CITY COUNCIL CLOSED
SESSION
AGENDA
6:00 PM - Tuesday, June 25, 2024
In Person
Please Note: This meeting will be held in-person only.
PARTICIPATION: Members of the public may participate in person by being present at the Los Altos Council Chamber at Los Altos City Hall located at 1 N. San Antonio Rd, Los Altos, CA during the meeting.
RULES FOR CONDUCT: Pursuant to Los Altos Municipal Code, Section 2.05.010 "Interruptions and rules for conduct": Understanding that the purpose of the city council meetings is to conduct the people's business for the benefit of all the people, in the event that any meeting of the city council is willfully interrupted by a person or group of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of the meeting impossible, the mayor, mayor pro tem, or any other member of the city council acting as the chair may order the removal of the person or persons responsible for the disruption and bar them from further attendance at the council meeting, or otherwise proceed pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.0 or any applicable penal statute or city ordinance.
TO SUBMIT WRITTEN COMMENTS: Prior to the meeting, comments on matters listed on the agenda may be emailed to [email protected]. Emails sent to this email address are sent to/received immediately by the City Council. Emails sent directly to the City Council as a whole or individually, and not sent to [email protected] will not be included as a public comment in the Council packet.
CALL MEETING TO ORDER
CONFIRM QUORUM
PUBLIC COMMENT ON CLOSED SESSION ITEMS
The Mayor will announce the time speakers will be granted before comments begin. Please be advised that by law, the City Council is unable to discuss or take action on issues presented during the Public Comment period.
CLOSED SESSION(S)
1. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - ANTICIPATED LITIGATION - Significant Exposure to Litigation Pursuant to Paragraph (2) of Subdivision (d) and Paragraph (3) of Subdivision (e) of Government Code Section 54956.9 based upon receipt of a written communication from Shenkman and Hughes dated April 18, 2024. One (1) Case
2. 06-25-24 Written Public Comments
ADJOURN
1 6/25/2024 CITY COUNCIL CLOSED SESSION AGENDA Page 2 of 2
SPECIAL NOTICES TO THE PUBLIC
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Altos will make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting. If you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk 72 hours prior to the meeting at (650) 947-2610. 2 1
Melissa Thurman
From: Nancy Martin <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2024 2:33 PM
To: Public Comment
Subject: District voting
Dear Council members,
We are in favor of five voting districts if this change does indeed need to happen.
We would also like to keep the rotating Mayor program going and have always thought it was a wonderful idea.
Best,
Brad and Nancy Martin
Los Altos
.
3 Agenda Item 2.
1 Melissa Thurman
From: Roberta Phillips <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, June 14, 2024 4:07 PM
To: Public Comment; City Council; Melissa Thurman
Subject: Public Comment/ Districting
Attachments: DISTRICTING PUBLUC COMMENT.docx
Hi
Please include the attached letter as part of the Districing process.
Sincerely
Roberta Phillips
Resident tof Los Altos
4 Agenda Item 2.
DISTRICTING PUBLIC COMMENT / COMMUNITY OF INTEREST
To Whom it May Concern
I understand that Los Altos is planning on moving to District Elections and the City is asking for community input and that it is part of the legal process. I request that North San Antonio Rd and all the cross streets become a district. We would like to be a Community of Interest. As Los Altos is planning the Nine Million Dollar San Antonio Rd Project which included vertical bike lane barriers, reconfiguration of other lanes, changes to the medians, slowing traffic speeds, overhead lighting, and address emergency evacuation routes, the residents who live in the immediate area will have their lives effected in a great way. We need to be represented. There are major safety concerns for all who live in the area so that they can pull in and out of their driveways, receive fire and emergency services (such as fire and ambulance services), have access to receive their mail, have garbage collection considered, be able to receive deliveries and gardening services and a lot more. We do not want our district to be cut in half and be divided by San Antonio Rd. North San Antonio Rd is a residential neighborhood, different than South San Antonio Rd. The San Antonio Rd project will bring more traffic, pedestrians and cyclists to the area. We need to consider the safety of people using all modes of transportation including card. Bringing more traffic, cyclists and pedestrians is desirable for businesses in downtown Los Altos off and adjacent to South San Antonio Rd, but not for the residents of North San Antonio Rd. We fear that vertical barriers (such as bollards and pylons) between bike lanes and traffic lanes will prevent drivers from pulling over to the right to allow emergency vehicles to pass. It will cause congestion which is less safe for residents of the area. I was told that drivers could drive over a pylon, however it is unlikely that they would feel safe doing that without damaging their car or suffering physical harm. Reducing speeds on North San Antonio Rd would delay response time for fire equipment and ambulances going to the hospitals. I have spoken to many cyclists who do not want vertical structures at the bike lanes as they feel boxed in and unsafe. When Foothill Expressway and South San Antonio Rd added bike lanes with green paint, the project did no include bollards or pylons as it was rejected by residents, cyclists and Cycle Clubs as unsafe. We do not want more traffic directed to North San Antonio Rd. or added to the Safe Routs to Schools map.
I urge you to make North San Antonio Rd and the cross streets become a district for voting. That is the point of converting to district voting and the smaller voting districts will conform more closely with the California Voting rights Act.
Sincerely
Roberta Phillips
Resident of Los Altos California
5 Agenda Item 2.
1 Melissa Thurman
From: Ken Girdley <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, June 15, 2024 8:07 AM
To: Public Comment
Subject: Election Districts
Dear Mayor & Council Members,
Rather than immediately cave to the threat of a lawsuit, I would rather see our council try to band together with other small towns to get our state lawmakers to make an exception for towns/cities under a population of say 50K. That would allow Los Altos to continue electing at-large council members. The law doesn't go into effect until 2026 so that gives small communities time to get an exception to the current law. If that fails then districts could be draw up for the 2026 election.
BTW, does the law prevent a small city like Los Altos from creating just one district? If it doesn't prevent a single district that would be the simplest solution.
Ken Girdley
Los Altos Resident
6 Agenda Item 2.
1 Melissa Thurman
From: Evelyn Merritt <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 24, 2024 10:32 AM
To: Public Comment
Cc: Christopher Roat
Subject: In favor of Ranked Choice Voting
To all,
I also request that you consider placing a short, narrowly defined charter on the November ballot. This charter would accept all general laws except for granting the Los Altos City Council the authority to implement Proportional Ranked Choice Voting (PRCV).
If we live in fear of a litigious society over common sense and reasonable expenses, this is intimidation and exploitation, not democracy.
Thank you,
Evelyn Merritt
1062 Yorkshire Dr, Los Altos, CA 94024
7 Agenda Item 2.
1 Melissa Thurman
From: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2024 7:40 AM
To: Public Comment
Subject: Comment on splitting into districts
I am a long-Ɵme Los Altos resident, and I am opposed to spliƫng the city into districts to elect City Council members. I believe that will have many unintended consequences and will not solve the problem.
Instead I support moving to proporƟonal ranked choice voƟng (PRCV). To do this, I support placing a short, narrowly defined charter on the November ballot. This charter would accept all general laws except for granƟng the Los Altos City Council the authority to implement PRCV.
Since the deadline for geƫng this on the November ballot is August 9th, and according to the current schedule, district maps won't be available unƟl late August, voƟng to put a two-arƟcle charter on the November ballot can be viewed as an insurance policy.
Thank you for your consideraƟon.
--Sarah Macaluso
8 Agenda Item 2.