regarding the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Department, recreation has had another outstanding year. Mr.
Katayanagi and his team keep growing opportunities to serve their community. In addition, the department staffs the Senior Services Commission and they have partnered with Lamorinda Village to offer memberships to that organization. The Spirit Van with the additional vehicle continues to offer rides to their seniors. Regarding rentals they offer, if someone wishes to have a party, event, or picnic, she encouraged people to contact the PTR Department. Their rooms are available all throughout the year and over 2,600 people attended special events at the Community Center.
As some are aware, the City has a core Engineering and Public Works staff, and they do contract for maintenance services. This year, they were able to complete a multi-year school safety project which the Council had authorized and funded in excess of $1 million and she displayed some of the final touches to that project.
Slow Down Lafayette continues to be in the forefront, and the City added speed humps, stop lights, speed limit signs, and also received money for a safe crosswalk on Mt. Diablo Boulevard.
Besides the Council’s priorities of fiscal sustainability, emergency preparedness, and a Downtown Corridor Plan, she presented an example of what staff does day in and day out to keep the lights on in this wonderful City.
Regarding the Planning Department, it is another very hard-working department. Staff processed 313 development applications, and she presented a sample of the types of applications processed. They had a low of 163 applications in 2020 during COVID and it has picked up, leaving them right where they were pre-COVID at over 300 development applications.
A lot of work is done behind the scenes serving the public and she presented some of the statistics from the Planning Department and the number of building permits issued. The City contracts with the County to issue building permits and conduct inspections, but all building permit applicants stop at the Planning Department first to get zoning clearance.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 6 of 33 December 9, 2024 Regarding the City’s Police Department, the department took nearly 12,000 calls for service so far this year, 136 select crimes occurred which are regarded as more serious crimes, 203 arrests were made, and Slow Down Lafayette has had its impact. They have increased the number of citations compared to last year. Traffic collisions have reduced involving property damage compared to last year, as well as those involving injuries.
Lastly, staff extends its thanks to the community for their support to the City Council and to their wonderful volunteers on Commissions and Committees, and she was available to answer any questions.
Mayor Dawson and Councilmembers thanked City Manager Srivatsa and said it is great to know all of the wonderful work is done by amazing people to keep Lafayette in the great shape it is in.
Mayor Dawson then opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
11. PRESENTATIONS
A. Niroop Srivatsa, City Manager
Introduction of Lafayette’s new Police Chief Lt. James E. Williams Recommendation: Receive and file.
City Manager Srivatsa introduced Lafayette’s new Police Chief Lt. James Williams. Lt. Williams is a U.S. Navy Veteran and has a degree in Criminal Justice Management. He started his career as a 9-1-1 dispatcher both in Piedmont and then at the County. He has had experience working for a small community as a patrol officer in the Town of Danville and he has been a Detective and Field Training Officer. What attracted the City to Lt. Williams was his experience in emergency preparedness. He has orchestrated multi-agency collaboration for emergency responses, has improved coordination in crises including wildfire and largescale events while assigned to the Sheriff’s Emergency Services Division. He has also served as a SWAT hostage negotiations team member, amongst other assignments. Most recently, he was assigned as a Facility Commander at the West County Detention Facility in Richmond.
She also introduced Captain Brian Sliger who has been her partner in the selection process. She thanked him for sending Lafayette outstanding candidates. There were big shoes to fill with Chief Alldritt’s departure and it was not an easy decision to make, but she is pleased to say Lt. Williams will do wonderfully in Lafayette, and a round of applause followed.
Lt. James Williams thanked the City Council and staff for their trust in him. It is an honor to be here, and he looks forward to filling the shoes of Chief Alldritt, working with Department Managers to continue with emergency preparedness, continue the Slow Down Lafayette campaign, and to continue with safety for residents and meeting students at schools.
Mayor Dawon said she had the privilege of serving on the interview panel for the interviews and she is confident there will be a seamless transition with the skills set Lt. Williams brings.
B. Senior Services Commission
Annual Update on Goals and Accomplishments
Recommendation: Receive and file.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 7 of 33 December 9, 2024 Senior Services Commission Chair Terry Ann Black recognized Commissioners and Senior Service staff and members who could not join them this evening. They have two vacancies, and she asked for those interested to apply on the City’s website. She introduced Commissioners Breece, Federighi, and Walker, and not here are Commissioners Carrasco and McCahan.
This year has been an exciting and impactful one for Lafayette Senior Services. She gave a PowerPoint presentation on key highlights, action items, and call to action driven by valuable community input. They initiated the first-year implementation plan for the Age-Friendly Action Plan. Grateful for the Town of Moraga’s continued support with a $20,000 contribution to the Spirit Van program, they hope they decide to continue this support as they are at the end of their two-year commitment.
They are proud to support the second year of their two-year supported memberships to Lamorinda Village.
Additionally, they will be partnering with the Lafayette Youth Commission to encourage plantings that will benefit the threatened Western Monarch Butterfly population. They intend to focus planting near their trails in the community.
Chair Black then displayed the 9 domains of livability that guide their age-friendly work. The domains come from the AARP and the World Health Organization with their addition of an emphasis on emergency preparation. Following this structure, the Commission has been working all year to develop the age-friendly plan. The Commission was very aware of the structural deficit that is impacting the City’s General Fund, and as they considered the first-year implementation plan, they looked at programming and priorities and took those constraints into consideration.
As seen in the report attached to their presentation, they prioritized low-cost solutions, partnerships, and volunteer engagement. Partnerships such as the supported memberships to the Lamorinda Village helped to increase the impact volunteers that are already dedicated to seniors. Their goal is to have the City Council adopt the Age-Friendly Action Plan, but as they are preparing the document, they wanted to bring forward a first-year implementation plan that could start the work.
The Commission worked with Senior Coordinator Molly Cohen to focus on the domains of communication and emergency preparedness. Registration for winter and spring programs just opened and there are new offerings that include emergency preparedness, home fire safety, and fire extinguisher use. Additionally, Ms. Cohen is sharing communications with senior membership and encouraging members to subscribe to the Weekly Round Up to stay up to date with City activities.
The attached Age-Friendly Action Plan Goals and Action Items represent far more items than the City can complete. This is why they developed the Call to Action, and they invite all community stakeholders to review the Age-Friendly Action Plan Goals and Action Items and contribute to accomplishing the identified goals and action items. By working together, they can create a more inclusive and supportive environment for everyone in Lafayette. Interested stakeholders can work to implement action items to help community needs or reach out to City staff or the Senior Services Commission to coordinate and update them on their efforts.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 8 of 33 December 9, 2024 Right now, the plan exists as a Commission document. It is their hope that through staff and the Council liaison, they can provide feedback, and they can bring the plan forward for Council adoption at a future meeting. Also in the packet are some statistics shared by Lamorinda Village regarding their partnership with the City. They are thankful for this partnership and if one looks at the most recent Recreation Guide, there is an increase in joint offerings between Lafayette Senior Services and Lamorinda Village. This year is the second year of the two-year Council approved supported memberships. The Commission looks forward to working with the Council as they consider a continuation of this partnership beyond July 2025. She thanked the City Council for granting the Commission the time to present this year’s update and recognize Commissioners for their time and energy, and they welcome any questions.
In closing, Chair Black read the following poem by Rebecca Shafi, Lafayette resident, into the record:
It's Easy to Get Lost These Days
by Rebecca Shafi
It’s easy to get lost these days.
It’s easy to take a wrong turn down some Internet rat hole that is talking about the news and the terrible things people are doing to each other.
It’s easy to get lost thinking about the state of our union and the future of the planet and the way people everywhere are being influenced by social media.
It’s easy to get lost these days when you’re an old woman like me who is gaining weight around her middle, and gaining aches in her joints, and losing collagen in her face, and everywhere everyone is telling her to be thin, to be fit, to eat right, talk right, dress right. And none of it makes her feel right, just wrong all the time.
It’s easy to get lost these days when so many things are uncertain, and everything familiar is changing, and foundations are crumbling.
But it’s also easy to be found.
If we wander outside under the sun, and we turn our thoughts to our neighbors, and we stand under the shade of a tree and thank it for its presence and the thoughtfulness of its cool comfort.
It’s easy to be found, if we want to be found. If we send up a signal when we’re lost, like a flag that we wave, signaling, “Help! I need you, friend.” “Help! I need you, daughter.” “Help! I need you, neighbor.” And it’s true, they will find you. They will meet you where you are. They will save you.
It’s easy to be found when we go outside ourselves with an open heart that is tuned to the waving flag symbols of others, when we see them and hear them waving, help. Help.
It’s easy to hold out our hand, and reach out with a kind word. It’s easy to invite them to stand beside us, to share the shade of the tree, to share a moment, and to share our lostness with them.
Look at us, we were lost. We slid down the slippery slope of the news, we got lost in the social media, and the contagious gloom, and in the disastrous doom.
We did it. But now we stand hand-in-hand, across the aisle, across the street, across our differences.
I have found you here, and you have met me there, and together we stand under the tree, upon the beautiful earth, within the shade. We gaze eye to eye, we breathe the same breath. We are found.
Together.
