CITY OF PACIFICA
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
Council Chambers
2212 Beach Blvd
Pacifica, CA 94044
Mayor Christine Boles
Vice Mayor Greg Wright
Councilmember Sue Beckmeyer
Councilmember Mary Bier
Councilmember Mayra Espinosa
City Council Study Session 1 March 07, 2026
SPECIAL MEETING – STUDY SESSION
March 07, 2026 (SATURDAY) – 9:00 AM
www.cityofpacifica.org
Mayor Christine Boles called the meeting to order on March 7, 2026 at 9:15 AM 9:00 AM - OPEN SESSION
Call to Order
Mayor Christine Boles called the meeting to order on March 7, 2026 at 9:15 AM.
Attendee Name Title Status Arrived
Christine Boles Mayor Present
Greg Wright Mayor pro Tem Present
Sue Beckmeyer Councilmember Present
Mary Bier Councilmember Present
Mayra Espinosa Councilmember Present
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; Marisol Gómez, Finance and Administrative Services Director; Melissa Tigbao, PW Director; Samantha Updegrave, Community Development Director; Scott Leslie, PB&R Director; Stephanie Douglas, PB&R Dep. Director; Roland Yip, PW Dep. Director (Field Services/Engineering); Dan Patten, PW Dep. Director (Wastewater); Elizabeth Brooks, Management Analyst; Sarah Coffey, City Clerk.
Reading of Land Acknowledgment
Mayor Boles read the Land Acknowledgment.
Salute to the Flag led by Mayor Boles
DISCUSSION OUTLINE - CITY OF PACIFICA STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE
1. City Council Strategic Plan Update and Priority Setting through June 2027 PROPOSED ACTION: Undertake a facilitated strategic planning workshop to review the adopted Strategic Plan and to provide direction on the highest priorities through the next fiscal year ending June 2027.
City Council Study Session 2 March 07, 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
C. Accomplishments
Greg Larson presented an overview of the agenda and objectives 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. Top recent accomplishments noted included: Housing Element completed / adopted; LCLUP Certification; Beach Blvd Site RFQ released, labor negotiations completed; onboarding of Council and staff; Short-Term Rentals update moving ahead; Climate Action Plan adopted; “Safest Suburbs” recognition; Capital Projects including Bicycle / Pedestrian Improvements, Priority Parks Initiative, Sewer Systems Improvements; promotional Pacifica video by ICMA-TV; “Rose AI” Putnam Award; Mayors Mental Health Initiative; Civic Center activated.
Councilmembers and staff provided feedback on what factors helped Pacifica accomplish so much. Several mentioned hard work, persistence, resilience, commitment, collaboration to address challenges and recognized that Council, City staff, community members and regional, state and federal partners were willing to show up and invest time, expertise and go above normal expectations to understand the community’s needs and bring forth the best policies for the community.
Facilitator Larson suggested reordering the agenda to swap items “G. Review of Adopted Strategic Plan and Work Program” and “D. City Values: ‘Collaborative Teamwork’”.
G. Review of Adopted Strategic Plan and Work Program
Facilitator Larson introduced discussion of the six key elements of the Strategic Plan: Mission ( what we do), Vision (what we are becoming), Values (how we approach our work), Goals (how we will achieve our Vision), Strategies (how we will achieve our Goals) and the Implementation Action Plan (Staff Work Program). He advised that there are typically three to five Goals in total and three to five Strategies for each Goal.
Facilitator Larson reviewed the adopted Mission with Council and Council confirmed no changes to the Mission statement, “The City of Pacifica provides exceptional services, maintains the small-town feel and safety of its unique community, and stewards its environment, coastal beauty, and recreational opportunities.” The Council confirmed no changes to the adopted Vision, “Pacifica strives to be an inclusive and sustainable community: environmentally, economically, socially and holistically.” The Council confirmed no changes to the adopted Values, “We are committed to: Collaborative Teamwork, a Healthy Workplace, Heartfelt Service, Resource Stewardship, Transparency & Responsiveness, Visionary Planning.” Assistant City Manager Yulia Carter referred to information in the Agenda Packet with reports showing an update as of December 2025 and a comprehensive update from the start date for the items in the Implementation Action Plan / Staff Workplan, noting that the Strategic Plan is at the mid-point of the 7-year plan. She stated that there is an extra strategy added under each Goal with other related work item and emphasized that everyday services, which typically comprise 85% of the workforce allocation and resources, are not included in the staff workplan.
