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 Regular Meeting 1 March 23, 2026
SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETING
March 23, 2026 (MONDAY)
www.cityofpacifica.org
Mayor Christine Boles called the meeting to order on March 23, 2026 at 5:03 PM 5:00 PM - JOINT STUDY SESSION CITY COUNCIL AND BEAUTIFICATION ADVISORY
COMMITTEE
00a. Joint Study Session of City Council and the Beautification Advisory Committee Regarding Potential BAC Charter Revisions
PROPOSED ACTION: Provide direction to the City Manager for the Beautification Advisory Committee charter revisions.
PW Director Tigbao, Chair Bennett, and Committee Member Seabaugh gave the presentation.
Councilmember Bier expressed concern about capacity and asked if they are proposing to change anything else about the charter, whether some workplan items would be removed to add others.
Committee Member Gossage stated that the thought was to add the Adopt-A-Tree Subcommittee and allow members of the BAC and other community members to join, similar to BAC’s Arts and Mural Subcommittee.
Vice Mayor Wright asked, from the Public Works perspective, how and where we are planting these trees, with considerations for impacts to sidewalks and roads. He asked if they are installing root barriers, for example.
PW Director Tigbao stated it depends on which type of project we are putting in and considerations such as irrigation, underground laterals, or potential tree uplifts. That would be a part of the Urban Forestry Management Plan and we can add in how we should address installing trees in public right-of-way with different types of situations or scenarios.
Vice Mayor Wright asked if there has been any consideration to using recycled water.
PW Director Tigbao thought that was a great plan and something we will also incorporate in the Urban Forestry Management Plan.
Councilmember Espinosa referred to the tree at Fairmont West and asked if it has irrigation.
PW Director Tigbao responded affirmatively.
City Council Regular Meeting 2 March 23, 2026
Councilmember Espinosa asked if there is a license or free for people to adopt a tree.
PW Director Tigbao stated that this program is for City-owned trees in public right-of-way. The trees belong to the City and we are looking to partner with public to have these watering agreements and for them to care for them so the trees survive. There would not need to be any permitting.
Committee Member Gossage stated, as a licensed landscape architect, initial watering is needed for trees to be planted, but to allow the tree to develop its proper root growth and stability, putting in native or adopted species that will acclimate to the climate will release some off irrigation for the first three years or so. Using the watering bag system is a great way to get trees established without running additional infrastructure.
Councilmember Espinosa asked how long the water bags last.
Committee Member Seabaugh stated the recommendation is that they be placed for four years with a schedule that tapers off over time as far as refill rate.
Mayor Boles understood that these are only for City-owned and maintained trees, either in part on someone’s property but in the public right-of-way, not on their own land.
Committee Member Seabaugh agreed, adding that ideally these are located near the residents for ease of watering and maintenance.
Mayor Boles asked about long-term tree maintenance.
Committee Member Seabaugh stated that the proposal would be for watering, not for maintenance itself, as the City would still be responsible for maintenance, which should be low.
Mayor Boles thought that there might be pruning requirements or if a disease comes through, and she is trying to understand that we are adding to the scope potentially for Public Works.
Committee Member Gossage thinks, based on the goal of increasing the urban canopy in the Strategic Plan, staff should follow that with some of the protocols, including dimensions of minimum sizing for places to plant trees, root barriers, etc. Likewise, the maintenance should be handled through a certified arborist or City staff.
Mayor Boles lived in San Francisco where part of tree planting was their urban forestry group also, and sometimes the trees were in the public right-of-way but sometimes on private property. She is trying to tie this into the CARP goal which talks about increasing the canopy but not necessarily putting all those trees on City property.
Committee Member Gossage referred to the mitigation requirements of a 2:1 replacement rate with removal of a protected tree. A protected tree may fall within their property lines so, if they wanted to take it down, they would be required to replace it or mitigate it. While working closely with Public Works, BAC members were not looking at expanding to the private realm.
PW Director Tigbao stated that, per the Tree Ordinance, anything that is protected needs to be replaced 2:1, public or private.
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Vice Mayor Wright asked how long the 2:1 replacements need to be kept alive and who nurtures the replacement trees until they are grown.
PW Director Tigbao stated she doesn’t know if they do follow up at that level.
Vice Mayor Wright asked if staff can take a look at that and let him know.
Mayor Boles asked about the Urban Forestry Management Plan and if this work may start this year and, if so, how long do we expect it to take.
PW Director Tigbao stated she sees it starting this year because we were able to hire two more engineers. We should now be able to go out with an RFP to receive proposals. In other locations where she worked, it has usually taken about 6-9 months for a full-on master plan to get adopted, sometimes longer depending on how large the city is with all the components they need to identify. She believes we already have the tree inventory but she thinks it needs to be refined and renewed and also relooking at the ordinance to make sure that whatever is in their management plan speaks to the ordinance.
Mayor Boles thought the staff report said that part of the work plan would also be to identify priority locations for CARP planting. Without that in place, how would the committee decide where it would be appropriate to plant, how many trees per year, etc.
Committee Member Seabaugh stated there would need to be four trees that need to be planted and they can expand once the City has a more robust Urban Forest Management Plan.
Mayor Boles opened public comment.
Deirdre Martin, Pacifica, voiced support for the Adopt-a-Tree Program as it would support the urban canopy goals of increasing from 19% to 25% in the Climate Action and Resilience Plan.
