CITY OF PACIFICA
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
Council Chambers
2212 Beach Blvd
Pacifica, CA 94044
Mayor Sue Beckmeyer
Mayor pro Tem Christine Boles
Councilmember Mary Bier
Councilmember Mayra Espinosa
Councilmember Greg Wright
City Council Study Session 1 March 01, 2025
SPECIAL MEETING – STUDY SESSION
March 01, 2025 (SATURDAY) – 9:30 AM
www.cityofpacifica.org
Mayor Sue Beckmeyer called the special meeting / study session to order on March 1, 2025 at 9:37 AM.
9:30 AM - OPEN SESSION
Call to Order
Mayor Sue Beckmeyer convened the special meeting at 9:37 AM.
Attendee Name Title Status Arrived
Sue Beckmeyer Mayor Present
Christine Boles Mayor pro Tem Present
Mary Bier Councilmember Present
Mayra Espinosa Councilmember Present
Greg Wright Councilmember Present Via Teleconference
City Clerk Coffey took a verbal roll call.
Staff Present: Kevin Woodhouse, City Manager; Michelle Kenyon, City Attorney; Yulia Carter, Asst. City Manager; Maria Sarasua, Police Chief; Ron Myers, Fire Chief; Scott Leslie, PB&R Director; Samantha Updegrave, Community Development Director; Marisol Gómez, Finance & Administrative Services Director; Louis Sun, Interim PW Director; Roland Yip, PW Dep. Director (Field Services/Engineering; John Mullins, PW Special Projects Consultant; Sarah Coffey, City Clerk; Elizabeth Brooks, Mgmt. Analyst.
Reading of Land Acknowledgment
Mayor Beckmeyer read the Land Acknowledgment.
Salute to the Flag led by Mayor Beckmeyer
City Council Study Session 2 March 01, 2025
DISCUSSION OUTLINE - CITY OF PACIFICA PRIORITY SETTING
1. City Council Strategic Plan Update and Priority Setting through 2026 PROPOSED ACTION: Undertake a facilitated strategic planning workshop to review the adopted Strategic Plan and to provide direction on key priorities through 2026.
RESULT: NO VOTE REQUIRED
A. Welcome
City Manager Woodhouse provided introductory information and introduced members of the Executive Team present and the meeting facilitator, Greg Larson.
B. Overview
City Manager Woodhouse provided an overview of the agenda and purpose of the study session.
C. Accomplishments
Greg Larson presented an overview of the agenda for the meeting, identifying Ground Rules for the strategic planning study session and identified the top recent accomplishments that City Councilmembers identified in individual interviews in preparation for the study session. All Councilmembers mentioned street repaving and improvement to the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) as a key accomplishment. Three or four Councilmembers mentioned the following: Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LCLUP) being submitted, relationship with the Coastal Commission getting stronger, Measure M (TOT increase) passed, final Housing Element submitted to HCD and the draft EIR for the Housing Element Rezonings progressing. Multiple Councilmembers mentioned increased public engagement and recognition of a strong management team.
Facilitator Larson also mentioned a list of accomplishments that City staff identified.
Mayor Beckmeyer highlighted the LCLUP and the multiple meetings and public outreach that occurred with that. Mayor pro Tem Boles highlighted the relationship with the Coastal Commission. Councilmember Bier added the relationships with regional and statewide leaders, Congress members. Councilmember Espinosa highlighted the repaving work and mentioned that there is still a lot of work to do in this regard. City Manager Woodhouse added the Executive Team / Department Directors hired recently as important to the City and organization and the ERP system, an enormous lift in improving efficiency and modernization. Assistant City Manager Carter explained that the ERP is the Enterprise Resource Management system, a replacement of the City’s financial system and the associated modules that went live on July 1, 2024 and the new HR Management system in January 2025. City Attorney Kenyon highlighted the Housing Element and the LCLUP accomplishments.
Greg Larson asked for input from Councilmembers about, “What are the factors that let Pacifica accomplish so much?”
Councilmember Espinosa mentioned collaboration amongst Council, staff, volunteers and the public.
Councilmember Bier mentioned relationship building across the region and listening to hear rather than respond in order to better represent the public’s needs.
City Council Study Session 3 March 01, 2025
Mayor pro Tem Boles mentioned willingness to tackle difficult and controversial subjects, such as the Local Coastal Plan, short-term rental issues, and the Quarry, and making decisions for the benefit of the community.
Mayor Beckmeyer mentioned cohesion on our Council, engaging with local peer elected officials in the county, and being committed to working through issues.
City Attorney Kenyon mentioned collaboration of the City Council, not just with staff but also with the community. She stated that this Council whatever the vote on issues moves forward and does not stay stagnant.
City Manager Woodhouse highlighted the commitment, energy, hard work and professional expertise of the staff and the commitment and hard work of the Council to take on the difficult issues that Pacifica needs to confront for its future.
Mayor Beckmeyer added that our community, active community members, Committee / Commission structure and community members’ willingness to volunteer on those bodies.
Mayor pro Tem Boles added the very involved senior community and volunteers and how people care so much about our city.
Greg Larson observed that the Council’s conscientiousness on an annual priority setting process for goals for a targeted list that is achievable is a great best practice that goes back a decade in practice.
D. Background Information
City Manager Woodhouse presented a financial overview for background consideration going into the strategic planning process, including revenues and the financial and operational sustainability challenge. He stated that without a significant increase in operating revenue, service delivery is at risk, adding that to raise staffing and compensation levels to the average of peer agencies would require approximately $8 million. He stated that without significant capital program funding, infrastructure is at risk and more than $200 million in capital funding is needed to meet capital needs. He provided details on anticipated challenges for the fiscal year 2025-26 budget balancing, mentioning deceased sales tax revenue and TOT revenue and uncertainty of the VLF in-lieu funding from the state. City Manager Woodhouse remarked that property tax revenue is the single largest revenue source for the City. He emphasized the importance of retaining the primacy of the Council’s top Strategic Plan Goal #1 – Enhance Organizational and Fiscal Stability and to think about prioritizing strategies that support new and re-development.
He shared data that achieving the City’s RHNA allocation over 5 years would translate to over $3.5 million per year in additional property tax revenues and adding 100 new hotel rooms would translate to approximately $1 million per year. He shared additional data regarding assessed property valuation in Pacifica and how property tax is allocated to the city based on the assessed property valuation and how the trend of assessed valuation growth in Pacifica is much lower as compared to other cities and how that translates into revenue pertaining to new and redevelopment. City Manager Woodhouse provided context with respect to the relative magnitude of property tax, Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) and sales / transactions and use tax (TUT) revenues, adding that average sales tax revenue per retail business in $4k / year and it would take 250 new average retailers to generate $1 million per year in additional sales tax revenue.
