Agenda — Menlo Park City Council, November 1, 2022 (part 1 of 3)

City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov City Council

REGULAR MEETING AGENDA
Date: 11/1/2022
Time: 6:00 p.m.

Locations: Zoom.us/join – ID# 831 3316 9409 and
City Council Chambers
701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025
NOVEL CORONAVIRUS, COVID-19, EMERGENCY ADVISORY NOTICE
Consistent with Government Code section 54953(e), and in light of the declared state of emergency, and maximize public safety while still maintaining transparency and public access, members of the public can listen to the meeting and participate using the following methods.

How to participate in the meeting
• Access the live meeting, in-person, at the City Council Chambers • Submit a written comment online up to 1-hour before the meeting start time:
[email protected]
Please include the agenda item number you are commenting on. • Access the meeting real-time online at:

Zoom.us/join – Meeting ID 831 3316 9409
• Access the meeting real-time via telephone at:
(669) 900-6833
Meeting ID 831 3316 9409
Press *9 to raise hand to speak
• Watch meeting:
• Cable television subscriber in Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Atherton, and Palo Alto:

Channel 26
• City Council Chambers
Note: City Council closed sessions are not broadcast online or on television and public participation is limited to the beginning of closed session.

Subject to Change: Given the current public health emergency and the rapidly evolving federal, state, county and local orders, the format of this meeting may be altered or the meeting may be canceled. You may check on the status of the meeting by visiting the city website menlopark.gov. The instructions for logging on to the webinar and/or the access code is subject to change. If you have difficulty accessing the webinar, please check the latest online edition of the posted agenda for updated information (menlopark.gov/agendas).

According to City Council policy, all meetings of the City Council are to end by midnight unless there is a super majority vote taken by 11 p.m. to extend the meeting and identify the items to be considered after 11 p.m.

City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov City Council Regular Meeting Agenda
November 1, 2022

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Regular Session
A. Call To Order
B. Roll Call
C. Agenda Review
D. Public Comment
Under “Public Comment,” the public may address the City Council on any subject not listed on the agenda. Each speaker may address the City Council once under public comment for a limit of three minutes. Please clearly state your name and address or political jurisdiction in which you live. The City Council cannot act on items not listed on the agenda and, therefore, the City Council cannot respond to non-agenda issues brought up under public comment other than to provide general information.

E. Presentations and Proclamations
E1. Proclamation: Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day (Attachment) F. Advisory Body Vacancies and Appointments
F1. Consider applicants and make appointments to fill vacancies on various advisory bodies (Staff Report #22-211-CC)
G. Consent Calendar
G1. Accept the City Council meeting minutes for October 11 and 18, 2022 (Attachment) G2. Adopt a resolution to continue conducting the City’s Council and advisory body meetings remotely due to health and safety concerns for the public and to authorize the use of hybrid meetings (Staff Report #22-209-CC)
G3. Reject all bids for the Chrysler Stormwater Pump Station Improvement project and direct staff to rebid the project at a future date (Staff Report #22-208-CC) G4. Authorize the Mayor to sign the City’s response to the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury Report:
“A Delicate Balance Between Knowledge and Power: Government Transparency and the Public’s Right to Know.” (Staff Report #22-212-CC)
H. Regular Business
H1. Waive the first reading and introduce an ordinance adopting the 2022 Building Standards Code to include amending Title 12 [Buildings and Construction] of the Menlo Park Municipal Code to adopt local amendments to the California Building Standards Code, and discussion regarding proposed revisions to Fire Code by Menlo Park Fire Protection District (Staff Report #22-210-CC) H2. Adopt a resolution establishing City Council Policy CC-22-XXX Commemorative Park Amenities Policy (Staff Report #22-213-CC)
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov City Council Regular Meeting Agenda
November 1, 2022

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I. Informational Items
I1. City Council agenda topics: November 15 – December 6, 2022 (Staff Report #22-214-CC) I2. Transmittal of city attorney billing (Staff Report #22-215-CC) J. City Manager's Report
K. City Councilmember Reports
L. Adjournment
At every regular meeting of the City Council, in addition to the public comment period where the public shall have the right to address the City Council on any matters of public interest not listed on the agenda, members of the public have the right to directly address the Council on any item listed on the agenda at a time designated by the chair, either before or during the City Council’s consideration of the item.

At every special meeting of the City Council, members of the public have the right to directly address the City Council on any item listed on the agenda at a time designated by the chair, either before or during consideration of the item.

For appeal hearings, appellant and applicant shall each have 10 minutes for presentations.

If you challenge any of the items listed on this agenda in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City of Menlo Park at, or prior to, the public hearing.

Any writing that is distributed to a majority of the City Council by any person in connection with an agenda item is a public record (subject to any exemption under the Public Records Act) and is available by request by emailing the city clerk at [email protected]. Persons with disabilities, who require auxiliary aids or services in attending or participating in City Council meetings, may call the City Clerk’s Office at 650-330-6620.

Agendas are posted in accordance with Government Code Section 54954.2(a) or Section 54956. Members of the public can view electronic agendas and staff reports by accessing the City website at menlopark.gov/agendas and can receive email notification of agenda and staff report postings by subscribing to the “Notify Me” service at menlopark.gov/notifyme.

Agendas and staff reports may also be obtained by contacting City Clerk at 650-330-6620. (Posted: 10/27/2022) AGENDA ITEM E-1 Page E-1.1
City Manager's Office
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov

STAFF REPORT
City Council
Meeting Date: 11/1/2022
Staff Report Number: 22-211-CC
Advisory Body Vacancies: Consider applicants and make appointments to fill vacancies on various advisory bodies
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council consider applicants for appointment to vacant seats on the following advisory bodies:
• Environmental Quality Commission (EQC)
• Library Commission (LC)
• Planning Commission (PC)
Policy Issues
City Council Policy CC-22-004 (Attachment A) establishes the policies, procedures, roles and responsibilities for the City’s appointed advisory bodies, including the manner in which members are selected.

Background
The EQC, LC, and PC have unexpected vacancies which should be filled prior to the annual recruitment in April 2023. These positions will fill the current term and expire:
• EQC – April 30, 2024
• LC – April 30, 2026
• PC – April 30, 2026
This recruitment involved a four-week period of advertisements and announcements. In addition, the City Council conducted interviews of the PC applicants on October 20, 2022.

Following City Council’s appointment, the city clerk’s office provides onboarding and orientation for the new advisory body members. This includes the oath of office, advisory body handbook, introduction of advisory body liaison staff, Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests filing (if applicable), real property reporting form (if applicable), and Brown Act training.

The city clerk’s office regularly reviews all agendas and minutes, tracks attendance (Attachment B) and serves as the principal staff liaison contact for all advisory bodies. The City has designated staff to act as a subject matter expert and serves as a liaison between the advisory body and the City Council. City Councilmembers are assigned to serve in a liaison capacity with one or more city commission/committee.

The purpose of the liaison assignment is to facilitate communication between the City Council and the advisory body. The liaison also helps to increase the City Council's familiarity with the membership, programs and issues of the advisory body.

AGENDA ITEM F-1 Page F-1.1
Staff Report #: 22-211-CC
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov Analysis
Applications are provided as Attachment C. The City Council has the opportunity to ask applicants if they would consider appointments to an alternate commission. These appointments can be made by the City Council at this meeting.

The City received the following applications and are listed in alphabetical order by last name. • EQC – one vacancy, expiring April 30, 2024
• Maria Doerr – District 5
• Andrew Ehrich – District 2
• Also applied for PC
• Nicole Kemeny – District 5
• Brian Kissel – District 5
• John McKenna – District 4
• Michael Meyer – District 2
• Also applied for PC
• Susan Prohaska – District 2
• Nabil Saad – District 4
• LC – one vacancy, expiring April 30, 2026
• Gail Ann McEachron – District 5
• Ada Chen Rekhi – District 2
• Jennifer Wise – District 5
• PC – one vacancy, expiring April 30, 2026
• Nicole Chessari – District 2
• Andrew Ehrich – District 2
• Also applied for EQC
• Michael Meyer – District 2
• Also applied for EQC
• Jennifer Schindler – District 5
• Ross Silverstein – District 2
Note, all applications will be provided to the City Council under separate cover and are also available for public viewing at the city clerk’s office during regular business hours or by request (Attachment C.) Attachment D lists all applicants including their residency District and Attachment E lists currently seated members and their residency District.

Impact on City Resources
Staff support for advisory bodies and funds for recruitment advertising are provided in the annual budget.

Public Notice
Public notification was achieved by posting the agenda, with the agenda items being listed, at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.

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Staff Report #: 22-211-CC
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov Attachments
A. City Council Policy CC-22-004
B. Hyperlink – March 22 City Council attendance Staff Report #22-054-CC:
menlopark.gov/files/sharedassets/public/agendas-and-minutes/city-council/2022- meetings/agendas/20220322-city-council-agenda-packet.pdf#page=436 C. Applications
D. Applications by District
E. Current advisory body members by District
Report prepared by:

Judi A. Herren, Assistant to the City Manager/ City Clerk Page F-1.3

COMMISSIONS/COMMITTEES POLICIES AND

PROCEDURES, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
City Council Policy #CC-22-004
Adopted September 20, 2022
Resolution No. 6776
Purpose
To define policies and procedures and roles and responsibilities for Menlo Park appointed commissions and committees.

Authority
Upon its original adoption, this policy replaced the document known as “Organization of Advisory Commissions of the City of Menlo Park.”
Background
The City of Menlo Park currently has seven active Commissions and Committees. The active advisory bodies are:

Complete Streets Commission, Environmental Quality Commission, Finance and Audit Committee, Housing Commission, Library Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, and Planning Commission. Those not specified in the City Code are established by City Council ordinance or resolution. Most of these advisory bodies are established in accordance with Resolution 2801 and its amendments. Within specific areas of responsibility, each advisory body has a primary role of advising the City Council on policy matters or reviewing specific issues and carrying out assignments as directed by the City Council or prescribed by law.

Six of the seven commissions and committees listed above are advisory in nature. The Planning Commission is both advisory and regulatory and organized according to the City Code (Ch. 2.12) and State statute (Government Code 65100 et seq., 65300-65401).

The City has an adopted Anti-Harassment and Non-Discrimination Policy (CC-21-0022), and a Travel, Meal, and Lodging Policy (CC-19-002), which are also applicable to all advisory bodies.

Policies and Procedures
Relationship to City Council, staff and media
 Upon referral by the City Council, the commission/committee shall study referred matters and return their recommendations and advise to the City Council. With each such referral, the City Council may authorize the City staff to provide certain designated services to aid in the study.  Upon its own initiative, the commission/committee shall identify and raise issues to the City Council’s attention and from time to time explore pertinent matters and make recommendations to the City Council.  At a request of a member of the public, the commission/committee may consider appeals from City actions or inactions in pertinent areas and, if deemed appropriate, report and make recommendations to the City Council.  Each commission/committee is required to develop an annual work plan which will be the foundation for the work performed by the advisory body in support of City Council annual work plan. The plan, once finalized by a majority of the commission/committee, will be formally presented to the City Council for direction and approval no later than September 30 of each year and then reported out on by a representative of the advisory body at a regularly scheduled City Council meeting at least annually, but recommended twice a year. The proposed work plan must align with the City Council’s adopted work plan. When modified, the work plan must be taken to the City Council for approval. The Planning Commission is exempt from this requirement as its functions are governed by the Menlo Park municipal code (Chapter 2.12) and State law (Government Code 65100 et seq, 65300-65401).  Commissions and committees shall not become involved in the administrative or operational matters of City departments. Members may not direct staff to initiate major programs, conduct large studies or establish department policy. City staff assigned to furnish staff services shall be available to provide general staff assistance, such as preparation of agenda/notice materials and minutes, general review of department programs and activities, and to perform limited studies, program reviews, and other services of a general staff nature.

Commissions/Committees may not establish department work programs or determine department program priorities. The responsibility for setting policy and allocating scarce City resources rests with the City’s duly elected representatives, the City Council.
 Additional or other staff support may be provided upon a formal request to the City Council.  The staff liaison shall act as the commission/committee’s lead representative to the media concerning matters before the commission/committee. Commission/Committee members should refer all media inquiries to their respective liaisons for response. Personal opinions and comments may be expressed so long as the commission/committee member clarifies that their statements do not represent the position of the City Council.  Commission/Committee members will have mandatory training every two years regarding the Brown Act and

ATTACHMENT A
2 parliamentary procedures, anti-harassment training, ethics training, and other training required by the City Council or State Law. The commission/committee members may have the opportunity for additional training, such as training for chair and vice chair. Failure to comply with the mandatory training will be reported to the City Council and may result in replacement of the member by the City Council.  Requests from commission/committee member(s) determined by the staff liaison to take one hour or more of staff time to complete, must be directed by the City Council.

Role of City Council commission/committee liaison
City Councilmembers are assigned to serve in a liaison capacity with one or more city commission/committee. The purpose of the liaison assignment is to facilitate communication between the City Council and the advisory body.

The liaison also helps to increase the City Council's familiarity with the membership, programs and issues of the advisory body. In fulfilling their liaison assignment, City Councilmembers may elect to attend commission/committee meetings periodically to observe the activities of the advisory body or simply maintain communication with the commission/committee chair on a regular basis.

City Councilmembers should be sensitive to the fact that they are not participating members of the commission/committee, but are there rather to create a linkage between the City Council and commission/committee. In interacting with commissions/committee, City Councilmembers are to reflect the views of the City Council as a body. Being a commission/committee liaison bestows no special right with respect to commission/committee business.

Typically, assignments to commission/committee liaison positons are made at the beginning of a City Council term in December. The Mayor will ask City Councilmembers which liaison assignments they desire and will submit recommendations to the full City Council regarding the various committees, boards, and commissions which City Councilmembers will represent as a liaison. In the rare instance where more than one City Councilmember wishes to be the appointed liaison to a particular commission, a vote of the City Council will be taken to confirm appointments.

City Staff Liaison
The City has designated staff to act as a liaison between the commission/committee and the City Council. The City shall provide staff services to the commission/committee which will include:
 Developing a rapport with the Chair and commission/committee members  Providing a schedule of meetings to the city clerk’s office and commission/committee members, arranging meeting locations, maintaining the minutes and other public records of the meeting, and preparing and distributing appropriate information related to the meeting agenda.  Advising the commission/committee on directions and priorities of the City Council.  Informing the commission/committee of events, activities, policies, programs, etc. occurring within the scope of the commission/committee’s function.
 Ensuring the city clerk is informed of all vacancies, expired terms, changes in offices, or any other changes to the commission/committee.
 Providing information to the appropriate appointed official including reports, actions, and recommendations of the committee/commission and notifying them of noncompliance by the commission/committee or chair with City policies.
 Ensuring that agenda items approved by the commission/committee are brought forth in a timely manner taking into consideration staff capacity, City Council priorities, the commission/committee work plan, and other practical matters such as the expense to conduct research or prepare studies, provided appropriate public notification, and otherwise properly prepare the item for commission/committee consideration.  Take action minutes; upon agreement of the commission, this task may be performed by one of the members (staff is still responsible for the accuracy and formatting of the minutes)  Maintain a minute book with signed minutes
Recommendations, requests and reports
As needed, near the beginning of City Council meetings, there will be an item called “Advisory Body Reports.” At this time, commissions/committees may present recommendations or status reports and may request direction and support from the City Council. Such requests shall be communicated to the staff liaison in advance, including any written materials, so that they may be listed on the agenda and distributed with the agenda packet. The materials being Page F-1.5
3 provided to the City Council must be approved by a majority of the commission/committee at a commission/committee meeting before submittal to the City Council. The City Council will receive such reports and recommendations and, after suitable study and discussion, respond or give direction.

City Council referrals
The city clerk shall transmit to the designated staff liaison all referrals and requests from the City Council for advice and recommendations. The commissions/committees shall expeditiously consider and act on all referrals and requests made by the City Council and shall submit reports and recommendations to the City Council on these assignments.

Public appearance of commission/committee members
When a commission/committee member appears in a non-official, non-representative capacity before the public, for example, at a City Council meeting, the member shall indicate that they are speaking only as an individual. This also applies when interacting with the media and on social media. If the commission/committee member appears as the representative of an applicant or a member of the public, the Political Reform Act may govern this appearance. In addition, in certain circumstances, due process considerations might apply to make a commission/committee member’s appearance inappropriate. Conversely, when a member who is present at a City Council meeting is asked to address the City Council on a matter, the member should represent the viewpoint of the particular commission/committee as a whole (not a personal opinion).

Disbanding of advisory body
Upon recommendation by the Chair or appropriate staff, any standing or special advisory body, established by the City Council and whose members were appointed by the City Council, may be declared disbanded due to lack of business, by majority vote of the City Council.

Meetings and officers

1. Agendas/notices/minutes
• All meetings shall be open and public and shall conduct business through published agendas, public notices and minutes and follow all of the Brown Act provisions governing public meetings. Special, canceled and adjourned meetings may be called when needed, subject to the Brown Act provisions. • Support staff for each commission/committee shall be responsible for properly noticing and posting all regular, special, canceled and adjourned meetings. Copies of all meeting agendas, notices and minutes shall be provided to the City Council, city manager, city attorney, city clerk and other appropriate staff, as requested. • Original agendas and minutes shall be filed and maintained by support staff in accordance with the City’s adopted records retention schedule.
• The official record of the commissions/committees will be preserved by preparation of action minutes.

2. Conduct and parliamentary procedures
• Unless otherwise specified by State law or City regulations, conduct of all meetings shall generally follow Robert’s Rules of Order.
• A majority of commission/committee members shall constitute a quorum and a quorum must be seated before official action is taken.
• The chair of each commission/committee shall preside at all meetings and the vice chair shall assume the duties of the chair when the chair is absent.
• The role of the commission/committee chair (according to Roberts Rules of Order): To open the session at the time at which the assembly is to meet, by taking the chair and calling the members to order; to announce the business before the assembly in the order in which it is to be acted upon; to recognize members entitled to the floor; to state and put to vote all questions which are regularly moved, or necessarily arise in the course of the proceedings, and to announce the result of the vote; to protect the assembly from annoyance from evidently frivolous or dilatory motions by refusing to recognize them; to assist in the expediting of business in every compatible with the rights of the members, as by allowing brief remarks when undebatable motions are pending, if they think it advisable; to restrain the members when engaged in debate, within the rules of order, to enforce on all occasions the observance of order and decorum among the members, deciding all questions of order (subject to an appeal to the assembly by any two members) unless when in doubt he prefers to submit the question for the decision of the assembly; to inform the assembly when necessary, or when referred to for the purpose, on a point of order to practice pertinent to pending business; to authenticate by their signature, when necessary, all the acts, orders, and proceedings of the assembly declaring it will and in all things obeying its commands.
4 3. Lack of a quorum
 When a lack of a quorum exists at the start time of a meeting, those present will wait 15 minutes for additional members to arrive. If after 15 minutes a quorum is still not present, the meeting will be adjourned by the staff liaison due to lack of a quorum. Once the meeting is adjourned it cannot be reconvened.  The public is not allowed to address those commissioners present during the 15 minutes the commission/committee is waiting for additional members to arrive.  Staff can make announcements to the members during this time but must follow up with an email to all members of the body conveying the same information.
 All other items shall not be discussed with the members present as it is best to make the report when there is a quorum present.

4. Meeting locations and dates
 Meetings shall be held in designated City facilities, as noticed.  All commissions/committees with the exception of the Planning Commission, and Finance and Audit Committee shall conduct regular meetings once a month. Special meetings may also be scheduled as required by the commission/committee. The Planning Commission shall hold regular meetings twice a month and the Finance and Audit Committee shall hold quarterly meetings.  Monthly regular meetings shall have a fixed date and time established by the commission/committee. Changes to the established regular dates and times are subject to the approval of the City Council. An exception to this rule would include any changes necessitated to fill a temporary need in order for the commission/committee to conduct its meeting in a most efficient and effective way as long as proper and adequate notification is provided to the City Council and made available to the public.

The schedule of Commission/Committee meetings is as follows:
 Complete Streets Commission – Every second Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.  Environmental Quality Commission – Every third Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.  Finance and Audit Committee – Third Wednesday of every quarter at 5:30 p.m.,  Housing Commission – Every first Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.  Library Commission – Every third Monday at 6:30 p.m.
 Parks and Recreation Commission – Every fourth Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.  Planning Commission – Twice a month on a Monday at 7 p.m.

Each commission/committee may establish other operational policies subject to the approval of the City Council.

Any changes to the established policies and procedures shall be subject to the approval of the City Council.

5. Off-premises meeting participation
While technology allows commission/committee members to participate in meetings from a location other than the meeting location (referred to as “off-premises”), off-premises participation is discouraged given the logistics required to ensure compliance with the Brown Act and experience with technological failures disrupting the meeting. In the event that a commission/committee member believes that their participation is essential to a meeting, the following shall apply:
 Any commission/committee member intending to participate from an off-premise location shall inform the staff liaison at least two weeks in advance of the meeting.
 The off-premise location must be identified in the notice and agenda of the meeting.  Agendas must be posted at the off-premise location.
 The off-premise location must be accessible to the public and be ADA compliant.  The commission/committee member participating at a duly noticed off-premises location does not count toward the quorum necessary to convene a meeting of the commission/committee.  For any one meeting, no more than one commission/committee member may participate from an off-premise location.
 All votes must be by roll call.

6. Selection of chair and vice chair
 The chair and vice chair shall be selected in May of each year by a majority of the members and shall serve for one year or until their successors are selected.
 Each commission/committee shall annually rotate its chair and vice chair.

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5 G. Memberships
Appointments/Oaths
 The City Council is the appointing body for all commissions/committees. All members serve at the pleasure of the City Council for designated terms.
 All appointments and reappointments shall be made at a regularly scheduled City Council meeting, and require an affirmative vote of not less than a majority of the City Council present.  Before taking office, all members must complete an Oath of Allegiance required by Article XX, §3, of the Constitution of the State of California. All oaths are administered by the city clerk or their designee.  Appointments made during the middle of the term are for the unexpired portion of that term.

Application and selection process
 The application process begins when a vacancy occurs due to term expiration, resignation, removal or death of a member.
 The application period will normally run for a period of four weeks from the date the vacancy occurs. If there is more than one concurrent vacancy in a Commission, the application period may be extended. Applications are available from the city clerk’s office and on the City’s website.  The city clerk shall notify members whose terms are about to expire whether or not they would be eligible for reappointment. If reappointment is sought, an updated application will be required.  Applicants are required to complete and return the application form for each commission/committee they desire to serve on, along with any additional information they would like to transmit, by the established deadline.

Applications sent by email are accepted.
 After the deadline of receipt of applications, the city clerk shall schedule the matter at the next available regular City Council meeting. All applications received will be submitted and made a part of the City Council agenda packet for their review and consideration. If there are no applications received by the deadline, the city clerk will extend the application period for an indefinite period of time until sufficient applications are received.  Upon review of the applications received, the City Council reserves the right to schedule or waive interviews, or to extend the application process in the event insufficient applications are received. In either case, the city clerk will provide notification to the applicants of the decision of the City Council.  If an interview is requested, the date and time will be designated by the City Council. Interviews are open to the public.
 The selection/appointment process by the City Council shall be conducted at a City Council meeting. The city clerk will ask each City Councilmember for their nominations; the number of nominations is limited to the number of vacancies. The candidate that receives a majority of nominations will be appointed. If there is a tie, multiple rounds of voting will occur.
 Following a City Council appointment, the city clerk shall notify successful and unsuccessful applicants accordingly, in writing. Appointees will receive copies of the City’s Non-Discrimination and Sexual Harassment policies, and disclosure statements for those members who are required to file under State law as designated in the City’s Conflict of Interest Code. Copies of the notification will also be distributed to support staff and the commission/committee chair.
 An orientation will be scheduled by the city clerk following an appointment (but before taking office) and a copy of this policy document will be provided at that time.

Attendance
 A compilation of attendance will be submitted to the City Council at least annually listing absences for all commissions/committee members.
 Absences, which result in attendance at less than two-thirds of their meetings during the calendar year, will be reported to the City Council and may result in replacement of the member by the City Council.  Any member who feels that unique circumstances have led to numerous absences can appeal directly to the City Council for a waiver of this policy or to obtain a leave of absence.  While it is expected that members be present at all meetings, the chair and staff liaison should be notified if a member knows in advance that they will be absent.
 When reviewing commissioners for reappointment, overall attendance at full commission meetings will be given significant consideration.

Compensation
 Members shall serve without compensation (unless specifically provided) for their services, provided, however, 6 members shall receive reimbursement for necessary travel expenses and other expenses incurred on official duty when such expenditures have been authorized by the City Council (See Policy CC-19-002).

Conflict of interest and disclosure requirements
 A Conflict of Interest Code has been updated and adopted by the City pursuant to Government Code §87300 et seq. Copies of the conflict of interest code are filed with the city clerk. Pursuant to the adopted Conflict of Interest Code, members serving on the Complete Streets Commission, Housing Commission, and Planning Commission are required to file a Statement of Economic Interest with the city clerk to disclose personal interest in investments, real property and income. This is done within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter. A statement is also required within 30 days after leaving office.  If a public official has a conflict of interest, the Political Reform Act may require the official to disqualify themselves from making or participating in a governmental decision, or using their official position to influence a governmental decision. Questions in this regard may be directed to the city attorney.

Qualifications, compositions, number
 In most cases, members shall be residents of the City of Menlo Park and at least 18 years of age.  Current members of any other City commission/committee are disqualified for membership, unless the regulations for that advisory body permit concurrent membership. Commission/Committee members are strongly advised to serve out the entirety of the term of their current appointment before seeking appointment on another commission/committee.
 Commission/Committee members shall be permitted to retain membership while seeking any elective office.