Paul Totah, Pacifica, speaking as a member of Tree City Pacifica, voiced support for the Adopt-a-Tree Program and gave reasons for why trees benefitted the City.
Jeff Moroso, Pacifica, speaking as a member of Tree City Pacifica, voiced support for the Adopt-a-Tree Program and referred to previous successful City initiatives.
Maija Wigoda-Mikkila, Pacifica, speaking on behalf of Tree City Pacifica, stated she is a certified arborist, voiced support for the Adopt-a-Tree Program and explained the importance of regular watering.
Gail Benton Shoemaker, Pacifica, a member of Tree City Pacifica, speaking as a citizen, voiced support for the Adopt-a-Tree Program and gave reasons for why trees benefitted the City.
Cindy Abbott, Pacifica, voiced support for the Adopt-a-Tree Program and provided history of success of such programs in the City.
Chris Redfield, Pacifica, stated that he worked in Public Works for many years and shared his thoughts on how to plan and budget for problems going down the road for Public Works.
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Sue Digre, Pacifica, voiced support for the Adopt-a-Tree Program and gave reasons for why trees benefitted the City.
Mayor Boles closed public comments.
Councilmember Beckmeyer wanted to go forward with this but urged for prudent, thoughtful consideration of how this program will fit in. When the project was first designed, it involved sidewalk widening to accommodate trees. She is not sure that is entirely possible and we may need to evaluate. She wants to be sure we do not inadvertently trigger some other very costly expense. She feels it is important that the Urban Forestry Management Plan moves forward and believes the program can be implemented with the recognition that it may need to be modified once that Plan is done.
Vice Mayor Wright asked how much staff time is it going to take with their 58 projects.
PW Director Tigbao stated, of the 58 projects under Public Works, staff only completed seven and several are ongoing. She cannot give the exact time it will take for staff to complete or assist in getting this amended charter done but, if this is the direction, she can look into estimating that.
Vice Mayor Wright asked, if staff only got seven of the 58 done, which of the other 51 might we not be doing if they prioritize this.
PW Director Tigbao thinks that is something we would have to discuss at Goal Setting.
Mayor Boles referred to trees from past plantings that did not survive in addition to past tree water pilot programs. She appreciated that the scope of the project would be part of the 20 trees that are regularly scheduled every year as part of Arbor Day and the trees that Public Works would otherwise be planting as part of a 2:1. She thought this is all in concert working together to ensure that those same trees have a chance to survive, grow properly, and thrive.
She thought, if BAC is willing to limit that to what they said, she has no problem with the charter amendment now. Growing the program beyond that which would hopefully be our goal in meeting the canopy goals might need to come back and look carefully at Public Works impacts and, as part of planting these trees, consider sidewalk, utilities, other potential impacts to infrastructures.
Committee Member Gossage mentioned when a homeowner wants to do it themselves, the homeowner would pay to hire a contractor to install the tree under the approval of the location.
They would follow all the rules, which need to be solidified in their code. The monetary obligation of installing that tree would fall on the homeowner and the watering could fall under our program. As far as future maintenance, that could be a quagmire. She wanted to clarify if the third option should be removed or kept.
Mayor Boles was concerned that the third option may have impacts to Public Works staffing.
PW Director Tigbao stated, since we already do Arbor Day, we can work on using that as a basis to build it. She feels strongly about making sure that our Urban Forestry Management Plan has more guidelines, but it is up to Council.
Vice Mayor Wright asked how much time it would take to put those guidelines together.
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Interim City Manager Carter wanted to clarify the difference between Option 1 and Option 2.
For Option 1, if Council decides to approve the BAC recommendations as stated, Public Works team will have to develop the program, amend the charter, and work with legal department to review all considerations that are in place, i.e. volunteer agreements, liability, insurance, and all the assets for this program. Option 2 was intended to keep this program on the work plan to allow Public Works Dept. to make progress with the Urban Forestry Management Plan and then invest the time into development of the program so it is in full alignment.
Mayor Boles stated her understanding of Option 2 is just reporting out on the current Adopt-a Tree program in Sharp Park, not necessarily continuing to work with Arbor Day this year. She hears that we would prefer Option 1 but limiting the scope for now. She added that we are going to be starting a process where all committees and commissions have a longer conversation about a work plan in the spring of every year. She would vote for Option 1, but with a limited scope for now.
Councilmember Beckmeyer asked about the need to update the resolution, the charter, etc.
She added if language could be inserted that speaks of a pilot Adopt-a-Tree program that can be fleshed out later as the Urban Forestry Management Plan is created and then implemented.
Interim City Manager Carter concluded that Council directed staff to proceed with Option 1 and approve BAC recommendation for Adopt-a-Tree program at a limited scope and PW Dept. will add it to the work plan to do and, as part of that work, we will revise the outdated language of the charter and insert the reference to the Adopt-a-Tree program language in the charter and send it back to Council.
RESULT: NO VOTE REQUIRED
ADJOURN JOINT STUDY SESSION
6:00 PM OPEN SESSION - REGULAR MEETING
Call to Order
Mayor Boles called to order the regular meeting at 6:12 p.m.
Attendee Name Title Status Arrived
Christine Boles Mayor Present
Greg Wright Vice Mayor Present
Sue Beckmeyer Councilmember Present
Mary Bier Councilmember Present
Mayra Espinosa Councilmember Present
City Clerk took a verbal roll call.