Because it’s easy to get lost, and yet it is so much easier to be found.
Mayor Dawson thanked Chair Black, the Commission and staff for their inspirational work. The Council is very proud of the work being done by the Commission, work of seniors, and their connection and engagement. They look forward to continuing to work with the Commission.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 9 of 33 December 9, 2024 Vice Chair Kwok commented that the Senior Services Commission has made a lot of progress over the year and thanked everybody for their work. When he was on the Committee a couple of years ago, they were meeting by Zoom and the Lamorinda Village was not yet set, and it sounds as if things are going well.
He asked to keep up the good work.
Councilmember McCormick thanked the Commission and said the scope of what they are tackling is daunting to people half their age. They are proving they are an amazing group with many ideas and energy. He believes it is one the best public/private partnership that works in Lafayette and they are manifesting it beautifully. He also looks forward to great things coming up over the next couple of years.
Councilmember Anduri said he had the pleasure of being the liaison over the last four years and echoed the fact that the Council has not seen anything yet. The group has many great things the Council will hear more about.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
Parks and Recreation Director Jonathan Katayanagi thanked the hard work of the Commission and staff, as well as the Council’s support. The Commission has made Lafayette a more age-friendly place which is rewarding.
Mayor Dawson said it is wonderful to hear updates and the exciting work on the horizon, and she thanked the Commission.
C. Sonia Urzua, Assistant Planning and Building Director Presentation by Staff on Housing Element Implementation including:
Adoption of the Revised Draft Housing Element, Amendments to the General Plan Land Use Element and Map, Amendments to the Municipal Code and Zoning Map, Rezoning of certain areas, and establishing Objective Development Standards.
Recommendation: Receive a presentation, take public testimony, and conduct a public hearing on December 16, 2024, for adoption of the Revised Housing Element and introduction of an ordinance rezoning and amending the municipal code.
Assistant Planning Director Sonia Urzua presented the staff report for the Housing Element implementation and provided background on the Council’s work and review, HCD’s comments regarding rezoning needs, and noted the Planning Commission recommended approval to the Council.
She introduced Lisa Wise Consulting, David Bergman and Monica Szydlik to assist in the presentation. She described the staff report and said there are five components to what staff is recommending: 1) adoption of the revised Draft Housing Element; 2) adoption of the Addendum to the Certified EIR; 3) General Plan Amendment to the Land Use Element GP0124; 4) Zoning Text Amendments ZT0224; and 5) Rezoning of Parcels and associated amendments to the Zoning Map.
The amendments are responsive to the letter issued by HCD in July. They correlate to the implementation programs, which she described, and staff believes changes will facilitate the maximum allowed densities for the planned residential capacities.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 10 of 33 December 9, 2024 She then highlighted the key takeaways. Staff is recommending 60 feet height limits that are reflected in both the General Plan language and the new zoning language and zoning districts. They also want to bring attention to the revisions in the change in the maximum FAR, a small reduction of the maximum coverage and open space in the MRA zone, and also the new proposed zones would include upper story setbacks and step backs for street-facing facades. Those objective development standards help to start building the framework on the envelope for which any potential new development would have to comply with.
In the future, staff will continue working with Lisa Wise Consulting to develop objective design standards which are the more nuanced features as part of the community development, and objective development standards are built into these zoning districts.
The first part of the approach is adoption of the revised Draft Housing Element. Staff is not proposing any changes to the document the Council recommended for in April. The Certified EIR was before the Council in January of 2023. Between January and April, changes responsive to HCD comments were made to the base document. The Addendum staff is recommending adoption of captures those changes which are responsive to the faith-based organization language, the AFFH actions, the DeSilva parcel upzoning, and those are the only concepts. The new technical report that was incorporated was VMT analysis due to the faith-based organizations. The conclusion is that revisions to the 2023 Certified Housing Element would not result in any additional or more severe impacts than those evaluated in the Certified EIR, and this is the Addendum.
The next component is the implementation part. The first part of the implementation plan is to amend the General Plan Land Use Element to align with the revised Draft Housing Element. The five changes proposed are to create three new land use designations, adding descriptions for the three new land use designations, changing the maximum building intensity from 17 du/acre to 20 du/acre in one of the designations, and incorporate the minimum density requirements for opportunity sites in commercial and multi-family zones which are required as part of the implementation program 10.3.g. Finally, is the update to the land use designation map that is part of the General Plan Land Use Element. All of these are required in order to capture all proposed changes to the Housing Element. These are listed as Downtown Core 60, West End Commercial 60, and East End Commercial 60. Staff took those base land use designations and then added the 60 so they pare up with the base designation.
Staff took a similar approach to the zoning text amendments. Staff is proposing four new zoning districts starting off with the base zoning and then adding a corresponding zone with the name and dash 60. Those four are incorporated as part of Chapter 6-2; Article 5 which is the Design Review section, Chapter 6-5, the residential conversion and replacement section; Chapter 6-8, the MRA and MRO which are minor changes; and changes in Chapter 6-9 in the downtown commercial zones.
The Council will see in the packet a table prepared that summarizes all of those changes and presents them side by side. Again, the highlight is the proposed height of 60 feet and some changes to parking, maximum coverage, and FAR, as well as setbacks and step backs.
The final part is rezoning. In order for those parcels that were affected by the General Plan Land Use designations with the higher densities which created those zoning districts, Ms. Urzua presented a table that captures a summary of the impacts of the proposed zoning districts, and which ones were converted to the new zones. Staff is also including in the packet an updated zoning map for consideration.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 11 of 33 December 9, 2024 Lastly, while staff was preparing these amendments, they noticed one inconsistency in the General Plan designation and zoning. This is property located at 889 and 895 Moraga Road. Staff wanted to take advantage of this opportunity when looking at the Land Use Element to update those. Existing designations for those parcels under the existing Land Use Element is medium density residential which allows up a 6 du/acre, zoning of P1 which does not allow residential, and a downtown-specific designation of neighborhood 2. Neighborhood 2 refers to a mix of housing types. The zoning is inconsistent with the General Plan designation and the DSP. Staff is proposing amending the General Plan designation to multifamily residential, allowing a density of 35 du/acre and changing the rezoning of the parcel to multi-family residential office MRO. She then displayed 889 and 895 in terms of what they look like currently and under the DSP Neighborhood 2 which captures both parcels.
When staff presents again on December 16th, they will bring all documents finalized and properly but wanted to bring this to the Council’s attention. She then handed off the presentation to David Bergman and Monica Szydlik.
David Bergman said he is joined with his colleague, Monica Szydlik. He has been the project manager for 16 Housing Elements around the state, worked with Ms. Szydlik who is leading Lafayette’s assignment on a number of Housing Element implementation projects, most recently in Piedmont, Portola Valley, and currently in Saratoga. These are communities that have similar dynamics to Lafayette, and they are cognizant of the concerns that come with implementing Housing Elements and are experienced in understanding and interpreting HCD’s requirements as they evolve over time.
Monica Szydlik, Lisa Wise Consulting, stated there is a lot of materials in the packet pertaining to zoning amendments and General Plan amendments. She walked through the recommended changes and may repeat what Ms. Urzua has provided and provide clarity on information in the packet.
They are here to implement some Housing Element programs for key programs to ensure that the zoning accommodates the unit count in the City’s Housing Element to establish a minimum residential density on Housing Element sites, rezone a number of faith-based organization sites, and to increase the density for one particular low density multi-family zone. She then provided an overview of what Ms. Urzua stated regarding changes to comply with SB 330, multi-family projects that do not comply with all the applicable development and design standards, minor change in Chapter 6-5 relating to no net loss, minor modifications to the standards for multi-family residential district A zone and multi-family residential professional office district to ensure standards facilitate densities allowed, and amendments to Chapter 6-9 to recommend minor modifications and add the four zones that support 60 du/acre.
Ms. Szydlik referred to the table summarizing the changes to the zones and new zones, which she described, as follows:
• MRA and testing of standards and amendments such as changes to lot coverage, height, and reduction of the open space requirements;
• MRO zone and testing of standards and amendments such as reducing the deep third-story setback from 50 to 20 feet;
• RB and SRB zones and no recommended changes but identification of how these zones compare to the 60 du/acre versions of zones and a recommended change for a 10-foot setback for residential instead of articulating it such that a building must be set back if a neighbor is residential, and introducing the upper story, street-facing step backs at a 20-foot height and another 10 feet at 40 feet in height in response to community concerns; City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 12 of 33 December 9, 2024 • The existing C zone is okay as is and supports density of 35 du/acre. She then described the 60 du/acre in the C zones;
• For the existing C1, one minor change is to remove the 50-foot setback on the third story to 20 feet. For the 60 du/acre version of this zone, the density, height, and there are the same recommendation for side and rear setbacks, and upper story step backs facing a right-of-way • Changes recommended to the Land Use Element include increasing the allowed density of the low-density multi-family residential land use designation and adding three new land use designations that correspond to the four new zones;
• The zoning map includes the 60 du/acre zones, and the dark red outline show the change areas which are the 60 du/acre areas which are south of Hwy 24 and none of them meet Mt. Diablo Boulevard, and a few faith-based sites.