He stated that funding for capital projects relies on grant funding and voter-approved revenue and/or bond measures. He emphasized the need to minimize organizational burdens and City Council Study Session 4 March 01, 2025
inefficiencies that expend limited staff resources and divert focus from Council priorities that will make the city financially sustainable in the future.
Councilmember Bier appreciated the facts provided by the City Manager, recognizing that it reflects the reality that the city is facing.
Mayor pro Tem Boles appreciated the building blocks to the get city where it needs to be such as the Economic Opportunities Study, General Plan Update, LCLUP, Sharp Park Specific Plan, and Housing Element. She asked how to get developers in to build more housing, businesses and offices. She observed that from the Economic Opportunities Study certain types of businesses such as restaurants bring in more sales tax.
City Manager Woodhouse responded that the top class of sales tax generators for the city include dining establishments and gas stations.
Mayor Beckmeyer spoke about the RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) numbers, how it would help our assessed valuation, and asked how we meet those goals in a way that the community can live with such as preserving the green hills and what we value.
Councilmember Espinosa expressed the need for housing for an aging population and for essential workers and to prepare for the future.
E. Public Comment
Mayor Beckmeyer opened Public Comment for items on today’s agenda.
Ava Litz, Pacifica, stated that she is a student at Terra Nova High School, a former San Mateo County Youth Climate Ambassador, current Jefferson Union High School Sustainability Committee and member of the Youth Climate Action and Adaptation Task Force, speaking about agenda item G4, urging a dedicated committee for youth involvement in implementing and overseeing climate initiatives and recommended a youth-led Climate Action and Adaptation Plan Committee to work in parallel with the Environmental Commission proposed in the Draft Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.
Suzanne Moore, Pacifica, recommended that safe and affordable housing for all should be a chief goal, including housing for the most vulnerable, elders, low-income residents, etc. She stated that housing instability impacts health, quality of life and longevity of the individual and equally impacts the community as a whole. She encouraged routinely offering tenant know your rights seminars to inform tenants and property owners can be informed of current laws and resources. She is excited that the city received a grant from the Partnership for Bay Area’s Future for rezoning and Housing Element implementation.
Calvin Chan, Pacifica, stated that he is a Youth Advisory Board member, a member of the Youth Climate Action and Adaptation Task Force, a San Mateo County Youth Climate Ambassador, and a student at Terra Nova High School. He commented on the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan included a youth implementation section and urged continuing work with youth engagement to ensure a better, cleaner, more sustainable future for generations.
Remi Tan, Pacifica, agreed with the City Manager’s statements about the RHNA housing and new hotel rooms, and urged that regarding new housing to be sure developers pay for the impact on infrastructure. He stated that the city needs more hotels and restaurants to make City Council Study Session 5 March 01, 2025
Pacifica a tourist destination. He stated that capital projects should be paid through special assessments paid by those that benefit from them.
Natalie Hopner, Pacifica, spoke regarding Goal 3 – Prioritize Protection and Development of Affordable Housing, urging Council to take action to protect low-income and disadvantaged Pacifica residents from displacement, such as protecting affordable housing tenants, just cause eviction ordinance from day one and tenant anti-harrassment ordinances.
Celeste Langille, Pacifica, stated that she was the vice chair of the original Climate Action Plan Task Force and stated that the Climate Action Plan adopted in 2014 sat on the shelf as climate change impacts have increased. She thought that climate change is the most important issue facing Pacifica, mentioning storm damage, flooding, sea level rise, wave overtopping, erosion, etc. that has occurred. She stated that the creation of an Environmental Commission is the only way the city can and will make progress on the goals laid out in the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, sharing her thoughts on how the volunteer work could be leveraged with minimal staff impact.
Michael Wahlman, Pacifica, suggested open data dashboards to show data on portfolios of projects, showing revenues, commitment of staff resources and costs, SWOT analysis, etc., asking to show what kind of infrastructure improvements are needed to facilitate changes, what is the cost of doing nothing, etc.
Nancy Tierney, Pacifica, commented on three environmental matters: the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan Task Force has learned a lot over eighteen months and recommended establishing an Environmental Commission to enable regular reporting to Council and access to resources, urged Council to consider a ban on plastic grass, and commented to support two bills known as the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act – AB 1243 and SB 684, which require fossil fuel polluters to pay their fair share of the damages created by greenhouse gases.
L.J. Jones, Pacifica, suggested adding a priority to amend the outdoor commercial permit code to allow food trucks to operate fairly in Pacifica, including removing the requirement that an outdoor commercial permit can only be approved for businesses that operate in an enclosed structure, and recommended allowing food trucks to operate in valid street parking spots within commercial districts while maintaining a buffer of 300 feet from existing restaurants.
Tygarjas Twyrls Bigstyck, Pacifica, advocated for considering raising the pay of Councilmembers to the state maximum, stating that now would be the best possible time to consider this issue.
Cindy Abbott, Pacifica, commented about “vision”, what are we becoming and what do we want to be: we want to be a safe place not putting future generations at risk, including environmental risks such as fire, erosion, sea level rise; financial risk due to constant development on the coast which is treacherous, and valleys, canyons and hillsides also erode and slide and are subject to fire risk. She commented on Goal 5 to broaden public communication and collaboration and thought that we have lost that, asking who makes the decision on what is appropriate in the statement to creatively and appropriately leverage expertise of community volunteers. She thought that community research had been ignored on several issues such as the quarry and short-term rentals.
Kimberly Finale, Pacifica, spoke regarding her concern on the topic of the threat of major disasters and the need to be prepared. She stated that the city needs a plan and the community City Council Study Session 6 March 01, 2025
is concerned about wildfires, flooding, landslides, erosion, power outages, earthquakes and storm surges. She stated that there is a component in the Draft Climate Action and Adaptation Plan addressing Resiliency and Adaptation and hopes to place priority on adoption of requested resilience recommendations connected to a clear, comprehensive and widely communicated plan for disaster. She suggested an Environmental Commission to work with the Emergency Preparedness & Safety Commission on such a plan and a community resilience hub.
Lyla Reinero, Pacifica, commented on updating the short-term rental ordinance as one of the strategies under Goal 3 to prioritize protection and development of affordable housing. She stated that much of our funding is based on population and Pacifica’s full-time population has decreased by 10% since 2015. She stated that we need to focus on returning our existing homes into housing.
Gail Benton Shoemaker, Pacifica, speaking on behalf of Tree City Pacifica, stated that she is glad to see the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan is on track, adding that Tree City Pacifica supports the tree canopy goal of 25% in the Resilience and Adaptation section of the CAAP and the four actions listed under the canopy goal in the plan: to update the existing Tree Ordinance to protect, preserve and replace trees, which is currently off-track, and asked to prioritize this and include public collaboration; to incorporate Arbor Day and Tree City U.S.A. into a City committee or commission that collaborates with Tree City Pacifica to celebrate Arbor Day and fulfill Tree City U.S.A. requirements; to work with a City committee to create an Adopt a Tree Program enlisting citizens to adopt new city trees by signing watering agreements to help Public Works care for street trees; and to create and Urban Forest and Street Tree Plan. Tree City Pacifica has also requested that the City replace the city arborist who has retired, asking to add a staff person with arborist qualifications to the organizational staff section of the Strategic Plan.