Staff Present: Yulia Carter, Interim City Manager; Michelle Kenyon, City Attorney; Maria Sarasua, Police Chief; Marisol Gómez, Finance & Administrative Services Director; Melissa Tigbao, PW Director; Samantha Updegrave, Community Development Director; Scott Leslie, PB&R Director; Roland Yip, PW Dep. Director-Engineering; Bill Glasgo, Police Captain; Sarah Coffey, City Clerk; Emily La, Dep. City Clerk.
City Council Regular Meeting 6 March 23, 2026
Reading of Land Acknowledgment
Mayor Boles read the Land Acknowledgement.
Salute to the Flag led by Vice Mayor Wright.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
A. Proclamation - Government Finance Professionals Week: March 23 - 27, 2026 Mayor Boles read the proclamation for Government Finance Professionals Week.
Director Gómez is commemorating this inaugural Government Finance Professionals Week.
She stated that Administrative Services’ essential support functions allow all City departments to operate effectively, and the department includes Finance, Information Technology and Human Resources. Every day staff work behind the scenes to ensure that public dollars are managed responsibly, transparently and in full compliance with California’s complex regulations. She appreciated her team for their dedication, professionalism, and commitment to public service.
Mayor Boles stated she did not know what we would do without them as they are the core of the City. To see that they are doing this with leadership is amazing for the budget for all of our various tasks and departments in the city and Council appreciates them all.
Vice Mayor Wright appreciated all Director Gómez does to hold the City together and thanked each and every one of them.
Councilmember Espinosa thanked them for their service.
Councilmember Beckmeyer thanked them for choosing us.
Mayor Boles opened public comments.
John Grites, Pacifica, stated he wanted to give a shout out to Meg Callanan.
Mayor Boles closed public comments.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Boles asked if any Councilmember wanted to pull any item from consent calendar or had any questions.
Mayor Boles stated that she sees that there is a correction on Item #1.
PW Dep. Director Yip referred to packet page 40, for the FY 2026-27 Pavement Resurfacing Project, where the table for the fiscal impact section, Street Improvement Fund 213, should change from $618,718.86 to $620,000.
Councilmember Beckmeyer referred to Item #2 on packet pages 42 and 46. She stated that the street segment she is asking about is in the fiscal year 28-29 portion, and she asked about Rio Vista and Monte Verde, leading up to off Rosita Road, to confirm that this segment is colorcoded red.
City Council Regular Meeting 7 March 23, 2026
PW Dep. Director Yip responded affirmatively, explaining that for Rosita Dr. between Adobe and Palou Dr. is red, and eastward from there is pink, then from Capistrano to Oddstad it becomes red again.
Councilmember Beckmeyer thought that the first segment in red cannot wait until 2028-29 for rehabilitation due to the current condition and wondered how streets for each fiscal year are determined.
PW Dep. Director Yip stated that the streets are selected through their pavement management software, StreetSaver. An algorithm considers a benefit cost analysis, based on the condition of the road, the Pavement Condition Index. It is rated from 0 to 100. Usually, if you are above 70, you can do a slurry seal. If you are above 50 to around 70, you can do a resurfacing.
Everything below 50 is considered a street that has failed and we need a rehabilitation. He added that cape seal and slurry seal fall under the maintenance category. When it is between 50 or 70, it is a mill. You remove the upper three inches and there are some isolated areas which may need an additional three inches of material removed and replace it with asphalt. If it is below 50, that means that there is a considerable amount of base that has failed and you have to go beneath possibly the aggregate base section, which is usually around six inches below the asphalt material.
Councilmember Beckmeyer asked if there is not an opportunity to move and do any other places in the city.
PW Dep. Director Yip stated that the way our consultants and the program has selected the areas is to get better cost and mobilization by doing more of the areas in the same neighborhood. If you are having them go from all over the City, that makes the costs go up.
Councilmember Beckmeyer asked if there is a human look at the selected streets in the rehabilitation area or is it just algorithm-based, and asked what is the source of that determination. She asked if the algorithm is a program that comes from MTC.
PW Dep. Director Yip stated she is correct. In the StreetSaver program, that algorithm will provide all the streets where the City can do maintenance on, given the budget. The consultants are selecting based on what the program is telling them and putting in all from the same area.
That is why Rosita is combined into this neighborhood. It generally will not look like this when you run the program because the PCIs vary across all the neighborhoods.
Councilmember Beckmeyer asked if there is a look at the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan as well, such as overlay or a comparison with bicycle roadways.
PW Dep. Director Yip stated that we recommend Class 3 or Class 3B, called sharrows, which shared bike lanes that can be placed without adjusting lane widths. Other than that, some of the other bike lanes are other classes from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. You will need major improvement in the area to widen the street or remove parking. We currently have a grant to do a feasibility study, but that is going to be a costly bike lane consult as there is not enough width in the street. We have to go into possibly where the fenced area is off of Caltrans right-of-way and see if we can extend it further out in order to get a Class 2 to that street. He stated that, if there is an opportunity to put sharrows in from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, we will add it with the project at the time that we do this work.
