CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 10/06/2026
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
AGENDA TITLE:
Consider appointing one member to the Youth Advisory Committee.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Appoint, as recommended by the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) Council Subcommittee, Yuxi Duan to fill an unscheduled vacancy on the YAC for a term ending on June 30, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Irantzu Pujadas, Administrative Analyst IP REVIEWED BY: Catherine Jun, Deputy City Manager CJ
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A) List of YAC Applicants (Linked)
B) August 18, 2026 City Council Staff Report to Appoint YAC Members (Linked) C) 2026 City Council Assignments (Linked)
D) City Council Policy No. 54A (linked)
BACKGROUND:
On July 18, 2023, the City Council adopted Council Policy No. 54A (Attachment D) to form the YAC, which is a City advisory committee comprised of 13 Rancho Palos Verdes youths. In December 2025, Mayor Seo and Councilmember Ferraro were selected as the YAC Council Subcommittee (Subcommittee) whose role includes recommending appointments to fill any vacancies for City Council consideration (Attachment C). Since its formation, the City Council has appointed several students to serve on the YAC.
On June 30, 2026, five out of 13 YAC Members concluded their terms, opening up five scheduled vacancies. At the August 18, 2026 City Council meeting (Attachment B), four 1 CITYOF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
students were appointed to their first term, and one student was reappointed for a second term as member of the YAC. Council Policy No. 54 A was also amended to change the eligible grade range requirements for the YAC range from Grades 7-12 to Grades 9-12. (Attachment D).
Following the appointment of four new members and the reappointment of one member at the August 18, 2026 City Council meeting, one additional vacancy has since become available due to a member resigning. Tonight’s agenda item is to consider filling the remaining vacancy and appointing a new YAC member to complete the term.
DISCUSSION:
The current YAC membership includes the following students:
NAME TERM
BEGAN
TERM
EXPIRES
FIRST
APPOINTED
1 Ashley Chan-Mott 08/19/2025 06/30/2027 08/19/2025
2 Brian Coulon 08/19/2025 06/30/2027 08/19/2025
3 Annabelle Huang 08/19/2025 06/30/2027 08/19/2025
4 Giana Jeon 08/19/2025 06/30/2027 08/19/2025
5 Mattia Magnatta 08/19/2025 06/30/2027 08/19/2025
6 Landon Park 08/19/2025 06/30/2027 08/19/2025
7 Vacant (formerly
filled by Valentina
Sherer
08/19/2025 06/30/2027 10/01/2024
8 Matthew Song 08/19/2026 06/30/2028 10/01/2024
9 Amy Wen 08/19/2025 06/30/2027 08/19/2025
10 Keanu Pourafzal 08/18/2026 06/30/2028 08/18/2026
11 Walter Kim 08/18/2026 06/30/2028 08/18/2026
12 Amara Alegria 08/18/2026 06/30/2028 08/18/2026
13 Coco Nie 08/18/2026 06/30/2028 08/18/2026
In September 2026, Member Valentina Sherer, stepped down from the YAC due to scheduling conflicts. Her term was scheduled to end on June 30, 2027, and the YAC directed staff to work with the Council Subcommittee to fill the vacancy as quickly as possible. As such, the Council Subcommittee reviewed the existing pool of applicants who previously applied in Summer 2026.
Council Subcommittee Members Seo and Ferraro recommend appointing Yuxi Duan (Attachment A) to the vacancy. Ms. Duan is a 9th grade student from Palos Verdes High School. The YAC currently has several members who attend other schools and appointing Yuxi Duan from Palos Verdes High School would also help provide a better balance of representation.
2 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The YAC is also anticipating seven scheduled vacancies on June 30, 2027. Given the large number of vacancies, Staff and YAC Members will solicit applications as early as April 2027, with the goal of filling these vacancies by July 2027. This will allow the YAC to return from summer recess and begin meeting in September 2027.
CONCLUSION:
The City Council Subcommittee recommend appointing Yuxi Duan to the YAC with a term that is scheduled to end on June 30, 2027.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to Staff’s Recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for the City Council’s consideration:
1) Do not appoint Ms. Duan to the YAC and direct staff to recruit a different applicant from the application list (Attachment A) for the unscheduled vacancy. 2) Delay the appointment for the unscheduled vacancy and conduct a new recruitment.
3