Amy Andicot, Pacifica, asked questions about opening new restaurants in town and why it is not happening / delayed, how many more new housing units can be handled by the capacity our current sewer system, has the revenue that would come from property taxes been offset by the cost of services to low-income residents, and what is the top problem and where can new generations of families get involved.
Sue Digre, Pacifica, stated that revenue is the essential important issue, however property taxes can fluctuate. She stated that the community does not want to be just a bedroom community and we want to be a destination place with superb natural assets, trails, culture and history, theater and music, suggesting to enhance these by having the Economic Committee and Open Space Committee to work with the Pacifica Historical Society and Sanchez Art to use these opportunities to generate revenue. She stated that we need to be reasonable about housing and need transportation in place, as we don’t have adequate public transportation in place. She advocated for including youth. She also stated that we should push back on RHNA.
Mayor Beckmeyer closed public comments.
Mayor Beckmeyer announced a break and then reconvened the meeting at 11:55 am.
F. Review of Adopted Strategic Plan and Work Program
Greg Larson presented the review of the current Adopted Strategic Plan, including Mission (what do we do), Vision (what are we becoming), Values (how do we approach our work), Goals (7-year objectives, how will we achieve our vision), Strategies (ways to achieve the goals, with City Council Study Session 7 March 01, 2025
minor modifications each year) and Implementation Action Plans (staff work plan). He stated that the Council did not identify any changes to the currently adopted Mission and Vision. He stated that there was a requested grammatical change to the Values statement with respect to “Transparent and Responsive”, modifying it to “Transparency and Responsiveness”, and adding the statement, “We are committed to…”, which is a non-substantive change. Council consensus agreed with the change, reflecting the Values as: “We are committed to: * Collaborative Teamwork, * A Healthy Workplace, * Heartfelt Service, * Resource Stewardship, * Transparency & Responsiveness, * Visionary Planning”.
City Manager Woodhouse continued the presentation, explaining that the Council identifies the Strategies out of the Strategic Planning Session and staff builds the tasks and subtasks that comprise the work program to fulfill those Strategies. He stated that the Strategic Plan and Strategies come back to Council in the spring for adoption and a draft work program goes back to Council for information. He welcomed Council feedback on the current work program for prioritization, but no action is required on those. He provided a status update on the work program with respect to items Achieved, On-Track, Not Started, Canceled, Off-Track and At Risk and indicated that it is expected that some items will fall into Off-Track and At Risk status.
He stated that out of 308 Work Program items, 39% are Achieved and 27% are On-Track, and the overall status is a good result for a work program that is robust enough and feedback from staff that is truthful.
Greg Larson continued the presentation with an overview of the organization of the work program. He stated that there is a strategy-level item for each goal that includes the ongoing, non-discretionary and previously-initiated work that is relevant to each of the goals, which are additional relevant work items that Council should be aware of that competes for resources to get other work done. He explained that the work program does not try to reflect the day-to-day work of each department that consumes about 85% of the staff resources. He invited Council questions on the work program.
Mayor Beckmeyer asked for clarification on the “Off-Track” status reported for Item 1.1.4 - Classification and Compensation Study.
Assistant City Manager Yulia Carter responded that the update is as of December 31, 2024 and this item was off-track at that time because it did not make that deadline, but nearly complete.
Staff is planning on using this for labor negotiations and bringing it back to Council.
Mayor Beckmeyer asked about Task 1.5.2.2 with respect to the successor agency for redevelopment and the annual mandated reporting and how it can tie back to goals for economic development.
Greg Larson thought that she may be suggesting a new sub-task for looking at how to enforce the old RDA expectations for properties even with the elimination of RDA.
Mayor Beckmeyer asked to confirm that for PRA’s everything is “On-Track”, recognizing it as a big lift and asking if the technology tools are helping with that.
City Clerk Coffey replied affirmatively, noting that the NextRequest software and the addition of the Deputy City Clerk position provided necessary resources to respond efficiently to public records requests and get them on track.
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Councilmember Bier referred to Task 1.3.2.1, the Shop Pacifica Program, stating that she hears from the community that it is not working out for them and asked if Yiftee is coming out with something better.
City Manager Woodhouse responded that Yiftee is working on technology improvements to make the program easier, but that the City’s data provided in the written responses to Council questions is clear about the program’s success.
Assistant City Manager Carter added that Yiftee is working on adding ApplePay in April and they have already added the app to store gift cards. She added that the shoppers’ have reported positive experiences.
Mayor pro Tem Boles referred to Task 1.3.4.2 (pg 4 of the responses; pg 13 of the agenda packet), as part of the Economic Opportunities Study and what we can do with 2212 Beach Blvd. site, seeing that we have gotten an appraisal but need to go through the Surplus Lands Act (SLA) process. She asked about the schedule for this and considering how the site is being currently used and best use of the site.
City Manager Woodhouse responded that Kosmont Companies is assisting with the start of the Surplus Lands Act process, which will be coming to Council for the declaration of Surplus Lands, and the redevelopment of this site is critical to the future of the City.
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked for an update on the Manor Overcrossing project and why it has slipped a year.
Dep. Dir. PW Yip replied that the current phase of the Manor Overcrossing project is the project approval and environmental document (PA/ED), and has been experiencing significant delays with traffic studies by CalTrans and there is more than 6+ months delays with CalTrans, and scheduled to be complete by the end of this year, but as for cost and consultant fees it is still on track with budgeting and most of this is paid for by a grant. He stated this phase is still working on planning documents, and the next phase will be the plan specs and estimates (PSE) and we have not scoped the PSE need yet and need to seek grant funds for that phase.
Mayor pro Tem Boles expressed concern about controversy with respect to the on-ramp.
Dep. Dir. PW Yip replied that the ramp needs to be decided by either City Council or CalTrans requirements. He recommended including both alternatives in the EIR as it is easier to remove scope than to add it in the EIR.
Greg Larson clarified that the purpose at this time was to receive clarification on updates from staff on the work plan rather than discussions for a work plan update.
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked about the Beach Boulevard Infrastructure Resiliency Project (BBIRP) and whether we are on track to continue with that and have money for the next phase, the environmental review process.
Dep. Dir. PW Yip responded that for the current phase 2A we are wrapping up with the notice of preparation and preliminary environmental documents and 35% design and we are on budget and on track to complete this phase. He added that we applied for a Department of Boating and Waterways grant for Phase 2B, the full environmental documentation, but there is no City Council Study Session 9 March 01, 2025
determination yet on receipt of that grant. He stated that we have also applied for a grant for Phase 2C, the final phase of the design and permitting.
