1 San Anselmo Approved Council Minutes
Regular Meeting
Town Council Chambers and via Zoom
Monday, November 10, 2025
Call to Order: Optional Pledge of Allegiance
COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Tarrell Kullaway (Mayor)
Steve Burdo
Eileen Burke
Yoav Schlesinger
Chantel Walker
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Dave Donery, Town Manager
Megan Acevedo, Town Attorney
Serge Avila, Town Clerk
Heidi Scoble, Community Development Director
Sean Condry, Public Works Director
Scott Schneider, Assistant Public Works Director
Jeff Zuba, Finance Director
Rob Bastianon, Senior Fire Inspector
Eric Robbe, Building Official
Maddie O’Grady, Community Services Director
Kelley Warner, Community Engagement Coordinator
A. Call to Order 6:30 PM
B. Mayor Kullaway announced that item B.1 will be discussed in Closed Session Closed Session pursuant to California Government Code Section 54957.6 Conference with Labor Negotiator
Agency Negotiator: Jeff Zuba
Unrepresented Employee: Dave Donery
C. Public Comment on Closed Session Items
There were no public comments.
D. Council adjourned to Open Session.
Town Council reconvened in the Council Chambers at 7:00 PM Mayor Kullaway stated there were no actionable items coming out of closed session.
Open Time for Public Expression
Ms. Ann Politzer, Brookside Drive, discussed the benefit-cost analysis for the SAFRR Project and the removal of Building Bridge 2. The County is asserting that the cost ratio is $11 million in expenditures for $23 million in benefits over a 50-year period.
Council requests for future agenda items; Committee liaison reports; questions and comments to 2 staff; miscellaneous items
Councilmember Walker thanked Community Services Director O’Grady for the Youth Commissioners training; reported she will be sitting on the Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers (MCCMC) Executive Committee for North Bay Cal Cities.
Vice Mayor Burdo reported he, along with Councilmember Schlesinger, met with Central Marin Police Authority (CMPA) Chief Norton; attended the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) meeting; will be attending the upcoming Fire Board meeting; gave a Shout-Out to the Mini- Library; tickets for Breakfast with Santa go on sale this Wednesday! Councilmember Schlesinger reported today is National Civic Pride Day; attended the Dia de los Muertos Celebration; he will be training the Town staff on the use of AI; there will be a full-time CMPA Traffic Enforcement team in place in December.
Councilmember Burke reported the Memorial Park Advisory Committee is working on Phase 3 of the plan to renovate the park and will be looking at the tennis court area.
Mayor Kullaway participated in the BPAC meeting; attended a celebration for local Olympian Kate Courtney.
Town Manager Donery reported staff is preparing for the winter and participated in a tabletop exercise at the County Office of Emergency Services. There has been a change in the Chamber of Commerce organizational status and the Town will be taking over the leadership role in producing several upcoming holiday events.
Special Presentation
There were no Special Presentations.
1. Consent Agenda
1.1 Approved the Draft Minutes of the Regular Meeting of October 28, 2025
1.2 Accepted Resignation of Gary Smith from the Planning Commission
1.3 Received and Filed Report of Checks Issued, October 2025
1.4 Accepted the 2025 Street Resurfacing Project and Authorized Staff to File a Notice of Completion
1.5 Received and Filed the Financial Report on Recreation Fund ending October 31, 2025 Mayor Kullaway opened the meeting to public comments.
There were no comments.
Mayor Kullaway closed the meeting to public comments.
M/s, Burdo/Walker, Motion to approve Consent Calendar items #1.1 through #1.5.
AYES: Schlesinger, Walker, Burke, Vice Mayor Burdo, Mayor Kullaway
2. Public Hearing Items
3 2.1 Adopt Resolution No. 2025-4603 Approving Marin Sanitary Service Rate Increase and Franchise Agreement Amendment
Mayor Kullaway recused herself from this item.