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Facilitator Larson concluded that leaves 15 – 20% or even as little as 10% of the workforce resources available for new initiatives or projects since Pacifica is working with constrained resources, so everyday services comprise a higher percentage of the total workforce allocation.
Staff addressed questions from Council regarding the status update as of December 2025 on the current Staff Workplan. Mayor Boles asked about the status of Task 3.3.3 regarding Housing Element Implementation and why the overall item is showing as on-track, but there are sub-tasks listed as off-track or not started. Councilmember Bier observed that staff are working hard and she understands how impacted staff are and Council adds more to the work plan. She asked what Council can do to help staff achieve their work plan. Vice Mayor Wright added that there are also increased State mandates in addition to scarce staff and resources. Mayor Boles asked about Task 3.4.4 Coastal Commission Processing of Temporary Safe Parking Program and asked if the City is doing this anymore as it is with Coastal Commission for the sub-tasks showing as off-track. Facilitator Larson stated that the Work Plan is listed as it was presented to City Council last May, and Assistant City Manager Carter added that in the next step staff will update the Work Plan and some language will change for Tasks / Sub-Tasks to align with the Council’s new direction on the Strategic Plan. Mayor Boles asked about Sub-Task 3.4.3.1 Submit Application for Encampment Resolution Fund Grant showing as Achieved, but the City did not receive the grant. City Manager Woodhouse clarified that the work item for staff is to do the work to submit the application for the grant, but suggested that whether or not the grant is received should not be tracked for staff work.
E. Public Comment (no earlier than 10:15 am)
Mayor Boles opened Public Comments.
Nancy Tierney, Pacifica, Manor District, thanked the Council for approving the Climate Action Plan and establishing a committee to implement the Plan. She encouraged priorities to address the housing affordability crisis through infill housing, reduction of vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, zero Nox rules to replace water heaters and furnaces with heat pump units, adopting building electrification REACH Codes, “Make Polluters Pay” legislation, etc.
Byran Reinero, Pacifica, stated that primary goal for this year should be full and consistent enforcement of the City’s codes including the short-term rental ordinance, citing examples of concerns with specific short-term rental properties. He shared his suggestions for improving the response and enforcement of short-term rental regulations and permitting.
Suzanne Moore, Pacifica, representing Pacifica Housing 4 All, stated that affordable housing remains a priority, suggesting improving our ability to house our unhoused, empower the faith community and non-profits and waive host fees for overnight shelters and temporary housing, continue and expand the temporary safe parking program, keep our neighbors housed through tenant rights education, build more below market rate housing, etc.
Gloria Stofan, Pacifica, agreed with comments made by Suzanne Moore, stating that she is concerned about the housing crisis and ending the Safe Parking Program at the end of this year, the need for low-income housing and Pacifica Resource Center services.
Jeff Moroso, Pacifica, member of Tree City Pacifica and Friends of Calera Creek, stated that he was disappointed that the Calera Creek Park was not part of the PB&R Commission’s parks review and asked that it be added to the list of City parks. There was a suggestion to establish a Friends of Parks Program and they have done that with the Friends of Calera Creek Park. He City Council Study Session 4 March 07, 2026
added that the City could benefit from the help of a staff person with arborist qualifications to help care for trees, and suggested adding such a staff position.
Paul Totah, Pacifica, member of Tree City Pacifica, asked the Council to adopt a Tree Canopy Goal which increases the Pacifica Urban Area Tree Canopy coverage from 19% to 25%, as recommended in the Climate Action & Resilience Plan and the 2040 General Plan, adding the benefits of an increased tree canopy.
Marj Davis, Pacifica, member of Tree City Pacifica, asked the Council to approve the 25% Canopy Goal for Pacifica’s Urban Forest and address the four actions under the Canopy Goal in the Climate Action Plan, establish an Adopt-A-Tree Subcommittee of the BAC, etc. As a private resident, she asked for clarification on fee increases for residents and businesses and whether businesses include developers. She thought it was important to increase developer fees to come into line with cities surrounding Pacifica, as Pacifica’s developer fees are significantly lower than other cities.