However, members shall not use the meetings, functions or activities of such bodies for purposes of campaigning for elective office.
 There shall be seven (7) members on each commission/committee.

Reappointments, resignations, removals
 Incumbents seeking a reappointment are required to complete and file an application with the city clerk by the application deadline. No person shall be reappointed to a commission/committee who has served on that same body for two consecutive terms; unless a period of one year has lapsed since the returning member last served on that commission/committee (the one-year period is flexible subject to City Council’s discretion).  Resignations must be submitted in writing to the city clerk, who will distribute copies to City Council and appropriate staff.
 The City Council may remove a member by a majority vote of the City Council without cause, notice or hearing.

Term of office
 Unless specified otherwise, the term of office for all commission/committee shall be four (4) years unless a resignation or a removal has taken place. The Finance and Audit Committee term of office shall be two (2) years.
 If a person is appointed to fill an unexpired term and serves less than two years, that time will not be considered a full term. However, if a person is appointed to fill an unexpired term and serves two years or more, that time will be considered a full term.
 Terms are staggered to be overlapping four-year terms, so that all terms do not expire in any one year.  If a member resigns before the end of their term, a replacement serves out the remainder of that term.

Vacancies
 Vacancies are created due to term expirations, resignations, removals or death.  Vacancies are posted by the city clerk in the City Council Chambers bulletin board and on the city website.  Whenever an unscheduled vacancy occurs in any commission/committee, a special vacancy notice shall be posted within 20 days after the vacancy occurs. Appointment shall not be made for at least 10 working days after posting of the notice (Government Code 54974).
 On or before December 31 of each year, an appointment list of all regular advisory commissions/committees of the City Council shall be prepared by the city clerk and posted in the City Council Chambers bulletin board and on the City’s website. This list is also available to the public (Government Code 54972, Maddy Act).

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7 Roles and Responsibilities
Complete Streets Commission
The Complete Streets Commission is charged primarily with advising the City Council on realizing the City's adopted goals for complete streets, vision zero, climate action plan, and provide input on major land use and development projects as it relates to transportation. The Complete Streets Commission's responsibilities include:
 To advance the goals of the city’s newly adopted climate action plan by making alternatives to driving safer and more attractive
 Advise City Council on the implementation of the transportation master plan.  Continue to advocate for and advise the City Council on planning and installing pedestrian and bicycle rail crossing and safe cycling/pedestrian infrastructure.
 Continue to support City Council in ongoing initiatives to improve access to Downtown and support downtown businesses.
 Continue to support the implementation of the Safe Routes to School strategy and advocate for community engagement, program continuity and engineering implementation.  Continue to support City Council’s role as a stakeholder with regard to regional multi-modal and transportation demand management programs projects to increase
Environmental Quality Commission
The Environmental Quality Commission is charged primarily with advising the City Council on matters involving environmental protection, improvement and sustainability. Specific focus areas include:
 Preserving heritage trees
 Using best practices to maintain city trees
 Preserving and expanding the urban canopy
 Making determinations on appeals of heritage tree removal permits  Administering annual Environmental Quality Awards program  Organizing annual Arbor Day Event; typically, a tree planting event  Advising on programs and policies related to protection of natural areas, recycling and waste reduction, environmentally sustainable practices, air and water pollution prevention, climate protection, and water and energy conservation.

Finance and Audit Committee
The Finance and Audit Committee is charged primarily to support delivery of timely, clear and comprehensive reporting of the City’s fiscal status to the community at large. Specific focus areas include:
 Review the process for periodic financial reporting to the City Council and the public, as needed  Review financial audit and annual financial report with the City’s external auditors  Review of the resolution of prior year audit findings  Review of the auditor selection process and scope, as needed Housing Commission
The Housing Commission is charged primarily with advising the City Council on housing matters including housing supply and housing related problems. Specific focus areas include:
 Community attitudes about housing (range, distribution, racial, social-economic problems)  Programs for evaluating, maintaining, and upgrading the distribution and quality of housing stock in the City  Planning, implementing and evaluating City programs under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974
 Review and recommend to the City Council regarding the Below Market Rate (BMR) program  Initiate, review and recommend on housing policies and programs for the City  Review and recommend on housing related impacts for environmental impact reports  Review and recommend on State and regional housing issues  Review and recommend on the Housing Element of the General Plan 
Library Commission
The Library Commission is charged primarily with advising the City Council on matters related to the maintenance and operation of the City’s libraries and library systems. Specific focus areas include:
8  The scope and degree of library activities
 Maintenance and protection of City libraries
 Evaluation and improvement of library service
 Acquisition of library materials
 Coordination with other library systems and long range planning  Literacy and ESL programs
Parks and Recreation Commission
The Parks and Recreation Commission is charged primarily with advising the City Council on matters related to City programs and facilities dedicated to recreation. Specific focus areas include:
 Those programs and facilities established primarily for the participation of and/or use by residents of the City, including adequacy and maintenance of such facilities as parks and playgrounds, recreation buildings, facilities and equipment
 Adequacy, operation and staffing of recreation programs  Modification of existing programs and facilities to meet developing community needs  Long range planning and regional coordination concerning park and recreational facilities Planning Commission
The Planning Commission is organized according to State Statute.  The Planning Commission reviews development proposals on public and private lands for compliance with the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance.
 The Commission reviews all development proposals requiring a use permit, architectural control, variance, minor subdivision and environmental review associated with these projects. The Commission is the final decision-making body for these applications, unless appealed to the City Council.  The Commission serves as a recommending body to the City Council for major subdivisions, rezoning’s, conditional development permits, Zoning Ordinance amendments, General Plan amendments and the environmental reviews and Below Market Rate (BMR) Housing Agreements associated with those projects.  The Commission works on special projects as assigned by the City Council.

Special Advisory Bodies
The City Council has the authority to create standing committees, task forces or subcommittees for the City, and from time to time, the City Council may appoint members to these groups. The number of persons and the individual appointee serving on each group may be changed at any time by the City Council. There are no designated terms for members of these groups; members are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the City Council.

Any requests of city commissions or committees to create such ad hoc advisory bodies shall be submitted in writing to the city clerk for City Council consideration and approval.

Procedure history
Action Date Notes
Procedure adoption 1991 Resolution No. 3261
Procedure adoption 2001
Procedure adoption 2011
Procedure adoption 2013 Resolution No. 6169
Procedure adoption 2017 Resolution No. 6377
Procedure adoption 6/8/2021 Resolution No. 6631
Procedure adoption 3/1/2022 Resolution No. 6706
Procedure adoption 3/8/2022 Resolution No. 6718
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9 Procedure adoption 9/20/2022 Resolution No. 6776
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ATTACHMENT C
C v c aff l at ons and commun ty act v t es, nclud ng serv ce on other adv sory bod es, comm ss ons or comm ttees
Rosalie Rendu Center, ESL Tutor (East Palo Alto, CA) – 2022-Present o Leading one-on-one conversational language tutoring with an East Palo Alto resident
California Water Data Consortium, Equity Workgroup Member (Bay Area, CA) – 2021-Present
o Advising on opportunities to strengthen equity and transparency through water policies and new opportunities in partnership with communities and community-based organizations.

SanDiego350, Legislative Team Member (San Diego, CA) – 2021-2022 o Organizing and participating in calls with local/state representatives to discuss and advocate for environmental policies that would benefit San Diegan communities and California at large.

The Association for Conflict Resolution, Environmental Policy DEI Leadership Committee Member (remote) – 2020-2022
o Co-developed new diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives for the Association, including a 2-year fellowship to provide professional development opportunities to emergent practitioners of color that work on environmental conflict resolution.
o Led a workshop on how to proactively center communities in conflict resolution and collaborative processes. The conversation brought together 35 practitioners from across the U.S. to explore how to create more accountability to communities.

Climate Policy Committee of the Biden-Harris Campaign, Member (remote) – 2020
o Developed Day 1 recommendations for the incoming administration on climate resilience and equity under the leadership of Dr. Beverly Wright of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. Helped deliver a proposal for amending the Clean Air Act to address disproportional and negative impacts of poor air quality on Black and Brown communities in places like Cancer Alley.

UN Climate Conference Youth Delegate, SustainUS (Katowice, Poland) – 2018
o Youth delegate to the UN Climate Conference to advocate for resilience and reparations for frontline communities. Helped organize live climate justice actions and media events centering frontline leadership at the Conference.

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Descr be your understand ng of the respons b l t es of the adv sory body that you are apply ng for and how your personal commun ty or profess onal exper ence relate to these respons b l t es
The Environmental Quality Commission serves Menlo Park and the City Council and helps achieve environmental and sustainability goals, especially as laid out in the Climate Action Plan and the General Plan Elements.

I am well prepared to help Menlo Park reach the ambitious goal of zero emissions by 2030 through my professional experiences and academic background. As an environmental consultant over the last four years, I’ve worked with nonprofits, foundations, federal agencies, utilities, and local governments to deepen their sustainability initiatives with and for communities. My clients have included San Diego County, the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Hewlett Foundation, and others. Before consulting, I worked in Mexico on community-based watershed conservation and sustainable agriculture projects, supported small-grid solar projects on the eastern coast of Nicaragua, and facilitated public hearings on Cap & Trade grants for disadvantaged communities across California. To the EQC, I bring analytic skills that let me assess high-impact sustainability opportunities and a passion for facilitation to support understanding and enable dialogue between diverse stakeholders. In addition, I graduated in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford in 2017 and would relish getting into the details of specific energy, land use, and built environment solutions that could benefit Menlo Park.

The Environmental Quality Commission is especially responsible to the communities in Menlo Park that are most vulnerable to environmental injustices and the impacts of climate change (as per CAP Goal #6). I’m deeply committed to environmental justice and ensuring communities, especially the Belle Haven neighborhood and other low-income communities, communities of color, the elderly, youth, and other groups experiencing marginalization, are centered in environmental solutions.

My personal experience as a young person and a low-income person can bring a valuable perspective to the EQC. My approach to environmental work is shaped by my firsthand experiences coming to age during the evolving climate crisis and living with my mother on $20k a year throughout my childhood. I grew up with asthma downwind from the coal-fired power plant and next to a polluted creek that floods with increasing frequency each year, threatening our home. Over the last seven years, I’ve had the chance to live in and work for communities more greatly impacted by climatic and environmental threats than my own. This work has been extremely rewarding while not always reflected in the pay: I qualify as “low-income” in San Mateo County and resonate with the challenges of living in a city designed for those who make much, much more and/or come from intergenerational wealth. I have lent my voice and experiences to support other low-income residents and frontline communities as a Youth Delegate to the UN Climate Conference, a member of the Legislative Committee of San Diego 350, and an election volunteer. I am eager to bring lessons learned from these civic and policy experiences and my own lived experiences to the EQC.

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State CA
Z p code 94025
Bus ness address
Number of years as a Menlo Park res dent <1
Current C ty Counc l d str ct District 5
How d d you hear about th s opportun ty (check all that apply) City website Other: EQC Call
If I am appo nted, the C ty s author zed to post the follow ng nformat on on the c ty webs te (please select at least one):

Cellphone: No
Bus ness phone: No
Home phone: No
Ema l: Yes
Application acknowledgement and submittal
I cert fy that the answers g ven here n are true and complete to the best of my knowledge.

I agree
S gnature
Link to signature
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Descr be your understand ng of the respons b l t es of the adv sory body that you are apply ng for and how your personal commun ty or profess onal exper ence relate to these respons b l t es
From November 2019 - January 2021, I was the City Data Lead for the City of San Jose, working in the City Manager's Office. During that time, I also served as the Deputy Director for San Jose's Emergency COVID19 Operations Center in charge of coordinating the response to COVID19 for the entire city. This role required not only coordinating with Santa Clara County on the public health response, but also managing the response to all the downstream repercussions of the pandemic: food insecurity, housing insecurity, economic development, homelessness, renters policy, functioning of parks during the pandemic, and more.

As the person that San Jose entrusted to bring data to bear these important problems, my job was to help bring quantitative rigor to decision making, program design, and policy. I deeply value the perspective that data can bring to city government and being datadriven would be a core philosophy of my service on a commission in Menlo Park.

However, I also know that data is only one part of the puzzle. Data is most useful when paired with clearly defined goals, and in the context of local government, setting goals and priorities is the job of the City Council and City Commissions (engaging constituents in the process).

As a former City staff member in a council-manager form of government, I could best do my job when City Commissioners brought clear-eyed community perspective that shed light on the goals worth focusing on. I loved it even more when commissioners asked great questions about staff and council work that helped ensure we were keeping community priorities front of mind.

Local government presents an amazing opportunity to have a tangible impact, and it is a team sport. I deeply value the different roles that the City council, City staff, and City commissions can play in creating a responsive, effective local government. My goal as part of an advisory body in Menlo Park would be to play my part on the team by engaging the community, asking good questions, looking at data, and helping our city to function well on behalf of everyone who lives here.

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If I am appo nted, the C ty s author zed to post the follow ng nformat on on the c ty webs te (please select at least one):

Cellphone: Yes
Bus ness phone: Yes
Home phone: Yes
Ema l: Yes
Application acknowledgement and submittal
I cert fy that the answers g ven here n are true and complete to the best of my knowledge.

I agree
S gnature
Link to signature
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Descr be your understand ng of the respons b l t es of the adv sory body that you are apply ng for and how your personal commun ty or profess onal exper ence relate to these respons b l t es
The main responsibility of the EQC is to advise City Council on matters involving environmental protection, improvement, and sustainability.

This involves working with city staff to research and provide recommendations to City Council on all environmental matters which City Council requests guidance. Such environmental matters primarily consist of issues related to trees, the urban canopy, protection of natural areas, recycling and waste reduction, air and water pollution, water and energy conservation, and, climate change (both mitigation and adaptation). As it relates to climate change, the EQC plays an important and key role in helping City Council adopt policies and programs that ensure the goals of the city’s 2030 Climate Action Plan (as amended April 20, 2021) are met in a manner that is both 1) expeditious and 2) socially and economically equitable.

As a resident of Menlo Park for the past 15 years and a local commercial real estate agent for the past 22 years, I would offer the EQC and City Council the following qualities:
• Appreciation for our community and it’s diverse residents • Established relationships with local commercial building owners and businesses
• Knowledge of various building electrification solutions • A desire to listen and learn from others in the process of making wellconsidered decisions • A focus on solving problems and implementing solutions • Empathy and an ability to appreciate varying perspectives • A results-oriented philosophy
• A personal responsibility to follow-through on commitments • A willingness to make personal sacrifices for the common good • An aspiration to dedicate a significant portion of my time to public service
• Integrity and honesty
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State CA
Z p code 94025
Bus ness address
Number of years as a Menlo Park res dent 15
Current C ty Counc l d str ct District 4
How d d you hear about th s opportun ty (check all that apply) Other: Learned of the opening from a recent EQC meeting and other sources
If I am appo nted, the C ty s author zed to post the follow ng nformat on on the c ty webs te (please select at least one):

Cellphone: Yes
Bus ness phone: No
Home phone: No
Ema l: Yes
Application acknowledgement and submittal
I cert fy that the answers g ven here n are true and complete to the best of my knowledge.

I agree
S gnature
Link to signature
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and Environmental Quality Commission
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2009-11 Academic Affairs Committee, Chair 2010-11
2008-09 Admissions and Financial Aid Committee
2007 Learning Plan Committee
2004-06 Promotion and Tenure Evaluation Committee
2004-05 Elementary Program Co-Convener
2004 School-wide Assessment Committee
2004 Promotion and Tenure Policy Revisions Committee
2002-03 NCATE Assessment Committee
2001-14 Elementary Program; Coordinator/Convener (‘01-‘05; ‘07-‘08) 1987-18 Curriculum and Instruction
2001 Reading Search Committee
1998-01 Social Studies Curriculum Development, Project Faculty, Program Director, Joyce VanTassel-Baska.
1995-97 Curriculum Committee
1992-93 Language Arts Advisory Committee, Center for Gifted Education
1991-94 Executive Committee
1991-98 Learning Resource Center Advisory Committee
1990-93 Affirmative Action Committee; Chair, 1992-1993
1989-90 Project Mandala, Project Faculty, grant funded by the Jacob K.

Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act, U. S. Department of Education.
1989-91 Special Education Curriculum Committee
1989-03 Curriculum and Instruction; Coordinator, Elementary and Secondary Education, 1993-1995
1988-97 Gifted and Talented Advisory Committee
1991-93 College-wide Search Committee for the Assistant to the President for Affirmative
Action
Appointments:
2012-16 Director and Member of the Advisory Board for The Foundation for
Aging Studies and Exercise Science Research (TFASESR)
http://www.tfasesr.com/board.htm
2011-16 Program Director, ESL Dual Endorsement, School of Education 2010 School of Education, Grade Review Committee
2005-06 Acting Dean/Director, Reves Center for International Studies 2005 Colonial Academic Association Meeting, Washington, D.C., Fall. 2003 Reves Center for International Studies Executive Committee 2002 School of Education Assessment Committee
2000-02 Search Committee, Royal Navy Hospital School, Teacher Intern, Ipswich, England
2001 Library Policy Committee, Fall
2000 Academic Board, Visiting Appointment, Advanced Studies in England; Bath, England
1999 Academic Board, Visiting Appointment, Advanced Studies in England; Bath, England
1998 Search Committee, Royal Navy Hospital School, Teacher Intern, Ipswich, England; Reves Center for International Studies 1998 Administrative Evaluation Committee for Dean Virginia McLaughlin Page F-1.39
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1995-97 Search Committees for Math Educator, Chair 1995-96 1994-95 Search Committee for Dean of the School of Education 1994-95 Committee to Evaluate the Endowed Chair Appointment for Brian Blouet
1992 Search Committee for Reading/Language Arts Position, Elementary and Secondary Education
c. Other professional service
College Service:
2011-15 Faculty Advisor, Student Virginia Education Association for School of Education
2005 Established Zeta Delta Chapter of Phi Beta Delta, an International Honorary Organization, College of William and Mary
2003-2005 Freshman Advisor
1992-1993 Curriculum Consultant, Language Arts Grant, Center for Gifted Education, The College of William and Mary.
1990-1991 Co-Faculty Advisor, Kappa Delta Pi, Alpha Xi Chapter, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA.

Community Service:

ESL tutor, Richmond, Virginia, 2018-2019; focus on workplace language for adult from Brazil
Literacy for Life Partnership, Summer 2014; students in CRIN 591 taught courses for ESL adults; coordination with Director, Joan Peterson and three associates.

With the Friends of the Reves Center Steering Committee, Second Annual Global Forum, Fall, 2005; sponsored Ambassador to the U.S. from Pakistan, Jehangir Karamat.

With Patron Lois Critchfield and Kenan Professor Tamara Sonn, hosted Prince Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan, Reves Center for International Studies, Fall 2005.

Counselor, Camp Okizu, Novato, California. (2004, July). Camp is for children who have cancer and their families. Provided art experiences from Hospital Art Donations.

Clinical Faculty Panel, Berkeley Middle School, Williamsburg/James City Council, July 2004.

Educational Outreach, with Dr. Ghazala Bhatti, Exchange of information about the Muslim community members whose children attend Crestview Elementary; Tarick Jangda, Manager, Islamic Society of Greater Richmond, March 2001.

Grafton Middle School and James River Elementary Partnerships, Preparing Teachers for Tomorrow’s Technology, Dr. Robert Hannafin Grant, December 1999.

Advisory Committee for International Magnet School,
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Williamsburg/James City County, 1991-1992; coordinated by Loretta Hannum, Social Studies Coordinator for Williamsburg-James City County.

Social Studies Textbook Adoption Committee, Williamsburg/James City County, January-March 1991; coordinated by Loretta Hannum, Social Studies Coordinator for Williamsburg-James City County.

Chairperson (1986-87), Community Council, Jackson Davis Elementary School, Henrico County, Richmond, VA, 1985-87; advisor for parentteacher survey, 1990.

Regional Service:

ESL Program Director, Five ESL Summer Institutes, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, 2011-2016; established partnerships with Henrico County, Newport News and Williamsburg/James City County Public Schools.

William and Mary and Henrico County Partnership to promote professional development in ESL/ELL, with Val Gooss, Director of ESL and Foreign Language Programs, Henrico County, Richmond, Virginia, 2008-2009; supported by Mini-Grant from School of Education.

Partnerships for Differentiated Populations. Created partnerships with three summer school programs: ESL Summer Academy in Richmond, Joy Martin; D.J. Montague Summer School, Lynda Heath; and Gifted Summer Enrichment Program, Sharron Gatling. For students in CRIN 591, Curriculum and Assessment, Summers, 2007-2008. First effort to provide early practica experiences in summer program, thus aligning graduate and undergraduate programs.

Partnerships for Art and Social Science. Created partnerships with Muscarelle Museum, Amy Gorman, Director of Educational Programs, 2007-2009, for practica experiences.

Co-coordinator of three-way Partnership Program: Endview Civil War Living History Museum & Lee Hall Mansion Museum, Newport News School District, and William and Mary Pre-service Teachers. Historical Interpretation, Docent Experiences, and Educational Outreach, Fall, 2004.

Henrico County and William and Mary pilot partnership. Set up partnership with Val Gooss, ESL Coordinator, Henrico County, whereby 65 William and Mary graduate and undergraduate students designed and taught ESL lessons to students in Henrico County; students collaborated with 36 teachers, teaching more than 300 students; 2002- 2003.

Social Studies Consultant, History and Social Standards K-5, Chesapeake Public Schools, March and August 1999.

Advisory Board; Math, Science, Technology Center, Godwin High Page F-1.41
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School, Henrico County, Virginia, 1995-1997.

The Northern Neck Community: Its Past and Present; institute for K-12 teachers representing the following districts: Chesterfield, Hanover, Gloucester, Richmond City, Prince William, Lancaster, York, Northumberland, Middlesex, and Westmoreland; Summers, 1994-1999, with Miriam Beckwith.

Multi-Age Grouping and Interdisciplinary Teaching, three professional development workshops presented for elementary teachers, Middlesex County Virginia, January-February 1993.

Language Arts Professional Development, for elementary teachers, New Kent County, October 1991.

State Service:

President-elect (2016-17), President (2017-18), Past-president (2018-19) Virginia Educational Research Association.

Faculty Sponsor, Student Virginia Education Association, 2011-15; relaunched Student Virginia Education Association, 2011-2012 Virginia ESL Supervisors Association, Bi-annual meetings, 2002-2005; set up a website for all Virginia ESL teachers to access lessons designed and taught by William and Mary undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in Social Studies 405 and E05.

Bailey’s Elementary, Fairfax County; Evaluator for Mammals in the Schools, Smithsonian
Institution, National Museum of Natural History, June 2001, with Peg Koetsch.

Multicultural Consortium, Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond, VA, 1992-1993.

Commonwealth Seminars Faculty/Staff: East Asia—China, Japan, and Korea, 1988; Latin America, 1989; Europe: From the Atlantic to the Urals, 1990; Staff, The College of William and Mary; grants supported by Governor Baliles. Facilitated interdisciplinary team building among teachers, students, and business leaders.

The Fall 1988 Commonwealth Conference on Significant K-12 International Education Initiatives in Virginia, Staff, The College of William and Mary, December.

National Service:

Elementary Education Unit Representative, National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, Portfolio Preparation Training, Washington, D.C., September 2002.

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Evaluator, Docent Program, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History and Naturalist Center, Spring, 2002.

Evaluator, Mammals in the Schools, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, educational outreach for four schools in Virginia, New Jersey, California, and Indiana; Summer, 2001.

State Representative to Board of Examiner's Team, National Council for the Accreditation of Colleges of Teacher Education, Institutional Visit-- Longwood College, Farmville, VA, October 4-7, 1992.

The Center for Occupational Curriculum Development, The University of Texas at Austin; Representative to Annual Convention of the Virginia Home Economics Teachers' Association, June 1982.

Descr be your understand ng of the respons b l t es of the adv sory body that you are apply ng for and how your personal commun ty or profess onal exper ence relate to these respons b l t es
My understanding of the responsibilities of the advisory body is what is listed on the webpage as follows:
*The scope and degree of library activities
*Maintenance and protection of City libraries
*Evaluation and improvement of library service
*Acquisition of library materials
*Coordination with other library systems and long range planning *Literacy and English as a second language (ESL) programs Based on my experiences as a professor who prepared teachers for 32 years at The College of William and Mary, I feel that I can bring important perspectives regarding the importance of access to quality literature for children and young adults. I taught graduate and undergraduate students Language Arts and as a part of those courses we discussed censorship, utilizing the research in The Language Police by Diane Ravitch. As the pendulum continues to swing, we are witnessing the resurgence of debates and I would like to be on a committee that values the importance of access to all kinds of literature for young people. A public library plays a key role in providing access, especially when school boards may be under pressure to set limits regarding access.

In addition, I was the Director of the ESL Program in the School of Education at William and Mary, and with my colleagues in the Arts and Sciences, advanced the add-on endorsement in ESL for future teachers.

The program was so popular that we were able to hire a full-time ESL director. Learning more than one language is a way to open windows for enhanced cultural understanding. I am currently taking Spanish courses at the intermediate level at Cal State University, East Bay with the hope of becoming fluent in Spanish. With my commitment to language learning and support to ESL learners, I would like to advance the services offered by Menlo Park to adult learners as well as promote dual language books at the library.

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DISTRICT 2 Page F-1.46
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If I am appo nted, the C ty s author zed to post the follow ng nformat on on the c ty webs te (please select at least one):

Cellphone: No
Bus ness phone: No
Home phone: No
Ema l: Yes
Application acknowledgement and submittal
I cert fy that the answers g ven here n are true and complete to the best of my knowledge.