Greg Larson discussed the opportunities for Councilmembers to receive more detailed information on the work items discussed and the organization of the afternoon portion of the agenda.
Mayor Beckmeyer announced a break at 12:40pm and then reconvened the meeting at 1:20pm.
G. Priorities through 2026 (discuss by adopted Goals, below) 1) Enhance Organizational and Fiscal Stability.
2) Improve and Steward City Infrastructure, Streets and Facilities. 3) Prioritize Protection and Development of Affordable Housing. 4) Pursue Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.
5) Broaden Public Communications and Collaboration.
Greg Larson continued the presentation to discuss the priorities that two or more Councilmembers mentioned for the upcoming year, and will review them in the context of each of the Goals with the Strategies underneath them. Mr. Larson shared a list of the top-of-mind priorities mentioned by Councilmembers whether or not they were reflected in the current Strategic Plan, differentiating those that are in the existing Goals / Strategies versus Work Program items and potential new items. He also shared a list of other staff identified priorities to consider. He observed that most of the items are already reflected in the Goals and Strategies and can be reflected in the Work Program with a couple of exceptions that will be discussed.
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked for an explanation of the staff identified priority listed as, “Explore tax increment financing district options.”
City Manager Woodhouse explained that it is in the current Work Program as a major economic development priority, adding that tax increment financing tools have evolved since the sunset of redevelopment. He provided examples of such tools that allow maximizing property tax revenue in the designated financing district that does not need to be a contiguous district, and any assessed value increment property tax value comes back into improvement of infrastructure or projects that enhance climate resiliency, etc. for that district. He stated it is a long-term strategy to maximize the incremental increase in assessed value revenues coming to the city as redevelopment occurs in those areas for decades into the future. He clarified that residents are not being taxed extra.
Assistant City Manager Carter added that this is one of the recommendations in the Economic Opportunities Study with Kosmont and is included in the Economic Development Plan, which is in the current Work Plan.
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Mayor pro Tem Boles asked about #13 – REACH Codes, and Mayor Beckmeyer asked about the timing of updating the building codes as it has been done at the same time since she has been on Council.
Comm. Dev. Director Updegrave stated that they have not released the full list yet, but more information will be coming in the next months.
Mayor Beckmeyer stated that Council and the public will need a good explanation of what those proposals are for REACH Codes, background and the implications of how they impact our climate goals.
City Attorney Kenyon added that the REACH Codes analysis will take more time and will need more time to bring the Council and community along in understanding what all the changes are going to be.
Greg Larson stated that the building code update was a triannual process and used to be a routine matter, then started integrating in green building in the construct of REACH codes with optional add-ons that cities could do to be more aggressive in pursuing green building and it is a much more substantive policy consideration now. He observed that it is a big work item that will take considerable time.
Councilmember Bier asked about committees and commissions, requesting where we are in the line up of the reviews.
City Manager Woodhouse replied that they have Beautification Advisory Committee and Emergency Preparedness and Safety Commission teed up to review per Council’s recent direction.
City Clerk Coffey added that for Beautification Advisory Committee and Emergency Preparedness and Safety Commission the timeline was end of calendar year 2025, then addressing in 2026 and beyond the Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission and Planning Commission, followed by review of administrative policies, the Committee / Commission Handbook and processes to affect efficiencies.
Councilmember Bier brought up suggestions from Tree City Pacifica to add in Adopt-a-Tree to Beautification, Arbor Day to Parks and Rec, but we can talk about those further and appreciated we are reviewing them. She also mentioned interest in reviewing the Youth Advisory Board and thought that we need a Climate Committee.
Mayor Beckmeyer asked to understand how to possibly make assignments to a particular committee or commission within their existing scope and not a charter change.
City Manager Woodhouse replied that the referral process exists with Council at any given time on items they are deliberating on in the Council meetings, but if while developing the Strategic Plan the Council indicates that a work item makes sense to refer to a specific committee then staff can build that into the Work Program.
Councilmember Espinosa asked which parks are the priority parks.
PB&R Director Leslie responded that the priority parks currently in process for being upgraded as part of the initiative are Marbella Park, Brighton Mini Park, Skyridge and Imperial Park.
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Greg Larson continued the presentation discussing Goal 1 (Enhance Organizational and Fiscal Stability) and its Strategies. He stated that Council brought up the need to elevate explicit discussion of the labor negotiations as a time-consuming and organizationally intensive process and reflect it in the Work Program. He added that staff recognizing prior work on GIS and ERP has brought forward a new item to recognize that there are a variety of new technologies to focus on to improve services and staff efficiencies, and there will likely be several Work Plan items related to this, including the community development permit tracking software and the agenda management system with video integration as well as other technologies.
Councilmember Bier asked about the agenda management system and where Pacific Coast Television (PCTV) fits in.
City Manager Woodhouse responded that it will integrally involve PCTV for the video element.
Greg Larson concluded that there was Council concurrence to build the Work Program with no changes to Goal 1, Strategy A, with the highlight of the two work items discussed being elevated or added to the Work Program.
Greg Larson continued with Goal 1, Strategy B (Consider possible tax and bond measures for 2024) to reflect changes to drop the year to make it no longer time specific and to include other revenue opportunities beyond just tax and bond, such as special financing district, grantmaking, etc,, and to change the word “consider” to a more active word “pursue”. There was Council consensus to make the change to Strategy B to: “Pursue tax, bond and other revenue opportunities.”
Greg Larson summarized with Goal 1, Strategy C (Prioritize implementation of the Economic Opportunities Study) and the priorities under this strategy mentioned by Councilmembers: focus on new hotel and mixed-use development, complete the development fee study and small and local business outreach and support.
Assistant City Manager Carter stated that the development fee study is already in the Work Plan, starting the RFP process in the last quarter of the fiscal year and starting the study in the new fiscal year. She added that there are dependencies on the capacity of the Community Development, Public Works and Administrative Services departments. She explained that Phase 1 is a development fee study, Phase 2 is cost allocation plan before moving to Master Fee and User Fee Schedule updates. She added there is an economy of scale if we package these projects together in working with a consultant.
Mayor pro Tem Boles and Mayor Beckmeyer asked about the timeline for development fee updates.
Assistant City Manager Carter estimated that each phase would take about 3 – 4 months and factoring it into the next budget development process, concluding that the resulting Master Fee Schedule would be adopted in the June 30, 2026 budget.
Mayor Beckmeyer asked about fees applied to development that happens in the meantime.
Assistant City Manager Carter stated that the development impact fee would be done in the first phase. City Manager Woodhouse added that when we finish development impact fee City Council Study Session 12 March 01, 2025
recommendations and Council approves them, then they are in effect for any development that occurs after that time, but not in effect for development that occurs before they are adopted.
