Minutes of the Regular Joint Meeting of the Oakley City Council/Oakley City Council Acting as the Successor Agency to the Oakley Redevelopment Agency/Oakley Public Financing Authority held July 11, 2023
1) OPENING MATTERS
1.1 Call to Order and Roll Call of the Oakley City Council/Oakley City Council Acting as the Successor Agency to the Oakley Redevelopment Agency/Oakley Public Financing Authority
Mayor Aaron Meadows called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Oakley City Council Chambers located at 3231 Main Street, Oakley, California. Vice Mayor Anissa Williams and Councilmembers Dr. George Fuller, Hugh Henderson and Shannon Shaw were also in attendance.
1.2 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
Councilmember Shaw led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
1.3 Outstanding Youth Award (Lindsey Bruno, Recreation Director) Recreation Director Lindsey Bruno introduced the award recipients and Mayor Meadows presented certificates and awards to the recipients. Tiffanee Jones, District Director for Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson, provided certificates of recognition to the award recipients.
Mayor Meadows thanked Assemblymember Wilson for her work on AB 102 that provided $2 million for improvements to E. Cypress Road.
1.4 Update from Nonprofits Awarded American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Grant Funds
(a) Caitlin Sly, Executive Director, Meals on Wheels Diablo Region (b) Pat Walsh, President, St. Vincent de Paul-St. Anthony's Conference Ms. Sly and Mr. Walsh provided information to the City Council how ARPA grant funds have been utilized by their non-profits.
2) PUBLIC COMMENTS
An online public comment was submitted by Lapamela Price and made part of the meeting record.
3) CONSENT CALENDAR
3.1 Approve Minutes from the Regular Joint City Council/City Council Acting as the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency/Public Financing Authority Meeting Held June 13, 2023 (Libby Vreonis, City Clerk)
3.2 Accept Report Out of Closed Session Memo (Derek P. Cole, City Attorney)
3.3 Waive the Second Reading and Adopt Ordinance 5-23 Reducing the Acreage of Land and Amending an Existing P-1 (Planned Unit Development) District for the Project Known as Machado Lane Subdivision 9615 (RZ 06-21) APNS 033-190-003 and 033-190-004 (Ken Strelo, Planning Manager)
3.4 Waive the Second Reading and Adopt Ordinance 6-23 Updating Mitigation Fees Imposed to Implement the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservation Plan / Natural Community Conservation Plan (Ken Strelo, Planning Manager)
3.5 Authorize the City Manager to Execute Amendment Number 1 to the Consulting Services Agreement with Callander Associates Landscape Architecture, Inc. for the Enrico Cinquini Park Construction Project Capital Improvement Project (CIP) Number 281 (Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer)
3.6 Fiscal Year (FY) 2022/23 Fourth Quarter Report on the Capital Improvement Program (Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer)
3.7 Agreement with Mark Thomas & Co. Inc. for Engineering Design Services associated with East Cypress Road Lane Alignment Analysis (Railroad Tracks to Main Street) Capital Improvement Project Number 301 (Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer)
3.8 Award of Construction Contract to Specified Play Equipment Company for the Koda Dog Park Shade Structure Project - Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Number 287 (Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer)
3.9 Adopt a Resolution Approving a Side Letter to the Oakley Police Officers Association Memorandum of Understanding (Jeri Tejeda, Human Resources Director)
3.10 Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Consulting Services Agreement with the Public Safety Family Counseling Group, Inc. to Provide Training and Support Related to Critical Incidents as well as Counseling Services on an as Needed Basis for Members of the Oakley Police Department (Jeri Tejeda, Human Resources Director)
It was moved by Dr. Fuller and seconded by Councilmember Henderson to approve the Consent Calendar. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0) 4) PUBLIC HEARINGS
4.1 Sellers Avenue Subdivision 9614 Rezone (RZ 01-22), Vesting Tentative Map (TM 01-22), Final Development Plan (FDP 01-22), Design Review (DR 01-22) and adoption of a Mitigated Negative Declaration finding that this project, with mitigations, would not require the adoption of an Environmental Impact Report (Ken Strelo, Planning Manager)
Dr. Fuller recused himself and left the Council Chambers.
Planning Manager Ken Strelo presented the staff report.
Mayor Meadows inquired why the streets changed from private to public and Mr. Strelo explained there was less parking with private streets, there is room to adjust lot sizes better with public streets, it would provide for the park to be public as there are no other parks nearby, and there was no proposal for this to be a gated community.
Vice Mayor Williams inquired if the property has ever been zoned agricultural (ag) or if it has always been this proposed density and Mr. Strelo explained it could have been ag prior to incorporation, but in 2002 the City of Oakley 2020 General Plan set forth the land use designation and this property has not changed land use since that time. He further explained zoning and the General Plan must match, and the General Plan sets zoning, not the other way around.
Mayor Meadows opened the public hearing.
Applicant Kevin Freyer with Meritage discussed the changes they have made to the project.
Online public comments were submitted by John de Fremery and Tanya Reisinger and made part of the meeting record.