I agree
S gnature
Link to signature
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DISTRICT 5 Page F-1.49
C ty Menlo Park
State CA
Z p code 94025
Bus ness address
Number of years as a Menlo Park res dent 1.5
Current C ty Counc l d str ct District 5
How d d you hear about th s opportun ty (check all that apply) City website Local newspaper
If I am appo nted, the C ty s author zed to post the follow ng nformat on on the c ty webs te (please select at least one):

Cellphone: No
Bus ness phone: No
Home phone: No
Ema l: Yes
Application acknowledgement and submittal
I cert fy that the answers g ven here n are true and complete to the best of my knowledge.

I agree
S gnature
Link to signature
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DISTRICT 2 Page F-1.51
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Descr be your understand ng of the respons b l t es of the adv sory body that you are apply ng for and how your personal commun ty or profess onal exper ence relate to these respons b l t es
From November 2019 - January 2021, I was the City Data Lead for the City of San Jose, working in the City Manager's Office. During that time, I also served as the Deputy Director for San Jose's Emergency COVID19 Operations Center in charge of coordinating the response to COVID19 for the entire city. This role required not only coordinating with Santa Clara County on the public health response, but also managing the response to all the downstream repercussions of the pandemic: food insecurity, housing insecurity, economic development, homelessness, renters policy, functioning of parks during the pandemic, and more.

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If I am appo nted, the C ty s author zed to post the follow ng nformat on on the c ty webs te (please select at least one):

Cellphone: Yes
Bus ness phone: Yes
Home phone: Yes
Ema l: Yes
Application acknowledgement and submittal
I cert fy that the answers g ven here n are true and complete to the best of my knowledge.

I agree
S gnature
Link to signature
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and Environmental Quality Commission
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Descr be your understand ng of the respons b l t es of the adv sory body that you are apply ng for and how your personal commun ty or profess onal exper ence relate to these respons b l t es
Menlo Park’s Planning Commission reviews, analyzes and makes decisions about land use proposals that need a use permit, architectural control, variance, minor subdivision or environmental review. In specific cases, like major subdivisions or BMR housing agreements, the Commission makes recommendations to the City Council. The Planning Commission is accountable to City Council and ensures that proposed developments are consistent with the city’s General Plan and zoning statutes.

Complex decision-making was the consistent theme of my business career. As a management consultant, I learned the importance of listening carefully to clients to understand their challenges and the value of extensive research and analysis to find solutions. For the last 20+ years, I’ve used those skills daily in technology business roles, retiring from Google last year. At Google, my team sat at the intersection of Sales and Product Development. We used market input to decide what products to build, setting quarterly, annual and multi-year product plans.

I want to bring my extensive skills in facilitating decision-making into a new arena, supporting public service and governance for Menlo Park.

Additionally, my expertise in messaging and communicating at scale could help me foster wider public engagement in the city’s planning processes. At Google, my team set the launch strategies for new products. That meant deciding on the right messages to communicate, picking the best communication channels, setting launch timing and defining how to measure success. Through my involvement with Measure V, I came to appreciate that the vast majority of Menlo Park residents are, for valid reasons, not aware of how land use planning is done and even fewer understand how they can participate in the decision making. With Measure V, that lack of awareness and understanding resulted in confusion, frustration and, for some, divisiveness. I will help the Planning Division develop new goals for community education and outreach to key neighborhood stakeholders.

For example, we should be tracking the number of different people who are giving input into our planning processes, per district, and aiming to double or triple that number, each year.

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Z p code 94025
Bus ness address n/a
Number of years as a Menlo Park res dent 17 years, 11 months Current C ty Counc l d str ct District 5
How d d you hear about th s opportun ty (check all that apply) Other: From current members of the Complete Streets and Planning commissions.

If I am appo nted, the C ty s author zed to post the follow ng nformat on on the c ty webs te (please select at least one):

Cellphone: No
Bus ness phone: No
Home phone: No
Ema l: Yes
Application acknowledgement and submittal
I cert fy that the answers g ven here n are true and complete to the best of my knowledge.

I agree
S gnature
Link to signature
Page F-1.63
4 of 4
DISTRICT 2 Page F-1.64
Page F-1.65
I cert fy that the answers g ven here n are true and complete to the best of my knowledge.

I agree
S gnature
Link to signature
Page F-1.66
3 of 3
Advisory body Applicant District
Environmental Quality Commission Maria Doerr 5
Environmental Quality Commission Andrew Ehrich 2
Environmental Quality Commission Nicole Kemeny 5
Environmental Quality Commission Brian Kissel 5
Environmental Quality Commission John McKenna 4
Environmental Quality Commission Michael Meyer 2
Environmental Quality Commission Susan Prohaska 2
Environmental Quality Commission Nabil Saad 4
Advisory body Applicant District
Library Commission Gail Ann McEachron 5
Library Commission Ada Chen Rekhi 2
Library Commission Jennifer Wise 5
Advisory body Applicant District
Parks and Recreation Commission Nicole Chessari 2
Parks and Recreation Commission Andrew Ehrich 2
Planning Commission Michael Meyer 2
Planning Commission Jennifer Schindler 5
Planning Commission Ross Silverstein 2
Table 3: Planning Commission by District
Table 2: Library Commission by District
Table 1: Environmental Quality Commission by District
Page F-1.67 ATTACHMENT D
Applicant Last appointment date District
Leah Elkins 10/13/2020 2
Angela Evans 5/25/2021 5
Tom Kabat 4/26/2022 2
Nancy Larocca Hedley 4/26/2022 4
Jeffrey Lin 4/26/2022 1
Jeff Schmidt 4/26/2022 3
Applicant Last appointment date District
Alan Cohen 4/26/2022 5
David Erhart 4/16/2019 1
Katie Hadrovic 6/9/2020 2
Kristen Leep 4/16/2019 4
Pavneet Singh 9/21/2021 4
Vamsi Velagapudi 5/25/2021 4
Applicant Last appointment date District
Andrew Barnes 6/9/2020 2
Linh Dan Do 4/26/2022 3
Chris DeCardy 4/16/2019 2
Cynthia Harris 5/25/2021 3
Henry Riggs 6/9/2020 2
Michele Tate 4/16/2019 1
Table 1: Environmental Commission by District
Table 2: Library Commission by District
Table 3: Planning Commission by District
Page F-1.68 ATTACHMENT E
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov City Council
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES – DRAFT
Date: 10/11/2022
Time: 6:00 p.m.

Locations: Zoom and
City Council Chambers
701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025
Regular Session
A. Call To Order
Mayor Nash called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.

B. Roll Call

Present: Combs, Mueller (exited the meeting at 6:15 p.m.), Nash, Taylor, Wolosin

Absent: None
Staff: City Manager Justin I. C. Murphy, City Attorney Nira F. Doherty, Assistant to the City Manager/City Clerk Judi A. Herren
C. Agenda Review
None.

D. Public Comment
• Jasmine Soria-Delgado spoke on a mural project by MidPen Housing seeking muralists for Gateway Rising at 1345 Willow Road.

E. Presentations and Proclamations
E1. Proclamation: Latino Heritage Month (Attachment)
Mayor Nash read the proclamation (Attachment).

F. Consent Calendar
F1. Accept the City Council meeting minutes for September 13 and 20, 2022 (Attachment) F2. Receive and file the annual inflation protection adjustment of $0.45 per hour for an approved local minimum wage effective January 1, 2023 of $16.20 per hour (Staff Report #22-189-CC) F3. Adopt a resolution to continue conducting the City’s Council and advisory body meetings remotely due to health and safety concerns for the public and to authorize the use of hybrid meetings (Staff Report #22-196-CC)
F4. Authorize the Mayor to submit a letter in support of efforts to mitigate community impacts associated with Stanford University’s development (Staff Report #22-194-CC) AGENDA ITEM G-1 Page G-1.1
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October 11, 2022

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ACTION: Motion and second (Wolosin/ Taylor), to approved the consent calendar, passed unanimously.

G. Regular Business
G1. Provide input on a request for proposals for an aquatics operator at Burgess Pool and the future Menlo Park Community Campus aquatics center (Staff Report #22-191-CC) Library and Community Services Director Sean Reinhart and Library and Community Services Supervisor Tricia Mullan made the presentation (Attachment).

City Councilmember Mueller was recused and exited the meeting. • Lynne Bramlett spoke in support of a policy regulating oversight of public/private partnerships. • Janet Davis spoke in support of a City operated pool and to prioritize residents’ needs in the request of proposals (RFP).

The City Council discussed forming a City Council subcommittee to assist in the contract negotiations after RFP award, incentivizing resident programming, seasonal reporting of resident/non-resident and revenues opposed to annual, lane hour allocations, selection criteria to include an explanation of experiences, documentation of emergency calls and issues for the operator, therapeutic classes, a transparent process, and utilizing the Parks and Recreation Commission.

The City Council received clarification on a City operated pool, competitive proposals, baseline hours and days, and incentivizing resident programming.

G2. Award vehicle purchase contracts to Deere & Company, National Auto Fleet Group, Toro Company, Vermeer Manufacturing Company, and Volvo Construction Equipment and Services for the purchase and modification of police vehicles and motorcycles, light-duty trucks, and heavy-duty equipment for the fiscal year 2022-23 vehicle purchase (Staff Report #22-193-CC) Assistant Public Works Director Brian Henry and Public Works Supervisor – Fleet Don Weber made the presentation (Attachment).

The City Council discussed replacing the senior shuttle before 2025.

The City Council received clarification on the total amount of all vehicles, total cost compared to potential recovery through maintenance and fuel, Citywide electric vehicles in fleet, and the senior shuttle replacement schedule.

ACTION: Motion and second (Taylor/ Nash ), to award vehicle purchase contracts to Deere & Company, National Auto Fleet Group, Toro Company, Vermeer Manufacturing Company, and Volvo Construction Equipment and Services for approximately $1.11 million, plus a contingency of $50,000 (held by the City), for the purchase and modification of five electric police vehicles, three lower emission police motorcycles, three electric light-duty public works trucks, one piece of electric equipment, and four pieces of renewable diesel powered equipment, and direct staff to conduct a study to replace senior shuttle sooner than 2025, passed 4-0 (Mueller absent).

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October 11, 2022

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H. Informational Items
H1. City Council agenda topics: October 18 – November 1, 2022 (Staff Report #22-195-CC) H2. Drought update for Menlo Park Municipal Water (Staff Report #22-190-CC) • Jenny Michel spoke in support of deterring excess water use for single-family residences.

H3. Menlo Park local hazard mitigation plan annex to the San Mateo County multijurisdictional local hazard mitigation plan update (Staff Report #22-192-CC) • Pam Jones spoke in support of addressing comprehensive communications outside of electronic communications.
• Lynne Bramlett spoke in support of the annual progress report and on concerns on policy issues, emergency coordinator position, and the lack of a disaster preparedness plan.

The City Council received clarification on the City’s mechanisms to mitigate ornamental water usage, water regulations throughout multiple water districts within Menlo Park, and the “Lawn Be Gone” incentive program.

I. City Manager's Report
City Manager Justin Murphy reported out on environmental documents released for the proposed Hotel Moxy and Willow Village projects, current advisory body recruitments, hybrid advisory body meeting schedule, and the Halloween Hoopla and parade downtown on October 29.

J. City Councilmember Reports
City Councilmember Combs expressed condolences to family and co-works of the landscaper who passed away today, reported out on a walking tour Flood Triangle for transportation improvements, and requested a left turn lane from Bay Road onto Willow Road return to the City Council.

Vice Mayor Wolosin reported out on attending the Palo Alto Community Fund Advisory Board and the Community Trust meetings and requested City Council liaisons be appointed in December.

Mayor Nash reported out on Peninsula Clean Energy 2021 Community Benefits Summary (Attachment).

K. Adjournment
Mayor Nash adjourned the meeting at 7:41 p.m.

Judi A. Herren, Assistant to the City Manager/City Clerk Page G-1.3
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov City Council
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES – DRAFT
Date: 10/18/2022
Time: 6:00 p.m.

Locations: Zoom and
City Council Chambers
701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025
Regular Session
A. Call To Order
Mayor Nash called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.

B. Roll Call

Present: Combs, Mueller (exited the meeting at 7:05 p.m. and reentered the meeting at 7:38 p.m.), Nash, Taylor, Wolosin

Absent: None
Staff: City Manager Justin I. C. Murphy, City Attorney Nira F. Doherty, Assistant to the City Manager/City Clerk Judi A. Herren
C. Agenda Review
Staff will provide an update on item F2.

D. Public Comment
• John McKenna spoke in support of bolder action on climate change on an expedited timeline. • Nisha Advani spoke in support of advocacy for domestic violence victims and survivors and requested a proclamation.
• Bernard Clouse spoke in support of increased safety measures on Bay Road for all modes of transportation.

E. Study Session
E1. Provide direction regarding a zero-emission landscape equipment (ZELE) ordinance to regulate gaspowered equipment such as leaf blowers (Staff Report #22-207-CC) Sustainability Manager Rebecca Lucky made the presentation (Attachment). • David Axelrod spoke in support of the ZELE ordinance. • Bernard Clouse requested clarification on the municipal codes that enforce landscaping equipment and prohibition of leaf blower use on Spare-the-Air days. • Sean Vandrill spoke in support of the ZELE ordinance. • Leah Elkins spoke in support of the ZELE ordinance.
• Jennifer Johnson spoke in support of the ZELE ordinance and accommodating independent landscapers.

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October 18, 2022

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• Bill Kirsch spoke in support of the ZELE ordinance.

The City Council received clarification on timing and grace periods, reporting mechanisms, staffing needs, hardship assistance for smaller landscape and gardening operations, public outreach material already available from other agencies, and a City equipment replacement grant.

The City Council discussed moving up the enforcement dates for zero-emission landscape equipment, process for enforcement, and community engagement and public outreach.

The City Council directed staff to proceed with staff recommendation, and provided further direction on public outreach leading up to a first reading in 2023 that includes: pamphlets, utility bill inserts, flyers, and leaflets, working with neighboring jurisdictions materials for zero-emission landscape equipment, reaching out to small business landscapers and gardeners during their hours of operation in the community, developing case studies, prioritizing the replacement of the City’s gaspowered equipment and proceeding with the State grant, studying the frequency and triggers of City’s use of leaf-blowers, and reporting ability through a mobile application (e.g., Menlo ACT).

F. Consent Calendar
F1. Adopt a resolution to continue conducting the City’s Council and advisory body meetings remotely due to health and safety concerns for the public and to authorize the use of hybrid meetings (Staff Report #22-201-CC)
F2. Approve an amendment to the agreement with AECOM to conduct the next phase of work for the Caltrain grade separation project (Staff Report #22-197-CC) Public Works Director Nikki Nagaya announced that staff is aware of requests from residents to add tasks for the current scope of work and would need to return to the City Council to authorize these changes.

The City Council received clarification on the cost and timeline impacts related to adding new tasks and resident outreach.
• Maria Amundson spoke in opposition of elevated train tracks. • Amy Mushlin spoke in opposition of the grade separation construction and elevated train tracks.

The City Council discussed grade separation options, residential impacts, and recommendations and also directed staff to coordinate with residents on the additional requested tasks.

ACTION: Motion and second (Combs/ Wolosin), to approve an amendment to AECOM’s existing agreement for the Caltrain grade separation project, passed 4-1 (Nash dissenting).

F3. Authorize the city manager to enter into an amended contract with ICF Jones & Stokes Inc. to prepare an environmental impact report for the proposed master plan project at 333 Ravenswood Avenue (Parkline) for the amount of $688,817 and future augments as may be necessary to complete the environmental review for the proposed project (Staff Report #22-200- CC)
F4. Authorize the Mayor to sign the City’s response to the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury Report:
“Waiter! There’s a Car in My Soup!” (Staff Report #22-202-CC) Page G-1.5
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov City Council Regular Meeting Minutes – DRAFT
October 18, 2022

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ACTION: Motion and second (Wolosin/ Nash), to approved the consent calendar with the exception of item F2., passed 4-0 (Mueller absent).

G. Regular Business
G1. Adopt a resolution authorizing installation of no parking zones on both sides of Middle Avenue, installation of an all-way stop at Middle Avenue and San Mateo Drive, replacement of an all-way stop at Middle Avenue and University Drive with a roundabout with yield control, and temporary closure of Blake Street at Middle Avenue (Staff Report #22-198-CC) Assistant Public Works Director Hugh Louch made the presentation (Attachment).

The City Council received clarification on impacts to the Stanford funding and the timing of Middle Avenue parking options returning to the City Council.

The City Council discussed increased notification and outreach to Middle Avenue residents.

The City Council directed staff to bifurcate the item by removing Middle Avenue parking from the elements of the project.
• Neil Wolf spoke in opposition of no parking zones on both sides of Middle Avenue. • Bill Kirsch spoke in support of a pilot for no parking zones on both sides of Middle Avenue. • Sean Van Dril spoke in support of a narrower Middle Avenue. • Brendan Visser spoke in support of a pilot for no parking zones on both sides of Middle Avenue. • Robert Lencioni spoke in opposition of the roundabout with yield control and the no parking zones on both sides of Middle Avenue.
• Jerry Jones spoke in support of bicycles routes and in opposition of the no parking zones on both sides of Middle Avenue.
• Chief Executive Officer Peninsula Volunteer representative Peter Olson spoke in opposition of no parking zones on both sides of Middle Avenue.
• Kay Li Lee spoke in opposition of no parking zones on both sides of Middle Avenue and in support of parking time restrictions.
• Misha Silin spoke in support of no parking zones on both sides of Middle Avenue. • Sandy Napel spoke in support of pilot program and the closure of Blake Street at Middle Avenue. • Jeff Piper spoke in support of the Blake Street closure. • Sally Cole provided information on history of Middle Avenue safety needs and of the other proposed safety measures proposed on September 13.
• Ryan Padrez spoke in support for the installation of no parking zones on both sides of Middle Avenue, installation of an all-way stop at Middle Avenue and San Mateo Drive, replacement of an all-way stop at Middle Avenue and University Drive with a roundabout with yield control, and temporary closure of Blake Street at Middle Avenue.
• Adina Levin spoke in support of the Middle Avenue no parking pilot. • Randy Avalos spoke in support of the public outreach of the proposed projects. • Ashley Callahan spoke in support of the installation of an all-way stop at Middle Avenue and San Mateo Drive, replacement of an all-way stop at Middle Avenue and University Drive with a roundabout with yield control, temporary closure of Blake Street at Middle Avenue, and automobile traffic calming measures on Middle Avenue.
• Peter Lee spoke on the safety of Middle Avenue and the lack of need for the proposed measures.

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October 18, 2022

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• Katie Behroozi spoke in support of the proposed safety measures. • Joe Nootbaar spoke in opposition of an all-way stop at Middle Avenue and San Mateo Drive and additional traffic controls on Middle Avenue.

The City Council received clarification on approved measures, Blake Street parking restrictions and permitting, and public engagement with New Community Church and Peninsula Volunteers.

The City Council discussed the upcoming 25-mph (miles per hour) zones, impacts of parking removal for the legacy apartments, public engagement to residents on Middle Avenue before the City Council approves a no-parking pilot, impacts to other streets by the Blake Street closure at Middle Avenue, and the timeline impacts by pushing the Middle Avenue no parking component.

The City Council took a recess at 10:02 p.m.

The City Council reconvened at 10:17 p.m.

The City Council directed staff to return the Middle Avenue parking measures to a future City Council meeting incorporating potential accommodations for existing multifamily apartments, New Community Church, and Peninsula Volunteers, communicate information to all City subscribers with a minimum two-week notice before the meeting that Middle Avenue parking will be heard, and present options for alternative parking removal.

ACTION: Motion and second (Nash/ Combs), to adopt a resolution, as read into the record (Attachment), authorizing the installation of an all-way stop at Middle Avenue and San Mateo Drive and authorize a temporary closure of Blake Street at Middle Avenue using temporary materials, passed 4-0 (Mueller absent).

G2. Provide direction on the process for recommending stop sign installation and consider adopting a resolution to install stop signs at several intersections (Staff Report #22-203-CC) Senior Transportation Engineer Kevin Chen made the presentation (Attachment).

The City Council received clarification on objectives of the public outreach measured with and against current qualitative data, adding a stop sign at Santa Monica Avenue and Coleman Avenue, and guidance on how a resident can request a stop sign.

ACTION: Motion and second (Combs/ Wolosin), to adopt a resolution to install all-way stops at the following six intersections:
• Van Buren Road and Ringwood Avenue
• Elm Street and Pope Street
• Elm Street and Central Avenue
• Walnut Street and Pope Street-Beacon Streets
• Pope Street and Gilbert Avenue
• Terminal Avenue and Del Norte Avenue;
convert the two-way stop at Elm Street and Laurel Avenue to face Laurel Avenue instead of Elm Street, and direct staff to pursue a stop sign at Santa Monica Avenue and Coleman Avenue, passed unanimously.

G3. Consider and adopt a resolution approving the water supply assessment for the Housing Element Update Project (Staff Report #22-199-CC)
Acting Principal Planner Tom Smith made the presentation (Attachment).

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October 18, 2022

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The City Council discussed when the Bay-Delta Plan amendment will be resolved.

ACTION: Motion and second (Wolosin/ Combs), to adopt a resolution approving the water supply assessment prepared for the proposed Housing Element Update Project, passes unanimously.

H. Informational Items
H1. City Council agenda topics: October 20 – November 15, 2022 (Staff Report #22-205-CC) H2. Preliminary considerations for commemorative park amenities (Staff Report #22-204-CC) H3. Consideration of recommended sustainable reach codes for inclusion as part of the upcoming 2022 California Building Standards Code adoption process (Staff Report #22-206-CC) I. City Manager's Report
City Manager Justin Murphy reported out on the special City Council meeting on October 20 for Planning Commission interviews.

J. City Councilmember Reports
City Councilmember Taylor reported out on the SFO Community Roundtable, Stanford Community Resources, San Mateo County Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency District, Reimagining Policing subcommittee and Community Amenities subcommittee meetings.

K. Adjournment
Mayor Nash adjourned the meeting at 11:09 p.m.

Judi A. Herren, Assistant to the City Manager/City Clerk Page G-1.8
City Manager's Office
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov

STAFF REPORT
City Council
Meeting Date: 11/1/2022
Staff Report Number: 22-209-CC
Consent Calendar: Adopt a resolution to continue conducting the City’s Council and advisory body meetings
remotely due to health and safety concerns for the
public and to authorize the use of hybrid meetings
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution (Attachment A) to continue conducting the City’s Council and advisory body meetings remotely due to health and safety concerns for the public and to authorize the use of hybrid meetings.

Policy Issues
Assembly Bill 361 (AB 361) was signed into law September 16, 2021 allowing cities to continue holding virtual meetings during any emergency proclaimed by the governor. AB 361 sunsets January 1, 2024. The City Council would need to declare every 30 days that the City’s legislative bodies must continue to meet remotely or in a hybrid format whereby City Councilmembers, appointed officials, staff and the public may participate in person or remotely, in order to ensure the health and safety of the public.

Background
The California Legislature approved AB 361, which was signed by the governor September 16, 2021 for signature. The bill allows local legislative bodies to continue to meet remotely through January 1, 2024. A local agency will be allowed to continue to meet remotely when:
• The local agency holds a meeting during a declared state of emergency • State or local health officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing • Legislative bodies declare the need to meet remotely due to present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees
The City meets the requirements to continue holding meetings remotely in order to ensure the health and safety of the public:
• The City is still under a local state of emergency
• County Health urges that all individuals in public spaces maintain social distancing and wear masks A hybrid meeting allows members of City Council and advisory bodies, staff, and members of the public to participate in meetings either virtually and in-person.

Analysis
The City is still under a local state of emergency and the emergency findings required under AB 361 are still in effect. San Mateo County is still in the Low COVID-19 Community Level category and the Centers for AGENDA ITEM G-2 Page G-2.1
Staff Report #: 22-209-CC
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people may choose to mask at any time and people with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask. The resolution authorizes the use of hybrid meetings, whereby City Councilmembers, participants, and staff may choose to attend either remotely or in person due to health and safety concerns and needs. The City Council finds that reducing the number of persons present in City Council chambers may continue to reduce imminent health risks associated with large groups and/or members of varying households gathering indoors.

Impact on City Resources
Additional technologies will need to be purchased and implemented in the Main Library (Senior Annex), Cypress Room (Arrillaga Recreation Center), and the Downtown Conference Room (City Hall) in order to hold hybrid meetings. There will also be the need to train staff and advisory body members on the new technology.

Environmental Review
This action is not a project within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines §§ 15378 and 15061(b)(3) as it is an organizational structure change that will not result in any direct or indirect physical change in the environment.

Public Notice
Public notification was achieved by posting the agenda, with the agenda items being listed, at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.

