Hello, oh, there it goes. It's working now very good. All right. Hi everyone. Good evening
I'm calling to order the Berkeley City Council meeting today is Tuesday, February 24 2026 and it is 603 p.m
Clerk, can you please take the role? Okay
Councilmember Kester one is absent
Taplin presence Bartlett here
Traga, peasant, O'Keeffe, here, Blackaby, here,
Munepara, here, Humber, present, and Mary, is she?
Here.
Okay, Quorum and present.
Very good, thank you very much.
So on our ceremonial calendar,
we have a number of different things.
The first being that today, well February, 2026,
is Heart Month.
So the American Heart Association made a request
and I believe Mary might be here, Mary Gerson.
Ah, come on up.
Oh, I'm sorry, Maya misread it.
Come on up, welcome.
Commemorating American Heart Month, 2026.
Whereas cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death
worldwide with 350,000 cardiac arrests occurring
yearly outside of hospitals in the United States,
resulting in approximately 10% of people surviving.
And whereas often the first people to witness
out of hospital cardiac arrests are family members
making this the first and most crucial link for survival.
And whereas immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation
can double or even triple a person's chance of survival,
yet only about 41% of people who experience cardiac arrest
receive immediate CPR from someone nearby,
and fewer than 12% receive aid
from an automated external defibrillator, AD,
before advanced health arrives.
And whereas for adults and teens,
hands-only CPR, calling 911 and pushing hard and fast
in the center of the chest,
can double or triple the chance of survival
while infants and children require CPR with rescue breaths
to restore oxygen and circulation.
And whereas studies show that women are less likely
to receive CPR than men due to miseducation
and lack of awareness resulting
in the American Heart Association.
The American Heart Association has set a bold goal
to double survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
by 2030 through its Nation of Lifesavers initiative.
And now, therefore, be it resolved
that I, Adina Ishii, mayor of the city of Berkeley,
do hereby declare February 2026 to be American Heart Month.
Would you like to say a few words, Mary?
I would, thank you.
So, hi, my name is Maya Gertson
and I'm a senior development director
with the American Heart Association.
Thank you so much for recognizing February
as American Heart Month this year
and for supporting our mission of saving lives
from heart disease and stroke.
This year, we're once again focused
on building a nation of lifesavers
and spreading the powerful message
that you are the first responder until help arrives
so that all of us can be prepared to react
to a cardiac emergency by calling 911
and knowing how to perform CPR.
As the mayor mentioned,
over 350,000 people experience
out of hospital cardiac arrest every year in this country.
And 90% of those are fatal.
So we have a bold goal
to double cardiac arrest survival by the year 2030.
So as a Berkeley resident,
as a parent of two BUSD students,
and a member of the Heart Association's Bay Area team,
I urge the people of Berkeley to learn CPR.
I can, I learned, and so can you.
We've also been proud to work in coalition
with community partners to support the passage
of Measure Z last November to extend the city
of Berkeley's sugary drink tax.
And we look forward to continuing to reinforce
the city's public health efforts.
The American Heart Association gratefully accepts
this proclamation and Berkeley's continued support
of its work, thank you.
Thank you.
As a former soda tax commissioner,
I appreciate your help on that.
And I'm also someone who learned adult child
and infant CPR, so very important tools
that we should all have.
Who knows, we may need it someday.
All right, next there is a proclamation
and adjournment in memory that was requested
by Council Member Bartlett's office,
and so I will pass it over to him
so he can read the proclamation.
Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Mayor.
And I see Gianna's family's here.
Mary, how are you, good to see you.
Gianna was a dear friend of mine and my neighbor
And my constant co-creator, if you will,
like she was many people in our team together
these last nine years.
And I'm really sad to see her go.
And she's on my prayers and so are you.
We talked the last time, right?
Like again, and miss her a lot.
Gonna read this for you, for the community,
and Johnna's name.
And it's not in here, but let's just say for the record,
Johnna was Italian nobility.
She was a duchess or a countess, which one was it?
She was a countess and the title was in her,
we have different fathers and her,
I'm potato famine Irish, I used to tease her.
And her family title was granted in the 1100s.
So it's a very old Italian home family.
Wow, amazing.
I'm in a life and legacy of Gianna Renuzzi.
Born, whereas born October 30th, 1950
in Los Angeles, California,
Gianna led a life defined by creativity, cultural exchange,
public service, and deep community engagement.
And whereas she received her early education
from Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church and School,
spent her formative years on her family's ranch in Montana,
earned a degree in Italian literature
from the University of Montana,
then studying abroad in Taiwan, she taught English,
and completed Montessori training,
which she used on my daughter, by the way,
in Italy under Maria Montessori's final student.
As Maria Montessori's final student.
And whereas she made Berkeley her home
by cultivating a life rooted in creativity, travel,
and entrepreneurship, although a transformative jewelry
business that connected artisans from China, Guatemala, Cuba,
Algeria, Italy, and beyond to Berkeley.
And whereas Gianna became a vital steward of Berkeley's
cultural life with her work on Telegraph Avenue
and the Telegraph Area Business Association,
notably serving as a promoter
and manager of the Berkeley World Music Festival.
And whereas committed to Berkeley's civic engagement
by serving on the board of Laconte Home and Association
and Laconte Neighborhood Association as president
for many years, which we know.
And the parks, rec, and waterfront commissions.
And whereas Gianna passed away on January 3rd, 2026,
leaving behind a legacy of joy,
creativity, service, and global connection,
and a survivor of her sister Mary Cunningham,
extended family in Bologna, Italy,
and her many friends across the world.
Now therefore, be it resolved that the mayor, Dina Ishi,
mayor of the city of Berkeley,
honors and celebrates the life and legacy of Gianna Renuzzi,
expresses deep gratitude for extraordinary contributions
to the cultural, artistic, and civic life of our community,
and extends heartfelt condolences to her family, friends,
and all of those whose lives she enriched.
But Gianna Renuzzi's life remind us
of the power of creativity, cultural exchange,
and joyful service in building a vibrant
and compassionate community.
You're here.
She loved Berkeley and the opportunities it provided
and long-term resident, and on her behalf, I thank you all.
Okay, thank you all very much.
I appreciate you all being here and listening,
especially these stories about people's lives.
I think it's really important to know
who's in our community and these people,
you know, who impact us every day.
Councilmember Tragov has also asked
that we take a moment of silence tonight
to mark the lives lost in the four years
since Ukraine was invaded.
today is the anniversary of the war in Ukraine,
and so if we can also just take a moment of silence as well.