Finance Director Zuba presented a staff report. Mr. Garth Schultz, representing R3, gave a PowerPoint presentation. Staff and the consultant answered a question from the Council regarding the reason why San Anselmo’s rate increase is slightly larger than other municipalities.
Ms. Patti Garbarino, President of Marin Sanitary Service (MSS), stated MSS strives to do something better for the environment. She discussed Customer Appreciation Day, the Landfill Philharmonic musical group from Paraguay, and the award received from the North Bay Leadership Coalition.
Vice Mayor /Burdo opened the Public Hearing.
There were no comments.
Vice Mayor Burdo closed the Public Hearing.
M/s, Walker/Schlesinger, Motion to adopt a Resolution 2025-4603. Establishing Maximum Rates collected by Marin Sanitary Service Rate for solid waste recycling and organic waste services to be effective January 1, 2026, approving the First Amendment to the MSS Franchise Agreement and adopting the Town’s cost of solid waste services fee and franchise fee for the use of Town property and the provision of solid waste related services.
AYES: Burke, Schlesinger, Vice Mayor Burdo, Walker
RECUSED: Mayor Kullaway
Mayor Kullaway returned to the dais.
Council Business Items
2.2 Receive the General Plan Update: Draft Goals, Policies, and Actions (Part 1) Community Development Director Scoble presented the staff report. She and Christine O’Rourke, O’Rourke and Associates, presented a PowerPoint presentation. Staff and the consultant answered questions from the Council regarding how the creation of an Historic Preservation District could negatively impact the Housing Element and development; how staff is looking at outside funding to create options for Historic Preservation; the upgrades and maintenance of those facilities; if the Council will be talking about prioritization or a hierarchy with respect to historic preservation; how the Town’s plan feeds on work from other agencies; the level of deference, authority, and responsibility that the Town has as a municipality; regional collaboration and coordination; the definition of passive recreation; if the Circulation Element includes incentives for behavior change;
Mayor Kullaway opened the meeting to public comments.
Mr. Rene Voss stated they were ahead of the game in terms of the implementation of wildlife habitat corridors. The intent is to connect existing open spaces including those outside of the Town boundaries. The intent of the “passive recreation” definition was to allow people to wander a bit and not to single out any recreational use.
4 An individual stated he moved into a house that had a Historic Preservation designation and found some challenging non-monetary costs. It was difficult to make the house comfortable due to the constraints on the materials that would be allowed. He discussed the benefits of native plants.
Mr. Nick Pappas referred to the sustainability piece and noted transportation and transportation emissions are the primary lever that the Town can pull. Transportation planning and decisions about road infrastructure are an important climate tool. He suggested an amendment to include more specific reference to reducing vehicle miles traveled.
Mayor Kullaway closed the meeting to public comments.
Councilmember Schlesinger stated they should not be talking about compliance or a compilation of current practices but rather a vision of what the Town should look like in twenty years. The draft document feels like a 2025 operating manual and not a 2045 navigation chart. He would like to see a section on Futures and Adaptation.
Councilmember Burke stated she does not see the document as static and noted the Town is now a “cleaner and greener” version than when the General Plan was last updated. The General Plan does talk about how to continue this trajectory. The document is a long-term vision that happens incrementally.
Mayor Kullaway stated she would like to see more information about local mitigation of climate change and the impacts of AI.
Councilmember Walker stated the only areas of refinement are the thing that staff is working on already. She is looking for the Town’s set of principles and a comparison of the one and two year work plans. She would like to see a five year process that checks metrics and a map of how the elements work together.
Councilmember Burdo stated the General Plan is a guide. He agrees that there are future innovations and emerging technologies that should be accounted for as they look forward. The commitment has been to the character of the Town and the environment and he noted there have been marked improvements.
