CITY OF PALO ALTO CONTRACT NO. C26194191
AGREEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND TJC AND ASSOCIATES, INC.
This Agreement for Professional Services (this “Agreement”) is entered into as of the 20th day of October, 2025 (the “Effective Date”), by and between the CITY OF PALO ALTO, a California chartered municipal corporation (“CITY”), and TJC AND ASSOCIATES, INC. , a corporation, located at 2300 Clayton Road, Suite 1450, Concord, CA 94520 (“CONSULTANT”).
The following recitals are a substantive portion of this Agreement and are fully incorporated herein by this reference:
RECITALS
A. CITY intends to determine the condition of its water reservoir tanks ( the “Project”) and desires to engage a consultant to provide structural engineering services for the condition assessment of Dahl and Park reservoirs in connection with the Project (the “Services”, as detailed more fully in Exhibit A).
B. CONSULTANT represents that it, its employees and subconsultants, if any, possess the necessary professional expertise, qualifications, and capability, and all required licenses and/or certifications to provide the Services.
C. CITY, in reliance on these representations , desires to engage CONSULTANT to provide the Services as more fully described in Exhibit A, entitled “SCOPE OF SERVICES”.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the recitals, covenants, terms, and conditions, in this Agreement, the parties agree as follows:
SECTION 1. SCOPE OF SERVICES. CONSULTANT shall perform the Services described in Exhibit A in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement. The performance of all Services shall be to the reasonable satisfaction of CITY.
SECTION 2. TERM.
The term of this Agreement shall be from the effective date of this agreement through October 19, 2028, unless terminated earlier pursuant to Section 19 (Termination) of this Agreement.
SECTION 3. SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCE. Time is of the essence in the performance of Services under this Agreement. CONSULTANT shall complete the Services within the term of this Agreement and in accordance with the schedule set forth in Exhibit B, entitled “SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCE”. Any Services for which times for performance are not specified in this Agreement shall be commenced and completed by CONSULTANT in a reasonably prompt and timely manner based upon the circumstances and direction communicated to the CONSULTANT.
CITY’s agreement to extend the term or the schedule for performance shall not preclude recovery of damages for delay if the extension is required due to the fault of CONSULTANT.
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SECTION 4. NOT TO EXCEED COMPENSATION. The compensation to be paid to CONSULTANT for performance of the Services shall be based on the compensation structure detailed in Exhibit C, entitled “COMPENSATION,” including any reimbursable expenses specified therein, and the maximum total compensation shall not exceed Two Hundred Thirty- Two Thousand Four Hundred Eighty -Three Dollars ($234,483.00) . The hourly schedule of rates, if applicable, is set out in Exhibit C -1, entitled “SCHEDULE OF RATES.” Any work performed or expenses incurred for which payment would result in a total exceeding the maximum compensation set forth in this Section 4 shall be at no cost to the CITY.
Optional Additional Services Provision (This provision applies only if checked and a not-to-exceed compensation amount for Additional Services is allocated below under this Section 4.)
In addition to the not-to-exceed compensation specified above, CITY has set aside the not- to-exceed compensation amount of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) for the performance of Additional Services ( as defined below). The total compensation for performance of the Services, Additional Services and any reimbursable expenses specified in Exhibit C, shall not exceed Two Hundred Forty -Two Thousand Four Hundred Eighty-Three Dollars ($242,483.00), as detailed in Exhibit C.
“Additional Services” means any work that is determined by CITY to be necessary for the proper completion of the Project, but which is not included within the Scope of Services described at Exhibit A. CITY may elect to, but is not required to, authorize Additional Services up to the maximum amount of compensation set forth for Additional S ervices in this Section 4. CONSULTANT shall provide Additional Services only by advanced, written authorization from CITY as detailed in this Section . Additional Services, if any, shall be authorized by CITY with a Task Order assigned and authorized by CITY’s Project Manager, as identified in Section 13 (Project Management). Each Task Order shall be in substantially the same form as Exhibit A-1, entitled “PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TASK ORDER”. Each Task Order shall contain a specific scope of services, schedule of performance and maximum compensation amount, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. Compensation for Additional Services shall be specified by CITY in the Task Order, based on whichever is lowest: the compensation structure set forth in Exhibit C, the hourly rates set forth in Exhibit C-1, or a negotiated lump sum.
To accept a Task Order, CONSULTANT shall sign the Task Order and return it to CITY’s Project Manager within the time specified by the Project Manager, and upon authorization by CITY (defined as counter-signature by the CITY Project Manager), the fully exec uted Task Order shall become part of this Agreement. The cumulative total compensation to CONSULTANT for all Task Orders authorized under this Agreement shall not exceed the amount of compensation set forth for Additional Services in this Section 4 .
CONSULTANT shall only be compensated for Additional Services performed under an authorized Task Order and only up to the maximum amount of compensation set forth for Additional Services in this Section 4. Performance of and payment for any Additional Services are subject to all requirements and restrictions in this Agreement.
SECTION 5. INVOICES. In order to request payment, CONSULTANT shall submit monthly Docusign Envelope ID: 7E87E5C7-8CFF-47DE-B310-B161FAC20910 Item 8
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invoices to the CITY describing the S ervices performed and the applicable charges (including, if applicable, an identification of personnel who performed the Services, hours worked, hourly rates, and reimbursable expenses), based upon Exhibit C or, as applicable, CONSULTANT’s schedule of rates set forth in Exhibit C-1. If applicable, the invoice shall also describe the percentage of completion of each task. The information in CONSULTANT’s invoices shall be subject to verification by CITY. CONSULTANT shall send all invoices to CITY’s Project Manager at the address specified in Section 13 (Project Management) below. CITY will generally process and pay invoices within thirty (30) days of receipt of an acceptable invoice.
SECTION 6. QUALIFICATIONS/STANDARD OF CARE. All Services shall be performed by CONSULTANT or under CONSULTANT’s supervision. CONSULTANT represents that it , its employees and subcontractors, if any, possess the professional and technical personnel necessary to perform the Services required by this Agreement and that the personnel have sufficient skill and experience to perform the Services assigned to them. CONSULTANT represents that it, its employees and subcontractors, if any, have and shall maintain during the term of this Agreement all licenses, permits, qualifications, insurance and approvals of whatever nature that are legally required to perform the Services. All Services to be furnished by CONSULTANT under this A greement shall meet the professional standard and quality that prevail among professionals in the same discipline and of similar knowledge and skill engaged in related work throughout California under the same or similar circumstances.
SECTION 7. COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS . CONSULTANT shall keep itself informed of and in compliance with all federal, state and local laws, ordinances, regulations, and orders that may affect in any manner the Project or the performance of the Services or those engaged to perform Services under this Agreement, as amended from time to time . CONSULTANT shall procure all permits and licenses, pay all charges and fees, and give all notices required by law in the performance of the Services.
SECTION 8. ERRORS/OMISSIONS. CONSULTANT is solely responsible for costs, including, but not limited to, increases in the cost of Services , arising from or caused by CONSULTANT’s errors and omissions, including, but not limited to, the costs of corrections such errors and omissions, any change order markup costs, or costs arising from delay caused by the errors and omissions or unreasonable delay in correcting the errors and omissions.
SECTION 9. COST ESTIMATES. If this Agreement pertains to the design of a public works project, CONSULTANT shall submit estimates of probable construction costs at each phase of design submittal. If the total estimated construction cost at any submittal exceeds the CITY’s stated construction budget by ten percent (10%) or more , CONSULTANT shall make recommendations to CITY for aligning the P roject design with the budget, incorporate CITY approved recommendations, and revise the design to meet the Project budget, at no additional cost to CITY.
SECTION 10. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR. CONSULTANT acknowledges and agrees that CONSULTANT and any agent or employee of CONSULTANT will act as and shall be deemed at all times to be an independent contractor and shall be wholly responsible for the manner in which CONSULTANT performs the S ervices requested by CITY under this Agreement.
CONSULTANT and any agent or employee of CONSULTANT will not have employee status with CITY, nor be entitled to participate in any plans, arrangements, or distributions by CITY Docusign Envelope ID: 7E87E5C7-8CFF-47DE-B310-B161FAC20910 Item 8
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pertaining to or in connection with any retirement, health or other benefits that CITY may offer its employees. CONSULTANT wi ll be responsible for all obligations and payments, whether imposed by federal, state or local law, including, but not limited to, FICA, income tax withholdings, workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, insurance, and other similar responsibilities re lated to CONSULTANT’s performance of the S ervices, or any agent or employee of CONSULTANT providing same. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as creating an employment or agency relationship between CITY and CONSULTANT or any agent or employee of CONSULTANT. Any terms in this Agreement referring to direction from CITY shall be construed as providing for direction as to policy and the result of CONSULTANT ’s provision of the Services only, and not as to the means by which such a result is obtained.
SECTION 11. ASSIGNMENT . The parties agree that the expertise and experience of CONSULTANT are material considerations for this Agreement. CONSULTANT shall not assign or transfer any interest in this Agreement nor the performance of any of CONSULTANT’s obligations hereunder without the prior written approval of the C ity Manager. Any purported assignment made without the prior written approval of the City Manager will be void and without effect. Subject to the foregoing, the covenants, terms, conditions and provisions of this Agreement will apply to, and will bind, the heirs, successors, executors, administrators and assignees of the parties.
SECTION 12. SUBCONTRACTING.
Option A: No Subcontractor: CONSULTANT shall not subcontract any portion of the Services to be performed under this Agreement without the prior written authorization of the City Manager or designee. In the event CONSULTANT does subcontract any portion of the work to be performed under this Agreement, CONSULTANT shall be fully responsible for all acts and omissions of subcontractors.
Option B: Subcontracts Authorized: Notwithstanding Section 11 (Assignment) above, CITY agrees that subcontractors may be used to complete the Services. The subcon tractors authorized by CITY to perform work on this Project are:
• Engeo, Joseph Seibold, (415)613-3382, [email protected] • JDH Corrosion Consultants, Inc., Sean Carey, (925)927-6630, [email protected]
• Bay Area Coating Consultants Inc., Ed Darrimon, (888)384-6839 [email protected]
CONSULTANT shall be responsible for directing the work of any subcontractors and for any compensation due to subcontractors . CITY assumes no responsibility whatsoever concerning compensation of subcontractors. CONSULTANT shall be fully responsible to CITY for all acts and omissions of subcontractors . CONSULTANT shall change or add subcontractors only with the prior written approval of the City Manager or designee.
SECTION 13. PROJECT MANAGEMENT. CONSULTANT will assign Hernando Montoya as the CONSULTANT’s Project Manager , Email: [email protected] , Telephone: (925) 357 - 2676 to have supervisory responsibility for the performance, progress, and execution of the Docusign Envelope ID: 7E87E5C7-8CFF-47DE-B310-B161FAC20910 Item 8
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Services and represent CONSULTANT during the day- to-day performance of the Services. If circumstances cause the substitution of the CONSULTANT’s P roject Manager or any other of CONSULTANT’s key personnel for any reason, the appointment of a substitute Project Manager and the assignment of any key new or replacement personnel will be subject to the prior written approval of the CITY’s Project Manager. CONSULTANT, at CITY’s request, shall promptly remove CONSULTANT personnel who CITY finds do not perform the Services in an acceptable manner, are uncooperative, or present a threat to the adequate or timely completion of the Services or a threat to the safety of persons or property.
CITY’s Project Manager is Patrick LaBruzzo , Utilities Department, Water-Gas-Wastewater Engineering Division, 1007 Elwell Court, Palo Alto, CA , 94303, Email:
[email protected], Telephone: 650-566-4518. CITY’s Project Manager will be CONSULTANT’s point of contact with respect to performance, progress and execution of the Services. CITY may designate an alternate Project Manager from time to time.
SECTION 1 4. OWNERSHIP OF MATERIALS . A ll work product, including without limitation, all writings, drawings, studies, sketches, photographs, plans, reports, specifications, computations, models, recordings, data, documents, and other materials and copyright interests developed under this Agreement, in any form or media, shall be and remain the exclusive property of CITY without restriction or limitation upon their use. CONSULTANT agrees that all copyrights which arise from creation of the work product pursuant to this Agreement are vested in CITY, and CONSULTANT hereby waives and relinquishes all claims to copyright or other intellectual property rights in favor of CITY. Neither CONSULTANT nor its subcontractors, if any, shall make any of such work product available to any individual or organization without the prior written approval of the C ity Manager or designee. CONSULTANT makes no representation of the suitability of the work product for use in or application to circumstances not contemplated by the Scope of Services.
SECTION 15. AUDITS . CONSULTANT agrees to permit CITY and its authorized representatives to audit, at any reasonable time during the term of this Agreement and for four (4) years from the date of final payment, CONSULTANT’s records pertaining to matters covered by this Agreement, including without limitation records demonstrating compliance with the requirements of Section 10 (Independent Contractor). CONSULTANT further agrees to maintain and retain accurate books and records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for at least four (4) years after the expiration or earlier termination of this Agreement or the completion of any audit hereunder, whichever is later.
SECTION 16. INDEMNITY.
16.1. To the fullest extent permitted by law, CONSULTANT shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless CITY, its Council members, officers, employees and agents (each an “Indemnified Party”) from and against any and all third party demands, claims, or liability of any nature, including death or injury to any person, property damage or any other loss, including all costs and expenses of whatever nature including attorney’ s fees, experts fees, court costs and disbursements (“Claims”) to the extent that such Claims arise out of, pertain to, or relate to the negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct of CONSULTANT, its officers, employees, agents or contractors under this Agreement, regardless of whether or not it is caused in part by an Indemnified Party. CITY will reimburse CONSULTANT for the proportionate percentage of Docusign Envelope ID: 7E87E5C7-8CFF-47DE-B310-B161FAC20910 Item 8
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defense costs exceeding CONSULTANT’s proportionate percentage of fault as determined by the final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.
16.2. Notwithstanding the above, nothing in this Section 16 shall be construed to require CONSULTANT to indemnify an Indemnified Party from a Claim arising from the active negligence or willful misconduct of an Indemnified Party that is not contributed to by any act of, or by any omission to perform a duty imposed by law or agreement by, CONSULTANT, its officers, employees, agents or contractors under this Agreement.
16.3. The acceptance of CONSULTANT’s Services and duties by CITY shall not operate as a waiver of the right of indemnification. The provisions of this Section 16 shall survive the expiration or early termination of this Agreement.
SECTION 17. WAIVERS. No waiver of a condition or nonperformance of an obligation under this Agreement is effective unless it is in writing in accordance with Section 2 9.4 of this Agreement. No delay or failure to require performance of any provision of this Agreement shall constitute a waiver of that provision as to that or any other instance. Any waiver granted shall apply solely to the specific instance expressly stated. No single or partial exercise of any right or remedy will preclude any other or further exercise of any right or remedy.
SECTION 18. INSURANCE.
18.1. CONSULTANT, at its sole cost and expense, shall obtain and maintain, in full force and effect during the term of this Agreement, the insurance coverage described in Exhibit D, entitled “INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS”. CONSULTANT and its contractors, if any, shall obtain a policy endorsement naming CITY as an additional insured under any general liability or automobile policy or policies.
18.2. All insurance coverage required hereunder shall be provided through carriers with AM Best’s Key Rating Guide ratings of A -:VII or higher which are licensed or authorized to transact insurance business in the State of California. Any and all contractors of CONSULTANT retained to perform Services under this Agreement will obtain and maintain, in full force and effect during the term of this Agreement, identical insurance coverage, naming CITY as an additional insured under such policies as required above.
18.3. Certificates evidencing such insurance shall be filed with CITY concurrently with the execution of this Agreement. The certificates will be subject to the approval of CITY’s Risk Manager and will contain an endorsement stating that the insurance is primar y coverage and will not be canceled, or materially reduced in coverage or limits, by the insurer except after filing with the Purchasing Manager thirty (30) days ’ prior written notice of the cancellation or modification. If the insurer cancels or modifies the insurance and provides less than thirty (30) days’ notice to CONSULTANT , CONSULTANT shall provide the Purchasing Manager written notice of the cancellation or modification within two (2) business days of the CONSULTANT’s receipt of such notice. CONSULTANT shall be responsible for ensuring that current certificates evidencing the insurance are provided to CITY’s Chief Procurement Officer during the entire term of this Agreement.
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construed to limit CONSULTANT ’s liability hereunder nor to fulfill the indemnification provisions of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the policy or policies of insurance, CONSULTANT will be obligated for the full and total amount of any damage, injury, or loss caused by or directly arising as a result of the Services performed under this Agreement, including such damage, injury, or loss arising after the Agreement is terminated or the term has expired.
SECTION 19. TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF AGREEMENT OR SERVICES.
19.1. The City Manager may suspend the performance of the Services, in whole or in part, or terminate this Agreement, with or without cause, by giving ten (10) days prior written notice thereof to CONSULTANT. If CONSULTANT fails to perform any of its material obligations under this Agreement, in addition to all other remedies provided under this Agreement or at law, the City Manager may terminate this Agreement sooner upon written notice of termination. Upon receipt of any notice of suspension or termination , CONSULTANT will discontinue its performance of the Services on the effective date in the notice of suspension or termination.
19.2. In event of suspension or termination, CONSULTANT wi ll deliver to the City Manager on or before the effective date in the notice of suspension or termination, any and all work product, as detailed in Section 14 (Ownership of Materials), whether or not completed, prepared by CONSULTANT or its contractors, if any, in the performance of this Agreement. Such work product is the property of CITY, as detailed in Section 14 (Ownership of Materials).
19.3. In event of suspension or termination, CONSULTANT will be paid for the Services rendered and work products delivered to CITY in accordance with the Scope of Services up to the effective date in the notice of suspension or termination; provided, however, if this Agreement is suspended or terminated on account of a default by CONSULTANT, CITY will be obligated to compensate CONSULTANT only for that portion of CONSULTANT’s S ervices provided in material conformity with this Agreement as such determination is made by the City Manager acting in the reasonable exercise of his/her discretion . The following Sections will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement: 14, 15, 16, 17, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4, 20, 25, 27, 28, 29 and 30.
19.4. No payment, partial payment, acceptance, or partial acceptance by CITY will operate as a waiver on the part of CITY of any of its rights under this Agreement, unless made in accordance with Section 17 (Waivers).
SECTION 20. NOTICES.
All notices hereunder will be given in writing and mailed, postage prepaid, by certified mail, addressed as follows:
To CITY: Office of the City Clerk
City of Palo Alto
Post Office Box 10250
Palo Alto, CA 94303
With a copy to the Purchasing Manager
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To CONSULTANT: Attention of the P roject Manager at the address of CONSULTANT recited on the first page of this Agreement.
CONSULTANT shall provide written notice to CITY of any change of address.
SECTION 21. CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
21.1. In executing this Agreement, CONSULTANT covenants that it presently has no interest, and will not acquire any interest, direct or indirect, financial or otherwise, which would conflict in any manner or degree with the performance of the Services.
21.2. CONSULTANT further covenants that, in the performance of this Agreement, it will not employ subcontractors or other persons or parties having such an interest.
CONSULTANT certifies that no person who has or will have any financial interest under this Agreement is an officer or employee of CITY; this provision will be interpreted in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Palo Alto Municipal Code and the Government Code of the State of California, as amended from time to time . CONSULTANT agrees to notify CITY if any conflict arises.
21.3. If the CONSULTANT meets the definition of a “Consultant” as defined by the Regulations of the Fair Political Practices Commission, CONSULTANT will file the appropriate financial disclosure documents required by the Palo Alto Municipal Code and the Political Reform Act of 1974, as amended from time to time.
SECTION 22. NONDISCRIMINATION; COMPLIANCE WITH ADA.
22.1. As set forth in Palo Alto Municipal Code S ection 2.30.510, as amended from time to time, CONSULTANT certifies that in the performance of this Agreement, it shall not discriminate in the employment of any person due to that person’s race, skin color, gender, gender identity, age, religion, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, pregnancy, genetic information or condition, housing status, marital status, familial status, weight or height of such person. CONSULTANT acknowledges that it has read and understands the provisions of Section
2.30.510 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code relating to Nondiscrimination Requirements and the penalties for violation thereof, and agrees to meet all requirements of Section 2.30.510 pertaining to nondiscrimination in employment.
22.2. CONSULTANT understands and agrees that pursuant to the Americans Disabilities Act (“ADA”), programs, services and other activities provided by a public entity to the public, whether directly or through a contractor or subcontractor, are required to be accessible to the disabled public. CONSULTANT will provide the Services specified in this Agreement in a manner that complies with the ADA and any other applicable federal, state and local disability rights laws and regulations, as amended from time to time. CONSULTANT will not discriminate against persons with disabilities in the provision of services, benefits or activities provided under this Agreement.
SECTION 23. ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERRED PURCHASING AND ZERO WASTE REQUIREMENTS. CONSULTANT shall comply with t he CITY’s Environmentally Docusign Envelope ID: 7E87E5C7-8CFF-47DE-B310-B161FAC20910 Item 8
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Preferred Purchasing policies which are available at CITY ’s Purchasing Department , hereby incorporated by reference and as amended from time to time. CONSULTANT shall comply with waste reduction, reuse, recycling and disposal requirements of CITY’s Zero Waste Program. Zero Waste best practices include, first, minimizing and reducing waste; second, reusing waste ; and, third, recycling or composting waste. In particular, C ONSULTANT shall comply with the following Zero Waste requirements:
(a) All printed materials provided by CONSULTANT to C ITY generated from a personal computer and printer including but not limited to, proposals, quotes, invoices, reports, and public education materials, shall be double-sided and printed on a minimum of 30% or greater post-consumer content paper, unless otherwise approved by CITY ’s Project Manager. Any submitted materials printed by a professional printing company shall be a minimum of 30% or greater post-consumer material and printed with vegetable-based inks. (b) Goods purchased by C ONSULTANT on behalf of CITY shall be purchased in accordance with CITY’s Environmental Purchasing Policy including but not limited to Extended Producer Responsibility requirements for products and packaging. A copy of this policy is on file at the Purchasing Department’s office.
(c) Reusable/returnable pallets shall be taken back by CONSULTANT , at no additional cost to CITY, for reuse or recycling. CONSULTANT shall provide documentation from the facility accepting the pallets to verify that pallets are not being disposed.
SECTION 24. COMPLIANCE WITH PALO ALTO MINIMUM WAGE ORDINANCE .
CONSULTANT shall comply with all requirements of the Palo Alto Municipal Code Chapter 4.62 (Citywide Minimum Wage), as amended from time to time. In particular, for any employee otherwise entitled to the State minimum wage, who performs at least two (2) h ours of work in a calendar week within the geographic boundaries of the City, CONSULTANT shall pay such employees no less than the minimum wage set forth in Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 4.62.030 for each hour worked within the geographic boundaries of the City of Palo Alto. In addition, CONSULTANT shall post notices regarding the Palo Alto Minimum Wage Ordinance in accordance with Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 4.62.060.
SECTION 25. NON-APPROPRIATION. This Agreement is subject to the fiscal provisions of the Charter of the City of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto Municipal Code, as amended from time to time. This Agreement will terminate without any penalty (a) at the end of any fiscal year in the event that funds are not appropriated for the following fiscal year, or (b) at any time within a fiscal year in the event that funds are only appropriated for a portion of the fiscal year and funds for this Agreement are no longer available. This S ection shall take precedence in the event of a conflict with any other covenant, term, condition, or provision of this Agreement.
SECTION 2 6. PREVAILING WAGES AND DIR REGISTRATION FOR PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTS.
26.1. This Project is not subject to prevailing wages and related requirements. CONSULTANT is not required to pay prevailing wages and meet related requirements under the California Labor Code and California Code of Regulations in the performance and implementation of the Project if the contract:
(1) is not a public works contract;
(2) is for a public works construction project of $25,000 or less, per California Labor Code Sections 1782(d)(1), 1725.5(f) and 1773.3(j); or Docusign Envelope ID: 7E87E5C7-8CFF-47DE-B310-B161FAC20910 Item 8
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(3) is for a public works alteration, demolition, repair, or maintenance project of $15,000 or less, per California Labor Code Sections 1782(d)(1), 1725.5(f) and 1773.3(j).
SECTION 27. CLAIMS PROCEDURE FOR “9204 PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS” . For purposes of this Section 27, a “9204 Public Works Project” means the erection, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement of any public structure, building, road, or other public improvement of any kind. ( Cal. Pub. Cont. Code § 9204.) Per California Public Contract Code Section 9204, for Public Works Projects , certain claims procedures shall apply, as set forth in Exhibit F, entitled “Claims for Public Contract Code Section 9204 Public Works Projects”.
This Project is not a 9204 Public Works Project.
SECTION 28. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.
28.1. In the performance of this Agreement, CONSULTANT may have access to CITY’s Confidential Information (defined below). CONSULTANT will hold Confidential Information in strict confidence, not disclose it to any third party, and will use it only for the performance of its obligations to CITY under this Agreement and for no other purpose.
CONSULTANT will maintain reasonable and appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards to ensure the security, confidentiality and integrity of the Confidential Information.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, CONSULTANT may disclose Confidential Information to its employees, agents and subcontractors, if any, to the extent they have a need to know in order to perform CONSULTANT’s obligations to CITY under this Agreement and for no other purpose, provided that the CONSULTANT informs them of, and requires them to follow, the confidentiality and security obligations of this Agreement.
28.2. “Confidential Information” means all data, information (including without limitation “Personal Information” about a California resident as defined in Civil Code S ection 1798 et seq., as amended from time to time) and materials, in any form or media, tangible or intangible, provided or otherwise made available to CONSULTANT by CITY, directly or indirectly, pursuant to this Agreement. Confidential Information excludes information that CONSULTANT can show by appropriate documentation: (i) was publicly known at the time it was provided or has subsequently become publicly known other than by a breach of this Agreement; (ii) was rightfully in CONSULTANT’s possession free of any obligation of confidence prior to receipt of Confidential Information; (iii) is rightfully obtained by CONSULTANT from a third party without breach of any confidentiality obligation; (iv) is independently developed by employees of CONSULTANT without any use of or access to the Confidential Information; or (v) CONSULTANT has written consent to disclose signed by an authorized representative of CITY.
28.3. Notwithstanding the foregoing, CONSULTANT may disclose Confidential Information to the extent required by order of a court of competent jurisdiction or governmental body, provided that CONSULTANT will notify CITY in writing of such order immediately upon receipt and prior to any such disclosure (unless CONSULTANT is prohibited by law from doing so), to give CITY an opportunity to oppose or otherwise respond to such order.
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the security of its systems or unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, Confidential Information in its possession or control, and if such Confidential Information consists of Personal Information, CONSULTANT will provide information to CITY sufficient to meet the notice requirements of Civil Code Section 1798 et seq., as applicable, as amended from time to time.
28.5. Prior to or upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, CONSULTANT will honor any request from the CITY to return or securely destroy all copies of Confidential Information. All Confidential Information is and will remain the property of the CITY and nothing contained in this Agreement grants or confers any rights to such Confidential Information on CONSULTANT.
28.6. If selected in Section 30 (Exhibits), this Agreement is also subject to the terms and conditions of the Information Privacy Policy and Cybersecurity Terms and Conditions.
SECTION 29. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
29.1. This Agreement will be governed by California law, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
29.2. In the event that an action is brought, the parties agree that trial of such action will be vested exclusively in the state courts of California in the County of Santa Clara, State of California.
29.3. The prevailing party in any action brought to enforce the provisions of this Agreement may recover its reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees expended in connection with that action. The prevailing party shall be entitled to recover an amount equal to the fair market value of legal services provided by attorneys employed by it as well as any attorneys’ fees paid to third parties.
29.4. This Agreement, including all exhibits, constitutes the entire and integrated agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement, and supersedes all prior agreements, negotiations, representations, statements and undertakings , either oral or written. This Agreement may be amended only by a written instrument, which is signed by the authorized representatives of the parties and approved as required under Palo Alto Municipal Code, as amended from time to time.
29.5. If a court of competent jurisdiction finds or rules that any provision of this Agreement is void or unenforceable, the unaffected provisions of this Agreement will remain in full force and effect.
29.6. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the exhibits hereto (per Section 30) or CONSULTANT’s proposal (if any), the Agreement shall control. In the event of a conflict between the exhibits hereto and CONSULTANT’s proposal (if any), the exhibits shall control.
29.7. The provisions of all checked boxes in this Agreement shall apply to this Agreement; the provisions of any unchecked boxes shall not apply to this Agreement.
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29.8. All section headings contained in this Agreement are for convenience and reference only and are not intended to define or limit the scope of any provision of this Agreement.
29.9. This Agreement may be signed in multiple counterparts, which, when executed by the authorized representatives of the parties, shall together constitute a single binding agreement.
SECTION 30. EXHIBITS. Each of the following exhibits, if the check box for such exhibit is selected below, is hereby attached and incorporated into this Agreement by reference as though fully set forth herein:
EXHIBIT A: SCOPE OF SERVICES
EXHIBIT B: SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCE
EXHIBIT C: COMPENSATION
EXHIBIT C-1: SCHEDULE OF RATES
EXHIBIT D: INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
THIS AGREEMENT IS NOT COMPLETE UNLESS ALL SELECTED EXHIBITS ARE ATTACHED.
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CONTRACT NO. C26194191
SIGNATURE PAGE
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have by their duly authorized representatives executed this Agreement as of the date first above written.
CITY OF PALO ALTO
____________________________
City Manager
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
__________________________
City Attorney or designee
TJC AND ASSOCIATES, INC.
By: ________________________________
Name: ______________________________
Title: _______________________________
By: ________________________________
Name: ______________________________
Title: _______________________________
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Vice President
CFO
Richard Cavanagh
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EXHIBIT A
SCOPE OF SERVICES
CONSULTANT shall provide the Services detailed in this Exhibit A , entitled “ SCOPE OF SERVICES”. Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, CONSULTANT’s duties and services described in this Scope of Services shall not include preparing or assisting CITY with any portion of CITY’s preparation of a request for proposals, request for qualifications, or any other solicitation regarding a subsequent or additional contract with CITY. CITY shall at all times retain responsibility for public contracting, including with respect to any subsequent phase of this project.
CONSULTANT’s participation in the planning, discussions, or drawing of project plans or specifications shall be limited to conceptual, preliminary, or initial plans or specifications.
CONSULTANT shall cooperate with CITY to ensure that all bidders for a subsequent contract on any subsequent phase of this project have access to the same information, including all conceptual, preliminary, or initial plans or specifications prepared by CONSULTANT pursuant to this Scope of Services.
CONSULTANT will provide the following:
A. Applicable Codes and Standards
The structural evaluation and seismic assessment will be performed in accordance with the following applicable standards:
1. American Water Works Association (“AWWA”) D100-21 Welded Carbon Steel Tanks for Water Storage.
2. American Society of Engineer (“ASCE”) 7-16 — Minimum Design Loads and Seismic Design Criteria.
3. 2022 California Building Code (CBC) including CITY-specific amendments effective January 1, 2023.
Task 1: Data collection and Site Visit
a) Review Existing Background information.
1) CONSULTANT will review the available documentation for the structures.This includes reservoir shop drawings, if available, previous inspection reports, and historical maintenance records that illustrate both the original construction and any upgrades.
b) Site Visit
1) CONSULTANT engineers will conduct one site visit to each tank site to inspect the interior and exterior of each tank, evaluating structural components such as the floor, walls, roof plates, roof rafters, roof girders, and structural columns. Bay Area Coating Consultants Inc. will perform an assessment of internal and external coating conditions as part of a coordinated evaluation. JDH Corrosion Consultants, Inc. will perform field thickness measurements using ultrasonic testing.
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2) Prior to mobilization, CONSULTANT will coordinate with CITY, through Microsoft (MS) Teams meeting, to review the site visit plan. Once on-site, an initial meeting will be held to discuss inspection activities for both reservoirs, providing for a comprehensive and systematic assessment.
Task 1 Deliverables: No deliverable is anticipated for this task. A summary report of inspection findings will be included as an appendix in the final Evaluation Report; refer to Task 4.
Task 2: Site Specific Response Spectrum Seismic Analysis a) Project Startup
1) Review available geotechnical and geological information for the two tank sites, including published geologic maps and supporting pamphlets/reports, hazard maps, historical geotechnical reports, tanks plans, and other relevant information.
b) Field Exploration
1) Perform a subsurface investigation at each tank site to support the site-specific seismic hazard analysis and structural evaluation. One boring will be drilled and rock- cored, as needed, to obtain samples for laboratory testing and to collect down-hole shear-wave velocity data to a depth sufficient for seismic site response analysis. Drill/core holes will be observed and logged by a geotechnical engineer or geologist.
2) Boring observations, sampling, geophysical logging, backfilling, and proper cuttings disposal will be completed in accordance with local permit requirements.
The resulting data and findings will be incorporated into the final geotechnical report, which will include recommendations to support the structural assessment.
c) Laboratory Testing
1) Perform testing to determine representative soil and/or rock samples for geotechnical laboratory tests, including index tests and strength tests.
d) Engineering Analysis
1) Perform a probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (“PSHA”) and a deterministic seismic hazard analysis (“DSHA”) to develop site-specific response spectra consistent with ASCE 7-16 and ASCE 41-17 requirements for seismic assessment of existing structures. Hazard levels will include the Basic Safety Earthquake (“BSE”)-2N Risk-Targeted Maximum Considered Earthquake (“MCER”), BSE- 1N, BSE-2E, and BSE-1E, as well as other return periods as needed to evaluate specific tank performance objectives.
2) The analysis will also provide geotechnical parameters for assessment of existing tank foundations and to support potential foundation retrofit design. Consultant will ensure consistency with the AWWA D100 standard for new welded steel tanks and any project-specific performance requirements for the existing structures.
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3) Consultant will prepare a draft and final technical memorandum (TN) that documents the seismic hazard analysis being conducted will be included as part of this overall condition assessment, to assist the City in its application to the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (“HMGP”). The technical memorandum (“TM”) will include a site plan for each tank with a description of the seismic hazard analysis performed and results of the analysis.
Task 2 Deliverables: Findings and recommendations of the seismic hazard analysis to meet HMGP submittal requirements will be included in a TM. An initial draft of the TM will be provided to the CITY to submit to the HMGP as evidence of project progress, followed by a final TM upon completion of the seismic hazard analysis. Because this deliverable is critical to the HMGP schedule, it will be the first task that will begin immediately after receiving Notice to Proceed. 1) ENGEO, Inc., under Consultant’s direction, will prepare a draft and final technical memorandum or letter report presenting the findings and recommendations of the seismic hazard analysis. The report will include a description of the analysis methods and references, as well as recommended geotechnical parameters for assessing the existing tank foundations and design parameters for any potential foundation retrofit that may be required. 2) ENGEO, Inc.’s letter report will be included as an appendix to the draft and final Evaluation Report under Task 4.
Task 3: Condition Assessment
a) Structural Evaluation for Each Reservoir
1) Based on the document review and site inspection, CONSULTANT will conduct a detailed structural and seismic analysis of the reservoirs to assess their integrity under code- level seismic loading.
2) This evaluation will Assess the structural integrity of each tank under seismic demands, considering a Seismic Importance Factor of 1.5, in accordance with ASCE 7-16 provisions for essential water infrastructure.
3) Determine hydrodynamic forces, including impulsive and convective components based on AWWA D100 methodology.
4) Calculate hydrodynamic sloshing heights and evaluate available freeboard.
5) Perform a structural analysis to determine the maximum safe water level at which the tanks can operate while maintaining structural stability.
b) Document Existing Conditions and Develop Potential Remediation Strategies for Each Reservoir
Using the findings from previous tasks, CONSULTANT will:
1) Document existing structural conditions.
2) Conduct a seismic risk assessment.
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3) Identify corrosion-related concerns with input from BACC.
4) Develop conceptual remediation strategies for each tank for identified structuraland coating deficiencies.
5) Develop potential rehabilitation strategies that consider both structural and corrosion-related concerns.
6) Estimate both hard and soft costs using AACE Class 4 methodology.
7) CONSULTANT will meet with CITY via MS Teams to review findings and preliminary alternatives before finalizing recommendations.
Task 3 Deliverables: Presentation of findings and proposed rehabilitation alternatives in a meeting with CITY,via Microsoft (“MS”) Teams meeting.
Task 4: Technical Memorandum
a) Based on the data collected, CONSULTANT will prepare a TM including calculations and summarizing:
1) Existing coating and corrosion-related condition of the assessed structures.
2) Findings from the structural evaluations.
3) Recommendations for remediation strategies.
4) Conceptual seismic rehabilitation measures, along with a rough order-of- magnitude construction cost estimate.
5)
CONSULTANT will meet with CITY to review the draft TM report, gather feedback, and incorporate revisions before finalizing the document.
Task 4 Deliverables:
1) Draft and final consolidated technical report covering both tanks.
2) Draft report will be delivered in PDF format.
3) The final report will be provided in PDF format and two (2) hard copies.
Task 5: Project Administration
a) CONSULTANT manages all projects using an Earned Value System (EVS) allowing for real-time tracking of project status, schedule, and budget. CONSULTANT’s Project Manager will oversee project execution, ensuring that all tasks are completed on schedule, within budget, and in accordance with CITY objectives.
b) CONSULTANT’s invoices will be accompanied by narrative progress and cost reports.
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These reports will include:
1) Work completed during the reporting period.
2) Planned activities for the next reporting period.
3) Current budget status, including period expenditures and cumulative costs to date.
4) These reports can be customized to align with CITY ’s specific reporting requirements. CONSULTANT will also provide detailed cost breakdowns with each invoice, itemizing billed personnel, labor classifications, and task- specific expenditures for full transparency.
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EXHIBIT A-1
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TASK ORDER
CONSULTANT shall perform the Services detailed below in accordance with all the terms and conditions of the Agreement referenced in Item 1A below. All exhibits referenced in Item 8 are incorporated into this Task Order by this reference. CONSULTANT shall furnish the necessary facilities, professional, technical and supporting personnel required by this Task Order as described below.
CONTRACT NO.
OR PURCHASE ORDER REQUISITION NO. (AS APPLICABLE)
1A. MASTER AGREEMENT NO. (MAY BE SAME AS CONTRACT / P.O. NO. ABOVE):
1B. TASK ORDER NO.:
2. CONSULTANT NAME:
3. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: START: COMPLETION:
4 TOTAL TASK ORDER PRICE: $__________________
BALANCE REMAINING IN MASTER AGREEMENT/CONTRACT $_______________
5. BUDGET CODE_______________
COST CENTER________________
COST ELEMENT______________
WBS/CIP__________
PHASE__________
6. CITY PROJECT MANAGER’S NAME & DEPARTMENT:_____________________________________
7. DESCRIPTION OF SCOPE OF SERVICES (Attachment A)
MUST INCLUDE:
SERVICES AND DELIVERABLES TO BE PROVIDED
SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCE
MAXIMUM COMPENSATION AMOUNT AND RATE SCHEDULE (as applicable) REIMBURSABLE EXPENSES, if any (with “not to exceed” amount)
8. ATTACHMENTS: A: Task Order Scope of Services B (if any): _____________________________
I hereby authorize the performance of the
work described in this Task Order.
