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 Regular Meeting 1 June 23, 2025
June 23, 2025 (MONDAY)
www.cityofpacifica.org
Mayor pro Tem Christine Boles called the meeting to order on June 23, 2025 at 7:03 PM 7:00 PM OPEN SESSION
Call to Order
Mayor pro Tem Boles called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
Attendee Name Title Status Arrived
Sue Beckmeyer Mayor Remote
Christine Boles Mayor pro Tem Present
Mary Bier Councilmember Present
Mayra Espinosa Councilmember Present
Greg Wright Councilmember Present
City Clerk Coffey took a verbal roll call. She then explained that Mayor Beckmeyer was participating remotely and explained the conditions per the Brown Act. Mayor Beckmeyer confirmed that the room was open to anyone from the public coming to that room to interact with her but no one was present at this time.
Staff Present: Kevin Woodhouse, City Manager; Michelle Kenyon, City Attorney; Yulia Carter, Asst. City Manager; Samantha Updegrave, Community Development Director; Maria Sarasua, Police Chief; Melissa Tigbao, Public Works Director; Scott Leslie, PB&R Director; Marisol Gómez, Finance & Administrative Services Director; Louis Sun, PW Dep. Director-Wastewater Div.; Roland Yip, PW Dep. Director-Engineering/Wastewater); Lucy Xie, Dep. Finance Director; Zach Harris, Human Resources Manager; Joel Abelson, Dep. Fire Chief; Stephanie Coy, Financial Analyst; Sarah Coffey, City Clerk; Emily La, Dep. City Clerk.
Reading of Land Acknowledgment
Mayor pro Tem Boles read the Land Acknowledgment.
Salute to the Flag led by Councilmember Bier
City Council Regular Meeting 2 June 23, 2025
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
A. Proclamation: Parks and Recreation Month - July 2025 Mayor pro Tem Boles read the proclamation honoring Parks and Recreation Month (July 2025).
PB&R Director Leslie stated they were present to celebrate July and all the events that PB&R and PW have put on all year round and they invited the community to take part in a summer filled with recreational programs, events, and opportunities to enjoy our parks, beaches and trails. He thanked Recreation and Public Works staff that maintain the various facilities so we have wonderful opportunities in July and the entire year.
Councilmember Espinosa was happy that PB&R does all those events in the City. She appreciated them and thanked them for doing everything they do.
Councilmember Wright stated his experience with PB&R was long before being on Planning Commission and City Council. He thanked all of them, including those not in attendance.
Councilmember Bier stated the PB&R Department was amazing with everything they bring to our community, such as our robust senior services.
Mayor Beckmeyer added her appreciation for all that they do, as the longevity of our staff helps with knowledge and bringing forward what we have done in the past and incorporating that into what we do in the future. She wishes we had more robust facilities to have all the programs.
She feels that what we have is outstanding, especially our senior services. She also wanted to acknowledge the group that supports and underlies PB&R is our volunteers.
Mayor pro Tem Boles loved the part of the proclamation that talks about our coastal beauty and stewardship of our environment which is something other cities do not have. She thanked them for caring for all ages of our community and feels it is great that so many people can participate in their programs and events.
Councilmember Espinosa added that not only did they provide great customer service, they are also so accommodating and so nice.
Mayor pro Tem Boles opened public comments.
Connie Campbell, Pacifica, stated that she frequents Frontierland Park and she can do everything she needs to do in that park, and she appreciated how nice PB&R staff are.
Mayor pro Tem Boles closed public comments.
CONSENT CALENDAR
City Manager Woodhouse stated, regarding Item #7, the Sewer System Management Plan recertification, there are some minor administrative changes, non-substantive administrative cleanup, required to the plan and, as part of the motion for approval, if it is approved at this meeting, is direction to finalize those clean ups before submittal.
City Council Regular Meeting 3 June 23, 2025
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked if anyone on Council wanted to pull any items, and seeing no one, she stated she will pull Items #3 and #7. She opened public comments.
Suzanne Moore, Pacifica, stated she is speaking for herself, and spoke in support of the Temporary Safe Parking Program. She also shared ways people can help those who are experiencing homelessness.
Clifford Lawrence, Pacifica, supported what Ms. Moore said, and spoke in favor of supporting those who are experiencing homelessness.
Councilmember Bier moved to approve the consent calendar, minus Items #3 and #7; seconded by Councilmember Wright.
City Clerk Coffey took a vote by verbal roll call.
CONSENT CALENDAR (ITEMS #1, 2, AND 4-6)
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
SECONDER: Greg Wright, Councilmember
AYES: Beckmeyer, Boles, Bier, Espinosa, Wright
City Clerk Coffey asked Mayor pro Tem Boles to call a brief recess due to technical issues.
Mayor pro Tem Boles called a 5-minute recess and then reconvened the meeting. She suggested that, due to the large amount of people present, the two pulled consent items be moved to the end of the meeting.
Mayor pro Tem Boles moved to move Items #3 and #7 that were pulled from Consent Calendar to the end of the meeting; seconded by Councilmember Wright.
City Clerk Coffey took a vote by verbal roll call.
MOVE AGENDA ITEMS #3 AND 7 TO THE END OF THE MEETING
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Christine Boles, Mayor pro Tem
SECONDER: Greg Wright, Councilmember
AYES: Beckmeyer, Boles, Bier, Espinosa, Wright
1. Approval of Minutes
PROPOSED ACTION: Move to approve the minutes for the May 27, 2025 City Council Special and Regular Meeting.
2. Adoption of Resolution Repealing Resolution No. 39-2018 (a Resolution of Necessity) that was adopted to authorize the acquisition of 310 and 320 Esplanade Avenue, Pacifica
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt Resolution Repealing Resolution No. 39-2018 (a Resolution of Necessity) that was adopted to authorize the acquisition of real property commonly known as 310 and 320 Esplanade Avenue, Pacifica, CA 94044 for the 310- 330 Esplanade Avenue Infrastructure Preservation Project and finding that the public interest, convenience and necessity do not require acquisition of the property for the City Council Regular Meeting 4 June 23, 2025
project.