City Council Regular Meeting 8 March 23, 2026
Mayor Boles stated, for the public point of view, packet page 42 of the map of the whole City is a five-year plan for repaving our streets, based on the grant funding we get. The current project we are reviewing tonight is in the Manor and Fairmont area. We had some problems with an earlier section of work around Monterey Road where the streets are steep and what happens with the handicapped ramps and curb ramps that are added is that it becomes a vehicle for too much water flowing down the street to then go up on the sidewalk and flood some of the neighboring properties. She knows some of these areas they are planning to pave and redo curbs are also steep and she is wondering if that has been considered in the consultants’ plans.
PW Dep. Director Yip stated that they will look into these curb ramps closely upon installationto make sure this runoff does not happen, but the ones off of Monterey and Hickey could use a higher curb and we have 30% contingency on this Sidewalks, Curbs, and ADA Ramp Improvement Project to use for additional concrete in various areas in the City. That was an area staff were considering. If we can do it, we will make those curbs higher. On the steeper street on the curb ramps for our current project, we will make sure it does not happen for this project.
City Clerk Coffey stated one further correction should be noted for the Consent agenda on Agenda Item No. 1 for the Notice of Completion for the Rockaway Pump Station. In the staff report’s fiscal impact section on packet page 35, the funds table should be updated with the total for the engineering services during construction, actual cost, for Hazen and Sawyer amount changed from $53,310 to $51,102. The associated total use of funds should be revised accordingly to $609,084 and project end balance revised to $104,422. She stated that these changes result from a minor total project use of funds of $2,000 less than what was originally projected and the project came in more under budget than was noted in the published staff report. There is no change to the resolution or notice of completion.
Mayor Boles opened public comments for the consent calendar.
There was one off-topic public comment.
Mayor Boles offered the speaker to redirect comments and gave a warning that the comment would be cut off if it was not within the subject matter of the jurisdiction of the Council.
The speaker continued to make an off-topic public comment.
City Attorney Kenyon confirmed the speaker is not speaking on the item on the agenda and was given two warnings. The speaker failed to comply and was cut off from making public comment.
There was another off-topic public comment.
Mayor Boles reiterated that the speaker needs to stay on the topic of the consent calendar. She offered the speaker to redirect his comments towards the Consent Calendar.
The speaker did not continue the public comment.
Mayor Boles closed public comments.
Vice Mayor Wright moved to approve the Consent Calendar as amended; seconded by Councilmember Beckmeyer.
City Council Regular Meeting 9 March 23, 2026
CONSENT CALENDAR (ITEMS #1 – 3, WITH ITEMS #1 AND 3, AS AMENDED) RESULT: ADOPTED AS AMENDED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Greg Wright, Vice Mayor
SECONDER: Sue Beckmeyer, Councilmember
AYES: Boles, Wright, Beckmeyer, Bier, Espinosa
1. Notice of Completion for the Rockaway Pump Station Rehabilitation and Repair Project PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt the Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica to accept completion and direct the City Manager to file Notice of Completion for the Rockaway Pump Station Rehabilitation and Repair Project; and authorize the City Manager to release the retention funds to the contractor.
2. Award Construction Contract for FY 2026-27 Pavement Resurfacing Project PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt the Resolution entitled "A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Approving the Construction Contract with American Pavement Systems, Inc. in the amount of $1,451,059.88; Authorize a budget authority in the amount of $1,670,000.00, which includes contingencies in an amount not to exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the Construction Contract amounts; Authorize staff to Execute Future Change Orders not to exceed the contingency amount; and Authorize the City Manager to sign Contract Documents related to the FY 2026-27 Pavement Resurfacing Project.”
3. Award Construction Contract FY 2026-27 Sidewalk, Curbs, and ADA Ramps Improvement Project
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt the Resolution entitled "A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Approving the Construction Contract with Zara Construction, Inc. in the amount of $379,939.00; Authorize a budget authority in the amount of $495,000.00, which includes contingencies in an amount not to exceed thirty percent (30%) of the Construction Contract amounts; Authorize staff to Execute Future Change Orders not to exceed the contingency amount; and Authorize the City Manager to sign Contract Documents related to the FY 2026-27 Sidewalk, Curbs, and ADA Ramps Improvement Project.”
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE POSTED AGENDA
Patrick James Cavanaugh, Pacifica, stated he is representing the Pacifica Beach Coalition as Exec. Director. He shared some details of recent programs as well as plans for Earth Day Ecofest followed by their festival.
Elizabeth Bredall, Pacifica, stated she is representing the Pacifica Resource Center. She shared information about their grocery program and achievements, as well as a reminder of the upcoming Palm-a-Palooza program on September 12.
Cindy Abbott, Pacifica, shared her concerns on enforcement and compliance of short-term rentals and asked what amount of staff time and resources as well as community concerns are needed before formal removal of one of the properties.
Lyla Reinero, Pacifica, shared her concerns on enforcement and compliance of short-term rentals and asked how and why the City renewed the permit for 1987 Beach Blvd.
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Mark Stechbart, Pacifica, shared his concerns on enforcement and compliance of short-term rentals and identified several permitted properties out of compliance with the current code.
Caitlin Quinn, Pacifica, shared her concerns on multiple criminal incidents at 1987 Beach Blvd. in the past 7 months and urged the City to take enforcement action.
There was one off-topic public comment.
City Attorney Kenyon offered the speaker to redirect comments and gave a warning that the comment would be cut off if it was not within the subject matter of the jurisdiction of the Council.
Alex Schwarz stated he has a First Amendment right to speak his thoughts and that, if the Council limits his First Amendment rights, he will sue the City. He then proceeded into off-topic public comments.