Margo Meiman, Pacifica, a member of the previous Climate Action Plan Task Force and a current member of the Climate Action & Resilience Committee (CARC), stated the she is pleased that Goal 4 of the City’s Strategic Plan is to pursue climate change adaptation and mitigation and the members of CARC are looking forward to working with City staff and Council to make progress towards the City’s goals as outlined in the Strategic Plan and Climate Action Plan.
Susan Miller, Pacifica, stated that she is a tree lover and she has come to the goal setting meeting for many years requesting a functioning Tree Ordinance, canopy goal and a staff person with arborist qualifications for city trees, adding that the city has not had an arborist for over five years and the health and maintenance of city trees has declined and shared her concerns regarding the care of trees and trees that have been planted and died, providing details of locations where this has occurred. She stated that Tree City Pacifica and the Pacifica Garden Club would like to see four replacement trees at the COVID Memorial Grove and replacement trees should be appropriate species for the microclimate location.
Maija Wigoda-Mikkila, Pacifica, stated that she is an ISA-certified arborist and member of Tree City Pacifica. She stated that the PB&R Commission Parks Review made clear that many young trees have died or are struggling due to a lack of arborist qualified care and understanding of tree biology and mechanics. She shared details on reasons for trees’ decline and death. She suggested that someone with arborist qualifications is really needed to oversee the care of our trees.
Pete Shoemaker, Pacifica, shared his concerns about economic issues in the city and stated that he joined the Board of the Chamber of Commerce. He encouraged teamwork among the Economic Development Manager for the City, Economic Development Committee, Chamber of Commerce, newly formed Pacifica Merchants Association of Palmetto merchants and the County San Francisco Peninsula group, adding that reviving the Pacifica Chamber of Commerce should be a priority. He stated that a tax measure on the upcoming ballot is desperately needed to invest in City government.
Cindy Abbott, Pacifica, appreciated the Vision for the city and focus on three elements of sustainability – the planet, people and prosperity - adding that the word “holistically” includes the spirit of working collaboratively not just with Council and staff, but with the community. She added that we need to revisit how the community, public voices and working on committees and City Council Study Session 5 March 07, 2026
commissions can partner together to allow some community members to have more effective and efficient input. She also agreed with the comments about trees, emphasizing the need to address the loophole in the Tree Ordinance and adding an arborist on staff, the tree canopy.
She agreed with comments by Bryan Reinero and others regarding the need of enforcement on the Short-Term Rental Ordinance and the need to continue the Safe Parking Program. She referred to Work Plan Task 3.3.4 for identifying a consultant and conducting a test for RFP’s for Sanchez Library and Art Center, hoping that will be updated and Sanchez Art Center will be removed from that list.
Lyla Reinero, Pacifica, commented regarding the project reduction of TOT revenue due to the revised STR Ordinance and suggested that some short-term rentals currently operating have not renewed or not registered and the need to truly implement enforcement to identify unpermitted rentals and recover back taxes. She added that proper enforcement of the Tree Ordinance and requiring replacement fees for trees that are illegally removed without permits, which may be a potential revenue source, echoing what Maija Wigoda-Mikkila stated. She agreed with Marj Davis’ comments regarding raising the Planning and development fees to be consistent with neighboring cities. She stated that we need stronger enforcement of issues by the Building Inspector, mentioned issues related to 400 Belfast.
Gail Benton Shoemaker, Pacifica, member of Tree City Pacifica, commented about her concerns about the Tree In-Lieu Fund balance having so little money due to a loophole in the Tree Ordinance, learning that some wording in the ordinance negates the two-for-one replacement and in-lieu fees, “a minimum of two replacement trees for every ‘otherwise healthy’ tree removed.” She concluded that anyone can claim a tree they are removing is not healthy and thus very few replacement trees would be planted or in-lieu fees paid. She asked to take out the two words “otherwise healthy” as the loophole language. She provided a half-sheet of three primary requests from Tree City Pacifica and adding a fourth request: adopting 25% canopy goal, removing the loophole language in the Tree Ordinance, a future Public Works hire with arborist qualifications, adding support the Beautification Advisory Committee request to add an Adopt-a-Tree Subcommittee to their Charter.
Ellen Hage, Pacifica, member of Pacifica Housing 4 All and Coastside Faith In Action, agreed with earlier speakers’ comments about great need of housing in Pacifica and urged Council to make a priority to find solutions to help members of the community who are unhoused in Pacifica, suggesting removing the $10,000 fee that made it impossible for local churches to move forward with providing rotating shelters and to find funding to continue the successful Safe Parking Program.