Mr. Strelo clarified from his staff report this is the first reading and introduction of the ordinance.
Erin Mathias requested single-story homes along Sellers and bushes at exit points for privacy.
Andrew Mathias expressed concerns about trash, traffic, speed, lack of infrastructure and road conditions.
Vince Granberg expressed concerns regarding traffic, speed, the stability of the railroad tracks with its proximity to water, and he addressed the Baldocchi property annexation and related ag easement.
Laurie Seeno expressed concerns regarding safety, traffic, and road conditions. She suggested a stop sign and/or to reduce the speed limit.
Mayor Meadows closed the public hearing.
Vice Mayor Williams asked staff to address traffic mitigation during construction and thereafter and Mr. Strelo explained that peak hours are based on the number of units in a project, all projects are treated fairly and under the same thresholds in the industry, setting speeds on roads requires a speed survey, and he would not recommend it be conditioned for this project as they would not be able to make findings that this project would be responsible for speed. He discussed a mitigation measure for the truck route.
Vice Mayor Williams inquired what developers are doing to mitigate how new property owners moving near County ag property would handle living near it as well as the ag property owners handling new property owners moving near ag land. Mr. Strelo explained there are disclosure requirements for developers. Mayor Meadows added that buyers sign a right to farm disclosure.
Vice Mayor Williams inquired if single-story homes can be on Sellers as well as the privacy bushes requested by Ms. Mathias and Mr. Strelo responded that staff would not condition the developer to install bushes on private property, but the developer could agree to it, and one-story homes seem feasible, although it would create a cluster.
Ms. Mathias explained they are requesting the bushes in the space between the fence and easement.
Councilmember Shaw commented that traffic analysis can sometimes increase speed.
She asked staff to discuss the developer’s dedication of 2.35 acres of land for the future Laurel Road extension and Mr. Strelo discussed the extension project and dedication.
She expressed appreciation for the collaboration of the developer.
Councilmember Henderson requested clarification if the west lane on Sellers is City property, if the east lane is unincorporated, and Mr. Strelo explained he is not certain, but usually in these circumstances, the right-of-way would be with the City.
Mr. Strelo also responded to a previous comment and verified that the buffer discussed with the previous westerly annexation only applies to the new City limit line south of Cypress, east of Sellers, and west of Knightsen.
Vice Mayor Williams asked staff to explain why the City can’t start the road extension today and build roads first and Mr. Strelo explained the improvements are done with development, mostly by developers. Public Works Director/City Engineer Kevin Rohani added that this developer is giving the largest portion of the right-of-way and they will work with landowners for the rest. He mentioned over the past two years, the City has spent substantial time and money to maintain Sellers, from Delta to E. Cypress.
Mr. Freyer commented that he thinks they can accommodate single-story homes on Sellers and will connect with the property owners regarding bushes for privacy and possibly a construction fence for potential trash.
Vice Mayor Williams echoed what Councilmember Shaw said; she appreciates the concessions the developer is willing to make. She shared she was wavering on it, but these were always meant to be homes, the developer is making concessions, and this is not a density increase.
It was moved by Councilmember Shaw and seconded by Councilmember Henderson to waive the first reading and introduce the proposed ordinance for Rezone. AYES:
Henderson, Meadows, Shaw, Williams. ABSTENTION: Fuller. (4-0-1).
It was moved by Councilmember Henderson and seconded by Councilmember Shaw to adopt the proposed resolution, including adoption of the initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration that also applies to Rezone entitlement. AYES: Henderson, Meadows, Shaw, Williams. ABSTENTION: Fuller. (4-0-1).
Mayor Meadows called for a brief recess at 7:46 p.m. The City Council reconvened at 7:51 p.m.
4.2 Proposed Resolution Revising Fees in the City's Master Fee Schedule for Rental of Fields, Group Picnic Areas, and the Oakley Recreation Center by Oakley Based Businesses (Tim Przybyla, Finance Director)
Finance Director Tim Przybyla presented the staff report and requested a correction to the proposed resolution to reflect September 11 rather than July 11 as the effective date of the fees.
Vice Mayor Williams requested to reduce the Recreation Center kitchen rental fee for Oakley residents and staff indicated that options could be brought back on a future agenda.
Mayor Meadows opened the public hearing and called for public comment. There being none, he closed the public hearing.
It was moved by Vice Mayor Williams and seconded by Dr. Fuller to adopt the resolution as amended to reflect September 11 rather than July 11 as the effective date of the fees.
Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0)
5) REGULAR CALENDAR
5.1 Annual Report of Military Equipment Usage-2022 (Paul Beard, Chief of Police) Chief of Police Paul Beard presented the staff report and provided a PowerPoint presentation. He announced a community meeting regarding Police military equipment will be held July 26th at 6:00 p.m. in the Oakley City Council Chambers.
Dr. Fuller commented his understanding is the equipment is approved through the Peace Officer’s Standards and Training (POST) and Oakley Police Officers receive training on how to use it which Chief Beard confirmed is correct and mentioned there are no POST guidelines for drones, therefore training is outsourced.