• They recommend creating a revised General Plan Land Use Map that gives the same format as the zoning map but uses some conventions, colors, hatches, and textures typical of a General Plan Land Use map.
Ms. Szydlik completed her presentation and turned the presentation back to Ms. Urzua. Ms. Urzua said they are available to answer any questions from the Council.
Councilmember Anduri referred to the amendment to the Land Use Element and asked if staff anticipates the City would have an immediate amendment and then the GPAC would continue with further amendments later in the year. Ms. Urzua confirmed and said the intention is to only make the Land Use Element changes that correspond to the Housing Element to ensure they align. The next General Plan Element to be updated is the entirety of the Land Use Element. Staff would capture any changes expressed by the GPAC.
Councilmember Anduri said in terms of objective development standards, one note states it is in subparagraph D of 6-5 and asked if this is correct. Ms. Urzua said the objective design standards are built into the new zoning districts, so all development standards in terms of height, setbacks, lot coverage, floor area are what they are calling the objective development standards which are all built in. They have nothing to do with the way the building looks and are truly objective. Staff will prepare a Phase 2 where staff and Lisa Wise Consulting will work to engage the community and develop objective design standards.
The objective development standards is what “sets the mold.” Mr. Bergman clarified that the development standards essentially create objective criteria for the building envelope, how a structure would sit, and what its mass would be. That will meet the requirements of establishing objective development criteria. The community may opt to further articulate that through a series of objective design standards. This is where they talk about issues like roofing, materials, fenestration, and those things that people want to consider. This gets the City to meet that initial requirement of having objective development criteria.
Councilmember Anduri thanked Mr. Bergman and said they do want to move onto that next stage, and he asked how long it would take to complete that next stage. If the Council adopts this and a developer comes in, they will not be subject to the second phase of design standards, so the City is exposed for a certain period of time.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 13 of 33 December 9, 2024 Ms. Szydlik said it depends on the scope of work they describe and how much community engagement the Council wants to do, outreach, and working through the draft standards. It typically would take them about four to six months to work through a set of design standards with the community and the decisionmaking bodies and Lisa Wise Consulting would be doing this in next steps.
Councilmember Anduri said one public comment received was a letter from Inclusive Lafayette. There is one paragraph he read, “Rather than revising setbacks and step backs to facilitate achieving maximum densities in the RB60 and C160 zones, the City is adding additional constraints to limit future development.
This is a clear violation of its Housing Element that we hope the City Council will direct staff to correct.” He asked for comment on this.
Ms. Szydlik said in looking at the paragraph above, it looks as though letter writers called out setbacks and the fact that the new zones require setbacks for residential development as opposed to requiring the same setback only if an adjacent development includes residential. She believes the letter writers were referring to that. Their contention is that this does not add an additional constraint. Instead, they are recommending removing constraints so that the allowed densities are achievable and facilitated under the revised development standards.
Mr. Bergman added that AB 1397 requires them to undertake the analysis that has been undertaken to demonstrate that the Housing Element sites are, in fact, physically viable. That is the point of the diagrams and the information they provided. It is also best practice to have consistent zoning regardless of what adjacencies are. So, in other words, it is not contingent on existing conditions and everybody who is at the table has equal development rights but also understands what the rules are. They are not limited by an existing condition or what a neighbor chooses to do. So, the recommendation there is actually one that facilitates housing production rather than constraining it. Therefore, he thinks the author is misunderstanding the recommendation in two regards—the change from contingent zoning to absolute zoning which actually is clarifying and facilitating housing applications. And, that this analysis meets the requirements of AB 1397 to demonstrate the viability of Housing Element sites.
Ms. Szydlik added also that the letter writers may also be referring to the 10-foot step back at 20 feet and the additional 10-foot step back at 40 feet. Their position is that those step backs respond to community’s concern about height and perceived height along rights-of-way and pared with the overall building height, those do not pose a constraint or limit the capacity of the sites.
Councilmember McCormick said when talking about the setbacks when they are against the 60’s and new zoning when adjacent to residential areas, but in looking at the map and where the 60’s are located which are just south of Hwy 24, kind of buried in the higher zoning, he asked if there is a scenario where that happened.
Ms. Szydlik said it is true that none of the new 60 du/acre zones abut like a lower density residential-only zone. However, they are all mixed use, so they could all potentially support residential uses.
Councilmember McCormick said then to follow up, he asked if this all means because they are potentially residential the 10-foot setback is in place.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 14 of 33 December 9, 2024 Mr. Bergman said the City wants to have this, so they do not have encroachment between residential applications. If there is currently not a mixed-use condition there today but may be into the future, this setback will allow for a buffering between two mixed use projects that have a residential component so in other words, so people are not living on top of each other. It anticipates future applications.
Ms. Szydlik said they wanted to make as few changes as possible to the existing zones. The zones right now that require a 10-foot setback if adjacent to residential also stipulate that it is adjacent to residential or any site that includes residential. So, it is not just a residential zone but anywhere there are units.
Councilmember McCormick said that makes sense, noting the slide just said residential zone. As a followup question, they had parking requirements and, again, given where these zones are and the proximity to BART, the Council can look at those and just nod because they are really not enforceable anyway because they are superseded by State law in that regard.
Ms. Szydlik agreed and said for the purposes of testing out these standards, they just made an assumption that it is possible that a developer might find that the project is marketable when the parking requirements are met. They do not need to within a one-half mile radius.
Mr. Bergman added that in clarifying the logic from an HCD position, what they wanted to do was protect the City against an argument where if parking was not included, then HCD would say, no, these are not viable sites even though the City may not use its zoning code to require off-street parking within the onehalf mile of the mass transit station.
Councilmember Candell asked Ms. Szydlik to go back where they spoke about parking within one-half mile of transit because they know this is the law and the language is included in so many sections now in each one of these zones. They do not have that in the code now but when an application comes in, they draw the map and circles and absolutely understand and let the developer know that this is within one-half mile of transit, and they know there is no parking minimums required. She asked if the City had to include that, or whether it was a good idea, or is HCD forcing them to put that in. Often times, they do not change their own law unless they change it because they want to nuance it. They have ADU laws, and they bring them in and have a chance to nuance them. But on this one, they did not nuance it all. This is exactly the same text as in the law. So, she was trying to understand why it needs to be added.
Mr. Bergman said there are a couple of issues. First of all, there are some parcels in the new zone and changes that are outside of the high-quality transit area, and the City does want to have consistency across the zone as written. It makes it easier to administer and again, makes it easier for applicants and property owners to understand their entitlements.
He said another thing to keep in mind is the way that the prohibition on enforcing off-street parking requirements at high-quality transit areas is written. It is not that you may not have parking requirements in zones within a half-mile. It is that you may not use your zoning code to enforce those standards. So, again, for consistency it is important for the City to have those off-street parking requirements to the extent the community wants to have off-street parking requirements consistent across the zone.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 15 of 33 December 9, 2024 The third point is again an HCD test. If this community were to move forward and to show the step backs, the massing diagrams that were presented here and say, see, we can fit 60 du/acre and the minimum at 80%, no problem. They just don’t park it. Then, they will get questions, so they think best practice is to show that parking requirement with an understanding that applicants may choose as discretionary on the applicant, to have an alternative or none in some cases, but market-driven, generally speaking, off-street parking is part of their project.
Councilmember Candell said she does not understand the arguments about the setbacks, and they were saying some of the City’s current zoning says 0 feet setbacks. She did not think the City had that but asked if they really have zones right now that have 0 setbacks.
Ms. Szydlik said if they look at the RB, there is no required front setback. The C zone has a 10-foot required front and exterior side setback, meaning if you are on a corner. The SRB has none or zero, and the C1 has a 10-foot front setback.
Councilmember Candell said she was surprised and thought the City had some setbacks on all of their zones. She asked to explain clearly on how the whole mixed-use versus residential played into some of the wordings on these. She asked to give examples, so if an applicant comes in and she asked how would staff help them to know which setback case they fall into. If it is residential, she asked how staff navigates that for developers and asked if there are examples.
Mr. Bergman said one could have a 100% residential project in a mixed-use zone, or one could have a ground floor non-residential. The charge that they took on was demonstrating that physically viable projects would fit under these zoning standards. An applicant could come forward with 100% residential project in a mixed-use zone or could come forward with a mixed-use project. The 16-foot ground floor is generally what is required for a credit tenants. For a modern developer, most kinds of uses with food and beverage, retail, and those kinds of things which will trigger financing on, those tenants will require that 16-foot setback. So, then the plan shows a podium with two, eight-foot parking decks behind it that fits in underneath and it is okay and fits under the recommended zoning standards. They meet the standard of AB 1397.
Conversely, an applicant could move forward with a 100% residential project, not require that 16-foot ground floor and it fits within the zoning envelope that is recommended.
Ms. Szydlik would add that these are all mixed-use zones so residential is allowed by right and nonresidential is allowed by right. An applicant could come in with no units and just all non-residential, provided it is not on one of the Housing Element sites that has a minimum residential density.
Councilmember Candell said right now, the City has objective design standards, and she is confused about why they cannot continue to enforce their objective design standards and then modify them as best as they see fit.