Thank you all.
That concludes our ceremonial matters for this evening.
I will see if the city manager has any comments.
No comments, Madam Mayor.
Thank you, and I will now see if our city auditor
has any comments this evening.
Hey, good evening.
Mayor and Council, I just wanna wish everyone
a happy Lunar New Year.
And tonight, I wanted to just give a brief update
on item 24, the Restaurant Inspections Audit Follow-up.
Of our eight recommendations, two are now fully implemented,
so thank you so much for that work.
This includes a recommendation for the Division
to create a plan to ensure timely response to complaints
involving alleged foodborne illness.
The division has strengthened its policy
for addressing these complaints
by clarifying the turnaround time
and staff responsibilities to ensure complaints
are received and prioritized within one business day.
Four recommendations are now partly implemented.
And one highlight is that the division
is now using program specific codes
to track revenues and expenditures
related to food facility inspections.
During our audit, we found that that information
was not able to be tracked because of the way
that the system was designed.
So our team will reassess the recommendation
once that report is available in 2026, later in 2026.
Another highlight is that in response to our recommendation
about updating the restaurant inspections data,
the division has strengthened its requirements
for data management and monitoring
and the division estimates their new database
will be live in June, 2026.
So I'm really looking forward to that.
In our next follow up, we will check whether they can produce
an accurate list of facilities that is prioritized
by the last inspection date.
And the division has also taken steps in response
to developing a plan to start window placards.
According to the division, the recent fee study
helps to clarify the resources needed
for this placarding program.
So I'm really excited that we can start looking at one day
having placards in Berkeley.
And the training has been completed
so they can help support the design
of an evidence-based placarding program.
But that will need additional time and effort
in ensuring that the program is the best fit for Berkeley.
And finally, the division has not yet uploaded
the inspections data online after it was taken down.
The division updated its webpage to include instructions
requesting individual inspection reports from the Environmental Health Division and they are
estimating that the data will be back online in summer of 2026. So I just want to thank the
Environmental Health Division for this update and thank you very much. And I believe there's
another one of my reports that will hopefully get moved to action so we can discuss performance
measures. Thank you. Thank you very much. We will now take public comment on non
agenda matters. Five cards, the card and you can come up speak in any order. You'll
have one minute per person. Margot Murtaugh, Stephen Alpert, James Arnold,
Celeste Marx, Rhonda Grueska, your name?
Other folks if you heard your name called can stand up.
Good evening. I'm Dr. Steven Alpert.
Last night the council voted to deny and appeal the two local building trades
to reject a proposal for the 20-story project at 2425 Durant.
The basis for that appeal was that developer Mark Rhodes and Laconia Development
asserted that concessions and state density bonus law
permit them to bypass Berkeley's hard hat ordinance.
That measure passed in May of 2023
requires developers of large projects
to provide health insurance, apprenticeship training,
and fair prevailing rate pay to construction workers.
Lawyers for the trade councils
argued that allowing developers to bypass local standards
and was a misuse of density bonus law,
and that no other developer statewide
has previously used the vague concessions
and density bonus law to negate local building standards
and pay less to construction workers.
Council members all proudly proclaim
that you are pro-housing,
but by your actions yesterday,
instead you clearly demonstrate you are pro-development.
Thank you.
Good evening.
My name is Rhonda Roushka.
I'm here to serve Council Member Blackaby
with an intent to recall notice.
I'm sorry, but public comment isn't supposed to be used
to address a specific council member.
It's meant to be used to address the council at large.
So if you have a comment-
I'll let you all know that I'm here to serve a recall,
intent to recall.
I have a copy for the city clerk.
I have a copy for the council member.
Today is the 24th of February.
my manner of services in person.
I have my name, I have my address,
my zip code, the state,
and the time and date of submission.
Let's look at the clock here.
It looks like it's about, what would everyone say?
622.
So anyway, just trying to dot all the I's,
cross all the T's because I have been here before.
And just making sure I'm following proper protocol.
So that's why I'm here and that's why I'm speaking tonight
to make sure there's no confusion about why I'm here.
So thank you very much.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you.
Did you get that, Rose?
I just wanna make sure you could hear.
Someone was feeding their time.
She gave her name to me, Lola Zirpley.
Or she gave it to you.
Sorry, it's gonna be hard to hear from this far away.
So go ahead.
Hello, my name is Lola Zirpley.
I'm a student at UC Berkeley as well as a resident
of Southside Berkeley living at the intersection
of Derby and Waring, also known as Zachary's Corner,
named after the young boy who sadly died
walking across the intersection in 2009, 17 years ago.
Since 2011, there have been 11 reported accidents
involving that intersection,
including pedestrians being hit by a car,
one of which was in 2024,
It was an 84 year old man hit by an AC transit bus.
On Tuesday, February 10th,
I was hit by a car walking in the crosswalk
across that very same intersection.
Hit at an intersection that is known
to the city of Berkeley as high injury.
Yet there has been nothing done to fix it.
I'm sorry.
I understand that there have been some plans
to change that intersection.
That would be done at the end of 2027,
making it 18 years since Zachary was hit.
I'm going to continue if that's okay.
there's someone who, someone is seating you some time.
Go ahead.
Okay, thank you.
Giving a full other year of opportunity
for a person to be hit, when we fully know
that at this point it is not an if, but a when.
And when that occurs, it will fall in the city's hands
and it will be the city's fault.
Because by now it is very clear
that none of these accidents should have happened.