Dr. Fuller commented that staff is not making a capricious purchase but a wellresearched purchase and are using POST guidelines which Chief Beard confirmed is correct.
Vice Mayor Williams inquired if drone footage can be used to monitor and fine illegal fireworks and Chief Beard confirmed Police can use drones to record fireworks, and they can use drone footage to process a report and fine.
No public comments were submitted.
Dr. Fuller commented that “military equipment” is the term used but the equipment has been adapted for police use; it is a valuable tool to save officer and civilian life.
It was moved by Councilmember Henderson and seconded by Dr. Fuller to accept the report. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0)
5.2 Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract with Urban Field Studio for the Library and O’Hara Residential Projects Design and Economic Feasibility Analysis and appropriating American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project (Joshua McMurray, City Manager)
City Manager Joshua McMurray presented the staff report.
No public comments were submitted.
Vice Mayor Williams inquired if the Council would need to approve an option today and Mr. McMurray confirmed it would and staff is recommending both.
It was moved by Vice Mayor Williams and seconded by Councilmember Fuller to adopt the resolution approving both options. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0)
5.3 Authorization to Execute the Purchase and Sale Agreement with R&R Pacific Construction, Inc. for 0.90 Acres of APN 037-160-018 (Joshua McMurray, City Manager)
City Manager Joshua McMurray presented the staff report and provided a PowerPoint presentation.
Dr. Fuller inquired if there is any reason why they can’t table the item until after the Downtown Specific Plan has been reviewed by the community and approved. Mr.
McMurray responded there is not, but there is momentum in the Downtown and they have a private investment, continuing with the mercantile building, and have a proposal from an experienced developer who can produce what they say they can do and that is real and tangible. He shared that staff will bring an analysis forward in October or November.
Mayor Meadows inquired when the Downtown Specific Plan is coming forward and Mr.
McMurray responded it would be mid-2024.
Councilmember Shaw inquired if it would make most sense to do this now with utilities and construction happening which Director of Public Works/City Engineer Kevin Rohani confirmed it would.
Vice Mayor Williams commented that she is a fan of mixed use and wants to keep the Downtown momentum going for economic development. She inquired if parking will be addressed during the design review and if there are other opportunities for mixed use and Mr. McMurray confirmed an application would have to be submitted and go through at least Planning Commission review and mixed use is allowed now in certain areas of the Downtown.
No public comments were submitted.
Councilmember Shaw commented she is also a fan of mixed use, it would be unique to the Downtown, and it would provide residents with the train platform nearby and walkability.
Dr. Fuller commented it has been 2 ½ years that he has been requesting the Downtown Specific Plan and he is concerned they are turning their back on the city; they are moving forward here to say this looks good when residents haven’t had an opportunity to speak to the Downtown Specific Plan and this may open the door to the next project. He mentioned he sees no reason to have to approve it tonight; it seems the cart is in front of the horse with R & R. He requested the item be tabled until the Downtown Specific Plan is reviewed and approved.
Vice Mayor Williams inquired if approving the sale would lock the Council into anything or if everything must still come before the Council and Mr. McMurray explained the entitlement requires staff review and presentation to the Planning Commission and approval by the Planning Commission.
Mayor Meadows inquired if it goes to the Planning Commission but not the City Council and Mr. McMurray confirmed that is correct, but if the Council wants to call up an item, it can within the provisions of the municipal code.
Vice Mayor Williams mentioned she has not seen public comment regarding this item in relation to the Downtown Specific Plan nor does she recall receiving any public comment regarding the Downtown Specific Plan.
Councilmember Shaw mentioned while residents have not submitted comments on this item, they have shared that they want more restaurants and businesses and more Downtown and halting progress is not a benefit to the city or its residents; this potentially brings restaurants, housing, tax revenue, and something unique to Oakley.
It was moved by Dr. Fuller to table the item until the first meeting after the Downtown Specific Plan is reviewed and approved by the City Council. The motion died for lack of a second.
Mayor Meadows commented he believes the project as envisioned currently is good for the Downtown, there is momentum going; however, the price is low and fill needs to be on the site, but he will vote for it since the benefits outweigh that for the Downtown.
It was moved by Councilmember Shaw and seconded by Vice Mayor Williams to adopt the resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute the Purchase and Sale Agreement.
AYES: Henderson, Meadows, Shaw, Williams. NOES: Fuller. (4-1). 6) REPORTS
6.1 CITY MANAGER
(a) City Manager
City Manager Joshua McMurray thanked staff for their work at Summer Fest held July 1.
He announced next Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in the Oakley City Council Chambers a second community meeting will be held regarding the 55-acre park, the Retro Summer Block party will be held July 29 at 6:00 p.m. at Civic Center Plaza, Friday Night Bites and a concert with be held August 4 at 5:00 p.m. at Civic Center Plaza, and the Annual Kids Fishing Derby will be held at the Oakley/Antioch Pier August 12 at 8:00 a.m. (b) Results of the Marsh Creek Pedestrian Bridge Survey Mr. McMurray shared that 78.9% of people surveyed support replacing the current bridge with a longer bridge in a different location; plans should be finished by the end of this year, and then they will seek funding for the implementation phase of that project. (c) KOA/Tyler Presentation
Holly Sitton Orognen, PMP, CCP, PSMI, Project Manager with Koa Hills Consulting, provided a PowerPoint presentation.