APPROVED:
CITY OF PALO ALTO
BY:____________________________________
Name __________________________________
Title___________________________________
Date ___________________________________
I hereby acknowledge receipt and acceptance of this
Task Order and warrant that I have authority to
sign on behalf of Consultant.
APPROVED:
COMPANY NAME: ______________________
BY:____________________________________
Name __________________________________
Title___________________________________
Date ___________________________________
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EXHIBIT B
SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCE
CONSULTANT shall perform the Services so as to complete each milestone within the number of days/weeks specified below. The time to complete each milestone may be increased or decreased by mutual written agreement of the Project Managers for CONSULTANT and CITY so long as all work is completed within the term of the Agreement. CONSULTANT shall provide a detailed schedule of work consistent with the schedule below within 2 weeks of receipt of the notice to proceed (“NTP”) from the CITY.
Milestones
Completion
Number of Days/Weeks (as specified
below)
from NTP
1. Task 1: Data collection and Site Visit 6 Weeks
2. Task 2: Subcontractor - ENGEO, Inc. – Site
Specific Response Spectrum Seismic Analysis
12 Weeks
3. Task 3: Condition Assessment 24 Weeks
4. Task 4: Technical Memorandum 32 Weeks
5. Task 5: Project Administration Ongoing
6. 7.
8. 9.
10. Schedule
CONSULTANT has assumed that the project will begin in 2025 and is expected to be completed in early 2026.
Optional Schedule of Performance Provision for On-Call or Additional Services Agreements. (This provision only applies if checked and only applies to on- call agreements per Section 1 or agreements with Additional Services per Section 4.)
The schedule of performance shall be as provided in the approved Task Order, as detailed in Section 1 (Scope of Services) in the case of on-call Services, or as detailed in Section 4 in the case of Additional Services, provided in all cases that the schedule of performance shall fall within the term as provided in Section 2 (Term) of this Agreement.
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EXHIBIT C
COMPENSATION
CITY agrees to compensate CONSULTANT for Services performed in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and as set forth in the budget schedule below. Compensation shall be calculated based on the rate schedule attached as E xhibit C-1 up to the not to exceed budget amount for each task set forth below.
CITY’s Project Manager may approve in writing the transfer of budget amounts between any of the tasks or categories listed below , provided that the total compensation for the Services, including any specified reimbursable expenses, and the total compensation for Additional Services (if any, per Section 4 of the Agreement) do not exceed the amounts set forth in Section 4 of this Agreement.
CONSULTANT agrees to complete all Services , any specified reimbursable expenses, and Additional Services (if any, per Section 4), within this /these amount(s). Any work performed or expenses incurred for which payment would result in a total exceeding the maximum amount of compensation set forth in this Agreement shall be at no cost to the CITY.
BUDGET SCHEDULE
TASK NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT
Task 1 Data collection and Site Visit $9,980.00
Task 2 Subcontractor - ENGEO, Inc. – Site Specific
Response Spectrum Seismic Analysis
$132,000.00
Task 3 Condition Assessment $32,310.00
Task 4 Technical Memorandum $52,383.00
Task 5 Project Administration $5,810.00
Sub-total for Services $232,483.00
Reimbursable Expenses (if any) $0
Total for Services and Reimbursable Expenses $232,483.00 Additional Services (if any, per Section 4) $10,000.00
Maximum Total Compensation $242,483.00
REIMBURSABLE EXPENSES
CONSULTANT’S ordinary business expenses, such as administrative, overhead, administrative support time /overtime, information systems, software and hardware, photocopying, telecommunications (telephone, internet), in -house printing, insurance and other ordinary business expenses, are included within the scope of payment for Services and are not reimbursable expenses hereunder.
Reimbursable expenses, if any are specified as reimbursable under this section , will be reimbursed at actual cost. The expenses (by type, e.g. travel) for which CONSULTANT will be reimbursed are: NONE up to the not-to-exceed amount of: $0.00.
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A. Travel outside the San Francisco Bay A rea, including transportation and meals, if specified as reimbursable, will be reimbursed at actual cost subject to the City of Palo Alto’s policy for reimbursement of travel and meal expenses.
B. Long- distance telephone service charges, cellular phone service charges, facsimile transmission and postage charges, if specified as reimbursable, will be reimbursed at actual cost.
All requests for reimbursement of expenses, if any are specified as reimbursable under this section, shall be accompanied by appropriate backup documentation and information.
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EXHIBIT D
INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
CONSULTANTS TO THE CITY OF PALO ALTO (CITY), AT THEIR SOLE EXPENSE, SHALL FOR THE TERM OF THE
CONTRACT OBTAIN AND MAINTAIN INSURANCE IN THE AMOUNTS FOR THE COVERAGE SPECIFIED BELOW, AFFORDED BY COMPANIES WITH AM BEST’S KEY RATING OF A-:VII, OR HIGHER, LICENSED OR AUTHORIZED TO TRANSACT INSURANCE BUSINESS IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
AWARD IS CONTINGENT ON COMPLIANCE WITH CITY’S INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS AS SPECIFIED HEREIN.
REQUIRED TYPE OF COVERAGE REQUIREMENT
MINIMUM LIMITS
EACH
OCCURRENCE AGGREGATE
YES
YES
WORKER’S COMPENSATION
EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY
STATUTORY
STATUTORY STATUTORY STATUTORY
YES
GENERAL LIABILITY, INCLUDING
PERSONAL INJURY, BROAD FORM
PROPERTY DAMAGE BLANKET
CONTRACTUAL, AND FIRE LEGAL
LIABILITY
BODILY INJURY
PROPERTY DAMAGE
BODILY INJURY & PROPERTY
DAMAGE COMBINED.
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
YES
AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY,
INCLUDING ALL OWNED, HIRED,
NON-OWNED
BODILY INJURY
- EACH PERSON
- EACH OCCURRENCE
PROPERTY DAMAGE
BODILY INJURY AND PROPERTY
DAMAGE, COMBINED
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
YES
PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY,
INCLUDING, ERRORS AND
OMISSIONS, MALPRACTICE (WHEN
APPLICABLE), AND NEGLIGENT
PERFORMANCE
ALL DAMAGES $1,000,000
YES
THE CITY OF PALO ALTO IS TO BE NAMED AS AN ADDITIONAL INSURED: CONSULTANT, AT ITS SOLE COST
AND EXPENSE, SHALL OBTAIN AND MAINTAIN, IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE TERM
OF ANY RESULTANT AGREEMENT, THE INSURANCE COVERAGE HEREIN DESCRIBED, INSURING NOT ONLY CONSULTANT AND ITS SUBCONSULTANTS, IF ANY, BUT ALSO, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION, EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY AND PROFESSIONAL INSURANCE, NAMING AS ADDITIONAL INSUREDS CITY, ITS COUNCIL MEMBERS, OFFICERS, AGENTS, AND EMPLOYEES.
I. INSURANCE COVERAGE MUST INCLUDE:
A. A CONTRACTUAL LIABILITY ENDORSEMENT PROVIDING INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR CONSULTANT’S AGREEMENT TO INDEMNIFY CITY.
II. THE CONSULTANT MUST SUBMIT CERTIFICATES(S) OF INSURANCE EVIDENCING REQUIRED COVERAGE AT THE FOLLOWING EMAIL: [email protected]
III. ENDORSEMENT PROVISIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE INSURANCE AFFORDED TO ADDITIONAL INSUREDS:
A. PRIMARY COVERAGE
WITH RESPECT TO CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE NAMED INSURED,
INSURANCE AS AFFORDED BY THIS POLICY IS PRIMARY AND IS NOT ADDITIONAL TO OR
CONTRIBUTING WITH ANY OTHER INSURANCE CARRIED BY OR FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ADDITIONAL INSUREDS.
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B. CROSS LIABILITY
THE NAMING OF MORE THAN ONE PERSON, FIRM, OR CORPORATION AS INSUREDS UNDER
THE POLICY SHALL NOT, FOR THAT REASON ALONE, EXTINGUISH ANY RIGHTS OF THE
INSURED AGAINST ANOTHER, BUT THIS ENDORSEMENT, AND THE NAMING OF MULTIPLE
INSUREDS, SHALL NOT INCREASE THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF THE COMPANY UNDER THIS POLICY.
C. NOTICE OF CANCELLATION
1. IF THE POLICY IS CANCELED BEFORE ITS EXPIRATION DATE FOR ANY REASON
OTHER THAN THE NON-PAYMENT OF PREMIUM, THE CONSULTANT SHALL PROVIDE CITY AT LEAST A THIRTY (30) DAY WRITTEN NOTICE BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF CANCELLATION.
2. IF THE POLICY IS CANCELED BEFORE ITS EXPIRATION DATE FOR THE NON-PAYMENT OF PREMIUM, THE CONSULTANT SHALL PROVIDE CITY AT LEAST A TEN (10) DAY WRITTEN NOTICE BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF CANCELLATION.
EVIDENCE OF INSURANCE AND OTHER RELATED NOTICES ARE REQUIRED TO BE FILED WITH THE CITY OF PALO ALTO SENT TO THE FOLLOWING EMAIL:
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City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Administrative Services
Meeting Date: November 3, 2025
Report #:2510-5296
TITLE
Adoption of a Resolution Approving The Palo Alto Museum‘s Facility Naming Plan for the Roth Building; CEQA status – not a project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council adopt a Resolution approving the proposed Naming and Recognition Plan for the Roth Building as proposed by the Palo Alto Museum (Attachment A) informed by staff review for compliance with appropriate policies and procedures.
BACKGROUND
The City’s Policy and Procedure 1-15, Naming City-Owned Land and Facilities, Section 3, (Attachment B), authorizes naming recognition for significant donations to capital fundraising campaigns. Staff recommends that the Council adopt the attached Naming and Recognition Plan developed by the Palo Alto Museum to support the capital fundraising effort for the Palo Alto Museum at the City-owned Roth Building facility.
In 2022 Council approved a lease with the Palo Alto Museum (Museum) for the Roth Building facility1. Under the terms of lease, the Museum completed a $13 million renovation of the Roth Building in February 2025 with funding coming from sources including the City’s General Fund (including sale proceeds from the transfer of development rights), impact fees, federal and county grants, museum generated private donations, and other museum funds. As a term of the lease the Museum is obligated to open to the public in February 2026. To support the buildout of the museum exhibits and spaces within the Roth Building, the Museum is proposing a naming plan to encourage fundraising.
1 Staff Report 15017 12/12/2022 Approval of Lease and License of 300 Homer Ave. Roth Building between the City of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto Museum; https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=59025&repo=r- 704298fc&searchid=fab5ad13-705c-49c4-91ed-476b27f898ac
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For reference and background, a naming plan was approved for the Jr. Museum and Zoo in 20173.
ANALYSIS
The naming plan will help the Museum continue to fundraise to support the build out of exhibits and the operations of the Museum and renovated spaces. Prior to October 2025 the Museum secured donor commitments for spaces, trees and benches totaling $1.75 million.
Going forward the Museum expects to make available additional spaces, including exterior paving bricks for small donations and rooms, galleries, exhibits, the courtyard, and colonnade for large donations as detailed in attachment A. The Museum total goal with this forward- looking funding plan is more than $9 million.
As mentioned, naming commitments were made prior to October 2025, which preceded approval of the plan being presented in Attachment A. This reflects the uniquely long history of the project, which dates to the early 2000s. Since then, the museum has had ongoing fundraising efforts to varying degrees resulting in donor commitments for planned spaces that were yet to be constructed. It was only recently that the City and Museum coordinated on the naming plan. Should Council approve this naming plan, these prior commitments align with the plan and policy.
Staff recommends that Council approve the attached naming plan with the past commitments included. This will ensure that the earlier funds committed by donors will remain as available donations for the museum to support opening. In addition, the timing for approval of the naming plan is crucial since the Museum is planning fundraising events as early as November.
The proposed naming plan, in summary below, is in alignment with the City’s Policy and Procedure 1-15, Naming City-Owned Land and Facilities:
3 Staff Report 7810, 3/6/2017, Adoption of a Resolution Approving a Facility Naming Plan for the Junior Museum and Zoo; http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=56118 Item 9
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This process aligns with the Jr. Museum and Zoo process, except for prior commitments as noted above.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
There is no resource impact for approving the naming and recognition plan for the Roth Building and Palo Alto Museum. The naming and recognition plan is intended to support the financial needs of the Palo Alto Museum.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Staff has worked closely with leaders of the Palo Alto Museum to prepare for and bring this naming plan to Council.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The recommendation in this report does not constitute a project requiring review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Resolution Naming and Recognition Plan for the Roth Building and Palo Alto Museum, including Naming Plan for the Palo Alto Museum at the Roth Building Attachment B: City Policy 1-15 Naming of City Owned Land and Facilities APPROVED BY:
Lauren Lai, Administrative Services Director
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NOT YET ADOPTED Attachment A
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Resolution No.
Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Approving the Palo Alto Museum’s Donor Recognition and Naming Framework for the City’s Roth Building
R E C I T A L S
A. The City’s Roth Building is leased to the Palo Alto Museum (“Museum”).
B. The City’s “Naming City-Owned Land and Facilities” policy (“Policy”) guides the naming of City facilities and portions of them.
C. The City and the Museum wish to express appreciation and recognize donors who have made significant gifts to the Museum’s fundraising campaign as detailed in the attached Palo Alto Museum Donor Recognition and Naming Framework.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Council of the City of Palo Alto RESOLVES as follows:
SECTION 1. The attached Palo Alto Museum Donor Recognition and Naming Framework for the new Palo Alto Museum (Exhibit A) is approved, subject to Council action for any future approvals as may be required under the Policy.
SECTION 2. CEQA. The Council finds that the adoption of this resolution does not meet the definition of a project under Public Resources Code Section 21065, thus, no environmental assessment under the California Environmental Quality Act is required.
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Attachment A - Resolution
Naming and Recognition
Plan for the Roth Building
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including Naming Plan for
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NOT YET ADOPTED Attachment A
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SECTION 3. Effective Date. This resolution shall take effect immediately on its passage.
INTRODUCED AND PASSED: November 3, 2025
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
ATTEST:
__________________________ _____________________________ City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED:
__________________________ _____________________________ City Attorney or Designee City Manager
_____________________________
Director of Administrative Services
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Naming and Recognition
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To: Palo Alto City Council
From: Palo Alto Museum CEO & President and Board of Directors Date: October 13, 2025
Subject: Request for Council Approval of the Palo Alto Museum Donor Recognition and Naming Framework
The Palo Alto Museum (formerly the Palo Alto History Museum) is an independent nonprofit partner of the City of Palo Alto. It is scheduled to open in February 2026 in the fully restored Roth Building at 300 Homer Avenue, a City-owned landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The rehabilitation of this historic structure and a new life as a museum establishes it as a cornerstone of Palo Alto’s cultural and civic life.
The Museum is where history, community, and innovation meet—linking past legacies, today’s conversations, and future possibilities. It will celebrate the people and ideas that shaped Palo Alto, connecting local stories to global impact through exhibits, programs, education, and partnerships. Dedicated to preserving and sharing Palo Alto’s legacy of innovation, civic leadership, and creativity, the Museum will serve as a welcoming gathering place for residents, students, and visitors—a dynamic hub for connection, learning, and inspiration.
Originally built in 1932 as the Palo Alto Medical Clinic and designed by noted architect Birge M.
Clark, the Roth Building remains one of the City’s architectural treasures. After years of collaboration, the City and Museum completed a comprehensive restoration that preserved its historic character while upgrading the facility to meet modern seismic, accessibility, and sustainability standards. The reimagined interior now supports a range of community activities –discovery, learning, and gathering–within a flexible, energy-efficient space that honors the past and will serve the public in new and dynamic ways for generations to come.
The Museum reflects a two-decade public–private partnership between the City and an independent nonprofit organization. That partnership has resulted in the rehabilitated Roth Building as a public asset, while the Museum’s board and supporters led private fundraising and program planning to bring it to life as a vibrant community institution.
Unlike the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo which is City operated, funded and staffed, the Palo Alto Museum operates independently under a 40-year renewable lease and is solely responsible for raising and managing all funds for exhibitions, programs, and operations. 1 Exhibit A
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Fundraising for the Roth Building renovation and Museum build-out began in the early 2000s, well before the City adopted its updated 2008 Naming Policy and Procedures. From the outset, naming opportunities for rooms and features within the building were offered to encourage major contributions toward restoration. Throughout this process, the Museum Board has consistently committed to retaining the Roth Building name in accordance with the City’s policy.
Although the City’s revised naming policy was adopted in 2008–requiring City Manager and Council approval for naming individual rooms or sub-sites– the new procedures were not communicated to the Museum until October 2024. By that time, naming commitments for 11 spaces or features, 2 trees, 7 benches, and numerous commemorative bricks had already been secured from donors whose generosity helped make the project possible.
The following table summarizes the building spaces or features and donors as of October 2025:
Palo Alto Museum Naming Framework to Date (As of October 2025)
Named
(Total $1.75M)
Interior Spaces or
Building Features
First and Second Floors (11)
Gloria Brown
Beth Bunnenberg
Birge Clark Family
Chinese Community
In honor of Gary Fazzino
Pitch & Cathie Johnson
Ralphy Libby
Mario Family
Nancy Mueller
Deborah & Peter Wexler
Lanie & Dave Wheeler
Exterior Spaces 0
Exterior Trees Courtyard Trees (2)
Deborah & Peter Wexler
Exterior Benches 7
Exterior Bricks More than 100
The following maps show the Museum’s named and available spaces (as of October 2025):
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The Museum remains committed to honoring all existing donor recognitions while maintaining the Roth Building name in full alignment with City policy. There are clear and practical reasons for continuing to recognize these early commitments and to preserve naming as a vital fundraising tool.
The 2008 City naming policy was adopted after the Museum’s early naming opportunities had already been offered and secured. The Museum was not informed of the revised process until 2024, well after many of these commitments were in place.
As a privately operated nonprofit that leases and manages the City-owned Roth Building, the Museum depends on private philanthropy rather than City funding. Naming opportunities were– and continue to be–an essential component of this public–private partnership, providing philanthropic resources needed to complete restoration, open the Museum, hire and support staff, and sustain operations. Upholding these commitments also protects donor trust and reinforces confidence in future fundraising.
As the Museum prepares for its opening in February 2026, naming opportunities continue to play a key role in attracting major donors, meeting financial goals, and building a strong foundation for long-term success. Ongoing fundraising is essential to offset operating costs, protect and enhance the City’s investment in the historic Roth Building, hire and support staff, and provide public educational and cultural programming.
Going forward, new naming and recognition opportunities will follow this proposed framework.
All existing and future recognition will preserve the Roth Building name, fully consistent with City policy. Naming of building spaces and features will apply only to Museum-managed spaces and will be clearly defined as limited within the Museum’s lease period. Should the Museum ever relocate or cease operations, all donor naming commitments would conclude. This approach provides clarity and accountability, aligns with City policy, and continues a partnership model that leverages private philanthropy for public benefit.
The following table provides a summary of current and prospective naming opportunities within the Museum. These spaces—representing more than $9 million in potential philanthropic support—reflect both the Museum’s fundraising priorities and its commitment to transparency and public stewardship. The list may evolve as design, programming, and donor interest further develop.
Palo Alto Museum Naming Framework - Going Forward (As of October 2025)
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As the Museum’s opening approaches in Spring 2026, new recognition opportunities will play a vital role in fundraising for exhibitions, public and educational programs, staffing, and operations. Through this shared public-private effort, the Palo Alto Museum will preserve a treasured civic landmark, strengthen community, and celebrate the enduring spirit of innovation, creativity, and belonging that defines Palo Alto.
The Museum deeply values its partnership with the City of Palo Alto and remains committed to honoring City policies while advancing a shared vision for a vibrant cultural center in the heart of our community. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the City Council and staff to ensure the Palo Alto Museum opens successfully and thrives as a lasting source of civic pride, community connection, discovery and learning, and inspiration for generations to come.
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POLICY AND PROCEDURES 1-15/MGR
Revised: April 2008
NAMING CITY-OWNED LAND AND FACILITIES
POLICY STATEMENT
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that City-owned land and facilities, when named for individuals, are persons who have made significant c ontributions or performed services deemed to have been of major importance to the community.
This policy establishes uniform pr ocedures for the naming of City-o wned land and facilities as set forth by Council Resolution No. 6211, approved on December 12, 1983, and revised by Council on April 12, 2004. The policy is applicable to new and ex isting City-owned land and facilities.
The policy provides a mechanism for citizens to suggest names which they believe should be considered for new City facilities or land acquisitions and for the renaming of existing facilities and lands. The policy also establishes criteria which will guide the Historical Association and the appropriate City Commission or Committee in recommending names to the Council for approval.
Naming and renaming City-owned land and facili ties shall be the respons ibility of the City Council. However, places within City-owned land or facilities, such as a room or patio within a building or a trail or athletic field within a park, which do not require formal dedication by the City Council, may be named by the City Manager or his/her designee, subj ect to final approval by the City Council via the consent calendar.
This process does not apply to the naming of streets which will continue to be processed through the Planning and Community Environment Depart ment (Policy and Proc edure 1-16: Naming of City Streets). The naming of a street may be c onsidered an appropriate alternative means of honoring an individual.
The City Council has determined that significant individual, family or foundation contributions to the construction/renovation of City facilities can be reco gnized through the naming of said facilities after these groups. This document ou tlines the procedure to be followed when a fund- raising group or board, with th e approval of the City Council , embarks upon a capital campaign for the purpose of securing private funds for th e acquisition of land, ren ovation/expansion of an existing building, or the construction of a new fa cility, and wishes to offer naming opportunities in recognition of significant donati ons of money or land. The City Council has determined that significant contributions from co rporations or corporate foundati ons to capital campaigns will not be accepted in exchange for the ability to name entire facilities in recognition of these corporate entities. However, the City Counc il has agreed to allow naming recognition of corporate or commercial entities in facility interiors or on sub-facilities as described in this policy.
Business logos associated with any benefactor seeking naming rights shall not be allowed on any City owned land, facility, building or sub-facility under this policy.
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The City may remove any business name from a City facility or property if the business declares bankruptcy and goes out of business. The City may remove any indivi dual name from a City facility or property if the person is convicted of a fel ony or other crime of mo ral turpitude. If a name is removed under this provision, the City shall not be required to return the donation.
SECTION 1: PROCEDURE FOR NAMING NEW FACILITIES OR CITY-OWNED LANDS
In cases involving a major capital fundraising camp aign, there will be a separate and different procedure from the one outlined below. Section 3 below on “Naming Recognition for Capital Campaigns” further outlines this process.
A. Responsibility of the Project Manager
Implementation of this policy is the responsibility of the departme nt in which the project to be named is managed. In the instance of a new City-owned land or facility, the project manager should incorporate the process for naming in to the project schedule so the naming is accomplished in a timely manner.
1. Requests concerning a name to be given to the City-owned land or facility shall be made in writing on an approved suggestion form to the City Clerk.
a. The project manager should alert the City Clerk when to expect the submission of names and the anticipated time frame for the naming process.
b. The project manager may submit suggested names on an approved suggestion form on behalf of staff or citizens who have been involved in the project development.
c. In some instances, it may be appropria te to actively solicit suggestions and, in those cases, the project manager should sp ecify a time frame for submissions and method of notification.
d. All submittals, whether from an indivi dual or an organization, must include the name and address of the submitter. No anonymous submittals will be accepted.
e. All suggestions will be given the same consideration without regard to the nomination source.
2. The project manager is responsible for c onveying the name suggestion forms from the City Clerk to the Palo Alto Historical A ssociation and presenting the recommendations from the Historical Association to the appropriate commission or committee whose sphere of influence is most closely associated with the facility in question. The Parks and Recreation Commission shall revi ew name suggestions for acqui red land to be dedicated as a park, recreational facilities, community centers and interpretive centers. The Library Item 9
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Advisory Commission shall review name sugges tions for library facilities. The Public Art Commission shall review name suggestions for art facilities. The Policy and Services Committee shall review name suggestions for poli ce, fire or utility facilities as well as major civic complexes.
a. The Historical Association may also originate suggestions for names or provide suggestions for appropriate alternatives as part of its recommendations.
b. The project manager shall assure that adequate time is allowed for the Historical Association and the appropria te commission or committee to evaluate the recommended names.
c. The Historical Association shall dete rmine if the suggested names meet the criteria of appropriate significance, and shall submit the recommendations to the appropriate commission or committee toge ther with the rationale for the recommendations. The response from the Historical Association shall acknowledge all the names that are submitted, but recommend only those which it feels meet the criteria and warrant serious consideration.
B. Responsibility of the Reviewing Commission Or Committee
1. The commission or committee shall conduc t a public hearing, confirm that the recommended names meet the criteria of appropriate significance, select recommendation(s) provided by the Histor ical Association, and shall forward its recommendation to the City Council. The re port from the commission or committee shall acknowledge all of the recommended names t ogether with their evaluation, but present only the name(s) which it feels best meets the criteria and merits serious consideration by the City Council.
2. Once approved, a transmittal and resolution will be prepared by staff for consideration and approval by the City Council. The transm ittal shall include a narrative of historic reference prepared by the Palo Alto Histor ical Association for the name, a copy of the name suggestion form, and minutes of the Commission meeting when the recommendation was discussed.
C. Criteria
The following criteria shall be used in selecting an appropriate name for City-owned land and facilities.
1. The name should, if possible, have or pres erve the geographic, environmental (relating to natural or physical feat ures), historic or landmar k connotation of particular significance to the area in which the land or facil ity is located, or for the City as a whole.
Either connotation is equally valid.
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2. Acknowledgement of contributions: Consider ation may be given to naming the City- owned land or facility after an individual when the land or facility, or the money for its purchase, has been donated by the individua l, or when otherwise warranted by some contribution or service which is deemed to be of major and lasting significance to the acquisition of that piece of land, or planning, development, construction or renovation of that particular facility. Donation of land or resources sha ll not constitute an obligation by the City to name the land or facility or any portion thereof, after an individual, family, or individual/family foundation. City -owned lands, parks, or entir e facilities shall not be named for benefactor organizations, groups or businesses, but in sp ecial cases, may be considered for sub-facilities such as room s or playgrounds. In cases involving a major capital fundraising campaign, see Section 3 below – Naming Recognition for Capital Campaigns.
3. Names honoring individuals or families, ot her than those of recognized historic importance, must be supported by compelling reasons.
4. In the event the City-owned land or facility was formerly school property or had other ownership such that the name of the school, building or site has community significance or community recognition, consideration may be given to preserving that name.
5. The City encourages naming which reflects the City’s ethnic and cultural diversity.
6. No City-owned land or facility shall be named after a seated elected or appointed official.
7. No City-owned land or facility shall be na med after a person whose contribution to the City of Palo Alto was or is a part of that individual’s normal duties as an employee of the City. An exception may be made for former such employees who have contributed volunteer services of an exceptional nature beyond their normal duties.
8. When naming sub-facilities or interior spaces, such as rooms or playgrounds, after corporate or commercial entities or foundations , these entities must abide by the City’s anti-discrimination policy.
D. Council Action
1. The recommendations received from the Histor ical Association and the commission or committee shall be placed on the Council agenda for final approval.
2. Action by the Council shall be by Council Resolution.
E. Follow-up to Selection of the Name
1. The above-described process for selectin g an appropriate name should precede the preparation of a park dedication ordinance.
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2. Subsequent to approval by the City Counc il, the name for the City-owned land or facility shall be conveyed to the Department of Public Works for in corporation in City official maps and plans, and to the Palo Alto Historical Association for its records.
F. Naming Places Within City-owned Land or Facilities
In the case of places within City-owned land or facilities, where the policy does not require a Council resolution, responsibility for requesting C ouncil approval of the new name shall reside with the department head who manages the land or facility.
Ideally, the naming of features w ithin a park and specific trails or facilities within open space lands will occur during the master plan or site plan process.
Names within parks should be appropriate to th e park by reflecting the expression of the place (topography, geology, natural features), flora and fauna, or history of the area.
In advance of the naming, the department head shall send a memorandum to the City Manager advising of the proposed action and requesting approval. The City Manager will then seek approval of the name from the City Council via the consent calendar.
SECTION 2: PROCEDURE FOR RENAMING EXISTING FACILITIES OR CITY-
OWNED LANDS
Existing place names are deemed to have historic recognition. City policy is not to change the name of any existing facilities or City-owned land, particularly one whose name has City or regional significance, unless there are compelli ng reasons to do so. Further, the City will consider renaming to commemorate a person or persons only when the person or persons have made major, overriding contributions to the City and whose distinctions are as yet unrecognized.
A. Renaming Suggestions
1. All requests concerning a new name to be given to the City-owned land or facility shall be made in writing on an approved suggestion form to the City Cl erk. The suggestion must detail how the proposed na me change is consistent with the criteria, the purpose of the name change, and how the new name is directly associated with the land or facility.
2. All submittals, whether from an individual, organization or City staff, must include the name and address or the submitter. No anonymous submittals will be accepted.
3. The City Council shall initiate the renami ng process by referral of the public or staff request to the commission or committee whos e sphere of influence is most closely associated with the facility in question. Council can also initiate the renaming of lands or a facility without a public request whenever de emed necessary or in the best interest of the City of Palo Alto, following established criteria. Once the referral is made by the City Item 9
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Council to a specific commission or committee, the commission or committee will await comment and evaluation of the new name from the Palo Alto Historical Association.
B. Responsibility of the Project Manager
1. The City Clerk is responsible for conveying the name suggestion form(s) received by the deadline to the Project Manager, who will be responsible for fo rwarding to the Palo Alto Historical Association and then tran smitting the recommendation(s) from the Palo Alto Historical Association to the appropr iate commission or committee as outlined in Section A above.
2. The recognized neighborhood associa tion in the vicinity of the land or facility will be notified of the proposed name change at the time the reviewing commission or committee receives the report from the Historical Association.
C. Responsibility of the Reviewing Commission Or Committee
1. The commission or committee shall conduc t a public hearing, confirm that the suggested name(s) meet the criteria of appropriate significance, select recommendation(s) from the names provided by the Historic al Association, and shall forward its recommendation to the City Council. The re port from the commission or committee shall acknowledge any recommended names together with its evaluation, but present only the name or names which it feels best meets the criteria and merits se rious consideration by the Council.
2. Once approved, a transmittal and resolution will be prepared by staff for consideration and approval by the City Council. The transm ittal shall include a narrative of historic reference for the name or names, together with a copy of the name suggestion form.
D. Criteria
Each application for renaming a city park or faci lity must meet the criteria in this policy, but meeting all criteria does not ensure renaming.
City-owned lands and facilities may be rena med for an individual(s) under the following conditions. Where the individual:
1. Has made lasting and signifi cant contributions to the prot ection of natural or cultural resources of the City of Palo Alto, or
2. Has made substantial contri butions to the betterment of a specific facility or park, consistent with the established standards for the facility, or
3. Has made substantial contributions to the advancement of commensurate types of recreational opportunities within the City of Palo Alto.
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E. Council Action
1. The recommendations received from the Palo Alto Historical Association and commission or committee shall be submitted for Council approval.
2. Action by the Council shall be by Council Resolution.
F. Follow-up to Selection of Name
1. Subsequent to approval by the City Council, the new name for the City-owned land or facility shall be conveyed to the Department of Public Works for in corporation in City official maps and plans, and to the Palo Alto Historical Association for its records.
NOTE: Questions and/or clarification of this po licy should be directed to the City Manager's Office.
SECTION 3: PROCEDURE FOR OFFE RING NAMING RECOGNITION FOR
SIGNIFICANT DONATIONS TO CAPITAL FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGNS
This section applies to any organized fundraisi ng initiated by the City, a Board/Commission or other group whose sole purpose is to support City pr ograms and operations in support of the renovation/expansion of an existing building, the c onstruction of a new fac ility, the acquisition of a building/land, or the furnishings, fixtures and equipment in said facilities.
A. Responsibility of the staff liaison to th e Board, Commission, Task Force or group conducting the Capital Campaign
Implementation of this policy is the responsib ility of department in which the project to be acquired/constructed/re novated is managed. A staff liaison appointed to work with the board/committee will guide them through the process and manage appropriate contacts with other departme nts as necessary during the acquisition, design and construction process. This will ensure that appropriate information and materials are provided to the group and that opportunities and exp ectations are clear, understandable, and feasible within the framework of the project.
B. When a Capital Campaign is initiated by the City, a Commission or other group whose sole purpose is to support City programs and operations, accommodations to the procedures outlined in Sections 1 and 2 shall be made as follows:
a. The organizing body may meet and discuss preliminary plans with the City’s liaison, Department Head and the City Attorn ey’s office in order to facilitate any “silent” fundraising period.
b. The organizing body shall request author ization from the City Council for a Naming Recognition Plan in support of a specific project. They shall provide the following information in their request:
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i. Name of the organizing body;
ii. Purpose of the campaign;
iii. Monetary goal of the campaign;
iv. Expected term of the campaign;
v. Plan for naming recognition includi ng a schedule of naming opportunities and associated gift levels
vi. Maintenance/replacement of naming recognition items – City staff shall work with the organizing body to ensure that the plan includes acknowledgement of the maintenance re sponsibilities associated with any naming recognition items within the facility.
c. Once the Naming Recognition Schedule has been approved by the City Council, the fund-raising body shall have the authority to proc eed with making commitments for naming opportunities with potential donors subject to final Council review.
d. The naming of a facility or sub-facility will not occur until the pledged donation is received.
e. Consistent with the Gifts to the City policy, all gifts paid directly to the City shall be duly reported to the Administrative Services Department (ASD) Director and recognized appropriately in accordance with that policy (Policies and Procedures 1-18). If a donation was given anonym ously, the donor’s identity shall be protected to the extent possible.
f. Under this procedure, the organizing body mu st present a final report to the City Council for approval, detailing the f unds received and any naming opportunities granted, along with a timeline for the completion of the recognition. The group may also come to the Council at a ny time during the capital campaign for approval of one or more naming recogniti on items. All naming recognition must be adopted by resolution of the City C ouncil. The City Manager or designee can also request that any dona tions and associated naming recognitions be brought to the City Council at an earlier point in the capital campaign for approval.
C. The one exception to this procedure shall be for the naming of an entire building as recognition for a significant monetary or la nd contribution. If a fund-raising group secures a donation significant enough to warrant naming the entire facility in recognition of that individual, family or f oundation, this should be presented directly to the City Council for approval separately an d as soon as possible after this type of donation is secured. As part of this approval process, the Council may solicit input from the Palo Alto Historical Associat ion or the appropriate board/commission.
Consistent with the policy statement, the C ity will not recognize significant corporate donations by naming an entire facility in honor of these entities.
D. In cases of major building reconfigurations or disasters that destroy or damage portions of the building, the City reserves the right to remove and not replace naming recognitions. However, the City will consid er the original donation intent in these instances and make accommodations as feasible.
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APPLICATION FOR NAMING OR RENAMING
CITY-OWNED LANDS OR FACILITIES
Naming objectives:
1. Ensure that parks, recreational a reas and facilities are easily identified and located.
2. Ensure that names designated for parks, recreational areas and facilities are consistent with the values and char acter of the area or neighborhood served.
3. Encourage public participation in the naming, renaming and dedication of parks, recreation areas and facilities.
4. Encourage the donation of land, fu nds for land acquisition or development by individuals and groups.
Criteria for naming new facilities or parks:
The following criteria shall be used in selecting an appropriate name for City-owned land and facilities.
1. The name shall have or preserve the geographic, environmental (relating to natural or physical features), historic or landmark connotation of partic ular significance to the area in which the land or facility is located, or for the City as a whole. Either connotation is equally valid.
2. Consideration may be given to naming the City-owned land or facility after an individual when the land or facility, or the money for its purchase, has been donated by the individual, or when otherwise warranted by some contribution or service which is de emed to be of major and lasting significance to the acquisition of that piece of land, or planning, developm ent, construction or renova tion of that particular facility. Donation of land or resources shall not constitute an obligation by the City to name the land or facility or any portion thereof, after an individual or family. City-owned lands or parks shall not be named for benefactor organizations, groups or businesses, but in special cases, may be considered for sub- facilities such as rooms or playgrounds.
3. Names honoring individuals or families, other than those of recognized historic importance, must be supported by compelling reasons.
4. In the event the City-owned land or facility was formerly school property or had other ownership such that the name of the school, building or site h as community significance or community recognition, consideration may be given to preserving that name.
5. The City encourages naming which reflects the City’s ethnic and cultural diversity.
6. No City-owned land or facility shall be named after a seated elected or appointed official.
7. No City-owned land or facility shall be named af ter a person whose contribution to the City of Palo Alto was or is a part of that individual’s normal duties as an employee of the City. An exception may be made for former such employees who have contribut ed volunteer services of an exceptional nature beyond their normal duties.
8. When naming sub-facilities, such as rooms or playgrounds, after co rporate or commercial entities or foundations, these entities must abide by the City’s anti-discrimination policy.
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Criteria for renaming existing facilities of parks:
Each application for renaming a city park or facility must meet the criteria listed above, but meeting all criteria does not ensure renaming.
Existing place names are deemed to have historic recogn ition. City policy is not to change the name of any existing facilities or City-owned land, particularly one whose name has City or regional significance, unless there are compelling reasons to do so. Further, the City will consider renaming to commemorate a person or persons only when the pers on or persons have made major, ove rriding contributions to the City and whose distinctions are as yet unrecognized.
City-owned lands and facilities may be renamed fo r an individual(s) under the following conditions.
Where the individual:
1. Has made lasting and significant contributions to the protection of natural or cultural resources of the City of Palo Alto, or
2. Has made substantial contributions to the betterment of a specific fac ility or park, consistent with the established standards for the facility, or
3. Has made substantial contributions to the adva ncement of commensurate types of recreational opportunities within the City of Palo Alto.
Suggestions for naming or renaming City-owned lands or facilities shall be evaluated on the basis of the above criteria and upon appropriate documentation.
Person making the name suggestion (required):
Address (required):_____________________________________________________________
Contact phone number (required):_________________________________________________
E-mail (not required):___________________________________________________________
Location of site or facility to be named:_____________________________________________
Suggested name (required):_______________________________________________________
Biographical information: (Explain) ________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Civic involvement: (Explain) ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Item 9
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POLICY AND PROCEDURES 1-15/MGR
Revised: April 2008
______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Connection to the facility: (Please explain in depth) ____________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Reason for Nomination (required): _________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Additional Comments (additional information may be attached): _________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Date Received by the City Clerk: ____________________________________ Submitted to Palo Alto Historical Association: _________________________ Date scheduled for review by commission: ____________________________ Item 9
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City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Utilities
Meeting Date: November 3, 2025
Report #:2506-4906
TITLE
Approval and Authorization for the City Manager or Designee to Execute Purchase Orders as Needed with the Okonite Company for Underground Cable for the Utility's Electric Underground System in an Annual Amount of $800,000 for a Total Not-to-Exceed Amount of $4,000,000 for a Period of Five (5) Years. CEQA Status: Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute purchase orders as needed with the Okonite Company (Okonite) in an amount not-to- exceed $800,000 annually in each of the next five years, for a total not-to-exceed amount of $4,000,000 from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2030 for new and replacement cable within the City’s electric underground system.