Attachments
A. Resolution
Report prepared by:

Judi A. Herren, Assistant to the City Manager/City Clerk Page G-2.2
RESOLUTION NO. XXXX

RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MENLO PARK AND

ON BEHALF OF COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES CREATED BY THE CITY

COUNCIL PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION
54952(b) AUTHORIZING TELECONFERENCE MEETINGS IN COMPLIANCE WITH AB 361 (GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54953(e)) TO CONTINUE TO

ALLOW MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO SAFELY PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS
WHEREAS, the City Council is committed to ensuring public access to observe and participate in local government meetings; and
WHEREAS, all meetings of the City Council and other legislative bodies created pursuant to Government Code Section 54952(b) are open and public, as required by the Ralph M. Brown Act, so that any member of the public may participate in local government meetings; and WHEREAS, the AB 361, codified at Government Code section 54953(e), makes provisions for remote teleconferencing participation in local government meetings, without compliance with the requirements of 54953(b)(3), during a Governor-proclaimed state of emergency and if the local legislative body determines, by majority vote, that as a result of the emergency, meeting solely in person would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees; and WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020, Governor Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency due to the outbreak of respiratory illness due to a novel coronavirus (now known as COVID-19) and that State of Emergency is still in effect in the State of California; and WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020 the City Council proclaimed the existence of a local state of emergency within the City, pursuant to Section 8625 of the California Emergency Services Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, COVID-19 continues to threaten the health and lives of City residents; and WHEREAS, the SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron Variants are highly transmissible in indoor settings; and
WHEREAS, the Omicron subvariants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is overtaking other variants in San Mateo County; and
WHEREAS, according to data from the County’s Health Administrator and County website, the County is averaging approximately nine new cases per 100,000 of COVID-19 per day; and WHEREAS, although the City has returned to in-person meetings, due to the prevalence of BA strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus overtaking other variants in San Mateo County, the City Council finds that reducing the number of persons present in City Council chambers is necessary to reduce imminent health risks associated with large groups and/or members of varying households gathering indoors; and
WHEREAS, the State of California and the City of Menlo Park continue to follow safety measures in response to COVID-19 as ordered or recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), California Department of Public Health (DPH), and/or County of Page G-2.3 ATTACHMENT A
Resolution No. XXXX

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San Mateo, as applicable, including facial coverings when required; and based upon that guidance, in-person attendance indoors at public meetings continues to present a health risk for certain segments of the population, necessitating the need to reduce the number of in-person meeting attendees; and
WHEREAS, the City Council, acting as a legislative body pursuant to Government Code section 54952(a) and for the benefit of the commissions, committees and other bodies that were created by the City Council pursuant to Government Code section 54952(b) (collectively referred to as “Legislative Bodies”), finds that the current conditions meet the circumstances set forth in Government Code section 54953(e)(3) to allow Legislative Bodies to continue to use teleconferencing to hold open and public meetings if the Legislative Bodies comply with the requirements set forth in Government Code section 54953(e)(2) to ensure the public can safely participate in and observe local government meetings.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Menlo Park that the City Council does hereby:

1. Find that current conditions authorize teleconference public meetings of Legislative Bodies.

Based on the California Governor’s continued declaration of a State of Emergency and current conditions, the City Council finds that meeting in person, without the option for certain populations and persons to participate remotely, would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees. The City Council does therefore find that Legislative Bodies and members of Legislative Bodies of the City may elect to use teleconferencing to hold public meetings in accordance with Government Code section 54953(e)(2) to ensure members of the public have continued access to safely observe and participate in local government meetings.

2. Authorize Legislative Bodies to conduct teleconference meetings. The Legislative Bodies are hereby authorized to take all actions necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of this Resolution, including conducting open and public meetings in accordance with Government Code section 54953(e)(2) and other applicable provisions of the Brown Act.

3. Authorize Legislative Bodies to conduct hybrid meetings. The Legislative Bodies are hereby further authorized to conduct meetings in a “hybrid” format, where both members of the Body may elect to be present in person, utilizing appropriate distancing and masking practices, or participate by teleconferencing technology. Such meetings of the Legislative Bodies that occur using teleconferencing technology will provide an opportunity for any and all members of the public who wish to address Legislative Bodies and will otherwise occur in a manner that protects the statutory and constitutional rights of parties and the members of the public attending the meeting via teleconferencing.
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Page G-2.4
Resolution No. XXXX

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I, Judi A. Herren, City Clerk of Menlo Park, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing City Council Resolution was duly and regularly passed and adopted at a meeting by said City Council on the first day of November, 2022, by the following votes:

AYES:

NOES:

ABSENT:

ABSTAIN:

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Official Seal of said City on this __ day of November, 2022.

Judi A. Herren, City Clerk
Page G-2.5
Public Works
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov

STAFF REPORT
City Council
Meeting Date: 11/1/2022
Staff Report Number: 22-208-CC
Consent Calendar: Reject all bids for the Chrysler Stormwater Pump Station Improvement project and direct staff to
rebid the project at a future date
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council reject all bids received for the Chrysler Stormwater Pump Station Improvement project and direct staff to re-bid the project at a future date.

Policy Issues
The City Council must take action to award or reject construction bids for capital improvement projects per public contracting requirements.

Background
The Chrysler Stormwater Pump Station is located at 1395 Chrysler Drive in Menlo Park, CA, adjacent to lands owned by Bohannon Development Group (Bohannon.) The pump station drains approximately 297 surface acres in an area roughly bounded by Marsh Road, Bayfront Expressway, Chilco Street and the Dumbarton railroad tracks. The existing facility is designed to discharge a 10-year rain event and consists of two pumps, a below-ground wet well, and a building that houses the pumps and the electrical room.

Stormwater is pumped to a Caltrans-owned ditch on the opposite side of Bayfront Expressway and empties into Flood Slough near the Bedwell Bayfront Park entrance.

The pump station was built in 1958 and has reached the end of its useful life. In 2015, the City contracted with Schaaf & Wheeler to provide construction bid documents for a replacement pump station that could discharge a 100-year rain event. The new pump station is elevated two feet above the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated 100-year base flood elevation and includes three new, larger pumps designed to discharge flows associated with sea level rise in San Francisco Bay. This project is included in the City’s capital improvement program with partial funding from a five million federal FEMA hazard mitigation program grant (awarded to the City April 27, 2020.) The new pump station requires a larger building footprint that entails a mutual exchange of property and provision of easements with Bohannon. On December 8, 2020, the City Council authorized the city manager to negotiate and execute a funding agreement with Bohannon that addressed the aforementioned project needs. To date, City staff drafted the final form of deeds for the mutual exchange of property, and lot line adjustment, with Bohannon. Additionally, General Plan and Zoning Map Amendments were approved for this action November 16, 2021 and December 7, 2021, respectively. The exchange of property with Bohannon is anticipated to be complete before the City Council’s award of the project’s construction contract.

AGENDA ITEM G-3 Page G-3.1
Staff Report #: 22-208-CC
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov Analysis
On August 5, 2022, staff advertised the project for construction bidding with an engineer’s estimate of $9,500,000. The project was advertised on the City website and posted twice in a newspaper with local circulation. On September 27, 2022, the City received six bids for the project as summarized in Table 1.

Table 1: Bid results
(Engineer’s estimate $9,500,000)
Contractor Base bid
total
Mitchell Engineering $10,994,352
Anvil Builders $11,494,800
Anderson Pacific Engineering Construction, Inc. $11,995,000 Ranger Pipelines, Inc. $12,485,000
Valentine Corporation $13,117,369
Mountain Cascade, Inc. $15,573,000
The project specifications stipulated that the contract award would be based on the base bid and the bidders’ responsiveness to the project documents. Mitchell Engineering, with a listed base bid of $10,994,352, was identified as the apparent low bidder pending review of the bid documentation by staff.

Upon documentation review, staff discovered irregularities with each of the bids received. For example, four of the six bids did not fulfill a required sub-contractor’s license for bypass pumping per project specifications. The remaining two bids had omissions in the mandatory federal non-lobbying and list of subcontractor forms. Staff discussed these irregularities with the city attorney and determined that all bids are non-responsive pursuant to Public Contracting Code.

On September 30, 2022, a bid protest was received from Anvil Builders, protesting the bid submitted by Mitchell Engineering. The bid protest identified that Mitchell Engineering did not fulfill the required subcontractor’s licensing for bypass pumping per the project specifications.

Staff recommends that the City Council reject all bids received for the Chrysler Pump Station Improvement project and direct staff to re-bid the project. Staff proposes the following actions to facilitate rebidding of the project:
• Allow bypass pumping subcontractors to have a general construction license and/or a specialized pumping license
• Host a non-mandatory pre-bid meeting with prospective bidders, during the re-advertisement period, to discuss the noted bid irregularities and communicate that future bids should comply with project requirements
Subject to the City Council’s approval, staff will re-advertise the project later this calendar year and schedule an award of contract in January 2023 (contingent upon bids received.) Impact on City Resources
There is no impact on City resources.

Page G-3.2
Staff Report #: 22-208-CC
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov Environmental Review
This action is not a project within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines §§ 15378 and 15061(b)(3) as it will not result in any direct or indirect physical change in the environment.

Public Notice
Public notification was achieved by posting the agenda, with the agenda items being listed, at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.

Attachments
None.

Report prepared by:

Michael Fu, Senior Civil Engineer
Report reviewed by:

Tanisha Werner, Assistant Public Works Director - Engineering Page G-3.3
City Manager's Office
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov

STAFF REPORT
City Council
Meeting Date: 11/1/2022
Staff Report Number: 22-212-CC
Consent Calendar: Authorize the Mayor to sign the City’s response to the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury Report: “A
Delicate Balance Between Knowledge and Power:

Government Transparency and the Public’s Right to
Know.”
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council authorize the Mayor to sign the City’s response to the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury Report: “A Delicate Balance Between Knowledge and Power: Government Transparency and the Public’s Right to Know.”
Policy Issues
The City of Menlo Park intends to meet its obligations under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6252 et seq. and provide transparency into the People’s business.

Background
The California Public Records Act (CPRA) was enacted in 1968, and requires government records be made accessible to the public upon request, unless exempted by law. Complying with the CPRA is an obligation of city staff, and requires balancing the need to provide access to public records against the governments need to perform its other functions in a reasonably efficient manner. As such, the CPRA provides timelines and authorizes extensions on those timelines where appropriate. (Government Code Section 6253.) The CPRA also provides numerous exemptions to disclosure on a myriad of issues which the legislature and the development of the law over the years determined appropriately balanced the public’s right to know against various interests which intersect with running a City (e.g., privacy, confidentiality, privileges, etc.) On August 9, 2022, the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury (Grand Jury) issued a report titled, “A Delicate Balance between Knowledge and Power: Government Transparency and the Public’s Right to Know.” (Attachment A.) A copy of this report was forwarded to the City Council August 2022. The report was sent to all municipalities within San Mateo County. The report summarizes the Grand Jury’s assessment of the CPRA programs across the county, and is a follow-up on a previous report from 2006 – 2007 where the Grand Jury attempted to address the rise in use of electronic forms of communication and how to treat and manage such documents under the CPRA. As noted in the report, reviewing that 2006 – 2007 Grand Jury Report alerted this Grand Jury that “cities may be facing increased complexity and potential burdens in the processing of requests for public records.”
The Grand Jury thus sought to understand how the municipalities in San Mateo County were responding to requests, the types of requests they were receiving, policies and procedures put in place regarding public records.

The report then makes several findings and recommendations. Each City is then requested to respond to AGENDA ITEM G-4 Page G-4.1
Staff Report #: 22-xxx-CC
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov certain findings and recommendation identified in the report.

Here, the city clerk’s office and the city attorney’s office have prepared a response letter for City Council consideration, which addresses all applicable findings and recommendations. If approved, the Mayor will sign on behalf of the City Council and City staff will then submit the letter.

Analysis
Proposed responses to recommendations
The Grand Jury made five finds and five recommendations in its report. The report requires that the City of Menlo Park respond to two findings and three recommendations. Below are the findings and recommendations specific to Menlo Park with responses to each. The City is required to respond to each finding whether it agrees or disagrees wholly or partially, and specify any portion that is disputed. As to the recommendation, the response is to provide whether a response has been implemented, will be implemented (and when), requires further analysis, or whether the recommendation will not be implemented along, with an explanation.

Finding 1: The city has no written documentation of its PRA policy and internal procedures, making it more likely that requests could be handled inconsistently.

The City agrees with this finding and is in the process of adopting policies and procedures.

Finding 2: The city uses a commercially available software application that includes a web portal enabling the public to easily request records and track their disposition.

The City agrees with this finding. The City commenced using GovQA in the beginning of 2022.

Recommendation 1: the city council should direct city staff to consider and report back by June 30, 2023, on the creation of a written PRA policy or procedures document for circulation to all relevant staff.

The City is in the process of implementing this recommendation. Before receiving the Grand Jury Report, City staff had already drafted procedures for processing public records act requests. City staff have been operating under these procedures for the entirety of 2022 and finds that the processing of requests have been improved. City staff will nevertheless review and where appropriate, revise the procedures in order to more efficiently meet the obligations of the CPRA. Although it is only a recommendation, and no formal adoption of these procedures are required, City staff is prepared to report to City Council before June 30, 2023, on its written policies and procedures.

Recommendation 3: By June 30, 2023, the city council should consider directing staff to place information about how to access public records on the home page of the city’s official website.

This recommendation requires further analysis. The City is in the process of launching a new website, and we are still considering how best to utilize the space and direct the community. The City is evaluating under which heading on the website would be most appropriate. The City anticipates resolving where to provide clear access to making a records request through the website from the home page before June 30, 2023.

Recommendation 4: By June 30, 2023, the city council should direct city staff to review and consider adopting a records management practice analogous to the City of San Mateo’s “Records Cleanup Day.” This recommendation will not be implemented. Currently the City has a program for completing routine Page G-4.2
Staff Report #: 22-xxx-CC
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov records destruction with individual city departments. The process involves the city clerk’s office working with individual departments to list records proposed for destruction and the city clerk then brings those to the City Council for approval, and eventual destruction. This process has proven effective. There is not currently a budget for creating a “Records Destruction Day” with food trucks and other amenities. The City finds that the one-on-one work between the city clerk’s office and individual departments, as opposed to an entire day dedicated to records cleanup across the City, allows the City to better conduct a thorough records cleanup while also maintaining services for the community. However, the City will continue to review whether creating a “Records Cleanup Day” similar to that of San Mateo, but by department, is a desirable route in future years.

City staff has prepared a proposed response contained in a letter attached to this staff report (Attachment B.)
Impact on City Resources
There is no impact on City resources.

Environmental Review
This action is not a project within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines § § 15378 and 15061(b) (3) as it will not result in any direct or indirect physical change in the environment.

Public Notice
Public notification was achieved by posting the agenda, with the agenda items being listed, at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.

Attachments
A. San Mateo Civil Grand Jury’s Report titled, “A Delicate Balance Between Knowledge and Power:

Government Transparency and the Public’s Right to Know.” B. Draft response to Grand Jury Report
Report prepared by:

Eli Flushman, Deputy City Attorney
Judi Herren, Assistant to the City Manager/City Clerk
Reviewed by:

Justin Murphy, City Manager
Nira Doherty, City Attorney
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A Delicate Balance between Knowledge and Power:

Government Transparency and the Public’s Right to Know
Release Date: August 9, 2022
Issue Summary Background Discussion Findings Recommendations Request for Responses Methodology Bibliography Appendices Responses ISSUE
The California Public Records Act requires that inspection or disclosure of governmental records be available to the public upon request. How do the cities in San Mateo County meet the requirements of this Act?

SUMMARY
The California Public Records Act (PRA) is an essential tool for the public to find out what their government agencies are doing. It’s one of the freedom of information laws enacted in every state in the Union to ensure that the public can witness the actions of their governments. The PRA’s purpose is to promote government transparency in California.

Fifteen years ago, the 2006-2007 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury’s report, “Electronic Communication Among City Officials: A Valuable Tool in Need of Careful Guidance,” addressed the rise in local governments’ use of electronic forms of communication between elected and appointed officials.
1 As it observed, these valuable and efficient tools can quickly disseminate information, and they can constitute public documents subject to public disclosure.

Reviewing that Grand Jury’s report alerted the 2021-2022 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury to the potential that cities may be facing increased complexity and potential burdens in the processing of requests for public records.

The Grand Jury sought to understand how San Mateo County’s 20 cities respond to PRA requests, including:
 Cities’ policies and procedures for handling requests;  The types of records requests they receive;
1 2006-2007 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury, Electronic Communication Among City Officials: A Valuable Tool in Need of Careful Guidance
https://sanmateocourt.org/documents/grand_jury/2006/ElectronicCommunicationfinal.pdf, retrieved June 9, 2022.

ATTACHMENT A Page G-4.4
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 The training of key employees, elected officials, and appointed officials about PRArelated matters; and  How legal changes may impact cities with regard to fulfilling PRA requests.

While the PRA does not require cities to adopt a formal policy, the Grand Jury sought to identify the cities that have written policy or procedure documents and the methods cities use to process the public’s requests. It also wanted to learn how key staff keep up to date with changes in PRA law. Failing to comply with these laws can subject a city to litigation and, more importantly, lead to erosion of the public’s trust.

The Grand Jury recommends that city councils of the subject cities should:

1. Consider directing staff to create a written PRA procedures document for circulation to all relevant staff.

2. Consider directing staff to perform a cost/benefit analysis regarding the purchase of commercially available public records request software.

3. Consider directing staff to place information about how to access public records on the home page of their official website.

4. Consider directing staff to create a submittable online PRA request form.

5. Consider directing staff to review and consider adopting a records management practice analogous to the City of San Mateo’s “Records Cleanup Day.”

BACKGROUND
Two centuries ago, James Madison wrote these words:
“A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”2
He further asserted, “Knowledge [is] the only Guardian of true liberty.”3 John Moss, a California member of the U.S. House of Representatives, used Madison’s quote to generate support for a bill he was introducing in Congress. In 1967, after a 12-year struggle, he

2 Letter from James Madison to W.T. Barry (August 4, 1822), in The Writings of James Madison (Gaillard Hunt ed.).
3 Letter from James Madison to George Thomson (June 30, 1825) (on file with The James Madison Papers at The Library of Congress).

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was finally successful in passing the Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). It served as the model for California’s similar Public Records Act enacted one year later.

The California Public Records Act was signed into law by Governor Ronald Reagan in 1968 and acknowledges one simple concept – that secrecy is contrary to a democratic system of “government of the people, by the people, and for the people”. Specifically, the PRA declares that “access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state”.4
Every state has some form of freedom of information law that governs public access to state and local government documents.5 In addition, every state has some form of a “Sunshine Law” or “Open Meetings” law that requires public access to meetings of public legislative bodies.

California’s Ralph M. Brown Act is such a Sunshine Law.6 Passed in 1953, it guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies. The PRA and the Brown Act are California’s primary laws intended to promote government transparency.

What are Public Records?
The PRA defines the term “public records” as any “writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business that is prepared, owned, used, or retained by a state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.”7 Thus, a “writing” is not simply a handwritten or printed document; writings include an ever-broadening range of communications including audio and video recordings, emails, photos, drawings, computer data, and more.8 The agencies that hold these public records, and are subject to the PRA, include every county, city, town, school district, special district, police and fire department, commission, and board in California.9 Certain private entities that carry out public functions using funding from a local agency may also be subject to the PRA. The PRA applies to nearly every public agency one can imagine except for the Legislature and the courts.10
A public record refers to information that has been recorded or maintained by a public agency.

Typical examples of records that the public might request include:
 Property records
 Building permits
4 California Government Code, Section 6250 (2021).
5 FOIA Advocates, State Public Records Laws. http://www.foiadvocates.com/records.html Retrieved May 11, 2022 6 CA Govt Code § 54950 et seq.
7 CA Govt Code § 6252(e).
8 CA Govt Code § 6252(g).
9 CA Govt Code § 6252(f). Excluded from the definition of state agency are those agencies provided for in article IV (except section 20(k)) and article VI of the Cal. Constitution. 10 The Legislature has its own sunshine law, Gov. Code, § 1070. Most court records are disclosable under a number of legal decisions and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

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 Business registrations
 Employee compensation information
 Financial documents
 Code enforcement records
 Public works documents, and
 Police records.

Merely addressing a question to a local agency official or employee is not sufficient to constitute a public records request under the PRA. “What time do the lights go off at the neighborhood park?” Or “Why are there so many potholes on my street?” are not public records requests.

However, a request to see the contract for the vendor who installed the lights or paved the street would be a public records request.

The Form of PRA Request
The PRA ensures that all persons must receive equal access to public records. “Persons” can be corporations, partnerships, homeowners’ associations, and the media.11 Simply put, every person has the right to inspect public records, and no one type of person has a greater right of access to public records than any other person.12
Because the intent of the law is to enable easy access to public records, it is expansive in the available ways requests may be made. The request can be made in writing or orally, by physical or electronic means, remotely or in person. Persons making a PRA request are not required to explain the reason for the request.13
Public records are to be open for inspection during office hours at the local agency. To preserve the orderly function of their offices, agencies may establish reasonable policies for the inspection and copying of records. If the request asks for copies of documents, the agency is required to respond within ten days to determine whether they have disclosable records in their possession and to notify the person making the request of that determination. The agency must then make the records “promptly” available.14
An agency may extend the normal ten-day requirement for responding whether it has any disclosable documents for up to 14 additional days under certain circumstances. 15 For example,
if the agency needs to search through and collect a voluminous number of records or to consult with another agency with an interest in the requested records, such an extension is available.

11 CA Govt Code § 6252(c); Connell v. Superior Court (Intersource, Inc.) (1997) 56 Cal.App.4th 601. 12 CA Govt Code § 6252.5; Los Angeles Unified School Dist. v. Superior Court (2007) 151 Cal.App.4th 759; Dixon v. Superior Court (2009) 170 Cal.App.4th 1271, 1279.
13 CA Govt Code § 6250; California. Constitution, Article. I, Section 3. 14 CA Govt Code § 6253(c).
15 CA Govt Code § 6253(c)(1-4).

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The agency is required to assist the requester who is having difficulty making a focused and effective PRA request.16 And while the request may be burdensome, that burden alone is not sufficient to justify noncompliance. However, the agency is also not required to perform a “needle in a haystack” search for records.17 Additionally, a PRA request only applies to records that exist at the time of the request, not for records to be created in the future.

Widespread Use of Electronic Communications
The public’s business increasingly relies on electronic communications. Email, social media postings, video and audio recordings, and the use of personal devices have created enormous volumes of public records for cities. In a case with broad consequences related to PRA requests, City of San Jose v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County (2017), the California Supreme Court ruled that communications carried out using a personal account or device were disclosable if the communication was related to the conduct of public business.18 For example, such a PRA request might be for all communications between city officials and a vendor that was granted a city-awarded contract. The search for responsive records could include reviewing all the emails, voice mails, and texts between the parties for relevant material, including on officials’ personal devices. This can be problematic since this communication, especially if voluminous, could require attorneys to determine what might be non-disclosable for reasons of privacy or privilege. In Getz v County of El Dorado (2021), a California appeals court ruled that El Dorado County’s unsubstantiated claim that a PRA request was overly broad and burdensome was not a valid reason for denial of records. The court explained that establishing that a request is overly burdensome requires more than the vague prospect of having to review lots of records. The County was ultimately compelled to produce over 40,000 email records.19 Law Enforcement Records
In recent years the most publicized form of an electronic record has been police body-cam footage. Landmark legislation has broadened PRA access to law enforcement records, including a limited subset of these audio and video recordings. On January 1, 2019, SB 1421 became law.

Called the Peace Officers: Release of Records bill, it requires law enforcement agencies to make records (including body-cam footage) related to certain serious officer use of force incidents, sexual assault, and acts of dishonesty available under the PRA.20 Police unions have filed multiple challenges to the law asserting concerns about officers’ privacy, retroactivity of the law, 16 CA Govt Code § 6253.1.
17 Cal. First Amend Coalition v. Superior Court (1998) 67 Cal. App. 4 th 159, 166.
18 Latham & Watkins, Client Alert Commentary, https://www.lw.com/thoughtLeadership/california-supreme-courtgovernment-communications-on-private-accounts-are-public, retrieved May 11, 2022. 19 Getz v. The Superior Court, 72 Cal.App.5th 637, 287 Cal. Rptr. 3d 722 (Cal. Ct. App. 2021) https://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/2021/c091337.html, retrieved June 1, 2022. 20 CA Penal Code § 832.7 and § 832.8.

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and the cost of producing records.21 These challenges have been consistently denied by courts.22 And in January 2022, SB 16, became effective. This new law now requires additional police disciplinary records, involving allegations of discrimination, unlawful arrest, and cover-ups of excessive force by fellow officers, to be made available under the PRA. 23 Methods of Handling Requests
The PRA does not mandate any specific method for agency handling of records requests. Some local agencies simply monitor the process manually using an internally created document. Many other agencies now use commercially available software that links to information on their public websites. Often marketed to city clerks through professional organizations, such as the City Clerks Association of California, these software applications offer solutions to manage large portions of the PRA request process.

These applications can:
 Manage intake of requests through a public portal;
 Provide an automated response of receipt to the person making a request;  Alert agency staff to deadlines;
 Promote coordination across departments;
 Gather records and track their production to person making a request;  Provide tools to redact information; and
 Display and store responsive records.

The software enables anyone making a PRA request to see the status of their request through a portal. It also enables cities to make both the request and the records responsive to the request visible to the public.

Fees
An agency may charge a fee for costs of complying with the PRA, but only for the direct costs of making copies of responsive records – typically a nominal fee per page of paper copies. Since today most records are produced and delivered to the requester electronically, many responsive records are cost-free to the requesting party.

In National Lawyers Guild v. City of Hayward (2019), the California Supreme Court held that an effort by the city to charge $3,000 for labor related to redacting requested bodycam footage was

21 Voice of San Diego, A Brief History of Police Challenges. https://voiceofsandiego.org/2019/06/10/brief-historyof-police-challenges-and-losses-sb-1421/, retrieved March 18, 2022. 22 JD Supra, Another SB1421 Decision Against Law Enforcement. https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/another-sb1421-decision-against-law-45114/, retrieved March 18, 2022. 23 BBK Attorneys at Law, SB 16 Compliance Expanded Public Access. https://www.bbklaw.com/NewsEvents/Insights/2021/Legal-Alerts/12/SB-16-Compliance-Expanded-Public-Access-to-Law-Enf, retrieved March 18, 2022.

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not permissible as a “data extraction” cost.24 With this decision, the Court reaffirmed that local agencies may not charge for ancillary costs such as the labor required to retrieve documents or the inspection and handling of files.25
Voter-approved Propositions Affecting the PRA
In 2004, voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 59, the “Public Records, Open Meetings Legislative Constitutional Amendment.” It essentially adds a “sunshine” amendment to the Declaration of Rights section of the California Constitution (similar to the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights) stating, “The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business, and, therefore, the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny.”26 Proposition 42, the “Public Records. Open Meetings. State Reimbursement to Local Agencies.