Dr. Fuller inquired how she envisions the project changing priorities and requested she share what she has experienced.
Ms. Sitton Orognen mentioned the project might take the City Manager and Finance Director away from project meetings, for example, where there may need to be creative allocation.
Dr. Fuller inquired if her example is referring to Mammoth and Ms. Sitton Orognen replied “no”. He thanked her for recognizing finances.
Vice Mayor Williams inquired if the Council would receive regular status updates. Mr.
McMurray mentioned the Council will receive updates when the project hits critical milestones and Ms. Sitton Orognen added they can view the dashboard for progress and anything overdue.
(d) Fireworks Update
Chief of Police Paul Beard provided an update. He mentioned he had 4 officers from June 30-July 4 on overtime in 2-4 patrol cars, depending on if they rode solo or doubled up. He shared that he conveyed to the officers his experience from previous years and the focus of having no fireworks. He mentioned state-wide that it fell apart. He shared that the worst year in memory was April-October 2021 for fireworks season, and years prior to, Oakley has proven to be a community that loves fireworks. He shared his personal experience of patrolling in previous years, chasing fireworks and getting trapped in small geographical areas. He mentioned he needs to do a better job to educate officers how to better address firework enforcement and drones can also help.
He mentioned the Police Department has gone on record to say fireworks are hazardous for pets and veterans, there is a lot of data to support that, as residents can lose animals trying to escape fireworks. He added that they have adopted a zero-tolerance policy and ran an educational program from June 9-29 through social media with an open notice and passed out the same notice in communities. He mentioned the educational period ended June 29 and June 30-July 4, officers cited or wrote reports for admin citations. He shared they had a slow lead up to July 4, but on July 4 it was full on; they had some weekend admin cites, but on July 4 calls for service were abundant and worse than last year. He mentioned statistically fireworks are underreported because historically people are placed on hold from dispatch to get to health and safety calls or nothing happens because an officer never shows up because officers are bouncing from block to block.
He shared that they had 84 calls last year and 94 calls this year (over 5 days) and there were 60 fires County-wide between July 4-July 5. He mentioned Pittsburg hosted fireworks and Brentwood hosted a drone show and it didn’t reduce their illegal fireworks shows; Brentwood in 72 hours had 89 calls, Pittsburg had 174 calls over 5 days (112 calls coming in between July 4-July 5). He mentioned they processed 6-7 cases of admin cites. He shared that they will apply current experiences to future strategy.
Vice Mayor Williams shared that there have been comments that if Oakley would just bring back legal fireworks show all illegal fireworks wouldn’t happen, but data shows no correlation. She inquired what it would take to put on a safe show and where that might be held.
Chief Beard commented he will apply current experiences to future operations. He mentioned there was a time when fireworks shows were safe, when there was law and order, but until the state and society have sense of what law and order really is; any public event runs the risk of being a disaster. He shared that he doesn’t want to cower from criminals, withhold services, or withhold good times, but Police needs to take a measured response to what they do for the community. He mentioned the basin is not an ideal location because there are a concentrated number of people in a bowl and the future 55-acre park is probably not an ideal location for ingress/egress. He mentioned if they host fireworks, he must dedicate a certain number of Police services to make sure it is a safe environment, but they would still need a lot of Police to chase down illegal fireworks in neighborhoods; it takes a lot of resources. He indicated the special services team will be tasked with fireworks suppression next year.
Councilmember Shaw commented that historically fireworks haven’t been on July 4 in Oakley so Oakley will still get illegal fireworks on July 4. She mentioned she would like stricter fines and suggested a local tip line.
Chief Beard commented that the tip line went to County dispatch that was serving many different entities that night.
Councilmember Shaw commented that many people don’t report fireworks; some think because it is happening near water at the park there is no harm, but winds pick up. She showed remnants of a firework that landed on her neighbor’s roof. She shared people were shooting fireworks at one another in her neighborhood, she had Police response at her house, and the crowd dispersed. She mentioned she would like to see drones and stricter fines and if that doesn’t work possibly a reward system for reporting when a call leads to an actual fine, having part of that fine go to the reporting party.
Dr. Fuller asked what Chief Beard’s response was to Vice Mayor Williams.
Chief Beard commented that law and order in society is lacking so they can’t expect society to act accordingly.
Dr. Fuller commented that fireworks have drastically improved since 2021 when they began in April and went through October. He thanked Chief Beard for applying his professional expertise and keeping the city safe.
Chief Beard provided the locations of the administrative citation reports that showed fireworks were widespread across the city.