City Attorney Kenyon explained that these development impact fees from this study are not for project-specific impacts which would be imposed by the discretionary review permit process to impose service impact costs on the particular project, but this study will impact developments in general throughout the city for citywide development impacts and infrastructure needs.
Greg Larson concluded from the discussion that given Council interest to, “prepare the cost allocation plan and development impact fee and master fee studies,” which is already in the Work Program, to elevate this as a separate Council Strategy 1.D.
Councilmember Bier asked for clarification on what would remain under 1.C with the small and local business outreach supports and improvements.
Greg Larson stated that Councilmembers suggested options such as Councilmember and staff outreach directly to small businesses in their districts to shopping centers that need more attention and have this articulated by staff as a Work Program item.
Mayor pro Tem Boles and Mayor Beckmeyer thought that could be an instruction for the Economic Development Committee to focus on. Mayor Beckmeyer added based on some public comments to tie recreational opportunities to economic development opportunities that may relate to the work of different committees and commissions.
Mayor pro Tem Boles mentioned the issue of food trucks and that may take an ordinance.
Councilmember Bier agreed.
Greg Larson reflected that the issues of recreational tourism and small retail business support were addresses in the Economic Opportunities Study, but not yet pulled out into the Work Program and thought that when staff brings back the Work Program decisions related to allocation of staff time to differing priority items.
Mayor Beckmeyer stated that she would like to see some workload designated in the context of existing committees and commission for some things already identified as priorities, such as operationalizing recreation, food trucks, economic development, multi-modal transportation (e.g. interaction of bikes and pedestrians on trails), etc.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that there is a large list of implementation items in the Economic Opportunities Study and we would need to look at what the work plan would be for any of those actions, who will do that work, what resources do we have and ask the question on whether there is a committee that can do part of that work. He added that it gets complicated in practical aspects that need to be evaluated to determine what is realistic and practical for a committee to work on, legal considerations, etc. He stated that staff would work on the detailed development of the work program for how to complete the goals and strategies that are identified by Council.
City Attorney Kenyon added that if a committee of commission begins talking about a potential ordinance, such as a food truck ordinance, then staff from the City Attorney’s Office would need to attend those meetings where legally implicated projects such as an ordinance are discussed.
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She recommended that those type of discussions occur at the Planning Commission or City Council level.
Mayor Beckmeyer thought that a committee could do research into what other communities are doing and identify issues that need to be factored in, but not develop specific ordinance language. She thought that committees could do more to assist us in moving forward.
Mayor pro Tem Boles observed that Councilmembers are serving as liaisons on most committees and they could bring questions to the City Attorney if needed.
Greg Larson advised that when committees are doing work, staff needs to make sure that they are not violating the Brown Act and that anyone involved in making a policy decision may be subject to financial disclosure and whether the city wants to go through that reporting process for volunteers. He thought that some of the discussion related more to Goal 5. He concluded after Council’s discussion that for Goal 1, there is only a change to B and adding a new D for the Fee Study, then the rest is for staff development of the related Work Plan.
Council consensus agreed with Mr. Larson’s conclusion regarding Goal 1.
Mr. Larson introduced the discussion on Goal 2 (Improve and Steward City Infrastructure, Streets and Facilities), summarizing that based on Council feedback received there was no recommended language changes to the Goal or Strategy A except for incorporating sea level rise impact and longer term alternatives via storm water retention basins, etc that need to be part of the Work Program. For Strategy 2.B. he heard feedback from Councilmembers to look at interim pier opportunities while the city waits for funding of the full project.
Councilmember Bier does not like the “as feasible” language, adding that the pier is very important to the community.
City Manager Woodhouse recommended including “and the Pier” in the description of the strategy and removing the parenthetical and “as feasible” language. He added that part of the Work Program for that is fundraising and that phases of pier repair could be included in the Work Program, e.g. Phase 1 repair of the railings on the pier for which we have some grant money but not enough.
Dep. PW Dir. Yip stated that after the full structural assessment of the pier the total cost of repairs is $20M, adding that it could be phased into three phases, each ranging from $5 -$7M per phase. He added that the city has some current funding from the Consolidated Appropriations Act which could start the design, permitting and environmental review for the full repairs and see how it can be phased and seek additional grant opportunities for Mayor Beckmeyer concluded that for Strategy 2.B. we are striking the parenthetical phrase “including the pier, as feasible” and replace it with, “and the pier,” resulting in, “Advance the Beach Boulevard Resiliency Project, the Esplanade Protection Project, and the Pier Rehabilitation / Repair Project.”
Council consensus agreed with this language edit.
Greg Larson continued with Strategy 2.C. (Broaden community awareness of the Library projects). He thought that the work on this strategy was progressing and there was no sense in changing direction.
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Mayor pro Tem Boles was hoping to be able to do a bond measure next year and asked if this needed to say something more than community awareness.
Mayor Beckmeyer asked about a when a public polling component might come in.
City Manager Woodhouse responded that Strategy 1.B. is to pursue tax, bond and other new revenue opportunities, which would include the work that would be done for what is feasible for a voter-approved revenue measure for anything including library, infrastructure, etc. He felt that the work in Strategy 2.C. related to the library is in building community awareness of the need of new libraries.
City Clerk Coffey agreed that the scope of the Library Advisory Committee is building awareness of the facilities needs for the libraries and building support of revenue measures, and the past iteration of the committee was involved in selection of architect and recommended designs, but the polling and determining feasibility of potential bond or revenue measures is beyond the scope of the Library Advisory Committee and under the City Manager’s purview.
Greg Larson recommended keeping the bond portion all under the financial scope of Strategy
1.B. He also clarified that he thought the timeline would be beyond the fiscal year and through 2026 calendar year (December 2026).
Greg Larson continued with Strategy 2.D. (Develop a Facilities / Equipment Plan for Public Safety / Community Center). He stated that Councilmembers thought all the items for the public safety portion were achieved, but some Councilmembers indicated that they would like to broaden this strategy to all parks and recreation facilities and some indicated they would like to include Public Works equipment and vehicles. Mr. Larson cautioned that broadening the scope may not be feasible in the next couple year cycle.
City Manager Woodhouse thought when this came up in Strategic Planning previously, the most tangible item was to look at the Community Center and improvements that are necessary at the Community Center and how to afford them as the costs are more than what was previously anticipated. He stated we have broader facility needs, but developing a Master Plan for Facilities does not seem like a feasible task given staff resources for this next year. He thought refining the expectation on this Strategy would be helpful.
PB&R Dir. Leslie stated that the process of looking at upgrades for the Community Center was delayed due to the Civic Center operations being there through last summer, but the upgrades for flooring, painting, exterior work, HVAC, etc are costing more than anticipated.