Sam Casillas, Pacifica, commented about how to measure success and monthly and quarterly progress, suggesting that if projects don’t relate to Strategic Goals should be highly scrutinized and de-prioritized. He commented about climate resiliency and the need of a sound process to remove structures that are falling into the ocean, adding that we still have not taken action on SB 379 which requires Pacifica to identify sites with geologic hazards and would give more control over what can be built in hazardous areas versus having to fight one SB 339 project after another. He stressed the need for accountability, stating that we have had one plan after another without solid accomplishments. Lastly, he commended the City for taking a forceful stance on the Builder’s Remedy Project at Shamrock Ranch as the City should not be responsible for sewage outside the city limits.
Kimberly Finale, Pacifica, District 3 resident, stated that planning for future housing does not have an immediate impact and we need relief now. She referred to Half Moon Bay’s Council City Council Study Session 6 March 07, 2026
agreeing to engaging a consultant to provide recommendations on restructuring City internal operations and improving efficiencies ahead of the city’s 2026-27 budget and this investment can make an immediate impact for meeting growing demands with limited resources and strengthening public trust, cost saving and resource optimization. She thought this is a responsible option to make tough decisions now to stay afloat. She added the need for clean up in Pacifica, including doing something about RV’s that park along our coastline where visitors flock to. She urged the City to work with the California Coastal Commission on a lawful overnight RV parking ordinance so we have a clean city to grown from economically.
Mayor Boles closed Public Comments. She called for a five-minute break, then resumed the study session.
F. Fiscal Update
Facilitator Larson and Assistant City Manager Carter continued the presentation with the Fiscal Update. Facilitator Larson stated that before Councils can effectively talk about priorities for the future, they need to know where they are fiscally. Staff prepared an updated financial forecast.
He stated that Pacifica faces long-term fiscal challenges and in terms of next year Pacifica is starting off with a challenge of a $3.4M deficit that needs to be closed and that may go up another $1.1M due to the VLF issue. Assistant City Manager Carter explained the VLF issue has been an ongoing issue for the city for the last few years and there is an ongoing legislative effort to fight for the backfill amount that is due to the city every year. For the upcoming year the amount is $1.1M which is due to the City in FY 2026-27 and is the backfill amount due from two years ago. She added that we have been traditionally including the VLF backfill in the budget and relying on those amounts to provide core services, but due to recent developments it looks like this money will not be available for cities in the County for the upcoming year and the request from the County is to identify cuts to show the impact of the reduction, which adds to the structural deficit of $3.4M. City Manager Woodhouse explained that VLF is the Vehicle License Fee In-Lieu, and in the 90’s Vehicle License Fee revenue directly to cities was taken away and cities were promised backfill as these were property taxes that originate in the cities and belong to the city, but the State is taking away that money from cities in San Mateo County. He added that it has to do with the relationship of our property tax revenue, school funding and more.
Assistant City Manager Carter stated that the VLF backfill amount for the following year is almost $2.9M. Facilitator Larson added that likely in June the Council will need to do budget reductions that total about $4.5M to maintain the status quo. He stated that Pacifica’s long fiscal crisis in the biggest challenge the city is facing. He added that to raise staffing and compensation levels to the average of peer cities would require approximately $9M more in operating revenue (25 staff and average 10% - 20% compensation increase). Assistant City Manager Carter added that they included in the projections the salary savings strategy of 5%, which could easily be $2M, that Council approved at budget to minimize the deficit to the extent we could. Facilitator Larson stated that the same problem exists on the Capital side, and those cost about $300M and it is not foreseeable how to get it – streets, sidewalks, the pier, the cost of implementing community engagement, etc. Mayor Boles stated that the sewer system is paid for out of a different fund. She added that for the rest of the capital we are trying to get grants and those are the projects you see moving forward because we are able to get grant funding for projects such as some bike / ped improvements and sidewalk improvements. She stated that out of the $300M capital budget last year we only put in $50,000 and as our infrastructure continues to deteriorate this is more and more of a problem.