Legislative Constitutional Amendment” was approved by voters in 2014. It was the result of a dispute over a controversial bill that would stop local governments from being required to follow key provisions of the PRA. The State legislature had considered the bill to be a budget move, since at that time it was required to reimburse local governments for complying with some aspects of records requests. The backlash over the signing of this bill caused the legislature to rescind it and put the matter before the voters as a constitutional amendment. When it passed, by a 62% yes vote, it required local governments to comply with the PRA without being reimbursed by the State for the cost of public access to records.”27 The full financial burden of compliance with the PRA now falls entirely on local governments.

Exemptions
While the PRA states that “the people” have the right to know what their government is doing, clearly circumstances arise where a balance must be achieved between the public interest and individual privacy rights. The PRA contains at least 76 express exemptions, for matters as diverse as library circulation records, copyright protected building plans, and medical and personnel records.
28 In some instances a public document may not be considered exempt but may contain private information such as social security numbers and home addresses. Those specific portions will be redacted before release to the public. 24 Reporters Committee, National Lawyers Guild v City of Hayward. https://www.rcfp.org/briefscomments/national-lawyers-guild-v-hayward-california-supreme-court, retrieved June 14, 2022. 25 BBK Attorneys at Law, California Public Records Act Update. https://www.bbklaw.com/news-events/insights/2021/legal-alerts/01/california-public-records-act-update, retrieved March 16, 2022.
26 Cal. Const., Art I, § 3, subd. (b)(1)
27 Cal. Const., Art. I, § 3, subd. (b)(7)
28 CA Govt Code § 6254
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Government Code section 6254 specifies a large number of exemptions under the PRA. Several of the more notable exemptions are listed below:
 Records Not in Existence
The agency is under no obligation to create records where none exist; agencies are not required to provide records that may be produced in the future relevant to the original request.  Disclosure of records exempted by Federal or other State law Records shielded from disclosure by existing state or federal law, such as individual health records, are not accessible using the PRA.
 Public Interest Test and Deliberative Process Privilege Agencies may withhold certain records if they can demonstrate that the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by its disclosure.  Preliminary Drafts
Preliminary drafts, notes, or memos not normally preserved in the course of business are exempt.
 Attorney Client Communications
Confidential communications between lawyers and clients, and attorney work product, are exempt from disclosure.
 Pending Litigation
Records pertaining to pending litigation or claims to which a public agency is a party until the litigation or claim has been finally adjudicated or otherwise settled.  Personal Information
This exemption is intended to protect the confidentiality of personnel, medical or other similar files which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.  Trade Secrets
Businesses engaged in public contracts are not required to disclose their trade secrets in response to a PRA request.

Recourse When Responsive Documents Are Not Produced
If a local agency has unlawfully refused to disclose a public record, a person may ask a judge to enforce their rights under the PRA. This enforcement is primarily through a special, expedited civil judicial process.29 The PRA provides specific relief in the form of court costs and attorneys’ fees when an agency unlawfully denies access or copies of public records.

29 CA Govt Code § 6258 and 6259.

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Conversely, a local agency cannot bring an action for relief to determine its obligation to disclose records.30 That would require the person requesting documents to defend a civil action and discourage them from requesting records in the first place. It would frustrate the central purpose of the act and the constitutional amendments specifically designed to provide access to information.

The PRA is an indispensable tool for the responsible exercise of democracy in California.

Government transparency, accountability and effectiveness depend on how our local agencies handle the information they create and are entrusted with maintaining. A changing legal framework, the ubiquity of electronic records, new communications technologies and the treatment of their related records, and the public’s demonstrated desire for “open government” present significant challenges to the efficient handling of PRA requests for the cities in our county.

DISCUSSION
As stated above, the PRA applies to all of the public agencies in San Mateo County. To narrow the focus of our investigation, the Grand Jury opted to concentrate on the 20 cities, including their police and other departments, and the committees and commissions formed by those cities.

Survey Respondents
The Grand Jury began by sending a survey to the 20 city managers in the County (a copy of the survey appears in Appendix A). It asked six questions related to the processing of public records requests, policies and procedures used, and the PRA training of staff and officials. In most cases (13 of 20) the responses came from city clerks who are responsible for maintaining a city’s public records. Some of the clerks perform multiple roles for their cities, reflected in some cases (15%) by an additional job title. The following graphic illustrates the various job titles of survey respondents.

30 Filarsky v. Superior Court (2002) 28 Cal.4th 419, 426.

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In two cities, the city clerk position is determined by public election; in the remainder of the cities, clerks are appointed by the city manager. Our investigation found that the city clerk is typically the official primarily responsible for the acknowledging receipt of a PRA request, tracking it through the city’s internal processes, and delivering correspondence and responsive records to the person submitting the request.31
The Grand Jury conducted follow-up interviews with representatives of all 20 cities, confirming their survey responses and gathering additional information. We asked the cities to provide written documentation of their PRA policies and procedures, if any exist. Fourteen cities replied that they had existing policies or procedures and supplied them to the Grand Jury. We also conducted in-depth interviews with five selected cities.32 These cities were chosen to give us a cross section sample based on city population, method of tracking, and volume of requests. The Grand Jury notes that respondents from all 20 cities were entirely cooperative and knowledgeable about their city’s PRA request procedures.

Documentation of PRA Policies and Procedures
The PRA does not require local agencies to create policies or documentation of how they receive, route, track, and fulfill records requests. When the Grand Jury asked respondents and interviewees to provide documentation describing how they handled PRA requests, we learned that six cities had no such documentation.33 In some cases, the documentation received from the remaining 14 cities was simply a description of the PRA’s requirements (perhaps supplied to staff for training for information). The Grand Jury also received documents such as the city’s internal procedures, as well as some that were formal policies signed and dated by the city manager. In interviews, all respondents could describe their processes.

31 In one city, the city attorney assumed most of this role, but even there the city clerk was involved in the process. 32 Belmont, Daly City, San Bruno, San Mateo, and South San Francisco 33 Grand Jury survey (December 2021) Belmont, Daly City, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, and Woodside.

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The documentation received and reviewed by the Grand Jury varied widely. Atherton’s document is a colorful presentation defining the PRA and describing what is and isn’t a public record.

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It generally outlines city staff’s role in responding to a request. In contrast, Redwood City’s document is an administrative policy detailing the purpose and scope of how they respond to PRA requests. It notes specific types of records such as political reform act records and requests for electronic communications. It also specifies that the document will be reviewed every two years. Copies of the PRA documentation provided by Atherton and Redwood City can be found in Appendix B.

The Grand Jury noted that some cities relied on an individual staff member (city clerk or city attorney) to respond to records requests. In the event of illness, vacation, resignation or other interruption of service, no documentation exists to guide replacement personnel.

Written PRA policies or procedures provided to the Grand Jury typically covered subjects such as:
 The purpose of the PRA;
 Resources for PRA training;
 The steps in processing a request; and
 Specific staff responsibilities.

Website Portals
The Grand Jury found that while cities do receive PRA requests in various ways - submitted inperson at city offices, by telephone, and postal mail - they are most frequently submitted via email. We found that 16 of the 20 city websites included a portal containing a submittable form for the filing of a PRA request and four cities had no such form.34 Every city website somewhere provides instructions on how to make a PRA request. Some have links to those instructions on the home page, but most require steps to navigate to it. In some cases, the Grand Jury found broken links indicating inconsistencies in the level of maintenance of the PRA related pages. Some city websites simply instruct the public to send a public records request to the city clerk and provide contact information including an email address, a phone number, or a physical address at which to file.

34 Belmont, Brisbane, Hillsborough, and Portola Valley.

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Example of Easy and Accessible PRA-Information on a City Website The website for the City of South San Francisco provides easily accessible information regarding PRA requests. The home page includes a “Public Records Request” link.

Clicking on the link brings up a page full of useful titles including how to make a request, the city’s PRA policy, who can make a request, and tips to expedite requests.

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Clicking on “Public Records Request” takes the user to a third-party public records web application where they can search by request reference number, track the status of a previous request, view a public archive, and submit a new request.

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Tracking a Public Records Request
Since the PRA mandates specific deadlines for public agencies to respond to a public records request, the ability to track submissions is vital in order to ensure legal compliance. 35 All cities
informed the Grand Jury that they track PRA requests, utilizing a variety of methods to do so.

Regardless of the specific method used by a city, the workflow is generally as follows. 35 CA Govt Code § 6253(c).

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Ten cities, which were generally smaller and field fewer requests, reported that they track PRA requests manually using an Excel spreadsheet or similar internal document.36 These documents require manual data entry and maintenance by staff. For example, see San Bruno’s spreadsheet at Appendix C. While these cities indicated general satisfaction with their current methods of tracking, one city was actively seeking proposals from commercial software vendors and others were considering doing so. Appendix D shows such a vendor’s proposal.

The ten other cities, including most of the larger ones, use third-party software that automates the handling of PRA requests.37 These cities use one of two software applications.38 In interviews, staff generally expressed satisfaction with both products, citing their effectiveness and efficiency. Pricing of these applications will vary based on the configuration and storage options selected. One city indicated a desire to purchase software but cited the city’s budget constraints.

Another city noted that the cost was prohibitive for a city of their size and volume of requests.

Volume of Requests
Thirteen cities reported receiving more than 100 PRA requests in the past year. Two cities reported receiving fewer than 50 requests, while one city indicated that it received more than 1,600 requests for records. Another city noted a 500% increase from the previous year. All cities reported significant increases in the volume of requests received since the outset of the Covid pandemic.

Subjects of Requested Records
All 20 cities reported that the majority of the PRA requests they received were for routine records such as property-related documents, police records, public works documents, and business registrations. For example, in San Mateo, the City Clerk’s office recorded 1,695 PRA requests in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021. The largest percentage (46%) were directed to the Community Development Department and typically asked for property records of some kind, including planning applications, building permits, blueprints, inspections, and code violations.

Requests for police records (35%) were the next most frequently requested type of record. The clerk’s office noted that the police department directly receives substantially more requests than come to the clerk through their PRA request software.

36 Atherton, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, Hillsborough, Portola Valley, San Bruno, and Woodside as of May 16, 2022.
37 Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Mateo, and South San Francisco as of May 16, 2022.
38 GovQA, If You Have a Public Records Problem. https://www.govqa.com/solutions/public-records-software/ Retrieved May 16, 2022, and NextRequest, The All-In-One Open Records Request Platform. https://www.nextrequest.com/, retrieved May 16, 2022.

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Time-Consuming Requests
The Grand Jury learned that a relatively small number of records requests are disproportionately time-consuming to fulfill. In particular, requests for communications records may fall into this category. The request may require a broad search of all relevant communications created and stored on electronic devices, including employees’ cell phones and laptops. Recently, Portola Valley received what was characterized as a “massive” PRA request for “all town communications regarding the housing element since July 1, 2021, including communications among elected officials, staff, consultants or members of the committee, like emails and text messages, including on personal devices.”39 The request was the result of a potential change to the town’s zoning laws to allow for more dense housing in one residential neighborhood.

Several cities reported to the Grand Jury that on rare occasions a disgruntled citizen or exemployee has intentionally crafted a detailed records request intending to be time-consuming and annoying for the city. One respondent reported that the search and review of electronics communications in response to one request took months to complete, due to the number of responsive records and the broad search of multiple devices. 39 Angela Swartz, “‘Massive’ public records request escalates battle over Portola Valley's housing element,” Almanac, March 21, 2022.
https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2022/03/21/massive-public-records-request-escalates-battle-over-portolavalleys-housing-element, retrieved June 9, 2022.

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Training
State law does not mandate training for those implementing its provisions. City clerks often attend training through annual City Clerks Association of California conferences and other professional associations.

Half of the cities interviewed by the Grand Jury mandate formal PRA training for their key employees. Others offer training but do not mandate it, while some cities have no formal arrangements for PRA training at all.40 Training, if offered, is conducted by the city attorney. In our investigation, respondents agreed that formal training for key city employees would make the handling of records requests more efficient and consistent.

Twelve cities informed the Grand Jury that they provide PRA training for their appointed and elected officials. This training is also typically provided by the city attorney, sometimes with the assistance of the city clerk. Eight cities reported that they do not offer specific PRA training to such officials, but some noted that their training in Brown Act compliance includes PRA training content.41
While the PRA does not include criminal penalties for noncompliance with its provisions, civil actions, as described earlier, may be filed and cities can be liable for court costs and attorneys’ fees.

40 Burlingame, Portola Valley, and Woodside.
41BBK, Attorneys at Law, Summary of the Major Provisions and Requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act. https://www.bbklaw.com/bbk/media/library/pdf/major-provisions-and-requirements-of-the-brown-act.pdf, retrieved June 9, 2022.

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Increasing Efficiency in Records Request Processing
Some cities have demonstrated how commonly requested records can be made available to the public without formal PRA requests.

Making public records available online is a convenient and efficient mechanism for both the requester and the municipality. Cities generally do this for many common records, such as meeting agendas for public meetings (which are legally required to be posted publicly).42 At the time of this investigation, some cities, such as San Carlos, also posted many records online.

Using the search term “public records” on the San Carlos city website brings up “Records Available Online for Your Easy Access,” which connects to records such as budgets, building permits, and public works documents.
42 CA Govt Code § 54954.2.

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The Half Moon Bay website offered a “Document Center” containing more than 2,000 city documents going back a decade.

Several cities noted that they often receive requests for the same records repeatedly. For example, this can occur when a sought-after property is offered for sale and brokers, architects, attorneys, and potential buyers are doing their due diligence. Cities using commercially provided software applications, or that post public records as do San Carlos and Half Moon Bay, can reduce the number of such duplicative PRA requests.

Records Management
Proper records management policies and practices facilitate effective compliance with the PRA.

Having better control of these records makes their timely and appropriate production more accurate and efficient. All cities in the County reported having records retention schedules that determine what documents must be retained and for how long. For example, in South San Page G-4.23
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Francisco, leases for city owned properties must be kept in hard copy for the current year plus two-years. Board and commission resolutions must be kept permanently (a copy of the records retention schedule for South San Francisco is at Appendix E).

The City of San Mateo reported a unique method for encouraging city staff in one element of the effective management of public records. There, the city clerk held a “Records Clean Up Day” (related materials are contained in Appendix F). During this event employees are tasked with:
 Reducing the number of duplicate records;
 Preparing records for off-site storage;
 Imaging and indexing electronic records; and
 Identifying electronic records eligible for destruction.

The retention life cycle of various records determined how different categories of documents are handled. The program was designed to create an enjoyable environment around these tedious tasks by employing a food truck, encouraging casual dress, creating contests with prizes, and printing T-shirts commemorating the day. The program included an on-site shred truck, and the city attorney was available for consultation.

In an email to the Grand Jury, a city staffer wrote, “In addition to elevating the employee understanding that these public records are an asset of the city (just like the vac truck, fleet, and streets) …we have a duty to manage and maintain them well; reinforce the policy and procedures we have adopted; and let’s face it, maintaining records can become back burner in the flurry of day-to-day needs and requests. Setting aside time to honor the need, accomplish an objective and Page G-4.24
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then celebrate it – keeps it more in the forefront of the mind and honors the importance of the public’s records.” 43
Law Enforcement Records
Some cities reported receiving significant numbers of requests for police records. All such requests were forwarded directly to city police departments or the County Sheriff’s Office (for those cities contracting for police services).44 Law enforcement agencies typically employ a records manager tasked with responding to public records requests. In some cities the disposition of these requests was reported back to the city clerk for inclusion in their tracking systems; in others, the city clerk had no knowledge of the status of a police records request. The Grand Jury did not investigate how these requests for law enforcement records were handled in compliance with the PRA. It is of note that most law enforcement records are exempted from the Public Records Act pursuant to Government Code Section 6254(f).

FINDINGS
F1. The city has no written documentation of its PRA policy and internal procedures, making it more likely that requests could be handled inconsistently.

F2. The city uses a commercially available software application that includes a web portal enabling the public to easily request records and track their disposition.

F3. Information about how to access public records requires multiple clicks to find on the city’s website, which hinders the public’s access to public records.

F4. The City of San Mateo implements a Records Cleanup Day with the purpose of increasing employee understanding of the need to effectively maintain public records, thereby improving PRA request responsiveness.

F5. The city has no PRA request form online, making public access to public records less efficient.
43 Grand Jury correspondence April 26, 2022.
44 Contracting cities are Half Moon Bay, Millbrae, San Carlos, Woodside, and Portola Valley.

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RECOMMENDATIONS
R1. The city council should direct city staff to consider and report back by June 30, 2023, on the creation of a written PRA policy or procedures document for circulation to all relevant staff.

R2. The city council should direct city staff to consider performing a cost/benefit analysis and report back by September 1, 2023, on the purchase of commercially available public records request software.

R3. By June 30, 2023, the city council should consider directing city staff to place information about how to access public records on the home page of the city’s official website.

R4. By June 30, 2023, the city council should direct city staff to review and consider adopting a records management practice analogous to the City of San Mateo’s “Records Cleanup Day.”
R5. By June 30, 2023, the city council should direct city staff to create, on the city clerk’s page of its website, a submittable PRA request form.

REQUEST FOR RESPONSES
Pursuant to Penal Code Section 933.05, the Grand Jury requests responses from the selected city and town councils as follows (x):

City F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5
Atherton x x x x x
Belmont x x x x x x x x
Brisbane x x x x x x
Burlingame x x
Colma x x
Daly City x x x x
East Palo Alto x x
Foster City x x
Half Moon Bay x x x x x
Hillsborough x x x x x x x
Menlo Park x x x x x
Millbrae x x
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City F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5
Pacifica x x
Portola Valley x x x x x x
Redwood City x x x
San Bruno x x x x x
San Carlos x x
San Mateo x x
South San Francisco x x
Woodside x x x x x
The governing bodies indicated above should be aware that the comment or response of the governing body must be conducted subject to the notice, agenda, and open meeting requirements of the Brown Act.

RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS
California Penal Code Section 933.05, provides (emphasis added):
(a) For purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 933, as to each grand jury finding, the responding person or entity shall report one of the following:
(1) The respondent agrees with the finding.
(2) The respondent disagrees wholly or partially with the finding; in which case the response shall specify the portion of the finding that is disputed and shall include an explanation of the reasons therefor.
(b) For purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 933, as to each grand jury recommendation, the responding person or entity shall report one of the following actions:
(1) The recommendation has been implemented, with a summary regarding the implemented action.
(2) The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future, with a timeframe for implementation.
(3) The recommendation requires further analysis, with an explanation and the scope and parameters of an analysis or study, and a timeframe for the matter to be prepared for discussion by the officer or head of the agency or department being investigated or reviewed, including the governing body of the public agency when applicable. This Page G-4.27
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timeframe shall not exceed six months from the date of publication of the grand jury report.
(4) The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable, with an explanation therefor.

METHODOLOGY
Through examination of surveys, interviews, the documentation provided by the cities, a demonstration of third-party software, and a site visit, the Grand Jury studied how cities respond to public records requests, and how they keep up with changes in the law.

Survey
 The Grand Jury developed an online survey consisting of six questions and a request for copies of their PRA policies and procedures.
 The survey was sent to all 20 city managers in the County and various respondents completed the survey.
 We then followed up with a brief phone interview to confirm the responses received from those completing the survey, and to request written policy and procedures documents and records retention policies.

Documents
The Grand Jury reviewed:
 Policy and procedure documents from all cities that indicated having them.  Records retention policies from several cities.
 Proposals and contracts for third-party software received from various vendors  Marketing material of third-party software vendors
 Research on best practices in records management
Site Tour
 GJ conducted a site visit to the San Bruno City Attorney’s office.  San Mateo conducted a virtual demonstration of their third-party software.

Interviews
 The Grand Jury conducted further interviews with city attorneys, city clerks and city managers based on those with written policies or procedures documents, training of key employees and elected and appointed officials (advisory bodies), number of public records requests received per year, and those with an elected city clerk.

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Web Sites
 The official websites of the 20 cities in the County were reviewed to assess the ease in locating information relating to public records, the methods of submission of a public records request, as well as users’ direct access to commonly requested public records.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 League of California Cities (Revised April 2017). The People’s Business: A Guide to the California Records Act. Sacramento, CA.
 League of California Cities. “Open and Public V: A Guide to the Ralph M. Brown Act.” Accessed May 24, 2022. https://www.calcities.org/docs/default-source/cityattorneys/open-public-v-revised-2016.pdf?sfvrsn=995414c9_3.  Best Best & Krieger. “The Engineering of Public Records Processing.” December 2021 Accessed May 24, 2022. https://www.calcities.org/docs/default-source/city-clerks-newlaw-and-elections-seminar---session-materials/the-engineering-of-public-recordsprocessing.pdf.  Californians Aware (2004). Top 10 Points to Remember about Exemptions from the California Public Records Act. Carmichael, CA.
 GovQA. “Best Practices for Fulfilling Public Records Requests.” Accessed May 11, 2022. www.GovQA.com-best-practices-fulfilling-public-records-requests.  NextRequest. “Current Issues Affecting Public Records Request Management.” https://www.nextrequest.com/blog/current-issues-affecting-public-records-requestmanagement, accessed May 11, 2022.  Stephan A. Barber. “The California Public Records Act: The Public’s Right of Access to governmental Information.” 7 Pac.L.J. (1976). Accessed May 24, 2022. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2423&context=mlr  California Government Code – GOV Title 1, Division 7, Chapter 3.5, Sections 6250 - 6276.50 Inspection of Public Records.
 Ballotpedia. “Transparency Checklist”. https://ballotpedia.org/Transparency_checklist.

Accessed June 7, 2022
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LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix A – The Grand Jury Survey Results
Appendix B – PRA Policies and Procedures: Atherton and Redwood City Appendix C – San Bruno PRA Request Log
Appendix D – GovQA Proposal for Services
Appendix E – South San Francisco Retention Schedule
Appendix F – City of San Mateo’s Clean-Up Day Staff Plan and Flyer Page G-4.30
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APPENDIX A
The Grand Jury Survey Results
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APPENDIX B
PRA Policies and Procedures: Atherton and Redwood City
Atherton: https://www.sanmateocourt.org/documents/grand_jury/2021/Appendix B - PRA PAP Atherton.pdf
Redwood City: https://www.sanmateocourt.org/documents/grand_jury/2021/Appendix B - PRA PAP Redwood City.pdf
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APPENDIX C
San Bruno PRA Request Log
(sample page with requester names removed)
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APPENDIX D
GovQA Proposal for Services
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APPENDIX E
South San Francisco Records Retention Schedule 2016
https://www.sanmateocourt.org/documents/grand_jury/2021/Appendix E - SSF Retention Schedule 2016.pdf
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APPENDIX F
City of San Mateo’s Clean-Up Day Staff Plan and Flyer
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City Council
November 1, 2022
The Honorable Judge Amarra A. Lee
Judge of the Superior Court
C/O Jenarda Dubois, Civil Grand Jury Coordinator
San Mateo County Superior Court, Hall of Justice
400 County Center, 2nd Floor
Redwood City, CA 94063-1655
RE: Civil Grand Jury Report: “A Delicate Balance Between Knowledge and Power:

Government Transparency and the Public’s Right to Know.” Dear Honorable Judge Lee:

Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the above referenced Grand Jury Report issued on August 9, 2022. The City of Menlo Park’s responses to both the findings and recommendations are listed below. Please note the Grand Jury Report requested responses from the City of Menlo Park only as to Findings 1 and 2, and Recommendations 1, 3, and 4.

Response to Grand Jury Findings
F1. The city has no written documentation of its PRA policy and internal procedures, making it more likely that requests could be handled inconsistently.

City Response: The City is in the process of adopting such policies and procedures; however, the City handles all PRA requests pursuant to State law which requires substantial consistency in the response to all PRA requests.

F2. The city uses a commercially available software application that includes a web portal enabling the public to easily request records and track their disposition.

City Response: The respondent agrees with the finding.

Response to Grand Jury Recommendations
R1. The city council should direct city staff to consider and report back by June 30, 2023, on the creation of a written PRA policy or procedure document for circulation to all relevant staff.

City Response: The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. Prior to receiving the Grand Jury Report City staff had already drafted procedures for processing public records act requests. City staff have been operating under these procedures for the entirety of 2022 and finds that the processing of requests have improved. City staff plans to review, and where appropriate, revise the procedures in order to more efficiently meet the obligations of the CPRA. No formal adoption of these procedures is required. However, City staff will report to Council prior to June 30, 2023, on the written policies and procedures.

ATTACHMENT B Page G-4.42
R3. By June 30, 2023, the city council should consider directing city staff to place information about how to access public records on the home page of the city’s official website.

City Response: The recommendation has not yet been implemented. However, the city anticipates complying with this recommendation by June 30, 2023, and likely well before.

R4. By June 30, 2023, the city council should direct city staff to review and consider adopting a records management practice analogous to the City of San Mateo’s “Records Cleanup Day.”.

City Response: This recommendation will not be implemented. Currently the City has a program for completing routine records destruction with individual city departments, which complies with State laws regarding records destruction. The timelines for retention and destruction of various records are determined based on subject matter and reference relevant State law requirements. The process involves the city clerk’s office working with individual departments to list records proposed for destruction and the city clerk then brings those to the City Council for approval, and eventual destruction with an outside vendor. This process has proven effective. Further, there is not currently a budget for creating a “Records Destruction Day” with food trucks and other amenities. The City will continue to review whether creating a “Records Cleanup Day” by department or in another similar fashion is a desirable route in future years.