BACKGROUND
Palo Alto’s electric distribution system is comprised of overhead wires and underground cable throughout the City. These wires are necessary to provide power to residential and commercial customers. For the underground portion, CPAU’s underground cable technical specification covers the physical and electrical requirements for operation on the City’s medium voltage (4,000 and 12,000 Volts), 60 Hertz, 3-phase, and 3 or 4 wire systems. Cables used in CPAU operations must meet this cable specifications and industry standards.
The City’s underground cable specification ensures a high-level performance and reliability. Over the past 20 years, utility staff have installed Okonite underground cable without a cable failure.
Any exceptions to the underground cable specification by any cable manufacturer are always reviewed, but Okonite is the only cable manufacturer that fully meets the City’s specification for both cable insulation and a manufacturing process that ensures quality and reliability.
The equipment standardization with Okonite for medium voltage underground cable for the utility’s electric underground system was approved pursuant to Section 2.30.900 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code by the City Manager or their designee to ensure continued reliability, cost- efficiency, and compatibility with existing electric infrastructure. Equipment standardization will Item 10
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minimize material costs and spare parts while promoting efficient design, construction, and maintenance practices.
Emergency supply and spare parts would be minimized.
As the City uses some of the same cable as PG&E, Okonite keeps stock on hand and can meet the City’s short lead time delivery requirements. Okonite maintains a minimum stock of the cables used by the City for emergency requests. Okonite offers the City the ability to order reels cut to length for specific projects to help manage inventory and reduce unusable cable segments. Okonite’s factory (Santa Maria, CA) is located relatively close to Palo Alto and can expedite delivery of cable if needed for emergencies.
Maintenance and replacement.
Palo Alto takes advantage of the bulk pricing discounts achieved when using the same cable as PG&E.
Standardizing existing equipment facilitates efficient construction and maintenance practices by helping City employees to more consistently plan, design, identify, and work with existing utility infrastructure.
By using a standard product CPAU staff can implement a consistent maintenance and replacement program.
In 2015, the City issued a formal solicitation and Okonite was deemed the lowest responsible bidder (Staff Report #61311). Cable shipments have never been missed and there have been no quality issues associated with Okonite cable. In addition, Okonite has provided excellent customer service to engineering and operations staff with training and technical support.
ANALYSIS
Okonite is the only manufacturer that fully meets the City’s cable specifications and has demonstrated proven reliability. Okonite is also a supplier of PG&E. The cable standardization and alignment with PG&E’s specifications provides supply redundancy and resiliency for unforeseen or emergency events and allows the City to receive discounted bulk pricing from Okonite. This purchase order authorization is based on an exception to the City's competitive solicitation requirements due to the approval of the equipment standardization, consistent with Section 2.30.360(e) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code.
Medium voltage cables are used in residential and commercial underground circuits for the distribution of power. Utilities underground electric system designs include 4 standard cable sizes that are regularly stocked; 1) 1100 kcmil, 25kV, 2) 750 kcmil, 15kV rated, 3) 600 kcmil, 25kV rated, and 4) 1/0 AWG, 25kV rated. Often, utilities must make unplanned repairs, so it is important to 1 City Council, October 19, 2015; Staff Report 6131: https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/agendas- minutes-reports/reports/city-manager-reports-cmrs/year-archive/2015/final-staff-report-id-6131_purchase-of- medium-voltage-underground-cable-from-the-okonite-company-over-5-years.pdf Item 10
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have standardized material and a supplier who has demonstrated the ability to ensure product quality, uniformity of manufacture, ready availability, timely delivery, and can accommodation CPAU requirements to maintain staff familiarity with the product and maintain electric system reliability and resiliency.
Additionally, the City of Palo Alto’s Grid Modernization Project involves the replacement and upgrade of aging electric infrastructure to support future energy demands. As electric loads are projected to increase—driven by the growing adoption of electric vehicle charging and the community’s transition from gas to electric appliances—certain segments of the City’s underground electric cable require upgrades to increase ampacity and to accommodate the additional load. Other cable segments will be replaced due to reaching the end of useful service life, which is approximately 30 years. In 2023 and 2024, expenditures for underground cable work totaled approximately $537,911 and $448,619, respectively.
Base Pricing & Purchase Order Authority: Okonite has provided the City with a base price for CPAU’s four standard cable sizes for the first 12 months. For each consecutive year, adjustments in metals may rise but cannot increase higher than the CPI-W index3. The price adjustments will be applied to the current base price of copper at $2.00/lb and aluminum at $1.00/lb with a maximum increase of 5% and minimum of 3%. Adjustments in metals may decrease and the City would receive that pricing benefit. New or adjusted tariffs will impact the price per foot of cable. Changes to Okonite’s material sourcing due to tariffs will be applied, up or down, and passed through to the City. To date, Okonite has absorbed cost increases due to new tariffs by limiting price increases to 1%. Future invoices will include a separately stated charge for any tariff-impacted components.
Staff requests authorization to set the purchase limit at $800,000 for each fiscal year based on historical expenditures ($500,000 annually) and future projections ($800,000 annually). As the Grid Modernization Project shifts its focus from overhead to underground infrastructure, staff anticipates increased underground construction activity including upgrade of underground cables. Any unspent funds will be returned to reserves or the capital improvement program as part of the year end procurement process.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for this material purchase is available from the FY 2026 Capital Budget in the Electric Fund Project EL-24000 (Grid Modernization) and EL-98003 (Electric System Improvements).
Funding for subsequent years for the blanket purchase order are subject to City Council approval of annual appropriations. The term agreement format means the City enters an agreement for an unspecified number of units, up to a maximum expenditure amount per year (PAMC 2.30.110) and items are ordered as needed, based on standard prices provided by the vendor. 3 Published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Item 10
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The City’s purchase order template permits the City to terminate without cause or for convenience by providing written notice to the contractor. In the event the City finds itself facing a challenging budget situation, and it is determined that City resources need to be refocused elsewhere, the City can terminate for convenience. Other options include amending the purchase order to reduce the cost, for example, by reducing the quantity of items purchased.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
This agreement for materials does not directly impact customers that would require community outreach.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This purchase order authorization does not meet the definition of a project pursuant to Section 21065 of the California Public Resources Code and is otherwise categorically exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), under Section 15301 (repair or maintenance of existing facilities), and Section 15302 (replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities) of the California Code of Regulations Title 14 (the “CEQA Guidelines”).
APPROVED BY:
Alan Kurotori, Director of Utilities
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City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: November 3, 2025
Report #:2509-5193
TITLE
Approval of Seven Items to Support the Automated Weather Observation System Project, AP- 19000, at Palo Alto Airport: 1) Approval of Construction Contract No. C26194026 with Vellutini Corporation DBA Royal Electric Company, in an Amount Not to Exceed $1,699,810; 2) Authorization for the City Manager or Designee to Negotiate Change Orders Up to a Not-to- Exceed Amount of $254,971; 3) Approval and Authorization for the City Manager or Designee to Execute Contract Amendment 3 to Contract No. C21178372C with C&S Engineers, Inc. for a Not-to-Exceed Amount of $464,613 and a Contract Extension Through December 31, 2026; 4) Authorization and Approval for the City Manager or Designee to Execute Contract Amendment 1 to Contract No. C21178372B with Burns & McDonnell for a Contract Extension Through December 31, 2026; 5) Approval and Authorization for the City Manager or Designee to Execute Contract Amendment 1 to Contract No. C211783782A with Centurion Planning & Design LLC to extend the contract term through December 31, 2027; 6) Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing the Submittal of Applications and Execution of Grant Agreements with the California Department of Transportation for Airport Improvement Program Matching Grants; and 7) Approval of a Budget Amendment in the Airport Enterprise Fund; CEQA Status - Exempt Under CEQA Guidelines Section 15302
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute construction contract No. C26194026 with Vellutini Corporation DBA Royal Electric Company, in the amount not to exceed $1,699,810 for the Airport Automated Weather Observation Project (AP-19000);
2. Approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute one or more change orders to the contract with Vellutini Corporation DBA Royal Electric Company for related, additional but unforeseen work that may develop during the project, the total value of which shall not exceed $254,971;
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3. Approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Amendment 2 to Contract No. C21178372C with C&S Engineers Inc. to increase compensation by $464,613 and extend the contract term through December 31, 2027 to provide construction administration and management services related to the Airport Automated Weather Observation Project;
4. Approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Amendment 1 to Contract No. C21178372B with Burns & McDonnell to extend the contract term through December 31, 2027 to provide construction engineering services;
5. Approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Amendment 1 to Contract No. C211783782A with Centurion Planning & Design LLC to extend the contract term through December 31, 2027 to provide construction environmental services;
6. Adopt a Resolution authorizing the submittal of an application and execution of grant agreements with the California Department of Transportation, for Airport Improvement Program matching grants; and
7. Amend the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Appropriation for the Airport Fund by (requires a 2/3 vote):
a. Increasing the estimate for revenue from the Federal Government by $1,140,739;
b. Increasing the estimate for revenue from the State of California by $70,239; c. Increasing the Advanced Weather Observation System Project (AP-19000) expenditure appropriation by $1,164,157; and
d. Increasing the fund balance in the Airport Fund by $46,821 (reimbursement of expenses already incurred).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Palo Alto Airport Automated Weather Observation System Project will install new weather monitoring equipment and replace aging navigational aids to enhance flight safety and operational reliability. The project includes constructing a 24/7 AWOS to provide continuous real-time weather data, as well as replacing the Precision Approach Path Indicators and Runway End Identifier Lights, both of which have reached the end of their useful life. The City has received three grants from the Federal Aviation Administration totaling $2,431,789 for the project.
Staff recommends the City Council approve multiple contracts totaling $2,504,394, including the construction contract with Vellutini Corporation DBA Royal Electric Company1, consultant contract extensions, and a resolution allowing the City Manager to apply for California 1 Vellutini Corporation DBA Royal Electric Company Construction Contract Contract for AWOS C26194026; https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/public-works/palo-alto-airport/c26194026-awos-final-contract- revised-10.21.25.pdf
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Department of Transportation matching grants in the amount of $70,239. With the FAA and CalTrans funding, the Airport Fund’s contribution to the project is $104,460.
BACKGROUND
As a General Aviation Reliever Airport for three major Bay Area airports, Palo Alto Airport (PAO) is a critical facility included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, making it eligible for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant funding.
This funding supports capital improvements necessary to ensure the continued safe and efficient operation of the airport.
Currently, PAO relies on the FAA control tower, staffed daily from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., to provide weather and visibility information to pilots using basic tools such as ceilometers, wind indicators, and altimeters. Outside of tower hours, however, real-time weather information is limited, which can impact both flight safety and operational decision-making. The proposed Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS) will provide continuous, 24/7 real-time weather data and automatically generate METARs—one-minute weather observations broadcast via UHF/VHF radio, telephone, and online weather services. This information will be available to pilots, flight service stations, the National Weather Service, and other weather platforms, ensuring accurate, up-to-date, and FAA-compliant weather reporting.
In addition to the AWOS installation, the project includes replacing the aging Precision Approach Path Indicators and Runway End Identifier Lights, both of which are required FAA navigational aids. The existing equipment has reached the end of its useful life, has become increasingly difficult to service, and lacks readily available replacement parts. Upgrading these systems is essential to maintaining safe approach and landing operations at PAO. These improvements have been strongly requested by airport users and will significantly enhance the safety and reliability of airport operations.
ANALYSIS
This project will install a new AWOS and upgrade critical airfield infrastructure at the Palo Alto Airport to enhance safety and operational efficiency. The work includes installing AWOS equipment, foundations, electrical systems, and communication connections to the FAA tower, as well as fully integrating the system for seamless operation. In addition, the project will replace aging Precision Approach Path Indicators and Runway End Identifier Lights by demolishing outdated equipment, installing new systems, upgrading control relays, and improving power connections and conduits. These upgrades will provide continuous, real-time weather information, improve navigational aids, and support the safe and efficient operation of the airport.
Solicitation Process
On March 10, 2025, a formal invitation for bids for the AWOS project was posted on the City’s Item 11
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eProcurement system. The City received two bids from qualified contractors on April 21, 2025, as listed on the attached Bid Summary (Attachment A).
Bid Summary
Table 1: Summary of invitation for Bids
Project Bid Name/Number Automated Weather Observation System Installation IFB #194026
Proposed Length of Project 296 days
Number of Bid Packages Downloaded by Contractors 21
Total Day to Respond to Bid 31
Pre-Bid Meeting (Non-mandatory) Yes
Number of Company Attendees at Pre-Bid Meeting 1
Number of Bids Received 2
Public Link to Solicitation https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/palo- alto-ca/projects/154303
Bid Range $1,699,810.00 - $1,979,900.00
The bid was $1,699,810, which is 20% above the engineer’s estimate of $1,416,264. Staff has reviewed the bid submitted and recommends acceptance of the base bid submitted by Vellutini Corporation DBA Royal Electric Company in the amount of $1,699,810, and that Vellutini Corporation DBA Royal Electric Company be declared the responsible lowest bidder. The construction contingency amount of $254,971, which equals 15% of the contract value, is requested for related, additional, but unforeseen work which may develop during the project, implemented via City-approved Change Order. A contingency amount of 15% is the maximum allowed contingency by the FAA, and is requested for this project to maximize eligible funding beyond the City’s standard 10% contingency.
Consultant Services
Consultant services are critical to the successful delivery of Airport Capital Improvement Program (ACIP) projects, providing on-call design services, construction administration, environmental studies, and planning support. On December 7, 2020, the City executed3 the original contracts with C&S Engineers, Burns & McDonnell, and Centurion Planning and Design.
All of the contracts are set to expire on December 31, 2025 and require extensions to allow for the completion and closeout of the project with the FAA. The FAA permits contract extension beyond five years if the project was included in the ACIP at the time of the original Request for Qualifications; these projects were included.
C&S Engineers, who have been closely involved in the project, will provide construction management and grant administration services. Contract Amendment 2 (Attachment B) to 3 City Council, December 7, 2020, Agenda Item #10; SR#11654; https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=228694&repo=r-704298fc Item 11
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Contract No #C21178372C will add additional funds to cover the costs and extend the contract to December 31, 2027 to allow time for closeout of the grant.
As the design engineer, Burns & McDonnell will continue to provide construction administration services as needed. Contract Amendment 1 (Attachment C) to Contract No #C21178372B will extend the contract to December 31, 2027 to allow for time to close out the grant.
Centurion Planning & Design performed the environmental review for the project, and will provide environmental services during construction. Contract Amendment 1 (Attachment D) to Contract No #C21178372A will extend the contract to December 31, 2027 to allow for time to closeout the grant.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Partial funding for the recommended contracts is available in the FY 2026 Adopted Budget for the Advanced Weather Observation System project (AP-19000). The existing budget and recommended adjustments are summarized in the following table:
Contracts and Awarded
Grants
Recommended
Total Amount
Included in FY 2026
Adopted Budget
Recommended
Budget Adjustment
Federal Grants $2,431,789 $1,291,050 $1,140,739
State Grants $70,239 $ - $70,239
Total Revenue $2,502,028 $1,291,050 $1,210,978
Recommended Contracts $2,504,394 $1,340,237 $1,164,157 Total Expenditure $2,504,394 $1,340,237 $1,164,157
Net Impact ($2,366) ($49,187) $46,821
As shown in the table, $1,340,237 was budgeted for the AWOS project in Fiscal Year 2026, thus requiring a $1,164,157 budget amendment to cover the costs of the recommended contracts.
Also budgeted was $1,291,050 of FAA grant reimbursements. Previously, FAA grants for general aviation airports covered 90% of eligible project costs. However, under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, general aviation airports like Palo Alto Airport are now eligible for up to 95% federal funding for this project. The net impact of $2,366 will be paid for by the Airport Fund with the $46,821 being returned to the Airport Fund.
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The Airport Enterprise Fund previously pre-funded $241,357 for design, engineering, and environmental services due to limited federal funds at the time. These costs are eligible for reimbursement and are included in the FAA grant agreements. The total FAA grant funding for the project is $2,431,789 through three (3) grants:
Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG): $1,027,000
Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Grant #1: $677,822
Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Grant #2: $726,967
Additionally, staff requests Council adopt a Resolution (Attachment E) authorizing the City Manager to execute matching grant agreements with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for the two AIP grants. Caltrans does not match the AIG grant; therefore, no funding is requested for that grant. The matching funds from Caltrans contribute the following:
Caltrans Match Agreement for AIP Grant #1: $33,891
CalTrans Match Agreement for AIP Grant #2 $36,348
As $1,291,050 in Federal revenues had already been budgeted in this project, only $1,140,739 in Federal funds and $70,239 in State funds remain unbudgeted in the AWOS project.
These adjustments ensure sufficient funding to cover the full scope of the AWOS project while maximizing available federal and state reimbursements. The overall project cost, including amounts from prior years, is $2,608,854, with $2,502,028 funded by the FAA and CalTrans, and $104,460 contributed from the Airport Fund.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Airport stakeholders have been actively involved since the outset of the AWOS project design.
Airport staff has conducted ongoing outreach to the Palo Alto Airport Association, airport businesses, and other tenants to ensure that the system’s design reflects the operational needs of the airport community. Regular discussions and feedback sessions have provided valuable input on siting, functionality, and anticipated benefits of the AWOS. This collaborative approach has helped align the project with community expectations and aviation best practices, while also fostering transparency and support among those most directly impacted by the system’s installation.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
National Environmental Policy Act
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requirements for the AWOS Project. Since the project involves only the replacement of existing facilities, it qualifies as a Categorical Exclusion (CATEX) under FAA Order 1050.1: Environmental Impacts, Policies, and Procedures.
California Environmental Quality Act
The project is exempt from CEQA review per Guideline Section 15302 (Replacement or Reconstruction).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Bid Summary
Attachment B: CS C211783782C Amendment 2
Attachment C: BM C21178372B Amendment 1
Attachment D: Centurion C21178372A Amendment 1
Attachment E: RESO DOT Grant Agreement
APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer
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Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS) Project IFB 194026 IFB Post Date: 3/10/2025
IFB Due Date: 4/21/2025
UNIT PRICE TOTAL ITEM PRICE UNIT PRICE TOTAL ITEM PRICE UNIT PRICE TOTAL ITEM PRICE Base Bid
100-1 MOBILIZATION/DEMOBILIZATION 1 LS 85,564.00$ 85,564.00$ 115,000.00$ 115,000.00$ 98,800.00$ 98,800.00$ 109-1 UPGRADES TO ELECTRICAL SHELTER 1 LS 35,000.00$ 35,000.00$ 117,905.00$ 117,905.00$ 56,900.00$ 56,900.00$ 111-1 1-2”C HDPE CONDUIT, HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING 200 LF 150.00$ 30,000.00$ 300.00$ 60,000.00$ 98.00$ 19,600.00$ 111-2 2-4”C HDPE HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DIRLL AFL DUCTBANK 1500 LF 175.00$ 262,500.00$ 101.33$ 151,995.00$ 107.00$ 160,500.00$ 115-1 1-2”C or 1-4”C PVC CONDUIT, CONCRETE ENCASED IN DIRT OR NON-PAVED EARTH 600 LF 95.00$ 57,000.00$ 115.00$ 69,000.00$ 143.00$ 85,800.00$ 116-2 24” L-867D JUNCTION CAN IN NON PAVED EARTH 4 EA 10,000.00$ 40,000.00$ 10,700.00$ 42,800.00$ 8,000.00$ 32,000.00$ 128-1 REMOVE ELECTRICAL ITEMS 1 LS 25,000.00$ 25,000.00$ 56,600.00$ 56,600.00$ 76,200.00$ 76,200.00$ 128-2 MISCELLANEOUS ELECTRICAL WORK 1 LS 25,000.00$ 25,000.00$ 125,000.00$ 125,000.00$ 231,000.00$ 231,000.00$ 131-1 FURNISH AND INSTALL NEW SWITCHBOARD NEMA 3R 600A 1 LS 100,000.00$ 100,000.00$ 43,000.00$ 43,000.00$ 180,000.00$ 18,000.00$ 132-1 FURNISH AND INSTALL NEW 60KVA TRANSFORMER 1 LS 35,000.00$ 35,000.00$ 37,000.00$ 37,000.00$ 20,000.00$ 20,000.00$ 144-1 RUNWAY 31 PAPI POWER CABLES AND CONTROL CABLES 1 LS 60,000.00$ 60,000.00$ 205,000.00$ 205,000.00$ 29,400.00$ 29,400.00$ 144-2 RUNWAY 31 2 BOX LED PAPI REPLACEMENT, FOUNDATION AND PCU RACK 1 LS 75,000.00$ 75,000.00$ 55,000.00$ 55,000.00$ 161,000.00$ 161,000.00$ SubTotal Base Bid 830,064.00$ 1,078,300.00$ 1,151,200.00$ Alternative Bid 1A
144-3 RUNWAY 31 REIL POWER CABLES AND CONTROL CABLES 1 LS $ 60,000.00 $ 60,000.00 200,000.00$ 200,000.00$ 13,700.00$ 13,700.00$ 144-4 RUNWAY 31 LED REIL REPLACEMENT ON NEW FOUNDATION 1 LS $ 75,000.00 $ 75,000.00 35,000.00$ 35,000.00$ 66,110.00$ 66,110.00$ SubTotal Alt 1A 135,000.00$ 235,000.00$ 79,810.00$ Alternative Bid 2
102-1 RUNWAY 13/31 AWOS POWER CABLES 1800 LF $ 40.00 $ 72,000.00 140.00$ 252,000.00$ 36.00$ 64,800.00$ 102-2 RUNWAY 13/31 AWOS COMMUNICATION CABLES 2640 LF $ 30.00 $ 79,200.00 140.00$ 369,600.00$ 25.00$ 66,000.00$ 130-1 AWOS IIIPT ON NEW FOUNDATION 1 LS $ 300,000.00 $ 300,000.00 45,000.00$ 45,000.00$ 338,000.00$ 338,000.00$ Sub Total Alt 2 451,200.00$ 666,600.00$ 468,800.00$ Total 1,416,264.00$ 1,979,900.00$ 1,699,810.00$ Totals Summary
Total Bid
15% Contingency
Total Contract Amt
DESCRIPTION, WITH UNIT PRICE IN WORDS (EACH BID ITEM SHALL INCLUDE ALL
APPLICABLE TAXES, PROFIT, INSURANCE, BONDS, AND OTHER OVERHEAD)
ENGINEERS ESTIMATE
Vellutini Corporation DBA Royal
Electric Company
BID
ITEM
APPRO
X.QTY. UNIT
LOWEST BIDDER
Engineers Estimate Estate Design and Construction
Vellutini Coorporation DBA Royal
Electric Company
$ 1,416,264.00 Estate Design and Construction
% above Engineers Estimate 40% 20%
$ 1,628,704.00 1,979,900.00$
296,985.00$
2,276,885.00$
254,971.00$
1,699,810.00$
1,954,781.00$
$ 212,440.00 Item 11
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1 Revision July 20, 2016 AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO CONTRACT NO. C21178372C
BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND C & S ENGINEERS, INC.
This Amendment No. Two to Contract No. C21178372C (“Contract”) is entered into [Date] by and between the CITY OF PALO ALTO, a California chartered municipal corporation (“CITY”), and C & S ENGINEEERS, INC., a New York corporation, located at 499 Col.
Eileen Collins Boulevard, Syracuse, New York 13212 (“CONSULTANT”).
R E C I T A L S
A. The Contract was entered into between the parties for the provision of On-call engineering services including planning, design engineering, environmental analyses, grant management and construction management.
B. The parties wish to amend the Contract to extend the term.
C. The parties wish to amend the Contract to increase the compensation to cover additional anticipated task order for Phase III of the Airport Apron Reconstruction Capital Improvement Project; to increase the total not-to-exceed amount of the Contract by an amount not to exceed Four Hundred Sixty Four Thousand Six Hundred Thirteen Dollars ($464,613.00) from One Million Seven Hundred Fifteen Thousand Twenty Three Dollars ($1,715,023.00)to a new total not-to-exceed amount of Two Million One Hundred Seventy Nine Thousand Six Hundred Thirty Six Dollars (2,179,636.00); as detailed herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the covenants, terms, conditions, and provisions of this Amendment, the parties agree:
SECTION 1. Section 2. TERM is hereby amended to read as follows:
“The term of this Agreement shall be from the date of its full execution through December 31, 2027.”
SECTION 2. Section 4. NOT TO EXCEED COMPENSATION is hereby amended to read as follows:
“The compensation to be paid to CONSULTANT for performance of services described in Exhibit “A” (“Basic Services”), and reimbursable expenses, shall not exceed Two Million One Hundred Seventy Nine Thousand Six Hundred Thirty Six Dollars (2,179,636.00)
SECTION 2. Except as herein modified, all other provisions of the Contract, including any exhibits and subsequent amendments thereto, shall remain in full force and effect.
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2 Revision July 20, 2016
SIGNATURES OF THE PARTIES
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have by their duly authorized representatives executed this Amendment effective as of the date first above written.
CITY OF PALO ALTO
_________________________
City Manager or Designee
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
City Attorney or Designee
_________________________
Director of Public Works
Attachment:
C & S ENGINEERS, INC.
By:
Name:
Title:
By:
Name:
Title:
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1 Revision July 20, 2016 AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO CONTRACT NO. C21178372B
BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND BURNS & MCDONNELL ENGINEERING COMPANY, INC This Amendment No. One to Contract No. C21178372A (“Contract”) is entered into [Date] by and between the CITY OF PALO ALTO, a California chartered municipal corporation (“CITY”), and BURNS & MCDONNELL ENGINEERING COMPANY, INC, a Missouri corporation, located at 9400 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, MO 64114 (“CONSULTANT”).
R E C I T A L S
A. The Contract was entered into between the parties for the provision of On-call engineering services including planning, and design engineering.
B. The parties wish to amend the Contract to extend the term.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the covenants, terms, conditions, and provisions of this Amendment, the parties agree:
SECTION 1. Section 2. TERM is hereby amended to read as follows:
“The term of this Agreement shall be from the date of its full execution through December 31, 2027.”
SECTION 2. Except as herein modified, all other provisions of the Contract, including any exhibits and subsequent amendments thereto, shall remain in full force and effect.
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C21178372B Amendment 1
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SIGNATURES OF THE PARTIES
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have by their duly authorized representatives executed this Amendment effective as of the date first above written.
CITY OF PALO ALTO
_________________________
City Manager or Designee
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
City Attorney or Designee
_________________________
Director of Public Works
Attachment:
B & M ENGINEERING INC
By:
Name:
Title:
By:
Name:
Title:
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1 Revision July 20, 2016 AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO CONTRACT NO. C21178372A
BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND CENTURION PLANNING & DESIGN, LLC This Amendment No. One to Contract No. C21178372A (“Contract”) is entered into [Date] by and between the CITY OF PALO ALTO, a California chartered municipal corporation (“CITY”), and CENTURION PLANNING & DESIGN, LLC, a Texas Limited Liability Company, located at 69 N. Chadbourne St, San Angelo, TX 76903 (“CONSULTANT”).
R E C I T A L S
A. The Contract was entered into between the parties for the provision of On-call engineering services including planning, and design engineering.
B. The parties wish to amend the Contract to extend the term.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the covenants, terms, conditions, and provisions of this Amendment, the parties agree:
SECTION 1. Section 2. TERM is hereby amended to read as follows:
“The term of this Agreement shall be from the date of its full execution through December 31, 2027.”
SECTION 2. Except as herein modified, all other provisions of the Contract, including any exhibits and subsequent amendments thereto, shall remain in full force and effect.
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C21178372A Amendment 1
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2 Revision July 20, 2016
SIGNATURES OF THE PARTIES
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have by their duly authorized representatives executed this Amendment effective as of the date first above written.
CITY OF PALO ALTO
_________________________
City Manager or Designee
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
City Attorney or Designee
_________________________
Director of Public Works
Attachment:
CENTURION PLANNING & DESIGN
By:
Name:
Title:
By:
Name:
Title:
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Resolution No.
Resolution of the City Council of the City of Palo Alto Authorizing the City Manager to Execute Grant Agreements Offered to the City of Palo Alto by the California Department of Transportation for Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Matching Grant Funds to be Used for Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS), for the Palo Alto Airport; and Authorizing the City Manager or his Designee to Execute, on Behalf of the City, any Other Documents Associated with the Application and Acceptance of Grant Funds from the California Department of Transportation; and Certifying that the Airport Enterprise Fund has Sufficient Local Matching Funds to Finance One Hundred Percent (100%) of the California Department of Transportation Grant Funded Projects
R E C I T A L S
A. The City of Palo Alto (“the City”) and the Federal Aviation Administration are parties to federal Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants 3-06-0182-23-2025 & 3-06-0182-25-2025 for Apron Reconstruction, Phase II, at Palo Alto Airport.
B. The California Department of Transportation (“DOT”), pursuant to Public Utilities Code Section 21683.1, is authorized to provide AIP matching grants of up to five percent (5%) of FAA grant amounts.
C. The DOT requires a local agency, as a condition of receiving these AIP matching grant funds, to adopt a resolution authorizing the submittal of an application and the execution of grant agreements for the acceptance of said grant funds and to certify the availability of the local matching funds for AIP grants.
D. The Council wishes to authorize the City to receive the maximum of available DOT grant funds for Apron Reconstruction, Phase II, for the Palo Alto Airport.
E. The Council has recommended that grant agreements offered to the City by DOT for the Palo Alto Airport be executed by the City Manager or his designee on behalf of the City.
F. This Council has considered the recommendation of the City Manager.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Council of the City of Palo Alto does hereby RESOLVE, as follows:
SECTION 1. Authorizes the City Manager to execute AIP Matching Grant agreements offered to the City by the California Department of Transportation to be used for Apron Reconstruction, Phase II, for Palo Alto Airport.
SECTION 2. Authorizes the City Manager or his designee to execute on behalf of the City any other documents associated with the application and acceptance of the allocation of AIP Matching grant funds from the California Department of Transportation.
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SECTION 3. Certifies that the Airport Enterprise Fund has sufficient local matching funds to finance one hundred percent (100%) of the California Department of Transportation grant funded projects.
SECTION 4. The Council finds that the adoption of this resolution does not constitute a ‘project’ under Section 21065 of the California Public Resources Code and Sections 15378(b)(4) and 9b)(5) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the CEQA Guidelines, and therefore, no environmental assessment is required.
INTRODUCED AND PASSED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
ATTEST:
___________________________ ___________________________ City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED:
___________________________ ____________________________ Chief Assistant City Attorney City Manager
____________________________
Director of Public Works
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Grant Agreement
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City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Transportation
Meeting Date: November 3, 2025
Report #:2507-4945
TITLE
Approve a Cost-Sharing Agreement with Stanford University Not-to-Exceed $878,200 for Design and Engineering Services for the Quarry Road Improvements and Transit Center Access Capital Project (PL-16000) and approve budget amendments in the General Fund, Capital Improvement Fund, and the Stanford University Medical Center (SUMC) Fund; CEQA status – statutorily exempt under Pub. Res. Code § 21080(b)(12).
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Approve and authorize the City Manager or designee to execute a cost-sharing agreement with Stanford University not-to-exceed $878,200 for design and engineering services for the Quarry Road Improvements and Transit Center Access capital project (PL-16000); and
2. Amend the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Appropriation (requires 2/3 approval) for the:
a. Capital Improvement Fund by:
i. Increasing the Transfer in from the Stanford University Medical Center (SUMC) Development Agreement Fund in the amount of $878,200; ii. Increasing the appropriation for the Quarry Road Improvements and Transit Center Access capital project (PL-16000) in the amount of $878,200;
b. General Fund by:
i. Increasing the Transfer in from the Stanford Universal Medical Center (SUMC) Development Agreement fund in the amount of $35,000; ii. Increasing the expense appropriation for other contract services in the Office of Transportation in the amount of $35,000;
c. Stanford University Medical Center (SUMC) Development Agreement Fund by:
i. Increasing the Transfer to the Capital Improvement Fund appropriation in the amount of $878,200;
ii. Increasing the Transfer to the General Fund appropriation in the amount of $35,000; and
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iii. Decreasing the Ending Fund Balance for Intermodal Transit in the amount of $913,200.
BACKGROUND
On November 13, 2017, Council adopted the City’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan including Policy T-
3.10 to participate in the design and implementation of comprehensive solutions to traffic problems near Stanford Shopping Center and Stanford Medical Center, and Program T3.10.4 to pursue extension of Quarry Road for transit, pedestrians and bicyclists to access the Palo Alto Transit Center from El Camino Real.
In November 2024, Palo Alto voters passed Measure D, approving the use of a portion of El Camino Park to implement this Comprehensive Plan direction by undedicating a 0.33-acre portion of El Camino Park to create a new transit roadway linking the Palo Alto Transit Center with El Camino Real.
The Quarry Road Transit Connection will allow buses that use the Palo Alto Transit Center to exit directly to El Camino Real at Quarry Road, rather than circling back via University Avenue.
The project will therefore reduce bus travel times and accomplish bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements at the intersection of Quarry Road and El Camino Real.
On June 10, 2024, Council approved a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Stanford University to support this project.1 The LOI outlined responsibilities and actions that each party plans to undertake, including:
Funding, design, and construction of the roadway, with Stanford University contributing up to $4 million for completion of the project, as well as maintenance funding; Extension of the Stanford lease to the City for the playing fields at El Camino Park for an additional ten years through 2052; and,
A longer-term visioning process for the Palo Alto Transit Center that addresses dynamic public spaces, multi-modal transit needs, and community engagement.
The first phase of the project in the first bullet above is addressed by the attached cost-sharing agreement. To address the third bullet, this item also requests funds to support an initiative to begin longer-term visioning at the Transit Center.
ANALYSIS
The ballot measure approved by voters undedicated the parkland required for the project, so the project may now proceed. Due to current staffing resources, the City cannot support a project manager for the Transit Connection at this time, but Stanford has capacity to lead the design phase of the project. The City and Stanford have therefore collaboratively drafted a cost- 1 City Council, June 10, 2024; Agenda Item #12, SR # 2405-3041 https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=73991&repo=r-704298fc&searchid=36b1a674-586a-4542- 984e-b8b20b7c727a
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sharing agreement whereby Stanford provides project management services via a contractor through the design and environmental phase. This arrangement avoids project initiation delays and subsequent cost increases. City staff will be assigned to provide project oversight through the design phase.
The attached scope of work (Attachment A) includes environmental clearance and the State- required construction documents needed to build the transit roadway and upgrade the Caltrans-owned intersection of El Camino Real, Quarry Road, and the new transit road. The tentative project schedule in Table 1 assumes a November 1 start date.
Table 1: Project Tasks and Tentative Schedule
Task Timeline
Project Kick-off November 2025
Preliminary Engineering & Supporting Analyses (includes Traffic & Transit Analyses, Encroachment Permit Preparation) November 2025 - May 2026
Environmental Studies & Clearance February 2026 - April 2026 Plans, Specifications & Estimates (PS&E – 60%/95%/Final): February 2026 - January 2027 Draft Design Engineering Evaluation Report (DEER) December 2026 Final DEER June 2027
The total budget for the design phase is $878,200, which also includes a $100,000 contingency and an optional line item for a Caltrans-required Preliminary Environmental Analysis Report for $11,700. The environmental analysis report is currently optional in the event that Federal funds are later added to the project which is currently locally funded.
To address the longer-term interests for the site, the City is partnering with the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Stanford University, and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to obtain advice and recommendations from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) on longer-term development and planning issues associated with the Palo Alto Transit Center. ULI will bring a panel of subject matter experts to interview a wide variety of individuals in Palo Alto. The panel will then develop recommendations for the Palo Alto Transit Center. This intensive short-term engagement with ULI is taking place the week of October 19, 2025. ULI will make a presentation of findings at the end of their engagement. The City’s portion of the $135,000 cost for the ULI initiative is $35,000 (the other partners are each paying $50,000 towards this engagement).
This work is being initiated through the VTA Mobility Hub Ad Hoc Committee, which is looking at ways to transform the second most active train station in the Caltrain corridor into an active transit-friendly hub that enhances visitor experience, supports community engagement, and ensures long-term sustainability.
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FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The preliminary cost estimate to design and build the Quarry Road Transit Connection is estimated to be roughly $5 million but is dependent on ultimate design. These costs will be updated as the design is advanced and construction documents are prepared. The project will be funded by multiple sources, including funding from the Stanford University Medical Center (SUMC) Development Agreement for SUMC Renewal and Replacement Project. Section 5 (d)(i) of the Development Agreement includes $2.25 million for linkages to the intermodal transit station that encourage the use of transit and active transportation modes. A portion of these funds were used previously in the Quarry Road Improvements and Transit Center Access capital project (PL-16000) to build a shared use path between the Transit Center and El Camino Real, resulting in a current fund balance of $1.3 million available for intermodal transit projects. This report recommends using $878,200 of this funding for work in PL-16000. The cost-sharing agreement that is the subject of this report allows the City to transfer the required funds to Stanford to pay for the environmental and advanced preliminary engineering phase of the project.
In July, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's (MTC's) Regional Network Management Committee approved negotiating and entering into a Master Funding Agreement Supplement with the City of Palo Alto for the Quarry Road Connection Project in an amount not to exceed $1.0 million dollars. Through this supplement, MTC will provide $1.0 million dollars in Regional Measure 2 (RM2) bridge toll revenues, subject to allocations, and with matching funds of $500,000, each provided by the City of Palo Alto and Stanford University to support the project through construction. The City‘s matching funds will be provided via the aforementioned SUMC Development Agreement funds. RM2 funding requires review of the project’s Complete Streets Checklist to ensure engagement by pedestrian and bicycle stakeholders, and this review was completed in August by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee.
To cover the cost of the $878,200 design phase and contract for the Quarry Road Transit Connection, MTC in July approved the initial RM2 allocation of $250,000 for the environmental/advanced preliminary engineering phase. The City and Stanford will each provide $125K in matching funds (the City’s portion sourced from the SUMC Development Agreement Intermodal Fund), with the remaining approximately $400K coming from the SUMC Development Agreement Intermodal Fund. Staff will return to Council at a later date to approve the funding agreement with MTC and recognize and appropriate the funds in PL-16000.
The transit connection project is exempt from competitive procurement per PAMC Section
2.30.360(b)(3).