2.3 Receive and File the 2025 Live on the Avenue Recap and Review Community Services Director O’Grady and Community Engagement Coordinator Warner presented the staff report and a PowerPoint presentation. Staff answered questions from the Council regarding the statistics about weekends; if staff can get information about which bands are drawing bigger crowds; if there was an opportunity to do live surveying; if there were staffing expenses for the Recreation Department; if staff could include the soft costs next year; information about unique cell phone holders; business survey results; if staff can find a way to screen Star Wars during Movie Night.
Stefan, Music Director, thanked the Council and staff for the opportunity to work on the Live on the Avenue event.
Mayor Kullaway opened the meeting to public comments.
An individual gave a shout-out to the Steele Collective, Wink Optics, and the kids’ face painting area. He discussed the data and noted it could be skewed. The survey questions should include more detail.
5 Mayor Kullaway closed the meeting to public comments.
Councilmember Burdo stated the event gets better and better each year. He stated there could be some refinements and suggested not adding on to the “recipe”.
Councilmember Burke recommended finding a way to tweak the negatives or make them go away. She would like the persistent complaints addressed.
Councilmember Walker stated she did not think the event should get bigger.
Councilmember Schlesinger congratulated staff on a highly successful program. Follow trends in the data year over year will allow them to make tweaks and come up with options.
Public Hearings
2.4 Public Hearing and Adoption of an Ordinance of the San Anselmo Municipal Code to repeal and replace Title 3, Chapter 3, Article 8 to Adopt by Reference the 2025 Edition of the California Fire Code, and portions of the 2024 International Fire Code with Certain Local Amendments
Senior Fire Inspector Bastianon presented the staff report. There were no questions from the Council.
Mayor Kullaway opened the Public Hearing.
There were no comments.
Mayor Kullaway closed the Public Hearing.
M/s, Burke/Schlesinger Motion to Adopt Ordinance No. 2025-1194 of the San Anselmo Municipal Code to repeal and replace Title 3, Chapter 3, Article 8 to Adopt by Reference the 2025 Edition of the California Fire Code, and portions of the 2024 International Fire Code with Certain Local Amendments.
AYES: Burke, Schlesinger, Walker, Vice Mayor Burdo, Mayor Kullaway M/s, Burke/Schlesinger, Motion to Adopt Resolution No. 2025-4601 adopting Findings of Fact and confirming the need for change or modifications to the California Fire Code because of local conditions.
AYES: Burke, Schlesinger, Walker, Vice Mayor Burdo, Mayor Kullaway
2.5 Public Hearing and Adoption of an Ordinance to repeal and replace Title 3, Chapter 3, Article 10 of the San Anselmo Municipal Code to Adopt by Reference the 2025 Edition of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code and 2024 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code with Certain Local Amendments Senior Fire Inspector Bastianon presented the staff report. There were no questions from the Council.
Mayor Kullaway opened the Public Hearing.
There were no comments.
Mayor Kullaway closed the Public Hearing.
6 M/s, Burke/Schlesinger, Motion to Adopt Ordinance No. 2025-1195 to Repeal and Replace Title 3, Chapter 3, Article 10 of the San Anselmo Municipal Code to Adopt by Reference the 2025 Edition of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code and the 2024 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code with Certain Local Amendments AYES: Burke, Schlesinger, Walker, Vice Mayor Burdo, Mayor Kullaway M/s, Burke/Schlesinger, Motion to Adopt Resolution No.2025-4602 adopting Findings of Fact and confirming the need for change or modifications to the California Fire Code because of local conditions.
AYES: Burke, Schlesinger, Walker, Vice Mayor Burdo, Mayor Kullaway
2.6 Public Hearing and Adoption of an Ordinance of the San Anselmo Municipal Code to Repeal and Replace Title 9 and adopt by reference the most recent California Building Standards Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24).
Building Official Robbe presented the staff report. There were no questions from the Council.
Mayor Kullaway opened the Public Hearing.
There were no comments.
Mayor Kullaway closed the Public Hearing.