3. Adoption of new job classifications and salary ranges for Economic and Housing Development Manager and Economic and Housing Development Specialist positions in alignment with the reorganization of the Economic Development Division included in the FY 2025-26 Budget.
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt a Resolution approving the new classifications of Economic and Housing Development Manager and Economic and Housing Development Specialist, and include both in the Unrepresented Management and Confidential Employees’ Resolution. Approval of these classifications is contingent on the City Council’s adoption of the FY 2025-26 Proposed Budget later in this meeting.
4. Agreement to terms with the Pacifica School District for rental space for Child Care services in the amount of $190,828 for the 2025-2026 school year.
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt a Resolution to Approve the Agreement between the City of Pacifica and the Pacifica School District to provide extended child care services during the 2025-2026 school year and to utilize certain school facilities for those services in the amount of $190,828; authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement; and find the adoption of the agreement exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301.
5. Adoption of A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Extending the Temporary Safe Parking Program, Approving the First Amendment to the Operations Agreement with the Pacifica Resource Center and Funding for the Program; and Finding the Actions Exempt From the California Environmental Quality Act.
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Extending the Temporary Safe Parking Program, Approving the First Amendment to the Operations Agreement with the Pacifica Resource Center and Funding for the Program; and Finding the Actions Exempt From the California Environmental Quality Act.
6. Approval of Consultant Services Agreement between the City of Pacifica and NCE for Design and Engineering Services related to the FY 2026-27 Pavement Resurfacing Project
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt the Resolution Approving the Consultant Services Agreement with NCE for Design and Engineering Services in the amount of $213,500 for the FY 2026-27 Pavement Resurfacing Project; approve budget authority in the amount of $234,850 which includes a 10% contingency and authorize the City Manager to execute all documents related to the project.
7. Re-Certification of the Sewer System Management Plan PROPOSED ACTION: Move to adopt a Resolution approving the re-certification of the Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) for the City of Pacifica AGENDA ITEMS #3 AND #7 DISCUSSION [discussed following Public Hearing Agenda Item #8]
Both Agenda Items #3 and #7 were discussed at the same time following Public Hearing Agenda Item #8. The full discussion for both agenda items is detailed below.
Mayor pro Tem Boles referred to the job classification. She mentioned other cities that had similar positions with combined Economic Development and Housing specialists and ours did City Council Regular Meeting 5 June 23, 2025
not include affordable housing in the job description and in the experience. She has some examples from other cities to consider. She asked if staff can explain where the classification came from.
City Manager Woodhouse stated job classifications do not capture all of the tasks and functions of that job, but the Economic and Housing Development Manager position does talk about the City’s housing program; the City’s housing program includes work on affordable housing, ADUs, etc. There is always a function in job classifications that is general and that the position performs duties as required. This position would be working on these priority housing and economic development programs, and that is implementing the Housing Element which includes work on affordable housing and the Council’s Strategic Plan which emphasizes affordable housing as well. The work related to affordable housing is part of this position, and it is Council’s discretion should they want to add that in the job description specifically.
Councilmember Bier asked if there would be two separate work plans for economic development and housing.
Councilmember Espinosa stated that those two things are very different from each other and she would like to see those two separately. She does not think one person can do both, especially as we need more input from small businesses.
Mayor pro Tem Boles stated Council is providing clarifying questions and then deliberating after public comment. She then referred to Item #7. She stated this is the Sewer System Management Plan that is on Packet page 155. She asked Dep. Director Sun if he can tell Council more about this plan and why we need to do it now and what is included here.
PW Dep. Director Sun stated the Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) is a collection of the city’s protocols and policies when it comes to maintaining the sewer collection system. This is a requirement from the State’s Regional Water Board and a mandate that each agency that has a sewer collection system would need to have such a plan in place. This plan is subject for audit and for recertification. The latest state mandate is that the recertification would take every six years and the audit would happen every three years. This year, we happen to be up for recertification and staff has brought the updated SSMP to Council for consideration for recertification. The deadline for this is August 2.
Mayor pro Tem Boles stated that Packet pages 222-223 talk about the communications around it and the importance of this open public forum for public engagement, understanding, and commenting. She referred to Packet page 166. She thought it would be helpful to have an explanation as the Calera Creek is in the spill rate and the net volume spills, and she asked if Dep. Director Sun can explain it, such as what the different categories are.
PW Dep. Director Sun stated this is a screenshot from the State page and this is where every agency would upload their annual report; if there are any spills that happens, sanitary sewer overspill (SSO), all that will go into this database system called CIWQS. There are essentially three main categories that measure the spill. Category 1 is the most severe and Category 3 is the least severe.
Consultant Rich Cunningham from Fischer Compliance stated that the categories are designed to look at the impact of what a particular spill would be on the environment. Category 1 is the most severe because it is a spill which has gotten to a storm drain and then ultimately entered the waters of California or the waters of the U.S. Category 2 is one that is greater than 1,000 City Council Regular Meeting 6 June 23, 2025
gallons but has not reached a state or a federal source and, therefore, is not considered to have been an impact on the environment. Category 3 are the small miscellaneous spills which numerically are the most common because staff usually get on the situation quickly to contain the spills and prevent from entering into the environment.
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked about the 15,414.84 number, which seems like a high number compared to the other averages. She wanted to understand the time frame of this chart.
Consultant Cunningham stated it is a snapshot and not a historical record in this particular of CIWQS. He stated CIWQS stands for the California Integrated Water Quality Control System.
He stated that there are 1,200 sewer systems in California and everybody is tied into it. He stated that this is a running total as of the moment at which this picture was taken. In this situation, it represents a narrow time frame and is not the number of gallons spilled over ten years or 15 years, etc., but in the last reporting period.
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked if we have had 15,414 gallons of spills in the last year.
Consultant Cunningham responded affirmatively, adding that is the number of gallons per thousand capita. There have been a number of spills which have been reported and are included in the CIWQS database.