Pursuant to Penal Code Section 933.05 and the Brown Act, this response was considered and acted on by motion of the City Council at a public meeting on November 1, 2022. Should you have any questions concerning this response, please contact City Clerk Judi Herren at [email protected].

Sincerely,
Betsy Nash
Mayor
Page G-4.43
Community Development
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov

STAFF REPORT
City Council
Meeting Date:

Staff Report Number:

Regular Business:
11/1/2022
22-210-CC
Introduction and First Reading of an ordinance
adopting the 2022 Building Standards Code to
include amending Title 12 [Buildings and
Construction] of the Menlo Park Municipal Code to
adopt local amendments to the California Building
Standards Code, and discussion regarding
proposed revisions to Fire Code by Menlo Park Fire
Protection District
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council:

1. Introduce by title only and waive first reading of an ordinance, Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Menlo Park amending Title 12 [Buildings and Construction] of the Menlo Park Municipal Code to adopt Title 24, California Code of Regulations, 2022 Building Standards Code and Local Amendments to the 2022 California Building Standards Code, adding requirements for pools under construction, and amending flood damage prevention requirements; and

2. Review proposed revisions to California Fire Code to be adopted by Menlo Park Fire Protection District, and provide direction to staff.

Policy Issues
Every three years, the State of California Building Standards Commission adopts a revised Building Standards Code, Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations. The Building Standards Code includes the Building Code, Residential Code, Electrical Code, Mechanical Code, Plumbing Code, Energy Code, Historical Building Code, Fire Code, Existing Building Code and Green Building Standards Code. Cities and counties across the state can also adopt local amendments and reach codes pursuant to various provisions in state law. The adoption of the proposed local amendments to the State Building Standards Code and City’s Municipal Code generally support local City goals and policies. The proposed ordinance would implement local amendments to the building code. The City Council declared a climate emergency (Resolution No. 6535) committing to accelerating actions to address climate change at a local level and adopted a 2030 Climate Action Plan (CAP) with the bold goal to be carbon neutral (zero emissions) by 2030.

Background
To promote uniform building standards, state law requires all cities and counties to adopt and enforce the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations, which is updated every three years by the California Building Standards Commission. Upon adoption of every new code cycle, local jurisdictions are required to review the new codes and decide whether to readopt any local amendments. As AGENDA ITEM H-1 Page H-1.1
Staff Report #: 22-210-CC
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov a result, the City must amend Title 12 of the Municipal Code every three years to adopt the new versions of the Building Standards Code, as well as readopt any local amendments that the City wishes to continue to enforce during this code cycle.

Process for adopting local amendments to Building Standards Code The California Building Standards Code prescribes the minimum standards to safeguard life or limb, health, property, and public welfare by regulating and controlling the design, construction, quality of materials, use and occupancy, location and maintenance of all buildings, structures and certain equipment.

The Building Standards Commission adopted and published the 2022 Building Standards Code July 1, 2022, and it will go into effect statewide January 1, 2023. The State provides a six-month window between publication and effective date to allow cities and counties to review the model codes and determine whether to adopt any local amendments. A City may adopt local amendments to the State codes if the following two criteria are met:

1. The local modifications must be substantially equivalent to, or more stringent than, building standards published in the California Building Standards Code; and

2. The local jurisdiction is required to make specific or express findings that such changes are reasonably necessary because of local geological, climatic or topographic conditions.

For amendments to be effective, the local governing body must make the necessary findings, approve an ordinance adopting the amendments, and file a copy of the express findings and the local ordinance with the California Building Standards Commission.

Additionally, the City of Menlo Park may adopt increased energy efficiency standards beyond those prescribed by the California Energy Commission in the Energy Code and Green Building Standards Code, upon finding that the increased energy efficiency requirements will be cost effective. Such energy efficiency requirements must first be reviewed by the California Energy Commission before going into effect.

Timing of adoption of local amendments
The State Building Standards Code automatically go into effect January 1, 2023 without any action of the City and would be enforced by the building division. Local amendments to the building standards code can be approved by the City Council at any time during a triennial code cycle. However, the standard practice is to have these local amendments approved before the effective date of the new building standards code to allow for a smooth transition and ensure that local amendments that the City desires to enforce do not lapse. Staff is asking the City Council to introduce the attached ordinance making amendments to the Building Code, Residential Code, Electrical Code, Mechanical Code, Plumbing Code, Energy Code, Historical Building Code, Existing Building Code and Green Building Standards Code.

Fire Code amendments
As Menlo Park does not have its own fire department, the Menlo Park Fire Protection District (Fire District) takes the lead in adopting any local amendments to the California Fire Code. Under state law, the Fire District has authority to adopt local amendments to the California Fire Code by adopting its own ordinance, and its modifications will go into effect within Menlo Park as long as they are ratified by the City. The Fire District is currently in the process of adopting an ordinance making such modifications to the 2022 California Fire Code, which are being previewed in this staff report for the City Council (Attachment B.) Once the Fire District adopts its ordinance, staff will then present a resolution to the City Council ratifying the Fire District’s ordinance so that it may go into effect in Menlo Park, and designating the Fire District as the primary entity for enforcement of the Fire Code as amended. Information on the anticipated amendments to the Fire Code are also being presented in this report.

Page H-1.2
Staff Report #: 22-210-CC
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov Analysis
Proposed local amendments to California Building Standards Code The recommended local amendments are described below. In addition, staff has carried forward many of the local amendments made during the last building code cycle. The complete set of local amendments are contained in Attachment A.

The administrative sections Chapter 1, Division 1, of the California Residential and Building State Codes address critical elements of enforcement such as the requirements for permits, minimum submittal documents, inspections, and authorizes the building division of the local jurisdiction to collect fees and issue stop work orders. Staff is recommending adoption of local amendments to clarify the kinds of projects subject to building permit requirements. Staff is requiring building permit requirements for platforms, walks and driveways more than 12 inches above grade, where the state law would only require permits for works 30 inches above grade. Additionally, staff is requiring building permits for all fences except for wooden fences under seven feet high. These local amendments have been adopted in the past triennial cycle.

Additionally, plumbing code 808.2 allows the use of single pass or once through with clean running water used exclusively as a cooling medium in an appliance, device or apparatus. Single-pass or once-through cooling systems provide significant water waste in these systems water is circulated once through a piece of equipment and is then disposed down the drain. The recommendation is for single pass or once-through systems be prohibited. This local amendment has been adopted in the past triennial cycle.

Proposed sustainability Reach Codes
In recent years, the term reach code has been used to describe a local government’s ability to exceed state building code regulations to support or implement its environmental goals, such as a CAP, through the building permit process. Menlo Park has demonstrated leadership in adopting reach codes over the last few building code cycles by requiring all new buildings to be all-electric with very few exceptions and increased electric vehicle charging requirements.

Menlo Park requirements still exceed the 2022 state code requirements. Staff recommends re-adopting Menlo Park’s requirements to remain effective on and after January 1, 2023. In addition, minor modifications to Menlo Park’s current requirements are proposed and are considered feasible, and in some instances decrease construction costs for electric vehicle (EV) charging.

The proposed modifications and additions include the following, and are described in greater detail in the October 18 informational report (Attachment D):
• Readopt the current Menlo Park all-electric buildings requirements (including exceptions); applies only to new buildings (not existing buildings.)
• Readopt current Menlo Park photovoltaic requirements for newly constructed commercial buildings (nonresidential), and make the finding that the measure remains cost effective based on the cost effectiveness analysis provided in 2019 (Attachment C.) • Include a new measure that prohibits electric buildings from being converted to mixed fuel buildings that use natural gas (applies to residential and commercial buildings.) Page H-1.3
Staff Report #: 22-210-CC
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov • Adopt the Bay Area Reach Code (BARC) Initiative1 EV charging recommendations for new multifamily permits as they closely mirror Menlo Park’s current EV charging requirements, and can reduce construction costs using a combination of approaches that help “right size” EV charging needs for new multifamily developments.
• Adopt Tier 1 table A5.106.5.3.1 California Green Building Standards (CALGreen) EV charging requirements for new nonresidential (commercial) permits as it closely mirrors Menlo Park’s current EV charging requirements and provides consistency with the state’s method of EV charging requirements. • Readopt Menlo Park’s current EV charging requirements for existing commercial (nonresidential) addition and alteration building permit projects.

Proposed other amendments to Municipal Codes
Staff recommends a new section 12.36.060 to require protective measures for pools during the course of construction, in line with the Swimming Pool Safety Act, Health and Safety Code sections 115920 through 115929, to provide a barrier to occupants of a building and the public. This is also in line with the new Appendix AX that was added to the 2022 California Residential Code and required to be enforced by the City.

Staff has also made clerical corrections to sections 12.32.050. Staff also added provisions for floodproofing and breakaway walls in the Chapter 12.42, aligning code requirements with FEMA standards and ASCE 24.

Overview of Fire District Local Amendments to Fire Code With the 2022 CA Fire Code and proposed amendments, the following items are being modified that help bring alignment with San Mateo County Fire Chiefs policies and operational procedures. This impacts Emergency Responder Radio Communications and fire suppression operations for large and multistory buildings.
• (Chapter 4) Emergency Planning for Fire Watch personnel, Public Safety for gatherings and crowd managers is added and has remained consistent with the past nine years. This is added to provide guidance and safety measures for large gatherings and allow business to remain open without any temporary impairment of life safety systems.
• (Chapter 5) Address identification remains unchanged in modification to the CFC so that emergency responders and the public can clearly see addresses for emergency identification. • [Chapter 5 (new add)] A fire control room is added to be consistent with many fire agencies in San Mateo County. This is requiring new buildings or change of use occupancies to have a fire control room so that all controls and functions are located in one area for quick and efficient fire suppression information and functions for life safety operations.
• (Chapter 5) Emergency Responder Radio Coverage shall be designed and installed per San Mateo County Fire Chiefs Policy 500 to maintain system integrity throughout the County. • (Chapter 9) Fire sprinkler modifications remain unchanged for over 30 years. It has provided a high level of fire protection within the Fire District and allows building owner flexibility in tenant options without expensive cost modifications during tenant changes. Residential fire sprinklers remain unchanged from agreed upon thresholds with City of Menlo Park City Council. • (Chapter 12) Electrical disconnects are added and described to allow for proper shutdown of electrical for firefighter and occupant safety during emergency operations. 1 Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE), Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), Alameda County, Santa Clara County and the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability (OOS) joined together to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within their service territories by developing forward-thinking building and transportation electrification reach codes recommendations.

Page H-1.4
Staff Report #: 22-210-CC
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov • (Appendix B) Water Table sets threshold minimum to match many County thresholds within the State for built out communities to aid in water availability for mitigation of conflagration.

Next steps
State law requires two City Council actions, a first reading and a second reading, to amend a city’s municipal code. The second reading is anticipated to take place November 15, 2022 — under state law, adoption of codes by reference, such as adoption of the new 2022 Building Standards Code, requires that a public hearing be conducted for the second reading. Additionally, staff anticipate bringing a resolution ratifying the Fire District’s ordinance on or after November 15, 2022.

Items of note
Building code adoption for the 2022 code cycle goes into effect January 1, 2023. In order to minimize any impacts by these new code changes, we are encouraging applicants to submit their complete Building preapplication package no later than 5:30 p.m. December 15, 2022. Submitting by December 15 will allow sufficient time to complete the process that results in successful conversion to a building permit by December 31, 2022. Completed applications that are submitted after January 1, 2023 will be subject to the new 2022 Building Standards Code.

Impact on City Resources
The adoption of the current State codes and proposed local amendments will not result in any direct costs to the City. Public informational materials, such as City webpages and/or handouts, will need to be updated to reflect minor modifications.

Environmental Review
This action is not a project within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines §15061(b)(3) as it will not result in any direct or indirect physical change in the environment.

Public Notice
Public notification was achieved by posting the agenda, with the agenda items being listed, at least 72 hours prior to the meeting and posting a notice at the City Hall front counter.

Attachments
A. Ordinance amending Title 12
B. Menlo Fire Protection District Ordinance No. 50-2022 C. Menlo Fire Protection District Excel summary table
D. Cost effectiveness study
E. Hyperlink – October 18, 2022 Staff Report #22-206-CC recommending sustainable reach codes for inclusion in 2022 Building Standards code: menlopark.gov/files/sharedassets/public/agendas-andminutes/city-council/2022-meetings/agendas/20221018-city-council-agenda-packet.pdf#page=236 Report prepared by:

Sergio Rudin, Assistant City Attorney
Chuck Andrews, Assistant Community Development Director Page H-1.5
Staff Report #: 22-210-CC
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov Rebecca Lucky, Sustainability Manager
Reviewed by:

Deanna Chow, Assistant Community Development Director
Page H-1.6
ORDINANCE NO. XXXX

ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MENLO PARK AMENDING TITLE 12 [BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION] OF THE MENLO PARK MUNICIPAL CODE TO ADOPT TITLE 24, CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS, 2022 BUILDING STANDARDS CODE AND LOCAL
AMENDMENTS TO THE 2022 CALIFORNIA BUILDING STANDARDS CODE,

ADDING REQUIREMENTS FOR POOLS UNDER CONSTRUCTION, AND

AMENDING FLOOD DAMAGE PREVENTION REQUIREMENTS
WHEREAS, the City of Menlo Park ("City") is required pursuant to state law to adopt and enforce the 2022 Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations, as adopted by the California Standards Building Commission, subject to such local amendments as may be adopted by the City of in accordance with applicable law; WHEREAS, California Health and Safety Code Sections 17958.5, 17958.7 and 18941.5 provide that the City may make changes or modifications to the building standards contained in the California Building Standards based upon express findings that such changes or modifications are reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological or topographical conditions; WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Menlo Park finds that each of the amendments, additions and deletions to the California Energy Code contained in this ordinance are reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological or topographical conditions described in Section 1;
WHEREAS, Public Resources Code Section 25402.l(h)2 establishes a process which allows local adoption of energy standards that are more stringent than the statewide Standards, provided that such local standards are cost effective and the California Energy Commission finds that the standards will require buildings to be designed to consume no more energy than permitted by the California Energy Code;
WHEREAS, the California Codes and Standards Reach Code Program, has determined specific modifications to the Energy Code for each climate zone that are cost effective, and the City of Menlo Park is proposing adoption of measures previously studied; WHEREAS, that such modifications will result in designs that consume less energy than they would under the 2022 California Energy Code;
WHEREAS, based upon these analyses, the City Council of the City of Menlo Park finds that the local amendments to the California Energy Code contained in this ordinance are cost effective and will require buildings to be designed to consume no more energy than permitted by the California Energy Code;
WHEREAS, because of the City's unique local climatic, geologic and topographic conditions, the City desires to make amendments and additions to the code.

NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MENLO PARK DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

ATTACHMENT A Page H-1.7
Ordinance No. XXXX

Page 2 of 37 ends

SECTION 1: Findings and Determinations.

The City Council of the City of Menlo Park hereby finds that the following local climatic, geological, and topographic conditions justify the adoption of local modifications to the California Building Standards Code, as further set forth in this Ordinance:

A. Climatic: The City is located in Climate Zone 3 as established in the 2022 California Energy Code. Climate Zone 3 incorporates mostly coastal communities from Marin County to southern Monterey County including San Francisco. The City experiences precipitation ranging from 13 to 20 inches per year with an average of approximately 15 inches per year.

Ninety-five percent of precipitation falls during the months of November through April, leaving a dry period of approximately six months each year. Relative humidity remains moderate most of the time. Temperatures in the summer average around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and in the winter in the mid 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Prevailing winds in the area come from the west with velocities generally in the 12 miles per hour range, gusting from 25 to 35 miles per hour.

These climatic conditions along with the greenhouse emissions generated from structures in both the residential and non-residential sectors requires exceeding the energy standards for building construction established in the 2022 California Buildings Standards Code. The City Council also adopted a Climate Action Plan that has a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 27% below 2005 levels by 2020. In order to achieve and maintain this goal, the City needs to adopt policies and regulations that reduce the use of fossil fuels that contribute to climate change, such as natural gas in buildings, in new development. Human activities, such as burning natural gas to heat buildings, releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and causes an overall increase in global average temperature. This causes sea levels to rise, affecting the City’s shoreline and infrastructure.

Many new buildings in Menlo Park will be built near the coastline in an area known as the Bayfront Area that is situated on marshlands and former salt ponds. San Francisquito Creek also runs through the City, which creates an increasing potential flooding risk with climate change as a result of human generated greenhouse gas emissions. Menlo Park is vulnerable to sea level rise where new development is proposed in this code cycle. New buildings that are directly vulnerable to sea level rise should avoid generating additional greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed Reach Code would ensure that new buildings use cleaner sources of energy that are greenhouse gas free.

B. Geologic: The City of Menlo Park is subject to earthquake hazard caused by its proximity to San Andreas Fault. This fault runs from Hollister, through the Santa Cruz Mountains, epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, then on up the San Francisco Peninsula, then offshore at Daly City near Mussel Rock. This is the approximate location of the epicenter of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The other fault is Hayward Fault. This fault is about 74 mi long, situated mainly along the western base of the hills on the east side of San Francisco Bay.

Both of these faults are considered major Northern California earthquake faults, which may experience rupture at any time. Thus, because the City is within a seismic area, which includes these earthquake faults, the modifications and changes cited herein are designed to better limit property damage as a result of seismic activity and to establish criteria for repair of damaged properties following a local emergency.

C. Topographic: The City of Menlo Park is contiguous with the San Francisco Bay, resulting in a natural receptor for storm and waste water run-off. Also the City is located in an area that is relatively high liquefaction potential given its proximity to the Bay. The surface condition consists mostly of stiff to dense sandy clay, which is highly plastic and expansive in nature.

The aforementioned conditions within the City create hazardous conditions for which departure from California Building Standards Code is warranted.

Page H-1.8
Ordinance No. XXXX

Page 3 of 37 ends

SECTION 2: Adoption of 2022 Building Standards Code.

Section 12.040.10 of Chapter 12.04 [Adoption of Codes] Title 12 [Buildings and Construction] of the Menlo Park Municipal Code is hereby repealed and replaced to read in entirety as follows:

12.04.010 – Adoption of California Building Standards Code.

The following codes, as approved by the California Building Standards Commission, are hereby adopted by reference:
1) The 2022 California Administrative Code, Part 1 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations;
2) The 2022 California Building Code, Part 2 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations, including Appendices I and J; 3) The 2022 California Residential Code, Part 2.5 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations, including Appendices AH, AQ, AS, and AX; 4) The 2022 California Electrical Code, Part 3 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations;
5) The 2022 California Mechanical Code, Part 4 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations;
6) The 2022 California Plumbing Code, Part 5 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations;
7) The 2022 California Energy Code, Part 6 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations;
8) The 2022 California Historical Building Code, Part 8 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations;
9) The 2022 California Fire Code, Part 9 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations;
10) The 2022 California Existing Building Code, Part 10 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations;
11) The 2022 California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations; and 12) The 2022 California Referenced Standards Code, Part 12 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations.

A copy of each code, subject to such amendments as may be adopted by the City in this Title 12, is on file in the office of the city clerk. The provisions of this title, including said codes and amendments thereto, shall be known as the building code of the city.

SECTION 3: Adoption of Penalties.

Section 12.04.020 of Chapter 12.04 [Adoption of Codes] Title 12 [Buildings and Construction] of the Menlo Park Municipal Code is hereby repealed and replaced to read in entirety as follows:

12.04.020 – Penalties for Violations of California Building Standards Code.

Persons who shall violate a provision of the code adopted under section 12.04.010, as may be amended by this title, or who fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof or who shall erect, install, alter, repair or do work in violation of the approved construction documents or directive of the Building Official or Fire Official, or of a permit or certificate used under provisions of the above codes, shall be subject to penalty in accordance with chapter 1.12. Persons committing such violation shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $1000 or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both fine and imprisonment, unless the violation is made an infraction by the prosecuting authority.

Page H-1.9
Ordinance No. XXXX

Page 4 of 37 ends

SECTION 4: Amendment of 2022 California Building Code.

Chapter 12.06 of Title 12 [Buildings and Construction] of the Menlo Park Municipal Code is hereby repealed and replaced to read as follows:

Chapter 12.06
California Building Code Amendments
Sections:

12.06.010 – Amendment of Section 105.2 – Work exempt from permit.

12.06.020 – Appendix J, Section J107.4.1 – Imported Fill added.

12.06.010 – Amendment of Section 105.2 – Work exempt from permit.

Section 105.2 of the California Building Code, Part 2 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended for the first paragraph and “Building” exemptions to read as follows:
105.2 Work exempt from permit. Exemptions from permit requirements of this code shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in any manner in violation of the provisions of this code or any other law or ordinance of the City of Menlo Park. Permits shall not be required for the following:

Building:

1. One-story detached accessory buildings used as tool and storage sheds, playhouses, garden sheds or similar uses, provided the height does not exceed eight feet, the projected roof area does not exceed 64 square feet, and the structure complies with Section 16.68.030 of the City of Menlo Park Municipal Code. These structures shall still be regulated by section 710A, despite exemption from permit.

2. Wood fences not over seven feet high.

3. Oil Derricks.

4. Retaining walls which are not over two feet high measured from the top of the footing to the top of the wall, unless supporting a surcharge or impounding Class I, II, or III liquids.

5. Detached free-standing water tanks supported directly on a concrete foundation at grade if the capacity does not exceed 500 gallons and the height above grade does not exceed six feet and the height to width ratio does not exceed two to one.

6. Platforms, walks, and driveways not more than 12 inches above grade and not over any basement or story below and are not part of an accessible route.

7. Painting, papering, carpeting, tiling except in showers, cabinets, countertops and similar finish work.

8. Temporary motion picture, television and theater stage sets and scenery.

9. Prefabricated swimming pools accessory to a Group R Division 3 occupancy that are less than 24 inches deep, do not exceed 5,000 Gallons and are installed entirely above ground.

10. Shade cloth structures constructed for nursery or agricultural purposes, not including service systems

11. Swings and other playground equipment accessory to detached one- and two-family dwellings not exceeding 120 square feet as measured at the supports or nine feet in height as measured from existing natural grade to the top of the highest structural member, guard rail, or appendage.

12. Windows awnings supported by an exterior wall of Group R Division 3 occupancy when projecting not more than 36 inches from the exterior wall and do not require additional support.

13. Non-fixed and moveable fixtures, cases, racks, counters, and partitions not over five feet nine inches in height.

Page H-1.10
Ordinance No. XXXX

Page 5 of 37 ends

12.06.020 – Appendix J, Section J107.4.1 – Imported Fill added.

Section J107.4.1 is added to Appendix J 2 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations to read in entirety as follows:

J107.4.1 Imported Fill. Prior to the import of fill, the origin of the fill shall be identified by a licensed geotechnical engineer and samples of the soil shall be tested and shown to meet the standards established in the California Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) guidelines for clean imported fill material. The test results from the samples shall be submitted to and approved by the Building Official prior to the fill being brought on site.

SECTION 5: Amendment of 2022 California Residential Code.

Chapter 12.08 [California Residential Code Amendments] of Title 12 [Buildings and Construction] of the Menlo Park Municipal Code is hereby repealed and replaced to read in entirety as follows:

Chapter 12.08
California Residential Code Amendments
Sections:

12.08.010 – Amendment of Section R105.2 – Work exempt from permit.

12.08.020 – Amendment of Table R301.2 – Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria.

12.08.030 – Amendment of Section R322.1 – General.

12.08.040 – Limits on Repair and Remodel.

12.08.010 Amendment of Section R105.2 – Work exempt from permit.

Section R105.2 of the California Residential Code, Part 2.5 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended for the first paragraph and “Building” exemptions to read as follows:

R105.2 Work exempt from permit. Exemptions from permit requirements of this code shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in any manner in violation of the provisions of this code or any other law or ordinance of the City of Menlo Park. Permits will not be required for the following:

Building:

1. Other than storm shelters, one story detached accessory structures, provided the height does not exceed eight feet, the projected roof area does not exceed 64 square feet, and the structure complies with Section 16.68.030 of the City of Menlo Park Municipal Code. These structures shall still be regulated by section 710A despite exemption from permit.

2. Wood fences not over seven feet high.

3. Retaining walls which are not over two feet high measured from the top of the footing to the top of the wall, unless supporting a surcharge.

4. Detached free-standing water tanks supported directly on a concrete foundation at grade if the capacity does not exceed 500 gallons and the height above grade does not exceed six feet and the height to width ratio does not exceed two to one.

5. Sidewalks and driveways.

6. Painting, papering, carpeting, tiling except in showers, cabinets, countertops and similar finish work.

7. Temporary television and theater stage sets and scenery.

8. Prefabricated swimming pools that are less than 24 inches deep.

9. Swings and other playground equipment accessory to detached one- and two-family dwellings not exceeding 120 square feet as measured at the supports or nine feet in height as Page H-1.11
Ordinance No. XXXX

Page 6 of 37 ends

measured from existing natural grade to the top of the highest structural member, guard rail, or appendage.

10. Windows awnings supported by an exterior wall of Group R Division 3 occupancy when projecting not more than 36 inches from the exterior wall and do not require additional support.

11. Non-fixed and moveable fixtures, cases, racks, counters, and partitions not over five feet nine inches in height.

12. Decks not exceeding 200 square feet in area, that are not more than 30 inches above grade at any point, are not attached to a dwelling unit and do not serve the exit door required by Section 311.4.

12.08.020 – Amendment of Table R301.2 – Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria.