Facilitator Larson got back to the operating reality challenges for FY 2026-27 and suggested to double-down on Goal 1 to Enhance Organizational and Fiscal Stability. He added that as staff City Council Study Session 7 March 07, 2026
turnover rates increase there is decreased staff capacity and efficiency and leadership transitions further reduce staff capacity. This fiscal year will have a city manager and two councilmembers turn over, a 50% turnover in 6 months, and this will have a year-long impact on organizational capacity to get work done. He recommended that as part of Goal 1, prioritizing strategies that support new and re-development, achieving RHNA allocation translates to $3.5M / year in property tax revenue and adding 100 new hotel rooms translates to $1M / year in TOT revenue. He also recommended continuing effort to improve sales tax and TUT revenue, but small business tax revenue increases are small compared to property and TOT taxes.
Councilmember Espinosa emphasized Beach Boulevard improvements for tourism and STR revenues with enforcement. Facilitator Larson explained that continuing to improve sales tax and utility users’ tax does not get to the scale needed to balance the budget. Vice Mayor Wright added that with 4% commercial, Pacifica is a bedroom community. Mayor Boles observed that Pacifica does not have commercial space for offices to come in or jobs.
D. City Values: Collaborative Teamwork
Facilitator Larson recommended to minimize unrealistic organizational burdens, explaining a management rule to balance staff work plan to have more on the plan than they can achieve, but limiting the work plan to 110%, as getting up to 120-130% results in staff getting demoralized and burnt out. Councilmember Bier shared concerns about pushing to burnout and fear around budget issues. Facilitator Larson observed from interviews with Councilmembers and staff feedback about exhaustion from Council meeting length, Councilmember questions leading to perceived distrust of staff, continued agenda items – too many questions and Council too slow to make decisions, needing to accept differing perspectives – a majority needed and not a unanimous vote for approval, etc. He added that the organization is already exhausted and also is facing the City’s toughest fiscal challenge and a huge leadership transition (at least 3 of 7 positions). He suggested a Council teamwork session after the new City Manager is on board, a check-in on Council Governance workshop (annual review of Council Rules and Code of Ethics), noting estimated time allotments for Council agenda items, reducing ceremonial nonessential and non-Consent items, more selective briefings prior to Council meetings, “calling the question” instead of extending or continuing agenda items, and having only the City Manager, Attorney and Clerk stay for late items. Vice Mayor shared concerns with having enough time to review the agenda packet and provide questions and enough time to get the questions answered by staff prior to the meeting and how to be more effective. Mayor Boles responded that in the Governance Training and review of the Council Handbook, they discussed reviewing the Handbook every year in the beginning of the year (January), in years where there is not a new Councilmember they consider changes, in the year of a new Councilmember they have the teambuilding and review of the Council Handbook so all have the same understanding. She thought that some changes that have been implemented have been helpful: starting Council meetings earlier, Mayor / Vice Mayor agenda planning meetings with the City Manager, adding time estimates on annotated agendas for the Mayor, etc. She thought communicating upcoming agenda items to all Councilmembers could be improved. Councilmember Bier added her concern about the length of meetings and confusion that may occur due to exhaustion when meetings run too long / late, which is happening too often. City Attorney Kenyon suggested to reduce time combining the period for Councilmembers’ questions and deliberation following public comments, which immediately follows the staff report. Councilmembers discussed and agreed that an executive summary overview paragraph of complicated items, summary of changes in State law in plain English for certain items such as housing-related issues would be helpful. City Attorney Kenyon more briefings to Councilmembers for items such as appeals or legal briefings, land use items may help to reduce the time during the Council meetings; City Council Study Session 8 March 07, 2026
however, this requires time commitments and having enough time between agenda publication and the Council meeting may be challenging. Assistant City Manager suggested adding Alternative Actions in the staff report.
G. Review Adopted Strategic Plan and Work Program
Facilitator Larson began the discussion of Council Goals and Strategies, stating that the City has five goals, and since the Council has adopted this Strategic Plan the number one goal has been to “Enhance Organizational and Fiscal Stability”, as we can’t do Goals 2 – 5 if we are not focused on Goal 1. He stated they will discuss Goals 2 – 5 at the end to do clean up of Strategies and Goals after some focused discussion on Goal 1. He shared feedback from Council interview results on existing Goals, Strategies and Work Program items. He stated that all Councilmembers said the most important thing was managing the budget and reducing expectations due to the limitations of staff capacity. He reiterated ideas that came up related to managing the budget challenge: public education on fiscal challenges, explore potential revenue opportunities, schools facing budget challenges – recognize competing and complimentary needs (e.g. simultaneous ballot measures), planning early for Measure Y sunsetting / extension, understand VLF-issue impacts, begin right-sizing staffing services and funding, outsource or insource services (if beneficial). He added that the second major priority was the new City Manager Transition. Facilitator Larson discussed an overview of options for General Fund balancing strategies.