6.2 OAKLEY CITY COUNCIL/OAKLEY CITY COUNCIL ACTING AS THE SUCCESSOR
AGENCY TO THE OAKLEY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
(a) Reports from Council Liaisons to Regional Committees, Commissions and Boards AND Oakley City Council/Oakley City Council Acting as the Successor Agency to the Oakley Redevelopment Agency
Councilmember Henderson reported he attended the Diablo Water District Board meeting June 14, the Juneteenth event on June 17, Summer Fest on June 1, Friday Night Bites on June 7, and the swearing-in ceremony yesterday for the promotion of an officer to a sergeant position.
Vice Mayor Williams reported she attended the Tri-Delta Transit meeting where she sat her last meeting as chair since the chair position rotates and discussion points at that meeting included budget, zero emissions capital funds project was funded, a transportation task force will be in place January 2024 to focus policy and better track funding, and they received positive follow up on dynamic personal micro transit (a closed system with a fixed guideway with private seating on demand to move people more efficiently). She mentioned they did a fair/equity analysis because paratransit riders were not able to use Clipper for a period because the app phased out, and because of elimination of the mobile app, it disproportionality impacts the low-income riders so they are working toward correcting that. She shared Tri-Delta was dropped by State Farm Insurance because they no longer insure in California and 21 other providers would not accept them, and the risk pool that agreed to insure them has increased costs. She announced National Night Out is August 1st and requested social media outreach for the event.
Dr. Fuller reported he attended “Dance Around the World” hosted by the Oakley Library with use of ARPA funds, and he attended the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) meeting.
Councilmember Shaw reported she attended Oakley’s Juneteenth event and she appreciates Assemblymember Wilson attending and the work of staff. She also reported she attended the East Bay Regional Park District meeting at Big Break on June 20, the “Dance Around the World” event, the Tri-Delta Transit meeting, the Delta Association of Realtors local elected event, the CalCities’ Bocce event on June 29, Summer Fest on June 1, Antioch Unified School District’s College and Career Expo yesterday, and the swearing-in ceremony yesterday for the promotion of an officer to a sergeant position.
Mayor Meadows reported he attended TRANSPLAN, HWY 4 Bypass Authority, ECCRFA, CCTA meetings, Juneteenth, the swearing-in ceremony for the promotion of an officer to a sergeant position, the Delta Association of Realtors event, and the Mayors Conference in Moraga where he suggested they all receive autographed copies of the Constitution which Senator Mark Desaulnier provided. Mayor Meadows passed them out to the Council.
(b) Requests for Future Agendas
Councilmember Shaw requested a report on fireworks, fines, and what the City can do. It was supported by Vice Mayor Williams.
Mayor Meadows called for a brief recess at 9:36 p.m. The City Council reconvened at 9:45 p.m.
7) WORK SESSIONS
7.1 Work Session to Discuss AB 1657 and Recent General Assembly of the Association of Bay Area Governments (Derek Cole, City Attorney) City Attorney Derek Cole presented the staff report and requested Dr. Fuller proceed with leading the discussion as he requested the item.
Dr. Fuller mentioned in 2022, during a Bay Area Association of Governments (ABAG) meeting, Mayor Jesse Arreguin from Berkeley (ABAG President) mentioned the Residential Housing Numbers Assessment (RHNA) is exorbitant in Berkeley where they have 8900 units required. He shared in comparison Oakley has done a good job because it has incorporated housing for everyone over the years and only has 479 units required. He mentioned Oakland is in the 5-digit numbers for required units and others were seriously complaining about their RHNA allocation. He commented that Arreguin mentioned they were putting together a bond measure so that they can build affordable housing in open areas, meaning East Contra Costa County, East Alameda County, and South Santa Clara County, which is primarily agricultural, because they don’t have any more room. He shared that he took that as “not in my backyard, we have a great idea for you to do”. He mentioned he brought this up during the last Council meeting. He shared that prior to the 2023 ABAG meeting in San Francisco, CalCities came out endorsing AB 1657 (Affordable Housing Bond Measure of 2024), a $10 billion bond issue to allocate state-wide affordable housing to be built and sections 54054(a)(b)(c) of the bill are very innocuous, indicating from time to time, the legislature can change the basis of allocation such as RHNA. He mentioned during the 2023 ABAG meeting, Mayor Arreguin supported the bond and announced they were putting together the Bay Area Housing Financing Authority (BAHFA) that is made by the executive committee to help finance getting AB 1657 passed. He mentioned the speaker after Arreguin supported it because the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has the legislature convinced the RHNA allocations are all wrong so the RHNA allocations should be redone which would totally negate what Oakley is doing. He mentioned this legislation is leading to the loss of local control. He shared that SB 555 is to form a 2024 Housing Authority via the state to help allocate the money and determine where it goes. He mentioned AB 1657 provides $925 million to Contra Costa County. Mayor Meadows corrected him mentioning that is through BAHFA. Dr. Fuller mentioned his perception is that we are going to give money for affordable housing and the counties or state can designate where the money would go and the type of public housing. He expressed that he firmly opposes tax money going into public housing. He summarized that ABAG and BAHFA are attempting to reallocate RHNA numbers, and it is a discriminatory move as they are marginalizing people. He commented that Census numbers show Berkeley has had a migration out of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and an increase of its white population; their affordable housing might bring that back, but they are saying to move lower-income out of their backyard which marginalizes lower-income people and is a discriminatory move. He mentioned that reallocating RHNA would negate all the work the City has done and allows the County to put buildings in wherever they want, MTC is coming with it which Mayor Meadows might have something to do with it, it is state money, say more tax money, and BAHFA would create a regional vote; with population centers along the coast, we would lose local control. He expressed that he would like to see a letter of opposition.