Ms. Urzua said she believes Councilmember Candell is referring to the checklist and points. She said staff will revisit that checklist after this effort and update it, as well. Councilmember Candell said this is still in place and she asked if the City can still enforce that. Ms. Ursua said yes, as long as it does not present as a constraint.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 16 of 33 December 9, 2024 Ms. Szydlik added that the checklist and standards document pre-dates the 60 du/acre zones. So, there is a desire on the part of the community and staff to update them, so they are really addressing all of the high-density zones or the Housing Element sites.
Councilmember Candell said therefore, when the Council adopts this, then she asked if the current standards would be thrown out for now because they predate the 60 du/acre zoning, or she asked if the City could still enforce them.
Ms. Urzua said they would be enforceable so long as they do not conflict with the new zoning districts being created.
Mayor Dawson said it sounds like the City has the spirit of the objective design standards as opposed to the enforceable ones, depending on the development and as long as it does not constraint it.
Councilmember Anduri asked if Lisa Wise Consulting can return at the next meeting with a more definitive response on that because he agrees with Councilmember Candell. He is not sure and is confused.
Councilmember McCormick said he agrees. The City has them now, and he asked if the City is exposed.
Councilmembers Anduri and Candell asked if they could return with a more complete answer, and Ms.
Urzua confirmed.
Councilmember Candell continued and said in a few of the sections on restricting land use options, there is a comment about “if the location is not suitable for residential use,” she asked what that really means.
She said it was in a couple of different sections where the phrase was coming up. It was in land use, some zoning areas, and it is a phrase she is not familiar with. She also asked if staff could also bring that back as well, and Ms. Urzua confirmed.
Councilmember Candell said many of the maps and the forms in the zoning section on Attachment 6 were unreadable and she loves the color coding done on the new maps. They were the black and white layout ones that had different areas. She asked if these would be updated or not because maybe they are just old maps.
Ms. Szydlik responded, stating there is an exhibit or figure in the C1 zone that is then repeated in the C1- 60 zone. She prefaced her response by saying this is intended to be a light touch. They are only recommending the changes that are needed to implement those four Housing Element policies. It is not a general zone cleanup. They are not looking for things that are unclear. They are just trying to do what is needed to implement. She thinks the C1 zone where they did not recommend any changes because the standards as is do support density. There is a figure that references two specific areas that looks like they are called overlay zones. They are marked out on that figure and not very clear. It turns out that they both lie in the C1 area now and one lies in the area that is proposed to be rezoned C1-60. For that reason, they kept in in the C1-60, but they just do not have anything to say about that part of the text of that zone and no reason to modify that.
Mr. Bergman said in simple terms, their charge was to only look at parts of the code that would implement the Housing Element programs. They found lots of opportunities for improvement in the code, and they would be happy to come back and work with staff and with the City on making the code modernized and more readable, but they probably want to save that for another day. But, that is a great opportunity to modernize and made the code more legible.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 17 of 33 December 9, 2024 Ms. Szydlik said after a quick search, Councilmember Candell mentioned there was language talking about in the BART area land that is not suitable for residential use. They would have the same response to that question. Mr. Bergman said that would require a comprehensive code update and is not directly related to the Housing Element implementation or the task they have been charged with. They agree it is a good idea to do a comprehensive code update, but that is not the task they have been given tonight.
Ms. Urzua said the charge here or the goal is to submit a product to HCD that they would satisfy their requirements in order to get certification, so it was narrowly tailored, surgical in their approach.
Councilmember Candell said they talked extensively about the DeSilva South parcel and the desire to pursue a development on that parcel. She asked if this is reflected in any of this.
Ms. Urzua noted that yes, the General Plan designation and the zoning map can be displayed where it is called out. But there have been no changes to the base document or appendices were removed, and she pointed to where it is.
Councilmember Candell said it is wording in the Housing Element, and she asked whether it needs to be in any of these documents. She thought that was the direction the Council wanted to go in.
Ms. Urzua said it is a parcel included as part of the rezoning.
Councilmember Candell said the Council had a lot of discussion and she thinks it is in the Housing Element where they talked about trying to get a development agreement with DeSilva or whoever was going to develop it on that parcel. She does not know if it needs to be reflected in any of these documents being reviewed today. Ms. Urzua said no, it does not.
Councilmember Candell asked if they are talking about the Addendum to the EIR.
Mayor Dawson said the Council is receiving this presentation and they will likely call for a public hearing so they can review it at that time. If she had questions this is fine, or they can also have that opportunity during the public hearing as well as the public to relay their questions.
Councilmember Candell said if they are including questions about the Addendum to the EIR that was presented in the documents, if a developer comes to DeSilva North or South, she asked if a project-specific EIR also be required.
Ms. Urzua said it will depend on the scope of the project and what they are proposing. The EIR they have in the record as a certified document is a Program EIR so typically what staff does is they look at the proposals, look at the scope of the proposal, the project description, and see if it fits within the analysis that has already occurred for the environmental impacts to that document of that project, so it will depend.
Councilmember Candell asked what the Council studied for those—just the zoning or a higher zoning in the EIR.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 18 of 33 December 9, 2024 Ms. Urzua said the Certified EIR where an Addendum has already been adopted that kept changes in the Safety Element, the Addendum that will be presented next week to the Council as part of a public hearing captures those changes that were made to the Housing Element draft document which included changes to the FBO, the two AFFH programs, and the direction regarding DeSilva. So, this is what the Addendum analyzes. This Addendum, together with the base document, entailed the entirety of the Housing Element environmental review.
Councilmember Candell asked and confirmed with the Mayor that she thinks these questions should wait until next week.
Councilmember Candell referred to Attachment 5, which was the summary of development standards and amendments was different from the one presented tonight in the packet. It was missing the FARs and had no height limit for the MRA areas. For this next meeting, she asked to include the table shown tonight rather than the one in the packet tonight. Ms. Urzua said she believes it is the same table, but staff will confirm.
Councilmember Anduri referred to process and said likely the Council will hold a meeting on December 16th. At that meeting, it is conceivable the Council could conduct a public hearing and adopt the revised Housing Element. He asked if they could adopt the Addendum to the EIR. Ms. Urzua said yes.
Councilmember Anduri said then they would introduce the ordinance or amendment of the General Plan and the zoning, and they would need another meeting to conclude that, and Ms. Urzua confirmed.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period.
JEREMY LEVINE said he appreciates the hard work of staff and the prior Council who made this zoning update possible. He helped write Inclusive Lafayette’s letter, so he wanted to clarify what it says. He thinks the letter is clear that they appreciate many of the changes proposed in the current draft, the improvements to the MRA and MRO zones, and the creation of the new higher density zone. He thinks the City could do more, but there are a lot of important first steps here. Inclusive Lafayette’s fundamental goal is to create beautiful homes but further affordability and economic development in downtown Lafayette. On the merits, they made a lot of recommendations to further that goal, and he hopes that the Council will look at their comments about design review, demolition restrictions, and other areas of this code.
He wants to talk about the setbacks in light of Councilmember Anduri’s question and the consultant’s response. Many of the most beautiful cities of the world have both commercial and residential buildings with no front or side setbacks such as Paris and Barcelona. These cities all allow buildings to be built up to the street and adjacent to each other. Lafayette’s community, which has been referenced a lot at this meeting, wants beautiful design and new development and he thinks they should follow the model set by the most beautiful places in the world to make that possible instead of promoting weird, awkward spaces and gaps between where commercial and residential is allowed.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 19 of 33 December 9, 2024 Lafayette’s Housing Element says pretty clearly that, “The goal is to best design zoning standards to remove unnecessary barriers to project feasibility and increase housing production. The City commits to revise heights, setbacks, and upper story setbacks to facilitate achieving maximum densities.” He saw the table that Mr. Fonterelli and his team made comparing the old and the new zones. So, the letter accurately describes that the RB and the SRB zones do not have any front setbacks, but the RB-60 and the SRB-60 zones do. There are no upper story setbacks in the original zones and the new higher density zones have them, so he does not understand how any of this is consistent with what the Housing Element says— revising setbacks and setbacks to facilitate achieving maximum density. He thinks the Council should be thinking deeply about how they create the most beautiful design and how their zoning can facilitate that, and they should make sure they are following the Housing Element, the General Plan update the community just spent four years doing, and he hopes the Council will provide some direction tonight.
ROBERT LAVOIE said he was wondering if the proposed 10-foot setback, which he appreciates and residents next to a 6-story project would appreciate as well, can be eliminated with density bonuses by the developer. He asked if the City has any commercial sites with minimum residential. He did not think they had that standard anywhere and he thought they discussed it, and nobody thought it was a good idea, so he asked to clarify that. He lastly asked if heard that the parcel 889 Moraga Road was about to be automatically upzoned to 35 du/acre from its current professional low use because it is in the middle of the St. Mary’s and Moraga Road intersection, which is the busiest intersection in town.
Ms. Urzua said the 10-foot setback can be eliminated through density bonus. Ms. Szydlik said should these proposed amendments be adopted, for the 40 or so sites that are on the Housing Element sites inventory, the minimum residential density would be applied, which is 88% of the maximum density so it is either 31 units on the 35 du/acre sites or 53 du/acre on the 60 sites. Lastly, regarding clarification on the 889 and 895 Moraga, Ms. Urzua said the current General Plan designation allows up to 6 stories, but in order for it to be consistent with the specific plan, it would go up to 35 du/acre.