Mayor Boles confirmed the speaker is not speaking within the subject matter of the jurisdiction of the Council and was given two warnings. The speaker failed to comply and was cut off from making further public comment.
There was another off-topic public comment.
Mayor Boles offered the speaker to redirect comments and gave a warning that the comment would be cut off if it was not within the subject matter of the jurisdiction of the Council.
The speaker continued to make an off-topic public comment.
Mayor Boles confirmed the speaker is not speaking within the subject matter of the jurisdiction of the Council and was given two warnings. The speaker failed to comply and was cut off from making further public comment.
PUBLIC HEARINGS - NONE.
CONSIDERATION
4. Consideration and Adoption of Resolution Appointing Sean Charpentier as City Manager and Approving the Employment Agreement between the City of Pacifica and Sean Charpentier
PROPOSED ACTION: The Ad Hoc Committee recommends that: (1) Council approve the Resolution appointing Sean Charpentier as City Manager and approving the Employment Agreement between the City of Pacifica and Sean Charpentier, and (2) authorize the Mayor to execute the attached Agreement with Sean Charpentier.
Mayor Boles presented the staff report. She then offered Mr. Sean Charpentier time to introduce himself to our community and why he was interested in Pacifica and other thoughts.
Mr. Charpentier stated he is excited to be here and be considered. He is humbled by the opportunity to be in a leadership role in Pacifica. He has 20 years of public sector experience, ten years as an executive in San Mateo County, and his passion is to build and maintain communities that are sustainable, prosperous, and equitable. He thinks Pacifica is one of the most unique communities in the Bay Area and being here reminded him of that as this is the only place they can have a Council meeting and listen to the waves. He feels the proximity City Council Regular Meeting 11 March 23, 2026
creates a strong emphasis on sustainability and communities that work together. What drew him here is the ability to work with a coastal community and working toward being the exemplary community on the coast of equity, sustainability and prosperity. He stated that additionally Pacifica has a very strong arts community, engaged residents, a variety of unique neighborhoods and an incredible location for a real potential for both existing and extended tourism opportunities. He has had experience working with Pacifica over the last couple of years at C/CAG and has always been impressed. He emphasized his commitment to the community and Council, coming here, listening, learning, and hearing from people who live and work here and how to move the community together.
Mayor Boles opened public comments.
Kimberly Finale, Pacifica, welcomed Mr. Charpentier to Pacifica and shared some facts about the City environment. She thought the City was the most loving and compassionate tough crowd he will have the pleasure to work with and he is now part of the family.
Bryan Reinero, Pacifica, welcomed Mr. Charpentier to Pacifica and looked forward to the future of the City, rebuilding of the culture of City Hall and working together as an engaged community.
Tygarjas Bigstyck, Pacifica, welcomed Mr. Charpentier to Pacifica and shared his positive experiences working with him as part of C/CAG. He emphasized that Mr. Charpentier is familiar with our community, the County, and the State, and he can bring these skills to our benefit.
Mayor Boles closed public comments.
Councilmember Bier welcomed Mr. Charpentier. She stated the applicants for this position were so qualified, and she gave a shout out to San Mateo County Leadership CORPS as that is where she had the opportunity to get to know Mr. Charpentier on a different level. She sits on the C/CAG Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and saw Mr. Charpentier working there and how he calmly steered things and treated staff with such respect. In the San Mateo County Leadership CORPS, they spent Fridays once a month together for almost a year and she got to see the other personable parts of him. She supports this item on their agenda as she feels we are lucky. She is looking forward to him getting to know the heart of our community and the heart of our community getting to know him. She finds him to be an incredibly effective, kind, gentle soul. She is looking forward to working with him.
Vice Mayor Wright stated that Mr. Charpentier brings a wealth of experience and garners a lot of respect. He felt it was a pleasure to work with him on the C/CAG on the various committees, especially when he saw Mr. Charpentier dealing with our advocates in Sacramento. He has seen the work that goes into it and he looks forward to a much brighter future for Pacifica with him in it.
Councilmember Beckmeyer underlined Mr. Charpentier’s experience with stormwater activities, regional stormwater permitting, regional multi-benefit stormwater remediation, flood reduction, ground water recharge projects, EPA grant to advance regional trash diversion, work on affordable housing in East Palo Alto, a $20 million grant bring that forward, creative solutions he forged because he understands the problem, etc. She stated that he is a hard listener and asks questions. He is also generous in spirit. Her first encounter with him was when she thought she wanted to apply to the Resource Management and Climate Protection Committee and he City Council Regular Meeting 12 March 23, 2026
generously set a special meeting with a staffer for her to give her background and help her understand better and answered any questions she had. She was honored that he chose us.
Councilmember Espinosa stated that we ended up with three finalists and she did not know any of the candidates so she was impartial. She had picked another person because she knew the community was into budget very heavily and into community engagement and transparency.
She met Mr. Charpentier separately and asked the questions she had and had concerns. She is not saying he is not capable of doing this, but for tonight, she is going to give him a different result. It does not mean she isn’t open to work with him. She will be here to support her community and the City’s success. She stated that for tonight, he does not have her vote.
However, she welcomed him and she wants the community to take the time to get to know him, in addition to her knowing him.
Councilmember Bier thanked Councilmember Espinosa for being herself and highlighted to the community that it shows the quality of the people who came and interviewed.
