CITY OF LOS ALTOS
CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2023
7:00 p.m.
1 N. San Antonio Rd.~ Los Altos, CA
Sally Meadows, Mayor
Jonathan Weinberg, Vice Mayor
Pete Dailey, Councilmember
Neysa Fligor, Councilmember
Lynette lee Eng, Councilmember
CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Mayor Meadows called the meeting to order at 7: 19 p.m.
ESTABLISH QUORUM:
All Councilmembers were present and in person during the meeting.
PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG:
Mayor Meadows led the Pledge of Allegiance.
REPORT ON CLOSED SESSION:
There were no Closed Session meetings held and no reportable actions.
CHANGES TO THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA:
There were no changes to the order of the agenda.
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA:
There were no speakers during public comment.
SPECIAL ITEMS:
a. Recognize May as Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month Mayor Meadows presented a proclamation recognizing May as Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
b. Recognize May as Affordable Housing Month
Mayor Meadows presented a proclamation recognizing May as Affordable Housing Month to Cory Wolbach, Community Engagement Senior Associate with Silicon Valley at Home.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilmember Lee Eng pulled Item 6 "Appropriate funding from the General Fund for environmental review for Halsey House; authorize the City Manager to execute agreement with consultant; find that the Council's action in making the appropriation is exempt from review under CEQA per CEQA Guidelines Section 15262" for further discussion. Mayor Meadows moved Item 6 of the Consent Calendar to the Discussion Item (Item 8) section of the agenda.
Motion by Weinberg and Seconded by Dailey to approve Items 1 - 5 of the Consent Calendar.
Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.
1. Approve Draft Meeting Minutes for the Special and Regular City Council Meetings of April 25, 2023
City of Los Altos
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 9, 2023
2. Authorize the City Manager to Execute the Subdivision Improvement Agreement and Move to Approve the Final Map for Tract Map #10576, 140 Lyell St (V. Chen)
3. Adopting a Resolution authorizing the increase of Solid Waste Collection Rates by 5.96% effective July 1, 2023; consider California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") exemption finding pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15273(a) (A. Fairman)
4. Award the construction contract for the Base Bid for the City Hall Permit Counter to SAE Consulting Engineering as the lowest responsive bidder submitting a bid in an amount not-to-exceed $178,000 and approve the City Manager the authority up to 10% construction contingency, if needed, in the amount not-to-exceed $17,800 (N. Zornes)
5. Adopt Zoning Ordinance and Text Amendments adding bicycle parking regulations to the Los Altos Municipal Code. The proposed amendments are exempt from environmental review pursuant to Section 1506l(b)(3) (Commonsense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines since there would be no possibility of a significant effect on the environment. (N. Zornes)
DISCUSSION ITEMS
6. Provide Staff with direction on desired amendments to the Los Altos Municipal Code with regards to Gas Powered Leaf Blower Enforcement (N. Zornes) Nick Zornes, Development Services Director, presented the report.
The following members of the public spoke regarding the item:
• Rita Cartalano • Jim Davidson
• Elaine Haight • Maureen Griffin
• Thomas Chapman • Roberta Phillips
• Stephen Cramer • Don Gardner
• Linda Ziff • Myra Orta
• Tami Mulcahy • Joe Beninato
• Garry Hedden • Liz
The City Council provided the following direction:
• Assign liability to the property owner.
• Do not modify the Municipal Code to authorize immediate issuance of citation, and stick to the existing citation schedule.
• Create a standalone chapter in the Municipal Code, including AB 1346 language. • Educate the property owner, as well as the gardeners of the ordinance, if possible.
Discussion item only. No motion taken.
The City Council took a recess at 9: 16 p.m.
The City Council reconvened at 9:29 p.m.
7. Approve a one-year pilot program for the purchase and installation of 15 Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras (A. A veriett)
City of Los Altos
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 9, 2023
Vice Mayor Weinberg recused himself from discussing or voting on this item due to a potential conflict of interest.
Gabriel Engeland, City Manager and Angela A veriett, Police Chief, presented the report.
Jeff Rosen, Santa Clara District Attorney, provided comments regarding the item.
The following members of the public spoke regarding the item:
• Nadim Maluf • Stacy
• Renee Rashid • Toni Moos
• Jeanine Valadez • Brian Jones
• Kenan Moos • Roberta Phillips
• Curtis Cole • Maureen Griffin
• Tami Mulcahy
Motion by Meadows and Seconded by Lee Eng to approve a one-year pilot program for the purchase and installation of 15 Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras, contingent upon updating the policy, and a proposal to have Councilmember Fligor to work with the Police Chief on creating edits to the policy. Motion carried 4-0-1 by roll call vote with Vice Mayor Weinberg recused.
8. Appropriate funding from the General Fund for environmental review for Halsey House; authorize the City Manager to execute agreement with consultant; find that the Council's action in making the appropriation is exempt from review under CEQA per CEQA Guidelines Section 15262 (A. Fairman)
Councilmember Lee Eng explained why she pulled the item for discussion.
There were no public speakers for this item.
Motion by Weinberg and Seconded by Fligor to appropriate funding from the General Fund for environmental review for Halsey House; authorize the City Manager to execute agreement with consultant; find that the Council's action in making the appropriation is exempt from review under CEQA per CEQA Guidelines Section 15262. Motion carried 4-1 by roll call vote with Councilmember Lee Eng opposed.
9. Discuss and Consider Taking Positions on Various Senate and Assembly Bills and a Potential Local Ballot Measure
Councilmember Fligor presented the item and explained that due to the late hour when the item was heard, a position on AB838 was needed and the other bills listed in the report could be heard at a future meeting.
Motion by Weinberg and Seconded by Meadows to authorize Mayor Sally Meadows to supply and sign a letter, as amended, in support of AB838. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.
City of Los Altos
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 9, 2023
Motion by Weinberg and Seconded by Lee Eng to continue the remaining Senate and Assembly Bills to a future Council meeting date, date uncertain. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS ONLY
10. Tentative Council Calendar and Housing Element Update Calendar
COUNCIL/STAFF REPORTS AND DIRECTIONS ON FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS • Vice Mayor Weinberg-Request for two future Council agenda items:
o Flag Raising: LGBTQ flag during the first week in June and a Juneteenth flag during the third week in June (Councilmember Dailey second) o VT A Audit: Discussion for potential city comments on an upcoming audit of VT A. (Councilmember Dailey second)
• Councilmember Lee Eng-Request for two future Council agenda items:
o Council Priorities Discussion (No second)
o Neighborhood Watch Discussion (No second)
ADJOURNMENT-The meeting adjourned at 12:18 a.m.
The meeting minutes were prepared by Melissa Thurman, City Clerk, for approval at the regular meeting of May 23, 2023.
Sally Mea'f ws
Mayor City Clerk
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