BRIAN GRIGGS commended the City Manager for her 2024 report. He worked with multiple departments within the City staff and have found them all consistently great. He is proud that voters passed Measure H so they can keep staff intact and continue moving forward. He expressed his support for the rezonings and the Housing Element re-adoption, commends staff, GPAC, Planning Commission, and the Council who have spent dozens of hours. They have had the challenge of balancing the obligations forced upon the City by the State versus what they are trying to do to make sure development is sensible and fits in. He thinks the idea of going to objective design standards and spending some time on that is critical. Those that will continue to develop in town take pride in what they do but he does not think that means everyone would do that.
He and Jeff Stone will bring forth a project on Oak Hill Road where the old Blockbuster was that terraces up the hill probably about 30 feet in elevation. It creates a challenge when they are trying to calculate the height of the building from the lowest point of the elevation to the highest point of the building. They will be 54 feet at street level but if it is measured by virtue of the way the current ordinance is, they will be north of 75 or 80 feet, and they are still fine-tuning that. But it takes the right development in the right location with the right consideration by the City to have flexibility.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 20 of 33 December 9, 2024 He has had the opportunity to work with Jeremy and his colleagues at Inclusive Lafayette. He thinks their letter tonight and some of their comments should be taken to heart. He is very supportive of the fact that hopefully the Council will move this forward and, as appropriate, readdress some of their comments over time. He thinks many of the code issues as Lisa Wise colleagues pointed out are antiquated and could use a refresh, but Lafayette has done a good job at the balance that they must do, and he encouraged the Council to adopt this as soon as possible and, if needed, hold a special meeting so the City can get this behind it.
JEFF STONE, CEO, Diamond Construction, thanked the Council, staff, consultants, and the community on what has otherwise been a long and tedious task that everyone in the room understands is at risk from outside developers that would take advantage of this particular timeframe of being out of compliance with the 6th cycle. He also wants to support Jeremy Levine of Inclusive Lafayette. He thinks the comments and overall goals match what they need to be progressively looking at as a community to ensure their 7 th
cycle Housing Element update by encouraging development. They will have a bigger problem with the units they could not put on the BART parking lot. From his standpoint, although the Housing Element is not perfect, it adequately satisfies the task before the Council. Heights, setbacks, open space, and objective development standards have consistently been the issue at hand tonight.
When a developer is acquiring a site, they are looking at first market and trying to understand a project, if 100% residential, mixed-use or other, will be a rental project or a condominium project. He currently has about 1,000 units in the East Bay, a couple of projects in the south bay and he is designing many buildings currently. If he is designing a rental building, the net square footage on a rental unit is typically about 750 to 800 square feet and he is minimizing the overall parking requirements because the market cannot demand from him that they need as many parking stalls and they also typically do not demand as much condominium square footage. Buildings he is designing in the condo space in the Lamorinda area are typically about 1250 to 1400 square feet because that is what the market demands. Once he completes a project, he needs someone to either rent or to buy it.
When looking at the objective design standards, you are trying to be predictive in what the market will require and how he will apply those development standards to those requirements. The hard task in front of everyone in the Council’s position is they do not know where the macro-economics are going to be and you do not know whether or not the underwriting will work for a rental or condo structure. The point is, the City needs to give enough flexibility. He believes this report and through the objective development standards adequately gives them the flexibility because the 15% inclusionary housing ordinance does allow developers and encourages them to utilize SB 330 and State density bonus law in case that some of those development standards are untenable to that financial resolve for a particular project. Architecture is incredibly important to him, and he thanked the Council and staff for their hard work.
JIM CERVANTES, a former member of GPAC and speaking as a resident, said he was looking back at his notes and the GPAC’s first meeting on the Housing Element was December 15, 2020, and they thought it would all be done in about 2 years. They spent 18 months, and the PC spent a good deal of time on that, as well. The Council spent at least 2 years, and staff went through multiple cycles of Planning staff throughout this effort. They are within sight of the end of this very long and painful process and, having worked through many issues with HCD that have been difficult and as a resident, he asked to press on to the end. He asked to get the element certified so the Council can move onto other things in the community. He thanked the Council and PC, particular planning staff and consultants who worked on this.
They did a terrific job, and he thanked all residents who engaged in multiple perspectives to make this a remarkable experience. He looks forward to being done with the Housing Element.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 21 of 33 December 9, 2024 ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/McCormick) that the Council received a presentation, took public testimony, and continued to December 16, 2024 to conduct a public hearing for adoption of the Revised Housing Element and introduction of an ordinance rezoning and amendment the Municipal Code. Vote:
5-0 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, Candell, and McCormick; Noes: None).
12. CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Dawson asked and confirmed there were no requests for removal of any items and no public comment.
A. Minutes – November 25, 2024
Recommendation: Approve.
B. Ordinance 694 Tree Ordinance Update – City-initiated amendment to the Tree Protection Ordinance (Chapter 6-17 of the Lafayette Municipal Code) to address issues identified by the City Council and Planning Commission, City staff, tree permit applicants, stakeholders, and the public.
CEQA Determination: The proposed changes in the draft Tree Protection Ordinance implement the Safety Element, which was previously analyzed pursuant to the Addendum to the Housing Element Certified Environmental Impact Report (SCH #2021080038) and adopted on August 28, 2023.
Recommendation: Waive second reading of Ordinance 694 and adopt.
C. Ordinance 695 Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance Update: 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, including but not limited to removing owner occupancy requirements for ADUs; increasing height limitations; and removing maximum bedroom requirements for Class C ADUs, as well as City initiated updates to allow a bonus JADU if deed-restricted to lower income.
Recommendation: Waive second reading of Ordinance 695 and adopt.
D. Resolutions Authorizing the City Manager to Execute Agreement with California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) and Authorizing Examination of Confidential Sales or Transactions and Use Tax Records
Recommendation: 1) Adopt Resolution 2024-43 Authorizing the City Manager to Execute Agreements with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration for Implementation of a Local Transactions and Use Tax (Measure H). 2) Adopt Resolution 2024-44 Authorizing Examination of Sales or Transactions and Use Tax Records.
E. Maddy Act Local Commission/Committee Appointment List Recommendation: Receive and file.
F. 2025 City Council/Commission Meeting Schedule
Recommendation: Adopt the 2025 Meeting Schedule.
G. Quarterly Financial Report – 1st Quarter, Fiscal Year 24/25 City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 22 of 33 December 9, 2024 Recommendation: Receive and file.
H. Resolution 2024-45 2023/24 Development Impact Fee Annual Report for Compliance with AB 1600
Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2024-45.
I. Lift Hiring Freeze
Recommendation: Lift hiring freeze for four positions that had been previously frozen in June 2024 pending the outcome of a sales tax measure.
J. Resolution 2024-46 Adopting a Revised Fee Schedule for Rentable Facilities at the Lafayette Community Center, 500 St. Mary’s Road
Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2024-46.
K. 2024 Annual Report from the Lafayette Community Garden and Outdoor Learning Center Board
Recommendation: Receive and file
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Kwok) to adopt Consent Calendar Items A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, and K.
Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, Candell, and McCormick; Noes: None).
13. CITY COUNCIL REORGANIZATION
A. Joanne Robbins, City Clerk
Resolution 2024-42 Certifying the Election Results
Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2024-42.
City Clerk Joanne Robbins presented Resolution 2024-42 certifying the election results. She has a correction on the resolution, which she read, as follows: Section 4 of the resolution mentioned precincts and the way the canvass of votes came to the City. They did not include the precinct count this year, so she would like to reword Section 4 to read, “The number of votes cast in the City for each of the persons above for the respective offices for which the persons were candidates are listed in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.”
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Kwok) to adopt Resolution 2024-42 certifying the election results, as amended. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, Candell, and McCormick; Noes: None).
B. Council Reorganization
Remarks by Vice Mayor Kwok
Vice Mayor Kwok said today is his last day of his term on the City Council and he appreciates the opportunity to make some remarks and reflections on what he has learned on the City Council. He joined the City Council about 1,200 days ago and actually it seems like a long time, but it flew by a lot faster than he expected. He had an amazing experience, and he is very grateful for the opportunity to have served Lafayette and the wider region in this role.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 23 of 33 December 9, 2024 In sharing some things he has learned from these 1,200 days in office, first he discovered there are some hidden heroes in our midst that he wanted to shine a light on today. The first one is his wife, Violet, who is here in the room. It is one thing to take on this role. He spent about 20 hours a week on average over the last couple of years and it uses up a lot of his free time and it means the burden in his household shifts to somebody else in the household to do more cooking, more cleaning, more laundry, more grocery shopping, more errands, and he will probably get payback next year. He wants to acknowledge that our spouses really take on a burden during their service and there are family sacrifices during that time to their vacations, to their birthdays or anniversaries, and the City does not change the Council meeting, so he really also appreciates the sacrifice of our families. He wants to acknowledge Violet, but also Michael Dawson, Sharon, Coleen and Brian, the Candell’s, and everybody who have been the hidden heroes who are volunteering their time for Lafayette in a hidden way. A round of applause followed.
