1 CITY OF MILL VALLEY
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
ACTION MINUTES
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
26 CORTE MADERA AVENUE, MILL VALLEY
October 16, 2023
5:30 P.M.
Mayor Urban Carmel – Present
Vice Mayor Stephen Burke – Present
Councilmember Caroline Joachim – Present
Councilmember Max Perrey – Present
Councilmember Jim Wickham – Present
City Staff Present: City Manager Cusimano; City Attorney Khalsa; Police Captain Haynes; Senior Principal Planner Staude; and City Clerk Politzer.
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Carmel called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM
ACTION OUT OF CLOSED SESSION
None.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA ORDER
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It was MOVED by Vice Mayor Burke and SECONDED by Councilmember Joachim to approve the agenda order. The Motion was carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote.
PRESENTATION
1. Presentation from the Friends of the Library and Mill Valley Library Foundation.
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Mayor Carmel introduced Library Director Anji Brenner, who announced she had just completed writing the Friends and Foundation Annual Funding Report and noted how the Mill Valley Library is indebted to both the Friends of the Library (“Friends”) and the Mill Valley Library Foundation (“Foundation”) and the volunteers who serve on them, and how fortunate the library is to have this additional funding for its programs and goals. She introduced the president of the Friends, Jim Derich, and the president of the Foundation, Deborah Sorondo. 2 Jim Derich, president of Friends of the Library, spoke of the 57-year collaboration between the Friends and the Mill Valley Library, and the collaboration between library staff and Friends in maintaining the book sales revenue stream during COVID, the grants Friends has given to the library, and that the Friends and the Foundation are now collaborating on the Legacy Giving Campaign.
Deborah Sorondo, president of the Mill Valley Library Foundation, provided an update on the Foundation’s work in support of the library. She noted that this year the Foundation passed two milestones: 1) The Library Foundation gave the library a grant of $100,000, and 2) the Foundation received an estate gift from Mill Valley resident Daniel Druckerman of $2.3 million, bringing its endowment balance to over $5 million. Deborah Sorondo introduced the Mill Valley Library Foundation board members to the audience.
Councilmember Joachim said she is a member of the Friends of the Library and that the Mill Valley Library is one of the best things about the town. She appreciated the library staff and volunteers who made the library and its many opportunities so great.
Councilmember Wickham said the library is the jewel of the community, and he liked seeing the Friends and the Foundation working so closely in partnership.
Councilmember Perrey agreed with his fellow commissioners and said he had been going to the library since he was a child, and that the library offers something for people of all ages.
Vice Mayor Burke said he has spent many happy hours in the library’s history room, and congratulated the Foundation on achieving their $5 million endowment balance.
Mayor Carmel spoke of how near and dear the Mill Valley library and the Friends and the Foundation are to his heart, and applauded the volunteers who devote their time to the library.
COUNCIL/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS AND COUNCIL LIAISON REPORTS Councilmember Wickham announced that the Sequoia Cinema had closed permanently.
Councilmember Joachim attended the opening night of the Mill Valley Film Festival. She met with Kristi Denton Cohen, representative to the Commission on Aging, and spoke of issues affecting Mill Valley and Marin County. Councilmember Joachim also attended the Friends of the Mill Valley Parks and Recreation fundraiser, which was packed and raised $140,000. She noted that informal get-togethers, known as Neighborhood Chats, would be instituted as a means of exchanging ideas and concerns. She also worked with Friends of Steps Lanes and Paths on Steps #17.
Councilmember Perrey said he and Councilmember Joachim have been working with personnel at the golf course regarding their maintenance operations with an eye to reducing and eliminating toxic pesticide use. He noted the Emergency Preparedness Commission (EPC) meets monthly and encouraged the public to attend their meetings. 3 Vice Mayor Burke said he is a liaison with the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority that has just published on YouTube an excellent 18-minute video on wildfire behavior and the conditions that constitute a high-risk environment. He also announced that City staff, Front Porch, and Home Match have distributed a mailer in Mill Valley highlighting a partnership with Community Housing Foundation of Mill Valley for a Workforce Rent Subsidy Program, to which the foundation has made a significant cash donation.
Mayor Carmel clarified that the Sequoia Cinema has not closed permanently but has moved from Cinemark to the California Film Institute (CFI), which will begin programming it in December, so the theater will be closed for a couple of weeks to do the switchover. He noted that he and Vice Mayor Burke have been involved in the Infrastructure Task Force since the City Council formed it last summer to look at Mill Valley’s infrastructure needs and determine how to fund them, and he encouraged the community to attend the next meeting on October 24th. He said the task force would also hold a community chat in the next three weeks. He announced the Milley Awards would be held on October 22nd to recognize outstanding achievement in the arts. He also announced that he and City Manager Cusimano would meet with the Kelly Brush Foundation the following week regarding hosting an event in Mill Valley next May to help the foundation raise money to assist people in the community with disabilities so they can remain active. He said the Transportation Authority will host a workshop next week on countywide transportation at the Civic Center, with a TAM board meeting afterwards. He announced that he and Vice Mayor Burke would be meeting with Police Chief Navarro and City Manager Cusimano for quarterly police oversight.
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
City Manager Cusimano gave a report/update on the following topics:
• The 500 Miller Avenue project, although 3-4 weeks behind on its original 12-month plan, continues to move forward and has framing going up.
• Regarding the “great PG&E mound of Miller,” Public Works Director Poster and his Public Works team have coordinated with PG&E to begin prep work this week, and the bulk of the work commencing the following week, with emergency nighttime work because of the need to cut the power while the work occurs, but the mound will be gone by the end of next week.
• City staff do not see community conversations that occur on Next Door unless the conversation is forwarded to them, making it difficult for staff to engage community members. He reminded the community to contact City departments directly.