PW Dep. Director Sun stated, over the last reporting period, the City has experienced certain SSOs that occur and staff provide that information to the State and document that and put it in the estimated number of gallons that has come out. Usually, it is because of collection systems where there might be blockage or roots that are causing manholes to overspill. Most of the time, City staff would be alerted and we capture that. It does happen periodically throughout the year.
Consultant Cunningham added that spills that are caused by excess rainfall, where too much rainfall gets into the sanitary system and then spills over, are charged against the City even though they are natural events. It is simply a matter of system capacity. When you get hit by heavy rain, there is an influence and inflow rate that will jam up the sanitary sewer even though it is storm water, but those spills have to be accounted for.
Mayor pro Tem Boles noticed that the audit for the last three years posted online talks about some of the spills and is asking for those to be addressed in the new Sewage System Management Plan and she is wondering if those have been included and addressed in here.
PW Dep. Director Sun stated yes, in the new cleaned up version of the SSMP, we have the audit report for the last three years included and embedded in the SSMP under Appendix 10 in the new version that staff will be presented and included in there. It does address any spills that have happened in the last three-year reporting period from 2021-2024.
Mayor pro Tem Boles concluded that there are policies in there that address the audit. She found one in particular that was on the higher list of violations for D1, failure to prevent discharges of sewage to surface waters of the state, Category 1 spills, 3,086.26 gallons. It asks for specific things to be included in the new management plan.
PW Dep. Director Sun stated those have been addressed in the SSMP, which would document how staff has addressed these spills and what the remediation and correction is and prevention for any future spills.
City Council Regular Meeting 7 June 23, 2025
Mayor Beckmeyer stated, if she heard correctly, it was 15,000 gallons that was the concern about spills, cumulative over the last year. She asked if that was accurate.
PW Dep. Director Sun agreed, adding that the snapshot showed 15,000 gallons recorded last year for that category.
Mayor Beckmeyer stated, during one of our big storm events, how many gallons does our plant handle, not talking about average, but during key flow times on stormy events.
PW Dep Director Sun stated that, at a large storm event, the Calera Creek Water Recycling Plant can handle up to 20 million gallons of flow and that is something that can be sustained in a short amount of time but not sustainable. We can sustain up to 16 million gallons of flow, but anything beyond that would start to reduce our treatment capacity.
Mayor Beckmeyer asked, on an average day, what would the capacity be or the normal amount that our plant has to handle.
PW Dep. Director Sun stated, in a dry season, our average is between 2-2.5 million gallons a day.
Mayor pro Tem Boles opened public comments for Agenda Items #3 and #7.
There were no public comments.
Mayor pro Tem Boles closed public comments.
Councilmember Bier referred to Agenda Item #3 and thought there was general concern about the position working too much on housing or too much on economic development.
City Manager Woodhouse stated housing deals and mixed use and economic development deals are extremely complicated. The intent of this Economic and Housing Development Manager position is to bring someone with a knowledge of theory, principles and practices of economic, housing and community development, land development, land use economics, demographic research and grant writing, concepts, precedence, principles, laws, practices, methods, standards, innovations in the field of city planning, redevelopment, public administration and urban economics of relevant land use. He stated that this position is bringing resources to the City that we do not have to work on any projects with Community Development, Public Works, and City Manager’s Office to help deliver those projects and negotiate the disposition and development agreements, and all that is required. He stated affordable housing components are integrated into that. One month they may be working with HEART on a particular developer and whether they are going to pay affordable BMR in-lieu fees or build the units; the next month they might be working on talking with Kimco about why they should be redeveloping mixed use housing in the back of Linda Mar project, which is part of our Housing Element. He stated that this is a resource that is not bucketed in one thing or another but working on all of these projects together and is a resource and expertise that the City has to some extent, but it is bringing more horse power to delivering projects and getting things built in the City which benefits housing, economic development, and all the revenue we have been talking about.
City Council Regular Meeting 8 June 23, 2025
Mayor pro Tem Boles stated that we are spending 60% of this person’s salary from the Housing Action Fund and she would like to mention affordable housing. She referred to a similar housing manager position in Burlingame, which has the following responsibility: “act as project manager for city sponsored affordable housing projects, carrying such projects from site acquisition through financing, contract administration, dispute mediation and completion.” She is curious if staff see that as some of the potential tasks for the Housing and Economic Development Manager.
City Manager Woodhouse stated yes, just not explicitly stated. He stated that this position might be project manager for that or it might be Asst. City Manager Carter or Community Development Director Updegrave, as it comes down to how he directs who is going to be working on what. He would not want to include a very specific criteria that they will be the project manager always as they might be working on some other important deal and he might need some other staff person to be the project manager specifically. He stated that our approach is to try to make job classifications sufficiently general so that we can direct them as needed on what they are working on.
City Attorney Kenyon added that the City Attorney’s Office spent time with staff working on this position. Her concern with this discussion and looking at different job qualifications from other cities is we could not take piecemeal things from other cities and there are legal reasons why we keep them general. She thinks the better question for the City Manager is, will this position, based on this job classification, be able to do these functions. If the answer is yes, that is the intent of the position, and while specific tasks or duties may not be included in the classification, there may be a very good reason why it has not been put in there.
Mayor pro Tem Boles was concerned if 60% of the salary is from the Housing Action Fund and we are sending this out to recruit people and may not necessarily get someone with those skills. She asked about a suggestion where we could add a word.
City Manager Woodhouse stated, in terms of recruiting, he wants to draw the distinction between the technical job description and the recruitment brochure that goes out for positions.
Work on housing and affordable housing will be in the job recruitment brochure, emphasizing that as well as economic development. He stated that the actual classification job description is a separate technical document that has legal ramifications within our HR system, whereas a job recruitment brochure qualifies and paints a picture of what types of things this position will be working on and the types of competencies that are needed. He stated, if Council would feel better about it, under essential functions, on Packet page 46, the top bullet says “develops housing opportunities with developers, establishes loan opportunity marketing efforts, and develops effective application review approval process”, etc., and it occurred to him that it could say “develops housing opportunities with developers, including affordable housing, establishes loan opportunity, marketing efforts and develops effective application”.