The effort with ULI has a total cost of $135,000, split between the three parties (Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, Stanford University, and the City of Palo Alto). The City’s portion of the costs is $35,000, and this report recommends that this work be funded out of the SUMC Development Agreement Intermodal Fund noted above and transferred to Item 12
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Transportation Planning and Studies, Other Contract Services, within the Office of Transportation operating budget.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
For the Quarry Road connection, while only a simple majority was needed to pass Measure D, the measure garnered 74% voter approval in 2024. The project concept that was advanced in conjunction with the ballot measure was developed through a collaborative process with engagement of Stanford University, City staff, the Council’s Stanford Ad Hoc Committee, the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee (PABAC) and PATC transit operators.
PABAC’s review of the Complete Streets checklist for RM2 funding occurred in August 2025. The project scope of work includes one public meeting to gain feedback from active transportation stakeholders and one working meeting with transit operators to receive input on operational needs.
The ULI Initiative will engage local stakeholders in its process. Also, members of the public can attend the Mobility Hub Ad Hoc Committee at the regular Ad Hoc Committee meetings.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The Quarry Road Transit Connection project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The proposed project comes within the statutory exemption for “facility extensions not to exceed four miles in length which are required for the transfer of passengers from or to exclusive public mass transit guideway or busway public transit services.” Pub. Res.
Code § 21080(b)(12). Due to its fixed location, Caltrain qualifies as an “exclusive public mass transit guideway” service. The proposed project would extend the existing transit center facility by approximately 210 feet, through the intersection of Quarry Road and El Camino Real, to facilitate the transfer of passengers to Caltrain, among other public transit services.
The action to fund the ULI initiative is not a project under CEQA as the activity can be seen with certainty to have no significant effect on the environment.3
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Cost-sharing Agreement with Stanford University (including Palo Alto Transit Center Quarry Road Extension Scope of Work)
APPROVED BY:
Ria Hutabarat Lo, Chief Transportation Official
3 CEQA Guidelines 15061(b)(3)
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PURCHASING GUIDE – APPENDIX L
Short Form Agreement for Revenue Contracts
Cost-Sharing Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Stanford for Quarry Road Project Engineering Contract #: C26195932 BY THIS AGREEMENT DATED FOR CONVENIENCE ON OCTOBER 6, 2025 BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO (“CITY”) AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY (“STANFORD”), Land, Buildings and Real Estate Finance and Administration – Stanford Transportation, 560 Fremont Road, Stanford, CA 94305, [email protected]. IN CONSIDERATION OF THEIR MUTUAL COVENANTS, THE PARTIES HERETO AGREE AS FOLLOWS:
STANFORD SHALL ARRANGE FOR AND OVERSEE THE PROVISION OF THE SERVICES OF TYLIN INTERNATIONAL (“TYLin”) AS SPECIFIED IN THE EXHIBIT A – SCOPE OF SERVICES ATTACHED HERETO AND INCORPORATED HEREIN BY THIS REFERENCE.
EXHIBITS THE FOLLOWING ATTACHED EXHIBITS HEREBY ARE MADE PART OF THIS AGREEMENT:
CONTRACT IS NOT COMPLETE UNLESS ALL EXHIBITS ARE ATTACHED Exhibit A - Scope of Se
rvices and Payment Details
Exhibt B- TYLin International Scope of Work including Schedule Exhibit C- TYLin International Insurance Requirements
TERM THE SERVICES AND/OR MATERIALS FURNISHED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT SHALL COMMENCE ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2025 AND SHALL BE COMPLETED BEFORE DECEMBER 31, 2027. COMPENSATION FOR THE FULL PERFORMANCE OF THIS AGREEMENT: CITY SHALL PAY STANFORD AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $878,200 IN ACCORDANCE WITH EXHIBIT A. INVOIC
ING SEND ALL INVOICES TO THE CITY, ATTN: PROJECT MANAGER CITY ACCOUNT NUMBER:
COST CENT
ER GL ACCT PROJECT /INTERNAL ORDER PHASE NO. DOLLAR AMOUNT GENERAL TERM
S AND CONDITIONS ARE INCLUDED ON ALL PAGES OF THIS AGREEMENT.
ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This agreement and the terms and conditions on the following pages, including attached exhibits, represent the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the purchase and sale of the goods, equipment, materials or supplies or payment for services which may be the subject of this agreement. All prior agreements, representations, statements, negotiations and undertakings whether oral or written are superseded hereby. //
//
//
//
//
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Agreement with Stanford
University (including Palo
Alto Transit Center Quarry
Road Extension Scope of
Work)
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Agreement with Stanford
University (including Palo
Alto Transit Center Quarry
Road Extension Scope of
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PURCHASING GUIDE – APPENDIX L
CITY OF PALO ALTO
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
A. ACCEPTANCE. This agreement is limited to the terms
and conditions on pages 1 through 3 inclusive and any exhibits referenced.
B. GOVERNING LAW AND VENUE. This agreement
shall be governed by the laws of the state of California. The courts of the State of California in the County of Santa Clara and the federal court for the Northern District of California have sole jurisdiction over any disputes that arise over this agreement.
C. NO EMPLOYMENT; CONFLICTS. It is understood and
agreed that this agreement is not a contract of employment in the sense that the relation of master and servant exists between the CITY and undersigned. At all times CITY shall be deemed to be an independent contractor and STANFORD is not
authorized to bind CITY to any contracts or other obligations.
In executing this agreement, STANFORD certifies that no one who has or will have any financial interest under this
agreement is an officer or employee of CITY.
D. INSURANCE. STANFORD agrees to require in the
written Engineering Agreement with TYLin that TYLin
provide at a minimum the insurance specified in the “Insurance Requirements” form attached hereto as Exhibit C or self-insure to equivalent standards. Each such policy provided by TYLin shall contain an endorsement requiring thirty (30) days' written notice from the insurer to STANFORD and CITY
before cancellation or reduction in the coverage or limits of such policy. STANFORD shall provide certificates of TYLin’s policies or other evidence of coverage satisfactory to City's Risk Manager, together with evidence of payment of
premiums, to CITY at the commencement of this agreement, and on renewal of the policy, or policies, not later than twenty (20) days before expiration of the terms of any such policy.
E. TERMINATION . This agreement may be terminated by
either party upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other party if the underlying agreement with TYLin is terminated or suspended. Monies then owing based upon work satisfactorily accomplished shall be paid by CITY.
F. CHANGES . This agreement shall not be assigned or
transferred without the written cons ent of either party. No changes or variations of any kind are authorized without the written consent of both parties.
G. Reserved.
H. NO IMPLIED WAIVER. No payment, partial payment,
acceptance, or partial acceptance by either party shall operate as a waiver on the part of such party of any of its rights under this agreement.
I. Reserved.
J. Reserved.
K. Reserved.
L. Reserved.
M. PRICE TERMS. Extra charges, invoices and payment.
No extra charges of any ki nd will be allowed unless
specifically agreed to in writing by CITY. All state and federal excise, sales and use taxes shall be stated separately on the invoices. In the event TYLin reduces its price for such materials or services during the term of this agreement, STANFORD agrees to reduce the prices or rates hereof
correspondingly.
N. Reserved.
O. Reserved.
P. NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES. Nothing in this
Agreement shall give any rights to any person other than the Parties to this Agreement.
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University (including Palo
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APPENDIX L – SHORT FORM AGREEMENTS FOR REVENUE CONTRACTS Exhibit A – Scope of Services and Payment Details
1. Retention of TY Lin International: Stanford will retain the engineering firm TY Lin International (“TYLin”) to perform services necessary to prepare the Design Engineering Evaluation Report, the Final Design Plans, Specifications, and Estimate (“PS&E”), and a comprehensive Caltrans Encroachment Permit application package. The current draft of TYLin’s scope of work is contained in its July 31, 2025 Palo Alto Transit Center Quarry Road Extension Proposal (“Proposal”), which is attached to this Agreement as Exhibit B. The budget for TYLin’s draft scope of work is $878,200, which may be adjusted as the scope of work is finalized and the Project progresses.
Stanford will negotiate with TYLin regarding mutually acceptable commercial terms and enter into a formal agreement for engineering services incorporating both the commercial terms and the Proposal’s scope of work (“Engineering Agreement”). Stanford will manage TYLin’s performance of the Engineering Agreement from the Project owner’s perspective until such time as its performance is completed, terminated, or Stanford’s rights in the Engineering Agreement are assigned or otherwise transferred to another entity such as the City.
2. Schedule: TYLin will commence its services upon issuance of a Notice to Proceed by Stanford. Stanford anticipates TYLin will complete the PS&E and Caltrans Encroachment Permit application package within approximately 17 months of issuance of the Notice to Proceed. A schedule showing the sequence and anticipated durations of TYLin’s activities under the Engineering Agreement is attached within Exhibit B. The specific start and finish dates shown on Exhibit B should be adjusted commensurately to reflect the date the Notice to Proceed is actually issued.
3. Project Management and Communications: TYLin will hold bi-weekly progress meetings with representatives of Stanford and the City throughout the performance of the Engineering Agreement. TYLin also will conduct interviews and workshops that will require participation by representatives of Stanford and the City. Stanford and the City commit to make one or more representatives with authority to represent their respective interests available to participate in the progress meetings, interviews, and workshops for the duration of the Engineering Agreement. Should an authorized representative of the City be unavailable to attend a scheduled bi-monthly progress meeting, the City will notify Stanford in advance of the meeting to allow for rescheduling, if necessary. The following are designated as the lead representatives, who may arrange for others with appropriate authority to attend meetings in their place:
For Stanford: For City of Palo Alto:
L e s l e y L o w e S y l v i a S t a r - L a c k
[email protected] [email protected]
Communications from TYLin about the Project outside of the progress meetings, interviews, and workshops will generally be with or coordinated by Stanford.
4. Cooperation with TYLin: The Engineering Agreement will require that TYLin collect data from the City to assist in performing certain analyses and preparing reports. The City will make appropriate staff available to provide the requested data to TYLin within timeframes that will allow TYLin to proceed with its work in an orderly fashion in accordance with the schedule contained in Exhibit B.
5. Review of TYLin Submissions: The Engineering Agreement will require that TYLin prepare reports, plans, specifications, estimates and permit application packages for the City’s review and comment before TYLin finalizes them. When TYLin submits draft documents to the City, the City will make appropriate staff members available to review and comment upon them within ten business days of receiving the draft document from TYLin. For reviews designated by TYLin or Stanford as particularly time-sensitive, the City’s representatives will complete their review and submit comments to TYLin and Stanford within no more than five business days after receiving the draft document. If the City has not returned comments within the ten or five business day timeframe, as applicable, the City will be deemed to have no comments and to approve the draft document.
6. The City as CEQA Lead Agency: The Engineering Agreement will require that TYLin prepare a California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Notice of Exemption (“NOE”) package for submission to the State Clearinghouse and the Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder. The City agrees to sign the NOE as the CEQA lead agency, provided the City, in the exercise of its independent judgment, determines that the NOE complies with the requirements of CEQA.
7. Payment to TYLin: Each month, TYLin will submit an invoice via email to both Stanford and the City for services performed and reimbursable expenses incurred. Each invoice will include a description of the services performed along with the names, positions, hours spent, and dates worked of those performing services, as well as receipts for reimbursable expenses. The City and Stanford will each review the invoice and supporting documents. The City will notify Stanford in writing within five business days of receiving an invoice if it objects to any portion of the invoice and the basis for the objection. Stanford will pay TYLin the undisputed amount of an invoice within thirty days of receiving a proper, complete invoice.
8. Reimbursement for TYLin’s Services: Stanford will notify the City of the date and amount of each payment Stanford makes to TYLin. Within thirty days of receiving this notice, the City will reimburse Stanford for the payment Stanford made to TYLin. The City may make the reimbursements from one of the following sources: (a) funds provided to the City under Section 5(d)(i) of the Stanford University Medical Center Development Agreement
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PURCHASING GUIDE – APPENDIX L
(“Development Agreement”); (b) grants obtained from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission or other source; and (c) funds budgeted by Stanford, up to a maximum of $4 million, to make up any shortfall between the total Project costs (including costs of the ballot measure, all soft costs, and construction costs), on the one hand, and the sum of the unspent Development Agreement funds and available grant funds, on the other hand. For the avoidance of doubt, funds provided by Stanford for the ballot measure shall be counted toward the $4 million cap on funding from Stanford, and Stanford shall not be obligated to contribute additional money beyond funds already provided until funds from the Development Agreement and grants have been exhausted; provided, however, that if any TYLin invoice causes the total amount of its billings under the Engineering Agreement to exceed the current budget of $878,200, then payment of any such excess amount shall be made first from funds provided by Stanford and shall count towards the capped amount of funding from Stanford.
9. Delivery and Ownership of Final Design Plans, Specifications & Estimates: Under the Engineering Agreement ,
TYLin will deliver to Stanford and the City a Final 100% set of PS&E (“Final Set”), approved by Caltrans, and ready to be advertised for bid to the construction contracting community. The Final Set will be accompanied by a stamped rep
ort of an independent reviewer who is a Registered Professional Engineer certifying that it is constructable and biddable. The Engineering Agreement will grant to Stanford all ownership rights in the Final Set, reports, drawings, and
other technical data generated by TYLin for the Project (“TYLin Work Product”), as well as rights to transfer ownership of the TYLin Work Product to the City or other entity (through an assignment or otherwise) for purposes of co
nstruction of the Project.
10. Termination of Engineering Agreement: Stanford will have the right to terminate the Engineering Agreement, in whole or in part, for cause or for Stanford’s own convenience and without cause. Prior to termination, Stanford will meet-and
-confer with the City and will collaborate with the City on identifying alternate arrangements for completion of
a Final Set, approved by Caltrans, and certified as constructable and biddable by an independent reviewer, should that still be an appropriate course of action under the circumstances. If Stanford unilaterally early terminates the Eng
ineering Agreement, Stanford shall reimburse the City for any actual costs, penalties, or loss of grant funds incurred or imposed from any third party grants used to fund this Agreement.
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APPENDIX L – SHORT FORM AGREEMENTS FOR REVENUE CONTRACTS
Exhibit B - TYLin Scope of Work (including Schedule)
(see following pages)
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Scope of Work
Overall Scope Assumptions: Design Engineering Evaluation Report (DEER) Eligibility The DEER integrates the engineering review of permit proposals into the standard encroachment permit application process through the Caltrans Project Delivery Quality Management Assessment Process, eliminating the need for PID or PR processing. The DEER is a short-form project document that replaces the Permit Engineering Evaluation Report (PEER), with the previous $3 million construction cost threshold no longer serving as the primary determinant for the appropriate Caltrans review process. The DEER aims t o streamline the processing of projects funded by others by reducing steps in the project development process, provided the following conditions are met:
Project has approved environmental document (CE, ND, EIR, EIS, etc.) or project is CE by CEQA and/or NEPA and has completed studies or public outreach Project only has a Single-Build Alternative
Project does not require CTC action
Project does not involve any right-of-way conveyances from Caltrans to local agencies (dedications, relinquishments, modifications to State right-of-way limits, etc.) Project doesn’t require FHWA approval for Relinquishments or New Public Road Connections Project doesn’t involve construction of new structures or bridge widenings Under the single -build transit road extension, the project will meet all six conditions for eligibility in the DEER process once the environmental documents and technical studies are complete.
The Palo Alto Transit Center Quarry Road Extension Project (Project) aims to enhance safety, access, and circulation for transit vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians by providing direct access to El Camino Real via a Quarry Road extension.
The submission of the approved environmental document, DEER, and Final Design Plans, Specifications, and Estimate (PS&E) will form a comprehensive Caltrans Encroachment Permit application package, facilitating streamlined construction approval.
Project Scope Assumptions:
The project is assumed to qualify for the Caltrans DEER process. As requested by Stanford in an email in June 2025, TYLin will work with Stanford and the City of Palo Alto (“City”) on an initial coordination phase with Caltrans prior to the approval of this scope of work using the remaining budget of Phase 1. The focus of this preliminary coordination phase will be to start the DEER eligibility determination process. o As part of this phase, it is assumed that Stanford and the City , in their role of project sponsors, will initiate a conversation with Caltrans and schedule a meeting with them. In coordination with Stanford and prior to the meeting with Caltrans, t he TYLin team will
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prepare a slide deck summarizing the technical and outreach work performed during Phase 1 and the work to be performed during Phase 2 . TYLin will also prepare a memorandum explaining why we anticipate the project to qualify for the Caltrans DEER process. No conform surveys are included. It is assumed that the conform surveys collected during Phase 1 will be provided by Stanford and used for Phase 2. Supplemental surveys, if required, will be provided at an additional cost and a cost estimate will be provided to Stanford and Palo Alto for review prior to collecting any new data.
Pavement section design will be in accordance with the Palo Alto Transit Center Standards. It is assumed that no standard design features are associated with the build alternative, and therefore no design exception document will be required. It is assumed that the right -of-way needed for the Quarry Road extension has already been allocated and no additional right-of-way is required. TYLin shall only prepare a “No -Right-of-Way Data Sheet.”
It is assumed a Cooperative Agreement will be required between the City and Caltrans. It is assumed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) already exists between Stanford and the City.
Plan preparation shall be in accordance with the Caltrans Standards. Assume four (4) utility potholes. Potholing costs are estimated at approximately $5,000 per hole.
The final number and locations will be confirmed during design. If additional potholes are required, they will be provided at an additional cost, and a cost estimate will be provided to Stanford and Palo Alto for review prior to collecting any new data.
No Phase II Site Investigation work is included in this scope of work (assumed not needed at this time).
Task 1: Project Management
Project Management will be conducted to coordinate between Project Development Team (PDT) members, coordinate among the project TYLin team members, develop and manage the project schedule, and attend project-related meetings. TYLin will coordinate up to 30 progress meetings with Stanford and the City for the duration of the project (bi-weekly for the most part of the project), and schedule coordination meetings with Caltrans as needed. A comprehensive Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) plan will also be implemented. Management tasks include:
TYLin will prepare and distribute agenda, meeting minutes, presentation materials and action item/outstanding issue logs for all meetings.
Conduct a kick-off meeting to discuss and prioritize Project objectives and outline an approach to successfully meet those objectives.
Coordinate with Stanford’s Project Manager and City staff for the duration of the Project. Proactively schedule and lead project coordination meetings with City, Caltrans and other agencies as necessary.
Develop and maintain a Risk Management Plan, Quality Management Plan, Project Communication Plan, Cost Estimate, and a monthly updated Project Delivery Schedule.
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The Project Delivery Schedule will indicate milestones, major activities, and deliverables, and will be provided to the project TYLin team and Caltrans for review and comment. Maintain Project files in accordance with Caltrans Uniform Filing System. Ensure adherence to federal, state and local regulations, guidelines, and other requirements. Prepare and submit monthly invoices and progress reports. Provide technical and report writing services (i.e., conducting research, completing studies in specific areas, and developing work plans).
Task 1 Deliverables:
Project schedule.
Meeting agendas, minutes, and presentation materials. Risk Management, Quality Management, and Project Communication plans. Monthly invoices and progress reports.
DEER Eligibility Memorandum
Task 2: P reliminary Engineering & Stakeholder Outreach Task 2.1 Data Review, Verification, and Field Visit in Support of Preliminary Engineering TYLin will collect data, review previous materials and reports provided by Stanford and the City, and conduct a field visit to inform the preliminary engineering phase of this project building on existing engineering work performed to date. In particular, TYLin will:
Prepare and submit a Caltrans encroachment permit prior to performing the field investigations. Collect additional as-builts in the study area.
Perform a utility and right-of-way verification.
Update the preliminary layout.
Task 2
.2 Bicycle and Pedestrian Operations Stakeholder Workshop TYLin will also engage with key stakeholders to ensure the preliminary designs consider operational needs related to bicycle and pedestrian movements in and around the Transit Center. A stakeholder workshop will be held around the 30% design milestone. The goal of the workshop will be to ensure all operational concerns are considered and build consensus around bicycle and pedestrian design, routing and wayfinding for users navigating the new intersection and Transit Center connections and amenities. Working with City and Stanford staff, TYLin will reach out to critical stakeholders to participate in the workshop. If key individuals are unable to attend, their input and feedback will be gathered and shared with workshop participants to ensure as many voices contribute to th e ultimate analysis. TYLin will develop charts and graphics detailing existing pedestrian and bicycle flows, and options for improvement. Short interviews with key stakeholders identified by Stanford and the City will also precede the workshop, to ensure a complete understanding of existing challenges and potential areas for improvement. The stakeholder workshop will be scheduled for up to three hours and will take place in person, if possible, to solicit the best feedback and
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group discussion. The TYLin team will facilitate the discussion, assisting the group in identifying a single solution or limited range of design solutions once the Quarry Road extension is operational.
Task 2.2 Deliverables:
Workshop meeting notes and presentation materials.
Technical memorandum or slide deck summarizing the concerns and recommendations of the workshop participants, as well as any proposed changes or enhancements.
Task 3: Transit Service and Operations Study
The proposed study will evaluate existing bus service and schedules, estimate travel time savings resulting from the project, and recommend strategies to improve operational efficiency. The study will analyze up to three (3) future scenarios that integrate additional transit lines into the Palo Alto Transit Center alongside existing services. The scenario yielding the greatest travel time savings, selected with input from transit operators, will guide the future conditions traffic analysis described in Task 4.
The Palo Alto Transit Center is currently served by the following operators:
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (Lines 21, 22, 522) SamTrans (Lines 280,281, ECR, 296 Owl, 397 Owl)
Dumbarton Express/AC Transit (Route DB)
Stanford Marguerite and Stanford Health Care Shuttles (P, RP, S, SE, X, Y, MC) The study will assume that these four operators continue to serve the Palo Alto Transit Center and any future changes, expansion or adjustments, will not include the introduction of new operators.
Task 3.1 Existing Conditions Review
TYLin will review relevant data, including route maps, schedules, and General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) feeds, to establish a comprehensive profile of current transit operations at the Palo Alto Transit Center. The existing conditions profile will include:
Routing for approaches and departures
Scheduled arrivals and departures by route and operator Layovers and breaks that can be determined through posted schedules Scheduled travel times by route and operator
This draft profile will be shared with representatives from each transit operator to verify the findings and identify any planned changes or adjustments.
Task 3.1 Deliverable:
Existing Conditions technical memorandum.
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Task 3.2 Routing Optimization and Travel Time Analysis
TYLin will analyze current routing and propose adjustments where significant travel time and operational efficiencies can be achieved. The analysis will include travel times from the future project c onditions, incorporating potential impacts on automobile traffic along El Camino Real.
Proposed routing changes will be summarized in a matrix comparing existing and proposed transit alignments, with specific recommendations for utilizing the proposed extension. The study will analyze up to three (3) future scenarios that integrate additional transit lines into the Palo Alto Transit Center alongside existing services. For each route recommended for realignment to Quarry Road, the matrix will include existing versus proposed travel times and will highlight upstream and downstream schedule adju stments for routes where travel time savings exceed 3-4 minutes.
Special attention will be given to the routing of Marguerite Shuttle services through the Palo Alto Transit Center and onto Quarry Road to assess the introduction of new vehicle traffic into the facility. Once a draft matrix is prepared, it will be shared with operator representatives for feedback, allowing for refinement based on their input. Operators will also be invited to consider future enhancements or modifications that may be feasible with the travel time improvements resulting from the proposed extension.
The final deliverable for this task will be a matrix summarizing proposed routing changes, conceptual travel time savings, and any related schedule adjustments. It should be noted that the travel time savings will be focused on transit vehicles, as the analysis will compare existing transit operations for the buses and shuttles that currently use the transit center with the anticipated improved operations resulting from the project. If desired, in-vehicle travel time savings for riders using representative origin -destination pairs will also be estimated.
Task 3.2 Deliverables:
Routing and travel time matrix.
Task 3.3 Bus and Shuttle Operations Stakeholder Workshop TYLin will host a workshop with the transit agencies to discuss operational logistics with the proposed Quarry Road extension at the beginning of the project . The goal of the workshop will be to develop a conceptual routing plan, understood and acceptable by all transit agencies that can form the basis of future Quarry Road Exte nsion-enabled bus and Marguerite Shuttle operations. Working with City and Stanford staff, TYLin will reach out to critical transit agency staff members to participate in the workshop. If key individuals are unable to attend, their input and feedback will be ga thered and shared with workshop participants to ensure as many voices contribute to the ultimate analysis. TYLin will develop charts and graphics detailing existing service characteristics and possible options for improvement. Short interviews with key stakeholders in SCTA, SamTrans, A/C Transit, and Marguerite operations will also precede the workshop, to ensure a complete understanding of existing challenges and potential areas for improvement.
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The workshop will be scheduled for up to three hours and will take place in person, if possible, to solicit the best feedback and group discussion. The TYLin team will facilitate the discussion, assisting the group in identifying a single solution or limited range of solutions for new routing once the Quarry Road extension is operational.
Task 3.3 Deliverables:
Workshop meeting notes and presentation materials.
Technical memorandum or slide deck summarizing the concerns and recommendations of the workshop participants, as well as supporting rationale for service routing changes.
Task 4: Traffic Operations Analysis
TYLin will prepare an analysis of traffic operations in the study area. While the study locations will be selected in consultation with the Project team, it is expected that the following four (4) existing intersections will be included in the Traffic Operations Analysis Report:
El Camino Real & Quarry Road
El Camino Real Northbound Ramps & University Avenue/Palm Drive El Camino Real Southbound Ramps & Palm Drive
El Camino Real & Sand Hill Road
It is assumed that the traffic analysis will be prepared for the weekday morning (AM) and weekday evening (PM) peak periods to quantitatively assess intersection operations for the following scenarios:
Existing Conditions
Future Conditions without Project
Future Conditions with Project (Pedestrian Only Phasing) Future Conditions with Project (Leading Pedestrian Interval Phasing) If Caltrans requires a different number of study intersections and/or peak hours (e.g., a Saturday peak hour) than assumed above, a change order may need to be provided to increase or decrease our fee for this task accordingly.
Task 4.1 Data Collection
To provide a foundation for the traffic operations analysis and build on existing data, TYLin’s data collection efforts will include collecting additional traffic counts and conducting a site visit.
TYLin will visit the study area for the purposes of observing traffic operation and recording existing roadway geometry, speed limits, and intersection control. Existing characteristics will also be documented at University Circle to confirm the status of the pedestrian and bicycle facilities in place. Traffic signal timings will be obtained from the City and/or Caltrans for the signalized intersections and confirmed in the field.
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TYLin will use existing intersection turning movement counts collected in April 2024 at the three (3) original study intersections for the AM and PM peak periods. In coordination with Caltrans District 4, new traffic, pedestrian, and bicycle turning movement counts will be collected at the El Camino Real & Sand Hill Road intersection during the AM and PM peak periods , as this intersection was not included in the previously collected traffic counts.
Additionally, TYLin will use the data collected in Task 3.1 to establish peak hour bus volumes during the AM and PM peak periods.
Task 4.1 Deliverables:
Turning movement counts, including bicycles and pedestrians, at the El Camino Real & Sand Hill Road intersection.
Existing peak hour bus volumes.
Field visit notes and photos.
Task 4.2 Traffic Analysis
TYLin will analyze the four existing study intersections under AM and PM peak hour conditions using Synchro 12. The traffic analysis will evaluate measures such as volume-to-capacity (v/c) ratio, delay (vehicle and person), queues, and level of service ( LOS). As part of the analysis, TYLin will analyze four scenarios:
existing conditions, future without project conditions, and future with project conditions for two alternative signal designs at El Camino Real/Quarry Road.
The future condition scenarios will be analyzed for one future horizon year (to be determined). The future without project traffic volumes will be estimated by considering a background growth rate (to be determined in coordination with the City) plus traffic generated by up to two proposed site-specific developments in the vicinity of the project. It is assumed that traffic impact studies can be provided for the proposed developments and that the City can provide guidance for an appropriate background growth rate. However, if TYLin needs to develop trip generation estimates on our own and/or perform analyses to determine a background growth rate, a change order can be provided for that effort. The future with project traffic volumes will account for diverted traffic associated with the proposed improvements and intersection modifications.
The future conditions capacity results will be compared, and potential impacts to the operation of the roadway network will be identified. This will include a detailed review of operations within the Transit Center to identify potential congestion issues that could arise from introducing additional services with modified routing and changes to the signal phasing at the Quarry Road intersection.
If needed, modifications to the proposed lane configuration and/or signal timings/phasing will be considered and incorporated based on the results of the initial analysis and to promote safety and efficient traffic operations within the study area.
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The analysis assumptions, methodology, and results will be summarized in the Traffic Operations Analysis Report (TOAR). This task includes the effort to create technical appendices and report graphics such as location maps, volume diagrams, and LOS tables. As part of the agency review and comment process, it is recommended that the project team set up a focused traffic study meeting with Caltrans District 4 staff to present responses to comments and discuss and resolve any outstanding issues in the draft report before proceeding with the next report version. Prior to sending the draft report to Caltrans, the project team will coordinate a round of review with Stanford and the City to incorporate their feedback into the draft. Upon approval of responses to comments from Caltrans District 4 , Stanford, and the City , TYLin will make the appropriate revisions and submit the final TOAR document.
Task 4.2 Deliverables:
Draft Traffic Operations Analysis Report.
Final Traffic Operations Analysis Report.
Task 4.
3 Transit Signal Priority Technical Memorandum (Optional) If after the completion of Task 3 ( Transit Service and Operations Analysis), it is found that Transit Signal Priority (TSP) improvements are recommended to improve transit operations, a technical memorandum will be prepared in collaboration with the transit operators, Caltrans District 4, and the TYLin design team prior to the traffic analysis to define what type(s) of improvement(s) would be feasible and the most beneficial, and how these improvements could either be incorporated in the Synchro models developed for Task 4.2 (or analyzed using a different software (e.g., Vissim)) to quantify the effect of the proposed transit improvements on traffic operations. If TSP improvements are ultimately recommended, these improvements will need to be incorporated into the plans developed in Task 7.
Task 4.3 Deliverable:
Technical memorandum.
Note: Due to the unknown nature of thi s task, the fee for Task 4.3 is not included in the fee estimate and will be additional (an addendum will be prepared) if the task is deemed necessary after the completion of Task 3 and required by Stanford and the City. Alternatively, a portion of the contingency budget included in Task 9 could be used to perform this analysis.
Task 5: Environmental Stu dies and Clearance
Task
5 Scope Assumptions:
The Project is being built with all local funds. No federal transportation funds that would trigger NEPA are being used. If federal funds are applied to the project, a change order may be required to include NEPA requirements. No encroachment on a designated U.S. Route would occur. TYLin assumes that no CEQA Notice of Exemption has been filed with the State Clearinghouse or Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder.
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A site visit will not be conducted.
No additional technical studies or documentation regarding NEPA is needed. Information used to complete the PEAR, if needed ( see optional Task 5.2), would include existing project documentation and readily available public information, documents, databases, and mapping.
Task 5.1 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Notice of Exemption (NOE) TYLin will prepare and submit a CEQA NOE package for the proposed Project. Prepare CEQA NOE using the City of Palo Alto Council Resolution No. 10167 and City Staff Report as the basis. This will need to be signed by the City of Palo Alto as the CEQA lead agency. Submit the NOE package to the State Clearinghouse using the “CEQA Submit” system. Submit the NOE package for filing with the Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorded using the required CEQA Filing Cover Sheet.
Task 5.1 Deliverable:
Notice of Exemption package.
Task 5.2 Preliminary Environmental Analysis Report (PEAR) (Optional) This task would only become necessary if Federal transportation funds that would trigger NEPA were used or if Caltrans otherwise determines that evaluation of the project under NEPA is required.
TYLin would prepare and submit a PEAR to Caltrans to provide information to support programming of the proposed project. The PEAR would also determine the need for additional technical studies and the appropriate level of NEPA documentation.
Task 5.2 Deliverable:
Preliminary Environmental Analysis Report.
Task 6: Design Engineering Evaluation Report (DEER)
The Project is expected to be approved through the Caltrans Design Engineering Evaluation Report (DEER) proces
s. TYLin will work with Stanford and City to produce and obtain approval of the Draft and Final DEER in accordance with Caltrans PDPM.
Task 6.1 Draft DEER
TYLin will prepare a draft DEER that documents the need for the Project, summarizes key points from the environmental studies, and summarizes scope, cost, schedule and overall impacts to enable an informed
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decision to be made to proceed toward the Draft CE/CE for the Project, and obtaining an Encroachment Permit. The DEER will be submitted along with the design submittals in Task 7.
Task 6.1 Deliverable:
Draft Design Engineering Evaluation Report.
Task 6.2 Final DEER
Following review of the Draft DEER and the draft CE/CE by Caltrans and other agencies. TYLin will revise the draft DEER and submit the final DEER to Caltrans for Project approval after the Final CE is approved.
Task 6.2 Deliverable:
Final Design Engineering Evaluation Report.
Task 7: Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&E)
Note: In the Task 7 subtasks below, deliverables are not listed separately, as the plans, documents, and calculations described within each subtask serve as the deliverables.
Task 7.1 Roadway Plans (60/95%/Fi nal)
TYLin will prepare the Roadway Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&E) plans set for the project following the Caltrans Highway Design Manual and Caltrans Standard Plans as appropriate. Preparation of the roadway plans will be consistent with Caltrans design standards to the greatest extent feasible. The following drawings are anticipated, and an initial 60% submittal of the PS&E will be made to th e City, Stanford, and relevant stakeholders for discussions prior to the 95% PS&E. 1 Title Sheet
2 Index, Abbreviations, General Notes and Legend
3 Project Control
4 Demolition Plan
5 Roadway Plan
6 Site Grading Plan
7 Construction Details: Paving, Typical Cross -sections, Signing and Pavement Marking 8 Temporary Water Pollution Control Plan
9 Erosion Control Plan
10 Drainage Plans, details, and Quantities
11 Site Utility Plan and Profile: Design of utility relocation and improvements, including water, sewer, site electrical
12 Traffic Signal Modifications Plan & Details
13 Lighting Modifications Plan & Details
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14 Traffic Control Plan
15 Summary of Quantities
16 Specifications and Special Provisions
Task 7.2 Draft Special Provisions (60%/95%/Final)
TYLin will prepare the Specifications and Special Provisions and PS&E Quantities for the project following the Caltrans Standard Specifications. TYLin will notify Stanford and the City if TYLin is seeking any exceptions to this requirement.
Task 7.3 Quantities and Estimates (60%/95%/Final)
TYLin will prepare project quantity sheets and Basic Engineering Estimate System (BEES) estimates for District PS&E draft circulation. A list of roadway contract items with item descriptions, item numbers, and units of pay, item pay codes, quantities, and estimated unit costs will be prepared.
Task 7.4 Transportation Management Plan (TMP) (60%/95%/Final) TYLin will establish TMP strategies and estimate their respective costs. This includes determining the feasibility of using surface streets for traffic diversion, developing traffic handling concept plans and detours, and preparing lane closure chart requests with the project stakeholders. TYLin will coordinate with Caltrans and will prepare the TMP Data Sheet.
Task 7.5 Storm Water Data Report (SWDR) (60%/95%/Final) For the portions of the project within State Right -of-Way, TYLin will update the SWDR to confirm that the programmed project includes sufficient right -of-way and budget for required storm water controls and identify project -specific permanent and temporary BMPs that may be required to mitigate impacts.
Drainage areas and total disturbed areas will be defined, as will climatic conditions, existing drainage site conditions, site permeability, soil texture, existing vegetation and groundwater. It is anticipated that a “Short Form” SWDR will be prepared for the build alternative.
Task 7.6 Hydrology/Hydraulics Report (60%/95%/Final)
TYLin will prepare a Hydrology and Hydraulics Report including drainage plan, profile and detail sheets.
Task 7.7 Hazards Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (Phase I ISA) (60%/95%/Final) TYLin, in collaboration with Baseline Environmental Consulting, will prepare an Initial Site Assessment (ISA) to identify and rank the level of risk associated with potential hazardous materials, hazardous waste, and contamination within the project limits that could potentially affect proposed construction activities and/or operations in accordance with the environmental site assessment guidelines presented in ASTM E1527 -05 and Chapter 10 of the Caltrans Environmental Handbook. The assessment will include a review of physical
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setting sources, historical land use information, and regulatory agency records, as well as site reconnaissance of current land use conditions and interviews with property owners.
Task 7.8 Internal QC (60%/95%/Final)
TYLin will perform an internal QA/QC of the plans and submit copies to Stanford, the City, and other relevant stakeholders for peer review prior to submittal to Caltrans. QA/QC will be performed in accordance with the approved project quality management plan.
Task 7.9 Final PS&E Package (Final)
This task includes the distribution of the draft final combined PS&E package for final review by Stanford, the City, Caltrans and other relevant stakeholders. TYLin will address comments received and incorporate changes as appropriate in the final combined PS&E package. Under this task, TYLin will perform internal QA/QC plans check and review and will submit the final combined PS&E package to an independent reviewer, which will be provided by TYLin . The independent reviewer will be a registered Professional Engineer in the State of California and will certify the quality of the package and that the plans are constructible. The independent reviewer will submit a stamped report to the City summarizing its review and certifying the constructability of the plans and that the final combined PS&E package is biddable. TYLin will be responsible for completion of the final draft combined PS&E package in a manner where there is sufficient time to address comments during the independent review and finalize the PS&E package within the project schedule. TYLin will be responsible for the constructability of the project.
Task 7.10 Constructability Review (95%) & Resident Engineer File and Supplemental Materials (Final) This includes an overall review of the PS&E package to identify any constructability issues. The constructability review will be completed after the 95% PS&E submittal. During the final phase of the PS&E, TYLin will prepare a Resident Engineer File. The file will include the list of Project contacts, memos to the Resident Engineer, Quantity Calculations, cut sheets and relevant reports.
Task 8: Advertising and Bid Support (Optional)
Upon completion of the Final 100% Bid -Ready PS&E, TYLin will assist the City during the Advertising and Bidding of the Project, including but not limited to:
a. Updating the Final Advertise/Bid Ready PS&E Contract Documents b. Submitting all permits, Resident Engineer and Survey File information items to Stanford or City and their designated Resident Engineer and/or Construction Management team for final review c. Providing updates requested by Stanford during the advertisement period d. Answering any specific bidder inquiries from contractors e. Conduct pre-bid meeting and site visit with potential contractors f. Review and evaluate bids
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Note: The fee for Task 8.0 is not included in the fee estimate and will be additional (an addendum will be prepared) if the task is required by Stanford and the City.
Task 9: Contingency and Other Supporting Tasks (Optional) If needed and requested by Stanford, optional Task 9 may be activated as a contingency fund to support the tasks outlined in this scope of services or to cover additional services not currently defined (e.g., bid support, design support during construction).