Vice Mayor Wright shared concerns about understaffing in Police. Mayor Boles mentioned possibly exploring our largest budget items of Police, Fire and Legal. She suggested expanding / increasing fine and fee recovery, such as for charging more for permit violations. She advocated for in-house staffing for building official, streamlining plan review process. Vice Mayor Wright was concerned with outsourcing Police and Fire would give up local control and he would strongly advocate against losing local control and having the right level of quality and service that we are fortunate to receive now. Councilmember Beckmeyer thought that you also have to look at the size and characteristics of the community (population size, grid structure, age that different sections of the city were developed, physical layout, etc) and knowledge of the community by Police, Fire and Public Works; for example, Half Moon Bay is surrounded by County, which may be why they have opted for sheriff’s services.
Council discussed the need for public education and understanding of the budget challenges, and all agreed that a Strategy (1E) should be added to Goal 1 for public education about the city’s organizational capacity and budget challenges.
City Manager Woodhouse concluded that he did not hear a Council majority directing analyzing alternative service delivery for public safety, adding that this is a topic that Council would need to discuss separately. He predicted that using sheriff services at the same level would cost significantly more or would involve a significant service reduction based on the previous study that Pacifica had done, but did not have an updated study of that.
Facilitator Larson stated that he did not see that as an Strategy, but part of the Manager’s job to bring back with the budget process with expenditure reduction opportunities or offsets in every budget category. A decision about in-sourcing the building official and plan check is a consideration of looking at what is the best strategy for Pacifica. City Manager Woodhouse stated that Community Development staff is already conducting that analysis. Vice Mayor Wright thought that Community Development needs some additional support and is glad to hear that staff is looking into it.
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Facilitator Larson commented about the organizational impact of a City Manager transition occurs 2 – 3 months before the manager comes on and 6 months after the manager comes on, with briefings, neighborhood tours, meeting with constituencies, and getting to know the organization and community. Vice Mayor Wright was concerned about staff turnover resulting from a change in leadership. City Manager Woodhouse stated that is the importance of consistency with Strategic Planning and having a Work Plan, which offers stability to an organization.
For Strategy 1C, Assistant City Manager Carter suggested re-wording it from referencing the Economic Opportunities Study to, “Prioritize implementation of the Economic Development Workplan.”
Councilmember Beckmeyer asked about the status of the Fee Study in reference to Strategy 1D. Assistant City Manager Carter replied that the Cost Allocation Plan will be brought to Council with the budget, and the Development Impact Fees and Master Fee Schedule will be done before the end of the fiscal year. She added that it may not be in time to have Council’s decision before putting in the budget, but it could come as a budget adjustment at mid-year.
Councilmember Beckmeyer referred to this item on work plan 1.4.3 and 1.4.4 on page 126 of the packet. Vice Mayor Wright suggested pursuing grant funding related to more renewable energy sources (e.g. solar carports) and reducing expenses related to energy consumption.
Councilmember Bier suggested there is an economic opportunity in reviewing the cannabis policies and licensing fees and supporting the businesses so all of them thrive. Vice Mayor Wright agreed, mentioning that we only have three licensed but allow for five and the potential for allowing onsite consumption (e.g. cannabis lounges). Facilitator Larson concluded that there seemed to be a majority interested in looking at number to cannabis licenses and potential increased revenue. City Manager Woodhouse stated that this would involve a cannabis ordinance overhaul, which would involve a significant study and raise significant public input; this would be a significant work plan item to undertake. Mayor Boles asked about looking at the Tobacco Retail License Fees; Councilmember Bier agreed and thought this would be part of the Fee Schedule review.
Facilitator Larson asked about the wording of Strategy 1A, “Improve staff retention, recruitment, mental health and wellness resources, and increase staffing for rising workloads,” highlighting the phrase, “… increase staffing for rising workloads,” to ask if this is still appropriate given the fiscal reality. Mayor Boles thought it is still a good goal, as we could look at ways to bring in Fellows for less money, a building official paid for by projects, using volunteers and committees / commissions more intentionally to help get more work done without adding to budget.