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked if that was okay with City Attorney Kenyon.
City Attorney Kenyon responded affirmatively.
Councilmember Wright moved to adopt a resolution approving the new classifications of Economic and Housing Development Manager and Economic and Housing Development Specialist and include both in the unrepresented management and confidential employee’s resolution, as amended; seconded by Councilmember Bier.
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City Clerk Coffey took a vote by verbal roll call.
AGENDA ITEM #3
RESULT: ADOPTED AS AMENDED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Greg Wright, Councilmember
SECONDER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
AYES: Beckmeyer, Boles, Bier, Espinosa, Wright
AGENDA ITEM #7 DISCUSSION:
Mayor pro Tem Boles stated that a map of the sewer system was not included in the packet, and staff was working on a GIS conversion. She wondered if that GIS conversion that shows more details that is required as part of that plan and includes manholes and stormwater and she asked if that can be shared at some point when staff post this document online.
PW Dep. Director Sun agreed, stating that the map we currently have in our OMMS system includes those details, manholes and sewer line sections, etc., and staff are working on converting that into a usable file, and that can be shared and that information will be part of the SSMP.
Mayor pro Tem Boles thought it would be great if that was on the website so the public can look at that. She then pointed out, on Packet pages 222 and 223, where it talks about who is reviewing this plan on the compliance, that it needs to say “City Council” in several different places.
PW Dep. Director Sun agreed, stating that he believes the template usually references the sewer district board members but staff will change it to address City Council members.
Councilmember Bier moved to adopt a Resolution approving the re-certification of the Sewer System Management Plan for the City of Pacifica; seconded by Councilmember Espinosa.
City Clerk Coffey took a vote by verbal roll call.
AGENDA ITEM #7
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
SECONDER: Mayra Espinosa, Councilmember
AYES: Beckmeyer, Boles, Bier, Espinosa, Wright
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE POSTED AGENDA
City Clerk Coffey stated those on Zoom who wish to speak should raise their hands now. She stated there is one raised hand requesting to speak on items not on the agenda. She stated that we are closing the ability for people to raise additional hands at this time.
Marjory Ruiz Hidalgo, stated she is the PG&E local government affairs representative for all 21 jurisdictions on the peninsula. She shared information on the services provided by PG&E and stated she looked forward to working with everyone.
City Council Regular Meeting 10 June 23, 2025
Marcia, Pacifica, spoke on the ongoing concern of RVs on Paloma Avenue and stressed the importance of what City Council would do to address it.
Joyce Toomey, Pacifica, shared her concerns on RVs on Paloma Avenue and urged for a no camping ordinance. She warned of possible injuries that could arise from RVs parked along the stretch of Paloma Avenue and pleaded with Council to take Paloma Avenue off the map of allowable streets for RVs to park.
Joaquin Jimenez, Half Moon Bay, stated he is the former mayor of Half Moon Bay and came to belatedly thank Pacifica for all the support for his family following his son’s passing and shared their progress going forward.
Suzanne Moore, Pacifica, supported the City of Pacifica, as a sanctuary city, displaying the County Emergency Response Line and further City messaging. She also stated she supports the Mildred Owen Concert Hall and the Sanchez Art Center.
Shayna, Pacifica, described negative experiences with parking, safety, and sewage disposal of the RVs parked on Paloma Avenue. She also asked for evidence of responsible sewage disposal of the RV owners.
Anita Rees, Pacifica, thanked the City for continuing to partner with PRC regarding the housing problem and RVs and shared the Center’s operating hours and the hours by Unhoused on the Coast outreach team to respond to housing problems and updated their programs.
City Manager Woodhouse stated, for the record, that prior to public comments in person, we invited those online to raise hands and there was only one speaker.
Clifford Lawrence, Pacifica, referred to SB 79 and stated it was a real concern and we have to send a clear message that it is bad legislation. In addition, he again shared his concerns for the Sanchez Art Center and Performance Center and asked Council to support them.
COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS
Councilmember Bier stated, regarding the Pride celebration, it was helpful and wonderful to have Police Chief Sarasua’s staff there working at the event, especially Sergeant Cunanan.
She stated that Blues and Brews on the weekend was a lovely event at the Civic Center and there are a lot of proceeds going to HOPE. She thanked the REACH Coalition for inviting her and Mayor pro Tem Boles to participate in a countywide webinar on immigration and they learned how to participate individually to help how we respond in our community.
Councilmember Wright highlighted the ABAG meeting, which consists of representatives from nine Bay Area counties and 101 cities, and it was nice to be able to discuss challenges we all face in common from global to local issues, and the keynote speaker emphasized the solution to our economic challenges, specifically housing.
Councilmember Bier added to all those citizens from Paloma Avenue that she was happy to talk to them again and hold another meeting.
Councilmember Espinosa attended Blues and Brews and visited different businesses.
Businesses felt appreciated and she encouraged the City to support more of those types of events so people can discover those different businesses.
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Councilmember Bier thought it would be nice to figure out how to include other businesses from other parts of Pacifica.
Mayor Beckmeyer wanted to speak on the issue of Paloma and, as she stated at the last Council meeting, Council heard them, understood the issues, and were working on it. She has been taking steps and speaking individually with a number of different neighbors. She knows that does not satisfy them, but she wanted them to understand that Council heard them and it is her steadfast commitment that they are working on this issue.
Mayor pro Tem Boles thanked Councilmember Wright for sitting in on the Colma Creek Advisory Committee and Emergency Services Council. She spoke with Erin Gravley, Project Manager at the Coastal Conservancy, who manages climate funds for coastal projects, to try to understand more of what they are looking for. They want to see things getting built. One interesting thing they said is they will not fund mitigation projects for armoring or SSRAs which was surprising news. There was a separate meeting with other grantors, and the Ocean Protection Council has money for planning, like our shoreline adaptation processes. She attended a fun event with City Manager Woodhouse, the Fruits of Good Governance in Santa Clara County, and she hoped they can bring that to San Mateo County in the future. She stated that the REACH meeting was good and there are some wonderful resources. She knows there is fear in the community and she asked that they reach out as there are resources to not have to live in fear.