Mayor Meadows agreed and mentioned during the last Mayors Conference, there was a BAHFA presentation and there would be $925 million coming into Contra Costa County if it is a $10 billion bond; they are polling to possibly increase it $10-$20 billion for the 9 Bay Area counties. He mentioned he has an issue with that because it is put back onto parcel tax so we’re paying for it. He shared that they sat next to the PIO for BART who mentioned he lives in Berkeley, and it hasn’t grown in decades. He commented Oakley has grown a lot in the past few decades because a lot of that growth is pushed out to us.
He mentioned the big cities have all the jobs but do not do a good job of providing housing and the people who work those jobs get pushed out and commute back and we don’t have the transportation to make that work. He shared he is pro-housing, but he is opposed to cramming this down on Oakley. He added that Oakley takes care of its issues and Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco need to take care of their issues. He mentioned that Oakley’s problem is that it doesn’t have the votes; the votes sit on the peninsula which is the same in Southern California. He commented he would support a letter of opposition to AB 1657 and potentially to ABAG stating they don’t want this crammed down on Oakley. He mentioned San Francisco needs to step up and provide housing.
Vice Mayor Williams commented she is not seeing in the legislation where it says that another city can allocate housing to another city. She corrected the record to indicate that Oakley has not done a great job in providing affordable housing; Oakley is making changes to make it happen, but the reason Oakley’s RHNA numbers are so low is because of how it is allocated. She mentioned in the last couple of housing cycles affordable housing has not been built and Oakley is correcting that now but Oakley has put all of its affordable housing on places that cannot be developed and that is why the legislation has had to come down. She mentioned the legislation talks about transitoriented community policies and Oakley is not yet transit-oriented so it looks to her like the legislation is trying to put housing where transit is easily accessible and that would apply first to the bigger cities. She mentioned she doesn’t agree with how RHNA numbers are allocated, but that is a separate discussion from this legislation. She mentioned Mayor Meadows brings up a fair point that San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose have the jobs and we don’t have the jobs.
Mayor Meadows commented that is the point, Oakley doesn’t have the jobs so it shouldn’t have the housing.
Vice Mayor Williams mentioned Oakley’s workforce needs housing to live.
Mayor Meadows indicated Oakley doesn’t have a workforce; San Francisco has a workforce and doesn’t provide the housing; Oakley has housing but doesn’t have the workforce.
Vice Mayor Williams inquired if Oakley residents who have jobs in San Francisco should not live here anymore, but rather live in San Francisco.
Mayor Meadows explained he is not trying to tell them to move but that doesn’t mean that we have to bring more housing to Oakley to exasperate that problem because that is what this legislation would be doing. He mentioned if Oakley is going to provide the housing, San Francisco needs to export the jobs here too. He mentioned they cannot have no low-income housing but all of the high-end jobs and all of the people who work service jobs there have to commute in. He mentioned he is not against housing, but he is against poor planning on big cities’ part. He shared that he sits here now addressing this issue, but it is not new; his father sat on LAFCO addressing the same issue with Lafayette who still doesn’t want to do its part. He mentioned Moraga has higher RHNA numbers than Oakley because they don’t do anything. He mentioned Oakley has its fair share of low-income housing built over approximately a 15-year period and there was low-income housing here in the 1970s. He mentioned our neighbors in other counties need to step up and do their fair share and Oakley’s numbers are low because it had done its fair share which he believes is the lowest in the County. He mentioned we need jobs, and they need housing.
Vice Mayor Williams agreed there should be stricter enforcement for not providing housing but expressed that she doesn’t see how this legislation encourages moving people out; there are other policies encouraging it.
Dr. Fuller commented that the numbers are 479 units for Oakley for this cycle but in the previous cycle it was over 500 and Oakley has done its share in all categories; he believes Oakley is the least in the County for very-low-income housing requirement (279 units) as a result of what the City has been doing. He mentioned the City has a varied workforce and varied population and has put it together. He shared he believes they came up with a plan that enhanced equity, diversity and inclusion that they were not going to build public projects but move it around, so everyone is in an equitable spot, not just because they were low-income or in a demographic spot, and Berkeley and Oakland did not. He mentioned the same happened in Los Angeles, they had officers that worked in Los Angeles that lived in Victorville because housing was affordable there, and with a 90 minute trip each way, after 5 years either the officer was divorced and moved back in or the officer quit and went to work for an agency in the outer areas; even modification of work schedule to 3 12-hour shifts did not retain them. He agreed with Mayor Meadows that they like the workforce but don’t provide the housing and now this is a way to get out from underneath it. He mentioned he wishes they had the recording so they could hear the discourse, rhetoric, and the speaker’s excitement that they were going to get under these unheard of RHNA numbers and they were going to go out to open areas that would marginalize people. He expressed that he wants to see an equitable distribution of affordable housing across all demographic and socioeconomic statuses.