He said another set of hidden heroes he has discovered is the staff of the City of Lafayette. Over those 1,200 days, he has worked on dozens of projects with dozens of staff members across Planning, the Police Department, Engineering, Administration, and as a normal resident, you cannot appreciate that unless you are working down in the trenches shoulder to shoulder for years with these colleagues. He is amazed by the competence, the professionalism, and diplomacy, commitment and loyalty of City staff to residents and to Lafayette. It turns out that we conducted a survey this year that discovered that 93% of us are satisfied with the quality of life in our City of Lafayette, and we really owe it to the men and women on our City staff who are doing this day in and day out, and he thanked them. There are a lot of staffers who work very quietly behind the scenes. They are proud of that and wished they would make more noise, but they are making it a wonderful place, and he really could not have appreciated all of their work unless he had taken on this role.
In closing, he thanked his fellow Councilmembers. It has been a pleasure to collaborate with them all these years. There has been such a high level of professionalism, camaraderie and collaboration on difficult and technical topics that are difficult to handle. So, he looks forward to those meetings where he can count on having four other people with brains working on these problems. At the end of the day, he thinks they came to better solutions because of those discussions. He thanked Susan Candell, Gina Dawson, Carl Anduri and John McCormick for that camaraderie.
Finally, he thanked the public and the community members, many volunteers on commissions, texting, calling and meeting with him, and he met so many interesting people these years and it was a great opportunity to engage and hear what they are doing. He will still be in Lafayette and looks forward to finding new ways to contribute to the community as they go forward, and he thanked everybody.
Remarks by Mayor Dawson
Mayor Dawson said it has been her honor and privilege to serve as Mayor this past year. Many thanks go to her husband Michael for his support these but particularly this past Mayoral year which has been quite busy and very impactful. She shares Vice Mayor Kwok’s sentiments for all spouses. She thanked her fellow Councilmembers for their collaboration and professionalism and the City Manager for adeptly managing the City, and the work of its amazing staff. She is grateful and so proud of staff’s dedication to making the City the wonderful place that it is. She thanked the many committed volunteers that serve on City commissions and committees, and non-profits that are integral to the inclusiveness and vibrancy of the community. Much appreciation goes to their Chamber of Commerce, our long-term and valued economic and community vitality partners. The recent holiday event was a very joyous example of that.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 24 of 33 December 9, 2024 Together, all of us make a formidable team. They truly have a generous and considerate community and together they have accomplished a lot this past year. Beyond the basics of the work of the City to keep the community safe, keep infrastructure well maintained and planned, provide inclusive recreational programs and spaces, and in general, provide services that make this a well-enjoyed environment that it is in a fiscally sustainable manner. They have much work to be proud of and she will touch on a few highlights:
• We started the year by appointing Councilmember John McCormick to fill Councilmember Teresa Gerringer’s vacant seat. He was especially qualified to join us as they reviewed and adopted the Council’s three current priorities of short- and long-term fiscal sustainability, wildfire prevention, preparedness, and utility safety, and planning for downtown Mt. Diablo corridor enhancements. • Constantly vigilant of our budget stance, as diligently provided by the City’s Finance Director, the Council made the decision early in the year to place a sales tax measure on November’s election ballot for residents to decide how to address the anticipated budget shortfall. Staff put incredible work to inform the community of the impacts and options. A volunteer citizen group formed and went considerable lengths to support the tax measure, and the informed community voted with a 65% majority to pass the Measure H sales tax and maintain City services at their current level, which is a very high standard. This was historic—the first time the City passed a sales tax measure since incorporation. She congratulated the community, and all involved for this. • More work was done for wildfire preparedness. Our Police Department partnered with Con Fire to clear brush along major evacuation routes, held a joint Town Hall with Con Fire in May, and supported the Emergency Preparedness Commission and worked with residents to increase the number of Firewise neighborhoods to 25, with more in progress. • The Council also engaged the Office of State Insurance Commissioner Lara to respond to fire insurance concerns and will continue the follow-up.
• The Police Department continued its community safe-keeping and engagement work and furthered the impacts of the Slow Down Lafayette campaign, which, in collaboration with Traffic Engineering and their Communication Analyst, literally slowed down traffic speeds in hot spot areas, reducing safety and injury risks.
• This year’s Council and residents spent many hours on top of the thousands already invested on the Housing Element Update scheduled for public hearing on Monday. They look forward to certification in the near future and thank the community for coming out and sticking with them the past three years.
• In July, the City-wide ban on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers went officially into effect.
Engineering and Public Works completed safety improvements around schools, roundabout improvements, and planned 2024 street maintenance projects, even managing to improve the City’s pavement ratings—a great feat of planning and efficiencies. • The City received a $900,000 grant from Congressman Mark DeSaulnier for the West Reach Creeks project. Thanks go to the Creeks Committee for related efforts and update to the homeowners’ creek maintenance guide posted now on the City’s website this year. • They worked on tree protection ordinances to align tree protections with objectives of wildfire safety, including the Safety Element of the General Plan. They worked on ADU ordinances to align with objectives of allowing more streamlined inclusive housing opportunities for their adopted Housing Element. The City implemented new data and payment systems for efficiencies, and, for the 9th consecutive year, was awarded a certificate of excellence in finance reporting. • The City co-hosted the third annual Community Day with Lafayette Community Foundation and the Chamber of Commerce and enjoyed more participation than the last one.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 25 of 33 December 9, 2024 • The Council extended the authority for outdoor dining until January 2026. • The resident Reservoir Task Force continued work with EBMUD, and the City met with the Department of Dam Safety. EBMUD attended a recent meeting, and they will continue follow-up on that end.
• The City and community gained closure on PG&E’s tree removal project along gas transmission pipelines. Over 200 trees slated for removal seven years ago can now remain monitored in place, and since then, PG&E has made local pipeline safety improvements in collaboration with residents, the City, and the CPUC.
• Community Center Playground work was completed and opened to much delight. The first phase of the two parks plan concept design was completed and received a $50,000 check from the AllAges Recreation Downtown to go towards this collaborative project. • Great work continues with senior and youth commissions and there are so many other accomplishments this year that she cannot possibly list them all but know there is much to be proud of and to celebrate.
To end, she will circle back to where they began with it being an honor to read the Land Acknowledgement adopted by the City last year and read at every first Council meeting of the month this past calendar year.
It is in recognizing this history and its spirit of honor and respect for all that has been before them, and all they endeavor to do together as they move forward to honor and make better this place and community, and she thanked Councilmembers for their work to this end and for the privilege to serve as Mayor this year.
In closing, she thanked Vice Mayor Kwok for his service on Council. He is stepping down and chose not to seek re-election because of other understandable priorities, but the Council will miss him. It has been a great pleasure to serve alongside him this past year and over the past three years. He leaves an indelible example for Council with his fair, informed, eloquent, yet succinct consideration and expression of matters. The accomplishments that Mayors have read off for the past three years, he has had a hand in.
He is a true leader by example, fortitude and initiative. She appreciates his logic, fairness, and innovative ideas. She cannot say enough about how much she admires him. His work on environmental sustainability and climate change is inspiration to countless people across the country, let alone the City. She will miss working with him but is glad to know he is continuing this good work in his professional and volunteer endeavors, feel grateful for his service, and she presented a Proclamation to Vice Mayor Kwok. She thanked him for his service to the City of Lafayette, and a round of applause followed.
Vice Mayor Kwok said this year, Mayor Dawson has been a trailblazer because she is the first AsianAmerican Mayor of the City of Lafayette, and for that, he is particularly proud that in the 50+ years she had this opportunity to be so. Her father was born in the Philippines. He immigrated to the United States, was a doctor, and he raised his family here in the San Francisco Bay Area. He knows he is looking down from the heavens at her year here as Mayor, and he must be very proud. He is very proud as well and he presented a plaque and gavel which states, “In appreciation for Gina M. Dawson, Mayor of the City of Lafayette.” A round of applause followed, and Mayor Dawson presented Vice Mayor Kwok with a gift, as well.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 26 of 33 December 9, 2024 CANDACE ANDERSON, Contra Costa County Supervisor, introduced Jill Ray who has been with the County in the District 2 office for 28 years. She is now going to be her liaison to Lafayette. Laurie Buyers is retiring at the end of the year, and Jill also helps her in Moraga, Orinda, and with many other issues, including Measure X, criminal justice, homeless services, and emergency services. She thanked Vice Mayor Kwok and presented a proclamation honoring him for his service. It has been a pleasure serving with him and seeing all of the great initiatives he has brought forward to the people of Lafayette, his tireless service, and his family supporting him.
As outgoing Mayor, she also has a certificate for Gina Dawson thanking her for her tremendous service.
She and Mayor Dawson get to serve with each other on Recycle Smart. She is intelligent and did a great job carrying Recycle Smart as well, and she brings a fabulous perspective to everything she does. She then presented both the proclamation and certificate, and photos were then taken.