She met with Cindy Abbott and Billy Philadelphia this weekend at the Sanchez Art Center and she also went through one of the exhibits, which was moving and prescient for the scary times we are in now.
Mayor Beckmeyer wanted to follow up on the Coastal Conservancy conversation Mayor pro Tem Boles had. She understands about mitigation but it seems like nature-based solutions are within the scope of what the Conservancy is doing and she wanted to be sure we were exploring all the options with them.
Mayor pro Tem Boles agreed they love to fund those kinds of projects and coastal access, but they specifically followed up in an email that they would not fund mitigation for other projects.
STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
City Manager Woodhouse stated that the City has posted in our two civic center buildings the County emergency number poster that Faith in Action has provided. In addition, we have much information on our sanctuary city website page as well as other resources, such as different reference cards. He wanted to echo Mayor pro Tem Boles’ comments about the Santa Clara County’s City Association event and it was related to good governance and partnership and council-manager relations. Aside from that, the other fruit of the event was a gathering of all of the Santa Clara County elected officials and various city managers; it was a great networking opportunity to represent Pacifica in that context and it would be a great training to bring to San Mateo County group as well. He echoed some of the comments provided regarding the Blues and Brews event. He stated that there was a big crowd and there were lots of visitations to the businesses and they were excited about that. He stated that the organizers of the Economic Development Committee will be following up and gathering feedback to make it even stronger in future years. He would like to thank the Economic Development staff, Tara Schiff and Alyssa Corsetti, as well as the committee members, for their hard work.
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PUBLIC HEARINGS
8. AB 2561 Compliance – Vacancy Rate and Workforce Planning Public Hearing PROPOSED ACTION: Conduct a Public Hearing in accordance with Government Code Section 3502.3 (AB 2561) to present the status of vacancies and recruitment and retentions efforts in advance of the adoption of an annual budget.
Human Resources Manager Harris presented the staff report.
Mayor Beckmeyer asked if any part of the employee survey included questions about training or educational opportunities as a potential employee benefit.
Human Resources Manager Harris stated that the employee engagement survey does ask about the overall benefits package but it does not dive into that level of detail.
Mayor Beckmeyer stated it was a possibility for a future edition of that survey.
Councilmember Espinosa asked if the survey was anonymous.
Councilmember Wright asked, when staff were choosing the number of vacancies, is that compared to historical data, current staffing levels, or what an average city of our size has for numbers in those particular positions.
Human Resources Manager Harris stated that it is based on our total FTE count. He compared it to what our budgeted positions are and how many positions are currently filled. There is not a consideration of what other cities are doing, just based on the reality of our organization at one point in time.
Councilmember Wright understood, adding if we have been balancing the budget by not replacing employees, that would not be reflected in our vacancy rate.
Human Resources Manager Harris responded affirmatively.
Councilmember Wright stated it looks to him like this is an under representation. Something that would be helpful to him on Council when doing these kinds of analyses that they have the opportunity to compare it other cities of similar population size and their workforce numbers.
City Manager Woodhouse wanted to be clear about what this vacancy number is. He understands his question and it is a little different than what this is. This is the positions that the City has budgeted that are vacant. Some of these positions may not be vacant now because this is a snap shot in time of maybe a couple of months ago and they may have been hired now.
That is not a comparison about what our staffing levels should be but number of positions budgeted and is there a person in that position working or not and that is the vacancy rate.
Councilmember Wright stated that the point he was trying to make was, even if we filled every single one of these, we would still be understaffed.
City Manager Woodhouse understood and stated that we could talk more about that in the proposed budget coming up. He confirmed that the employee engagement survey was anonymous and we are processing those results and will be communicating out very robustly in implementing measures with the organization.
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Mayor pro Tem Boles opened the public hearing.
Sue Digre, Pacifica, stated she was in favor of diversity and we needed every color and every age but advised that when we say “focus on” diversity that we keep in mind a broad message.
Mayor pro Tem Boles closed the public hearing.
Councilmember Bier thanked Human Resources Manager Harris for his presentation.
Councilmember Espinosa stated it is hard to retain employees and she suggested having a QR code with a link stating the we are hiring all over the City.
Mayor pro Tem Boles thanked Human Resources Manager Harris for his presentation. She asked if it is helpful for Council or other staff do a quick video and in other languages saying what a great place Pacifica is to live, work, and play.
City Manager Woodhouse thanked her for commenting on that as staff discussed launching a social media advertisement and it could give employees from all different levels in the organization an opportunity to show their stuff.
Mayor pro Tem Boles agreed.
RESULT: NO VOTE REQUIRED
9. Adoption of the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Operating and Capital Budget.
PROPOSED ACTION:
Hold a public hearing, review, and move to adopt the following resolutions:
1. Adopt the resolution approving the FY 2025-26 Operating and Capital Budget;
2. Adopt the resolution establishing the GANN Appropriation Limit for FY 2025-26;
3. Adopt the resolution approving the Citywide Fee Schedule included as Exhibit A to the resolution;
4. Adopt the resolution approving the City's annual review of the Investment Policy included as Exhibit A to the resolution.
City Manager Woodhouse, Asst. City Manager Carter, and Finance & Administrative Services Director Gómez presented the staff report.
Mayor pro Tem Boles opened the public hearing.
Sue Digre, Pacifica, stated that budget times are always difficult, and she shared her concerns about relying only on property taxes. She shared her thoughts on how we can help our city as well as our community, including environment, culture, businesses, and affordable housing.
Mayor pro Tem Boles closed the public hearing.
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked for clarification about the Vehicle License In-Lieu fees, referring to the base budget of $5.41 million for this year and the same for proposed budget. She asked if the $2.3 million we set aside is in addition to this.
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Asst. City Manager Carter stated that $5.4 million includes the backfill amount. We are keeping this assigned fund balance of $2.3 million in case. This is not the expense account, but holding back portions to keep the reserves allocated for these purposes.