M/s, Burke/Schlesinger, Motion to Adopt Ordinance No. 2025-1196 of the San Anselmo Municipal Code to Repeal and Replace Title 9 and adopt by reference the most recent California Building
Standards Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24) as amended.
AYES: Burke, Schlesinger, Walker, Vice Mayor Burdo, Mayor Kullaway Council Business Items
2.7 Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance Amending San Anselmo Municipal Code Section 2-1.02 to Increase Town Council Compensation
Town Manager Donery presented the staff report. There were no questions from the Council.
Mayor Kullaway opened the meeting to public comments.
There were no comments.
Mayor Kullaway closed the meeting to public comments.
M/s, Burke/Burdo, Motion to approve the Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2025-1197, which includes findings required by State Law, Amending San Anselmo Municipal Code Section 2-1.02 to Increase Town Council Compensation.
AYES: Burke, Schlesinger, Walker, Vice Mayor Burdo, Mayor Kullaway
2.8 Receive an Update on the Flood Horn
Public Works Director Condry presented the staff report. Staff answered a question from the Council regarding whether a pneumatic compressor is used to sound the horn; if there are alerts to signal that the horn has gone offline; the purpose of the weekly tests; if a once a month test would reduce emergency preparedness or safety; if sounding the horn can be done remotely; sounding “emergency alerts” in other areas of Town; how the staff recommendation meets the 7 needs of the businesses who were complaining; the likely failure rate; if the public is aware of the signal that indicates there could be flooding vs. a test.
Mayor Kullaway opened the meeting to public comments.
There were no comments.
Mayor Kullaway closed the meeting to public comments.
Councilmember Schlesinger stated staff’s proposal is a good solution. The horn has a function.
2.9 Approve the Adaptive Traffic Signal Improvement Project Mayor Kullaway recused herself from this item and left the meeting at 9:58 PM.
Assistant Public Works Director Schneider presented the staff report and a PowerPoint presentation. Staff answered questions from the Council regarding the expected life of the equipment; the anticipated annual cost; funding sources for the project; if it would be possible to obtain on-going grants from the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM); if this project eliminates the need for larger projects discussed about the Hub; could funds that come in through parking fees could be used for this project; if there is a kill switch that could turn all intersections off if needed; if Roundabout Technology is the only provider and if there would be an opportunity to change providers; if there are any downsides to this system; how often the models are updated to reflect local traffic patterns; how the system prioritizes safety in terms of modes of travel; who is responsible for monitoring performance metrics; who owns the input to the system; how Roundabout responds to law enforcement requests; physical limitations to storing the data; are there any public transparency requirements for AI driven infrastructure; Vice Mayor Burdo opened the meeting to public comments.
Josh stated he would like to have a better understanding of what happens with the data.
Averages can hide useful data and they should be broken down for direction, flow, and other variables.
Vice Mayor Burdo closed the meeting to public comments.
Councilmember Burke stated she had some concerns about the cost ($46,000 per year) but she supported the project.
Councilmember Walker noted it has already had a positive impact. She agreed that the contract needs to be clear about data retention and ownership of the data. She supported the project.
Councilmember Schlesinger stated he was a big supporter of AI and noted they need to be wideeyed and clear-eyed about what they are taking on. He liked the fact that this will include all eleven intersections.
Acting Mayor Burdo stated he has heard positive comments about the system. He supports the project.
M/s, Walker/Burke, Motion to authorize the Town Manager to sign the contracts for each of the purposes as stated in the staff report.
AYES: Burke, Schlesinger, Walker, Vice Mayor Burdo
RECUSED: Mayor Kullaway
8 M/s, Burke/Walker, Motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:41 p.m.
AYES: Burke, Schlesinger, Walker, Vice Mayor Burdo
ABSENT: Mayor Kullaway
Respectfully submitted,
Toni DeFrancis,
Recording Secretary