City Manager Joshua McMurray commented that his concern regarding the legislation and bond is that land in far East County is cheaper and developers know they need to rezone a substantial amount of land. He mentioned the money closes the gap and opens resources that are not available now to get these projects constructed which will be far easier in East County than in Central or West County and other parts of the Bay Area.
He mentioned he understands Vice Mayor Williams comments in terms of looking at the City’s annual progress report and RHNA numbers, but the state and surrounding communities think Oakley has done a good job to address RHNA requirements within this small community which is part of why the RHNA numbers are down. He shared over a decade ago there was a push by ABAG to establish priority development areas (PDAs) in cities and the purpose was to centralize development around services, transit, and jobs. He mentioned the City wanted to have PDA designation because it would open up access to funding it would not otherwise have access to. He shared that the emphasis was not to incentivize affordable housing development but to install infrastructure for development to try to fix the jobs/housing imbalance. He mentioned that it in turn hurt the City because it had too much PDA areas, one being on the west side of the City near the Logistics Center. He shared that ABAG began to come out with new terminology to address jobs and industry, so they began calling areas priority production areas (PPAs) and staff proactively went to ABAG and requested the City’s PDAs be changed to PPAs and he believes that is one of the biggest influencers in the RHNA allocation in this cycle. He mentioned the City took out hundreds of acres that ABAG believed was prime for housing, but the City knew in reality, the housing would never be constructed. He mentioned it is a combination of the City doing a decent job in producing affordable housing given that the City doesn’t have an in-lieu fee or funds to subsidize housing which is needed to construct affordable housing. He asked the Council to keep in mind the history and that the methodology changes with each cycle which is established by a committee if they want to consider being part of that in the next cycle.
Councilmember Shaw requested someone show her where it says in the legislation that they can move RHNA allocations to Oakley to be in good conscious to understand it if she is going to oppose it. She shared she is involved in construction of low-income subsidized housing and being BIPOC is still weighted in the application process to receive federal subsidies which she deals with on a regular basis and the projects can’t really be built without the subsidies. She shared that HUD no longer funds these projects, so funding occurs through tax credits and local attorney groups. She mentioned if this passes, maybe the City can try to find a loophole to get funding for some properties.
Dr. Fuller commented he does not believe the 2022 transcript was provided, but it was mentioned in the President’s Report in the June 17, 2022, ABAG General Assembly. He suggested the Council can visit ABAG.ca.gov and go to past meetings, find the meeting, and listen to Arreguin say they need to be able to move it into open space. He mentioned in the 2023 ABAG meeting, they can listen to Arreguin say the executive committee runs ABAG, the General Assembly does not, and they put together BAHFA.
He mentioned the woman that speaks after Arreguin (identified as “speaker” on the transcript) provides the direction they are trying to go. He mentioned with proposed legislation by Assemblymember Wicks (Oakland) AB 1657 and Senator Wahab (San Jose) SB 555, geographically these bills are cut off at the coastal region, and agricultural areas would be impacted; it would provide BAHFA $2 billion to spend as it sees fit.
Mayor Meadows corrected him to state $2-$4 billion (20% of bond proceeds). He mentioned developers will get behind it because funding will be available.
Councilmember Shaw commented that the transcript he included is from the 2023 meeting and the bill is proposed for May 2024. She mentioned she would like time to research the 2022 meeting.
Dr. Fuller mentioned the legislature’s recess begins July 14 and it reconvenes August 14 and the committees will begin considering bills; by September 8, bills must come out of committee for floor vote which occurs 3-4 days afterward, so they have until about September 14. If they are going to write a letter to oppose it, it should be done now, by July 25, and sent before the legislative recess to CalCities, Assemblymember Wilson, Senator Glazer, and the Contra Costa Mayors Conference.
Councilmember Henderson expressed concern that it may be premature to submit a letter without the final bill language to know what they are opposing.
Dr. Fuller mentioned his hope is that the letter is there before it is in the committee because if there is going to be a change to the language of the bill, it can occur on the floor, but seldom does, so it will likely occur in the committee. He mentioned he would like the letter to say not that they are opposed to $10 billion for affordable housing, but that they oppose loss of local control, oppose the opportunity for the Senate and Assembly to change RHNA numbers, and oppose state allocation of the $10 billion. He mentioned if they came out of session with that statement it would be much better. He mentioned in response to Councilmember Henderson, he hopes it will be amended in the committee. He commented that the legislature starts August 14; although the legislature is on recess prior to then, there could be some talk during the recess.
Councilmember Henderson requested clarification if they are opposing the $10-$20 billion bond or where and how they allocate it. He suggested they be clear on what they are opposing.