Councilmember Bier stated that the Public Works equipment, trucks, etc. seem very important and asked how we are prioritizing facilities, e.g. the Community Center versus Public Works trucks that are rusting.
PW Special Projects Consultant Mullins stated that we would look at buildings based on age and occupancy for the initial overall assessment before getting into further detail, explaining they would look at overall structure of the building, condition of the building, and equipment of the building, including the fire stations and Council Chambers. He stated that the Community Center would take priority. He stated that all City facilities would be put in the GIS mapping system.
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Mayor pro Tem Boles thought that the topic should be broader than Public Safety and the Community Center.
After further discussion, City Manager Woodhouse recommended that staff review, based on the assessments and efforts underway, to refine the title of this Strategy and a Work Program that is feasible to accomplish in this next year to bring back to Council for approval.
Council consensus agreed with the City Manager’s recommendation.
Mayor Beckmeyer called for a break, then reconvened the meeting.
Greg Larson continued the discussion with Goal 3 (Prioritize Protection and Development of Affordable Housing). He concluded that there were no changes requested for Strategy 3.A. (Complete the Housing Element Update) and the Council concurred. Mr. Larsen referred to Strategy 3.B. (Update the Short-Term Rental Ordinance) and heard from Councilmembers that it was appropriate to keep this strategy and from staff that this will be a substantial body of work and include the implementation of the short-term rental ordinance in the Work Program. Council consensus agreed.
City Manager added that the other aspect in the Work Program will be the submittal to the Coastal Commission, which will be a significant work item.
Greg Larson referred to Strategy 3.C. (Prioritize Housing Element Program Implementation), stating that he heard from Councilmembers and some public comments about affordable housing being a priority, not just planning for it, but making it happen and working with nonprofits. He added that feedback from single Councilmembers included to consider, through 2030, increases or additions to inclusionary housing requirements, adding mention of potentially including a percentage for workforce housing. He asked if there was broader interest from Council to include this on the radar for 2030.
Mayor pro Tem Boles thought that it was included in the Housing Element as one of the goals, so it does not need to be separate.
Mayor Beckmeyer added that we don’t know yet the impact of state law changes and density bonuses, etc.
Greg Larson concluded from the discussion that the inclusionary housing requirements was not a short-term priority but a Housing Element requirement. Councilmembers agreed.
Councilmember Bier agreed and emphasized that priority should be addressing the Housing Element as planned, concerned that we are adding too many things.
Mayor Beckmeyer referred to Task 3.3.4 (packet page 22) it says, “negotiate with developers,” but thought that it should say, “developers and non-profits.” Councilmember Bier suggested the word “partner”.
Greg Larson indicated that staff could wordsmith the item.
City Manager Woodhouse wanted to distinguish between what is in our Housing Element that we are required to do this next year versus what Council is identifying here. He stated that while City Council Study Session 16 March 01, 2025
Council would like to get to advancing an actual project, we have to do what is in our Implementation Plan. He stated that we would come back with a Work Program that picks the items in our Housing Element that are identified for next year, and that will be an enormous workload, and suggested adding a caveat to advancing an affordable housing project and working with non-profits to include, “… as opportunities present or as staff resources allow,” to manage that expectation.
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked about the Partnership for Bay’s Future (PBF) fellow and their work for the city and the Pacifica Resource Center. Councilmember Bier added HEART, also.
Comm. Dev. Director Updegrave stated that the Partnership for Bay’s Future (PBF) fellow is being supported by HEART and Pacifica Resource Center, but it is not within the scope of the grant to work on actual affordable housing projects, so they are primarily focused on updating, streamlining and modernizing our objective development standards and community engagement around those types of functions with the internal guiding documents.
Greg Larson concluded that Council has expressed their interest and staff is working with legal and resource constraints, so staff will come back with a Work Program that reflects both as best they are able.
Councilmembers agreed.
Greg Larson referred to the feedback to accelerate work on “Objective Design Standards” as part of Strategy 3.C. and is already in the Work Program.
Mayor pro Tem Boles referred to it as Task 3.3.3 (Phase 2 Zoning Text Amendments and Objective Design Standards) asking if this is being completed by September 30, 2025.
Comm. Dev. Director Updegrave stated that staff is in the process of developing the plan and the work is ongoing, but she cannot speak yet to the date. She stated that the PBF fellow is working on Objective Design Standards.
Greg Larson concluded that the discussion is complete for Goal 3. He moved on to discuss Goal 4 (Pursue Climate Change and Adaptation and Mitigation). He stated that comments from multiple Councilmembers mentioned wanting to show tangible commitment to implementing this work, consolidate or leverage this direction with other plans and implementation of other work that is underway, focus on short term wins and needs to gain time for longer term strategies and staff brought up that REACH Codes / Green Building Codes will also be progressing in the next year. He stated it is probably not the time to preempt the follow up on Monday night’s discourse on this topic and the recommendation from the CAAP Task Force, but asked Council if there is any change to the Goal or Strategy 4.A. (Update the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, including performance targets) needed at this point.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that by the end of this fiscal year, the expectation is to have adopted the updated Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, which includes performance targets and this would focus on beginning implementation actions of the CAAP. He suggested updating the wording of Strategy 4.A. to, “Begin Implementation of the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.”
Council consensus agreed.
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Mayor pro Tem Boles thought that for this work to continue we need to start an Environmental Commission as recommended by the CAAP Task Force.
Councilmember Bier stated that we would need to create a charter.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that some of the considerations regarding adding a new commission, staff would need to do a significant amount of research on the staff impacts to forming and supporting a new commission, estimating that a full-time employee would spend a quarter to one third of their time just administratively supporting a commission’s work, and it could be more. He stated that there is a reason why the city has not added a new committee or commission in a long time. He added that as a major Council Strategic Plan Goal to “Implement the CAAP”, staff will figure out how to get that work done, and the policy decision for the Council is what productivity does a commission being formed bring versus staff or dollars being spent to get that work done. He reminded Council that the CAAP Task Force has amazing volunteers that have done an amazing amount of work and the City has spent over $100k and a third of an FTE supporting that Task Force’s work, so it involves a lot.
Greg Larson asked about timing for the next discussion of the CAAP to come back to Council.
Management Analyst Elizabeth Brooks stated that CAAP Task Force will discuss at their March 25 meeting they will discuss public comments received in addition to feedback from Council from Monday night’s meeting regarding the CAAP Draft, then with City Manager will decide when to agendize to go back to Council for consideration of adoption.
Mayor pro Tem Boles suggested it would be helpful for CAAP to identify tasks they could do that could take the place of work staff would do to flesh out the value of the committee versus potential costs to city staff.
Mayor Beckmeyer asked if there should be alternatives and trade-offs offered when the analysis of what it takes to create a new commission, such as amending charters for existing committees / commissions.
City Manager Woodhouse agreed that the analysis should include alternatives.