Table R301.2 of the California Residential Code, Part 2.5 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended to read as follows:

Table R301.2 Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria
GROUND
SNOW
LOAD

WIND DESIGN SEISMIC
DESIGN
CATEGORY Speed f d (mph) Topographic
effectsk Special wind regionl Wind-borne debris zonem
NA 110 NA NA NA D-E

SUBJECT TO DAMAGE FROM
WINTER
DESIGN
TEMPe
ICE

BARRIER
UNDERLAYMENT
REQUIREDh
FLOOD
HAZARDSg
AIR

FREEZING
INDEXi
MEAN
ANNUAL
TEMP Weathering j a Frost line
depthb Termitec
NA NA NA NA NA National Flood
Insurance
program Date –
Feb 4, 1981
revised April 21,
1999.

Adoption of first
code
management of
flood hazard
areas – June 14,
1974
Flood insurance
Study - Oct 16,
2012 revised
July 16, 2015
Panel number –
06081C0195F,
06081C0215F,
06081C0302F,
06081C0306F,
NA 58.55
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SUBJECT TO DAMAGE FROM
WINTER
DESIGN
TEMPe
ICE

BARRIER
UNDERLAYMENT
REQUIREDh
FLOOD
HAZARDSg
AIR

FREEZING
INDEXi
MEAN
ANNUAL
TEMP Weathering j a Frost line
depthb Termitec
06081C0307F,
06081C0308E,
06081C0309F,
06081C0311E,
06081C0326F,
06081C0328F,
For SI: 1 pound per square foot = 0.0479 kPa, 1 mile per hour = 0.447 m/s. a. Weathering may require a higher strength concrete or grade of masonry than necessary to satisfy the structural requirements of this code. The weathering column shall be filled in with the weathering index, "negligible," "moderate" or "severe" for concrete as determined from Figure R301.2(1). The grade of masonry units shall be determined from ASTM C34, C55, C62, C73, C90, C129, C145, 0216 or C652.
b. The frost line depth may require deeper footings than indicated in Figure R403.1(1). The jurisdiction shall fill in the frost line depth column with the minimum depth of footing below finish grade.
c. The jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table to indicate the need for protection depending on whether there has been a history of local subterranean termite damage. d. The jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with the wind speed from the basic wind speed map [Figure R301.2(2). Wind exposure category shall be determined on a site-specific basis in accordance with Section R301.2.1.4.
e. Temperatures shall be permitted to reflect local climates or local weather experience as determined by the building official.
f. The jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with the seismic design category determined from Section R301.2.2.1.
g. The jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with (a) the date of the jurisdiction’s entry into the National Flood Insurance Program (date of adoption of the first code or ordinance for management of flood hazard areas), (b) the date(s) of the Flood Insurance Study and (c) the panel numbers and dates of the currently effective Flood Insurance Study or other flood hazard map adopted by the authority having jurisdiction, as amended. h. In accordance with Sections R905.1.2, R905.4.3.1, 8905.5.3.1, R905.6.3.1, R905.7.3.1 and R905.8.3.1, where there has been a history of local damage from the effects of ice damming, the jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with "YES." Otherwise, the jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with "NO."
i. The jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with the 100-year return period air freezing index (BF-days) from Figure R403.3(2) or from the 100-year (99 percent) value on the National Climatic Data Center data table "Air Freezing Index-USA Method (Base 32°F)." j. The jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with the mean annual temperature from the National Climatic Data Center data table "Air Freezing Index-USA Method (Base 32°F)." k. In accordance with Section R301.2.1.5, where there is local historical data documenting structural damage to buildings due to topographic wind speed-up effects, the jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with "YES." Otherwise, the jurisdiction shall indicate "NO" in this part of the table.

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l. In accordance with Figure R301.2(4)A, where there is local historical data documenting unusual wind conditions, the jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with "YES" and identify any specific requirements, Otherwise, the jurisdiction shall indicate "NO" in this part of the table.
m. In accordance with Section R301.2.1.2.1. the jurisdiction shall indicate the wind-borne debris wind zone(s). Otherwise, the jurisdiction shall indicate "NO" in this part of the table. n. The jurisdiction shall fill in these sections of the table to establish the design criteria using Table 1a or 1b from ACCA manual J or established criteria determined by the jurisdiction. o. The jurisdiction shall fill in this section of the table using the ground snow loads in figures R301.2(3) and R301.2(4).

12.308.30 – Amendment of Section R322.1 – General.

Section R322.1 of the California Residential Code, Part 2.5 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended to read in entirety as follows:

R322.1 General. Buildings and structures constructed in whole or part in flood hazard areas including A or V Zones and Coastal A Zones, as established in Table R301.2, and substantial improvement and restoration of substantial damaged of buildings and structures in flood hazard areas, shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the provisions contained in this section and Chapter 12.42, Flood Damage Prevention, of the City of Menlo Park’s Municipal Code. Buildings and structures that are located in more than one flood hazard area shall comply with the provisions of associated with the most restrictive flood hazard area. Buildings and structures located in whole or in part in identified floodways shall be designed and constructed in accordance with ASCE 24.

12.08.040 – Limits on Repair and Remodel
When the scope of work for R3 and U occupancies involves the alteration or removal of any existing structural framing that meets or exceeds seventy-five percent (75%) or greater of the linear footage of interior and exterior walls, including the removal of roof structure in those wall areas, cumulative within a two (2) year period, the project shall be considered as new construction.

SECTION 6: Amendment of 2022 California Plumbing Code.

Chapter 12.14 [California Plumbing Code Amendments] of Title 12 [Buildings and Construction] of the Menlo Park Municipal Code is hereby repealed and replaced to read in entirety as follows:

Chapter 12.14
California Plumbing Code Amendments
Sections:

12.14.010 – Addition of Section 808.2 - Single pass water systems prohibited.

12.14.010 – Addition of Section 808.2 of Chapter 8.

Section 808.2 is added to the 2022 California Plumbing Code, Part 5 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations to read in entirety as follows:
808.2 Single Pass Cooling Water Systems Prohibited. Clean running water used only once for exclusively as a cooling medium in an appliance, device, or apparatus is prohibited.

SECTION 7: Amendment of 2022 California Energy Code.

Chapter 12.16 [California Energy Code Amendments] of Title 12 [Buildings and Construction] is hereby repealed and replaced to read as follows:

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Chapter 12.16
California Energy Code Amendments
Sections:

12.16.010 – California Energy Code amendments.

12.16.020 – Prohibition on Conversion to Mixed-Fuel Buildings.

12.16.010 – California Energy Code amendments.

The 2022 California Energy Code, Part 6 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended with the modifications set forth below:

Section 100.0(e), paragraphs (1) and (2) are modified to read as follows:

SECTION 100.0 – Scope.
e) Sections applicable to particular buildings. TABLE 100.0-A and this subsection list the provisions of Part 6 that are applicable to different types of buildings covered by Section 100.0(a).

1. All buildings. Sections 100.0 through 110.12 apply to all buildings.

EXCEPTION to Section 100.0(e) 1: Spaces or requirements not listed in TABLE 100.0-A

2. Newly constructed buildings.
a) All newly constructed buildings. Sections 110.0 through 110.12 apply to all newly constructed buildings within the scope of Section 100.0(a). In addition, newly constructed buildings shall meet the requirements of Subsections B, C, D or E, as applicable and shall be an All-Electric Building as defined in Section 100.1(b).

Exception 1: Non-Residential Buildings containing a Scientific Laboratory Building, such area may apply for approval to contain a non-electric Space Conditioning System or appliances or laboratory equipment, subject to demonstrating infeasibility or lack of cost-effectiveness in accordance with administrative guidelines as may be established by the Building Official.

To take advantage of this exception applicant shall provide third party verification that AllElectric space heating requirement is not cost effective and feasible.

Exception 2: All Residential buildings may contain non-electric Cooking Appliances and Fireplaces except buildings defined in the Energy Code as “Multifamily buildings” that are four stories or more.

Exception 3: Exemption for public agency owned and operated emergency centers. To take advantage of this exception applicant shall provide third party verification that All-Electric space heating requirement is not cost effective and feasible.

Exception 4: Non-residential buildings containing a for-profit restaurant open to the public or an employee kitchen may apply to the Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) for an exception to install gas-fueled cooking appliances. This request must be based on a businessrelated reason to cook with a flame that cannot be reasonably achieved with an electric fuel source. Examples include barbeque-themed restaurants and pizza ovens. The Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) shall grant this exception if they find the following:

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1. There is a business-related reason to cook with a flame;

2. This need cannot be reasonably achieved with an electric fuel source;

3. The applicant has employed reasonable methods to mitigate the greenhouse gas impacts of the gas-fueled appliance;

4. The applicant shall comply with the pre-wiring provision of Note 1 below.

The Environmental Quality Commission’s decision shall be final unless the applicant appeals to the City Council within 15 days of the appointed body’s decision. The City Council’s decision on the appeal shall be final.

Note 1: If natural gas appliances are used in any of the above exceptions 1-4, natural gas appliance locations must also be electrically pre-wired for future electric appliance installation.

They shall include the following:

1. A dedicated circuit, phased appropriately, for each appliance, with a minimum amperage requirement for a comparable electric appliance (see manufacturer’s recommendations) with an electrical receptacle or junction box that is connected to the electric panel with conductors of adequate capacity, extending to within 3 feet of the appliance and accessible with no obstructions. Appropriately sized conduit may be installed in lieu of conductors;

2. Both ends of the unused conductor or conduit shall be labeled with the words “For Future Electric appliance” and be electrically isolated;

3. A reserved circuit breaker space shall be installed in the electrical panel adjacent to the circuit breaker for the branch circuit and labeled for each circuit, an example is as follows (i.e “For Future Electric Range;”) and

4. All electrical components, including conductors, receptacles, junction boxes, or blank covers, related to this section shall be installed in accordance with the California Electrical Code.

Note 2: If any of the exceptions 1-4 are granted, the Building Official shall have the authority to approve alternative materials, design and methods of construction or equipment per CBC 104.

Subdivision (b), Definitions, of Section 100.1 — Definitions and Rules of Construction, is modified by adding the following definitions of “All Electric Building” “Scientific Laboratory Building” and replacing the definition of “Shading” as follows:

ALL ELECTRIC BUILDING is a building that has no natural gas or propane plumbing installed within the building, and that uses electricity as the source of energy for its space heating, water heating, cooking appliances, and clothes drying appliances. All Electric Buildings may include solar thermal pool heating.

SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY BUILDING is a building or area where research, experiments, and measurement in medical, and life sciences are performed and/or stored requiring examination of fine details. The building may include workbenches, countertops, scientific instruments, and supporting offices.

SHADING is the protection from heat gains because of direct solar radiation by permanently attached exterior devices of building elements, interior shading devices, glazing material, Page H-1.16
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adherent materials, including items located outside the building footprint such as heritage trees or Multifamily buildings that may affect shading.

Section 110.2, Mandatory Requirements for Space Conditioning Equipment is amended for the first paragraph to read as follows:

Certification by Manufacturers. Any space-conditioning equipment listed in this section, may be installed only if the manufacturer has certified to the Commission that the equipment complies with all the applicable requirements of this section and the building will still meet applicable All-Electric Building requirements as set forth in section 100.0 (e)2A.

Subdivision (a), Certification by manufacturers, of Section 110.3, Mandatory Requirements for Service Water-Heating Systems and Equipment, is modified for the first sentence to read as follows:
a) Certification by manufacturers. Any service water-heating system or equipment may be installed only if the manufacturer has certified that the system or equipment complies with all of the requirements of this subsection for that system or equipment, and the building will still meet applicable All-Electric Building requirements as set forth in section 100.0 (e)2A.

Subdivision (a), Certification by manufacturers, of Section 110.4, Mandatory Requirements for Pool and Spa Systems and Equipment, is modified to read as follows:
a) Certification by Manufacturers. Any pool or spa heating system or equipment, may be installed only if the manufacturer has certified that the system or equipment has all of the following, and the building will still meet applicable All-Electric Building requirements as set forth in section 100.0 (e)2A.:

1. Efficiency. For equipment subject to state or federal appliance efficiency standards, listings in the commissions directory of certified equipment showing compliance with applicable standards; and

2. On-off Switch. A readily accessible on-off switch, mounted on the outside of the heater that allows shutting off the heater without adjusting the thermostat setting; and

3. Instructions. A permanent, easily readable and weatherproof plate or card that gives instruction for the energy efficient operation of the pool or spa heater and for the proper care of pool or spa water when a cover is used; and

4. Electric resistance heating. No electric resistance heating.

Exception 1 to section 110.4(a) 4: Listed package units with fully insulated enclosures, and with tight-fitting covers that are insulated to at least R-6.

Exception 2 to section 110.4 (a) 4: Pools or spas deriving at least 60 percent of the annual heating energy from site solar energy or recovered energy. b) Installation. Any pool or spa system or equipment shall be installed between with all of the following:

1. Piping. At least 36 inches of pipe shall be installed between the filter and the heater or dedicated suction and return lines, or built-in or built-up connection shall be installed to allow for the future addition of solar heating equipment;

2. Covers. A cover for outdoor pools or outdoor spas that have a heat pump or gas heater; and

3. Directional inlets and time switches for pools. If the system or equipment is for a pool:
i. The pool shall have directional inlets the adequately mix the pool water; and Page H-1.17
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ii. A time switch or similar control mechanism shall be installed as part of a pool water circulation control system the will allow all pumps to be set or programmed to run only during off-peak electric demand periods, and for the minimum time necessary to maintain the water the condition required by applicable public health standards.

Subdivision (a), Certification by manufacturers, of Section 110.5, Natural Gas Central Furnaces, Cooking Equipment, Pool and Spa Heaters, is modified for the first sentence to read as follows:

Any natural gas system or equipment listed below may be installed only if it does not have a continuously burning pilot light, and the building will still meet applicable All-Electric Building requirements as set forth in section 100.0 (e)2A:
a. Fan-type central furnaces.
b. Household cooking appliances
Exception to Section 110.5(b): Household cooking appliances without an electrical supply voltage connection and in which each pilot consumes less than 150 Btu/hr. c. Pool Heaters
d. Spa Heaters
e. Indoor and outdoor fireplaces.

Section 110.10, Mandatory Requirements for Solar Readiness, is amended to read as follows:

SECTION 110.10 – Mandatory Requirements for Solar Readiness. a) Covered Occupancies.

1. Single Family Residences. Single family residences located in subdivisions with ten or more single family residences and where the application for a tentative subdivision map for the residences has been deemed complete approved by the enforcement agency, which do not have a photovoltaic system installed, shall comply with the requirements of Section 110.10(b) through 110.10(e).

2. Low-rise multifamily buildings. Residential buildings, other than single family, with less than 4 stories that do not have a photovoltaic system installed shall comply with the requirements of Section 110.10(b) through 110.10(d).

3. Hotel/motel occupancies and high rise multifamily buildings that do not have a photovoltaic system installed shall comply with the requirements of Section 110.10(b) through 110.10(d) and Table 2.

4. Nonresidential buildings with three habitable stories or fewer, other than I-2 and I-2.1 buildings, that do not have a photovoltaic system installed, shall comply with the requirements of Sections 110.10(b) through 110.10(d) and Table 2.

Table 2: Solar panel requirements for all
new nonresidential and high rise residential
buildings
Square footage of
building Size of panel
Less than 10,000 sq.
ft.

Minimum of 3-kilowatt
PV systems
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Table 2: Solar panel requirements for all
new nonresidential and high rise residential
buildings
Square footage of
building Size of panel
Greater than or equal
to 10,000 sq. ft.

Minimum of 5-kilowatt
PV systems
EXCEPTION: As an alternative to a solar PV
system, the building type may provide a solar
hot water system (solar thermal) with a
minimum collector area of 40 square feet,
additional to any other solar thermal
equipment otherwise required for compliance
with Part 6.
b) Solar Zone.

1. Minimum Solar Zone Area. The solar zone shall have a minimum total area as described below. The solar zone shall comply with access, pathway, smoke ventilation, and spacing requirements as specified in Title 24, Part 9 or other Parts of Title 24 or in any requirements adopted by a local jurisdiction. The solar zone total area shall be comprised of areas that have no dimension less than five feet and are no less than 80 square feet each for buildings with roof areas less than or equal to 10,000 square feet or no less than 160 square feet each for buildings with roof areas greater than 10,000 square feet.

A. Single Family Residences. The solar zone shall be located on the roof or overhang of the building and have a total area no less than 250 square feet.

EXCEPTION 1 to Section 110.10(b)1A: Single family residences with a permanently installed domestic solar water-heating system meeting the installation criteria specified in the Reference Residential Appendix RA4 and with a minimum solar savings fraction of 0.50.

EXCEPTION 2 to Section 110.10(b)1A: Single family residences with three habitable stories or more and with a total floor area less than or equal to 2000 square feet and having a solar zone total area no less than 150 square feet.

EXCEPTION 3 to Section 110.10(b)1A: Single family residences located in the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area as defined in Title 24, Part 2 and having a whole house fan and having a solar zone total area no less than 150 square feet.

EXCEPTION 4 to Section 110.10(b)1A: Buildings with a designated solar zone area that is no less than 50 percent of the potential solar zone area. The potential solar zone area is the total area of any low-sloped roofs where the annual solar access is 70 percent or greater and any steep-sloped roofs oriented between 90 degrees and 300 degrees of true north where the annual solar access is 70 percent or greater. Solar access is the ratio of solar insolation including shade to the solar insolation without shade. Shading from obstructions located on the roof or any other part of the building shall not be included in the determination of annual solar access.

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EXCEPTION 5 to Section 110.10(b)1A: Single family residences having a solar zone total area no less than 150 square feet and where all thermostats are demand responsive controls and comply with Section 110.12(a), and are capable of receiving and responding to Demand Response Signals prior to granting of an occupancy permit by the enforcing agency.

EXCEPTION 6 to Section 110.10(b)1A: Single family residences meeting the following conditions:

A. All thermostats are demand responsive controls that comply with Section 110.12(a), and are capable of receiving and responding to Demand Response Signals prior to granting of an occupancy permit by the enforcing agency.

B. Comply with one of the following measures:
i. Install a dishwasher that meets or exceeds the ENERGY STAR Program requirements with a refrigerator that meets or exceeds the ENERGY STAR Program requirements, a whole house fan driven by an electronically commutated motor, or an SAE J1772 Level 2 Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE or EV Charger) with a minimum of 40 amperes; or
ii. Install a home automation system capable of, at a minimum, controlling the appliances and lighting of the dwelling and responding to demand response signals; or
iii. Install alternative plumbing piping to permit the discharge from the clothes washer and all showers and bathtubs to be used for an irrigation system in compliance with the California Plumbing Code and any applicable local ordinances; or iv. Install a rainwater catchment system designed to comply with the California Plumbing Code and any applicable local ordinances, and that uses rainwater flowing from at least 65 percent of the available roof area.

B. Low-rise and High-rise Multifamily Buildings, Hotel/Motel Occupancies, and Nonresidential Buildings. The solar zone shall be located on the roof or overhang of the building or on the roof or overhang of another structure located within 250 feet of the building or on covered parking installed with the building project, and shall have a total area no less than 15 percent of the total roof area of the building excluding any skylight area. The solar zone requirement is applicable to the entire building, including mixed occupancy.

EXCEPTION 1 to Section 110.10(b)1B: High-rise Multifamily Buildings, Hotel/Motel Occupancies, and Nonresidential Buildings with a permanently installed solar electric system having a nameplate DC power rating, measured under Standard Test Conditions, of no less than one watt per square foot of roof area.

EXCEPTION 2 to Section 110.10(b)1B: High-rise multifamily buildings, hotel/motel occupancies with a permanently installed domestic solar water-heating system complying with Section 150.1(c)8Biii and an additional collector area of 40 square feet.

EXCEPTION 3 to Section 110.10(b)1B: Buildings with a designated solar zone area that is no less than 50 percent of the potential solar zone area. The potential solar zone area is the total area of any low-sloped roofs where the annual solar access is 70 percent or greater and any steep-sloped roofs oriented between 90 degrees and 300 degrees of true north where the annual solar access is 70 percent or greater. Solar access is the ratio of solar insolation including shade to the solar insolation without shade. Shading from obstructions located on the Page H-1.20
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roof or any other part of the building shall not be included in the determination of annual solar access.

EXCEPTION 4 to Section 110.10(b)1B: Low-rise and high-rise multifamily buildings with all thermostats in each dwelling unit are demand response controls that comply with Section 110.12(a), and are capable of receiving and responding to Demand Response Signals prior to granting of an occupancy permit by the enforcing agency. In addition, either A or B below:

A. In each dwelling unit, comply with one of the following measures:
i. Install a dishwasher that meets or exceeds the ENERGY STAR Program requirements with either a refrigerator that meets or exceeds the ENERGY STAR Program requirements or a whole house fan driven by an electronically commutated motor; or ii. Install a home automation system that complies with Section 110.12(a) and is capable of, at a minimum, controlling the appliances and lighting of the dwelling and responding to demand response signals; or
iii. Install alternative plumbing piping to permit the discharge from the clothes washer and all showers and bathtubs to be used for an irrigation system in compliance with the California Plumbing Code and any applicable local ordinances; or iv. Install a rainwater catchment system designed to comply with the California Plumbing Code and any applicable local ordinances, and that uses rainwater flowing from at least 65 percent of the available roof area.

B. Meet the Title 24, Part 11, Section A4.106.8.2 requirements for electric vehicle charging spaces.

EXCEPTION 5 to Section 110.10(b)1B: Buildings where the roof is designed and approved to be used for vehicular traffic or parking or for a heliport.

EXCEPTION 6 to section 110.10(b)1B: Performance equivalency approved by the building official.

2. Azimuth. All sections of the solar zone located on steep-sloped roofs shall have an azmuth range and be oriented between 90 degrees and 300 degrees of true north.

3. Shading.

A. No obstructions, including but not limited to, vents, chimneys, architectural features, and roof mounted equipment, shall be located in the solar zone.

B. Any obstruction, located on the roof or any other part of the building that projects above a solar zone shall be located at least twice the distance, measured in the horizontal plane, of the height difference between the highest point of the obstruction and the horizontal projection of the nearest point of the solar zone, measured in the vertical plane.

EXCEPTION to Section 110.10(b)3: Any roof obstruction, located on the roof or any other part of the building, that is oriented north of all points on the solar zone.

C. The solar zone needs to account for shading from obstructions that may impact the area required in 110.10(b)1B. When determined by the Building Official that conditions exist where excessive shading occurs and solar zones cannot be met, a performance equivalency approved by the Building Official may be used as an alternative.

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4. Structural Design Loads on Construction Documents. For areas of the roof designated as solar zone, the structural design loads for roof dead load and roof live load shall be clearly indicated on the construction documents.

NOTE: Section 110.10(b)4 does not require the inclusion of any collateral loads for future solar energy systems.
c) Interconnection Pathways.

1. The construction documents shall indicate a location reserved for inverters and metering equipment and a pathway reserved for routing of conduit from the solar zone to the point of interconnection with the electrical service.

2. For single family residences and central water-heating systems, the construction documents shall indicate a pathway for routing of plumbing from the solar zone to the water-heating system.
d) Documentation. A copy of the construction documents or a comparable document indicating the information from Sections 110.10(b) through 110.10(c) shall be provided to the occupant.
e) Main Electrical Service Panel.

1. The main electrical service panel shall have a minimum busbar rating of 200 amps.

2. The main electrical service panel shall have a reserved space to allow for the installation of a double pole circuit breaker for a future solar electric installation. The reserved space shall be permanently marked as “For Future Solar Electric”.

12.16.020 – Prohibition on Conversion to Mixed-Fuel Buildings.

No building that is required to be constructed as an All-Electric building, or that currently uses electricity as its sole fuel source for appliances, space conditioning systems, water heating systems, pool and spa systems, or any other building systems, shall be altered or modified to use any fuel source other than electricity for appliances, space conditioning systems, water heating systems, pool and spa systems, or any other building systems.

SECTION 8: Amendment of Green Building Standards Code.

Chapter 12.18 of Title 12 [Buildings and Construction] of the Menlo Park Municipal Code is hereby repealed and replaced to read in entirety as follows:

California Green Building Standards Code Amendments
Sections:

12.18.010 – Amendments to Section 202 – Definitions.

12.18.020 – Amendment of Section 4.106.4 – Electric vehicle (EV) charging for new construction.

12.18.030 – Amendment of Section 4.106.4.1 – New one and two-family dwellings and town houses with attached private garages.

12.18.040 – Amendment of Section 4.106.4.2 – Multifamily dwellings with residential parking facilities.

12.18.050 – Amendment of Section 4.408.1 – Construction Waste Management.

12.18.060 – Amendment of Section 5.106.5.3 – Electric Vehicle Charging.

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12.18.070 – Addition of Section 5.106.5.5.1 – Additions and Alterations.

12.18.080 – Amendment of Section 5.408.1 – Construction Waste Management.

12.18.010 – Amendment to Section 202 – Definitions.

Section 202 of the California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended to (1) add definitions of Affordable Housing and Direct Current Fast Charging, Level 1 EV Ready, Level 2 EV Capable, Level 2 EV Ready, Low Power Level 2 EV Ready, and (2) revise definitions of Automatic Load Management System (ALMS), Electric Vehicle Charging Station, with enacted definitions to read as follows:

AFFORDABLE HOUSING. Residential buildings that entirely consist of units below market rate and whose rents or sales prices are governed by local agencies to be affordable based on area median income.

AUTOMATIC LOAD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (ALMS). A control system designed to manage load across one or more electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), circuits, panels and to share electrical capacity and/or automatically manage power at each connection point. ALMS systems shall be designed to deliver no less than 3.3 kVa (208/240 volt, 16-ampere) to each EV Capable, EV Ready or EVCS space served by the ALMS, and meet the requirements of California Electrical Code Article 625. The connected amperage to the building site for the EV charging infrastructure shall not be lower than the required connected amperage per California Green Building Standards Code, Title 24 Part 11.