If the city had put in even a blinking pedestrian light
in the meantime, and at the very least,
reaping to the crosswalk that has now been faded
many years then accidents including mine could have been prevented. I'm lucky and I understand
that. I'm lucky to be up here angry. Angry that I have immense back pain and multiple x-rays and
MRI show that I have spinal invertebrate damage that I will have to deal with and pay for. I know
that I'm lucky to be alive but being alive should not be the bare minimum expectation when crossing
the street in your own neighborhood. I'm angry that the city that I love allowed an accident that
should not have happened. I'm not asking you I'm telling you there needs to be an
immediate change whether that be a pedestrian blinking light or something
more but it needs to be done now and not in a year. Thank you. Thank you. I'm so
sorry that happened to you and I really appreciate you being here and sharing
that with us today. James Arnold is the... I've been here once before about animal rights and
and I'm telling you all, you open up another campus burger on Hay Street and you can go
to my website, animalrights74.wordpress.com and you can learn about why you're not supposed
to do that and you've got a city of Berkeley and you've got a damn government and you
should say, we don't want no more animal killers, we've got enough animal killers in the city
of Berkeley and you open a new restaurant in Berkeley, you open a vegetarian hamburger
spot. Veggie burger spot. And you get with it because people can't change their diets
on their own. They need scientists to change what's in their food floor. Then they get
sick changing their diets on their own. They listen to chat GPT tell them how to change
their diet and they get iron deficiency. They go blind or they get other health problems
or whatever. And I'm telling y'all, the government is supposed to step up and regulate the animal
killing out of existence or place it where ethical food thank you there's one online
commenter that's a phone number ending in 211 hi good evening so our company
manager and you some paper today please read it all a bit of update well
obviously now and early wanted the place rented by black tenants on African
of American tennis only, which is what happened with the help of a councilman barlet. That's
shameful. That's shameful. I went to Florida State University during the horrible time
when black people treated like no words. So at the same time, we are hiring a new attorney
and we're raising our claim against the city for $1.2 million to $5 million. This does
not belong to the city, the city of Berkeley, the city of Freedom. I was there in the 1960s
and 70s during the free speech movement. Shame a new councilman that ignored us. Shame on
the mayor again who had this. She went against his wish and demand. He also went against
her boss, Liam Garland. He was a very good man. Liam Garland was a very good man.
Well there's another one. Maria. Soul. Yes. Thank you very much and I think we need a moment of silence to just breathe.
It's all that we're trying to do, given the disparity and complexity and diversity of this beautiful community.
but I'm wanting to address housing because while we heard last week of the
19th really indicate to me the affordability money for a blanket I'm
really most concerned about the people that I was with today that are already
in buildings that are being neglected by management companies like the Howard
Mabel, Alcatraz, and Sacramento, their elevators have been down for a month, the people in
wheelchairs are trapped and they can't get out. So let's take care of what we've got.
Thanks Maria.
All right, thank you.
That was just seven speakers. We do have a couple more cards in here. We have, and this
This is only for people who haven't spoken already.
Lola Zierpoli?
She spoke.
She spoke.
Oh, OK.
Richard Woods.
So, OK.
Well, but that concludes non-agenda public comments.
Thank you.
OK.
We will move on now to our consent calendar.
So at this time, if there are any council members who have comments on consent, can you
please press your button. Thank you. Vice Mayor Luna Parra. Thank you. On item 19
resolution urging Minnesota Governor Tim Walts to enact an eviction moratorium
to prevent displacement during the ongoing ICB P-terror campaign, I want to
thank my co-sponsors, councilmember Bartlett, Trig up and Blackby for their
support, and rent board chair Solly Alpert for his partnership in drafting the
initial item that we passed at the 4x4 committee. We introduced this item at the urging of members
of the Minneapolis and St. Paul City Councils, which both unanimously passed their own resolutions
in January. Essentially eviction moratoriums in the state of Minnesota operate differently
than in California, where the state has to authorize an eviction moratorium for it to
put in place. I would also like to give $200 to items 16 and 17 respectively.
Thank you to those authors and I also want to mark that February 19th is the
day of remembrance of the internment of over 120,000 Japanese Americans under
Executive Order 9066 signed by President Roosevelt in 1942 and it's important to
take a moment to honor those who were stripped of their rights at this time.
Thanks. Thank you. Appreciate you bringing in the ancestors. Can we move on
to Council Member Blackaby please. Thanks Madam Mayor. As the auditor mentioned, I'd
ask colleagues if we could move item 25 which was the information report on
performance metrics and move that as the first item on the action calendar. So if
I had support from a couple of colleagues to do that.
I appreciate that.
I will.
I support, I think that's three total, yeah, so we're good.
Thank you.
And look forward to talking about that in a moment.
I'd like to add $250 from our office account
to the Waterside Workshops community spring fling
in item 16.
Thank you for bringing that forward
to Mary Shee and Council Member Taplan.
And then on item 17, similarly $250
for the Burke Unified School District historical study
thanks to Council Member Bartlett bringing that forward.
And then brief comment on information items 22 and 23,
which was the investment returns on the city portfolio
from Q4 and Q1, just note,
then we've been having some discussions
in the budget committee and in other places about,
you know, ways to identify additional revenue.
At the same time, we're heading into this sort of
major budget crunch and had some conversations
finance staff. I'll note that the reports mentioned that our return is about 117
basis points in the recent quarter 127 basis points in the Q4 quarter below the
state benchmark, partially based on the duration of what we hold in the
portfolio, but also I think some policies that we've set as a council in past
years that also constrain what the finance team can do and so I look
forward to looking at that and as a potential source of additional revenue
we can again sort of give the finance team more tools to invest our portfolio
carefully but also in a way that's going to generate a larger return over time so
I think that's going to be an important thing that we look at in a budget
committee and in other places as we go forward and that's my comments thank you
thank you very much councilmember moving on to councilmember Taplin thank you
madam mayor good evening everyone on item 17 I would like to be recorded as
as relinquishing $500.
And I request to be added as a co-sponsor
if Councillor Bartlett is amenable.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
Moving on to Councilmember Trego.
Thank you, Madam Mayor.
On item 16, I wish to relinquish $250
from my D-13 account for Waterside Workshops
community's spring fling, and thank the Mayor
for bringing forward this item.
On item 17, I wish to, again, relinquish to $50
from my G-13 account to support the BUSD historical study
and would be honored to be added in as a co-sponsor
with the permission of the author
and my gratitude for this item.
On item 18, I would like to thank the Land Use,
Housing, and Economic Development Committee,
the 4x4 committee, and my co-sponsors,
Council Member Bartlett and Council Member Tapplin,
for this referral, which would remove
an on-site manager exemption loophole
for certain multi-family properties
that are adjacent to each other
and or share the same common area,
which has been an issue in some properties,
not just around habitability and level of services
provided to the tenants, but also has at times
become led to trash being pulled outside without any collection
because there is no on-site manager, which
has become an eyesore at best and sometimes
has led to code enforcement in actions in such properties.
On item 19, I would like to thank Vice Mayor Luna Parra
for this resolution.
And it was an honor to be a co-sponsor to this item.
And those are my comments, thanks so much.
Thank you, Council Member.
Moving on to Council Member Bartlett.
Thank you, Madam Mayor.
I'd like to contribute $250 to item 16,
the Waterside Workshops, Spring Fling,
thank you for bringing that up,
Madam Mayor and Council Member Taplin,
it's a lot of fun.
And then I'd like to,
I think the Vice Mayor for your item
around the eviction moratorium request in Minnesota,
I think evictions are bad everywhere all the time,
but it's one good chance to put it out there in the ether.