Greg Larson moved the discussion on to Strategy 4.B. (Continue the Urban Forestry / Tree Canopy Inventory and Projects), stating that Council agreed to keeping the strategy as-is. He then moved on to Strategy 4.C. (Update Pacifica’s Local Coastal Plan and Improve Communications and Collaboration with the Coastal Commission), indicating that there would be a language change to bring back to Council to state “Certify” the Local Coastal Plan and “Continued Work with the Coastal Commission”.
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked if the input to launch Shoreline Adaptation Program came from staff.
Greg Larson replied affirmatively, adding that it would be a major part of the Work Program under this Strategy for the foreseeable ten years.
City Manager Woodhouse agreed and added that there are other implementation actions, suggesting that the item is to begin implementation actions, including Shoreline Adaptation Program, and actions to make the SRA’s go into effect.
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Council agreed with these updates for Strategy 4.C.
Greg Larson opened the discussion for Goal 5 (Broaden Public Communications and Collaboration), recognizing that this is so embedded in the fabric of Pacifica with high degrees of public engagement, in this goal the Council adopted two years ago they weren’t saying to start public communications and collaboration, but to broaden it in new and innovative ways such as the need to work with the community in terms or mental health resources, as well. He reflected that in the three years he has been involved with Pacifica, this city has done more public engagement than most cities he has seen. He referred to Strategy 5.A. (Creatively and appropriately leverage community expertise and volunteers to advance City priorities) clarifying that the word “appropriately” is in the context of what is allowed as a public agency that needs to reflect all points of view, not just an advocate’s point, and must go through financial disclosures and obligations under the Brown Act. He heard from staff that the process used with CAAP seemed to be an effective one. He heard from Councilmembers that what worked for the Task Force, maybe we need to keep the same approach for ongoing Climate Action engagement. He heard from a few Councilmembers was that in addition to facilitating sharing accurate information, there may need to be more of a response to misinformation.
Mayor Beckmeyer stated that she would like to rephrase “and appropriately” to more specifically refer to regulations and law. She asked appropriately elicits the question, as to whom, and it sounds negative and does not ring true to the spirit of incorporating people.
Councilmember Bier suggested taking out the word appropriately.
City Attorney Kenyon agreed that appropriately is not the right word. She thought, “Creatively harnessing community expertise…” or a more active verb.
Greg Larson concluded that staff will work on addressing the wording to come back with a suggestion to come back to Council.
Mayor Beckmeyer referred to Task 5.2.3.2 on Packet page 27, which is achieved as of last year, but thinks that the annual Pride event would be ongoing. She didn’t think it was a one and done.
Councilmember Bier agreed that it is ongoing.
Greg Larson explained that 5.2. is the same as 5.B.
Councilmember Bier thanked the Chief of Police and the Police Department for implementing the LGBTQ+ Liaison Program, which has been wonderful.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that the first year of support for the Pride event was a fairly involved lift by city staff. He added that he needs to hear more from the Council about whether it needs to be elevated to a Strategy and whether the city is committed to having staff that supports that event each year. He stated that there was a Council ad-hoc subcommittee the first year, which is no longer active. He asked if the formation of a new ad-hoc subcommittee would need to come back.
Councilmember Bier mentioned that last year there was a car parade, but no street closures, and Tara and Alyssa both helped and showed up at planning meetings and were a liaison between the city and the planning group.
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Mayor Beckmeyer thought that what they want to do determines the scope of what is needed and until we know what the plans are, we are not sure of what is involved. She thought that it would involve public safety. She asked what is the best way to address it – is it a Council adhoc subcommittee or an ongoing liaison role back to Coast Pride.
Councilmember Bier thought it needs to be considered carefully and we want to show our support.
Mayor pro Tem Boles stated that we also need to understand staff costs and budget.
City Manager Woodhouse was unsure whether the Economic Development Work Program includes support of this effort. He stated to broaden the context what you are talking about is city program support for various special events, such as the youth entrepreneur event at City Hall, Fog Fest, etc.
Assistant City Manager Carter mentioned that the Economic Development Division heavily supported the Pride event and Blues and Brews and it has been in the work plan for Economic Development, but it is a big conversation how to broadly support special events.
Councilmember Bier thought a Council ad-hoc subcommittee would be very helpful.
Greg Larson concluded that it does not sound like it is to the level of a Strategy, but that getting information for staff to update the Work Program may be needed. He added that what he has seen in other jurisdictions, other than a start up phase the city is not involved in the doing of annual events and are more involved in the aspect of permits, staff presence and sometimes funding if the city has funding available.
City Manager Woodhouse, referring back to Strategy 5.A. and the Shoreline Adaptation Program, stated that launching the Shoreline Adaptation Program is an implementation action out of the LCLUP, but it involves designing a community engagement program to continue the conversation about coastal issues in Pacifica, so it resides potentially in two Goals.
Mayor Beckmeyer asked how we are stacking that into Goal 5. City Manager Woodhouse saw it as two Tasks, one related to the future of Climate Action and Adaptation Plan engagement and one under the Shoreline Adaptation Program.
Mayor pro Tem Boles observed that it is like the work the CAAP Task Force did a lot of public engagement and the work is synergized where we can rely on the community to help with these big lift items.
Greg Larson referred to 5.B. (Increase Communications, Education, and Connections for Community Mental Health Resources) and feedback from Councilmember Bier for the focus of this coming year and staff may determine how to operationalize it.
Councilmember Bier asked to update Task 5.2.2 as “On-Track” as it is a continuing item. She suggested changing the wording to, “Increase Communications, Education, and Connections for Community Mental Health Resources,” changing “mental health” to “mental wellness”. She clarified that the regional focus with San Mateo County Leadership Council and Stanford is the Mayors’ Mental Health Initiative and the projects this year will be focused on electeds, but it could be encompassed within Task 5.2.2.
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Greg Larson added that staff brought up the Police Department Youth Program focused on behavioral health working with community partners might go under this Strategy, also.
Councilmember Bier referred to 5.2.4 (Pursue collaboration with partnering agencies and organizations to provide mental health resources to the public) and thought that encompasses
5.B. and continuing to do that ongoing, and thought we need to keep it broad.
Mayor pro Tem Boles and Mayor Beckmeyer agreed to reflect that as “On-Track” rather than “Achieved”.
Mayor pro Tem Boles thought that we could make it broad thinking of wellness beyond mental wellness, encouraging all kinds of wellness, such as creating Pacifica as a blue zone.
Councilmember Bier agreed.
Greg Larson thought there may be some language changes based on the discussion and wanted to try to reflect staff workload and expertise, wondered if it is, “relying on local partners and regional initiatives, increase communications, education and connections for community wellness.” He clarified it is recognizing it is not a stand-alone effort, it is only in conjunction with others so the public is clear that the city is not going out to hire counselors or social workers on staff.