Mayor pro Tem Boles concluded that, out of the total VLF of $5.4 million, we have $3.1 million that are already allocated in the budget for different things.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated $5.4 million is allocated in the budget. We need this revenue to survive for the year, but the $2.3 million is set back in case, if, out of $5.4 million, we do not receive the backfill, that is when this will become relevant in mid-year.
Mayor pro Tem Boles stated that $2.3 million is not already accounted for or spent in any way.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated no, it is the reserve or the designation or assigned balance of the reserve, so it is not allocated.
Mayor pro Tem Boles then referred to General Fund expenditures. She asked if the Housing Action Fund is a separate fund, not the General Fund, and if this includes that money.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated no, adding that the Housing Action Fund would be included in other funds (total special revenue and capital funds). The Housing Action Fund is listed in the attachment just for fund balances.
Finance & Administrative Services Director Gómez added that it is either in the budget resolution or in Attachment 7 which is the fund balance.
Mayor pro Tem Boles wanted to clarify that currently we are showing $626,485 coming out of the Housing Action Fund and $423,000 was taken out of the Housing Action Fund last year.
She looked back in the budget book and it just said Housing Element Program Implementation without detailed list of what programs we were funding.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that would be the budget form that went into the budget study session last year, and we can definitely send this information to Council. That is the implementation of the Housing Element program, and the $423,000 included some work related to rezoning, doing updates and program implementation items, etc.
Mayor pro Tem Boles concluded that we still need $130,000 out of that fund.
Asst. City Manager Carter responded affirmatively, stating this was mostly for the timing of the project. Typically what happens with the funds is you allocate the funds for a project with the program and, if the funds are not spent due to delays, then the unspent funds will fall back to the fund balance and will have to be reappropriated. Since the Council already made the decision last year, we carried it over into FY 2025-26, not knowing if that is how much of this would be and an additional analysis was done over the last two weeks. She stated it is not an additional $130,000 but a portion of the $423,000.
Mayor pro Tem Boles asked if the $130,000 is for a mixture of these programs we did last year.
Finance & Administrative Services Director Gómez agreed, and stated there are some items that are in process.
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Councilmember Bier asked if this is on top of the answers Council received already.
Mayor pro Tem Boles stated that staff listed out what some of that money was spent on last year, but she does not know what the additional $130,000 is.
Finance & Administrative Services Director Gómez stated that it is a mix of things, i.e. Housing Element Rezoning EIR, some pending invoices, some additional on-call planning services for Housing Element support, shared housing staff from HEART, and some additional on-call planning services from M-Group, including PBF and Housing Element support from them.
Mayor pro Tem Boles knows there is another $100,000 for Housing Element Program Implementation consulting, and she wants to be mindful about how we spend this limited money. Her concern is that we are using this fund designated for affordable housing for general Housing Element work. She referred to potentially getting extra $2.3 million for the VLF.
Asst. City Manager Carter clarified it is not an additional $2 million as it is already budgeted.
Mayor pro Tem Boles thought Asst. City Manager Carter said otherwise.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated there are two different things. The revenue is already budgeted and accounted for. The backfill assigned portions in the General Fund reserve is not allocated yet and would be only allocated if we did not receive the backfill. If the State did not fund the backfill amount of $2.3 million, then at mid-year, we will come back and state we set this money aside and we need to appropriate it to fill this hole. At this point, the revenue is already accounted for and we do not anticipate an additional $2.3 million.
City Manager Woodhouse offered an analogy for this situation. If you need $3,000 to pay your mortgage check this month and are expecting $1,000 check from the State and, from your job paycheck, you are going to pay $2,000 to meet your mortgage. However, you do not know if the $1,000 from the State is going to come so you might have to dip into your small savings account in order to make your mortgage that month if the State money does not come. If the State money comes and you can make your mortgage, then you can save your savings account for future emergencies for which you may need that. That is the whole point of our reserves policy, to have that money for future economic emergencies.
Finance & Administrative Services Director Gómez added that the portions attributed to the Housing Action Funds are not 100% of the cost. She knows the Community Development Department has capitalized on shared consulting services with the vendors that are doing other work paid for by the General Fund. It would cost more to have another consultant on just the housing action item and we are being prudent in saving costs with shared consultants.
Councilmember Bier knows, as part of our goals and strategies, we will prepare the cost allocation plan and conduct the development impact fee and master fee studies. She stated the tobacco license fee is extremely low and she wondered if that is when we would have the opportunity to talk about things like that, such as during the master fee study.
City Manager Woodhouse said yes, as comprehensively we will have all user fees and other fees on the table during that time.
Asst. City Manager Carter agreed, adding that RFP process is in progress now and we plan to start this process shortly after beginning of the fiscal year. Typically, it starts with the cost City Council Regular Meeting 16 June 23, 2025
allocation plan first to see how much the services cost us and then translate to the master fee schedule analysis. As a side project, we will have development impact fees. It is a comprehensive review of all fees that the City has now and make some new fees as well.
Councilmember Bier appreciated that and, for public’s knowledge, the tobacco retail license fee pays for compliance on our tobacco retailers, and over the years it has gone down, and that means that we do not have money for non-compliance. She thanked staff for asking questions about the VLF also.
Mayor pro Tem Boles stated Packet page 580 talks about the consumer price index and the construction cost index. Right now we are not raising our fees except to those indices. She was concerned about the construction cost index being negative and she wanted to understand where that number came from.
Finance & Administrative Services Director Gómez stated that we utilize Engineering NewsRecord (ENR) and that is historically what we have used for the CCI index which is applied to some of those engineering fees. The negative number indicates it is experiencing deflation instead of inflation. When that happens, we do not reduce the fees; they essentially stay flat at that current rate. There was some discussion to pull from or not, but we want to keep in line with the CPI and not pulling different months and different years that serve us and need to be consistent in the months and indices we use. She stated that it can also be addressed in the comprehensive fee schedule study; some of the ideas we were thinking about is sometimes the fee schedules have 2% increase unless CPI or CCI is more to avoid what happened this year where there is no increase at all and we fall further behind on cost recovery.