And I'd like to thank everyone for item 17.
This is the BUSD effort to achieve a reparation framework.
And so this resolution comes to us
because people are asking for support to help the college
kids do the research on it, on the history part.
So happy to help.
And it's close to home because I got to tell you,
with great tragedy that I must tell you
that we did fail in delivering reparations
that this office authored and this council passed
a couple of years ago.
It is not happening.
And while I'm unable to deliver that,
at least I can support our neighbors in the BUST
and making it happen.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Council Member.
Council Member O'Keefe.
Oh, I'd like to be recruited as donating $250 to item 16
and also to item 17.
Thank you very much.
Council member oh
Okay
Sorry the
Prolimatarian is glitching. I'm gonna go with councilmember Humbert
Thank You madam mayor. I'd like to donate
$250 on item
16 to the wonderful waterside workshops for their community spring fling they do such good work
Thank you to the mayor and council member Taplin for for bringing this one on 17
250 dollars also of from our office budget to the
To supporting the research for the historical study. I think that's very important and then number
19 thank you
Vice Mayor Luna Parra for authoring this and to all the co-sponsors. I think it's critically
critically important to provide some relief to tenants in
Minneapolis in the wake of the terror campaign. So thank you so much
Thank you speaking of going back to Vice Mayor Luna Parra. Thank you. I actually I wanted to change my
My discretionary fund donation to item 17 to 500 dollars, please
thank you okay thank you all so much I have a few comments as well I really
want to express my appreciation to city staff for working in partnership with
the Association of Bay Area area governments a bag and the San
Francisco estuary partnership SFEP in partnership with the cities of Berkeley
Albany Emoryville in Oakland to secure two two million two hundred and forty
thousand dollars of which two hundred and twenty three thousand dollars will
for Berkeley over two and a half years for the East Bay Crescent sub-regional
vulnerability assessment and shoreline adaptation planning project. Adaptation
to sea level rise is a challenge and we must face across that we must face
across all of our jurisdictions so always like to highlight when staff
bring in more funding into our city and of course I want to thank the waterside
workshop and for all the work that they do to support our community and thank
you to all the council members who contributed to item 16 their spring
and Fling, and of course, to Council Member Tapplin,
who brought this item with me,
and also it's, of course, in his district.
Thank you to Council Member Bartlett
for allowing me also to be on item number 17,
which is the BUSD Historical Study,
and my office is relinquishing $250 to this study.
And this is particularly important
since I was on the BUSD Reparations Task Force
and was involved in the community group
that from 2020 to the time we actually got
the task force advocated for that task force to exist.
And one of the parts of the report,
the request that came out of it,
was this historical study.
So it's very exciting to see that the district
is moving forward on this
and that we're able to contribute to that effort.
Lastly, I wanna express appreciation
for the Safe Streets Oversight Committee
and the Department of Public Works
for all the work they've been doing
to ensure the voter approved Measure FF tax dollars
are being utilized effectively and efficiently.
This accountability is baked into the tax measure
and I look forward to seeing future presentations
and execution of projects under Measure FF.
We really think it's important to bring it back to folks
and make sure they know that we're using this money wisely.
So thank you all very much.
And I will now open us up for public comment.
if there's any public comments on consent calendar
information items only.
Carol, come on up.
Because I heard the budget referenced,
I am wondering how AB 339 is going to impact our budget.
I mean, this is clearly between staff and council
and the unions, but given that this is,
relates to our contractors, whether they're new contractors
our contractors that are have up for renewal of contracts.
It seems as if it might be wise to involve commissions
to the extent that that's feasible
with some advisory input in terms of the contractors
that we've been working with.
Thank you.
Thanks, Carol.
Hi, Rebecca Grove, Director of Waterside Workshops,
just here to say thank you all
for supporting our spring fling.
We are launching our street level cycling club.
So if you want to join a cycling club,
they'll be taking off at 8 a.m.
And then our cookout starts at noon
and the mayor's gonna speak.
We're doing tsunami preparedness and awareness as well.
Collaborated with that off
at the emergency prepared office.
So thanks again.
It's great, thank you.
Thank you so much.
Anyone online for public comment
or consent calendar information items only.
Okay, there's one raised hand for public comments on Zoom.
It's a phone number ending in 000.
Hi, good evening.
Now let's talk about the situation, you know.
The city should be offered for immigrants
and migrants met this country.
While 1.3 million Americans died from COVID
because Trump first administration, he denied it.
They called it China hoax.
They called it all kinds of stupid things.
Immigrants built this country.
The man who brought us the vaccine,
one is Greek American, Moderna, one is Lebanese American.
Something on consent calendar or information items?
Yes, consent item 19.
Junction City.
Junction City.
So we need right now, we have a monster in the White House.
As I said before, now you're going after migrants.
It's going after everybody, me, you, and everybody.
It is a totally disgusting situation.
Have a good night.
Thank you.
Anyone else online?
Nope, that's it.
Okay, very good.
Is there a motion to approve the consent calendar?
So moved.
Second.
Is there any opposition to approving the consent calendar?
All right, I'll have us all marked as ayes
and the consent calendar has been approved.
Thank you all very much.
All right, moving on to our action calendar.
So we have moved an item from the, excuse me,
from the information items onto the action calendar.
So I will ask our auditor,
I know you're getting set up right now,
But if you can also present whenever you're ready.
All right, good evening.
And thank you for having me here today.
On February 5th, my office released a special report titled
A Guide to Measuring Performance in the City of Berkeley.
I will provide an overview of that report,
including the report purpose, research process,
and opportunities for management consideration
on Berkeley's performance measures from the report.
So, our purpose.
We developed this report in response to a request
from Council Member Blackaby asking our office
to conduct benchmarking and best practice research
on outcome-based budget metrics.
This was following a related item he authored
requesting the city manager to develop
10 to 20 measurable goals and metrics
that reflect key priorities in the city.
Our purpose was to provide a framework
for developing quality performance measures in Berkeley.
What is a performance measure?
Those of you who are not in the world
that I, you know, in on this information,
that a performance measure is really just a qualitative
or quantitative assessment of an agency's work.
In other words, performance measures can tell you
how much or how well a program or service is doing.
This can help prioritize the limited resources
on specific goals during a budget deficit period.
The report also summarizes best practice research
and information from other cities.
It also provides opportunities for management consideration
in regarding performance measurement in Berkeley.
The report provides a framework for developing
these measures.
What does this mean?