Mayor Boles stated that, as a Council, we listen to each other and listen to our concerns. It is hard in a series of two interviews to fully get a sense of someone as a person. She felt it is hard to completely evaluate how they will be with the community. She reached out to Councilmember Carlos Romero in East Palo Alto who knew Mr. Charpentier very well and had served with her on Peninsula Clean Energy. Councilmember Romero has known Mr. Charpentier since 2004 when he was working on affordable housing policy and projects in the South Bay. That is something we want to work on more as a Council and to have that experience that he brings, not only in advancing policies for project but bringing in money for them. The deeper question was how was he in the community. One issue that Councilmember Romero brought up that he worked closely with Mr. Charpentier on was the issue of RV parking in East Palo Alto. As it is here, it is a very controversial issue and there are environmental hazards as part of having those vehicles on the road. In this particular case, they were also parking in an area that flooded regularly so it was dangerous and even more environmentally hazardous than ours.
She stated that their Council directed that work to Mr. Charpentier and it was up to him to figure it out. Councilmember Romero said the first thing Mr. Charpentier does is do the research to try to deeply understand the issue and all the nuances. He met with a range of people who are involved in this issue, and what he learned as he delved into the information is that a lot of the people that were unhoused were people from their community that were being displaced. While the city wanted to work toward solutions, they also needed to work toward solutions that were also compassionate and helped people where they were. She thinks it is the first safe parking program in the whole county that Mr. Charpentier came up with as the results of work. When it finally came to Council for their consideration in this program, there was not one public comment in opposition. When she thinks of the same challenges we have in our community, we have the extra complication of the Coastal Commission and having them to approve any policies we do on the coast. If you look at our sea level rise challenges and how divisive those have been in our community, what we really need is someone who is smart, respectful, listens, educates, builds trust and works with all of us, Council, community and staff, to come up with the best possible policies that will bring the most benefit to our whole community. She believes that person for us is Mr. Charpentier and we are lucky to have him.
Vice Mayor Wright moved to approve Agenda Item #4; seconded by Councilmember Beckmeyer.
Mayor Boles asked if there was any further discussion.
City Council Regular Meeting 13 March 23, 2026
Councilmember Espinosa stated, even though she is voting no, she has expectations. She wants to know exactly where we are going with the budget with our deficits. She wants to see a clear plan where we are heading. She also wants to see transparency and more community engagement. She welcomed him again to the City.
Mayor Boles appreciates that Mr. Charpentier does not have a plan now because he said what we need a new vision of Pacifica working together but we need to know first what we want to be and how we can get to that point of being sustainable economically and environmentally. To do that, he needs to start by having listening sessions, meeting with staff and reviewing our Strategic Plan, etc. She is excited to be in this role as Mayor this year because she will get to host these meet-and-greet listening sessions throughout the community. They are all involved in different organizations in town and can help build those relationships with him. They are all moving forward together in a path that the city together wants to go in.
RESULT: ADOPTED [4 TO 1]
MOVER: Greg Wright, Vice Mayor
SECONDER: Sue Beckmeyer, Councilmember
AYES: Boles, Wright, Beckmeyer, Bier
NAYS: Espinosa
5. Appointments to the Planning Commission; Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission; Beautification Advisory Committee; and Open Space and Parkland Advisory Committee (30 min.)
PROPOSED ACTION: Move to appoint:
A) three (3) applicants to the Planning Commission: two (2) full 4-year terms to expire March 2030 and one (1) partial term to expire March 2027; B) one (1) applicant to the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission for a partial term to expire May 2028;
C) two (2) applicants to the Beautification Advisory Committee for full 4-year terms to expire March 2030; and
D) one (1) applicant to the Open Space and Parkland Advisory Committee for a partial term to expire May 2027.
City Clerk Coffey presented the staff report.
Mayor Boles stated that City Clerk Coffey mentioned there was a second position on PB&R and asked if it was a partial term
City Clerk Coffey stated that resignations that occur during the course of a term would result in a vacancy and a partial term so both positions on PB&R would be for partial terms and they have some commission terms expiring in May and they will be recruiting for the regular terms that will be expiring in May following this appointment. She clarified that one PB&R partial term is to expire May 2028 and one partial PB&R term to expire in May 2027.
Councilmember Espinosa confirmed we need two for PB&R.
Mayor Boles agreed. She stated that we had one youth apply for PB&R and she thought the discussion was that, because of the commission that hears appeals, that is not an appropriate place for a youth under 18.
City Council Regular Meeting 14 March 23, 2026
City Clerk Coffey stated that the PB&R Commission acts as an appellant body for tree appeals and, in that capacity, requires the Statement of Economic Interest Form (Form 700), which we would have concerns for a member under the age of 18 to act in that capacity.
There were no public comments.
Mayo Boles suggested going down one by one. She began with the Planning Commission.
Councilmembers Bier and Beckmeyer suggested Alex Ferguson and James Godwin for the full 4-year terms and Rebecca Sanchez for the partial term.
Vice Mayor Wright concurred with Alex Ferguson as he worked for him for a number of years on Planning Commission and he is a skilled commissioner with deep institutional knowledge and understands Pacifica and all the knowledge needed in going along with that. He works with James Godwin and has a lot of respect for him, especially in terms of energy issues. He was impressed by Kevin Fisher, and he worked with Rebecca Sanchez quite a bit and was impressed with her.
Councilmember Bier stated that Kevin Fisher applied for a lot of things and she has him marked for a different committee.