Councilmember Beckmeyer mentioned the County internship program and wondered if there was more of an apprentice program, recognizing that oversight, supervision and need to coordinate the work may end up being more of a draw on resources. Facilitator Larson thought this could be considered under the Budget or Volunteer category when staff considers the Work Plan to bring back to Council. City Manager Woodhouse observed that it is very rare that an intern / fellow / volunteers decrease staff workload and capacity because they take attention and time to onboard, teach, manage and direct, thus is not a net financial benefit.
H. Priorities through June 2027
Facilitator Larson highlighted feedback from Councilmember interviews regarding top five priorities related to Goals 2 – 5, stating that getting the STR Ordinance fully implemented and LCLUP implementation planning and community outreach were mentioned by a majority of Council. He mentioned the Coastal Commission dependency related to the STR ordinance in the coastal zone. He mentioned getting the Beach Boulevard and sea wall projects moving City Council Study Session 10 March 07, 2026
ahead and moving together with the SSRAs, Beach Boulevard interim improvements, Oversized vehicle parking and sleeping, bathrooms at Fairmont park and coordinated use of volunteers. In reviewing the current Goals and Strategies he highlighted areas / items that Council may want to edit or cut, suggested prioritizing Goals and Strategies directly support Goal 1.
Referring to Goal 2 “Improve and Steward City Infrastructure, Streets and Facilities” he highlighted 2C “Broaden community awareness of the Library projects.” Councilmember Beckmeyer stated that the Council decided that we are not ready this year for a library bond.
Facilitator Larson asked if there were any big policy decisions anticipated to come to Council over the next year on the Library projects. Councilmember Beckmeyer suggested moving this Strategy to Goal 5 “Broaden Public Communications and Collaboration”. City Manager Woodhouse stated that the education component of community education and awareness for the Library projects needs to continue to build so that as opportunities present such as publicprivate partnerships, grant funding opportunities, in addition to a potential bond measure the city is ready to take advantage of that with community support for libraries as critical infrastructure for the city. Council consensus agreed to move this Strategy to Goal 5.
Council discussed Strategy 2D “Complete a Facilities Assessment and prioritize the City’s facilities and equipment needs, including public safety, the Community Center, and other parks and recreation resources.” Councilmember Beckmeyer asked if this includes Public Works.
Mayor Boles mentioned parks and trees. Facilitator Larson concluded from the discussion to potentially broaden the scope of 2D.
Goal 3 “Prioritize Protection and Development of Affordable Housing” was discussed. Facilitator Larson highlighted Strategy 3A “Complete the Housing Element Update” as it was completed.
Vice Mayor Wright asked if this was the place for updating antiquated building codes, objective design guidelines, etc. Community Development Director Updegrave stated that zoning modernization (including updating building codes), streamlining objective design standards and affordable housing on public sites are encompassed within 3C “Prioritize Housing Element program implementation.” Mayor Boles agreed with bringing up objective design standards.
Facilitator Larson observed that in the work plan item 3.3 the zoning modernization task.
Director Updegrave clarified that we incorporated objective design standards in the Housing Element Rezoning and the next step is to take those to a citywide level and expand on the initial standards. Vice Mayor Wright asked about tools to help make Community Development Department more efficient. Director Updegrave stated that we are working on an organizational assessment with a consultant and permit tracking software. Mayor Boles thought that we need an explicit goal for development of affordable housing. Council consensus agreed to change 3A to elevate identifying sites for affordable housing projects. They agreed on changing 3B to “Implement the Short-Term Rental Ordinance.” Mayor Boles brought up needing a discussion about continuing the Temporary Safe Parking Program (TSPP). Councilmember Bier stated that is interim housing, separate from the affordable housing strategy. Mayor Boles suggested the Strategy language of, “pursue interim housing solutions,” keeping the language broad.