KAY LEE DeLINN, representing Congressman Mark DeSaulnier’s Office, thanked Vice Mayor Kwok as he retires from the City Council. She presented a Certificate on behalf of the Congressman and thanked him for everything he has done to make this community such a wonderful place to be, making the community more sustainable, and supporting a more inclusive environment here, and wished him well.
DON TATZIN, representing Senator Glazer, said earlier this year when Senator Glazer realized who would no longer be in office and looked around he had a fair amount of budget left in his proclamation category.
The word went out to suggest names for people to receive proclamations, and he has three tonight. He had the good fortune when he was retiring from the City Council of living fairly close to Vice Mayor Kwok and he already identified him as somebody who could fill his shoes, and someone would not remember him 30 days later. This has proven to be the case. He has done a wonderful job, and he really appreciates him. He also wished he could stay longer if Violet would agree to that and presented a proclamation to Vice Mayor Kwok.
Secondly, to the outgoing Mayor Dawson, he first met Gina Dawson along with her husband when they were discussing Lafayette trees, and they met a few times, and they would pepper him with questions, and he would fumble with answers. From there, Gina went onto run for City Council successfully, which was good news. He was not surprised when he came to a few meetings and saw her in her polite, gentile way eviscerating someone she was talking to because she knew their job far better than they could. She never got mad or angry, but made it known she knew more than they did. He then presented Mayor Dawson with a proclamation and thanked her for her service as Mayor. Lastly, this proclamation was particularly what the Senator wanted to give out to someone he has worked with closely and who he holds in high regard. He would ask City Manager Niroop Srivatsa come to the podium to receive a proclamation. He presented the proclamation, and a round of applause followed.
Mayor Dawson noted that Supervisor Candace Anderson is in Danville presiding over the opening of the South County Family Justice Center.
MARY ANN HOISINGTON said she is just a regular citizen and one of the reasons she loves Lafayette is the Council. The City is so lucky with the type of people that are willing to give their time and energy for all of us. She thanked the Council very much. This is a bittersweet night for Vice Mayor Kwok and was hoping to see him as Mayor next year as well as others, and she hopes they are not leaving Lafayette. She thanked him for everything he has done since he was here. Mayor Dawson has spent a lot of time on the Council, and she has been around town many places. This is one of the things that keeps the town close and makes it so loving. She thanked her on behalf of Lafayette citizens.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 27 of 33 December 9, 2024 Councilmember Anduri said Vice Mayor Kwok has just been such a great Councilmember. It has been a real pleasure working with him on the Environmental Task Force, EBMUD, and he admired the way he worked on that situation, all the thought he brought to Council meetings. Mayor Dawson came on the Council the same time and seeing her grow into the Mayor role and carry it out so wonderfully and comments about her being out in the community are true. Realizing all the family time constraints she has had is remarkable in how much she has given to the City and how graciously she has done it, and he thanked her.
Councilmember McCormick voiced his deep appreciation for putting faith in him as a rooky Councilmember. He has learned so much. As Vice Mayor Kwok said, everybody is on it and so smart, and he learned so much from each Councilmember. When Vice Mayor Kwok talks, it is so profound and amazing. He is always very impressed. Mayor Dawson’s leadership has been tremendous, appreciates being her co-representative on Recycle Smart and thanked her for a memorable first year. And he is looking forward to next year with Councilmember Candell.
Councilmember Candell said she will miss Vice Mayor Kwok especially for his work on the Environmental Task Force and everything related to energy and the work he has done and contributions pushing Lafayette forward with adaptations to climate change is really important. She will absolutely miss everything he has done and wished him luck and to not be a stranger. She hopes they can still reach out to him given his depth of knowledge, and she hopes they can. Vice Mayor Kwok wished Councilmember Candell good luck with her Mayorship year ahead.
Seating of newly elected Councilmembers Anduri, Cervantes, Dawson, and McCormick City Clerk Robbins administered the Oath of Office to newly elected Councilmembers Anduri, Cervantes, Dawson, and McCormick.
Vice Mayor Kwok opened a gift from Councilmembers, which is the world’s smallest electric leaf blower with the new leaf blower ban.
Comments by newly elected Councilmembers
Councilmember Cervantes shared that as he sits here and reflects, a lot of his grandfather who was a laborer who immigrated to this country with his wife never would have imagined his son would have become a pilot in the U.S. Air Force and his grandson would be elected to a leadership position in an American city. This would have been beyond anything he could have dreamt for his family. He also noted he did not get here by himself, and he owes thanks to many people, most notably to his wife Franchesca with their daughter. She was his campaign manager, text editor, daily reality checker, and thought provoker. It is an understatement to say that her wisdom and insight was invaluable during the campaign for the City Council seat. He thanked her very much for making all the difference in the world.
He also owes gratitude to many Lafayette residents; Meredith Meade who has served as his campaign treasurer, Carol Singer who offered to gather his signature petition form and came back in less than 24 hours with it all filled out, and to all those who provided insight and counsel throughout this process such as Suzie Pak, Richard Whitmore, Don Tatzin, Janet Thomas, Tracy Brogue and the many former Mayors, including Erling Horn and elected official she met with several places who gave him their vote of confidence with their endorsements. He greatly appreciates all that support.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 28 of 33 December 9, 2024 As he engaged with people over coffee and door-to-door canvassing, he talked to homeowners, renters, businesspeople, parents with kids in schools, Rotarians, members of the LGBTQ community, and they all share the goal of keeping Lafayette as a vibrant place with a strong sense of community. He hopes to deliver on the trust that the voters have shown him in this election, and he looks forward to engaging with their excellent City staff, with this talented City Council, and their experienced returning Mayor. He thanked everybody and looks forward to this next two years and serving the people of Lafayette.
Councilmember McCormick welcomed Councilmember Cervantes. He recalled when speaking to Brandt Andersen when he was thinking about applying, he said he had to serve seven years on the City Council before he wasn’t the most junior member, so he appreciates after one year, he is no longer the most junior member. He looks forward to serving with him and said going through an election is an amazing experience and the support is important, humbling, nerve-racking, but he is gratified and excited for the next four years and what they can accomplish together. We all love Lafayette and will make it the best they can be.
Councilmember Anduri said he also looks forward to serving with this Council. He thinks it will be a great year and challenging, and they will be working hard. He wants to thank his campaign team, some of whom are here, those in the community who helped, and for the public for voting again in record numbers. He thanked voters for overwhelmingly passing Measure H, as well, making their time a little less challenging over the next couple of years.
Mayor Dawson echoed comments for the community getting out the vote in a big way, particularly for Measure H and for fellow Councilmembers she is proud to serve with this coming year. She thanked her husband, Michael, for being her campaign manager and general supporter.
She ended as Mayor and made a motion to nominate Councilmember Susan Candell for Mayor and Councilmember Carl Anduri for Vice Mayor, and Councilmember Cervantes seconded the motion.
Mayor Dawson opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
Election of Mayor and Vice Mayor
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Dawson/Cervantes) to elect Councilmember Candell as Mayor and Councilmember Anduri as Vice Mayor. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Dawson, Kwok, Anduri, Candell, and McCormick; Noes: None).
Remarks by new Mayor and Vice Mayor
Mayor Susan Candell said she is so sorry she is sick and not there tonight. She missed a great evening and is sad. She truly thanked Mayor Dawson for her leadership this last year, especially with the passing of Measure H. Measure H, the half-cent sales tax, took a village to educate residents about what was at stake and, thanks to coordination with their amazing staff led by the dynamic team of City Manager Srivatsa and Administrative Services Director Tracy Robinson. These three ladies, working together, were the tour de force that Lafayette needed to rise to the moment to get this passed. Without these three ladies, the City would be facing many sad and hard meetings where they would be forced to make deep cuts to staff and services. She asked everybody to join her in thanking these three ladies and the entire Measure H Committee for truly loving Lafayette, and a round of applause followed.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 29 of 33 December 9, 2024 In looking forward to this upcoming year, she believes the Council can face it with optimism. They have a great City Council, and she is glad to welcome their newest member, Jim Cervantes. She has worked with him on the GPAC and believes he will be hard-working, and a professional Councilmember and she looks forward to working with him in the future.
The City’s budget is now balanced. They have a great new Police Chief. Their loyal staff is still with them, and they are stopping the hiring freeze so they can get new employees to help with the workload. Last year, they finished the Safety Around Schools projects, at least the quick fixes that everyone in Lafayette can really feel. There is no doubt that these improvements resulted in traffic calming, safer pedestrian and bike access to schools, and real tangible feedback to drivers. She thanked the Public Works and Engineering staff for their hard work over the last few years to accomplish this.
Hopefully, this upcoming year, they will begin work on a huge project made possible by Representative Mark DeSaulnier who secured a $3.1 million grant to help fund the Class 1 walkway on School Street from the trail in front of Stanley Middle School to Lafayette Elementary School. There is a temporary walkway there now, but this will make it permanent and beautiful along with making their kids even safer. They will continue to work towards an acceptable walkway solution with residents along Topper Lane.
For another point of optimism is the moving forward of reopening our beloved Park Theater. So many people in this community have come together to make this happen and the City of Lafayette has been right there with them, encouraging them, and supporting them. The first round of designs were presented to their DRC and approved unanimously. She thanked Park leaders and supporters for a great job.