Vice Mayor Wright responded that he would be in agreement with Alex Ferguson and James Godwin for full 4-year terms and Rebecca Sanchez for the partial term.
Councilmember Espinosa stated Alex Ferguson and Kevin Fisher for the full 4-year terms and Rebecca Sanchez for the partial term.
Mayor Boles stated that she is in agreement with Alex Ferguson. She was hoping for Kevin Fisher on the Planning Commission as his resume and work experience indicated he does projects for Caltrans all over the state and is very strong as a biologist and with CEQA and environmental issues, which she thinks is missing on the Planning Commission. She does not disagree that he would be good in other places but she thinks this would be the best place for his strong talent and would appreciate consideration of that.
Councilmember Espinosa suggested appointing one by one.
Mayor Boles stated she is torn on the other two positions. She shared her thoughts on Thomas Clifford, Remi Tan, and Rebecca Sanchez. She recommended Rebecca Sanchez.
Councilmember Espinosa stated that the Planning Commission needs to be knowledgeable or it will be very difficult to read all those codes.
Vice Mayor Wright stated that he would fully support Rebecca Sanchez.
Councilmember Bier stated that it sounds like Council all agree on Alex Ferguson.
Councilmember Espinosa voiced support for Kevin Fisher as well.
Mayor Boles added that Kevin Fisher is also good at reading consultative technical drawings and they could use that on the Commission. He also worked with the Coastal Commission.
City Council Regular Meeting 15 March 23, 2026
Councilmember Bier appreciates the advocacy for Kevin Fisher.
Councilmember Beckmeyer stated that her reasoning for not jumping on Planning Commission with Kevin Fisher is because she felt that his preference was for PB&R. She agreed that his skills seem to lend themselves to Planning Commission. She feels like the Planning Commission is functioning very well and she does not want to mess with success. She did not get the sense that Kevin Fisher was specifically focused on Planning Commission.
Councilmember Bier added that he wanted to serve for any position.
Mayor Boles stated he wanted to serve the City and he would be a great addition. She likes Rebecca Sanchez but she is worried about the experience and familiar with our Planning Commission. She is okay appointing her to the partial term, but if she had to choose between James Godwin and Kevin Fisher otherwise, she would encourage her to reapply and take time to learn a bit more.
Vice Mayor Wright thought Rebecca Sanchez was more knowledgeable than she let on in the interview.
Councilmember Bier stated Rebecca Sanchez was in Councilmember Espinosa’s district.
Mayor Boles moved to appoint Alex Ferguson to a full 4-year term; seconded by Vice Mayor Wright.
APPOINTMENT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION:
Alex Ferguson (4-year term to expire March 2030)
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Christine Boles, Mayor
SECONDER: Greg Wright, Vice Mayor
AYES: Boles, Wright, Beckmeyer, Bier, Espinosa
Vice Mayor Wright moved to appoint Rebecca Sanchez to the partial term on Planning Commission to expire March 2027; seconded by Councilmember Beckmeyer.
APPOINTMENT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION:
Rebecca Sanchez (partial term to expire March 2027)
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Greg Wright, Vice Mayor
SECONDER: Sue Beckmeyer, Councilmember
AYES: Boles, Wright, Beckmeyer, Bier, Espinosa
Mayor Boles continued with PB&R Commission.
Councilmember Bier moved to appoint Christine Acuna to the partial term that expires in May 2028; seconded by Councilmember Beckmeyer.
City Council Regular Meeting 16 March 23, 2026
APPOINTMENT TO THE PARKS, BEACHES & RECREATION COMMISSION:
Christine Acuna (partial term to expire May 2028)
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
SECONDER: Sue Beckmeyer, Councilmember
AYES: Boles, Wright, Beckmeyer, Bier, Espinosa
Councilmember Bier asked for clarification from City Clerk Coffey if another two seats were coming up again.
City Clerk Coffey stated there will be the full May expiring terms on PB&R coming up very soon.
She added that next week, the City Clerk’s Office can reach out to the applicants for the next recruitment to see if they are still interested.
Mayor Boles added we might get Commissioners reapplying at that time for their expiring terms.
Councilmember Beckmeyer turned to OSPAC and stated she would nominate Kevin Fisher.
Councilmember Bier agreed.
Mayor Boles stated we have two for Kevin Fisher from Councilmembers Bier and Beckmeyer and three for Richard Kevin Voight for her, Vice Mayor Wright, and Councilmember Espinosa.
Councilmember Espinosa moved to appoint Richard Kevin Voigt for the partial term on OSPAC; seconded by Mayor Boles.
APPOINTMENT TO THE OPEN SPACE AND PARKLAND ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
Richard Kevin Voigt (partial term to expire March 2027) RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mayra Espinosa, Councilmember
SECONDER: Christine Boles, Mayor
AYES: Boles, Wright, Beckmeyer, Bier, Espinosa
Councilmember Beckmeyer moved to appoint Deborah Soliz and Maile Velichko to the two full four-year terms expiring March 2030; seconded by Councilmember Bier.
APPOINTMENT TO THE BEAUTIFICATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
Deborah Soliz (4-year term to expire March 2030)
Maile Velichko (4-year term to expire March 2030)
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Sue Beckmeyer, Councilmember
SECONDER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
AYES: Boles, Wright, Beckmeyer, Bier, Espinosa
Councilmember Bier moved to appoint Bobby Watcharasakunee to the partial term on the PB&R Commission to expire May 2027; seconded by Vice Mayor Wright.