Well, this starts with identifying the people served
a department or program as well as that population's needs. Understanding who the primary audience
is helps to clarify what success should look like. Department should then identify desired
outcomes based on those needs and determine how to measure those outcomes. One question
to ask during this process is how will people know whether something is successful? Further
Other steps include developing a data collection process for outcomes, establishing baselines
and targets, as well as a reporting method.
This process should result in clear measurable outcomes representing the issues that matter
most to the Berkeley community.
A comprehensive process to develop quality measures can take some time, I want to make
sure to acknowledge that, and may require additional resources.
However, identifying one or two measures in each department that addresses the most important
priorities and impacts could be a great starting point to this work.
For more information on how to implement this framework, you can take a look at our report
on our website.
The report also provides an overview of performance measurement in Berkeley.
The city first reported on performance measures in fiscal year 2022's budget book and continue
to report measures in two following budgets. The budget book is the most centralized location
to access performance measurement data currently in Berkeley. We selected three city departments
to highlight. Given the limited amount of time, we just looked at three city or three
departments, IT, parks, rec and waterfront and police. The report includes tables showing
their performance reporting from the past three budgets. We also interviewed leadership
from these departments to understand their process
for measuring performance.
Our analysis includes a review of other cities as well,
where we identified common themes
and how other cities measure and report performance.
There's some common performance measures
reported in other cities.
For example, one common measure in other IT departments
is the number or percent of service requests
completed in a given timeframe.
Other parks departments often measure
the customer satisfaction rating for parks or recreation programming. A common measure
in other police departments is the average response times for emergency services. Berkeley
Police report average 911 call response times in their annual report, though this is not
included in the budget book. So we're seeing things in other places, but having it in a
centralized place could be helpful. We provide other examples of common measures in our report.
We also found common themes in how other cities report their data.
For example, most cities use standardized reporting periods and report performance at
least annually.
Most cities also include this data from previous years in their budget books.
Some benchmark cities also follow an innovative process known as outcome-based budgeting,
which means they make budget decisions and allocate resources based on key goals or outcomes.
Lastly, we identified opportunities
for management consideration based on best practices
and insights from comparable cities.
First, management could consider organizing
and streamlining performance measure reporting efforts.
Maintaining the same measures over time
and using standard reporting periods
could support comparability across years.
Additionally, the city could revisit the strategic plan goals
and alignment of these performance measures.
Finally, management could explore outcome-based budgeting.
While this process typically requires additional resources,
departments could implement outcome-based budgeting
on a smaller scale.
For example, departments could develop
more outcome-oriented measures
and relate those measures to their overall goals,
and they could also assess how much of their budget
is allocated towards achieving those goals.
Over time, this work can strengthen the connection
between resources, activities, and results.
We'd like to thank the department staff and leadership
in IT, police, and parks, Rec and Waterfront
for their assistance in this report.
Thank you to Council Member Brackenby for this request,
and to my team, Kendall Koochly and Erin Mullen,
and we're happy to answer any questions.
Thank you.
Thanks so much for your presentation.
I'm glad you're able to give a more in-depth look
into your audit.
I know that we have some questions,
so I'll go to Councillor Blackaby.
Thanks, Madam Mayor.
And thanks to the auditor and your team
for doing this really important work in such a short time frame.
I know it's not a full audit.
It was just some guideposts for us to follow.
So I appreciate your partnership and support.
In December, as the auditor mentioned,
Our office authored an item called Setting Measurable Goals
and Metrics for Key City Priorities,
emphasizing the importance of creating performance measures
that reflect what matters most to our residents
and clearly demonstrate both the impact of city government
and overall quality life in our community.
We've started the process
of moving it through the committee process.
I appreciate the feedback by the Health,
Life Enrichment, Equity, and Community Committee.
We'll be bringing the item back
in the coming weeks to the Councils.
you'll see it, but we've got some good feedback
from that process as well.
The research in this report from the auditor,
benchmarking our practices against peer cities,
outlining best practices and performance measurement overall
and offering forward-looking recommendations,
provides a strong foundation for this work.
It's gonna be invaluable resource for staff
as we move forward toward a more data-driven,
transparent and outcomes-focused budgeting process.
I also wanna thank the city manager and his team.
We've already had a wide range of conversations
on this topic.
And as we're moving into the budget period,
I know that a lot of this work is already beginning.
And so I just want to appreciate what the city manager is
doing and his willingness to embark with us on this journey.
A couple of questions for the auditor.
You mentioned it before.
I mean, this could be a very broad project.
I don't think any of us wants this to be a boil the ocean
kind of project.
We really, especially in the short term,
want to get to something that's usable quickly.
And you kind of mentioned that as you looked
at each of the departments, there's a given department
may have a lot of different performance metrics
that they're looking at, but the idea here at some point
is to bubble up a few things from each department
that becomes something that the city can look at.
Just wanted you to maybe kind of comment on that.
Is that the right way maybe to be thinking about this?
Because again, I don't think any of us
want this to be a two year exercise.
is let's get something that's usable sooner.
Yeah, I think we, you know, I studied performance measurement and metrics back
in grad school and I did some of this work when I was in New York City and so
to do a really robust effort it does take more time and more effort and more
resources. My recommendation for the time being is to really look at what
what's, you know, what's one or two metrics that can really help you not only capture
the work you do, but communicate that work to the public. You know, as, as I mentioned
in the police department, being able to communicate what those 911 response times are. And that,
that was something that we actually looked at in a previous audit on response times.
And through that we're able to communicate when we were not hitting the targets and that
also can sometimes jeopardize additional funding.
So I think honing in on one or two metrics in each department, of course, some departments
are much bigger, so they're going to need more metrics to really tell their story and
be able to share what they do.
But I think at the very, at the start,
really honing in on one or two can be really helpful.
Any thought?
There may also be things that we value as a community that
may not be directly tied to a department specifically.
It may just be that we want to.
Well, this may not be a good example.
But we want to build more units of affordable housing.
We may not have the direct ability to do that.
We can set the circumstances and the process in place to move it.
But at some point, market forces and other things.
there also some value in having a few of those other things or was your
recommendation sort of sticking towards something that's more directly tied to
department output? I think it really depends on what is the value for this
community and sometimes as you know a metric is not directly tied to just one
department or not specifically within one department's control. And sometimes
they're external forces that are not within the control as well. So I think
it's a really a matter of deciding what is of most importance and being able to
track that. If the metric is not something that is going to be, you know,
that government is not able to actually address,
then it's probably a nice to have,
but not something that will be meaningful.
Ultimately, this is about designing meaningful metrics
so that you can really show what,
and being able to tease out what is within
a department's control and what isn't.