Between this meeting and the next meeting, and hopefully not too many after that, they should be finally done with the City’s Housing Element. She thanked Mayor Dawson for getting them to the finish line. She is confident they will cross it very soon. This multi-year, very time-consuming and expensive task was not unique to Lafayette but extended to all 57 Counties and 482 cities across our fine state. Some estimate that this has cost cities and counties almost $3 billion to do and the State only reimbursed them about $1 billion back. She thinks this last $2 billion could have been spent on actually building affordable housing needed. Many know she is highly critical of Sacramento’s housing laws which have eliminated almost all of our City Council’s authority as to what gets built in the City.
She is also pretty critical of the Housing Element and RHNA process, as this has turned into a pretty crushing set of mandates that has pit the State against cities. The State can even now charge cities fines of $50,000 a month if they are out of compliance with their Housing Element. So, in the words of our own Senator Steve Glazer who said this a few years ago to a large group of local elected officials, “The State will continue to blame you, the cities, for the affordable housing crisis, even though it is not your fault because your cities are the weakest link.” She has looked up to Senator Glazer over the years. He has always been unafraid to speak truth to power. She applauds him for being so honest with City leaders and would love to return to a time when cities work with the State on this real situation and issue. She knows Lafayette is committed to this, but the current laws and mandates will never solve this real problem for housing affordability. So, in conclusion, she looks forward to working with all Councilmembers, residents, and staff to make Lafayette the very best they can be. It takes teamwork, dedication, and a good amount of sweat equity. She thanked her family and especially her husband, Brian, for supporting her through all of this.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 30 of 33 December 9, 2024 The last time she was Mayor; their plan was to go to every single restaurant in Lafayette over the year to learn about each one and taste all the great food being served here. COVID happened, so we had to abandon it. But now, Lafayette is back and as vibrant as ever and they will once again take on this adventure, and she thanked everyone.
Vice Mayor Anduri said all he will say is that he looks forward to being part of the team and thanked everybody.
Cake Break
Mayor Dawson called for a cake break for cake at 9:50 p.m. and, thereafter, Mayor Candell reconvened the regular meeting at 10:14 p.m.
14. OLD BUSINESS – None.
15. STAFF REPORTS – None.
16. PUBLIC HEARINGS – None.
17. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT – None.
18. COUNCIL/COMMISSION REPORTS
A. Councilmembers report on activities and consideration of matters a Councilmember wishes to initiate for placement on a future agenda.
Councilmember Dawson recognized it was a lovely holiday celebration at the Plaza the other day and she thanked the Chamber of Commerce and volunteers who made it a great day. It was sponsored by the City, the Dana Green Team, and Branagh Development.
Councilmember Cervantes said their former State Senator Steve Glazer held an event Friday at the Round Up and many were there. He has been a great public servant and has done remarkable work for the City of Orinda, for Lamorinda, for his district, and for California in many ways so he will be missed. Hopefully, we can rely on his wisdom going forward when we need him.
B. Mayor Elect
Allocation of Bonus Pay/Performance Rewards
Recommendation: Discuss and direct.
Mayor Candell said the Council was in a Closed Session prior to the meeting and Councilmember Cervantes was not part of that, but Vice Mayor Kwok was part of that discussion, and they came to some decisions that they will provide bonuses this year for staff. It will be $150,000 plus the day off of Monday, December 23rd, as this was an orphan day.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 31 of 33 December 9, 2024 The City was going to be open on Monday and not Tuesday through New Year’s Day. So, this amount of money going into the bonus pool is much less than they have provided over the last 6 years and they did that knowing Measure H just passed, but also with the consideration that Measure H continued the status quo. They have given between $200,000 and $250,000 bonus pool, and they chose to reduce it to $150,000 this year. The Council is so thankful to their staff, especially new members and lower-paid members and they wanted to reach out to them and let them know the Council supports them and this would be the proposal they would like to make.
She asked and confirmed there were no questions of Councilmembers.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Dawson/McCormick) to make available to the City Manager $150,000 for the bonus pool, as well as allow the staff holiday of December 23, 2024. Vote: 4-0-1 (Ayes: Candell, Anduri, Dawson, and McCormick; Noes: None; Abstain: Cervantes).
C. Councilmember Dawson and McCormick
Solid Waste Rates for Rate Year 11 – March 1, 2025 - February 28, 2026 Recommendation: Discuss and provide direction to Councilmembers Dawson and McCormick.
City Manager Srivatsa gave the staff report and said Councilmembers Dawson and McCormick are Board Members at Recycle Smart. The item is to establish the rate for next year, March 21, 2025, through February 28, 2026. Based upon the criteria the Council has traditionally adopted which is to make sure all expenses are covered, that there is enough reserve to mitigate any future rate shocks, and to deliver franchise fees and vehicle impact fees to the City, as well as to be comparable with our neighboring communities, the Board Members are recommending a 7% increase. For a typical 32-gallon container it is about $3.13 per month. This puts Lafayette below their neighbors of Moraga and Orinda. The recommendation is for the Council to provide direction to the Board Members who will take it back to the Board for action in January.
Councilmember Cervantes asked the City Attorney if these rates or fees covered under Prop 218. City Attorney Subramanian said this is a debatable question. She thinks they are taking the position that they are not, if she is not mistaken, but this is the Recycle Smart Board’s decision.
Councilmember Cervantes said he has heard from neighbors the idea of differential rates benefitting certain classes of residents, like senior citizens, low-income residents, families with children, and this leads to his next question. If the City decided to say if the conclusion was there was no Prop 218 issue and wanted to give a break to seniors which is about 20% of the population, he asked if that is a zero-sum game here and asked if fees would go up for everybody else.
Councilmember McCormick said the Board JPA which covers several cities makes the policy. There is a policy district-wide as to whether discounts are allowed. But it is a zero-sum game, so yes, they can discount some. They have looked at neighboring cities outside of the area and some do offer discounts, and some do not. Some are age-based, some are age and income, and there is a somewhat considerable administrative overhead for that and so at the moment, the Board’s current policy is that it is the same for everybody.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 32 of 33 December 9, 2024 Councilmember Dawson said they have put RFPs for new contracts that will commence in 2027 and out that stays with those policies.
Mayor Candell opened the public comment period.
ROB LAVOIE said he was looking at the CPI increase for a client of his for their budget and they were trying to figure out how to keep things affordable for people given inflation over the past few years. He was a little surprised the CPI in the Bay Area, including all components was only 2.4% October to October. Gas is down 14%, which is maybe covering up some increases in other things that his clients see in their grocery costs and others. But, overall, if gas is a big chunk of the garbage company’s cost, that seems like a 14% decrease in cost, and a 7% increase in rates is going the wrong way. We are always talking about how to make things more affordable for people but if they jack up rates at 7% which is double or triple the inflation rate, this is not helping.
In comparison to Moraga, it takes the garbage truck 10 to 15 minutes just to get to Moraga from the freeway, whereas Lafayette is right on the freeway in most cases. So, he thinks Lafayette should be less expensive than Moraga. He thinks 7% looks a little on the high side.
Councilmember Dawson said basically those cost increases also reflect contractual remedies they are making, as before, many costs per contract where not quite covered because they had a set price. When they make adjustments in the year, it allows them to cover some of those costs that they want to make good for their providers. So, it is not just an increase of the price index, but it takes into account the cost to employ and other costs that they were not enforcing in the previous contractual policy for last year.
That percentage increase is equitable to the percentage increase of the other cities as well. Every city has unique challenges that may or may not cost a little more and they must use different equipment in some of the hillsides and narrow streets that necessarily are not the same type of equipment used in other cities, so those costs are also reflected.
Councilmember McCormick said Lafayette is less expensive than Moraga and it is based upon the characteristics. Orinda pays almost $20 a can more than Lafayette and Moraga do just because the nature of their roads and how difficult it is to pick up the trash. So, they are more expensive than Walnut Creek and Danville and less expensive than Orinda just because they have a hybrid mis of flat services close to the freeway plus some hills. So, we are in line with the five other cities in the JPA area.
Councilmember Cervantes said there is a word called “rate shock” and he gathers that some of this is increases looking ahead. He asked for an explanation of this.
Councilmember Dawson said with the new contracts they are putting out for RFPs prices have definitely gone up and there are also State requirements and mandates which also increases costs for reporting as well as electric vehicle turnover. They have a requirement for the fleet to become electric at some point, so they want to make sure they can accommodate those costs in a reserve and smooth that over the rate years.
Mayor Candell said for the anticipated rate shock in March 2027, when the current franchise agreements expire, she asked if this is a normal timeline for the RFPs. Councilmember Dawson said yes, for that particular contract.
City Council and Senior Services Commission Minutes Page 33 of 33 December 9, 2024 There was Council consensus to relay to the Board support for the solid waste rate for Year 11 – March 1, 2025 – February 28, 2026, of 7%.
19. ADJOURNMENT – 10:36 p.m. in honor of Councilmember Dawson and with thanks to Councilmember Kwok.
APPROVED:
__________________________________
Susan Candell, Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________
Joanne Robbins, City Clerk