City Council Regular Meeting 17 March 23, 2026
APPOINTMENT TO THE PARS, BEACHES & RECREATION COMMISSION:
Bobby Watcharasakunee (partial term to expire May 2027) RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
SECONDER: Greg Wright, Vice Mayo
AYES: Boles, Wright, Beckmeyer, Bier, Espinosa
Mayor Boles referred to Planning Commission’s second full 4-year term, where she heard people in favor of James Godwin and Kevin Fisher. She personally feels strongly that Kevin Fisher would be a great addition to the Planning Commission.
Vice Mayor Wright stated that he worked with James Godwin and he found him to be prepared and that extra perspective he sees as becoming beneficial, but he was also very impressed with Kevin Fisher.
Councilmember Espinosa stated Kevin Fisher applied for all of the committees and thought he was a knowledgeable person.
Vice Mayor Wright stated he can support whichever one goes forward.
Mayor Boles thought it was a question of who would be the best addition to the Planning Commission. She is willing to take a motion either way.
Councilmember Espinosa asked Mayor Boles to make a motion.
Mayor Boles moved to appoint Kevin Fisher to the full 4-year term on the Planning Commission; seconded by Councilmember Espinosa.
Vice Mayor Wright appreciates the service that Commissioner Godwin gave.
Councilmember Beckmeyer stated her observation of Mr. Godwin is that he has served well, brought points forward no one else brought forward and thought his technical background was beneficial. She stated she wanted to keep things steady with the current Planning Commission, but she will vote with the majority.
Councilmember Bier f apologized to Mr. Godwin. She stated she would be voting no.
Councilmember Espinosa appreciates all volunteers who are willing to come and do this work.
Mayor Boles also thanked Mr. Godwin for all these years.
City Council Regular Meeting 18 March 23, 2026
APPOINTMENT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION:
Kevin Fisher (4-year term to expire March 2030)
RESULT: ADOPTED [4 TO 1]
MOVER: Christine Boles, Mayor
SECONDER: Mayra Espinosa, Councilmember
AYES: Boles, Wright, Beckmeyer, Espinosa
NAYS: Bier
COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS
Councilmember Espinosa stated that, on March 28, they are going to have the Easter Egg Hunt at Fairmont Park, and she will be there and hopes everybody makes it.
Vice Mayor Wright stated that, on a number of his C/CAG positions, they have had to consider taking positions and writing letters of support about SB 63 which will be a sales tax initiative that will be pending on the ballot and SamTrans has requested some survey information in support of that so they can understand what the community is asking for.
Mayor Boles stated that SamTrans will have a presentation at an upcoming Council meeting.
Councilmember Beckmeyer attended a fantastic reception and rebranding of the formerly known as Daly City Youth Health Center to Youth Point Health. She thanked Councilmember Bier and all of the community that was part of it. It made her proud to have been a supporter and will continue being a supporter of this organization. It is so unique in San Mateo County, focusing on youth health, their families, providing services in North County. It was also the first time she has set foot in Jefferson High School District’s new headquarters building, and it was so impressive.
Councilmember Bier stated Youth Point Health serves young people, ages 6 to 25, with behavioral health services, physical health services, alcohol and other drug services, sexual health services and they will come to you. She thanked both Councilmember Beckmeyer and Vice Mayor Wright for coming.
Councilmember Beckmeyer stated she had the opportunity to attend the Skyline College President’s Breakfast last Thursday. She has seen them several times and feels that Pacifica needs to be more formally connected with Skyline. It is a fundraising event and donations are in the range of anywhere from $500 to $10,000, including from Daly City, San Bruno, and Colma.
She discussed this with Asst. City Manager Carter several weeks ago and she said the time to bring it up is during the budget cycle. She also has a local government working group meeting.
Mayor Boles enjoys the Skyline Breakfast and referred to the speakers at the event. She felt it was a fantastic organization to help build our youth, not just in knowledge but in experience, connection, etc. and she would love to see us supporting them more. She had a great meeting with the Resource Conservation District last week to get an update on their projects, such as the replacement of the Adobe Bridge across San Pedro Creek that they have been working on for a number of years. They have identified a $5 million grant to apply for that would fund the construction and it needs a letter of support from the City which may be on the next Council meeting. They talked about bacteria and research for Linda Mar Beach and a little bit about the eucalyptus study with our emergency evacuation routes by the tunnel and those projects are City Council Regular Meeting 19 March 23, 2026
proceeding. She spent four days in Yosemite with CivicWell with councilmembers from Santa Clara County and Los Gatos. They had Senator Catherine Blake Spear and Senator Ben Allen as some of the main speakers, and they held important conversations about State laws.
STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
Interim City Manager Carter stated the City published the results of the recently conducted community survey with potential local revenue measures and this information is now available on the website. She thanked the hundreds of Pacifica residents who participated in the survey.
Their feedback is invaluable for providing direction for future of the City. As we move into this year’s budget process, we look forward to continue this important conversation.
ADJOURN
Mayor Boles adjourned the meeting at 9:26 p.m.
Transcribed by Barbara Medina, Public Meeting Stenographer.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sarah Coffey, City Clerk
APPROVED: 5 - 0; 6/8/2026
__________________________
Christine Boles, Mayor