That's a whole nother exercise too.
So again, a lot of this will take more effort
and more energy, but I'm hopeful that that conversation
is happening going forward.
Great.
You mentioned a few jurisdictions in the report.
I mean, are there any particular jurisdictions
that we would hold up and say, wow, we want to be like x?
I mean, do you think it's kind of a mix,
and different people are doing it well in different ways?
I mean, but are there one or two that we should just
try and emulate?
Or is this kind of breaking some ground here?
Yeah, we didn't look at this in that level of detail.
I mean, Kendall did a lot of really great research
throughout this.
But I think it really depends on what specific metric
you're looking at.
I think different jurisdictions also
report out on their metrics differently.
I think Oakland has a data dashboard,
but, you know, that right, they have a data dashboard.
Pasadena.
Oh, Pasadena, I'm sorry, has the data dashboard.
I think Oakland has their budget in a dashboard
so that you can look at it that way.
So there are other jurisdictions that report it out
different ways. But I think one of the things that I think we can really add value to is
just capturing the same metrics over time so then you can see the trend line and you
can see, oh, how has something changed? When you add a new metric but then you don't include
the data from the previous metric, then you can't really see what the differences are
in the trends. So yeah, I think if we had more time, we would get you a lot more information.
Yeah, going back to the earlier conversation we had about with on the health report. I mean,
what I love about this is we're looking, we're looking, we're trying to go and trace this all
the way through the outcomes. Like, like not just what are we doing, but what's actually happening
as a result of the work. And that's what I really love about this. A couple last things just for the
city manager. From the auditor's report, the great thing is already many, if not all departments are
for doing some amount of this work, which is fantastic.
And so I think the question for the city manager
is, is that kind of a good foundation to build upon?
It's not necessarily that we're reinventing the wheel,
it's just that we're trying to elevate and synthesize.
I mean, is that the right way to think about it?
It is.
And each of the departments is currently
working on delivering up to five outcome measures to me
to be able to look at those and kind of go through them
and pick a couple for each department.
So that'd be 24.
There's 12 departments that we can report on regularly.
And as you're saying, try to connect them up to,
okay, here's what we're doing,
and here's the result of,
are people better off as a result of it?
Awesome, okay.
Last thing, and back to the scope and scale question.
I know, again, we wanna do this right.
We wanna be transparent.
We wanna be outcome-oriented,
but we also know that we wanna,
let's start somewhere and not, again, overthink it,
then let's kind of put something in place
just to get moving.
Any thoughts on sort of the scale scope?
You know, question about this.
Couple thoughts.
One, we want to be mindful of in a budget environment
where we're reducing, we're reducing cutting expenses.
We have to be thoughtful about how much more work
we are giving to staff and like,
what's the trade-off between giving staff assignments
to come up with outcome measures
as opposed to giving them assignments to actually do the work.
So being thoughtful about that balance is one thing.
Another is, and this is connected to that,
but being careful about selecting outcomes
that we're not trying to create new data for.
Like if we're not currently collecting this data,
that's probably not a good place for us to start
because that's a longer term sort of project.
It may be an important thing
and those are things we can surface.
But I think we should start with like,
we collect tons of data and let's focus on,
within that data, what's most important
and what can we track over time and report
that, again, makes life better for people.
Great.
Thank you.
I just appreciate the collaboration and the spirit
with which I think everyone's moved forward here.
Again, just being transparent, outcome-oriented, accountable,
something that I know we've all heard from constituents
and to the extent that we can sort of demonstrate that
and live those values and have a way of communicating,
I think is really going to put us in a better position,
especially as we're going through tough budget times
we're gonna have to communicate some of the trade offs
that may be being made when it comes to costs and services.
So thanks Otter, thanks to the city manager
and thanks Mayor for giving us a little time
to talk through this.
Thank you very much.
Council member Bartlett has some questions as well.
Thank you, Madam Mayor.
And thank you Councilman Blackby for calling for this
and thank you Madam Auditor and team
for delivering a great report.
question just about the outcomes based budgeting is that related to the pay for
success models or is it more just a reporting framework? Can you can you
elaborate on on that model that you're describing? Yeah so pay for success we
passed them into to this effect a while ago it's related to sort of you the
the contractor wins if they succeed in our goal right so it's like impact bonds
And there are similar languages, there's similar language around outcomes-based models.
I'm just curious if that's related in your research at all.
Yeah, I'll have to do a little more research on this other model that you're describing,
but the outcome-based modeling is really aimed at, you know, there are a variety of different
types of measures that you can look at and you can look at outputs for example
but that may not necessarily be the same as outcome based and so one of the you
know when I studied this and did some of this work previously looking at it from
an outcome based perspective is obviously much better because you're
really looking at what is the ultimate outcome that you're trying to achieve
achieve, what is the goal and what are you trying to achieve? And outputs can sometimes
get you to a portion there. It can give you a piece of data, but it may not necessarily
get you to the actual outcome you're trying to achieve. So it sounds like this model might
be related in some way, and I'm happy to discuss more at a future meeting.
Thank you Council Member Tracob.
Thank you Madam Mayor, I appreciate you and Council Member Blackaby's efforts in moving
this up for, so we can discuss it and thank you so much Madam Auditor for this report.
Several of my questions did also get asked by Council Member Blackaby, so I'm not going
to ask them. Just very broad strokes. I appreciate the reports honing in on the three recommendations.
Particularly I appreciate the focus on performance based budgeting. This is something that I
used to do in my first career and I found it to be very beneficial. And one thing that
I remember that was kind of ingrained in that is looking at the critical view, what are
these cross cutting metrics that are objective and really help us see the trend lines but
are so high level that they provide meaningful data while not distracting us from having
a lot of noise in the data or a lot of different other metrics.
So I just had two questions.
So I just talked about these wallops.
I was wondering, Madam Auditor, if you have any recommendations for us as the city potentially
moves to doing more cross-cutting metrics, looking at these critical few data points,
but there's going to be a gap because this will be a change in methodology perhaps, or
at least a change in presentation of the data.
Are there any best practices you might recommend or that other jurisdictions are using around
how do you go back and fill in those gaps when you adjust to a new measurement system?
So that's one question.
And the second one is, any best practices around having departments come together on
cross cutting metrics that are meaningful for the city, to the council, to the city
manager while also providing meaning to the departments
themselves as they have information that rolls up
into these cross-cladding metrics.
Yeah, thank you for your questions Council Member Trega.