Mayor Meadows commented that he believes Dr. Fuller is suggesting they oppose state legislation, but not the bond measures at this time because they don’t know with certainty if there will be bond measures.
Dr. Fuller commented he is opposed to the way the bill is written now and asked Mr.
McMurray for his input on how they might best word it to express their opposition.
City Manager Joshua McMurray commented that he is hearing that the Council is not opposing housing or affordable housing, but it is opposing the loss of local control; however, he is not sure he has heard full consensus on direction. He mentioned staff is happy to write a letter; staff just needs to know what the content will be.
Dr. Fuller expressed concern regarding Section 54054(a)(b)(c), which allows the legislature to change the requirements that go into RHNA allocations. He proposed they include the City of Oakley is opposed to any loss of local control or the RHNA numbers with the passage of AB 1657 or any other legislation, and if bond money is passed, its allocation should be through municipal government rather than a state-wide housing authority.
Mayor Meadows also expressed concern with a state-wide housing authority.
Vice Mayor Williams commented that they should have pulled up the letter regarding SB 5 and SB 10 because she feels like the issue here is the affordable matter and those bills took a direct hit on local control with no affordable component; it was for developers to put stuff where they want to put stuff. She added here, at least there is an affordable component and that is why she is struggling a bit with it. She mentioned local control is important and she doesn’t see in the bill or transcript where it says they won’t have local control and as Councilmember Henderson indicated, they have not provided clear direction on what they are opposing. She mentioned if they want to send a letter to oppose giving up local control, it may go unheard, but it’s always good to reiterate it, but she gets nervous if it is opposing affordable housing when there is so much to be done with it. She mentioned 91% of Oakley’s products being single-family homes is not affordable to our kids; varied products are needed, including apartments and condos.
She mentioned the bill is so tied to affordable housing and they are talking about opposing it which gives her pause. She mentioned she is in favor of providing a letter stating they want to maintain local control, but she doesn’t see it in the context of this legislation, and they need more time to research.
Mayor Meadows commented that SB 9 was a showcase by Senator Atkins to show she was doing something for housing, but it is not for developers because it is not feasible for developers and in his opinion, very few units will be built in California under SB 9.
Councilmember Shaw commented that federal and state funding is very important for low-income housing. She expressed support for a letter that states they are not opposed to a bond or low-income housing, but they want the control to be local even without having to go back and look at the 2022 ABAG General Assembly transcript. She mentioned she does not want to send a letter to oppose it completely without having time to research it. She added that she understands the timing and appreciates it. She mentioned she is fine with a letter now stating they support funding for affordable housing if they have local control of it and when it comes out of committee, they can send a stronger letter if needed.
Dr. Fuller commented that two of them have listened to what is being said, he has gone to ABAG and Mayor Meadows has listened to BAHFA, and after hearing the rhetoric and discourse, they have concluded that this bill will injure Oakley with its RHNA numbers, allocation of resources, and affordable housing. He mentioned the ABAG recording is not on MP4 so he doesn’t have the resources to cut it neatly, and he doesn’t know if the City does, but would encourage the Council to listen to the section and the same with BAHFA’s presentation given at the Mayors Conference. He mentioned Mayor Arreguin is saying to send letters to ABAG, and a couple of small cities are already standing up to say they cannot have an increase in RHNA numbers because they will not have room for commercial development which provides sales tax/revenue for the City, but he sees urgency with the letter because the legislative is coming to a close and this bill is likely to get signed by the Governor if passed. He asked staff to get the videos he mentioned, and Mr. McMurray responded that he is not sure if staff has the capability to get the videos, but staff will look into it.
Anthony Meadows commented that it appears there is consensus that no one is opposed to low-income housing, but the problem lies that Oakley hasn’t met all its RHNA numbers but no one else has either. He mentioned instead of Berkeley doing something about it like Oakley, they are just trying to push it all on us. He mentioned there is a loss of local control but there is also a loss of local accountability and that is what needs to be addressed, not low-income housing.
Direction was provided to staff to prepare a letter for Mayor Meadows to sign strongly in favor of maintaining local control in relation to AB 1657 to send to the agencies that Dr.
Fuller mentioned--also including ABAG, monitor the bill over the next couple of months, and provide an update to the Council on August 8.
Dr. Fuller shared that the ABAG housing committee meets tomorrow and BAHFA meets in the next couple of days; he will watch those meetings and report back. He mentioned the committees carry a tremendous amount of weight in ABAG. 8) CLOSED SESSION
Mayor Meadows announced the closed session item and after closed session, the meeting would be adjourned, and the next regular meeting will be held August 8, 2023, at 6:30pm in the Oakley City Council Chambers.
8.1 CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8
Property: 3080 Main Street, Oakley, CA, APN 037-200-011 Agency Negotiator: Joshua McMurray, City Manager
Negotiating Party: Kent Ipsen
Under Negotiation: Price and term of payment
9) ADJOURN
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:57 p.m.
Respectively Submitted,
Libby Vreonis
City Clerk