MINUTES OF THE
REGULAR MEETING – CITY COUNCIL
November 17, 2025
City Council Meeting Minutes Page 1 November 17, 2025
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Noack called a Regular Meeting of the City Council to order at 7:04 PM, in the Council Chambers, 100 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill, CA, complete proceedings of which were electronically recorded. The meeting agenda was posted on the City Hall outdoor bulletin board at 100 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill, CA on November 14, 2025, by City Clerk Lyone Conner.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Noack invited the Council and Public to join her in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
3. ROLL CALL
Attendee Name Title Status
Sue Noack Mayor Present
Zac Shess Vice Mayor Present
Belle La District 1 Councilmember Present
Andrei Obolenskiy District 2 Councilmember Present
Amanda Szakats District 5 Councilmember Present
4. CLOSED SESSION REPORT
Mayor Noack reported that there was a closed session earlier that evening for a public employee evaluation, and there is nothing to report.
5. PRESENTATIONS
5.1 Presentation from National University School of Psychology & Social Services and School of Law
National University’s Dean Lisa Hutton, from the College of Law & Public Service, and Dean Alvin McLean, from the School of Psychology & Social Sciences presented on the services of the university’s graduate programs and shared demographics of the national and local student populations.
6. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS
Ethan Bindernagel, City Manager, reported that:
• The Police Department will have an increased number of officers patrolling during the holidays, to keep the streets safe from impaired drivers and to enforce impaired driver laws.
• The annual Light up the Night festival is on November 22, 2025.
City Council Meeting Minutes Page 2 November 17, 2025
• The City is partnering with the Foodbanks of Contra Costa and Solano County to host an online Food Drive through the month of November.
• The Civic Action Commission closed the application period for the Summer Concert Series performers.
• The City’s three sandbag stations are open for public use. • The City provides information about updates, projects, and events on social media, the City’s website, the Bi-weekly emails, and via the Bi-monthly Outlook newsletter.
7. COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REPORTS
7.1 Reports from Councilmembers on Meetings or Conferences Attended at City Expense
Mayor Noack reported that several councilmembers attended the November 6, 2025 Mayor’s Conference hosted by the Town of Danville. She recognized Vice Mayor Shess, who attended in her place.
7.2 Announcements from Councilmembers
Councilmember Obolenskiy announced that Veteran’s Day banners are hung throughout the Downtown area, in honor of Veteran’s Day, and he invited the public to participate in recognizing veterans, including with an event anticipated in 2026.
Councilmember Obolenskiy also invited the public to sign up for his email listserv, to learn about meetings with him. Finally, he announced that Thatr Skazka will perform at the Light up the Night Festival.
Councilmember La reported her attendance at the final 2025 Night Market. She also participated in the Walk and Row Contra Costa Night Ride.
Councilmember La shared well wishes for the Thanksgiving holiday and recognized City staff and Departments.
Councilmember Szakats reported her attendance at the Neuro Vet grand opening and at the Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Omega Epsilon Omega Chapter event: Beyond the Headlines.
Vice Mayor Shess had no additional items to report.
Mayor Noack reported that she was on the East Coast for her sister’s memorial.
8. PUBLIC COMMENT
The following members of the public provided a comment:
• Melissa Hagen
• Aiden Martin
City Council Meeting Minutes Page 3 November 17, 2025
• Dick Offerman
9. CONSENT CALENDAR
Motion (Obolenskiy/La) to Approve consent items 9.1 – 9.5, carried unanimously as follows:
AYES: La, Obolenskiy, Shess, Szakats, Noack
9.1 Approve Minutes for the Regular City Council Meeting of November 3, 2025
9.2 Approve Checks Dated October 30, 2025; October 31, 2025; November 07, 2025
9.3 Adopt Ordinance No. to Repeal in its Entirety Chapter 14.60 (Voluntary Residential Weatherization Disclosure), Sections 14.60.010 Through 14.60.070
9.4 Adopt Resolution No. -25 Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into Subordination Agreements with Bridge Housing and Two Senior Lenders for the Grayson Creek Apartments at 100 Chilpancingo Parkway
9.5 Adopt Resolution No. -25 Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Professional Services Agreement with Curtis Blue Line for the Purchase of Night Vision Goggles for the Police Department
10. ACTION CALENDAR
10.1 Adopt Ordinance No. Amending Section 14.05.080 of Title 14 of the Pleasant Hill Municipal Code and Adopting the 2025 California Fire Code with Amendments Contra Costa County Fire District Chief, Chris Bachman, described the nature of the changes to the code and responded to questions from Council.
No members of the public provided comments.
Motion (Szakats/Shess) to Approve item 10.2, carried unanimously as follows:
AYES: La, Obolenskiy, Shess, Szakats, Noack
10.2 Introduce Ordinance No. Adding Section 14.05.090 to Title 14 of the Pleasant Hill Municipal Code and Adopting the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code with Amendments
Contra Costa County Fire District Chief, Chris Bachman, explained the need for the reintroduction to the code and shared the most recently added items.
No members of the public provided comments.
City Council Meeting Minutes Page 4 November 17, 2025
Motion (Obolenskiy/La) to Approve item 10.2, carried unanimously as follows:
AYES: La, Obolenskiy, Shess, Szakats, Noack
10.3 Adopt Ordinance No. Amending in its Entirety Chapter 14.05 (California Building Code), Sections 14.05.010 Through 14.05.040 of the Pleasant Hill Municipal Code Geoff Simmons, Chief Building Official, described the nature of the changes to the code and responded to questions from Council.
No members of the public provided comments.
Motion (Szakats/La) to Approve item 10.3, carried unanimously as follows:
AYES: La, Obolenskiy, Shess, Szakats, Noack
10.4 Adopt Ordinance No. to Amend the Pleasant Hill Municipal Code Title 18, Planning and Land Use, in its entirety, and amend the Zoning Map to include the rezoning of 1,072 parcels throughout the City for consistency with the 2040 General Plan and 2023-2031
Haley Croffoot, Senior Planner, presented the changes to the ordinance update, as previously requested by the City Council at the October 20, 2025 meeting.
The following members of the public provided a comment:
• Albert Franco
• George Josephsen III.
• Matt Regan
• Amanda Booth
• Aiden Martin
• Tom Vitale
• Alarik Toy
• Madhu Amesur
• Christine Will
• Gordon Swidler
• Deana Rabbach
The following members of the public submitted a public comment card but did not speak:
• Vicki Hill
• Melissa Mayama
Motion (Obolenskiy/Shess) to Approve item 10.5, carried as follows:
AYES: Obolenskiy, Shess, Szakats, Noack
NOES: La
City Council Meeting Minutes Page 5 November 17, 2025
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Noack adjourned the meeting at 8:54 p.m. The next Regular City Council meeting will be held on Monday, December 1, 2025, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ______________________________
LYONE P. CONNER, CITY CLERK