So you're on the first point with regards to
filling in the gap when you have new data or you,
I think what you were asking is perhaps you get
new data or new measure,
that's why it's really important to really think through
what are the most important measures
and think about how you might be able to
make sure that that measure is consistently tracked
across future years.
Obviously, you can't, we can't see the total future,
but really thinking through, okay,
what programs have been in existence in the past
and in the present and what do we think might be
going on in the future and then tracking that
all the way through.
So again, you know, I've talked about this.
Really doing a robust dive into this area
is gonna take time and effort and energy.
And so, you know, obviously,
and obviously you're gonna have situations
in which you get new information and new measures
and you just have to adjust for that.
So it's not going to be perfect.
You might get some additional new things that come up,
but I think really sitting down, engaging staff,
and so that's the part that is gonna take more effort.
Who are the folks that are working on the ground
in collecting this information
or delivering the actual service?
And so ensuring that you're identifying the right measures
is gonna take some time and effort.
But, and then your second question
about cross-cutting measures,
that is something that I think,
I'm seeing a lot more engagement on the measures,
at least during this budget cycle.
And so I'm really glad to see
that there's sharing of information
across different departments.
And so I think just learning about what other departments
are capturing in terms of their measures
and knowing that some might affect your department
and being cognizant of what other departments are capturing
is gonna be really important
and then communicating that information
so that you're understanding how those measures
can cut across from one department to another.
So I think it's just, you know,
making sure there's adequate communication
and adequate transparency and information.
Thank you very much.
Any other questions from my council colleagues?
Is there any public comment on this item?
Hi, can you hear me?
Hi, Mayor and Council, my name's Steve Frommer.
Appreciate Council Member Black
if he'd bring me this so we could talk about it.
And I really appreciate the report, Jenny.
It's great to see this.
It's a little bit of deja vu.
think Brett, I mean, Council Member Bertlett, you're the only person that was on the dais
when I stood up here like eight years ago and said, why can't we be radical, radical
Berkeley and do radical transparency? And I've always felt mad about that because I
thought it was sort of stupid. But now it's here we are back and it's like, it's great
to see that there's this effort to, again, follow up on what I think a lot of citizens
like myself feel like we want more information so we can just see what decisions are being
made and what's the basis for it. And communication from you all to staff, it's clear and open
and then to the auditor can come back, you can all work together as like gears in a system,
right? She can help you with all assessing what's the first and earliest measures and
you can all help work this all out. So that's the big picture, thanks for that. We all hear
about the structural deficit. So there's like the oh, no, no, structural deficit. Well,
the first thing anybody else does is the structural deficit is prioritize. And I realize Paul
it's more information that I have to collect that's helped do that prioritization,
but some stuffs probably going to have to like get shoved off the thing,
and this is going to give you all tools to support that.
Here's a clear way to say how you're going to prioritize.
Further, I was honored to be asked to be one of the people that reviewed your bond issue coming.
Parks Director Scott Farris,
and you did a great job, Terry and Mary Ishii,
and we looked through a bunch of stuff there.
My question was, how are we going to prove any of this is working?
How are we going to bake into your bond issue and the money you're going to ask for us
from the ratepayers, how are we going to know what's working and what's not?
We're in this situation because we haven't done that very well in the past,
and everyone recognizes that for 50, 60 years, we haven't done this.
So it's a great time to start.
It's just a start, long way to go.
But yeah, great. Thank you. Appreciate it.
Thank you.
Good evening. My name's Paul Matthew,
and thank you for this opportunity to speak.
I just want to, I came up here because I wanted to strongly support the recommendations
of this report and I want to commend auditor Wong as well as council member Blackby and
the other council members that are supporting this effort.
Again, from my view, performance metrics are not nice to have.
I mean, they're a must-have, they're essential, it blows my mind that, you know, this is even
a discussion point actually.
We should be having these well baked already for what's it, an $800 million budget.
And I think it's especially essential now for sound decision making with voter concerns
about tax increases where I'm just dreading the new taxes that are coming down the pike
here, likely, and the quality versus the quality and cost of public services.
And there's a limit to how much you can just keep asking property owners to keep coughing
up more and more and more without services improving.
So I think it's really important for voters as well as for you in terms of decision making
and trade-offs.
suggestions as you move forward with this. A, the metrics should really focus
on outcomes and cost efficiency not not just activity. I notice like in the in
the report the parks department has an act has a metric that is number of
community meetings attended. I mean fine that's good at some level but really
the outcome we want is you know cleanliness of parks and things like
that. We want really citizen oriented metrics. Likewise numbers of miles of
street paved, dollars per mile of street paved.
How does it compare to Pleasanton,
which has very nice roads, I would say.
Not that I won't live in Pleasanton,
but you know, I do, when I go there and see the roads,
it's like wow, why can't we do that?
So that's the first one.
The second one is that benchmark against peer cities,
just as I said, Pasadena, I've seen their dashboard,
it's pretty neat actually,
they really have a nice system up there.
And finally, I think this was mentioned by Auditor Wong
as well as Council Member Blackaby,
let's not try and boil the ocean,
Let's start with something small,
maybe just three departments,
like things that matter to citizens are public safety.
Thank you.
So yeah, let's start with a few, thank you.
Thank you very much.
Is there other public comment on this item here in person?
Or perhaps online, is there a public comment?
Okay, very good.
Well, are there any comments from my council colleagues?
Yes, Vice-Chair Luna Parra.
Thank you.
I just really want to thank the auditor
and her team for this work,
and I'm excited to continue working on it.
Thank you, and also Council Member Blackaby
for bringing it forward.
Okay, any other comments, Council colleagues?
Okay, I also want to appreciate your report.
Thank you very much, and also thank you to our city manager
for working to implement already some of these pieces.
So thank you.
All right, we are moving on to,
actually we should move on to the next item,
but I do want us to take like a 10 minute stretch break.
So we will be back in 10 minutes with item number 20
and that will also give them time to set up, so thank you.
Hello, okay, we're on, we're live.
All right, everyone, thank you very much for your patience.
We are starting back the Berkeley City Council meeting
and we are moving on to, excuse me, item number 20,
amendments to Title 21, the subdivision's ordinance
and Title 23, Zoning Ordinance,
to implement Senate Bill SB 684.
I will pass it over to Jordan Klein.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mayor Ishi, and good evening, Council members.
I'm Jordan Klein.
I'm Director of Planning and Development,
and I'm joined here at the staff table
by Ann Hertz, the land use planning manager.
Justin Horner, Principal Planner,
and Branka Tatarevich, Associate Planner
with the policy team.