Item 12
Attachment A - Cost-sharing
Agreement with Stanford
University (including Palo
Alto Transit Center Quarry
Road Extension Scope of
Work)
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Project Tasks and Tentative Schedule
Task Timeline
Project Kick-off September 2025
Preliminary Engineering & Supporting Analyses (includes Traffic & Transit Analyses, Encroachment Permit Preparation) September 2025 - March 2026 Environmental Studies & Clearance December 2025 - February 2026 Plans, Specifications & Estimates (PS&E – 60%/95%/Final) December 2025 - November 2026 Draft Design Engineering Evaluation Report (DEER) October 2026 Final DEER April 2027
Item 12
Attachment A - Cost-sharing
Agreement with Stanford
University (including Palo
Alto Transit Center Quarry
Road Extension Scope of
Work)
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PURCHASING GUIDE – APPENDIX L
Exhibit C – Insurance Requirements
STANFOR
D WARRANTS THAT IT WILL REQUIRE IN THE WRITTEN ENGINEERING AGREEMENT WITH TYLIN THAT TYLIN
OBTAIN INSURANCE TO SUPPORT THIS AGREEMENT AND THAT TYLIN WILL MAINTAIN COVERAGE FOR THE DURATION OF THIS AGREEMENT AS PROVIDED BELOW.
CONTRACT IS CONTINGENT ON COMPLIANCE WITH CITY’S INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS AS SPECIFIED HEREIN.
REQUIRED TYPE OF COVERAGE REQUIREMENT
MINIMUM LIMITS
EACH
OCCURRENCE AGGREGATE
YES
YES
WORKER’S COMPENSATION
EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY
STATUTORY
STATUTORY STATUTORY STATUTORY
YES GENERAL LIABILITY, INCLUDING
PERSONAL INJURY, BROAD FORM
PROPERTY DAMAGE BLANKET
CONTRACTUAL, AND FIRE LEGAL
LIABILITY
BODILY INJURY
PROPERTY DAMAGE
BODILY INJURY & PROPERTY
DAMAGE COMBINED.
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
YES AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY,
INCLUDING ALL OWNED, HIRED,
NON-OWNED
BODILY INJURY
- EACH PERSON
- EACH OCCURR
ENCE
PROPERT
Y DAMAGE
$250,000
$500,000
$100,000
$250,000
$500,000
$100,000
YES PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY,
INCLUDING, ERRORS AND
OMISSIONS, MALPRACTICE (WHEN
APPLICABLE), AND NEGLIGENT
PERFORMANCE
ALL DAMAGES $1,000,000
Item 12
Attachment A - Cost-sharing
Agreement with Stanford
University (including Palo
Alto Transit Center Quarry
Road Extension Scope of
Work)
Item 12: Staff Report
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City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Police
Meeting Date: November 3, 2025
Report #:2509-5265
TITLE
Approval of the Acceptance of State of California Citizens Options for Public Safety (COPS) Funds of $211,715 and a Budget Amendment in the Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund for municipal police service expenses; CEQA status – not a project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Approve the acceptance of annual Citizens Options for Public Safety (COPS) funds from State of California, totaling $211,715; and
2. Amend the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Appropriation for the Supplemental Law Enforcement Services (SLES) Fund by (requires 2/3 approval):
a. Increasing the estimate for revenue from the State of California by $211,715; b. Increasing Police Department expense appropriation for Capitalized Equipment by $42,000; for Facilities and Equipment by $80,000; for Contract Services by $95,000; for Supplies and Materials by $67,000; for Rents and Leases by $75,000; and
c. Decreasing fund balance by $147,285
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the acceptance of the annual State of California COPS FY 2026 funds, totaling $211,715 and amend the budget appropriation in the SLES Fund to spend this revenue and appropriating unspent funding from previous years, totaling $147,285. This funding went into the fund balance at the close of the previous fiscal years to be used for other eligible expenses. In total, $359,000 is recommended for Public Safety Building (PSB) fixtures and installation services, low-speed vehicle, noncapitalized tools, equipment, and supplies related to municipal police service expenses.
BACKGROUND
Every year since 1997, the State of California, by statute, allocates designated funds to counties, which pass funding through to cities, through a Citizens Options for Public Safety (COPS) Item 13
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program. This ongoing program is apportioned by a State statute and the level of funding is relative to the population as determined by the California Department of Finance. This funding is not related to the Federal Government Department of Justice “COPS” program with the same acronym.
State law provides for four main conditions on the use of the funds as written in California Government Code sections 30025- 30029.12 and 30051-30063: 1) Each recipient (County and onto the City) is required to deposit the revenue into a separate fund so the funds are not co- mingled with General Funds (Sec.30063); 2) the money shall be used for front line law enforcement services or municipal police services (Sec. 30061(c)(2)); 3) transfer to other funds is allowed provided it is to facilitate the use according to the code (Sec. 30063); and 4) the funds shall not supplant the city budget but must instead be used to enhance or expand services (Sec. 30062(a)).
Previous uses of COPS funds have included restarting the Community Service Officer (CSO) program, electronic traffic citation system, equipment upgrades, safety equipment, police training, staff wellness testing, police recruiting, upgrades to patrol vehicles, and upgraded tools and technology, pilot automated license plate reader technology, all benefiting municipal police services for the City of Palo Alto.
According to State staff, the source of funding is vehicle license fees. Specific allocations are directed by the Department of Finance, in accordance with the Government Code, while the distributions are made by the State Controller’s Office. There are two parts to the distribution:
A. A semi-permanent component based on a minimum funding level for the program, paid monthly and;
B. A growth component for funds (referred to as Growth Fund) in excess of the minimum base, paid one-time the following year after reconciliation.
ANALYSIS
The City recently received the annual notice of COPS funding, for distribution in Fiscal Year 2025-2026, of $105,1331. Further, the Growth Fund portion (distribution B above) was reported and funded $106,5822. Staff recommends use of this year’s expected COPS funds, along with a portion of the existing fund balance, for a total amount of $359,000 ($211,715 in revenue and $147,285 in existing fund balance), in the following manner(s) which are compliant with the law. All expenses below are estimated.
1 State of California Department of Finance September 9, 2025 pg. 13 https://www.sco.ca.gov/Files-ARD-Payments/copsdofletter_2526.pdf 2 State of California Citizens Option for Public Safety Growth Allocation Report For COPS and Juvenile Justice (FY2024-2025) Spreadsheet, sheet “Front Line City Breakdown”, row 500, column F https://www.sco.ca.gov/ard_payments_cops_growth.html
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Public Safety Building Equipment ($152,000)
A number of items will need to be purchased by the department to outfit the building for police operations or to upgrade old, beyond life, equipment that is not suitable for the new facility.
Some of those items include hardware and software for new forensic workspaces that did not exist on 275 Forest, fixtures common to police departments such as fortified cabinets and lockers for equipment and supplies, drug scales, hardware and software for access-alarm- systems (beyond the designed burglar and panic alarms), dispatcher console configuration to include network cable testing, rack installation, and monitor installation.
Tactical Tools, Equipment, and Supplies ($67,000)
Purchase replacement ballistic helmets, radio headsets, uniforms, shields and body armor for Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) operators and additional breaching tools (hand-carried tools used to open doors and windows that operate similar to a crowbar) and tactical first aid supplies and kits.
Technical Equipment ($25,000)
Hardware and software/web platforms for police operations to include police operation planning and crime scene technology.
Low-speed vehicle ($20,000)
A police-marked all-electric low-speed vehicle to transport officers to events such as Stanford football traffic control and city working events in downtown or on California Avenue such as Art & Wine festival or May Fete. This vehicle reduces the need for a more expensive patrol vehicle to transport staff. Vehicle specifications and additional unit will go through internal fleet review processes and further budget process needs for annual maintenance and operations and replacement costs.
Replacement Handguns with optical sights ($20,000)
The department is updating the standard-issue handguns carried by detectives and administrative staff to a newer model that supports optical sights and offers a lower profile for concealed carry. Optical sights enhance accuracy and significantly broaden the officer's field of view, allowing both eyes to remain open and focus on the entire threat landscape rather than a fixed front sight. This improved situational awareness supports the department's goal of measured use of force in emergencies. Current handguns are equipped with non-modifiable fixed sights, limiting their adaptability compared to the new models.
This transition to advanced handguns implies enhanced accuracy and situational awareness, with officers experiencing a seamless transition due to their existing familiarity with optical technology. The potential reduction in response time, driven by improved vision and focus, reflects positively on the department's policy and procedural effectiveness in handling emergencies.
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Field Based Audio/Video ($75,000)
The Police Department conducted a formal procurement to update field-based audio/video recording equipment through a subscription contract, to include audio/video in-holding facilities and interview rooms in the Public Safety Building so that all data can be on one platform instead of multiple platforms. LensLock, Inc. was selected, and the contract began in FY 2025. This funding will be used to rent more body-worn equipment as each officer must have a designated device instead of being shared as previously anticipated.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Palo Alto Municipal Code 2.28.080 requires a two-thirds vote by Council to accept the funds and amend the budget. The California Government Code would limit how SLES funds are redistributed. As with the acquisition of any goods or services by the City, the purchasing process will be subject to City purchasing policy manual as established in the municipal code under the direction of the Chief Procurement Officer. Any purchase that is surveillance technology is subject to provisions of the Municipal Code during the purchase process. Some of the proposed uses here are considered surveillance technology and will require a surveillance use policy approval by City Council, in accordance with the Palo Alto Municipal Code, prior to purchase, which will be brought forward separately. None of the proposed uses here are considered military equipment and subject to reporting according to AB 481.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
This activity directly impacts only the SLES Fund. The City has received revenue each year under this program since its inception. To receive the revenue into the SLES Fund, Council’s approval is required according to the Municipal Code (PAMC 2.30.360) and the State Government code referenced above. Revenues of $211,715 are recommended to be recognized in the SLES Fund.
A total of $359,000 in expenditures is anticipated as described previously in this memorandum.
The unaudited ending fund balance for the fund, to be reported in the upcoming FY 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), is expected to be $520,000 (for reference, the previous reported fund balance in the FY 2024 ACFR was $721,0005). Of this existing fund balance, $147,285 will be moved from the fund balance to revenues to bridge the gap between this year’s COPS revenue and expenses. There will be no impact to the General Fund as ongoing maintenance costs, if any, for the items purchased by the SLES Fund will be absorbed in the Department's existing budget, otherwise, the activities will stop when the SLES funds are spent in full.
5 City of Palo Alto FY 2023-2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Reporting beginning on page 122 https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/administrative-services/financial-reporting/annual- comprehensive-financial-reports-acfr/current-2011-acfrs/city-of-palo-alto-acfr-single-audit-fy2024-final- unsercured.pdf
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STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
No direct engagement. This report is published 10 days in advance of the City Council meeting where this item appears for decision. The public is encouraged to join the meeting and relay their opinions to City Council.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council action on this item is not a project as defined by CEQA because accepting funding and approving budget amendments is a government funding mechanism or fiscal activity which does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment. CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(4).
APPROVED BY:
Andrew Binder, Police Chief
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City Council
Staff Report
From: City Clerk
Report Type: STUDY SESSION
Lead Department: City Clerk
Meeting Date: November 3, 2025
Report #:2510-5328
TITLE
Establishing the City Council Annual Calendar of Meetings, Recesses, and City Council Events for the Calendar Year 2026; CEQA status – not a project
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council provide direction on the preferred Annual Retreat/Priority Setting Meeting date and on Option 1 vs. Option 2 for special City Council meetings, and establish its calendar of meetings, recesses, and City Council events for calendar year 2026.
BACKGROUND
The City Council annually adopts a schedule of meetings and recesses for the upcoming calendar year. Following Council direction tonight, staff will agendize a resolution establishing its calendar on consent for Council consideration. This year is the second iteration of a calendar setting process that implements Item 1.3 of the City’s Equity Action Plan (Create a process that includes the Human Relations Commission (HRC) for annual calendar setting related to holidays and heritage months) 1. The goal of this process is to create an inclusive City Council calendar that considers cultural observances that could prevent the public from participating in meetings and provide an opportunity for input from the public, City Council, and HRC. This process will continue to evolve in response to community and City Council feedback.
Palo Alto’s Municipal Code sets the City Council’s regular meeting time as 5:30pm on the first three Mondays of the month 2. Staff, in consultation with the Mayor and Vice Mayor, may reschedule regular meetings and schedule additional special meetings, should they be necessary to conduct City Council business.
1 2024 and 2025 Equity Action Plan: https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/city-manager/wellness-and- belonging/equity-workplan-2024.pdf
2 Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 2.04.010 https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0- 0-0-60060
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Staff has developed a list of dates to avoid scheduling City Council meetings based on feedback from the public, City Council, and HRC. These dates fall into two categories:
Days on which City administrative offices are closed
Certain cultural dates of significance that could fall on a Monday and whose main celebrations begin in the evening, which would prevent observants from participating in City Council meetings.
Based on City Council and HRC’s 2024 recommendations, the days to avoid scheduling City Council meeting dates are:
New Year’s Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Lunar New Year
Presidents’ Day
Eid al-Fitr
Passover
Memorial Day
Eid al-Adha
Juneteenth
Fourth of July
Labor Day
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving
Day after Thanksgiving
Christmas
ANALYSIS
Staff does not propose any changes to the list of dates to avoid scheduling meetings. The proposed 2026 City Council meeting calendar is included as Attachment A.
The following dates occur on Mondays in 2026, and thus the draft calendar shows rescheduled dates for regular City Council meetings that would conflict with these holidays. The City Council has expressed interest in scheduling special meetings on the third Wednesday of the month instead of the fourth Monday. This is reflected in italics as Option 1 and Option 2 in the draft calendar.
Observance Date Option 1
(3rd Wednesday)
Option 2
(4th Monday)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day January 19, 2026 January 21, 2026 January 26, 2026 Presidents’ Day February 16, 2026 February 18, 2026 February 23, 2026 Labor Day September 7, 2026 September 8, 2026 n/a
Yom Kippur September 21, 2026 September 16, 2026 September 28, 2026 Indigenous Peoples’ Day October 12, 2026 October 21, 2026 October 26, 2026 HRC provided input on the calendar and dates of significance at its October 16, 2025 meeting.
The commission asked staff to explore adding Diwali given the presence of Palo Alto residents who may celebrate the holiday and the recent addition of Diwali to the list of state holidays state Item 14
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employees and public schools and community colleges may choose to take off. Upon further research, staff found that unlike other holidays on the list, Diwali’s primary observance is not tied to an evening celebration. HRC also suggested additions to the dates of significance list, which staff have incorporated into Attachment B.
Equity Action Plan item 1.3 and this item are intended to provide a consistent cadence for residents, HRC, City Council, and staff to review and update the lists of dates to avoid scheduling meetings and the citywide dates of significance. It is an opportunity to engage with the City to help expand awareness and visibility about the many observances significant to members of the Palo Alto community. Staff also asks for any City Council feedback on the Attachment B list of dates of significance.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
None
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Staff the City Manager’s Office, City Clerk’s Office, and Community Services Department collaborated on the proposed schedule and citywide dates to of significance. The HRC discussed and provided feedback the proposed calendar at its October 16, 2025 public meeting.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action is not a project under section 15378(b)(25) of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines (administrative activities that will not result in direct or indirect physical change in the environment).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Proposed 2026 City Council Meeting Schedule Attachment B: Citywide Dates of Significance
APPROVED BY:
Mahealani Ah Yun, City Clerk
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City Council Calendar 2026
Date Meeting Body
Mon, January 5 City Council – City Council Reorganization Mon, January 12 City Council
Wed, January 21 Option 1: City Council (special)
Mon, January 26 Option 2: City Council (special)
Sat, January 24 or Sat, January 31 City Council (special) – Annual Retreat/Priority Setting Meeting
Mon, February 2 City Council
Tues, February 3 Finance Committee
Mon, February 9 City Council
Tues, February 10 Policy & Services Committee
Tues, February 17 Finance Committee
Wed, February 18 Option 1: City Council (special)
Thurs, February 19 City/Schools Liaison Committee
Mon, February 23 Option 2: City Council (special)
Mon, March 2 City Council
Tues, March 3 Finance Committee
Mon, March 9 City Council
Tues, March 10 Policy & Services Committee
Mon, March 16 City Council
Tues, March 17 Finance Committee
Thurs, March 19 City/Schools Liaison Committee
Mon, April 6 City Council
Tues, April 7 Finance Committee
Mon, April 13 City Council
Tues, April 14 Policy & Services Committee
Thurs, April 16 City/Schools Liaison Committee
Mon, April 20 City Council
Tues, April 21 Finance Committee
Mon, May 4 City Council
Tues, May 5 Finance Committee
Wed, May 6 Finance Committee (special)
Mon, May 11 City Council
Tues, May 12 Policy & Services Committee
Mon, May 18 City Council
Tues, May 19 Finance Committee
Thurs, May 21 City/Schools Liaison Committee
Mon, June 1 City Council
Tues, June 2 Finance Committee
Mon, June 8 City Council
Tues, June 9 Policy & Services Committee
Mon, June 15 City Council
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2026 City Council Meeting
Schedule
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Tues, June 16 Finance Committee
Wed, June 17 City Council (special additional standby meeting) Thurs, June 18 City/Schools Liaison Committee
Fri, June 19 – Fri, July 31 Summer Recess
Mon, August 3 City Council
Tues, August 4 Finance Committee
Mon, August 10 City Council
Tues, August 11 Policy & Services Committee
Mon, August 17 City Council
Tues, August 18 Finance Committee
Thurs, August 20 City/School Liaison Committee
Tues, September 8 City Council (special)
Mon, September 14 City Council
Tues, September 15 Policy & Services Committee
Wed, September 16 Option 1: City Council (special)
Thurs, September 17 City/Schools Liaison Committee
Tues, September 22 Finance Committee
Mon, September 28 Option 2: City Council (special)
Mon, October 5 City Council
Tues, October 5 Finance Committee
Tues, October 13 Policy & Services Committee
Thurs, October 15 City/Schools Liaison Committee
Mon, October 19 City Council
Tues, October 20 Finance Committee
Wed, October 21 Option 1: City Council (special)
Mon, October 26 Option 2: City Council (special)
Mon, November 2 City Council
Wed, November 4 Finance Committee (special)
Mon, November 9 City Council
Tues, November 10 Policy & Services Committee
Mon, November 16 City Council
Tues, November 17 Finance Committee
Thurs, November 19 City/Schools Liaison Committee
Tues, December 1 Finance Committee
Mon, December 7 City Council
Tues, December 8 Policy & Services Committee
Mon, December 14 City Council
Tues, December 15 Finance Committee (canceled if Council chooses Option 1) Option 1: Tues, December 15 City Council (special)
Option 2: Wed, December 16 City Council (special)
Thurs, December 17 City/School Liaison
Option 3: Mon, December 21 City Council
Tues, December 22 – Fri, January 1 Winter Recess
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2026 City Council Meeting
Schedule
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City Council Events 2026
Date Event
Mon, January 5, 2026 City Council Reorganization
Sat, January 24, 2025 or Sat, January 31, 2025 Annual Priority Setting Meeting TBD State of the City
Fri, June 19 – Fri, July 31 Summer Recess
Tues, December 22 – Fri, January 1 Winter Recess
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Schedule
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Dec 2025
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31
JANUARY 2026
Feb 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 28 29 30 31 1 2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9
10 City Council –
Reorganization
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
City Council
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day
Option 1:
City Council
(special)
City Council
(special) –
Annual Retreat
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Option 2:
City Council
(special)
City Council
(special) –
Annual Retreat
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Jan 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
FEBRUARY 2026
Mar 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
City Council Finance
8 9
10 11
12 13
14 City Council Policy &
Services
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Presidents’
Day Finance
Option 1:
City Council
(special)
City/Schools
Liaison
22 23
24 25
26 27
28 Option 2:
City Council
(special)
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Feb 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
MARCH 2026
Apr 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
City Council Finance
8 9
10 11
12 13
14 City Council Policy &
Services
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
City Council Finance City/Schools
Liaison
22 23
24 25
26 27
28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4
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Mar 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
APRIL 2026
May 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 29 30 31 1 2 3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
11 City Council Finance
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
City Council Policy &
Services City/Schools
Liaison
19 20
21 22
23 24
25 City Council Finance
26 27 28 29 30 1 2
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Apr 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30
MAY 2026
Jun 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 26 27 28 29 30 1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 City Council Finance Finance
(special)
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
City Council Policy &
Services
17 18
19 20
21 22
23 City Council Finance City/Schools
Liaison
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Memorial Day
31 1 2 3 4 5 6
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May 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 JUNE 2026
Jul 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 31 1 2 3 4 5 6
City Council Finance
7 8
9 10
11 12
13 City Council Policy &
Services
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
City Council Finance
City Council (Special
additional standby
meeting)
City/Schools
Liaison
Summer
Recess Starts
21 22
23 24
25 26
27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4
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Jun 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30
JULY 2026
Aug 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 28 29 30 1 2 3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20
21 22
23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1
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Jul 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
AUGUST 2026
Sep 2026
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 26 27 28 29 30 31 1
Summer
Recess Ends
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 City Council Finance
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
City Council Policy &
Services
16 17
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1 Citywide Dates of Significance
Please Note: The curation of this list is an iterative process. It is not exhaustive and will evolve over time based on input from the City Council, Human Relations Commission, and community members.
New Year’s Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Holocaust Remembrance Day
Lunar New Year
Black History Month
President’s Day
Ramadan
Women’s History Month
American Red Cross Month
International Women’s Day
Eid al-Fitr
International Transgender Day of Visibility
Cesar Chavez Day
Autism Awareness Month
Palo Alto Day
Dolores Huerta Day
National Day of Silence (LGBTQI+)
Passover
Easter
National Animal Control Officer Appreciation Week
National Public Safety Telecommunicator’s Week
Earth Day
Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
Arbor Day
Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Older Americans Month
Affordable Housing Month
Mental Health Awareness Month
National Public Service Recognition Week
Cinco de Mayo
National Police Week and National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day Shavout
Vesak
Memorial Day
Pride Month
Immigrant Heritage Month
Juneteenth
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2 Eid al-Adha
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Labor Day
Emergency Preparedness Month
Hispanic Heritage Month
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Sukkot
Indigenous Peoples' Day
Dia De Los Muertos
Diwali
National Native American Heritage Month
Law Enforcement Records and Support Personnel Week
Veterans Day
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Thanksgiving
Day after Thanksgiving
Hanukkah
Las Posadas
Christmas
Kwanzaa
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City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: November 3, 2025
Report #:2505-4672
TITLE
Information Report on Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) Implementation; CEQA Status - Not a Project
RECOMMENDATION
No Council action is required. This is an update on Sustainability and Climate Action Plan workplan implementation progress in quarters one and two of calendar year 2025. It is provided to give the City Council and public an overview of workplan items status since adopted by Council in June 2023.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City is implementing the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) to help meet its sustainability goals, including its goals of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 (the “80 x 30” goal) and achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. Since the S/CAP was adopted in June 2023, staff has provided implementation updates covering progress from Q3 2023 through Q4 2024. This update covers progress through the first two quarters of 2025. Highlights of Q1 and Q2 2025 progress include:
Climate Action
As of Q2, five multi-family properties representing 168 housing units have installed EV charging ports through City programs. Of all multi-family housing units in Palo Alto, 9.2% (982 units) now have access to charging ports at 22 properties. 13 residents utilized the Residential Energy Assistance Program (REAP) to receive energy and water efficiency upgrades in the first half of 2025. Filling two vacant positions enabled accelerated progress on the Safe Routes to Schools program and facility electrification.
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In fiscal year 2025, the City’s commercial and industrial partnerships for emissions reduction have resulted in saving 2,000,000 kWh and reducing GHG emissions by 155 Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (MTCO2e).
Sustainability
The Local Advanced Water Purification System Project at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant began construction.
The City, with assistance from external experts, developed a tool that enables City engineers and project managers to consider future sea level rise conditions as they design projects.
The City awarded a contract for Newell Road Bridge Project construction, with pre- construction activities commencing in summer 2025.
As part of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant-funded project, 20 staff received National Green Infrastructure Program training for Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) maintenance, and the City released a request for proposals for a proposed GSI project in a City park.
BACKGROUND
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In April 2016, the City Council adopted the goal of reducing GHG emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 (the “80 x 30” goal),5 and in October 2022 the City Council adopted the ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.6 Staff, with community and City Council input, referred to the 2016 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) Framework and 2018- 2020 Sustainability Implementation Plan to create a comprehensive S/CAP and Three-Year S/CAP workplan. In June 2023, Council adopted the 2022 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, certified the Comprehensive Plan Environmental Impact Report Addendum: Update to the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, and accepted the 2023-2025 S/CAP Workplan.7 The S/CAP is an ambitious plan to reduce the City and community’s GHG emissions, while also guiding how Palo Alto uses land and natural resources in ways that ensure quality of life for future generations. The S/CAP aligns with several goals of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan Implementation Plan. All previous S/CAP Implementation updates can be found in the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) Program Reports section of the Sustainability Actions and Accomplishments page of the City website.8 The 2022 S/CAP and 2023-2025 S/CAP Work Plan align closely with one of the four Council Priorities for CY 2025: “Climate Action and Adaptation, and Natural Environment Protection”. In addition, there are several overlapping Council Priority Objectives, the status of which can be found in the 2025 Council Priority Objectives Q2 Report. This report references the Council Priority Objectives in parentheses where applicable.
ANALYSIS
The City is committed to a sustainable future. The City owns, operates, and maintains a full- service utilities portfolio that provides electric, natural gas, fiber, water, refuse, and wastewater services to residents and businesses in Palo Alto. Palo Alto’s continued leadership in advancing sustainability commitments has succeeded mainly because of the continued collaboration of community stakeholders, City departments, and the leadership of the City Council.
The S/CAP Goals and Key Actions are divided into eight areas, four of which are climate-focused and include actions to achieve the City’s 80 x 30 and carbon neutrality by 2030 goals (Climate Action, Energy, Electric Vehicles, and Mobility) and four of which are focused on actions that create a sustainable natural environment and adapting to a warming climate (Water, Climate Adaptation and Sea Level Rise, Natural Environment, and Zero Waste). The Work Plan is similarly divided between climate-focused and sustainability-focused priorities. 5 City Council, April 18, 2016; Agenda Item #10; SR #6754, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=51092&repo=r-704298fc 6 City Council, October 3, 2022; Agenda Item #9; SR #14720, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=59207&repo=r-704298fc 7 City Council, June 5, 2023; Agenda Item #14; SR #2303-1133, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=66099&repo=r-704298fc 8 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) Progress Reports; https://www.paloalto.gov/City- Hall/Sustainability/Emissions-Reduction-Goals-and-Progress/Sustainability-Actions-and-Accomplishments Item A
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There are 23 Council Priority Objectives in the 2025 Council Priority Area Climate Action and Adaptation, & Natural Environment Protection (CA).9 This report addresses 18 of those Council Priority Objectives, as well as one in Council Priority Area Economic Development & Retail Vibrancy (ED), three in Implementing Housing Strategies for Social & Economic Balance (IHS), and one in Public Safety, Wellness & Belonging (PS), as shown in Table 1. One CA Council Priority, "Implement plan for phaseout of leaded fuel at Palo Alto Airport,” was not addressed in the 2023-2025 S/CAP Implementation Work Plan.
Table 1: 2025 Council Priority Objectives Addressed in the S/CAP Informational Report Number Council Priority Objective
Climate Action and Adaptation, & Natural Environment Protection (CA) CA 1 Complete construction of initial pilot area of electric grid modernization.
CA 2 Begin construction of the Newell Road Bridge Replacement project.
CA 3 Begin construction of Hamilton Avenue storm drain system capacity upgrades project.
CA 4 Complete implementation of the Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan, including Strategy 4 – conducting a cost/benefit analysis of flexible energy resources such as battery storage and microgrids (including evaluation of the airport microgrid), and Strategy 5 – recommending potential programs for Council consideration.
9 City Council, August 18, 2025; Agenda Item #A; SR #2508-5034, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=217144&repo=r-704298fc Item A
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CA 5 Complete deployment of 65,000 residential Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meters by end of FY 2025 and begin deployment of commercial AMI meters.
CA 6 Council approval for Phase 2 (full service program) of the Advanced Whole Home Electrification Pilot Program and begin implementation.
CA 8 Begin development of a Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan meeting new standards approved by BCDC.
CA 11 Advocate for the San Francisquito Creek Flood Protection capital project (Reach 2) through Council’s JPA representation and any Council approvals involved.
CA 12 Initiate Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Clearance Work for Quarry Road Extension in Partnership with Stanford University, Caltrans, & VTA.
CA 14 Council Adoption of the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Safety Action Plan.
CA 15 Council Adoption of the 2025 Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP).
CA 16 Refine Grade Separation Design Alternatives per Council Direction and Conduct Outreach to Support Rail Committee Review of Locally Preferred Alternatives.
CA 17 Identify locations and design concepts for additional east-west bicycle and pedestrian crossings of the Caltrain railroad tracks in the southern part of the city.
CA 18 Complete E-Mobility Strategic Plan for Council acceptance.
CA 19 Propose an updated multi-family EV charger program (EV 2.0) for Council approval.
CA 20 Develop and begin implementing a City Facility Electrification Plan.
CA 22 Share preliminary analysis of strategies for a physical and financial transition of the gas utility to relevant policymakers and stakeholders.
CA 24 Develop an Advanced Commercial Rooftop HVAC Pilot Program proposal and review with the Climate Action and Sustainability Ad Hoc Committee for Economic Development & Retail Vibrancy (ED)
ED 31 Council approval of funding to continue Downtown cleanliness enhancements and other medium-term investments such as a Mobility Hub.
Implementing Housing Strategies for Social & Economic Balance (IHS) IHS 40 Initiate the San Antonio Road Area Plan.
IHS 44 Advance affordable housing project on Downtown surface parking lot (Lot T).
IHS 53 Present to Council the Downtown Housing Plan Community Assessment report and receive Council direction on draft housing plan scenarios.
Public Safety, Wellness & Belonging (PS)
PS 58 Council to adopt the updated Foothills Fire Management Plan and Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
Climate Action
Covering the S/CAP Areas of Climate Action, Energy, Electric Vehicles, and Mobility, this section reports on progress based on the Work Plan Climate Action Priority areas. This includes five Item A
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priorities with various work items under each priority. This report notes where these work items have been designated as Council Priority Objectives.
P1. Grid Modernization
P2. Launch Programs
P2.1 Residential Emissions Reduction
P2.2 Non-Residential Emissions Reduction
P2.3 Citywide Mobility
P2.4 Municipal Electrification
P2.5 Electric Vehicle (EV) Strategic Plan
P3. Build Awareness and Confidence
P4. Additional Emissions Reductions
P5. Funding Needs and Sources
P1. Grid Modernization
Electric grid reliability and resilience will be important to inspire confidence in electrified homes and vehicles. The focus of Priority 1 is to preserve and enhance reliability, modernize the electric grid and replace aging infrastructure, increase electric grid capacity to accommodate electrification, and explore ways to enhance resiliency.
Grid Modernization (Work Plan Item 1A; Council Priority Objective CA 1): The grid modernization capital program will replace aging infrastructure and install a modern network infrastructure to meet future home electrification needs. Changes to the equipment on the network will include replacing/installing transformers, installing new protective devices to improve reliability, and the installation of system controls to allow for the import and export of energy from homes on the network. A pilot project to replace and upgrade aging infrastructure serving approximately 1000 residents was completed in May 2025. The City is evaluating results from this pilot before moving to the rest of Phase 1 of the project.
Reliability & Resiliency Strategic Plan (Work Plan Items 1B, 1C; Council Priority Objective CA 4):
In April 2024, the City Council accepted the Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan (RRSP).11 In September 2024 the Utilities Advisory Commission (UAC) reviewed the scope for a consultant study to implement Strategy 4 (Evaluate the benefits of flexible energy and resiliency technologies and efficient electrification strategies to the utility and community) and Strategy 5 (Evaluate the resource needs to promote the adoption of various flexible demand reduction and resiliency solutions and efficient electrification strategies) of the RRSP.12 In February 2025 11 City Council, April 15, 2024; Agenda Item #4; SR #2401--2496, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=93361&repo=r-704298fc 12 Utilities Advisory Commission, September 4, 2024; Agenda Item #4; SR #2405-2984, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=111889&repo=r-704298fc&searchid=03b22aaa-300a-466a- 9cba-d03850f80ddf
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the UAC provided feedback on some preliminary insights and results from the study.15 After further work on the studies incorporating UAC feedback, on July 9, 2025, the UAC discussed more developed preliminary study results and provided additional policy feedback to support development of a final report.16
Few technologies analyzed showed a positive cost-benefit result that would merit incentives, but the City and the UAC identified some potential areas for further follow-up and discussed regular updates to the analysis in case the costs and benefits changed. The same topics will be discussed by the Climate Action and Sustainability Committee (CASC) on August 22, 2025. After that meeting, a final report with the results of the cost-benefit analyses and potential reliability and resiliency programs, incorporating feedback from both bodies, will be developed for UAC, CASC, and Council consideration by the end of the year. The July 13, 2025 UAC report also included a status update summarizing progress on various other RRSP strategies, including City efforts to improve reliability and resiliency, including utility workforce planning, tree trimming, undergrounding in the Foothills, and grid modernization.
Utility Rates and Fees (Work Plan Item 1D; Council Priority Objective CA 5): The City is on track to complete the advanced metering infrastructure project by the end of 2025. On June 4, 2025 the UAC recommended approval of time of use rates that customers could use to achieve savings by moving electric consumption to times of lower cost electricity.17 A staff report will be presented to Council in the fall with modifications to its transformer upgrade fees to avoid situations where the resident who triggers a transformer upgrade would pay the entire cost of that upgrade.
P2. Launch Programs
The focus of Priority 2 is to launch effective programs for emissions reductions with the highest impact and lowest cost such as single-family electrification, strategic promotion of EVs, commercial rooftop HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), and expanded transportation alternatives.
P2.1. Residential Emissions Reduction: The goals for residential emissions reduction embodied in the Work Plan include encouraging electric vehicle (EV) adoption for all residents, helping multi-family residents access EV charging, and facilitating building electrification of single-family homes and multi-family affordable housing.
15 Utilities Advisory Commission, February 5, 2025; Agenda Item #2, SR #2501-4058, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=146036&repo=r-704298fc 16 Utilities Advisory Commission, July 9, 2025; Agenda Item #5; SR #2505-4687, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=204574&repo=r-704298fc 17 Utilities Advisory Commission, June 4, 2025; Agenda Item #4; SR #2503-4361; https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=177875&repo=r-704298fc Item A
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Advanced Heat Pump Water Heater Pilot (Work Plan Items 2.1D, 2.1E): The City launched the Advanced Heat Pump Water Heater Pilot Program in March 2023. The goal is to install 1,000 heat pump water heaters (HPWH) through the pilot program. The program includes both a full- service option (where residents can use the City’s prescreened contractor to complete the install at a discount) and a rebate option (where residents can hire their own contractor and receive a rebate). The City launched a new Emergency Water Heater Replacement program in September 2024. As of June 30, 2025, 609 residents had either completed installations or signed contracts to get a heat pump water heater installed through the City’s programs, with 91 of these projects applying for on-bill financing. Based on participation in the first six months of 2025, the City is on a pace to complete around 200 water heater conversions per year through the Advanced HPWH Pilot Program, equivalent to about 17% of the water heaters estimated to be replaced each year. In addition, the City and State Energy Reach Codes encourage new construction and major renovations to be built all-electric, which adds another 100-200 new heat pump water heaters each year.21 The rate of HPWH retrofits has slowed in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year. The pilot has moved past the early adopters after the first 18 months. Because the next wave of customers tends to be more cost-conscious and/or have more complex projects, they will need additional incentives or support to make the switch.
The City is continuing to pursue various efforts to promote HPWH adoption among single-family households. In the first half of 2025, the City worked on the following initiatives:
Innovative marketing: launched a HPWH Giveaway campaign with the prize of a free HPWH installation to encourage residents to install a HPWH. Facilitate rebate applications: launched a Rebate Hub that allows customers to get quotes from contractors and apply for the HPWH rebate. Contractors that are onboarded to the Rebate Hub can submit the HPWH rebate on behalf of customers. Expert consultation: launched free expert consultation to help residents with complex installations.
Customer outreach: the City attended community events to promote HPWHs and hosted a public webinar on Home Electrification. Ongoing outreach includes promotions through City’s social media channels as well as Google ad campaigns.
Whole Home Electrification (Work Plan Items 2.1G, 2.1H; Council Priority Objective CA 34): The City is launching its whole home electrification program in two phases. The first phase, launched in January 2025, offers new rebates and a contractor directory through the Rebate Hub, an online home electrification assessment tool, free phone consultation with an electrification expert, and financing through the state’s GoGreen program.22 As of June 30, 2025, the City had processed rebates for 15 heat pump HVAC projects, six electric panel 21 City Council, June 3, 2024: Agenda Item #17; SR #2405-3073, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=72175&repo=r-704298fc 22 California GoGreen Home Energy Financing; https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/caeatfa/cheef/reel/index.asp Item A
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upgrades, and two gas meter removal incentives. Additionally, 42 customers have completed the online home electrification assessment. For phase two, the City has contracted with Franklin Energy to provide a full-service, turnkey program to help people with home electrification upgrades.25 Rebates will continue to be available for customers who choose to work with their own contractor. The City expects to soft launch phase two in fall 2025, with a full launch planned in January 2026.
Electric Vehicles and Charging (Work Plan Items 2.1A, 2.1C, 2.1J; Council Priority Objective CA 19): The City’s promotion of EV adoption and expansion of multi-family EV infrastructure continued. To promote the benefits of clean driving, the City offered six free EV activities to the public. In Q1 2025 over 275 people attended two online webinars about EVs and incentives, and an in-person EV and e-bike showcase at Mitchell Park. In Q2 approximately 150 people joined two additional webinars, a special pre-owned EV savings campaign, and another in- person EV workshop and showcase. The City plans to continue offering additional EV showcases, free workshops, webinars, and discount programs throughout the remainder of 2025.
In Q2 2025, the City modified the EV Rebate Program to focus exclusively on multi-family EV charging due to changing state regulations, eliminating the non-profit nonresidential category from rebate program eligibility. In the first half of 2025, five multi-family properties representing 168 housing units installed EV chargers through City programs. These installations resulted in a total of 22 multi-family properties representing 982 housing units (about 9.2% of all multi-family units in Palo Alto) that have installed a total of 259 EV charging ports and 48 EV- ready spaces (i.e. infrastructure to support additional charger installation at a later date) facilitated through the City's EV programs. Another 11 multi-family projects are in the permitting and installation phases and an additional 24 are in the project design phase (representing an additional 3,165 residential units). The City is continuing to evaluate designs for an expanded version of the City’s multi-family EV program, aiming for Climate Action and Sustainability Committee review in Q3 2025 and City Council review tentatively in Q4 2025.
Affordable Housing Electrification (Work Plan Item 2.1I; Council Priority Objective CA 19): The City continues to engage with multi-family affordable housing providers in Palo Alto on building electrification and EV charging. On June 17, 2025, the City Council directed staff to develop a program to provide incentives for electrification of dedicated affordable multi-family housing central and in-unit gas equipment.26 The City is working to design the program for launch later this year. As part of this effort, the City is coordinating with the State’s Low-Income Weatherization Program (LIWP) to align program enrollment processes and eligibility 25 City Council, May 27, 2025; Agenda Item #3; SR #2501-4040; https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=178110&repo=r-704298fc 26 City Council, June 17, 2025; Agenda Item #3; SR #2506-4785; https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=188973&repo=r-704298fc Item A
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requirements and allow projects to leverage program technical assistance and LIWP incentives for energy efficiency and electrification alongside the City’s incentives planned to the greatest extent possible.