Councilmember Bier agreed.
City Manager Woodhouse asked if we should generally change the term “mental health” to “mental wellness” throughout, and Councilmember Bier responded affirmatively.
Mayor Beckmeyer wanted to discuss committees and commissions and assigning / asking them to look at other work that is within the scope of their purview, specifically talking about the PB&R Commission and recreational uses of resources for bikes and pedestrians and thought it might be a topic to request PB&R Commission to work on.
Councilmember Bier suggested that should come after they have done their parks survey.
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked about the timing for assigning work to committees.
City Manager Woodhouse responded that if there is a topic that arises in the community that the Council is interested in exploring, it falls under the process in the Council Rules and Code of Ethics for Council requesting an item to be agendized, Council discussing the issue and in Council’s direction to staff making a referral to a committee or commission or to staff, and the work proceeds from there.
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked about the food trucks issue that they discussed earlier.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that if Council thinks it is a priority Work Plan item that Council wants resources spent on that item this next year, he wants to hear that to analyze and figure out how to fit it within our resources and when we could do it to have it in the annual Work Program rather than have it come up mid-year.
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City Attorney Kenyon added that goal setting is where Council describes to staff what the priorities are and what priorities to bring back. They have not voted on anything. It begins hear and staff will bring back how we intend to implement that Goal in the Work Program.
City Manager Woodhouse asked if there are any new adds that are not included in the Goals / Strategies discussed.
Mayor Beckmeyer brought up that the possibility of a new Environmental Commission is a new thing and a carryon from the CAAP. She asked about utilizing the structures we have in place for our existing committees and commissions, hearing that they want to work with another committee / commission on intersecting issues, providing some examples such as EDC and OSPAC on the things about trails that are recreational resources and enabling helping people find our small businesses. She thought there could be cross-pollination among different committees / commissions to elevate information / issues. She also mentioned the issue of ebikes coming up such as on trails with pedestrians, on streets without needed a driver’s license, etc. She asked how and where we ask PB&R Commission and Emergency Preparedness & Safety Commission to work on an issue such as this.
City Manager Woodhouse heard in the examples brought up policy issues and questions that could have different strategies to address, adding that regulation of e-bikes is a complex issue which brings an expectation of enforcement. He stated that when Council discusses it, there could be appropriate committees / commissions that it gets referred to, and there would be involvement from legal, PB&R staff, and PD staff.
Councilmember Bier thought that regarding e-bikes, it would be good to follow the regional groups as C/CAG Bike and Ped and the County is looking at that.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that the food truck issue is a significant ordinance to take up.
He added about the open space utilization and Economic Development crossover is already in the purview of OPAC and there is an economic development aspect of their charter, so it might be one that Council could direct them to work on and collaborate with EDC. He stated that Council directs the work of committees and commissions; they are advisory to the Council and the Council tells them either through their charter or specifically tells them the work they need help on for the committee to work on.
Mayor Beckmeyer stated that the e-bike issue came up in OSPAC specifically about damage to trails. She thought that if we are hearing about problems with e-bikes, we need to deal with it.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that the issue of e-bikes would be a major work plan item, will dominate multiple meetings and draw large input both opposed and supporting.
Councilmember Bier thought we should focus on the CAAP and not sure that we should spend the resources on the e-bike issue. Mayor pro Tem Boles thought it could be referred to committees to research what other cities have done. Councilmember Espinosa thought we could come back to it, but that we should spend resources where we can make more money.
Councilmember Bier stated that she can bring the issue up at C/CAG’s Bike & Ped Commission.
Greg Larson concluded that we will track e-bikes as a potential issue on Council’s radar as an emerging issue, but observed that it is on the state and regional radar, too. He concluded that for the short-term, Council will pursue regional solutions to e-bike issues.
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Councilmember Bier wanted to develop a Community Art Corner and Program at Council Chambers. She thought it would be a big lift. She also liked the Adopt-A-Tree for Beautification and Arbor Day for PB&R.
Mayor Beckmeyer thought we needed to list it and bring it back with more information.
Mayor pro Tem Boles wanted to add the Councilmember pay issue.
City Attorney Kenyon stated it is something the Council could do this year, but it would not take effect until the beginning of a new Council term, e.g. December 2026.
There was a Council majority, with three interested, in bringing back the Council pay issue.
City Manager Woodhouse asked for more explanation about the Adopt-A-Tree item.
Mayor Beckmeyer stated that it came from Tree City Pacifica’s recommendation for BAC to explore taking on administration of Adopt-A-Tree commitment where a person fills out a form to vow to water a tree to ensure the tree’s survival, like the bump outs for maintaining and keeping that area clean and weed-free.
Councilmember Bier appreciates that.
City Manager Woodhouse concluded that the ask is that the City takes on administration of the Adopt-a-Tree Program via the BAC or staff that supports the BAC, as Tree City Pacifica does not have the capacity to run the program.
Mayor pro Tem Boles added that is their other request to hand over Arbor Day, too, to the City and Tree City Pacifica would still be helping with it.
Council consensus agreed with bringing back the Adopt-A-Tree / Arbor Day item.
Greg Larson asked about interest in the Food Truck Ordinance item.
Mayor Beckmeyer, Mayor pro Tem Boles and Councilmember Espinosa expressed interest.
City Manager Woodhouse explained that this issue will be a substantive item and when agendized it would be the only item on a Council agenda.
City Attorney Kenyon elaborated that even to bring that as a short staff report item, the City Attorney’s office would need to do analysis on what is possible and what is legally appropriate.
Mayor Beckmeyer wanted more information on it and stated we want to be a destination city and need this.
Mayor pro Tem Boles agreed.
Mayor Beckmeyer added that she does not want the food truck ordinance to come before STRs.
Councilmember Bier stated she is having a hard time with it.
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Greg Larson concluded that he heard three Councilmembers express interest in the food truck ordinance issue.
Greg Larson asked for interest in Art in the Council Chambers item.
City Manager Woodhouse thought it would be re-forming a Council ad-hoc subcommittee and it may be a partnership with Sanchez Art Center to administer and manage that.
Councilmember Bier agreed that it was discussed about two years ago and there was barely a start of a conversation then. She thought she would like to bring this item back, if feasible.
Mayor Beckmeyer agreed.
Greg Larson concluded that there was a Council consensus to consider the Art in the Council Chambers item, if feasible.
H. Wrap-up and Next Steps
Greg Larson explained that the Strategic Plan will come back to Council in late April or May with changes coming out of today’s discussion and staff will revise the Work Program based on those changes, discussion today and available resources for advice from the Council.
ADJOURN
Mayor Beckmeyer adjourned the meeting at 5:00 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sarah Coffey, City Clerk
APPROVED: 5 - 0; 4/14/2025
__________________________
Sue Beckmeyer, Mayor