Mayor pro Tem Boles stated it was the Engineering News-Record (ENR) that she was looking at and there is a separate listing for San Francisco and Los Angeles. Her concern is that construction costs have gone up between December and June and we could be charging extra money if it helps bring revenue to the City and is it possible to look at a different date.
Finance & Administrative Services Director Gómez stated we want to be consistent from year to year. The comprehensive fee study is the best opportunity to address that because it does not show inconsistency.
City Attorney Kenyon stated the issue with regard to making changes mid-stream is that we need to provide notice and any change would require a hearing notice and an adjustment would not take place until Council approved it. It could go into effect right away, but the City Attorney’s Office recommended to staff that we will incorporate this into the normal annual fee schedule.
Mayor Beckmeyer had a thought along the same line of fees and why we collect them in addition to Mayor pro Tem Boles’ questions about the Housing Action Fund being used for consulting work related to the Housing Element. She remembers early in her Council career needing to understand and continuing to ask questions of the City Manager about fees that are charged by Community Development and Engineering when development proposals are brought forward. She stated that so much work needs to get done by the Community Development Department but it is a relatively small head count and, we have had a high vacancy rate in that department and the way we filled that vacancy rate has been to use outside consultants. We also bring in outside consultants to specifically assist us with parts of our Housing Element that relate to affordable housing specifically. We have specialized consulting support in that area and her understanding is that we need to bring in those consultants. Her question is whether it is a justifiable use of that housing funding money to do that. She City Council Regular Meeting 17 June 23, 2025
understands we do it because, in this round of RHNA, against which this Housing Element is being developed, we have had an increased amount of the low market rate housing requirement. She stated we are bringing these consultants to specifically focus on that element of our Housing Element because we are zeroing in on how to incorporate the affordability for very low-income and providing far below market rate income housing.
Community Development Director Updegrave thinks there are several things happening with the Housing Element and much of the work is focused on affordable housing, like supporting our work with HEART, the ADU Resource Center, and the overall Housing Element adoption and implementation. The work on public sites was in the budget for 2025-26 which focuses on affordable housing and meeting our lower income RHNA and funds several different programs.
Mayor Beckmeyer stated, regarding Mayor pro Tem Boles’ earlier question about use of funds from the Housing Action Fund toward developing policies and the Housing Element, and posed the idea of whether this is an appropriate use of these funds, i.e. why do we need these consultants specifically in regard to affordable housing. She agreed that we need affordable housing, but we have to have a plan to get to that place.
Mayor pro Tem Boles stated that is her question, i.e., we need all kinds of housing and we have inclusionary requirements. The definition of our Housing Action Fund was to promote affordable housing policies and projects; on Packet page 308, it says “redirecting funds from Housing Action Fund, Fund 221, which further limits the City’s ability to make progress on affordable housing initiatives, which is one of the City’s key strategic goals”. She stated that it is admitting that it is pulling away from those goals that are really for affordable housing in particular to direct funds to the Housing Element rezoning EIR and other things that need to be done as part of that. That is where she was trying to find other sources of money because we are not putting money into that fund now and we have been taking out of it every two years. She stated, beyond getting our Housing Element implemented, HCD will look for the City to build some affordable housing projects and other housing projects also, but affordable housing needs the most help, as we have built none of that for 30 years.
Mayor Beckmeyer stated, from her point of view, she is satisfied that the money being taken from that fund for the purposes that Director Updegrave just outlined is an appropriate use of those funds. Mayor Beckmeyer agreed with Mayor pro Tem Boles about cautioning usage.
However, in order to develop affordable housing and very low-income eligible for the housing, those plans have to be in place, the zoning has to be in place, all of those pieces have to be in place for us to qualify for more funding we will seek and need to get that housing built. That would be coming through the county and AARP and other sources.
Community Development Director Updegrave wanted to clarify that getting our Housing Element readopted, doing the Environmental Impact Report on the rezoning, and having the rezoning program, are all related to affordable housing and this is our critical framework.
City Manager Woodhouse added for clarification that, regarding the reference on Packet page 308, it is saying that, if we are taking excess ERAF money and not putting it in both the Housing Action Fund and the Disaster Accounting Fund, then it is removing funding from those causes and we need the excess ERAF to balance our budget this year, which is a big change. That is what that point is saying, and that is a revenue source in a good year that should go into both the Housing Action Fund and Disaster Accounting Fund, and it is not available for that this year.
There are not isolated buckets of all the expenses related to building ADUs, affordable housing, and market rate housing. They are all integrated. The Housing Element work, policy work, PBF City Council Regular Meeting 18 June 23, 2025
fellow, and the consultants are contributing to make this possible. He stated it is related to affordable housing and having the policies to be able to develop those. We cannot make progress on any of it unless we get that fundamental work done.
City Attorney Kenyon added that, if there is any concern by Council that staff is not looking for ways to use the Housing Action Fund in a way that it is most effective for affordable housing, this approach is being taken by most cities because of the sixth cycle RHNA and having to spend additional money based on that sixth cycle. She stated that she gets more questions from City staff about can we use this money to supplement this consultant’s work, affordable housing, etc. more so than any other city. She stated that we are making sure that we are allocating resources out of Housing Action Fund specifically for affordable housing and making sure that, to the extent we are working on projects that tangentially relate to affordable housing, we are using the correct funding for that service.
Mayor pro Tem Boles appreciated all of them and she will let it go. She appreciated that staff are looking at it very carefully.
Councilmember Wright agreed with Mayor pro Tem Boles’ concerns and, ideally, love to see that money go to 100% affordable projects. He thinks staff have tried to find appropriate ways to utilize those funds to offset an $8 million shortfall. He wishes it was different. He wants to recognize staff for what they did along those matters, but this is one of those choices that is not ideal but they are doing the best they can with the tools that they have been given, and he thinks Council has more work to do to give them more tools to do more. Separately, he is concerned about part of that presentation where we are talking about a wave of coming retirements and with that, future budgets, pension liabilities, etc.