Through the City rebate program, Alta Housing and MidPen Housing are working on three projects that, once completed, will provide EV charging access to a total of 281 income- qualified apartments by the end of 2025. Alta Housing is also exploring EV charging at six more of its affordable housing properties, which could result in additional projects in 2026 and beyond.
The City’s Residential Energy Assistance Program (REAP) for income-qualified customers continues to reach the City’s most vulnerable population, offering energy and water efficiency improvements at no cost to the customer. In Q1 and Q2 2025, 16 customers participated in the REAP program. Two REAP customers received HPWHs at no cost, and one additional REAP customer received a site assessment for a HPWH and is awaiting installation. Thirteen received energy and water efficiency upgrades.
P2.2. Non-Residential Emissions Reduction: The goals for non-residential emissions reduction embodied in the Work Plan include encouraging electrification of rooftop packaged HVAC units in commercial buildings, developing custom partnerships with major employers, and developing strategies to promote lower emissions commuting.
Rooftop Packaged HVAC (Work Plan Items 2.2A, 2.2B; Council Priority Objective CA 24): In September 2024 the City launched an update to the commercial heat pump HVAC pilot with the goal of collecting additional data to inform the design of an advanced pilot program. To achieve this goal, the City is offering enhanced incentives to a limited group of 10 customers. In return, these customers are required to gather and provide detailed cost and project information to the City. Businesses that prefer not to share this data can still participate in the program at the original incentive level.
Outreach efforts are ongoing through various channels to encourage participation. So far, 14 building owners have applied to join the program, with five permits issued and three projects successfully completed.
Major Employer Partnerships (Work Plan Item 2.2C): This work plan item involves developing customer partnerships for emissions reduction with major employers, including assistance for City facility projects and the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD). The recent set of electrification and energy efficiency projects demonstrates the significant impact the CIEEP (Commercial and Industrial Energy Efficiency Program) program has had across schools, healthcare facilities, and key commercial sites over the last year. The Fletcher and Greene Middle Schools' Heat Pump HVAC projects stood out for their impressive energy savings, with over 253,000 and 165,000 kWh-equivalent (kWh-e) saved. Staff is also working closely with Item A
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PAUSD to complete construction on Hoover Elementary School – which will become the City’s first all-electric school. Stanford Health Care’s LED upgrade project also delivered strong results, with nearly 188,000 kWh saved. At the Westin Hotel, installation of an ozone laundry system reduced the need for hot water and shortened wash cycles, resulting in annual electricity savings of 7,400 kWh, gas savings of 16,400 therms (87 MTCO2e - metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) and water savings of 1.6 million gallons which translates to a 55% reduction in water use.
Altogether, in the past year commercial and industrial projects have demonstrated a reduction of over 2,000,000 kWh and 68,000 therms as well as a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by about 155 MTCO2e (600,000 kWh-e) due to electrification. Projects that increased electricity use but transitioned away from gas still received incentives due to the value of electrification.
For the past three years, CPAU has supported small and medium-sized businesses with energy efficiency, water conservation services, and electrification technical assistance through the Business Energy Advisor and Business Electrification Technical Assistance programs. In Q1 and Q2 of 2025, program staff visited over 200 small businesses in-person, conducted 10 on-site assessments, and provided tailored energy efficiency education and project support, including access to rebates. One electrification project was completed in Q2 this year, and there are over 10 projects in the pipeline expected to be completed by the end of this calendar year.
Commuter/Visitor Emissions Reduction (Work Plan Items 2.2D, 2.2E): These work plan items have been lower priority pending completion of the Electric Vehicle Strategic Plan (renamed “E- Mobility Strategic Roadmap” - see Priority 2.5, below).
P2.3. Citywide Mobility: The goals for citywide mobility embodied in the Work Plan include both transportation-focused and land-use focused actions.
Transportation and Land Use Policies and Programs (Work Plan Item 2.3A; Council Priority Objectives IHS 40, IHS 53): The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program continues to grow, with the Spring 2025 addition of a youth-focused coordinator for programs at middle and high schools. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the SRTS program, which was acknowledged at the Park to Park Ride on May 10, 2025 and via the concurrent endorsements by the City, Board of Education, and PTA Council of the National SRTS Consensus Statement and City/School Transportation Safety Committee Bylaws.29
The City made significant progress on two plans that are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also implementing the Housing Element. In Q1 2025, staff initiated the San Antonio Road Area Plan, which would guide redevelopment of a portion of the Bayshore Alma 29 Resolution No. 10224, April 29, 2025; https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=166652&repo=r- 704298fc&searchid=6de63c57-a0eb-4368-8c3a-092de911d360
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San Antonio Priority Development Area (BASA PDA). The San Antonio Road Area Plan envisions creating cohesive mixed-use neighborhoods with improved mobility and interconnectivity when compared with existing conditions. The resulting integrated transportation network in the plan area is anticipated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the use of single-occupancy motor vehicles.
In Q2 the City Council reviewed the completed Downtown Housing Plan Community Assessment Report.31 The Downtown Housing Plan implements Housing Element programs by establishing policies, development standards, and a plan for the public infrastructure necessary to support increased housing in the area. The report advances the objectives of the City’s S/CAP by analyzing components such as climate change and resilience, as well as land use, housing, and transportation by focusing on housing production near the downtown Palo Alto Caltrain station. Community engagement in Q1 and Q2 of 2025 included a community workshop, pop up events, service and essential worker outreach, and a community advisory group meeting to gather feedback on important topics that shape the plan.
Housing Element Adoption and Implementation (Work Plan Items 2.3B, 2.3C; Council Priority Objective IHS 44): Following August 20, 2024 California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) certification of the City’s Housing Element, the City has made considerable progress in implementing the 110 program objectives in the 2023-2031 Housing Element.32 Implementation activities in Q1 2025 and Q2 2025 include:
In Q1 the City Council adopted an ordinance amending the City’s Housing Incentive Program (HIP) and Affordable Housing Incentive Program (AHIP) to increase housing development potential and expand provisions to multi-family zoning and other commercial districts.33 The modifications are intended to address the jobs/housing imbalance and may also increase transit-oriented development; the changes were in effect as of Q2.
In Q2 the City Council adopted an ordinance expanding the housing focus area along El Camino Real to increase development potential; the changes are effective as of July 2025.34 This project promotes increased housing development on a key transit corridor and is also intended address the jobs/housing imbalance. 31 City Council, June 16, 2025; Agenda Item #B; SR #2505-4725, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=188950&repo=r-704298fc 32 City of Palo Alto, 6th Cycle 2023-2030 Housing Element, 2024; https://paloaltohousingelement.com/wp- content/uploads/2024/08/Palo-Alto-Housing-Element.pdf
33 City Council, March 3, 2025; Agenda Item #9; SR #2412-3948, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=145899&repo=r-704298fc 34 City Council, May 27, 2025; Agenda Item #7; SR #2503-4305, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=178106&repo=r-704298fc Item A
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The City Council selected Alta Housing as the development partner for the Lot T affordable housing project on January 21, 2025.39 The City Council approved an exclusive negotiation agreement with Alta Housing on June 17, 2025.40 The proposed fully affordable housing project would develop a surface parking lot within one-half mile of the downtown Palo Alto Caltrain station.
Last Mile Solutions (Work Plan Items 2.3D, 2.3E; Council Priority Objectives CA 15, CA 18): The Office of Transportation continues to conduct the Shared Micromobility Feasibility study to understand local demand for micromobility and to identify if a micromobility program would be financially sustainable for the City. The City recruited an on-call transportation planning firm to conduct data analysis, and City staff conducted research and met with established programs to learn best practices for micromobility.41 The study is scheduled to be completed in fall of 2025, after which staff recommends initiating a year-long pilot program based on the study’s findings.42 Council has previously approved a one-year micromobility pilot program, but the program was not implemented at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing limitations.43
Bicycling Improvements (Work Plan Items 2.3A, 2.3F, 2.3G; Council Priority Objectives CA 13, CA 15, CA 16, CA 17): The Policy and Services Committee reviewed the final draft of the Palo Alto Safety Action Plan in May 2025 and recommended that Council approve it. On June 2, Council approved the Plan.44 This comprehensive roadway safety plan is critical to reaching S/CAP goals because improving safety for vulnerable road users will reduce vehicle miles traveled and encourage walking and cycling.
For the Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan Update, the project team developed a strategy for public engagement to present and get feedback on system development and network priorities. This includes the project's draft recommendations for the updated bicycle network and draft list of projects, as well as the draft project prioritization framework and performance measures. Public engagement activities occurred in winter and spring 2025 and included meetings with the City's Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee, Planning and Transportation Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, focus groups, a joint 39 City Council, January 21, 2025; Agenda Item #4; SR #2409-3517, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=128999&repo=r-704298fc 40 City Council, June 17, 2025; Agenda Item #10; SR #2504-4489, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=188963&repo=r-704298fc 41 City Council, February 3, 2025; Agenda Item #6; SR #2409-3440, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=134448&repo=r-704298fc 42 Planning and Transportation Commission, October 30, 2024; Agenda Item #3; SR #2410-3586, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=111879&repo=r-704298fc 43 City Council, March 2, 2020; Agenda Item #5; SR #11075; https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=58390&repo=r-704298fc 44 City Council, June 2, 2025; Agenda Item 6; SR #2503-4455, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=181475&repo=r-704298fc Item A
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community workshop with the South Palo Alto Bike/Ped Connectivity project, pop-up events, tabling, and online engagement that collected over 1,000 individual comments. At their June 2, 2025 meeting, the City Council reviewed the draft recommendations and a revised project prioritization framework informed by the recent public engagement activities. In the same meeting, the City Council provided feedback on the draft ranked prioritized project lists.51 The feedback will help shape the draft and final plan. The City anticipates releasing the draft plan in fall 2025.
On December 16, 2024, the City Council approved the grant agreement with the Federal Highway Administration for the South Palo Alto Bikeways Demonstration Project.52 The $888,000 federal funds and $222,000 matching City funds will use quick-build infrastructure to improve bikeways and crossings on East Meadow Drive and Fabian Way. The City will begin procurement for a transportation planning firm to finalize the street design when a project manager is available, tentatively by the end of calendar year 2025.
The City began the South Palo Alto Bike/Ped Connectivity project in September 2024. The City is currently engaging with the community to select two preferred bike/pedestrian rail crossing locations in south Palo Alto, develop conceptual plans (15% designs), and identify bike/pedestrian network improvements in surrounding neighborhoods. Creating a path above or below the tracks will improve bicycle and pedestrian connectivity in support of the mobility and sustainability goals of the City. Phase 1 of engagement in spring 2025 introduced the project to the community and gained input on goals and priorities for grade-separated bike/pedestrian rail crossings. The City considered input and feedback from the community while establishing design priorities and evaluation criteria for rail crossing alternatives.
Transportation Demand Management (Work Plan Item 2.3H): The Palo Alto Transportation Management Association (PATMA) is conducting essential outreach to businesses on El Camino Real regarding available transit, bike, and parking programs to support businesses following the parking changes to the corridor as part of the Caltrans repaving project, as funded by a $25,000 Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Transit Oriented Communities Grant. The PATMA administered a commute survey for 2024 and received 885 completed responses. The PATMA distributed 22 free transit passes to workers at businesses along El Camino Real and to 38 at the Stanford Mall in Q1 and Q2, encouraging sustainable commutes. Work on the City’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Ordinance is on hold until staff capacity is available.
51 City Council, June 2, 2025; Agenda Item #3; SR #2503-4341, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=181480&repo=r-704298fc 52 City Council, December 16, 2024; Agenda Item #9; SR #2411-3763, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=117739&repo=r-704298fc Item A
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Parking (Work Plan Items 2.3I, 2.3J): The City and contractors continued installing Automated Parking Guidance Systems in downtown garages, which seek to limit the time that drivers spend circulating to find parking. Installation in the Civic Center Garage began in January 2025. The City is planning to continue community engagement efforts and develop options for proposed enhancements to parking facilities. The Planning and Transportation Commission reviewed a report on downtown parking trends on May 28, 2025.55
Traffic Signals (Work Plan Item 2.3K): The City continually monitors, maintains, and optimizes traffic signal operations, and addresses concerns from the community daily. As funding and staffing allow, the City also works on a variety of capital improvement program projects to update and upgrade the current traffic signal network and keep up with changing standards, modernization, and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies. These improvements are a key component to optimizing operations to reduce delays and GHG emissions from idling.
In Q1 and Q2 of 2025, the City has made substantial progress on several projects and is nearing completion of modifications at the intersection of Alma Road/Churchill Avenue. The City also made significant updates to its centralized traffic signal management systems and is currently in progress of a capital project to upgrade systems at four intersections along Quarry Road.
Included with the traffic signal program, the City programmed and plans to add or upgrade several pedestrian-activated beacon crossings, completing installation of the newest crossing at University Avenue and East Crescent Drive in early 2025 and a major update to an existing crossing on Hillview Avenue. These pedestrian crossing improvements are essential in encouraging walking and alternative modes of transportation.
Mobility Hub (Work Plan Item 2.3D; Council Priority Objectives CA 12, ED 31): The City is working with Stanford University to initiate the design phase of the Quarry Road Transit Connection project that would reduce travel time to access the Palo Alto Transit Center. A cost-sharing agreement between Stanford and the City, grant funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and coordination with Caltrans are being pursued to enable project design kick-off of the extension of Quarry Road between El Camino Real and the Transit Center. Separately, VTA has convened the Palo Alto University Avenue Mobility Hub Ad Hoc Committee to explore short- and long-term active transportation and other improvements to the Palo Alto Transit Center to activate the space.
In Q2 staff submitted a funding application for $126,000 to the Bay Area Air District’s Charge! Program. If funded, the project would support the installation of EV charging infrastructure in the City-owned Midtown parking lot in advance of a potential future small-scale neighborhood 55 Planning and Transportation Commission, May 28, 2025; Agenda Item #2; SR #2408-3394, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=178241&repo=r-704298fc Item A
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mobility hub. This site is envisioned to support EV charging and future micromobility services for adjacent multi-family housing and commercial uses.
P2.4. Municipal Electrification: The City’s municipal electrification efforts include both facility and fleet electrification and are intended to show the community that the City will participate in the same electrification efforts it is encouraging the community to undertake.
Facility Electrification (Work Plan Items 2.4A, 2.4B, 2.4C; Council Priority Objective CA 20): The City is evaluating the feasibility of electrifying equipment at City facilities each time aging equipment requires replacement. The City has also filled the vacant staff position dedicated to this effort, allowing this task to move forward. The City is currently analyzing the Facility Electrification Assessment report and associated data to confirm priority facilities for initial electrification efforts. This evaluation will guide the upcoming design phase and ensure alignment with the City’s Sustainability and Climate Action Plan goals. Meanwhile, preparations are underway to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to select a design consultant.
Fleet Electrification (Work Plan Items 2.4D, 2.4E): In Q2 the City replaced one internal combustion engine fleet vehicle with one electric vehicle (a Ford e-transit van). There are now 36 electric vehicles (EVs) in the City fleet, or about 15% of the passenger vehicles and light duty trucks and vans.
Publicly Owned Charger Planning (Work Plan Item 2.4F): There are currently 119 City-owned EV chargers, with a total of 154 charging ports, an increase of eight EV chargers and eight charging ports from Q4 of 2024. Twenty-nine of those chargers are dedicated to City vehicles, while the rest are primarily for public use. The City will develop a plan for additional publicly owned charging following completion of the E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap (see Priority 2.5, below).
P2.5. E-Mobility Strategic Plan (CA 18): The Climate Action and Sustainability Committee recommended the E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap, formerly the EV Strategic Plan, for Council approval on June 13, 2025.57 Staff will take the Roadmap for Council acceptance in Q3 2025.
This roadmap will guide the promotion of e-mobility citywide and the integration of e-mobility into other City efforts, such as active transportation efforts. It was informed by the EV Charger Needs Assessment. A review of e-mobility electric grid impacts, EV charging benefits, mitigation strategies, and opportunities has been incorporated into the Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan (see Priority 1, Work Plan Items 1B/1C, above).
P3. Build Awareness and Confidence
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The focus of Priority 3 is to build community awareness and confidence in electrification through engagement, addressing concerns, and program results.
Building Awareness of the Need for and Benefits of Climate Action (Work Plan Item 3.1A): The City continues to publish a monthly Climate Action Blog and Quarterly Sustainability Newsletter. In Q1 and Q2 2025, the City published Climate Blogs in February, March, April, May, and June, and Sustainability Newsletters in February and April. Historically, the Sustainability Newsletters have an average 52% open rate, which is the percentage of readers that open the e-mail you send them. The average open rate for government e-newsletters is 19.4%.59 In Q1 and Q2 2025, the City held four electric vehicle and e-bike webinars (145 total attendees), one EV and e-bike expo (200 attendees), one e-bike and e-scooter expo (60 attendees), four water-efficient gardening and landscape events (117 total attendees), one home electrification webinar (41 attendees), three ordinance meetings, one biosolids input workshop, two Bike to Wherever Day energizer stations, and one heat pump water heater giveaway.
In April, the City hosted the second annual Palo Alto Earth Day Festival, which had 34 exhibitors and approximately 500 attendees. The event celebrated sustainability and showcased available resources for Palo Alto residents to make an impact and take climate action to support achieving the City’s S/CAP goals. Fun offerings included special library story times for kids and youth, Zero Waste trivia games, plant giveaways and guided garden tours, local youth sustainability networking, and Sequoia the Bald Eagle and Animal Control’s gopher snake.
In June, the inaugural Youth Climate Advisory Board (YCAB) celebrated their accomplishments at the end of the school year. The 11 members of the Board successfully worked on efforts on zero waste, water, transportation, and media. The Board also helped plan and staff the Palo Alto Earth Day Festival. The Board will continue to work on projects over the summer, and a final report will be shared with Council in August. Also in June, the City, with assistance from the Palo Alto Council of PTAs, selected YCAB members for the 2025-2026 term.
The City is working on a Sustainability and Climate Action Communications and Marketing plan and plans to ramp up engagement efforts in Q3 and Q4 of 2025.
S/CAP Reporting and Surveys (Work Plan Items 3.1C, 3.1D): The City continues to calculate an annual GHG emissions inventory and reports on sustainability and climate action progress to the CDP, an international non-profit that helps companies, cities, states, regions, and public authorities disclose their environmental impact. In June, the City was recognized on the CDP’s A List for Climate Leadership. Earning a spot on CDP’s A List is a significant achievement that reflects the highest standard of local climate leadership and is indicative of many of the City’s sustainability and climate action accomplishments last year, including launching an emergency 59 Campaign Monitor, 2022; https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/guides/email-marketing-benchmarks/ Item A
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water heater replacement program, the Canopy Tree Plotter, and the Youth Climate Advisory Board. Only 112 cities worldwide, or 15% of scored cities, earned CDP’s top status.61 P4. Additional Emissions Reductions
The focus of Priority 4 is to identify an additional 9% in emissions reduction opportunities to achieve 80 x 30, primarily through a focus on studying multi-family and commercial building equipment. The City is finalizing studies of the multi-family and commercial sectors in conjunction with the S/CAP Funding Study but is already making use of the insights delivered by the consultant in S/CAP strategic planning and program design. These studies include review of publicly available data sources and on-site surveys of building equipment at multi-family and commercial buildings.
P5. Funding Needs and Sources (CA 22)
The focus of Priority 5 is to identify, by 2024, funding needed and potential funding sources for full scale implementation of the highest impact emissions reductions. The City Council approved a contract with E3/Willdan in January 2024 to complete a study of funding needs and sources.62 This S/CAP Funding Study is being finalized as are its companion studies (an EV Charger Needs Assessment, Building Sector Study, and Funding Source Survey). All studies are being completed by the same group of consultants. Staff and consultants presented preliminary results from the S/CAP Funding Study to the CASC in April 2025.63 Staff intend to present the study results and potential strategies for future adoption in Q3 and Q4, aiming for City Council acceptance in late 2025.
Sustainability
Water: Further Water Conservation
Maximize Water Conservation and Efficiency (Work Plan Item 8.A): The City has offered an online water management tool, WaterSmart, to customers since 2022. The tool provides information on water consumption and personalized water conservation recommendations. As of June 9, 2025, 33% of all single-family customers have accessed the portal – an increase from 29% as of December 2024. On a monthly basis, all single-family customers receive home water reports via email or regular mail if an email is not on file. The average open rate of home water report emails is 70%. Home water reports result in water savings of approximately 26.2 MG (3% savings).
61 CDP Scores and A Lists, https://www.cdp.net/en/data/scores 62 City Council, January 16, 2024; Agenda Item 4; SR #2308-1939, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=70170&repo=r-704298fc 63 Climate Action and Sustainability Committee, April 4, 2025; Agenda Item #1; SR #2503-4409, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=157485&repo=r-704298fc Item A
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Design and build a salt removal facility for the Regional Water Quality Control Plant (Work Plan Item 8.B): As of June 2025, the City has completed planning and funding agreements for the Local Advanced Water Purification System Project at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP). The City Council approved the construction contract in May, and the Project is starting construction.67 Once construction is complete, the Project will improve recycled water quality by blending reverse osmosis permeate to encourage expanded use of recycled water for non-potable uses such as irrigation.
Develop a “One Water” Portfolio for Palo Alto (Work Plan Item 8.C) and develop a tool for dynamic water planning in the future (Work Plan Item 8.D): The City has completed both of these items. Staff developed an Excel-based tool for water planning as part of One Water Plan development. The Utilities Advisory Commission reviewed the One Water Plan during their January 7, 2025 meeting.68 The results of these efforts, including feedback from the Utilities Advisory Commission will be presented to CASC in late summer 2025.
Climate Adaptation and Sea Level Rise: Prepare for Climate Change Foothills Fire Management Plan and Collaboration on Reducing Wildfire Hazards (Work Plan Items 8.K, 8.L, 8.M, 8.N; Council Priority Objective PS 58): The City launched a series of public engagement and public meetings to raise awareness of local wildfire risks and the importance of wildfire preparedness in April 2025. Engagement efforts included a public comment period for the State Fire Hazard Maps. Additionally, staff presented the City of Palo Alto Utilities 2025 Wildfire Mitigation Plan to the Utilities Advisory Commission on June 4, 2025.69 The City continues to refine the Foothills Fire Management Plan and participate in Santa Clara County Community Wildfire Protection planning efforts and anticipates those documents will be finalized in summer 2025. The City worked with Woodside Fire Protection District, Stanford University, Department of Homeland Security, and Santa Clara County Fire Safe Council to install 50 N5 Wildfire sensors in the three jurisdictions.70 This program is a trial for the sensors and parties meet monthly to discuss alerts and ongoing maintenance.
Develop a Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan (Work Plan Item 8.F; Council Priority Objective 8):
The City has been working on sea level rise adaptation efforts for several years as discussed in previous Council updates. Accomplishments to date include a completed Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment, online mapping tools that help City engineers design to future sea 67 City Council, May 19, 2025; Agenda Item #10; SR #2503-4327, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=175901&repo=r-704298fc 68 Utilities Advisory Commission, January 7, 2025; Agenda Item #4; SR #2407-3234, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=125164&repo=r-704298fc 69 Utilities Advisory Commission, June 4, 2025; Agenda Item #2; SR #2501-4077, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=177873&repo=r-704298fc 70 County of Santa Clara Press Release, May 20, 2025; https://d3.santaclaracounty.gov/pr-AI-Wildfire-Sensors- 052025
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level rise conditions, and the inclusion of sea level rise in Long Range Facility Plan update drafts for the Regional Water Quality Control Plant.75
In 2023, SB 272 initiated new statewide requirements for local sea level rise adaptation planning.76 The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) administers these requirements for local governments in the Bay Area.77 The City is collaborating with Santa Clara County Office of Sustainability and other cities in Santa Clara County to submit a grant proposal for the development of a vulnerability assessment for shoreline communities in Santa Clara County, and to then develop a regional shoreline adaptation plan that aligns with State requirements. The regional vulnerability assessment would complement Palo Alto’s similar assessment by determining the cost of inaction if Palo Alto does not pursue additional sea level rise adaptations and would ensure social equity considerations have been properly vetted. Grant approval will be determined by fall 2025.
In addition to regional efforts, the City continues to implement tools and processes that assist in adapting to sea level rise. The City, with assistance from external experts, developed an online mapping tool for City engineers and project managers to consider project design implications for future sea level rise conditions. The City has begun training to use the tool and will use the maps before advancing public works projects for design solicitations.
Begin Design Process for Levee Projects (Work Plan Item 8.G): Construction of the Palo Alto Horizontal Levee Pilot Project (PAHLPP) is slated to begin in summer of 2025 and conclude in early 2026. Horizontal levees are nature-based sea level rise adaptations with multiple benefits over traditional flood- control levees such as habitat enhancement, sea level rise adaptation, and additional wastewater treatment. The PAHLPP will be the first horizontal levee to be built in the Bay Area to be both irrigated with treated wastewater and hydrologically connected to San Francisco Bay. The project will provide much-needed data to inform the design of future horizontal levees around the greater San Francisco Bay Area. The City is also developing interpretive signage in partnership with the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone and securing required monitoring services and permit requirements for the levee project.
Identify Protection Strategies from Significant Flood Events at Newell Road Bridge (Work Plan Item 8.H; Council Priority Objective CA 2): Caltrans approved the Authorization to Proceed for construction phase with Advance Construction on April 14, 2025, after which the City solicited construction bids. The City received five bids from responsible bidders, and Council approved 75 Palo Alto Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment, 2022; https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/public-works/environmental-compliance/sea-level-rise/palo- alto-sea-level-rise-vulnerability-assessment-june-2022-062822-linked-final.pdf 76 California Senate Bill 272, 2023-2024;
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awarding the contract on June 16.81 The Newell Road Bridge Replacement Project pre- construction activities are expected to begin in summer 2025, with construction taking 1.5 years to complete.
Identify Protection Strategies from Significant Flood Events (Work Plan Item 8.I, 8.J; Council Priority Objective CA 3, CA 11): The San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority (SFCJPA) is the project lead. The City, along with the four other partner agencies, provides recommendations and financial contributions to SFCJPA. Following the December 31, 2022 (NYE) storm event, Valley Water and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) concluded that the model that was used to predict flows with the San Francisquito Creek had over-estimated creek capacity.
The SFCJPA and their consultants are developing an alternatives report with recommendations to achieve the flood protection that was previously associated with Pope Chaucer Bridge Replacement and San Francisquito Creek widening improvements, considering the updated creek capacity estimate. The aim of the recommendations is to propose improvements that, when constructed, would manage up to a 70-year storm event between an area from upstream of Middlefield Road to upstream of West Bayshore Road. SFCJPA published the Alternatives Evaluation Technical Report draft for public review and comment on May 22, 2025.82 SFCJPA intends to take comments to shape the alternatives to advance in fall 2025. The City will continue to provide assistance through review and Councilmember participation in Board discussions.
Hamilton Avenue Storm Drain Capacity Upgrades (CA 16): While the S/CAP work plan focuses on Pope Chaucer Bridge and San Francisquito Creek through the partnership with SFJPA, a storm drain improvement project that also serves to mitigate Creek flooding is underway at Hamilton Avenue. Following surveys and additional data collection in 2024 to prevent utility conflicts, staff began developing plans and specifications for Hamilton Avenue Storm Drain Capacity Upgrades. The plans and specifications are 95% complete. The City will solicit bids during the summer with the intent to award the construction contract in the fall 2025. The project is expected to be completed within approximately one year. This project also includes pipe upgrades along Alester Avenue between Hamilton Avenue and Dana Avenue to reduce the flooding that was observed after the December 31, 2022 storm event.
Natural Environment: Enhance Biodiversity
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Increase Palo Alto’s Tree Canopy and Ensure No Net Tree Canopy Loss (Work Plan Items 8.O,
8.P): The City is working on an update of the Tree and Landscape Technical Manual. In addition, the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance process is currently under review and should be completed soon.
Coordinate Implementation of City Natural Environment-Related Plans (Work Plan Item 8.R):
S/CAP has the goal of restoring and enhancing resilience and biodiversity of our natural environment throughout the City. Coordinating implementation and updates of City plans allows for achieving multiple benefits. Recent examples of this coordination include:
Incorporation of Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) concepts into the draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan Update and the Safe Streets for All Safety Action Plan, which Council approved on June 2, 2025.85
Plans to use recent analyses like the City’s S/CAP, 2022 Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment,86 and South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Phase II Feasibility Study in anticipated reports regarding the San Antonio Road Area Plan.87 The City also worked to refine the draft Ordinance containing Stream/Creek Corridor Setback requirements, draft Bird-Friendly Design Ordinance, and draft Lighting Ordinance with direction from the City Council and Planning and Transportation Commission.88, 89, 90 While these ordinances are not directly referenced in the S/CAP work plan, they relate to Council Priority Objectives 17 and 18, may result in benefits for sustainability and adaptation to climate change, and may interact with other environment-related plans.
Support the Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Plan and incorporate GSI in Municipal Projects (Work Plan Item 8.S): Twenty staff in the Public Works and Community Services Departments attended trainings through the National GSI Maintenance Certification Program. 85 City Council, June 2, 2025; Agenda Item 6; SR #2503-4455, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=181475&repo=r-704298fc 86 Palo Alto Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment, 2022; https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/1/public-works/environmental-compliance/sea-level- rise/palo-alto-sea-level-rise-vulnerability-assessment-june-2022-062822-linked-final.pdf 87 South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Phase II Feasibility Study Area, 2024; https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/sustainability/2024-05-13_south-san-francisco-bay-shoreline- project-phase-two_ls_v10.pdf
88 City Council, June 2, 2025; Agenda Item 6; SR #2503-4455, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=181475&repo=r-704298fc 89 Planning & Transportation Commission, October 30, 2024; Agenda Item #2; SR #2409-3472, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=111879&repo=r-704298fc&searchid=f079aa52-178a-46d4- 92ad-216cb4f44468
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The trainings, which were funded by an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant,97 strengthen the City’s ability to design highly effective and easy to maintain GSI features, and to continue to maintain GSI sites for optimal benefits. Additionally, on June 3, 2025 the City released a request for proposals for a proposed GSI project in a City park.
Zero Waste: Support Waste Reduction
Encourage Commercial Food Waste Prevention and Provide Technical Assistance (Work Plan Items 8.T, 8.W): In Q1 and Q2 2025 the City continued outreach on food waste prevention and the requirements for edible food recovery from commercial food generators through collaboration with Santa Clara County, other jurisdictions and Joint Venture Silicon Valley. The technical assistance, outreach, assessments of compliance with Senate Bill 1383, the State’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant legislation, and inspections are on-going and continue to be provided by Joint Venture Silicon Valley through the City’s memorandum of understanding with the County.98
Promote Residential Food Waste Reduction (Work Plan Item 8.U): The Zero Waste outreach community campaigned to promote food waste reduction and connect it to GHGs and climate change with a call to action launched in late 2024 and continued in Q1 and Q2 of 2025. The messaging themes - Strategize, Organize, Prioritize - were effectively integrated across multiple outreach channels, including the utility bill inserts and announcements, advertisements featured in local newspapers, newsletters, and content distributed through the various City social media platforms. The outreach approach was designed to ensure broad community awareness and encourage proactive participation.
Champion Waste Prevention, Reduction, Reusables, and the Sharing Economy (Work Plan Item
8.V): As part of the new Zero Waste Living outreach campaign, the City published 25 Zero Waste Minute weekly e-newsletters in Q1 and Q2 2025, providing the community with reduce, reuse, repair tips, and essential tools to tackle the complex waste challenges our community is dedicated to solving. The weekly e-newsletter open rate averages 52 to 54%. Staff also updated the Zero Waste webpage with a new design and restructure of resources to enhance user experience for outreach, comprehensive waste prevention information, and other valuable resources specific to the type of webpage visitor (i.e., a resident or a business) instead of general outreach. The update also included adding a search tool with a link to StopWaste’s search engine called RE:Source. The tool enables the Palo Alto community to search for repair, reuse, and recycle alternatives to their household items. Additionally, the City continued to make compost available at the Compost Giveaway Station located at Eleanor Pardee 97 City Council, October 17, 2022; Agenda Item #5; SR #14463, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=59217&repo=r-704298fc 98 City Council June 18, 2024; Agenda Item #8; SR #2404-2911, https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=73955&repo=r-704298fc Item A
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Community Garden and to hold compost workshops for residents to learn how easy it is to make their own compost at home.
Prioritize Domestic Processing of Recyclable Materials (Work Plan Item 8.X): Domestic processing for mixed paper and mixed rigid plastics began in April 2022. The City continues to review processing efforts.
Eliminate Single-Use Disposable Containers (Work Plan Item 8.Y): The City is reviewing the strategy and timeline for expanding the Disposable Foodware Ordinance and preparing to evaluate the compliance of food services establishments with existing requirements.
Expand the Deconstruction and Construction Materials Management Ordinance (Work Plan Item 8.Z): The City continues to conduct outreach and educate homeowners, general contractors, and architects on the deconstruction ordinance requirements when building permit applications are submitted and when permits are issued. During deconstruction, the City inspects each project site multiple times to document progress, reiterates requirements for source separation and hauling of single stream materials, and addresses any concerns observed. In Fiscal Year 2024, 58 projects completed required documentation and had the whole structures removed. The salvaged materials recovered for reuse (lumber, cabinets, doors and windows) accounted for about 4% of the materials from the 58 complete projects, 31% of material was recycled (clean wood debris, dry wall and concrete), and only 7% of the materials were landfilled. Examples of materials landfilled included insulation and painted wood.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Current and future initiatives will be managed and funded across various departments and funds. No new funding is needed, and the implementation of this 2023-2025 S/CAP Work Plan is subject to the standard budget appropriation process.
Some items in other work plans are also relevant to the S/CAP Work Plan. The Utilities Strategic Plan, for example, includes workforce development and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) work items that are directly relevant to S/CAP. Some of these may involve future budget requests as well.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Stakeholder engagement on S/CAP implementation is wide-reaching and coordinated with multiple departments. Efforts include direct engagement, webinars, social media and other digital marketing/outreach, website updates, public signage, CASC meeting participation, leveraging the City’s communication platforms, and more. Stakeholder engagement efforts were described in the Analysis section Stakeholder engagement efforts were described in the Analysis section, under P3. Build Awareness and Confidence as well as other Work Plan areas.
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ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This report is for informational purposes only with no action required by the Council and therefore it is not a project subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer
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City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: November 3, 2025
Report #: 2505-4678
TITLE
Informational Report on the 2023 and 2024 GreenWaste of Palo Alto Certificate of End Use and Traceability Reports; CEQA Status – Not a Project
RECOMMENDATION
This is an Informational Report and action by Council is not required.
BACKGROUND
GreenWaste of Palo Alto (GWPA) is the City’s contracted refuse hauler for the collection of recyclable, compostable, and landfill materials. Palo Alto’s recyclables are processed at the GreenWaste Materials Recovery Facility (GreenWaste MRF) in San Jose, where they are combined with recyclables from other communities, sorted by type, baled, and marketed. As part of its contract, GWPA is required to submit a Certificate of End Use and Traceability Report detailing the final disposition of materials and their environmental and social impacts associated with the further offsite marketing and processing of Palo Alto’s recyclables. GWPA has previously submitted the Initial Review of Certificate of End Use & Traceability Data for Fiscal Years 20191, 20202, 20213, 20224, and 2023 (Attachment A).
On May 24, 20215 City Council adopted five directives focused on enhancing transparency and oversight regarding international shipments of Palo Alto’s recyclable materials. Staff addressed all five directives. In 2022, the Cities of Palo Alto and San Jose co-hosted virtual forums with 1 Fiscal Year 2019 Initial Review of Certificate of End Use & Traceability Data, 2019 - https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/zero-waste/fy-2019-traceability-report_gwpa.pdf%20 2 Fiscal Year 2020 Initial Review of Certificate of End Use & Traceability Data, 2020 - https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/zero-waste/fy-2020-traceability-report_gwpa.pdf 3 City Council, January 24, 2022; Agenda item #14; CMR #13535; https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=59321&repo=r-704298fc 4 City Council, December 19, 2022; Agenda item #22; CMR #14835; https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=59046&repo=r-704298fc 5 City Council, May 24, 2021; Agenda item #7; CMR #11632 https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=195989&repo=r-704298fc Item B
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other jurisdictions, industry stakeholders, and recycling processors to explore interest in legislative advocacy to improve traceability in global recycling markets. However, insufficient regional support was identified for such legislative efforts. Despite increased requirements, GWPA reported challenges in providing detailed data on international shipments due to vendor confidentiality restrictions. To further assess global recycling logistics, the City contracted Edgar & Associates, Inc. (EAI) in August 2022, to research and summarized the current recycling market structures and logistics to enhance oversight and transparency in the marketing, handling, and processing of recyclable materials collected from the City’s collections. EAI's findings concluded that recyclable materials can be tracked to the port of entry in a foreign country, but not to specific processing facilities. EAI found limited documentation on the handling and recycling of materials once they leave U.S. ports. EAI confirmed GWPA’s findings, concluding that there is currently no way to track recyclable materials beyond their initial sale, making the secondary markets untraceable. These findings reinforced the City’s current policy focus on expanding domestic recycling options and pursue long-term domestic recycling for cardboard and PET thermoformed plastics. On December 12, 202211, Council approved a long- term contract amendment requiring GWPA to process Palo Alto’s recyclable materials, specifically mixed paper and mixed rigid plastics, through domestic markets. As a result, approximately 60 percent of Palo Alto’s recyclable materials are now handled domestically, significantly reducing the reliance on international markets to only 40 percent. Staff has addressed Council’s 2021 directives, including efforts to enhance transparency and oversight of recyclable materials. As part of these ongoing efforts, this informational report makes the latest GWPA traceability reports available to both Council and the public.
ANALYSIS
GWPA’s reports, titled “Initial Review of Certificate of End Use & Traceability Data” for Fiscal Year 2023 (Attachment A) and 2024 (Attachment B), summarize the traceability data and online review of information relative to recycling international markets. The reports include the supplementary marketing, processing, and disposal information from GreenWaste’s primary purchasers and summarize the recyclable materials tonnages by commodity types, the spread of domestic compared to the export markets, and the location of secondary processing. In Fiscal Year 2023:
Approximately 15,700 tons of recyclable materials was processed from Palo Alto. Of this total approximately 68 percent remained in the United States while approximately 32 percent was exported internationally. The report highlights the extended program for domestic processing of mixed paper and mixed rigid plastics and GreenWaste’s pursuit of advanced processing technologies at their facilities. In Fiscal Year 2024:
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Approximately 15,600 tons of recyclable materials was processed from Palo Alto with approximately 58 percent remaining in the United States and 42 percent exported internationally. The report highlights the continuous effort to process recyclable domestically primarily mixed paper and mixed rigid plastics. The decrease in overall domestic recycling was due to the limited and volatile domestic market for cardboard.