Councilmember Beckmeyer did not want to lose track to TSPP, but thought including it under interim housing solutions was appropriate. Council consensus agreed to amend Strategy 3C to “Prioritize Housing Element program implementation, including interim housing solutions.” For Goal 4 “Pursue Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation” Facilitator Larson suggested dropping the “adopt” and “certify” clauses from the existing Strategies. He suggested looking at these Strategies from the perspective of which benefit or harm budget solutions especially for next year and for non-budget related items how to prioritize those relative to each other. Vice Mayor Wright would like to add to Strategy 4A (Begin implementation of the Climate Action and City Council Study Session 11 March 07, 2026
Adaptation Plan) a long-term goal of a net-zero approach. Mayor Boles would like to know what is possible with respect to Reach Codes within legal constraints. Facilitator Larson thought these items were for referral to staff to let the Committee know that Council is interested in these areas in particular and for them to work it into their plan if funding is available. City Attorney Kenyon advised that in order for the Committee to determine if Reach Codes should be explored would require Community Development staff and legal time and input on whether there is a path forward. Facilitator Larson concluded that staff will assess this input from Council in terms of staff capacity, funding and resources. Councilmember Beckmeyer referred to Strategy 4B and task 4.2.2.3 (draft revised Tree Preservation Ordinance) and would like to understand if amending the “loophole” they are hearing about is revising the whole ordinance or a minor adjustment. City Manager Woodhouse cautioned that ordinance revisions often scope creep into larger issues, so if the Council was interested in a simple administrative revision they would need to lay the framework out clearly. He thought this task was “off track” because there are a lot of improvements necessary for the Tree Ordinance and it is very time consuming and controversial, and there are capacity limitations in the Community Development Department.
Mayor Boles thought that refining the Tree Ordinance language could help, but the urban forestry plan and tree report falls into this, and brought up concerns with trees that are planted on Arbor Day not surviving, asking how we can bring other resources where the community can help. Councilmember Beckmeyer mentioned that many of these items are assigned to Community Development and recognized the capacity limitations. Facilitator Larson thought that tree related tasks off track in current conditions will not improve under reduced capacity fiscally and under leadership transition unless the scope of the tasks is narrowed and scaled down to make achievable. Councilmember Beckmeyer suggested for Task 4.2.2.3 to narrow it to refer to addressing the “loophole language”. Council consensus agreed to remove the words “adopt” from 4A and “certify” from 4C.
Facilitator Larson did not see any changes to the strategies under Goal 5 (Broaden Public Communications and Collaboration) from Council. Mayor Boles stated that the committees and commissions aren’t specifically referenced in Goal 5 strategies, but one thing they are planning to do is to review work plans of committees and commissions in the Spring for a path for Council to add to their work plans. Councilmember Beckmeyer mentioned putting in Adopt-A-Tree, PB&R Commission’s Parks Review discussion and next steps. She stated that Task 5.4.2 is focused only on their charters, not committee / commission’s work assignments. She thinks this fits into Goal 5, but we need to flesh out more of the specifics about “how”. Councilmember Beckmeyer and Mayor Boles both mentioned e-bikes issue. City Manager Woodhouse stated that specific work items mentioned would be impacts on staff, Council agendas, fiscal sustainability, etc. He suggested a next step could be to have a Joint Study Session with PB&R Commission to discuss the results of the study. Councilmember Beckmeyer thought the e-bikes issue is an important issue that we need to work in somewhere, starting with review of the ordinance drafted by the County. Vice Mayor Wright asked if current handling of committees and commissions in terms of staff engagement and capacity the right way to do it or are we better off using staff time in other ways. Facilitator Larson agreed that at budget time it has to be reviewed as it is a significant staff time load to deal with multiple issues and committee meetings. Mayor Boles thought there was a need to review the Committee / Commission Handbook as it hasn’t been updated in quite some time, processes more clearly defined and explained as part of committee member onboarding. Councilmember Bier asked about the status of revising the charters of committees / commissions. City Clerk Coffey replied that we are in the process of revising the Beautification Advisory Committee and Emergency Preparedness & Safety Commission, next would be the PB&R Commission and Planning Commission review; then the administrative updates considering efficiencies in aligning timing of expiration of terms and reviewing the Committee / Commission Handbook for updates. She City Council Study Session 12 March 07, 2026
thought that onboarding committee members at a single time of year annually would be beneficial. Assistant City Manager Carter stated that we need to make sure that committees and commissions workload is tied to the output of the Council Strategic Plan and it may take some time to also align with resource allocations.
Facilitator Larson concluded that the Strategic Plan will come back to Council for the changes that were discussed, and as part of the budget staff will bring back a work plan based on resources and Council direction.
ADJOURN
Mayor Boles adjourned the study session at 4:00 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sarah Coffey, City Clerk
APPROVED: 5 - 0; 5/26/2026
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Christine Boles, Mayor