CITY OF LOS ALTOS
CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
7:00 p.m.
1 N. San Antonio Rd. ~ Los Altos, CA
Sally Meadows, Mayor
Larry Lang, Vice Mayor
Pete Dailey, Councilmember
Jonathan D. Weinberg, Councilmember
CALL MEETING TO ORDER – Sally Meadows, Mayor, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
ESTABLISH QUORUM – Jonathan D. Weinberg, Councilmember, attended the meeting remotely due to the “Just Cause” provision of AB2449. All other Councilmembers were present.
During the Special Meeting of September 22, 2026 at 5:30 p.m., a Motion by Meadows and Second by Lang to permit Councilmember Weinberg to attend remotely under the “Just Cause” provision of AB2449, due to attending a conference sponsored by the city. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Larry Lang, Vice Mayor, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
REPORT ON CLOSED SESSION
There was no Closed Session meeting.
CHANGES TO THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA
There were no changes to the order of the agenda.
SPECIAL ITEM
Receive a presentation from the Los Altos Hills County Fire District Aida Fairman, Operations and Administrative Manager, Los Altos Hills County Fire District, presented the report.
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA
The following members of the public spoke during Public Comment:
• Katherine Carpenter and June • Alice Mansell
• Edward Keller • Rajiv Bhateja
• Laura Fay • Jeanine Valadez
• Peter Fay • Nyssa Kansal
• Susan Hinton
CONSENT CALENDAR
There were no speakers on the Consent Calendar.
City of Los Altos
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
September 22, 2026
Jonathan D. Weinberg, Councilmember, requested to pull Item 2 from the Consent Calendar.
Sally Meadows, Mayor, moved the item to be considered as the first Discussion Item of the agenda.
Motion by Lang and Second by Dailey to approve the Consent Calendar, excluding Item 2.
Motion carried unanimously by electronic vote.
1. Approval of Meeting Minutes – Draft Special and Regular Meeting of September 8, 2026
2. This item was moved to Discussion Items
3. Authorize Appointment - Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board Member Authorize Councilmember Jonathan D. Weinberg to serve an additional two years on the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board (Group 2), representing the north counties
DISCUSSION ITEMS
4. Adoption of Interim Urgency Ordinance - Detention or Custodial Facilities and Custodial Processing Facilities
Adopt an Interim Urgency Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Los Altos, to be read in title only further reading waived, establishing a temporary moratorium on the filing, acceptance, processing, or approval of applications for, and the establishment or operation of, detention or custodial detention facilities and custodial processing facilities pending study of appropriate zoning and land use regulations; and find the ordinance exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3)
Stephanie Williams, Development Services Director, presented the item.
The following members of the public spoke regarding the item:
• Jeanine Valadez
• Pierre Bedard
Motion by Meadows and Second by Lang to adopt an Interim Urgency Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Los Altos, to be read in title only further reading waived, establishing a temporary moratorium on the filing, acceptance, processing, or approval of applications for, and the establishment or operation of, detention or custodial detention facilities and custodial processing facilities pending study of appropriate zoning and land use regulations; and find the ordinance exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3). Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.
2. Adoption of Resolution - Addendum No. 14 to the Regional Water Quality Control Plant Basic Agreement
City of Los Altos
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
September 22, 2026
Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute Addendum No.14 to the Regional Water Quality Control Plant Basic Agreement between the City of Palo Alto, the City of Mountain View, and the City of Los Altos
This item was moved from the Consent Calendar.
Karin North, Assistant Public Works Director, City of Palo Alto, presented a report.
There were no public speakers regarding the item.
Motion by Weinberg and Second by Meadows to authorize the City Manager to execute Addendum No. 14 to the Regional Water Quality Control Plant basic agreement between the City of Palo Alto, the City of Mountain View, and the City of Los Altos, for the acquisition, construction, and maintenance of the joint sewer system, and find the project categorically exempt from the California Quality Environmental Act (CEQA). Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.
The City Council took a recess at 8:34 p.m.
The City Council reconvened at 8:44 p.m.
5. Discussion Item - Potential Police Station Redevelopment Receive a presentation on potential redevelopment of the Police Station and provide direction on the preferred option
Jon Maginot, Assistant City Manager, presented the item.
The following members of the public spoke regarding the item:
• Joe Beninanto
• Jeanine Valadez
Discussion item only. No motion taken.
6. Commission Appointments - Appoint Applicants to City Commissions Appoint members to the following commissions:
• Complete Streets Commission
• Environmental Commission
• Planning Commission
Taylor Brown, Deputy City Clerk, distributed ballots to the City Council to vote for members to the commissions.
There were no speakers regarding the item.
City of Los Altos
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
September 22, 2026
The City Council made the following appointments:
Complete Streets Commission:
• Wesley Helmholz – Four-year term expiring in September 2030 • Clara Roa – Four-year term expiring in September 2030 Environmental Commission:
• Anuj Dron - Four-year term expiring in September 2030 • Belen de Schutter - Four-year term expiring in September 2030 • Nita Sharma - Four-year term expiring in September 2030 Planning Commission:
• Joe Beninato - Four-year term expiring in September 2030 • Daphne Ross - Four-year term expiring in September 2030
7. Agreement Approval - Amendment No. 1 to Legal Services Agreement Approve Amendment No. 1 to the legal services agreement between the City of Los Altos and Berliner Cohen, LLP Attorneys with an updated flat-rate monthly retainer cost of $21,500 for up to 70 hours of legal services and an hourly rate of $385, both subject to annual CPI increases
Sally Meadows, Mayor, opened the item.
There were no speakers regarding the item.
Motion by Meadows and Second by Weinberg to approve Amendment No. 1 to the legal services agreement between the City of Los Altos and Berliner Cohen, LLP Attorneys with an updated flat-rate monthly retainer cost of $21,500 for up to 70 hours of legal services and an hourly rate of $385, both subject to annual CPI increases. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.
COUNCIL/STAFF REPORTS AND DIRECTIONS ON FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS • Sally Meadows, Mayor, asked if any Councilmembers wanted to request to bring a future agenda item forward to discuss JVAC. No requests were made.
ADJOURNMENT – The regular meeting adjourned at 9:34 p.m.
The meeting minutes were prepared by Melissa Thurman, City Clerk, for approval at the regular meeting on October 13, 2026.
_________________________________ __________________________________ Sally Meadows Melissa Thurman, MMC
Mayor City Clerk
Melissa Thurman (Oct 14, 2026 15:20:45 PDT)
City of Los Altos
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
September 22, 2026
The September 22, 2026, City Council meeting recording may be viewed via the following external website: https://www.youtube.com/@CityofLosAltosCA The City of Los Altos does not own or operate YouTube. The video referenced in these minutes was live at the time the minutes were published.