PUBLIC OPEN TIME
Mayor Carmel opened Public Open Time.
Speakers: Emily Uhlhorn
Communications (via eComment): Nancy Carlston and Clayton Smith Public Open Time_Public Communication No. 1_231016
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Mayor Carmel closed Public Open Time.
OLD BUSINESS
2. Presentation and Report on Improving Traffic Flow During a Mill Valley Evacuation: 2023 Google Evacuation Study.
Recommended Action: Receive report.
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Former Mill Valley Mayor John McCauley provided a presentation touching on the history of wildfires in the area, Mill Valley’s wildfire prevention and preparedness, and how the Google 2023 Evacuation Study came about. Topics included simulation study parameters, evacuation time projection results, methods to accomplish the projected evacuation times with new traffic plans A and B, evacuation routing, insights from Google report data, “safer places” and community refuge areas (CRAs), and next steps. He thanked the Google Research team for their cooperation.
The City Council asked questions of John McCauley and Police Captain Haynes and provided comments related to the presentation and report.
Mayor Carmel opened public comment.
Speakers: Jeralyn Seiling
Communications (via eComment): None.
Mayor Carmel closed public comment.
PUBLIC HEARING
3. Consideration of a Resolution Amending the 2023-2031 Housing Element Update, Land Use Element, and Land Use Map of the Mill Valley 2040 General Plan and Making a Finding under CEQA that the General Plan Revisions Do Not Require Any Additional Analysis and the Impacts of the Revised Housing Element and Land Use Element are Fully Addressed in the Housing Element Final Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (State Clearinghouse No. 2013052005.
Recommended Action: Receive the report and presentation, conduct the Public Hearing, and adopt Resolution No. 23-___.
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Mayor Carmel introduced the item and made opening comments on the Housing Element.
City Manager Cusimano gave a brief history of the Housing Element, staff’s proposed revisions, and the importance of public input, which closes October 23rd. City Manager Cusimano introduced Senior Principal Planner Staude.
Senior Principal Planner Staude gave a presentation outlining the proposed revisions to the 2023-2031 Housing Element to address HCD comments. Topics included required components, reasons to update the Housing Element, clarifying the revisions, timeframe, housing needs, sites inventory, housing programs, fair housing analysis, public comments, constraints analysis, and the adoption process.
Senior Principal Planner Staude responded to questions from the City Council.
City Attorney Khalsa responded to questions from the City Council.
Mayor Carmel opened the Public Hearing.
Speakers: Rebekah Helzel, Jeralyn Seiling
Communications (via eComment): Patrick Soluri, Mary McGarity 6 Senior Principal Planner Staude responded to public comments and questions.
Mayor Carmel closed the Public Hearing.
Vice Mayor Burke said the first HCD letter and the City’s response to it made the Housing Element better, and this revision is about making the City adhere to the statutory and regulatory language that HCD governs cities by, and in a sense, HCD is training municipalities in how to respond to it during this RHNA cycle. He was comfortable that the staff had addressed the specific requirements in the second HCD letter. He noted a new RHNA cycle was about to begin, and said the State is already anticipating that few, if any, municipalities will make their RHNA numbers.
He said that three years ago, county leaders had the opportunity to look at the ABAG and RHNA process in the context of sub-regional planning, but passed on the opportunity. Napa, San Mateo, and Alameda counties did not, and they were able to address their county requirements. Vice Mayor Burke encouraged his fellow Council Members to start the conversation early about how Marin County can better address this collectively.
Councilmember Perrey was caught up with where they were at, and said they were at a place where they were making smaller changes based on the feedback. He said there is sometimes confusion between supportive housing and supportive services at family housing, and the supportive services are things like the on-site manager who provides services to the families. He also said they have seen supportive services in EAH presentations in the past, and he thought that sometimes gets conflated with supportive housing, and it would be helpful to have them address that clearly.
Councilmember Joachim picked up on Vice Mayor Burke’s comments regarding the statutory and regulatory framework and the idea that this is a new process that feels like a sea change with respect to land use and housing policies, and with what the State now requires municipalities to do. She was concerned with the time and resources it takes staff to create such a document and be responsive to HCD, who can be very vague, and said more specific guidance in terms of what they want would be very helpful, but she was comfortable that staff was responsive to what HCD is asking for, and was hopeful that this time around they would certify the Housing Element. She liked that public comment would be added to the transmittal to HCD so they can see what issues are being raised, and she was comfortable deferring to HCD to make that call as to whether they have sufficiently addressed the fair housing issues in the document, which she believed they had, so she was in favor of the revisions.
Councilmember Wickham supported the resolution and attached public comments to the HCD transmittal, and said staff had done a good job.
Mayor Carmel requested that someone from EAH, perhaps with Senior Principal Planner Staude, get back to Jeralyn Seiling regarding the supportive housing versus workforce housing at One Hamilton, as it was important that they clarify that.
It was MOVED by Councilmember Wickham and SECONDED by Vice Mayor Burke to adopt the Resolution of the City Council amending the 2023-2031 Housing Element Update, Land Use Element, and Land Use Map of the City of Mill Valley 2040 General Plan, with direction to staff 7 to include public comments in its transmittal to HCD. The Motion was carried unanimously by a 5-0 vote.
COUNCIL REQUESTS AND IDEAS FOR DISCUSSION
None.
ADJOURNMENT – The Council ADJOURNED at 8:48 p.m. to the next Regular City Council meeting to be held on Monday, November 6, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. in the Mill Valley City Council Chambers.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY THE MILL
VALLEY CITY COUNCIL ON OCTOBER 6, 2025
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Stephen Burke, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Risa De Ferrari, City Clerk