Asst. City Manager Cater stated that the budget before Council included difficult choices, and Council made those choices in the last study sessions, including underfunding our pensions liability trust, etc. which, in the long term, are not sustainable. In the short term, that was the option that staff recommended to fund other priorities and Council did that. If he is talking about long term financial sustainability, she pointed back to the City Manager’s transmittal letter; we need to focus on revenue generating strategies and development impact fees and user fee schedule and cost allocation funds and all of this feeds into the revenue study session. She stated that, long term, all of it is concerning, but tonight, Council has a balanced budget before them for adoption.
Councilmember Wright thanked the City Manager for reading his transmittal letter. He thinks it is incumbent on Council to help staff get some more resources. He also wanted to get some clarity on if PB&R brings in revenue in comparison to their budget.
Councilmember Bier thought it was self-sustaining.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that we have not done the cost-benefit analysis but typically PB&R never fully have cost recovery. That is one thing we will look into when we do the master fee schedule and cost allocation plan. She stated we can look into getting the maximum cost recovery as we can, given some constraints; we may still need to subsidize some of the programs related to children, seniors, etc. She stated that it will be a policy decision by Council when we bring back the master fee schedule.
Councilmember Wright sees it as a positive light.
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Asst. City Manager Carter agreed, and that is the goal of all departments to provide the maximum service level to the community, given the constraints we have, and that is what is in the budget before them.
Mayor pro Tem Boles has suggestions for the budget. On Packet page 521 is the long term debt payment schedule, and it shows the principal and interests that we would be paying every year for projects from 2014 that we have been borrowing from, but she does not see a list of outstanding balances anywhere for all these funds.
Finance & Administrative Services Director Gómez stated we can add to the budget book, as we typically provide that Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).
Mayor pro Tem Boles then referred to packet page 732, the summary of the fund balances, which shows a balance of $2,428,385 for the Housing Action Fund. However, her understanding is it does not take out the $412,000 for the Temporary Safe Parking Program.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that the action of the $412,000 will be encumbered and expanded this fiscal year. Once it happens, it will be captured throughout the year and processed in the year-end final audit. When staff bring the budget back to Council at mid-year, Council will see this. Typically, when Council sees this first in column, projected fund balance, is as of $630,025 and this is what we know to date and the action that has been taken at mid-year and, once the year end happens and the books are closed, we will update this column with the audited balances and that is why we are going to capture this expense.
Mayor pro Tem Boles stated, as we are talking to affordable housing developers, we can tell them we have about $2 million.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated essentially yes, but there is a process of how we do the budget so we are consistent and actuals will be included once the actuals happen.
Mayor Beckmeyer asked if the motion is for a comprehensive motion for the General Fund and capital project budgets.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated it is total budget.
Mayor Beckmeyer wanted to understand the point at which we would have an opportunity to consider a new capital project, specifically relating to parking issues in Rockaway Beach. She acknowledges that our General Fund cannot support all our capital projects and she wants to figure out how we at least begin to discuss something that we cannot afford.
PW Dep. Director Yip stated that the Rockaway parking improvement is in the CIP report on Packet page 696. He stated that there are two projects in there: 1) the Rockaway parking area where we are constructing new parking area per the Rockaway Beach Specific Plan from 1986 which is a $4,300,000 project and 2) Rockaway Beach parking structure, where we construct a new parking structure on Old County Road per the same Rockaway Beach Specific Plan from 1986 and that project is $10,200,000.
City Manager Woodhouse stated this is a prime example of the infrastructure needs that the City has. He stated we need to be looking at what is our long-term strategy to be able to fund these improvements. One is development impact fees and the parking in-lieu fee that we have and, if there is a development that is occurring in that region and they are paying the parking in- City Council Regular Meeting 20 June 23, 2025
lieu fee or they are building parking, that is one way that those projects get funded or we create funding for those projects. Another is what is in the budget currently is looking at tax increment districts for West Sharp Park or Rockaway or both combined into a tax increment district and that is a long-term funding mechanism that capitalized dollars for infrastructure improvements (Enhanced Infrastructure Facilities District or EIFD).
Mayor pro Tem Boles stated she was remembering the Local Coastal Plan and the SSRA mitigation and the Coastal Commission added looking at a parking structure in Rockaway as one of those potential projects and that is something they are looking at too and that will be part of our work in the next year on the coastal adaptation.
City Manager Woodhouse added that we do not community benefits or project improvements unless projects are approved and built in town, which is why our housing in-lieu fee, parking inlieu fee, and our park in-lieu fee are all very low balances.
Mayor pro Tem Boles agreed and added just looking for grants and understanding the capital improvements. She stated that part of her discussion with the Coastal Conservancy was about the Rockaway Bridge and that is something they are very interested in funding.
Councilmember Wright looks forward to that meeting later this summer where we will be able to bring all those ideas to the table. He referred to the $200 million number, and he wanted to be clear that, in his estimation, that does not include any of the natural methods of dealing with sea level adaptation and sea level rise. He asked if that was true or false.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that is a general number but, if he is referring to the artificial reef concept that has been talked about, it does not include that. That number includes storm drain estimate projects, Beach Boulevard infrastructure Resiliency project, street improvements, facility improvements, and more. He stated that the infrastructure needs are immense.
Councilmember Bier moved to adopt the resolution approving the FY 2025-26 Operating and Capital Budget; adopt the resolution establishing the GANN Appropriation Limit for FY 2025-26; adopt the resolution approving the Citywide Fee Schedule including as Exhibit A to the resolution and adopt the resolution approving the City’s annual review of the Investment Policy including as Exhibit A to the resolution; seconded by Councilmember Wright.
City Clerk Coffey took a vote by verbal roll call.
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
SECONDER: Greg Wright, Councilmember
AYES: Beckmeyer, Boles, Bier, Espinosa, Wright
CONSIDERATION - NONE.
City Council Regular Meeting 21 June 23, 2025
ADJOURN
Mayor pro Tem Boles adjourned the meeting at 10:49 p.m.
Transcribed by Barbara Medina, Public Meeting Stenographer.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sarah Coffey, City Clerk
__________________________
Sue Beckmeyer, Mayor