DIRECT CURRENT FAST CHARGING (DCFC). A parking space provided with electrical infrastructure that meets the following conditions:
i. A minimum of 48 kVa (480 volt, 100-ampere) capacity wiring. ii. Electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) located within three (3) feet of the parking space providing a minimum capacity of 80-ampere.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION (EVCS). A parking space that includes installation of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) at an EV Ready space. An EVCS space may be used to satisfy EV Ready space requirements. EVSE shall be installed in accordance with the California Electrical Code, Article 625.

LEVEL 1 EV READY. A parking space that is served by a complete electric circuit with the following requirements:
i. A minimum of 2.2 kVa (110/120 volt, 20-ampere) capacity wiring. ii. A receptacle labeled “Electric Vehicle Outlet” or electric vehicle supply equipment located within three (3) feet of the parking space. If EVSE is provided the minimum capacity of the EVSE shall be 16-ampere.
iii. Conduit oversized to accommodate future Level 2 EV Ready (208/240 volt, 40-ampere) at each parking space.

LEVEL 2 EV CAPABLE. A parking space provided with electrical infrastructure that meets the following requirements:
i. Conduit that links a listed electrical panel with sufficient capacity to a junction box or receptacle located within three (3) feet of the parking space.

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ii. The conduit shall be designed to accommodate at least 8.3 kVa (208/240 volt, 40- ampere) per parking space. Conduit shall have a minimum nominal trade size of 1 inch inside diameter and may be sized for multiple circuits as allowed by the California Electrical Code. Conduit shall be installed at a minimum in spaces that will be inaccessible after construction, either trenched underground or where penetrations to walls, floors, or other partitions would otherwise be required for future installation of branch circuits, and such additional elements deemed necessary by the Building Official.

Construction documents shall indicate future completion of conduit from the panel to the parking space, via the installed inaccessible conduit.
iii. The electrical panel shall reserve a space for a 40-ampere overcurrent protective device space(s) for EV charging, labeled in the panel directory as “EV CAPABLE.” iv. Electrical load calculations shall demonstrate that the electrical panel service capacity and electrical system, including any on-site distribution transformer(s), have sufficient capacity to simultaneously charge all EVs at all required EV spaces at a minimum of 40 amperes.
v. The parking space shall contain signage with at least a 12” font adjacent to the parking space indicating the space is EV Capable.

LEVEL 2 EV READY. A parking space that is served by a complete electric circuit with the following requirements:
i. A minimum of 8.3 kVa (208/240 volt, 40-ampere) capacity wiring. ii. A receptacle labeled “Electric Vehicle Outlet” or electric vehicle supply equipment located within three (3) feet of the parking space. If EVSE is provided the minimum capacity of the EVSE shall be 30-ampere.

LOW POWER LEVEL 2 EV READY. A parking space that is served by a complete electric circuit with the following requirements:
i. A minimum of 4.1 kVA (208/240 Volt, 20-ampere) capacity wiring. ii. A receptacle labeled “Electric Vehicle Outlet” or electric vehicle supply equipment located within three (3) feet of the parking space. If EVSE is provided the minimum capacity of the EVSE shall be 16-ampere.

Conduit oversized to accommodate future Level 2 EV Ready (208/240 volt, 40-ampere) at each parking space.

12.18.020 – Amendment of Section 4.106.4 – Electric Vehicle (EV) charging for new construction.

Section 4.106.4 of the California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended to read in entirety as follows:

4.106.4 Electric vehicle (EV) charging. Residential construction shall comply with Section

4.106.4.1 or 4.106.4.2, and 4.106.4.3, to facilitate future installation and use of EV chargers.

Electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) shall be installed in accordance with the California Electrical Code, Article 625. For EVCS signs, refer to Caltrans Traffic Operations Policy Directive 13-01 (Zero Emission Vehicle Signs and Pavement Markings) or its successor(s).

Calculation for spaces shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

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Exceptions:

1. On a case-by-case basis, where the local enforcing agency has determined EV charging and infrastructure are not feasible based on one or more of the following conditions:

1.1 Where there is no local utility power supply or the local utility is unable to supply adequate power.

1.2. Where there is evidence suitable to the local enforcing agency substantiating that meeting the requirements will alter the local utility infrastructure design requirements may increase construction cost by an average of $4,500 per parking space for market rate housing or $400 per parking space for affordable housing. EV infrastructure shall be provided up to the level that would not exceed this cost for utility service. For 100 percent Below Market Rate affordable housing developments, EVSE with a minimum of Level 2 ready shall be provided for a minimum of 10 percent of the total number of dwelling units.

2. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units without additional parking facilities

12.18.030 – Amendment of Section 4.106.4.1 – New one and two-family dwellings and town houses with attached private garages.

Section 4.106.4.1 of the California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended to read in entirety as follows:

4.106.4.1 New one and two-family dwellings and town houses with attached private garages.

For each dwelling unit, one parking space provided shall be a Level 2 EV Ready space. If a second parking space is provided, it shall be provided with a Level 1 EV Ready space.

12.18.040 – Amendment of Section 4.106.4.2 – Multifamily dwellings with residential parking facilities.

Section 4.106.4.2 of the California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended revise sections

4.106.4.2 and 4.106.4.2.1, and 4.106.4.2.2 to read as follows:

4.106.4.2 Multifamily dwellings with residential parking facilities. Requirements apply to parking spaces that are assigned or leased to individual dwelling units, as well as unassigned residential parking. Visitor or common area parking is not included. Calculations for the required number of EV spaces shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

4.106.4.2.1 New Construction. At least fifteen percent (15%) of dedicated parking spaces for any project shall be EVCS with minimum of Level 2 EV Ready. Automatic Load Management System (ALMS) shall be permitted to reduce load when multiple vehicles are charging. All remaining dedicated parking spaces required for a project shall, at a minimum, meet requirements to be considered a Low Power Level 2 EV Ready space. EVCS shall comply with the accessibility provisions for EV chargers in the California Building Code, Page H-1.25
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Chapter 11B. EV ready spaces and EVCS in multifamily developments shall comply with California Building Code, Chapter 11A, Section 1109A.

Note: The total number of EV spaces should be one-hundred percent (100%) of dwelling units or one-hundred percent (100%) of parking spaces, whichever is less.

Construction plans and specifications shall include the following:
• The type and location of the vehicle supply equipment (EV Ready and / or EVSE). • The raceway shall not be less than trade size 1"
• The raceway and wiring shall originate at a service panel or a subpanel serving the area and shall terminate into a receptacle or EVSE.
• The service panel or subpanel shall have sufficient capacity to accommodate a 208/240 minimum 40-ampere dedicated branch circuit for the future installation of the EVSE. The service panel or subpanel circuit directory shall identify the overcurrent protective device as “EV Ready or EV Capable” in accordance with the California Electrical Code • Electrical calculations shall substantiate the design of the electrical system to include the rating of equipment and any on-site distribution transformers and have sufficient capacity to charge required EV at its full rated amperage
• Plan design shall be capable of accommodating a 208/240-volt dedicated circuit based upon 40 ampere branch circuit requirements. Required raceways and related components that are planned to be installed underground, enclosed, inaccessible or in concealed areas and spaces shall be installed at the time of original construction.

4.106.4.2.2 EVCS Provisions.

4.106.4.2.2.1 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS).

Electric vehicle charging stations shall comply with the following requirements, except for EVCS serving public accommodations, public housing, motels and hotels shall not be required to comply with this section (see California Building Code, Chapter 11B, for applicable requirements):

4.106.4.2.2.1.1 Location.

EVCS shall comply with at least one of the following options:

1. The charging space shall be located adjacent to an accessible parking space meeting the requirements of the California Building Code, Chapter 11A, to allow use of the EV charger from the accessible parking space

2. The charging space shall be located on an accessible route, as defined in California Building Code, Chapter 2, to the building.

Exception: EVCS designed and constructed in compliance with California Building Code, Chapter 11B, are not required to comply with Section 4.106.4.2.2.1.1 and Section 4.106.4.2.2.1.2, Item 3.

4.106.4.2.2.1.2 EVCS Dimensions
The charging spaces shall be designed to comply with the following:

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1. The minimum length of each EV space shall be 18 feet.

2. The minimum width of each EV space shall be 9 feet.

3. One in every 25 charging spaces, but not less than one, shall also have an 8-foot wide minimum aisle. A 5 foot wide minimum aisle shall be permitted provided the minimum width of the EV space is 12 feet.
a. Surface slope for this EV space and the aisle shall not exceed 1 unit vertical in 48 units horizontal (2.083 percent slope) in any direction.

4.106.4.2.2.1.3 Accessible EV spaces.

In addition to the requirements in Sections 4.106.4.2.2.1.1 and 4.106.4.2.2.1.2, all EVSE, when installed, shall comply with the accessibility provisions for EV chargers in the California Building Code, Chapter 11B. EV ready spaces and EVCS in multifamily developments shall comply with California Building Code, Chapter 11A, Section 1109A.

12.18.050 – Amendment of Section 4.408.1 – Construction Waste Management.

Section 4.408.1 of the California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended to read in entirety as follows:

4.408.1 Construction waste management. Recycle and/or salvage for reuse a minimum of 65 percent of both inert and non-inert nonhazardous demolition waste and 65 percent of both inert and non-inert nonhazardous construction waste in accordance with Section 4.408.2,

4.408.3 or 4.408.4 and meet the requirements of Chapter 12.48 Recycling and Salvaging of Construction and Demolition Debris City of Menlo Park Municipal Code.

Exceptions:

1. Excavated soil and land clearing debris.

2. Alternate waste reduction methods developed by working with local agencies if diversion or recycle facilities capable of compliance with this item do not exist or are not located reasonably close to the job site.

3. The enforcing agency may make exceptions to the requirements of this section when isolated jobsites are located in areas beyond the haul boundaries of the diversion facility.

12.18.060 – Amendment of Section 5.106.5.3 – Electric Vehicle Charging.

Section 5.106.5.3 of the California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended to read in entirety as follows:

5.106.5.3 Electric vehicle (EV) charging. [N] Construction to provide electric vehicle infrastructure and facilitate electric vehicle charging shall comply with Section 5.106.5.3.1 and shall be provided in accordance with regulations in the California Building Code and the California Electrical Code. Accessible EVCS shall be provided in accordance with the California Building Code Chapter 11B Section 11B-228.3. For EVCS signs, refer to Caltrans Traffic Operations Policy Directive 13-01 (Zero Emission Vehicle Signs and Pavement Markings) or its successor(s). Calculation for spaces shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

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Exceptions:

1. On a case-by-case basis where the local enforcing agency has determined compliance with this section is not feasible based upon one of the following conditions:
a. Where there is no local utility power supply.
b. Where the local utility is unable to supply adequate power. c. Where there is evidence suitable to the local enforcement agency substantiating that additional local utility infrastructure design requirements, directly related to the implementation of Section 5.106.5.3, may increase construction cost by an average of $4,500 per parking space. EV infrastructure shall be provided up to the level that would not exceed this cost for utility service.

Table 5.106.5.3.1 of Chapter 5 is amended and replaced with:

Table A5.106.5.3.1 Electric Vehicle (EV) charging Tier 1 [N] shall be used to determine the number of EV capable spaces required. Refer to Section 5.106.5.3.2 for design space requirements. When EV capable spaces are provided with EVSE to create EVCS per Table A5.106.5.3.1 refer to Section 5.106.5.3.2 for allowed use of Level 2 or Direct Current Fast Charger (DCFC) and Section 5.106.5.3.3 for the allowed use of Automatic Load Management System (ALMS).

Total Number of
actual parking
spaces
Tier 1 Number of
Required EV
capable spaces
Tier 1 Number of
EVCS (EV capable
spaces provided
with EVSE)2
0-9 2 0
10-25 5 2
26-50 11 4
76-100 26 9
101-105 38 13
151-150 38 13
151-200 53 18
201 and over 30 percent of total
parking spaces1
33 percent of EV
capable spaces1

1. Calculation for spaces shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

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2. The number of required EVCS (EV capable spaces provided with EVSE) in column 3 count toward the total number of required EV capable spaces shown in column 2.

12.18.070 – Addition of Section 5.106.5.5.1 – Additions and Alterations.

Section 5.106.5.5.1 is added to the California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended to read in entirety as follows:

Section 5.106.5.5.1 Additions and Alterations. Level 2 EV capable spaces and EVSE spaces that meet Level 2 Ready requirements shall be constructed and installed for additions and alterations as specified below in Table 5.105.5.1.

Table 5.106.5.5.1 Additions and Alterations1

NUMBER OF REQUIRED
LEVEL 2 EV CAPABLE
SPACES

NUMBER OF REQUIRED
EVSE THAT ARE LEVEL 2
EV READY3
1 - 9,999 sq.ft. Voluntary Voluntary
10,000 - 25,000
sq.ft.
5% 1 Can be located in an EV
capable space
Greater than
25,000 sq.ft.
10% One + 1% of total required
parking spaces for the
affected area. Can be
located in an EV capable
space
1The EV space requirement is based on the required parking associated with the building where the work is being performed, inclusive of landscape reserve parking. For additions and alterations, percentages are based on the required parking for the affected area of the scope of work. 2Calculations for spaces shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number. 3The maximum number of required EV spaces and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) shall not exceed the requirement for EV spaces for new construction of an equivalent development on a parcel or project site unless it is voluntary.

Construction plans and specifications shall include, all of the below:

1. The type and location of the EVSE.

2. A listed raceway capable of accommodating a 208/240-volt dedicated branch circuit.

3. The raceway shall not be less than trade size 1"

4. The raceway shall originate at a service panel or a subpanel serving the area and shall terminate in close proximity to the proposed location of the charging equipment and into a listed suitable cabinet, box, enclosure or equivalent.

5. The service panel or subpanel shall have sufficient capacity to accommodate a minimum 40-ampere dedicated branch circuit for the future installation of the EVSE.

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6. Electrical calculations shall substantiate the design of the electrical system to include the rating of equipment and any on-site distribution transformers and have sufficient capacity to charge required EV at its full rated amperage. Calculations for the required number of EV spaces shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

12.18.080 – Amendment of Section 5.408.1 – Construction Waste Management.

Section 5.408.1 of the California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 California Code of Regulations is amended to read in entirety as follows:

5.408.1 Construction waste management. Recycle and/or salvage for reuse a minimum of 65 percent of both inert and non-inert nonhazardous demolition waste and 65 percent of both inert and non-inert nonhazardous construction waste in accordance with Section 5.408.2,

5.408.3 or 5.408.4 and meet the requirements of Chapter 12.48 Recycling and Salvaging of Construction and Demolition Debris City of Menlo Park Municipal Code.

Exceptions:

1. Excavated soil and land clearing debris.

3. The enforcing agency may make exceptions to the requirements of this section when isolated jobsites are located in areas beyond the haul boundaries of the diversion facility.

SECTION 9: Amendment of Section 12.32.050.

Section 12.32.050 [Filing Fee] of Chapter 12.32 [Moving Buildings] of Title 12 [Buildings and Construction] of the Menlo Park Municipal Code is hereby amended to read in entirety as follows:

Section 12.32.040 – Filing Fee.

Prior to, or at the time of, filing any application for a permit to move or remove a building or structure a fee in an amount established by resolution of the City Council shall be paid to the building department by the applicant to defray the reasonable cost of investigations and other services required of the building department pursuant to this chapter. The filing fee provided in this section shall be in addition to other permit fees which are required to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, improve and convert any structural, electrical, plumbing, and heating work required for any building, or to demolish any building or structure pursuant to other applicable laws or ordinances.

SECTION 10: Enactment of Section 12.36.060.

Section 12.36.060 [Pools under construction] is hereby added to Chapter 12.36 [Swimming Pools] of Title 12 [Buildings and Construction] of the Menlo Park Municipal Code, to read as follows:

Section 12.36.060 – Pools under construction.

During construction, pools shall be enclosed by a fence or solid structure with a height of 60-84 inches. The fence shall not have any openings larger than 50 square inches other than a gate.

Fences with rectangular openings having a horizontal dimension 4 inches or less may exceed 50 square inches. All gates leading into the area shall be self-closing self-latching. The latch shall be at least 60 inches above the ground.

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SECTION 11: Amendment of Code on Flood Damage Prevention.

Chapter 12.42 [Flood Damage Prevention] of Title 12 [Buildings and Construction] of the Menlo Park Municipal Code is hereby amended to modify Sections 12.42.12, 12.42.20, 12.42.41,

12.42.43, 12.42.51 to read as set forth below:

Section 12.42.12 – Findings of fact.
a. The flood hazard areas of the city of Menlo Park are subject to periodic inundation which results in loss of life and property, health and safety hazards, disruption of commerce and governmental services, extraordinary public expenditures for flood protection and relief and impairment of the tax base, all of which adversely affect the public health, safety and general welfare.
b. These flood losses are caused by the cumulative effect of obstructions in areas of special flood hazards which increase flood heights and velocities, and when inadequately anchored, damage uses in other areas. Uses that are inadequately floodproofed, elevated or otherwise protected from flood damage also contribute to the flood loss.

Section 12.42. – Definitions.

Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable application.

1. "Accessory structure" means a structure that is either: solely for the parking of no more than two (2) cars or a small, low cost shed for limited storage, less than one hundred fifty (150) square feet and one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) in value.

2. "Appeal" means a request for a review of the floodplain administrator’s interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.

3. "Area of shallow flooding" means a designated AO or AH zone on the flood insurance rate map (FIRM). The base flood depths range from one (1) to three (3) feet; a clearly defined channel does not exist; the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate; and velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.

4. "Area of special flood hazard." See "Special flood hazard area."

5. "Base flood elevation (BFE)" means the elevation shown on the flood insurance rate map for zones AE, AH, A1-30, VE and V1-V30 that indicates the water surface elevation resulting from a flood that has a one percent (1%) or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

6. "Basement" means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.

7. "Breakaway walls" are any type of walls, whether solid or lattice, and whether constructed of concrete, masonry, wood, metal, plastic or any other suitable building materials, which are not part of the structural support of the building and which are designed to break away under abnormally high tides or wave action without causing any damage to the structural integrity of the building on which they are used or any buildings to which they might be carried by floodwaters. A breakaway wall shall have a safe design loading resistance of not less than ten (10) and no more than twenty (20) pounds per square foot. Use of breakaway walls must be certified by a registered engineer or architect and shall meet the following conditions:

A. Breakaway wall collapse shall result from a water load less than that which would occur during the base flood; and
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B. The elevated portion of the building shall not incur any structural damage due to the effects of wind and water loads acting simultaneously in the event of the base flood.

8. "Building." See "structure."

9. “Coastal A Zones” means a special flood hazard area landward of a V Zone or landward of an open coast without a mapped V Zone, where the principle source of flooding are associated with astronomical tides, storm surges, seiches or tsunamis, not riverine flooding. During base flood conditions, the potential for breaking wave heights between 1.5 feet and 3.0 feet will exist.

10. "Coastal high hazard area" means an area of special flood hazard extending from offshore to the inland limit of a primary frontal dune along an open coast and any other area subject to high velocity wave action from storms or seismic sources. It is an area subject to high velocity waters, including coastal and tidal inundation or tsunamis. The area is designated on a flood insurance rate map (FIRM) as zone V1-V30, VE, or V.

11. “Design Flood Elevation (DFE)” means the elevation of the design flood, including wave height, relative to the datum specified on a community’s flood hazard map.

12. "Development" means any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.

13. “Dry floodproofing” means a combination of measures that results in a structure, including the attendant utilities and equipment, being watertight with all elements substantially impermeable to the entrance of floodwater and with structural components having the capacity to resist flood loads.

14. "Encroachment" means the advance or infringement of uses, plant growth, fill, excavation, buildings, permanent structures or development into a floodplain which may impede or alter the flow capacity of a floodplain.

15. "Existing manufactured home park or subdivision" means a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.

16. "Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or subdivision" means the preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads).

17. "Flood, flooding, or floodwater" means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from (A) the overflow of floodwaters; (B) the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; and/or (C) the collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an unanticipated force of nature, such as flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in this definition.

18. "Flood boundary and floodway map" means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of flood hazard and the floodway.

19. "Flood hazard boundary map" means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated the areas of flood hazards.

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20. "Flood insurance rate map" means the official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

21. "Flood insurance study" means the official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration that includes flood profiles, the FIRM, the flood boundary and floodway map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood and supporting technical data.

22. "Floodplain or flood-prone area" means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source (see definition of "flooding").

23. "Floodplain administrator" means the community official designated by title to administer and enforce the floodplain management regulations.

24. "Floodplain management" means the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage and preserving and enhancing, where possible, natural resources in the floodplain including, but not limited to, emergency preparedness plans, flood control works and floodplain management regulations and open space plans.

25. "Floodplain management regulations" means zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as floodplain ordinance, grading ordinance and erosion control ordinance) and other applications of police power. This term describes such federal, state or local regulations, in any combination thereof, which provide standards for the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.

26. "Floodproofing" means any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures and their contents.

27. "Floodway" means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height. Also referred to as "regulatory floodway."

28. "Floodway fringe" means that area of the floodplain on either side of the regulatory floodway where encroachment may be permitted.

29. "Fraud and victimization," as related to Section 12.42.61, means that the variance granted must not cause fraud on or victimization of the public. In examining this requirement, the city will consider the fact that every newly constructed building adds to government responsibilities and remains a part of the community for fifty (50) to one hundred (100) years. Buildings that are permitted to be constructed below the base flood elevation are subject during all those years to increased risk of damage from floods, while future owners of the property and the community as a whole are subject to all the costs, inconvenience, danger, and suffering that those increased flood damages bring. In addition, future owners may purchase the property, unaware that it is subject to potential flood damage, and can be insured only at very high flood insurance rates.

30. "Functionally dependent use" means a use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and ship repair facilities, but does not include long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.

31. "Governing body" means the City Council.

32. "Hardship," as related to Section 12.42.61, means the exceptional hardship that would result from a failure to grant the requested variance. The city requires that the variance be exceptional, unusual, and peculiar to the property involved. Mere economic or financial hardship alone is not exceptional. Inconvenience, aesthetic considerations, physical handicaps, personal preferences, or the disapproval of one’s neighbors likewise cannot, Page H-1.33
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as a rule, qualify as an exceptional hardship. All of these problems can be resolved through other means without granting a variance, even if the alternative is more expensive, or requires the property owner to build elsewhere, or put the parcel to a different use than originally intended.

33. "Highest adjacent grade" means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.

34. "Historic structure" means any structure that is:

A. Listed individually in the National Register of Historic places (a listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register; B. Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district; C. Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or D. Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either by an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.

35. "Levee" means a manmade structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection from temporary flooding.

36. "Levee system" means a flood protection system which consists of a levee or levees, and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accord with sound engineering practices.

37. "Lowest floor" means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area, including basement (see "basement" definition).

A. An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure below the lowest floor that is usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other than a basement area, is not considered a building’s lowest floor provided it conforms to applicable nonelevation design requirements, including, but not limited to:
i. The wet floodproofing standard in Section 12.42.51(3)(D); ii. The anchoring standards in Section 12.42.51(1);
iii. The construction materials and methods standards in Section 12.42.51(2); iv. The standards for utilities in Section 12.42.52.

B. For residential structures, all subgrade enclosed areas are prohibited as they are considered to be basements. This prohibition includes below-grade garages and storage areas.
(Note: This definition allows attached garages to be built at grade. Below grade garages are not allowed as they are considered to be basements.)

38. "Manufactured home" means a structure, transportable in one (1) or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. For floodplain management purposes the term "manufactured home" also includes park trailers, travel trailers and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days.

39. "Manufactured home park or subdivision" means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two (2) or more manufactured home lots for sale or rent.

40. "Market value" is defined in the city of Menlo Park’s substantial damage/improvement procedures.

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41. "Mean sea level" means, for purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community’s flood insurance rate map are referenced.

42. New construction" means, for floodplain management purposes, structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by this community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structure.

43. "New manufactured home park or subdivision" means a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date of floodplain management regulations adopted by this community.

44. "Obstruction" includes, but is not limited to, any dam, wall, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, protection, excavation, channelization, bridge, conduit, culvert, building, wire, fence, rock, gravel, refuse, fill, structure, vegetation or other material in, along, across or projecting into any watercourse which may alter, impede, retard or change the direction and/or velocity of the flow of water, or due to its location, its propensity to snare or collect debris carried by the flow of water, or its likelihood of being carried downstream.

45. "One-hundred-year flood" or "100-year flood" means a flood which has a one percent (1%) annual probability of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. It is identical to the "base flood," which will be the term used throughout this chapter.

46. "Person" means an individual or his agent, firm, partnership, association or corporation, or agent of the aforementioned groups, or this state or its agencies or political subdivisions.

47. "Primary frontal dune" means a continuous or nearly continuous mound or ridge of sand with relatively steep seaward and landward slopes immediately landward and adjacent to the beach and subject to erosion and overtopping from high tides and waves during major coastal storms. The inland limit of the primary frontal dune occurs at the point where there is a distinct change from a relatively mild slope.

48. "Public safety and nuisance," as related to Section 12.42.62, means that the granting of a variance must not result in anything which is injurious to safety or health of an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage of use, in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, river, bay, stream, canal or basin.

49. "Recreational vehicle" means a vehicle which is:

A. Built on a single chassis;
B. Four hundred (400) square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
C. Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck; and D. Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

50. "Regulatory floodway" means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one (1) foot.

51. "Remedy a violation" means to bring the structure or other development into compliance with state or local floodplain management regulations, or, if this is not possible, to reduce the impacts of its noncompliance. Ways that impacts may be reduced include protecting the structure or other affected development from flood damages, implementing the enforcement provisions of this chapter or otherwise deterring future similar violations, or Page H-1.35
Ordinance No. XXXX

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Menlo Park City CouncilNovember 1, 2022

Menlo Park City Council
November 1, 2022