GreenWaste is working on securing a more permanent market.
These trends reflect progress toward Council's directives and demonstrate the City’s commitment to promoting responsible and transparent recycling practices
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
There is no direct fiscal impact associated with this informational report.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
This report provides a routine update for City Council and the public. No additional stakeholder engagement was required
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This item is informational in nature and does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: GWPA Traceability Report – 2023
Attachment B: GWPA Traceability Report – 2024
APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer
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1 GreenWaste of Palo Alto
Initial Review of Certificate of
End Use & Traceability Data,
2023
February 1, 2024
Contact:
Eric Cissna
[email protected]
650-798-5994
2765 Lafayette St.
Santa Clara, CA 95050
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................................... 2 Background & Expectations ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Progress and Action Plan ............................................................................................................................................. 6 Summary ....................................................................................................................................................................... 10 CellMark Inc. (Novato, CA) ..................................................................................................................................... 15 Berg Mill Supply/Classic Fibres (Los Angeles, CA)............................................................................................ 18 Fibre Trade Inc. (Burlingame, CA) ......................................................................................................................... 20 Newport CH International (Orange, CA) ............................................................................................................... 21 Direct Pack Recycling (Azusa, CA) ....................................................................................................................... 23 Envision Plastics (Chino, CA) ................................................................................................................................. 25
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Background & Expectations
GreenWaste of Palo Alto, LLC and GreenWaste Recovery, LLC GreenWaste of Palo Alto, LLC (GWPA) is the City of Palo Alto’s (City) contracted solid waste, recyclable materials, and compostable materials collection and processing contractor. The Agreement between GWPA and the City (GWPA Agreement) commenced in October 2008, and has since been amended and restated in June 2015, and again amended and restated in January 2019, with the term extended through June 30, 2026.
Under the GWPA Agreement, GWPA collects recyclable materials, compostable materials, and solid waste from City residents and commercial businesses. Recyclable materials are transported to the GreenWaste San Jose Material Recovery Facility (MRF), where they are processed for recovery. At the MRF, comingled recyclables are processed to remove contamination and separated by material type (e.g., paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, etc.). The MRF then sells the separate d recovered materials to brokers and/or secondary processors for further recycling. Compostable materials are transported to the GreenWaste Renewable Energy Digestion Facility, where they undergo anaerobic digestion to produce renewable energy and a feedstock for compost.
Effective January 1, 2022, following a City procurement process, GWPA began transporting municipal solid waste (MSW) to the MRF for processing under the Solid Waste Processing and Disposal Services Agreement (MSW Processing Agreement). This material is processed at the MRF to recover both compostable materials and recyclables.
The materials managed by the GWPA Agreement and the MSW Processing Agreement are disparate.
GWPA collects approximately 16,000 tons of recyclable material annually for processing at the MRF.
Additionally, per monthly reporting required by the MSW Processing Agreement, approximately 852 tons of recyclables were recovered from the City’s solid waste stream in Fiscal Year 2023, representing 5.5% of the overall solid waste stream.
Commodities Markets & Trade Secrets
GreenWaste Recovery, LLC (GWR) is a recyclables processor and markets its own recyclable commodities.
Over the last five years, the recycling industry has gotten more complex due to the changing landscape of new international guidelines and restrictions on shipments of recyclables.
CalRecycle succinctly summarizes some of the recent changes that have had significant impacts on the recycling industry:
“The export of recyclable materials is a key component of California’s recycling infrastructure.
Changes to international policies restricting imports of recyclable materials, the declining global market for plastic and paper scrap, and the impending Basel Convention plastic waste amendments that will make exporting plastic scrap more challenging continue to pose a significant challenge to the solid waste and recycling industry, local governments, and Californians.” (https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/markets/nationalsword)
GWR has witnessed firsthand the impacts of these changes . In 2017, a paper mill in Santa Clara closed due to high production costs and fluctuating Old Corrugated Cardboard (OCC) prices ( 2022 Traceability
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Report). Material previously sent to this local facility was forced to be sent out of state to mills in the Midwest, Louisiana, and Georgia.
As the marketers of their own recyclable commodities, GWR has borne witness to how unstructured commodities markets can be. GWR sells its recycled materials to brokers and/or secondary processors.
Once the material is sold, it may change hands many times or undergo further processing before reaching its ultimate destination. Brokers may have incomplete information regarding the final destination of the materials or they may be unwilling to share th e information they do possess due to confidentiality concerns. Once at port, materials are sent to various plants, making the full life cycle of commodities extremely difficult to track. Furthermore, recyclables brokers are not in a position to place requirements on customers.
Information on commodity markets, pricing, buyers, and other information pertaining to commodity sales transactions constitute confidential and proprietary corporate Trade Secrets. This information is not of public knowledge or general knowledge in the trade or business and has an intrinsic value preserved by being safeguarded from disclosure. GWR and its brokers stand to be harmed by the disclosure of Trade Secrets as follows:
• Losing markets for specific materials (e.g., plastic clamshells or film plastics), • Losing local markets and only having available domestic or international markets, • Losing domestic markets and only having available international markets, or • Jeopardizing relationships with buyers, with the potential to lose business.
For the reasons detailed above, it has continued to be a challenge to ascertain additional information regarding the final disposition of recovered recyclables. GWR and GWPA are not alone in this challenge to gather a complete data set. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) established Resource: Plastic in cooperation with five Principal Members (Keurig Dr Pepper, McDonald’s Corporation, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, and The Coca-Cola Company) in 2020 and released its inaugural Transparent 2020 report. The report identified the significant data gaps: “ The lack of data on waste management globally is a shared challenge —no one institution can address it alone…”
(https://resource-plastic.com/pdf/Transparent2020.pdf).
An updated report was released in December 2021, and further calls for filling critical data gaps and improving data confidence: “Filling critical data gaps and actively sharing information will improve the quality and precision of our understanding of the plastic waste system. There is a clear need for better waste management and fate data at the national level, international coordination on plastic data collection efforts, and agreement on common terminology and best practices.” (https://resource-
plastic.com/backend/sites/default/files/2021-12/Transparent%202021%2012-1-21.pdf)
A third report in December 2022 continues to appeal for improving data confidence and transparency :
“ReSource has called for collaboration to fill key data gaps and improve data confidence levels. As the list of stakeholders interested in understanding the state of the plastic waste crisis expands to include investors, financial institutions, and policy makers, this call to action is more relevant than ever.” The report continues with a promising development : “ The Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution, which t he United Nations began negotiations on in late 2022, has the potential to set an important high- level framework for information, especially for country -level reporting and disclosures. Furthermore, a collaborative effort to create a standardized plastic disclosure framework for the private sector was announced in fall 2022 by CDP, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Minderoo Foundation, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Both developments are exciting Item B
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steps toward the consistent and standardized reporting process that ReSource has long called for. ” (https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/9dsv7winop_WWF_Transparent_2022_FINAL_12.5.22.pdf?_ga =2.226735320.473129063.1689098649-1688916787.1689098648) New Agreement Amendment & Expectations
At the end of 2018, while City staff was updating their Zero Waste Plan and wrapping up negotiations with GWPA on an Agreement Amendment and extension, City Council gave City staff direction to report on the intermediate and final disposition of Palo Alto’s recovered paper and plastic. City staff and GWPA agreed that as a goal, GWPA would attempt to gather information on the environmental and social implicatio ns associated with the full life cycle of Palo Alto Recyclable Materials.
The expectation of the new Attachment to the Agreement, “Environmental and Social Impacts of Processing Recyclable Materials”, was that GWPA would request information from the “primary purchasers” of Palo Alto’s recyclable materials and then conduct a desk study based on the provided information.
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Progress and Action Plan
Domestic Processing Availability
Recycling operations across North America are adding processing capacity to accommodate the growing amount of material displaced by export market upheavals. Domestic innovation is growing but continues to be far from providing sufficient capacity for all recycled materials generated domestically. This is especially true in California, where inefficient permitting processes and bureaucratic delays can make permitting new recycling facilities, such as pulp and paper plants, lengthy and challenging. The permitting process for building in-state recycling infrastructure will need to be streamlined and consolidated in order to meet the increasing demand for these facilities.
GWPA has worked with GWR to identify and secure space with existing domestic processors of cardboard, paper, and plastic to provide greater assurances regarding the ultimate disposition of the City’s material and to ensure that the processing adheres to the United States’ environmental standards. Domestic markets are generally more expensive and competitive than international markets and securing space with these processors can be a challenge due to limited capacity.
To confront this market challenge, City staff and GWPA developed a three-month pilot program which took place between April and June 2022 to take 100% of Palo Alto’s mixed paper and mixed rigid plastics to processing facilities within the United States. Mi xed paper is comprised of various types of paper that is collected from residents and businesses in Palo Alto such as colored paper, magazines, junk mail, envelopes, and paper bags. Mixed rigid plastic is primarily comprised of plastic items including buck ets, toys, and milk crates. During the pilot, mixed paper was sent to a pulp and paper mill in northern Louisiana, while mixed rigid plastic was sent to a processing facility in southern California.
In June 2022, City Council approved this program to continue in Fiscal Year 2023 with the goal to keep 59% of the recyclable materials in the United States to be processed, reducing the amount to be exported to about 41% with only cardboard and PET plastic clamshells being processed internationally. Cardboard was not selected as a material to be kept domestically since it is high quality, contains low contaminants, is desired by processing facilities, and has consistent market demand to be recycled. Additionally, the added cost of recycling cardboard domestically has proven to be prohibitive in the current market environment. However, the domestic market that GWR identified and presented to the City remains available at this time. PET plastic clamshells were not selected to be kept domestically because there are not currently viable domestic markets available for this material. While PET plastic clamshells are processed internationally, they are still being processed within North America at a recycling facili ty in Mexico.
In Fiscal Year 2023, approximately 3,507 tons of Palo Alto’s mixed paper w ere processed and recycled within the United States at the same northern Louisiana facility utilized during the pilot program.
Additionally, approximately 151 tons of mixed rigid plastic w ere processed and recycled at a domestic facility in St. Louis, Missouri.
GWR Facility Upgrades
To ensure that the largest percentage of material s processed at the MRF are in proper condition to be recycled, GWR focuses on ensuring commodities are clean and contamination-free. In May 2019, the MRF completed an upgrade to its single stream recyclables line, the line on which Palo Alto’s materials are processed. This upgrade included the installation of six optical sorters to reduce contamination and produce cleaner, higher quality recovered recyclables. These optical sorters improve the quality of mixe d Item B
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paper and newsprint by repelling plastic away from paper using infrared lasers. These lasers identify the various types of plastic that, in the past, inadvertently ended up mixed in the paper stream and recover them based on their unique resin type. Both the paper and plastics are then separated, sorted, and bailed for marketing.
In February 2020, the MRF was upgraded again with two MAX-AI autonomous quality control systems (one of which featured two sorting units), which were programmed to identify specific material types and extract anything that does not belong in its respective stream. The first unit removes non- HPDE contamination, and the second unit selects HPDE-natural. By ensuring a clean product, GWR gains a strong position in the market, and reduces the risk of downstream issues.
The MRF is currently working on further upgrades with the addition of another optical sorter. This optical sorter will be calibrated to sort #2 - #7 plastics out of the residue stream, which are typically destined for disposal. With this additional optical sorter, more plastics will be diverted from disposal and be recycled, increasing the overall diversion of these materials.
Mixed Paper Composting Pilot
Together with the GreenWaste Z-Best Composting Facility (Z-Best), GWR conducted a pilot project in 2021 for the City to determine the effectiveness and associated costs relative to composting mixed paper recovered from the single stream recyclables line . The methodology for this pilot can be referenced in GWPA’s 2022 Traceability Report
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Ultimately there was insufficient capacity at Z-Best for this mixed paper stream in 2021. With California’s implementation of Senate Bill 1383, organics capacity across the state is in high demand. However, the Z- Best composting facility will be undergoing significant expansion over the next 2 years, which will allow it to accept additional material for composting. Once the expansion is complete, low quality mixed paper recovered from Palo Alto’s solid waste and recyclables streams could be directed to the facility for composting, creating more opportunities for increased diversion and local outlets for these material types.
Advanced Processing Technologies
ByFusion
In January 2022, GWPA presented the City with an opportunity to pilot a new plastics recycling technology through ByFusion. ByFusion has developed a steam-based technology that can recycle discarded plastic into 22-pound blocks that can be used as a building material for sheds, retaining walls, benches, furniture, micro homes, and more. ByFusion can take multiple types of post -consumer, low-grade plastics such as grocery bags, contaminated food containers, and miscellaneous mixed plastics #1-#7. Because the plastic is super -heated using steam, these plastics can be processed mixed, clean , or contaminated. This technology could offer another avenue for recycling otherwise low-grade, contaminated plastics recovered from Palo Alto’s solid waste stream at the GWR MRF.
In May 2022, Tucson, AZ, approved a 4-year contract with ByFusion to construct a production facility and install a ByFusion machine. Tucson plans to use the block -making machine on a small -scale basis to create building materials for park benches, waste enclosures, murals, and small buildings.
While the ByFusion technology is promising, Palo Alto is not currently considering the use for the plastic blocks at scale. However, GWR remains committed to exploring this emerging technology and research on long term feasibility study and environmental impacts if requested.
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California Recycling Legislation
The California Legislature passed several recycling -related bills in 2021 and 2022 that target plastic pollution and aim to spur domestic or in -state recycling while also modernizing the state’s recycling infrastructure. These bills are designed to assist and guide generat ors, waste haulers, municipalities, processors, and recyclers on various aspects of California’s recycling system. As a waste hauler and waste processor, GWPA and GW R are looking forward to seeing how these laws progress and improve California’s recycling system.
The following is a summary of the most notable bills.
• SB 54: Requires all packaging in California to be recyclable or compostable by 2032 and shifts the burden of collecting, processing, and recycling from consumers and municipalities to manufacturers who produce and sell plastic packaging and products. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB54) • AB 881: Reclassifies low value plastic waste exports to other countries as “disposal” instead of “recycling”. The law is designed to help the state and CalRecycle more accurately measure how much plastic is getting recycled.
(https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB881) • SB 343: Prohibits plastic manufacturers from using the “chasing arrows” recycling symbol on items that aren’t recyclable. Creates a CalRecycle -approved list of items that are commonly recyclable in California.
(https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB343) • AB 1276: Reduces plastic waste by prohibiting restaurants from offering single-use food ware to customers unless requested.
(https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1276) • AB 793: In 2023, CalRecycle began enforcement of this law, which mandates recycled content in plastic beverage bottles. As of January 1st, beverage manufacturers will now face penalties and fines if they do not have at least 15% recycled content in plastic bottles. This mandate increases to 25% recycled content in 2025 and 50% in 2030, with the overall goal to increase the available markets and outlets for post-consumer recycled plastics.
California Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling In 2019, the California Legislature and Governor created the Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling to provide guidance and recommendations to CalRecycle regarding California’s ambitious recycling goals. The purpose is to provide insight into the complex recycling industry as well as an industry perspective when CalRecycle and the State Legislature are crafting policies and legislation.
Many of the recommendations are designed to reconfigure recycling market development efforts to improve effectiveness and take steps to ensure that materials separated for recovery will not be processed in a manner that contradicts the environmental and social intent of recovery efforts. The report specifies that some of the work “involves reconciling the conflicts between ambitious recovery goals and the realities of markets and permitting processes.”.
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The report identifies the following priorities for statewide recycling market development:
• “Approximately 10,000,000 tons of paper fibers are exported annually from California ports, with about 80% generated in California. Recycled paper pulping is an emerging industry trend, avoiding bale contamination issues by creating market grade pulp for paper making. A successful market development effort focused on paper pulping would overcome reliance on bale exports, create local jobs and business opportunities, and strengthen California’s recycling infrastructure. This effort could include siting assistance, local and state permitting coordination, feedstock identification and acquisition, financing options.
• Existing tax incentive programs such as CAEFTA could be focused on prioritizing end use markets for recovered materials.
• California’s economy offers potential to expand existing business use of recycled materials by working to identify manufacturers who could substitute virgin materials for recycled feedstock.
Business development tools can mine databases to identify those manufacturers, and market development professionals could work with those manufacturers to convert to recycled feedstock.
• Myriad opportunities exist to work with existing small reuse and repair businesses. Statewide source reduction can be enhanced by identifying and responding to their needs, especially expansion and business start-up potential to replace single-use items.” (https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Docs/Web/121911)
As this report demonstrates, there is work being done by CalRecycle and other state agencies to stimulate market demand for post-consumer recyclables and spur the development of statewide recycling infrastructure within California.
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Summary
GWR and GWPA staff worked in coordination to obtain supplementary marketing, processing, and disposal information from GWR’s primary purchasers. The following tables summarize materials sorted by commodity types, the spread of domestic vs. export markets, and the location of secondary processing (if applicable) as reported by GWR’s primary purchasers. The information contained in Table 1 summarizes the facility -wide materials and markets for the MRF as a whole. Palo Alto’s portion is estimated and summarized in Table 2. Table 3 summarizes the primary purchasers of Palo Alto’s recyclable materials.
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Table 1: GreenWaste Recovery MRF Tonnage Summary - Facility Wide
Product
Specifications
FY 2023 Actual
Tonnage
Material Type
Breakdown
Domestic Export
Aluminum Cans 1,694.99 1.26% 100% 0%
Aluminum Foil/Scrap 367.02 0.27% 100% 0%
Ferrous/Tin 3,379.58 2.52% 100% 0%
Glass, Commingled 30,486.93 22.73% 100% 0%
Plastic, HDPE Color 1,811.41 1.35% 87% 13%
Plastic, HDPE Natural 1,453.16 1.08% 87% 13%
Plastic, PET Bottles 4,695.26 3.50% 97% 3%
Plastic, PET
Clamshells 1,084.04 0.81% 0% 100%
Plastic, Mixed Rigid 2,212.75 1.65% 46% 54%
Plastic, #2 - #7 2,369.63 1.77% 46% 54%
Film Plastics 261.10 0.19% 100% 0%
Mixed Paper 15,926.14 11.87% 20% 80%
Cardboard 59,902.93 44.66% 7% 93%
Scrap Metal 8,376.48 6.25% 100% 0%
E-Waste 106.70 0.08% 100% 0%
Total 134,128.12 100% 45.89%1 54.11%1
1 Weighted Average
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Palo Alto Only Tonnage Estimate Summaries
Determining Palo Alto’s tonnage for each recyclable material category presents a challenge because once Palo Alto’s recyclables are delivered to the MRF, they are combined with recyclables from other communities. In previous reports, Table 2 has been used to estimate Palo Alto’s share of the total recyclable material processed by the MRF. In Fiscal Year 2023, Palo Alto’s recyclables made up 11.74% of the MRF’s total material, or 15,976 tons . This percentage was used in Table 2 to estimate Palo Alto’s tonnage for each material type, based on the facility-wide data from the MRF.
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Table 2: Palo Alto’s Estimated Tonnage as a Percentage of MRF’s Total Product Specifications Palo Alto Tonnage
(est. 11.74% of MRF) Domestic Export
Aluminum Cans 198.99 100% 0%
Aluminum Foil/Scrap 43.09 100% 0%
Ferrous/Tin 396.76 100% 0%
Glass, Commingled 3,579.17 100% 0%
Plastic HDPE Color 212.66 100% 0%
Plastic, HDPE Natural 170.60 100% 0%
Plastic, PET Bottles 551.22 100% 0%
Plastic, PET Clamshells 127.27 0% 100%
Plastic, Mixed Rigid 259.78 100% 0%
Plastic, #2 - # 7 278.19 100% 0%
Film Plastic 30.65 100% 0%
Mixed Paper 1,869.73 100% 0%
Cardboard 7,032.61 30% 70%
Scrap Metal 983.40 100% 0%
E-Waste 12.53 100% 0%
Total 15,746.64 67.93%1 32.07%1
1 Weighted Average
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Table 3: Primary Purchaser Summary – Palo Alto’s Plastics & Fiber
Product Specifications: Primary Purchasers
(for material types covered in this report)
Plastic, HDPE Envision Plastics: Domestic
Plastic, PET Bottles
CellMark: Domestic
Berg Mill: Domestic
Plastic, PET Clamshells Direct Pack: International
Plastic, Mixed Rigid CellMark: Domestic
Plastic, #2 - #7 CellMark: Domestic
Film Plastic CellMark: Domestic
Mixed Paper CellMark: Domestic
Cardboard
CellMark: Domestic
Berg Mill: International & Domestic
Fibre Trade: International & Domestic
Newport CH International: International & Domestic
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CellMark Inc. (Novato, CA)
In Fiscal Year 2023, CellMark became the primary purchaser of Palo Alto’s cardboard, paper, and plastics because it predominantly utilizes domestic markets for these material types. CellMark submitted partial traceability data for the cardboard, mixed paper, PET, mixed plastic s, and film plastics it purchased from GWR.
CellMark is both a brokerage and a secondary processor, and its purchasers are secondary processors.
For plastic, the secondary processing includes chipping, washing, and pelletizing. For cardboard and paper, the secondary processing includes pulpifying.
Per the CellMark website, CellMark participates in initiatives to ensure sustainability. CellMark comments on its sustainability via its CSR webpages (https://www.cellmark.com/ideas-values/sustainability-csr/):
“CellMark is proud to conduct our services and business activities with a high degree of ethics and awareness of sustainability. We adhere to defined common standards for our performance, participate in multiple initiatives in support of sustainability and continually look for ways to improve our performance.” “We respect and comply with local legislation and environmental regulations in all of our global operations.
We enable our employees to participate in charitable initiatives, and we invite our business partners to join us in our support of different non-profit organizations locally and globally.” “CellMark supports and works actively to comply with international guidelines regarding environment, human rights, and business ethics, including the following:
• The UN Global Compact Initiative.
• Internationally proclaimed human rights standards and conventions (in particular the International Bill of Human Rights, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the eight core conventions of the International Labour Organization , and Article 32 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child).
• The OECD Convention on combating bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.
• The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.”
“We do not ship any restricted material, for example dual -use goods, without proper permit… Each employee is encouraged to share the Code of Conduct with our business partners. We expect them to acknowledge and respect it in the context of their own particular culture.”
(https://www.cellmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CellMark-Code-of-Conduct.pdf) CellMark’s 2022 Annual Sustainability Report, published in May 2023, stated the company maintained its Silver status in the EcoVadis supply chain audit. The audit investigates four core areas: Labor & Human Rights, Environment, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement (https://ecovadis.com/ratings/).
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The following is a diagram showing which U.S. cities and states the cardboard, paper, and plastics purchased by CellMark are sent to.
CellMark’s 2022 Sustainability Report provided an update on its Total Fiber Recovery facility:
CellMark: Significant events in 2022
“CellMark entered into a partnership with Total Fiber Recovery to build an 80 million USD recycled pulp production facility in the city of Chesapeake, Virginia, USA. The new facility and joint venture are both called Total Fiber Recovery @ Chesapeake (or TFRC) and should be operational in Q4, 2023. CellMark Recycling will supply 300 000 tons of mixed paper and old corrugated containers, annually, as feedstock to the facility. The recycled brown pulp produced by the facility will be sold exclusively by CellMark Pulp.” (https://www.cellmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CellMark-Sustainability-Report-2022.pdf) An internet search resulted in a pertinent article posted on July 6, 2022:
Total Fiber Recovery starts work on Virginia facility
“Chesapeake, Virginia-based Total Fiber Recovery of Chesapeake (TFRC) says it has started construction of its $80 million recycled pulp production facility in that city.
TFRC is a joint venture between Oregon-based Total Fiber Recovery (TFR) and Swedish company CellMark Inc. Material consumed by the facility will be supplied by CellMark’s Recycled Fiber Division, and the pulp produced will be marketed by CellMark’s Pulp Division.
TFR plans to begin operations in Chesapeake in the fourth quarter of 2023 and annually process up to 300,000 tons of mixed paper and old corrugated containers (OCC).”
https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/total-fiber-paper-recycling-investment-chesapeak-virginia-cellmark-bhs/ A June 21, 2021, press release published in Utah Business provided more insight into CellMark’s Crossroads Paper Plant:
Cardboard Shafter, CA
Mixed Paper Shreveport, LA
PET Rome, GA
Mixed Rigid
Plastic St. Louis, MO
Mixed Plastic
#2 - #7 Jurupa Valley, CA & Ironton, OH
Film Plastic Modesto, CA
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Peterson Real Assets makes growth equity investment in Crossroads Paper “Peterson Real Assets, a subsidiary of Peterson Partners, Inc. has made a growth equity investment in Crossroads Paper, a 100 percent recycled paper mill to be built in the Mountain West to serve for the growing demand for e-commerce, agriculture, and industrial packaging in the Western United States.
The Crossroads Paper site selection process is underway, with a final determination expected by year end.”
https://www.utahbusiness.com/peterson-real-assets-makes-growth-equity-investment-in-crossroads paper/#:~:text=Salt%20Lake%20City%20%E2%80%94%20Peterson%20Real,in%20the%20Western%20United%20States An internet search resulted in a pertinent article posted on May 3, 2021:
CellMark acquires Paper Tube & Core Corp.
“The Norwalk, Connecticut-based North American recycling business unit of CellMark has acquired Paper Tube & Core Corp. (PT&C). That Paterson, New Jersey -based firm specializes in collecting, repurposing and recycling large paper cores and tubes on a global scale.” https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/cellmark-paper-tube-new-jersey-recycling-acquisition/ An internet search resulted in a pertinent article posted on July 22, 2019:
New Frontiers in paper production
“In mid-July, Crossroads Paper held a press conference to announce its plans to build a paper mill in the Salt Lake City area that will recycle old corrugated containers (OCC) and residential mixed paper into new paper that will then be used to make boxes for manufacturers, farmers and e-commerce companies.
The Sasine brothers’ partners include […]Sweden-based Cellmark, which specializes in international trade and distribution of raw materials related to the global pulp and paper industry.” https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/crossroads-paper-recycled-containerboard-salt-lake-valley/
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Berg Mill Supply/Classic Fibres (Los Angeles, CA)
Berg Mill did not submit any traceability data but did provide basic information about the company. In Fiscal Year 2023, Berg Mill purchased a portion of Palo Alto’s cardboard from GWR.
Berg Mill Supply is a brokerage. Berg Mill elected not to complete the traceability form as to not provide proprietary data. Berg Mill provides general data on its website about the destination of its exports. Per the Berg Mill Supply website: (https://bergmill.com/about/where-berg-mill-ships/) “Our mission statement and vision is our belief in contributing to a sustainable planet, leading us on our path of environmental management for future generations. Berg Mill’s purpose is to create value by offering green solutions to those generating waste and to consumers looking to recycle.”
“Berg Mill Supply Co., Inc. redirects waste from material recovery facilities (MRF) in the United States to end users in international locations, where the material is processed and a new material is produced.”
“We sell material suitable for many different countries abroad such as China Indonesia Korea Vietnam Thailand India Myanmar Malaysia Pakistan Laos Costa Rica Brazil USA.”
The following is a diagram showing which countries the cardboard purchased by Berg Mill is sent to.
A blog posted by Berg Mill on December 2, 2019, stated the following:
“But it isn’t just China’s import restrictions that have caused a downswing in mixed paper value. The market started taking a dive after the U.S. economic downturn in 2010, nearly a decade ago. The good news is that new international markets are opening for U.S. mixed paper, for example India, where a box manufacturer that uses recovered fiber, is opening a plant in the coming months.”
(https://bergmill.com/2019/12/02/turning-over-a-new-leaf-in-paper-recycling-with-ai-technology/)
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A blog posted by Berg Mill on August 12, 2019, stated the following:
“With no global regulations against these exports, it is poor and developing nations that will end up paying the price for cleaning up after the U.S.… For recycling to flourish to its full potential, we must process our recyclables in domestic, modern fact ories that are designed to properly shelter toxins from workers and the environment.”
(https://bergmill.com/2019/08/12/your-recycling-may-not-be-going-where-you-think/) A blog posted by Berg Mill on June 10, 2019, stated the following:
“While recent news in recycling has been discouraging due to China’s National Sword and other foreign imported scrap bans, Berg Mill is ever committed to keeping your recyclables moving… Ultimately, domestic recycling has the potential to become superior t o importing scrap both economically and environmentally."
(https://bergmill.com/2019/06/10/recycling-challenges-bring-opportunities-for-growth/) An internet search resulted in a pertinent article posted on June 3, 2018:
“According to leading US recycling firm Berg Mill Supply, “all grades of plastic have seen a major shift to secondary markets” from 2016 to 2017, when China’s import restrictions came to light. In that period, Malaysia took in five times more polyvinyl chloride (PVC), while Vietnam more than doubled imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
”
(https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/china-bans-plastic-waste-whats-next-for-recycling-in-singapore-10281026)
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Fibre Trade Inc. (Burlingame, CA)
Fibre Trade submitted partial traceability data for the portion of Palo Alto’s cardboard it purchased from GWR in Fiscal Year 2023.
Fibre Trade is a brokerage. Per its website, Fibre Trade is a direct exporter of primarily recovered paper, pulp, and mineral products from the USA, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan to affiliated paper mills all over the world.
(https://www.fibretrade.net/)
The following is a diagram showing which countries the cardboard purchased by Fibre Trade is sent to.
Cardboard USA, Mexico, Southeast Asia (per 2021)
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Newport CH International (Orange, CA)
Newport CH International did not submit traceability data but did provide basic information about the company. Newport purchased a portion of Palo Alto’s cardboard from GWR in Fiscal Year 2023.
Newport both manufactures products and is a brokerage. Per its website, Newport focuses on the purchase and direct export sale of recyclable paper, plastics, as well as agricultural products. The following statement is made on the Newport CH International website.
“Our expertise is sourcing recyclable paper and plastics throughout North America. We are direct export shippers for the recycling industry, supplying numerous mills in China, as well as many other Asian countries. We provide quality raw material for their state of the art mills and manufacturing facilities.
Our overseas customers have the assurance of consistent supply and quality. Newport CH handles all logistics in-house, including shipping line rate negotiations, bookings and local drayage assistance.
We take care of all required export documentation and banking transactions from our corporate office in Orange, California. To facilitate our exports to China we are AQSIQ certified and are an approved CCIC self-inspection company. In addition, we hold ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications for our global quali ty management system, demonstrating our organizations continued commitment to quality. Newport CH strives to encourage growth in the recycling industry by being supportive and involved with numerous state and local government agencies.
Through our office in Shanghai, China we are able to work directly with the mill buyers in order to meet their requirements. We are in constant communication with our Shanghai office to stay apprised of any market changes or concerns with material arriving into China.” (http://newportch.com/)
The following is a diagram showing which countries the cardboard purchased by Newport CH International is sent to.
An internet search resulted in a pertinent article posted on March 25, 2021:
Malaysia declares reported shipments of US plastic wastes to Asia are illegal “Governments are beginning to react to recent warnings issued by the Basel Action Network (BAN) of likely illegal exports of plastic waste from the US.
Due to recent amendments adopted by the 188 Parties to the Basel Convention, as of January 1, 2021, parties will be unable to import US plastic wastes unless they are very pure and unmixed. In its announcement, BAN highlighted recent data showing the US exports have not diminished despite the new rules and flagged three active shipments moving to Indonesia, Malaysia, and India.
In Indonesia, the government appears to be uncertain as to what to do about the two containers of plastic waste that have already arrived at the port of Belwan on board a Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) vessel from California, USA. Three more from the same exporter — Newport CH International, are also on their way to Indonesia.”
(https://www.recycling-magazine.com/2021/03/25/malaysia-declares-reported-shipments-of-us-plastic-wastes-to- asia-are-illegal/)
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An internet search resulted in a pertinent article posted on December 3, 2019:
Signals point to all-out recycled fiber ban in China
“We’re diversifying, we’re going to try to maximize our sales to other countries,” said Jimmy Yang, CEO of Newport Beach, Calif.-based Newport CH International, a major broker of recovered fiber to China. “We’re expecting volume to drop, that’s just reality – we enjoyed great markets for the past 20 years, and maybe things are going to change now.”
“At the meeting, officials told the companies to anticipate lower import license volumes during the fourth quarter of this year, said Yang, whose business has at times moved up to 90% of its fiber to China. He noted Chinese officials said a ban is coming in 2021 for all paper grades except newsprint, which could continue to enter the country for newspaper production.” (https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2019/12/03/signals-point-to-all-out-recycled-fiber-ban-in-china/) An internet search resulted in a pertinent article posted on April 3, 2019:
China's recyclers look at Latin America, Caribbean
“Hamilton Wen, director of the plastics division at trading firm Newport CH International LLC in Orange, Calif., said in a panel at the conference that recyclers face complex questions as they analyze where it makes business sense to recycle and also react to governments worldwide limiting imports of scrap.”
"It's definitely cheaper in these other countries, but how long are they going to let you do it," he said. ‘I think eventually, end game, it probably will come back here [to the United States]. Whatever we're creating probably we should recycle it here’… added that the business case can make it too expensive to do some types of recycling in higher-cost countries.”
(https://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20190403/NEWS/190409967/china-s-recyclers-look-at-latin-america- caribbean)
An internet search resulted in a pertinent article posted on February 28, 2018:
Exporters talk Chinese ban’s operational and financial impacts “Newport CH International, like many exporters, has made dramatic operational changes since the ban impact started to spread. The company acts as a broker, so it tries to find markets offering the best price and stable demand. For the past 20 years, that has consistently been China, Wen said. The only variation was where inside China the company would send the material.”
“Now, that’s completely off the table as far as scrap, so we’ve had to completely reshift, and look for new markets basically anywhere in the world,” Wen said. “Places we’ve never looked for previously, but now we’re having to travel to look for processors, look for end users. It’s pretty much a complete upheaval of our entire plastic brokerage business.”
“Wen said there are not enough end users to handle all the material on the market, so they are able to demand higher quality, whereas it used to be a seller’s market. Wen predicts markets will develop for low-grade plastics, although they will take time to develop. He said there is already a little more demand coming back for the materials as a result of market development that’s taken place since the ban, and that further development is currently underway.”
(https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2018/02/28/exporters-talk-chinese-bans-operational-financial-impacts/) Item B
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Direct Pack Recycling (Azusa, CA)
Direct Pack Recycling is the primary purchaser of Palo Alto’s PET clamshells. PET Clamshells are thermoformed plastic packaging, typically used for food packaging. Examples include plastic salad containers, take out containers, and fruit containers.
Per its website, Direct Pack is a leader in sustainable and innovative thermoformed food packaging recycling and manufacturing.
“We operate our own recycling and reclaiming facility. With capacity to recycle 20,000 tons of PET plastic per year, it allows us to move closer to a full circle manufacturing process.” “In our full circle process, we use post-consumer recycled PET bottles and thermoformed packaging to make new food containers. At Direct Pack Recycling we sort, wash and flake recycled PET material that then goes to one of our thermoforming facilities to b e turned into new strawberry, lettuce, salad or take-out containers. After use, our containers can be recycled again – they are not garbage, but a valuable infinite resource.
“Since 2020, Direct Pack Recycling has recycled over 74.4 million pounds of plastics – not only bottles but also mixed thermoformed PET containers – and repurposed them back into new packaging.” (https://www.directpackinc.com/about-us/)
The following is a diagram showing which countries the PET clamshells purchased by Direct Pack Recycling are sent to.
A blog posted by Direct Pack on December 5, 2022, stated the following about its PET recycling efforts:
50M Lbs. Milestone of Recycled PET
“In less than three years, Direct Pack has purchased 50 million lbs. of recycled PET bales from different Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in the US. These bales consist of post-consumer recycled #1 PET bottles as well as thermoformed packaging, and we take the bales to Direct Pack Recycling, our own reclaiming and recycling facility. There we turn the recycled materials into “new” raw material again in a full circle process. We are very grateful for the mutually beneficial collaboration with our MRF partners in California, Arizona, Washington, Nevada and Texas. As the MRFs collect more and more thermoformed #1 PET packaging from their local communities, we can include more of that material in our manufacturing of new packaging containers. Thereby we create a true, fully circular business model, where PET is an infinite resource that is recycled and reused again and again.” (https://www.directpackinc.com/50m-lbs-milestone-of-recycled-pet/) A blog posted by Direct Pack on January 31, 2021, stated the following:
2021 Another Record Year of Recycled PET
In 2021, Direct Pack, Inc. and its BOTTLEBOX® brand had another record year in using post-consumer recycled PET material: saving 46.9 million pounds of plastic from ending up in landfills and the ocean and making its way into our products. That is equivale nt to using over 2 billion recycled beverage bottles in just one year… Since 2011 when we started measuring our rPET usage, we have used the equivalent of 9.8 billion recycled bottles, which is the same as saving 305 million pounds of CO2 from Item B
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the atmosphere. In other terms, it means saving energy enough to power 24,114 households or taking 29,357 cars off the road for a year.
(https://www.directpackinc.com/2021-another-record-year-of-recycled-pet/) A blog posted by Direct Pack on October 26, 2020, stated the following about its manufacturing facility in Mexico:
Direct Pack Mexico Receives an Outstanding 2020 AIB Audit Performance “In its second official American Institute of Baking (AIB) Audit, Direct Pack’s manufacturing facility in Guadalajara scored an outstanding 905 points. The Guadalajara Team’s success is reflective of our outstanding team work…”
(https://www.directpackinc.com/direct-pack-mexico-receives-an-outstanding-2020-aib-audit-performance/)
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Envision Plastics (Chino, CA)
Envision Plastics is a leading recycler of HDPE plastics and supplier of Post- Consumer Resin (PCR).
Envision purchases HDPE from GWR and washes, chips, and pelletizes the material. Envision lists six different products that it creates from recovered plastic: Ecoprime®, Natural Color, Mixed Color, Oceanbound Plastic, Prisma®, and Deodorized.
The following is a diagram showing which U.S. states the HDPE purchased by Envision Plastics is sent to.
Envision Plastics is headquartered in Reidsville, North Carolina and has a West Coast plant in Chino, California. Envision’s parent company, Altium Packaging (previously Consolidated Container Company) includes “Act with Integrity and in Compliance” as one of its core values. (https://altiumpkg.com/why-altium/our-
guiding-principles/)
An internet search resulted in a pertinent article posted on June 27, 2023:
Envision adding second line for recycled HDPE, PP
Envision Plastics is leaning into demand for PCR and putting millions of dollars into adding another recycled food-grade HDPE and PP processing line at an existing facility.
The expansion at Envision’s Reidsville, N.C. plant gives the company flexibility to switch between producing its HDPE, dubbed “EcoPrime,” and post -consumer PP. The additional production line will increase Envision’s capacity to produce EcoPrime by 50%...
There is another facility in Chino, Calif., that produces EcoPrime. Envision’s current combined capacity is about 55 million pounds of EcoPrime annually. The second line in North Carolina will add another between 25 million and 30 million pounds annually...
EcoPrime is FDA -authorized, curbside collected, recycled HDPE resin that, even in 100% PCR containers, is fit for direct contact with food and beverages, a press release noted. It has earned letters of no-objection from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada, so it can be used in a wide range of applications including rigid bottles, caps and closures, and blown film, for industries such as dairy, water, cosmetics and nutraceuticals.
(https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2023/06/27/envision-adding-second-line-for-recycled-hdpe-pp/) A March 6, 2023 article detailed Envision Plastic’s recent EcoVadis award:
Envision Plastics Receives EcoVadis Silver Award for Sustainability Envision Plastics, a leading producer of mechanically recycled High Density Polyethylene and Polypropylene Post-Consumer Resin (HDPE and PP PCR) products in North America, announced today that it earned a silver recognition medal from EcoVadis for its sustainability efforts. Envision’s ranking puts them within the top 20% of those participating in the assessment and indicates their ongoing commitment to sustainability, with an emphasis on environmental policies, carbon footprint, labor, and safety laws. It also shows an increase in the company’s rating from last year. (https://www.prweb.com/releases/2023/03/prweb19202224.htm) HDPE Chino, CA & Reidsville, NC
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Finally, Envison Plastics OceanBound Plastic recycling program aims to remove 10 million pounds of plastic before it enters the ocean at “At Risk Zones” defined by areas within 50km of coastline, with a focus on communities lacking formal waste collection. According to their FAQ webpage on the program, Envision Plastics works with partners “to professionalize the collection stream, collect this plastic, and manufacture it into usable products.”
(https://envisionplastics.com/oceanbound-plastic/)
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GreenWaste of Palo Alto, LLC
Initial Review of Certificate of
End Use & Traceability Data,
2024
February 1, 2025
Contact:
Eric Cissna, General Manager
[email protected]
650-798-5994
2765 Lafayette St.
Santa Clara, CA 95050
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... 2 Background & Expectations ....................................................................................................... 3 Barriers and Challenges ............................................................................................................ 4 Domestic Markets ...................................................................................................................... 5 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 7 CellMark Inc. (Novato, CA) ................................................................................................... 12 Berg Mill Supply/Classic Fibres (Los Angeles, CA) .............................................................. 16 Fibre Trade Inc. (Burlingame, CA) ........................................................................................ 17 Newport CH International (Orange, CA) ............................................................................... 18 Direct Pack Recycling (Azusa, CA) ...................................................................................... 19 Envision Plastics (Chino, CA) ............................................................................................... 21
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Background & Expectations
GreenWaste of Palo Alto, LLC and GreenWaste Recovery, LLC GreenWaste of Palo Alto, LLC (GWPA) is the City of Palo Alto’s (City) contracted solid waste, recyclable materials, and compostable materials collection and processing contractor. The agreement between GWPA and the City (GWPA Agreement) commenced in October 2008, was amended and restated in June 2015, and again amended and restated in January 2019, with the term extended through June 30, 2026.
Under the GWPA Agreement, GWPA collects recyclable materials, compostable materials, and solid waste from City residents and commercial businesses. R ecyclable materials are transported to the GreenWaste San Jose Material Recovery Facility (MRF), where they are processed for recovery. At the MRF, comingled recyclables are processed to remove contamination and separated by material type (e.g., paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, etc.) . The MRF then sells the separated recovered materials to brokers and/or secondary processors for further recycling. Compostable materials are transported to the GreenWaste Renewable Energy Digestion Facility, where they undergo anaerobic digestion to produce renewable energy and a feedstock for compost.
Effective January 1, 2022, following a City procurement process, GWPA began transporting municipal solid waste (MSW) to the MRF for processing under the Solid Waste Processing and Disposal Services Agreement (MSW Processing Agreement). This material is processed at the MRF to recover both compostable and recyclable materials.
The materials managed by the GWPA Agreement and the M SW Processing Agreement are disparate.
GWPA collects approximately 15 ,600 tons of recyclable material annually for processing at the MRF .
Additionally, approximately 828 tons of recyclables were recovered from the City’s MSW stream in Fiscal Year 2024, representing 5.5% of the overall solid waste stream.
Goals of Report to City
At the end of 2018, Palo Alto City Council gave City staff direction to report on the intermediate and final disposition of Palo Alto’s recovered paper and plastic. City staff and GWPA agreed that as a goal, GWPA would attempt to gather information on the environmental and social implications associated with the full life cycle of Palo Alto Recyclable Materials.
The expectation of the new Attachment to the Agreement, “ Environmental and Social Impacts of Processing Recyclable Materials”, was that GWPA would request information from the “primary purchasers” of Palo Alto’s recyclable materials and then conduct a desk study based on the provided information.
According to the City of Palo Alto’s May 24, 2021 report to City Council (Staff Report #11632), the ultimate goal of this analysis is to add transparency and greater accounting of the recycling markets that GreenWaste uses for Palo Alto’s recyclables. Additionally, this information is to be used to guide City staff in utilizing domestic markets for Palo Alto’s recyclables, where feasible.
The first GWPA Traceability Report under this new agreement was published in 2019. Subsequent reports have been published annually since then.
Targeted Recyclables for Traceability
GWPA collects an assortment of recyclables, including cardboard, paper, plastics, metal, and glass from Palo Alto residents and businesses via their blue recycling containers. Some of these materials, such as Item B
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metal, have historically maintained strong domestic recycling markets, whereas o thers, such as mixed paper and plastics, have historically had very limited domestic recycling options.
For that reason, the materials targeted for traceability in this report include plastics #1 - #7, which include PET, HPDE, rigid plastics, and film plastics, mixed paper, and cardboard.
Barriers and Challenges
Market Upheaval
In 2017, the Chinese government implemented a program called “National Sword”, which banned the import of 24 recyclable materials , including cardboard, mixed paper, and low grade plastics into the country to reduce pollution associated with these materials (https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Docs/Web/113400). At the time, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) summarized the ramifications of this ban on California’s recycling system:
“The export of baled recyclable materials has been a key component of California's recycling infrastructure. Currently, CalRecycle estimates that California exports a third of all recyclable material generated in the state annually to foreign markets; of that, 62 percent goes to China.
This movement of materials has been critical in assisting the state and local jurisdictions in reaching their recycling and diversion goals. However, recent changes to China's policies on imported recyclable materials, which set strict new limits and contamination standards, are impacting cities and counties in California”
This ban led cities and states across the U.S. to search for and utilize alternative recycling markets , including in Malaysia, India, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Commodities Markets & Trade Secrets
GreenWaste Recovery, LLC (GWR) is the City’s recyclables processor and markets its recyclable commodities to brokers and/or secondary processors . As the marketers of their own recyclable commodities, GWR has borne witness to how inconsistent and unpredictable commodities markets can be.
Once the material is sold, it may change hands many times or undergo further processing before reaching its ultimate destination, making the full life cycle of commodities extremely difficult to track. Brokers may have incomplete information regarding the final destination of materials , may be unwilling to share information due to confidentiality concerns, or may be unable to place requirements on their customers.
Information on commodity markets, pricing, buyers, and other information pertaining to commodity sales transactions constitute confidential and proprietary corporate Trade Secrets. This information is not public knowledge or general knowledge and maintains intrinsic value by being safeguarded from disclosure.
GWR and its brokers stand to be harmed by the disclosure of Trade Secrets as follows:
• Losing markets for specific materials (e.g., plastic clamshells or film plastics), • Losing in-state markets and only having available domestic or international markets, • Losing domestic markets and only having available international markets, or • Jeopardizing relationships with buyers, with the potential to lose business.
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Limited Domestic Markets
While r ecycling operations across North America have been adding processing capacity , d omestic innovation continues to be far from providing sufficient capacity for all recycled materials generated in the U.S. This is especially true in California, where inefficient permitting processes and bureaucratic delays can make permitting new recycling facilities, such as pulp and paper plants, lengthy and challenging. The permitting process for building in- state recycling infrastructure will need to be streamlined and consolidated to meet the increasing demand for these facilities.
Cost
The domestic recycling markets that do exist come at a significant increase in cost for certain material types, such as mixed paper. For example, while international markets and brokers buy mixed paper from GWR, GWR must pay domestic markets to recycle that same mixed paper, which is being done for Palo Alto.
As domestic recycling capacity increases, the cost of recycling materials within the U.S. may decrease, however, the demand for domestic recycling markets may continue to outpace the available capacity, continuing to escalate cost.
Domestic Markets
GWPA worked with GWR to identify and secure capacity with existing domestic processors of cardboard, mixed paper, and plastic to provide greater assurances regarding the traceability of the City’s recyclable materials and to ensure that processing adheres to U.S. environmental standards. Domestic markets are generally more expensive and competitive than international markets and securing space with these processors can be a challenge due to limited capacity.
To confront this challenge, City staff and GWPA developed a three- month pilot program between April and June 2022 to take 100% of Palo Alto’s mixed paper and mixed rigid plastics to processing facilities within the United States. Mixed paper is comprised o f various types of clean and dry paper that is collected from residents and businesses in Palo Alto such as colored paper, magazines, junk mail, envelopes, and paper bags. Mixed rigid plastic is primarily comprised of plastic items including buckets, toys, and milk crates. During the pilot, mixed paper was sent to a pulp and paper mill in northern Louisiana, while mixed rigid plastic was sent to a processing facility in southern California.
In June 2022, City Council approved this program to continue in Fiscal Year 2023 and onward with the goal to keep roughly 60% of the recyclable materials in the United States to be processed, reducing the amount to be exported to about 40 % with only cardboard and PET plastic clamshells being processed internationally. Cardboard was not originally selected as a material to be kept domestically since it is high quality, contains low contaminants, was desired by processing facilities, and had consistent market demand to be recycled. Additionally, the added cost of recycling cardboard domestically had historically proven to be prohibitive. PET plastic clamshells were not selected to be kept domestically because there were no viable domestic markets available for this material. While PET plastic clamshells are processed internationally, they are still being processed within North America at a recycling facility in Mexico.
In early summer 2024, GWR identified and presented a domestic cardboard market located in Washington state to the City. The City approved the use of this domestic market for approximately 313 tons of cardboard in June 2024 and at the time of this report, GWR is currently utilizing this market for Palo Alto’s cardboard.
In Fiscal Year 2024, approximately 3,201 tons of Palo Alto’s mixed paper were processed and recycled within the United States at the same northern Louisiana facility utilized during the pilot program.
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Additionally, approximately 136 tons of mixed rigid plastic were processed and recycled at a domestic facility in St. Louis, Missouri.
Explored the Hefty® ReNew™ Program
In July 2024, GWPA presented the City with an opportunity to participate in Hefty® ReNew™ Program.
The program “establishes a way to collect otherwise hard-to-recycle plastics at curbside and uses them as valued resources.” ( https://www.hefty.com/products/hefty-renew). These hard -to-recycle plastics include common items like snack and candy wrappers and foam packaging materials. Hefty® utilizes 100% domestic recycling markets for these materials and recycles them into such items as building and drainage materials and composite wood products. There are currently 9 major U.S. cities enrolled in this program including Tucson, AZ, Boise, ID, and Atlanta, GA. In the Bay Area, there are currently 3 cities in GreenWaste service areas enrolled in this program, which are Atherton, Woodside, and Los Altos Hills.
This program would require interested residents and businesses in Palo Alto to voluntarily purchase the orange Hefty® ReNew™ bags, sort their hard-to-recycle plastics to fill the orange bags, and place them inside the regular City-issued blue recycling containers. Then, the GWR MRF would extract these bags and send them to Hefty® for recycling domestically.
City staff determined that this new program is not feasible for the community at this time. This program would require participants to separate their waste into a fourth sort, increase the generation and u sage of plastic bags, incur increased costs for the participants to purchase additional plastic trash bags, and increase the chances of these hard- to-recycled plastics to contaminate the existing remarkably clean recyclables from Palo Alto.
GWR remains committed to exploring new recycling opportunities and technologies to further divert material from the landfill and decrease environmental and social impacts, in furtherance of Palo Alto’s goal of zero waste.
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Summary
GWR and GWPA staff worked in coordination to obtain supplementary marketing, processing, and disposal information from GWR’s primary recyclable commodity purchasers. The following tables summarize all the recyclable materials collected at the MRF and their end market destinations. Table 1 summarizes the recyclable materials collected at the MRF from Palo Alto and other cities, materials sorted by commodity types, and the percentage of domestic vs. international markets utilized. The same analysis for Palo Alto’s portion is estimated and summarized in Table 2. Table 3 summarizes the list of GWR’s primary purchasers for plastics and fiber (paper and cardboard) and the locations of secondary processing (if applicable) or final destinations of the materials.
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Table 1: GreenWaste Recovery San Jose Material Recovery Facility Tonnage Summary - Facility Wide
Material Type FY 2024 Actual
MRF Tonnage
Percentage of Total
Recyclables Domestic International
Aluminum Cans 1,815.98 1.17% 100% 0%
Aluminum Foil/Scrap 639.99 0.41% 92% 8%
Ferrous/Tin 3,817.94 2.45% 100% 0%
Glass, Commingled 36,089.17 23.16% 100% 0%
Plastic, HDPE Color 1,951.25 1.25% 86% 14%
Plastic,
HDPE Natural 1,560.75 1.00% 86% 14%
Plastic, PET Bottles 4,545.92 2.92% 69% 31%
Plastic, PET
Clamshells 1,085.28 0.70% 0% 100%
Plastic, Mixed Rigid 2,725.09 1.75% 11% 89%
Plastic, #2 - #7 1,517.09 0.97% 11% 89%
Film Plastics 361.49 0.23% 93% 7%
Mixed Paper 19,060.84 12.23% 19% 81%
Cardboard 71,491.25 45.88% 3% 97%
Scrap Metal 9,027.32 5.79% 100% 0%
E-Waste 129.90 0.08% 100% 0%
Total 155,819.26 100% 41%1 59%1
1 Weighted Average
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Palo Alto Only Tonnage Estimated Summary
Determining Palo Alto’s tonnage for each recyclable material category presents a challenge because once Palo Alto’s recyclables are delivered to the MRF, they are combined with recyclables from other communities. Table 2 below provides an estimate of Palo Alto’s share of the total recyclable material processed by the MRF. In Fiscal Year 2024 , Palo Alto’s recyclables made up 10 % of the MRF’s total material, or 15,575.64 tons. This percentage was used in Table 2 to estimate Palo Alto’s tonnage for each material type, based on the facility-wide data from the MRF.
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Table 2: Palo Alto’s Estimated Tonnage as a Percentage of MRF’s Total Material Type
FY 2024 Palo Alto
Estimated Tonnage
(est. 10% of MRF)
Domestic Export
Aluminum Cans 181.52 100% 0%
Aluminum Foil/Scrap 63.97 100% 0%
Ferrous/Tin 381.64 100% 0%
Glass, Commingled 3,607.46 100% 0%
Plastic HDPE Color 195.05 100% 0%
Plastic, HDPE Natural 156.01 100% 0%
Plastic, PET Bottles 454.41 100% 0%
Plastic, PET Clamshells1 108.48 0% 100%1
Plastic, Mixed Rigid 272.40 100% 0%
Plastic, #2 - # 7 151.65 100% 0%
Film Plastic 36.13 100% 0%
Mixed Paper 1,905.32 100% 0%
Cardboard 7,146.24 10% 90%
Scrap Metal 902.37 100% 0%
E-Waste 12.98 100% 0%
Total 15,575.64 58%2 42%2
1 The market for plastic PET clamshells is in North America (Mexicali, Mexico). 2 Weighted Average
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Table 3: Primary Purchaser Summary – Palo Alto’s Plastics & Fiber
Material Company Domestic? International? Export Status Market Location Mixed Paper CellMark Yes No Domestic: 100% Shreveport,
Louisiana
Cardboard
CellMark, Berg Mill, Fibre
Trade, Newport CH
International
Yes Yes Domestic: 10%
International: 90%
Longview,
Washington; Mexico;
Southeast Asia
PET CellMark & Berg Mill Yes No Domestic: 100% Riverside, California PET
Clamshells Direct Pack No Yes International: 100% Mexicali, Mexico HDPE Envision Plastics & Berg
Mill Yes No Domestic: 100% Chino, California;
Alabama
Mixed Rigid
Plastics CellMark Yes No Domestic: 100% St. Louis, Missouri Mixed
Plastic #2-#7 CellMark Yes No Domestic: 100% Chino Hills, California Film Plastic CellMark Yes No Domestic: 100% Chino Hills, California Item B
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CellMark Inc. (Novato, CA)
In Fiscal Year 2024, CellMark purchased 90% of Palo Alto’s cardboard, paper, and plastics because it primarily utilizes domestic markets for these recyclables. CellMark submitted partial traceability data for the cardboard, mixed paper, PET, mixed plastics, and film plastics it purchased from GWR.
CellMark is both a brokerage and a secondary processor, and its purchasers are secondary processors.
For plastic, t he secondary processing includes chipping, washing, and pelletizing. For cardboard and paper, the secondary processing includes pulpifying.
Per the CellMark website, CellMark participates in initiatives to ensure sustainability. CellMark comments on its sustainability via its CSR webpages (https://www.cellmark.com/ideas-values/sustainability-csr/):
“CellMark is proud to conduct our services and business activities with a high degree of ethics and awareness of sustainability. We adhere to defined common standards for our performance, participate in multiple initiatives in support of sustainability and continually look for ways to improve our performance.”
“We respect and comply with local legislation and environmental regulations in all of our global operations. We enable our employees to participate in charitable initiatives, and we invite our business partners to join us in our support of different non-profit organizations locally and globally.” “CellMark is a member of the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) and as such is committed to product stewardship and responsible distribution in every phase of chemical storage, handling, transportation and disposal.”
CellMark’s 2023 Sustainability Report, published in May 2024, states that:
“CellMark supports and works actively to comply with international guidelines regarding environment, human rights, and business ethics, including
• The UN Global Compact Initiative.
• Internationally proclaimed human rights standards and conventions (in particular the International Bill of Human Rights, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the eight core conventions of the International Labour Organization, and Article 32 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child). • The OECD Convention on combating bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.
• The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.”
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In 2023 and in response to Canadian Bill S-211 Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, CellMark provided the following statements on their human rights and environmental due diligence efforts (https://www.cellmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CellMark-AB-2023-Canada-Forced-labor-and- child-labor-in-supply-chains-statement.pdf):
“CellMark’s main commitments can be summarized as follows:
• As a principle, we comply with the laws and regulations that apply in the countries in which we operate.
• We care about our business partners. Our success relies on long-term relationships with our customers, suppliers, and service providers, founded on trust. • We care about our employees. As CellMark's success relies also on the unique knowledge and experience of its employees, the Group strives to preserve good working conditions for all.
• We apply "precautionary principles". We take precautions when there are reasons to believe that a potential action may negatively impact a person's health or safety, the society, or the environment.
• We are committed to respecting and promoting human rights as well as protecting children's rights. We condemn modern slavery and forced labor.
• We encourage employees to express their views and opinions, and raise their concerns regarding unacceptable behavior and actions, without fear of retaliation.
In relation to potential environmental and social impacts of CellMark’s business partners , CellMark detailed the following in the same statement:
“CellMark’s Code of Conduct for Business Partners sets out CellMark's expectations toward its business partners in the fields of business ethics, environment, and human rights & working conditions. The Code of Conduct for Business Partners builds on, and reiterates, CellMark's commitment to comply and work actively with the above mentioned international guidelines regarding environment, human rights and business ethics (see section on the Code of Conduct).” CellMark also outlined its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy:
“In addition to its Code of Conduct, the Group has implemented a Corporate Social Responsibility Policy that includes a set of principles for procurement activities so as to assess and consider potential human rights risks across the supply chain. This incl udes that the sourcing of new commodity suppliers should include:
• due diligence efforts to ensure that the products sourced in relation to their business with CellMark do not contribute, or is not directly linked, to human rights abuses. • Written undertaking from the supplier that it will comply with CellMark' s Code of Conduct for Business Partners which prohibits forced or child labor and promotes decent working conditions.
The Corporate Social Responsibility Policy further sets out that a supplier may be terminated if:
• it refuses to perform an audit or refuses to provide a letter of assurance or any other type of integrity undertaking
• the monitoring of the business partner reveals non- compliance with applicable laws or with the Code of Conduct for Business Partners.”
The following is a diagram showing which U.S. cities and states the cardboard, paper, and plastics purchased by CellMark are sent to.
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A May 6, 2024 article detailed CellMark’s recent EcoVadis award:
CellMark awarded EcoVadis Gold Rating for 2024
“CellMark has received a Gold Rating for our sustainability performance from the independent rating organization EcoVadis. This means we rank among the top 5% of companies assessed in our business category by EcoVadis in the past 12 months.”
(https://www.cellmark.com/2024/05/06/cellmark-awarded-ecovadis-gold-rating-for-2024)
CellMark’s 2023 Sustainability Report confirm ed that the Total Fiber Recovery facility is almost operational:
Cardboard Longview, WA
Mixed Paper Shreveport, LA
PET Riverside, CA
Mixed Rigid
Plastic St. Louis, MO
Mixed Plastic
#2 - #7 Chino Hills, CA
Film Plastic Chino Hills, CA
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CellMark: Significant events in 2023
“In line with the partnership agreement signed with Total Fiber Recovery in 2022, the Group focused on the building of an 80 million USD recycled pulp production facility in the city of Chesapeake, Virginia, USA. The new facility and joint venture (of which CellMark owns 50 percent percent) are both called Total Fiber Recovery @ Chesapeake. Initially planned to be operational in Q4, 2023, the facility is now planned to open in 2024. CellMark Recycling will supply 300 000 tons of mixed paper and old corrugat ed containers, annually, as feedstock to the facility. The recycled brown pulp produced by the facility will be sold exclusively by CellMark Pulp.” (https://www.cellmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CellMark-Sustainability-Report-2023.pdf) CellMark’s 2022 Sustainability Report provided an update on its Total Fiber Recovery facility:
CellMark: Significant events in 2022
“CellMark entered into a partnership with Total Fiber Recovery to build an 80 million USD recycled pulp production facility in the city of Chesapeake, Virginia, USA. The new facility and joint venture are both called Total Fiber Recovery @ Chesapeake (or TFRC) and should be operational in Q4, 2023.
CellMark Recycling will supply 300 000 tons of mixed paper and old corrugated containers, annually, as feedstock to the facility. The recycled brown pulp produced by the facility will be sold exclusively by CellMark Pulp.”
(https://www.cellmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CellMark-Sustainability-Report-2022.pdf)
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Berg Mill Supply/Classic Fibres (Los Angeles, CA)
Berg Mill submitted partial traceability data for a portion of Palo Alto’s c ardboard, PET, and HDPE it purchased from GWR in Fiscal Year 2024.
Berg Mill Supply is a brokerage and provides general data on its website about the destination of its exports. Per the Berg Mill Supply website: (https://bergmill.com/about/where-berg-mill-ships/) “Our mission statement and vision is our belief in contributing to a sustainable planet, leading us on our path of environmental management for future generations. Berg Mill’s purpose is to create value by offering green solutions to those generating waste and to consumers looking to recycle.” “Berg Mill Supply Co., Inc. redirects waste from material recovery facilities (MRF) in the United States to end users in international locations, where the material is processed and a new material is produced.”
“We sell material suitable for many different countries abroad such as China, Indonesia, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Myanmar, Malaysi,a Pakistan, Laos, Costa Rica, Brazil, and USA.” The following is a diagram showing the locations of where cardboard and plastics purchased by Berg Mill are sent to.
The following is a diagram showing which countries the cardboard purchased by Berg Mill is sent to.
Both the PET and HDPE Berg Mill purchases from GWR are sent to recycling facilities within the U.S. that adhere to local, state, and federal environmental standards.
Cardboard Did not provide
PET California
HDPE Alabama
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Fibre Trade Inc. (Burlingame, CA)
Fibre Trade did not provide any information on the small portion of cardboard it purchased from GWR in Fiscal Year 2024. The latest report was from 2021 indicating its end markets for cardboard were in the United States, Mexico, and Southeast Asia.
Fibre Trade is a brokerage. Per its website, Fibre Trade is a direct exporter of primarily recovered paper, pulp, and mineral products from the USA, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan to affiliated paper mills all over the world. (https://www.fibretrade.net/)
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Newport CH International (Orange, CA)
Newport CH International did not submit traceability data but did provide basic information about the company. Newport purchased a small portion of Palo Alto’s cardboard from GWR in Fiscal Year 2024.
Newport manufactures products and is a brokerage. Per its website, Newport focuses on the purchase and direct export of recyclable paper and plastics. Newport maintains ISO14001 certification, which is the international standard that specifies requirements for an effective environmental management system (EMS).
In 2023, the company was ranked by the Journal of Commerce as the #13 top U.S. recyclables exporters. (https://www.joc.com/article/top-100-importerexporter-rankings-biggest-shippers-rise-down- year_20240520.html)
The following statements are made on the Newport CH International website. “Our expertise is sourcing recyclable paper and plastics throughout North America. We are direct export shippers for the recycling industry, supplying numerous mills in China, as well as many other Asian countries. We provide quality raw material for their state of the art mills and manufacturing facilities.
Our overseas customers have the assurance of consistent supply and quality. Newport CH handles all logistics in- house, including shipping line rate negotiations, bookings and local drayage assistance. We take care of all required export documentation and banking transactions from our corporate office in Orange, California. To facilitate our exports to China we are AQSIQ certified and are an approved CCIC self-inspection company. In addition, we hold ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications for our global quali ty management system, demonstrating our organizations continued commitment to quality. Newport CH strives to encourage growth in the recycling industry by being supportive and involved with numerous state and local government agencies.
Through our office in Shanghai, China we are able to work directly with the mill buyers in order to meet their requirements. We are in constant communication with our Shanghai office to stay apprised of any market changes or concerns with material arriving into China.” (http://newportch.com/)
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Direct Pack Recycling (Azusa, CA)
Direct Pack Recycling is the primary purchaser of Palo Alto’s PET clamshells. PET Clamshells are thermoformed plastic packaging, typically used for food packaging. Examples include plastic salad containers, take out containers, and fruit containers.
Per its website, Direct Pack is a leader in sustainable and innovative thermoformed food packaging recycling and manufacturing.
“We operate our own recycling and reclaiming facility. With capacity to recycle 20,000 tons of PET plastic per year, it allows us to move closer to a full circle manufacturing process.” “In our full circle process, we use post -consumer recycled PET bottles and thermoformed packaging to make new food containers. At Direct Pack Recycling we sort, wash and flake recycled PET material that then goes to one of our thermoforming facilities to be turned into new strawberry, lettuce, salad or take-out containers. After use, our containers can be recycled again – they are not garbage, but a valuable infinite resource. “Since 2020, Direct Pack Recycling has recycled over 74.4 million pounds of plastics – not only bottles but also mixed thermoformed PET containers – and repurposed them back into new packaging.”
(https://www.directpackinc.com/about-us/)
The following is a diagram showing which countries the PET clamshells purchased by Direct Pack Recycling are sent to.
An article posted on November 5, 2024, stated the following:
Direct Pack Plants Achieve BRCGS Certification
“Recently, we achieved a new milestone: both our manufacturing plants in Mexico—Direct Pack de México (DPM) and Direct Pack Baja (DPB) —have been awarded the BRCGS Packaging Materials Certification. This recognition highlights our commitment to producing safe, high-quality packaging that meets the highest global standards, benefitting both our customers and the environment. The BRCGS Packaging Materials Certification is a globally recognized standard for safety, quality, and compliance across the packaging supply chain, developed by the British Retail Consortium Global Standards. It provides a framework for packaging manufacturers to produce safe, reliable materials and meet customers’ expectations for quality and regulatory compliance.
Both facilities received an ‘A’ grade under the standard criteria developed by BRCGS.”
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An internet search resulted in a pertinent article published in WasteDive on February 10, 2023:
Direct Pack gets Recycling Partnership grant for PET thermoform recycling in Mexico
“The Recycling Partnership recently awarded Direct Pack, a manufacturer and recycler of thermoformed PET packaging, a grant supporting construction of a PET reclamation operation in Mexicali, Mexico, that will source material from U.S. MRFs to produce recyc led content for new packaging. Direct Pack’s project in Mexicali is its second PET reclamation facility in the area, which the company expects will produce an additional 15,000 tons of recycled content for new packaging. A spokesperson said this second fac ility will have ‘significant added space for PET bale storage,’ as well as new equipment on the wash line that was developed by the company and will be used in its other facilities. Construction of the new facility is said to be ‘near complete’ and testing is underway. Snedden added in Direct Pack’s press release that the grant money allows the company ‘to scale our recycling operations more quickly, and take in even more PET plastic from MRFs, keeping it out of landfills.’”
(https://www.wastedive.com/news/pet-recycling-direct-pack-phoenix/642246/)
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Envision Plastics (Chino, CA)
Envision Plastics is a leading recycler of HDPE plastics and supplier of Post -Consumer Resin (PCR).
Envision purchases HDPE from GWR and washes, chips, and pelletizes the material. Envision lists six different products that it creates from recovered plastic: Ecoprime®, Natural Color, Mixed Color, Oceanbound Plastic, Prisma®, and Deodorized.
The following is a diagram showing the destination of HDPE purchased by Envision Plastics.
Envision Plastics is headquartered in Reidsville, North Carolina and has a west coast plant in Chino, California. Envision’s parent company, Altium Packaging (previously Consolidated Container Company) includes “Act with Integrity and in Compliance” as one of its core values. ( https://altiumpkg.com/why- altium/our-guiding-principles/)
An internet search resulted in a pertinent article posted on June 27, 2023:
Envision adding second line for recycled HDPE, PP
Envision Plastics is leaning into demand for PCR and putting millions of dollars into adding another recycled food-grade HDPE and PP processing line at an existing facility.
The expansion at Envision’s Reidsville, N.C. plant gives the company flexibility to switch between producing its HDPE, dubbed “EcoPrime,” and post-consumer PP. The additional production line will increase Envision’s capacity to produce EcoPrime by 50%...
There is another facility in Chino, Calif., that produces EcoPrime. Envision’s current combined capacity is about 55 million pounds of EcoPrime annually. The second line in North Carolina will add another between 25 million and 30 million pounds annually...
EcoPrime is FDA-authorized, curbside collected, recycled HDPE resin that, even in 100% PCR containers, is fit for direct contact with food and beverages, a press release noted. It has earned letters of no-objection from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada, so it can be used in a wide range of applications including rigid bottles, caps and closures, and blown film, for industries such as dairy, water, cosmetics and nutraceuticals. (https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2023/06/27/envision-adding-second-line-for-recycled- hdpe-pp/)
A March 6, 2023, article detailed Envision Plastic’s recent EcoVadis award:
Envision Plastics Receives EcoVadis Silver Award for Sustainability Envision Plastics, a leading producer of mechanically recycled High Density Polyethylene and Polypropylene Post -Consumer Resin (HDPE and PP PCR) products in North America, announced today that it earned a silver recognition medal from EcoVadis for its sust ainability efforts. Envision’s ranking puts them within the top 20% of those participating in the assessment and indicates their ongoing commitment to sustainability, with an emphasis on environmental policies, carbon footprint, labor, and safety laws. It also shows an increase in the company’s rating from last year.
HDPE Chino, CA
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(https://www.prweb.com/releases/2023/03/prweb19202224.htm)
Finally, Envison Plastic’s OceanBound Plastic recycling program aims to remove 10 million pounds of plastic before it enters the ocean at “At Risk Zones” defined by areas within 50km of coastline, with a focus on communities lacking formal waste collection. According to their FAQ webpage on the program, Envision Plastics works with partners “to professionalize the collection stream, collect this plastic, and manufacture it into usable products.” (https://envisionplastics.com/oceanbound-plastic/)
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City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: City Manager
Meeting Date: November 3, 2025
Report #:2510-5310
TITLE
2025 Council Priorities and Objectives Q3 Report
RECOMMENDATION
This is an informational report that provides progress updates on the 2025 Council Priorities and Objectives approved by the City Council on May 5, 2025. No action is needed.
BACKGROUND
On January 25, 2025, the Council held its annual retreat to approve the 2025 Council Priorities.1 The Priority Setting Guidelines define a priority as a topic that will receive unusual and significant attention during the year. At the conclusion of the retreat, the City Council approved the following priorities:
Climate Action and Adaptation, & Natural Environment Protection Economic Development & Retail Vibrancy
Implementing Housing Strategies for Social & Economic Balance Public Safety, Wellness & Belonging
Over a series of meetings, the Council reviewed the proposed Objectives and on May 5, 2025, Council approved all the 70 Objectives meant to reflect potential Council actions, be measurable and time-bound to make real progress in advancing Council Priorities2. These are summarized in Attachment A of the report.
ANALYSIS
1 January 25, 2025 City Council Annual Retreat:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=15926 2 City Council Meeting, May 5, 2025:
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Progress on Council Priorities is measured by the accomplishments of its subset objectives and reported on a calendar quarterly basis. Calendar Q3 spans the months July through September 2025. A summary table of all 70 objectives is listed in Attachment A, including an estimated completion date, which is also measured in calendar quarters. A narrative on each objective update is found in Attachment B, it includes:
Project Description- Describes overall project goals and outcomes which may span beyond the calendar year.
2025 Milestone- Describes activities and outcomes planned for the calendar year as some projects are multi-year in length and are broken up into phases.
Project Status-
Completed - Project as described in the 2025 milestone is overall complete, though some minor/non-substantive follow-up may still be needed. On-Track- Project is expected to be completed as specified. Any changes in project scope or timing due to Council direction or action will remain labeled On Track with the new estimated timeframe.
Behind - The project estimated completion date may be delayed due to operational issues, capacity constraints (such as vacancies in staffing), or project has not started by the estimated completion date.
Hold/Dropped - Project is not actively in progress or will no longer move forward in the current year. Reasons may include the issue is no longer relevant, operational constraints, or is stalled/dropped due to council direction.
Estimated Completion - The calendar quarter in which the objective is expected to be completed.
Department Lead - Identifies the lead department and project manager responsible for coordinating progress.
Quarterly Update - a brief progress update on the project describes work reflected in the respective calendar quarter. Any delays or project issues will be reflected in this section.
To date, of the 70 Council objectives supporting Council priorities, in the third quarter, a total of 60 (86%) have been completed or are on track with new Council direction, 9 are behind schedule (13%), and 1 (1%) is on hold. Objectives with a revised estimated completion date are notated with an asterisk (*) in the revised estimated completion quarter and explanation in the Quarterly Update section of the objective summary in Attachment B.
Council Priority Completed On Track Behind On Hold/
Dropped
Total
Climate Action and Adaptation, &
Natural Environment Protection 6 17 1 0 24
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Economic Development & Retail
Vibrancy 3 4 4 1 12
Implementing Housing Strategies
for Social & Economic Balance 6 12 2 0 20
Public Safety, Wellness & Belonging 3 9 2 0 14
Total 18 43 8 1 70
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Resource impacts for the objectives’ 2025 milestones have mostly been identified and resourced through the FY 2025 and FY 2026 budget processes; however, any changes to scope may result in additional resources needed. Staff will assess any scope changes and bring forward recommendations for additional resources if needed as part of the FY 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
On May 2025, Council approved the community engagement strategies associated with the 2025 Priorities and Objectives. There are various levels of community engagement and communication strategies to support each project, including internal coordination among City departments.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The Council informational report on this item is not a project as defined by CEQA because the Council review of 2025 Priority Objectives is continuing administrative or maintenance activity.
CEQA Guidelines section 15378 (b)(2).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: 2025 Council Priorities and Objectives Q3 Summary Table Attachment B: 2025 Council Priorities and Objectives Q3 Update APPROVED BY:
Ed Shikada, City Manager
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ATTACHMENT A
#
ED
CA
IHS
PS
1X Complete construction of initial pilot area of electric grid modernization. Project will increase electrical capacity and reliability in initial pilot area bounded by Louis, Amarillo, 101, & Embarcadero about 1,200 homes; once completed, staff will continue the grid upgrades to the "Phase 1" area which impacts approx 6,000 homes. (16)
X
2X X Begin construction of the Newell Road Bridge Replacement project. Award of a construction contract for the replacement of Newell Road Bridge in time to begin construction taking advantage of the 2025 in‐channel construction season. (32) X
3X X Begin construction of Hamilton Avenue storm drain system capacity upgrades project. Prioritization of the Hamilton Avenue project from the list of 2017 ballot measure priority projects will increase the ability of the storm drain system to convey water in the event of a San Francisquito Creek overflow. (31) X
4X Complete implementation of the Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan, including Strategy 4 – conducting a cost/benefit analysis of flexible energy resources such as battery storage and microgrids (including evaluation of the airport microgrid), and Strategy 5 – recommending potential programs for Council consideration.
X
5X Complete deployment of 65,000 residential Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meters by end of FY 2025 and begin deployment of commercial AMI meters. (13)
X
6X Council approval for Phase 2 (full service program) of the Advanced Whole Home Electrification Pilot Program and begin implementation. (19) X 7X Develop and obtain Council approval for strategies and a 2026/2027 work plan for the next phase of S/CAP implementation of climate and sustainability goals.
X
8X X Begin development of a Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan meeting new standards approved by BCDC. Engage with neighboring cities for potential partnership and review status with the City Council. (33) X
9X Council consideration of an ordinance implementing updated Stream/Creek Corridor Setback requirements. (34) X* * 10 X Council consideration of an ordinance implementing Bird Safe Glass & Wildlife Light Pollution Protections standards. (35) X* 11 X X Advocate for the San Francisquito Creek Flood Protection capital project (Reach 2) through Council’s JPA representation and any Council approvals involved. (31)
X
12 X Initiate Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Clearance Work for Quarry Road Extension in Partnership with Stanford University, Caltrans, & VTA. X 13 X Develop an updated Regional Water Quality Control Plant Biosolids Facility Plan. Complete initial work to develop plan, including consideration of PFAS pollutants and the Measure E site, and review with a Council committee in advance of Council acceptance of the plan in late 2025 or early 2026.
X
14 X X Council Adoption of the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Safety Action Plan. Informed by feedback from the Policy & Services Committee, bring forward a Safety Action Plan providing a roadmap for eliminating traffic deaths and severe injuries through the reduction of vehicle miles traveled enabling staff to seek grant funding for implementation. (14)
X
15 X X Council Adoption of the 2025 Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP). Consideration of the Draft BPTP Update, informed by public feedback for City Council adoption. (15)
X
16 X X Refine Grade Separation Design Alternatives per Council Direction and Conduct Outreach to Support Rail Committee Review of Locally Preferred Alternatives.
Review advanced alternatives to minimize right of way impacts and improve traffic circulation, conduct outreach, and develop conceptual plans (15% design) for each of the three crossings. (30)
X
2025 CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES AND OBJECTIVES
Council Priority
OBJECTIVES
(70 in total)
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Climate Action and Adaptation, & Natural Environment Protection (CA) Modernize critical infrastructure for climate resilience Advance citywide and regional climate adaptation and environmental protection strategies Advance active and sustainable transportation