Before I turn it over to Branka to present,
I wanna pull up the slide deck.
I want to call your attention to revised materials
that we have submitted and are requesting
that you accept for consideration this evening.
Yesterday, we received input from staff
at the Run Stabilization Board who expressed concern
about the wording of the definition of protected units,
and so we reviewed their feedback
and wanted to incorporate changes
that address those concerns.
And so that's the purpose of these revised agenda materials.
We don't believe that it constitutes
any substantive policy change,
but it does clarify the language.
So we hope that you will take action
to accept this material.
Do we need to do that before?
If you wouldn't mind doing, now that'd be great.
Is there a motion to?
Some moved.
Second.
thank you. Is there any opposition? Okay. We will review this revised material this
evening. Thank you.
Excuse me. Mr. Clerk, does that require, I think that's required to be a roll call vote.
No. Yes. All right. We will take the roll. Thank you.
Okay to accept revised material councilmember Kessarwani. Yes, taplin. Yes, Bartlett. Yes
Blackaby yes
Yes humber. Yes and mayor. Yes, okay
Very good. Thank you very much. Now, you know, we're all awake. We're all here. Go ahead
Thank you mayor. He she and the members of the city council
My name is Branka Tatar each and I'm an associate planner with the land use planning division
Tonight I'm presenting an ordinance that amends Titles 21 and 23 to implement Senate Bill 684.
The ordinance establishes a ministerial SB 684 compliant pathway for small-out subdivisions
and the related housing development and it also creates a streamlined local parcel map option
for lower density infill projects that don't qualify under SB 684.
The Planning Commission reviewed the SB 684 small odds subdivision item in the summer and fall of the last year.
The Commission first discussed SB 684 in July, and then in October it recommended adoption of the amendments to Title 21 subdivisions and Title 23 zoning to implement the small odds subdivision processes.
The policy intent beyond SB 684 is to ministerially approve qualifying small-odd subdivisions
and the related housing development, reduce procedural barriers for ownership-oriented
infill on service sites, and retain objective standards and health and safety protections.
In Berkeley, the implementation context is that the city's middle housing zoning updates
increased maximum densities in several districts.
SB 684 requires projects to meet 66% of the maximum allowable density, and with those
higher maximums, smaller projects are unintentionally disqualified.
The reason to include a local parcel map middle housing infill project path is to provide
a streamlined option for smaller infill that still meets minimum density.
Because SB 684 projects include both the subdivision and housing development, the amendments
to Titles 21 and 23 are designed to work together.
Title 21 changes cover the subdivision side, procedures, completeness, the eligibility
screens, and the subdivision-related development standards.
Title 23 changes cover the zoning side, including zoning district permissions and the objective
development standards.
This slide summarizes the new chapter 2130, small lot subdivisions, middle housing infill
project in title 21, which is the main SB684 implementation section.
The first section sets the SB684 implementation purpose and establishes the two pathways.
Section 2130, 020 definitions then defines a single project type, the middle housing
infill project. This definition is important because it links to the zoning code. The section
also codifies the parent parcel rule, which requires the zoning requirements, including
inclusionary standards and other applicable city regulations, be reviewed at the original
pre-subdivision parcel level. The next three sections cover the application requirements
and procedures and the subdivision side requirements and standards.
The last two subsections covered the approval and recordation sequencing and expiration
enforcement and the standard savings and severability clause.
This slide explains the parent parcel rule.
A parent parcel is a parcel that exists prior to a subdivision creating a middle housing
infill project.
In the image, we see two development envelopes on a 5,000 square foot original lot that conform
to SB 684 and R2 zoning standards for height and setbacks. Both envelopes could be permitted
as middle housing projects even without any subdivision of ownership. With SB 684, the
envelope on the left is then subdivided into six condominiums and the envelope on the right
is subdivided into four fee-simple lots.
But in both cases, the zoning standards are applied
at the parcel level before the subdivision happens.
This slide summarizes the zoning code changes.
First, the ordinance permits middle housing
infill projects where multifamily use is allowed
across residential and commercial districts,
including the MUR district.
Second, in the general development standards section,
The ordinance codifies the parent parcel rule
and establishes the objective
middle housing infill project zoning standards set.
The parent parcel concept is also defined in Title 21
in section 21.30.020.
So the subdivision and zoning codes are aligned.
And finally, Title 23, cross-references,
the Title 21 middle housing infill project definition
to ensure the subdivision and zoning review are consistent.
This slide summarizes the additional Title 21 changes
that are primarily about state law compliance
with the Subdivision Map Act.
These are mostly cleanup and alignment items.
Improving code readability, resolving internal conflicts,
clarifying approval authority, and streamlining processing
for certain Subdivision Map Act exemptions.
Finally, staff recommends that the City Council
call the public hearing and adopt the first reading of the ordinance to
implement SB 680 for by establishing a ministerial SB 680 for compliant path
for small lots of divisions and related housing and a local parcel map path for
projects that do not qualify under SB 684. That concludes my presentation. Thank
you and I'm available for questions. Thank you very much Branka. Oh you got
that's great yes so thank you very much for your presentation and so I want to
ask and of course we've opened the public hearing but ask if there are any
questions from my council colleagues no questions okay very good is there any
public comment nope yes there is a go ahead councilmember black I was gonna go
later but since no one else went first then I have to go for okay real quick
questions on the staff report, bottom page 4 and also page 5. There's some
adjustment or application of this in very high fire hazard severity zones and
high fire hazard severity zones where some of this may or may not apply
differently. Could you just talk a little bit about that just to make sure that's
clear? Yeah so only the projects that are in very high fire severity zone are
are excluded from SB 684.
And that's the provision under the state law.
OK.
And we saw there was some language in government code
66499 that you referenced here, where they also
said, or within a high or very high fire hazard zone,
as indicated on maps adopted by the Department of Forestry.
So I think as our office was looking at this,
is it just the very high, or is it high and very high
where the exemption happens?
It is only very high.
And we clarified that with the deputy chief Arnold.
So there are two different state codes
and the city of Berkeley,
because it has local jurisdiction over creating the maps,
only applies one of them.
And in that case, only very high fire severity zone applies.
So we got that information.
And that's true whether you apply the government code
66499 standard or the SB 684,
because I think both of them refer to high or very high.
So our local path will not be applicable in the hills.
Okay, okay, thank you.
Thank you, Council Member Casarwani.
Yes, thank you very much.
Thank you for the presentation.
I'm really pleased that this is coming back to the council
after the referral that I had put forward last year.
And I just wanna remind folks that this is a companion
to the middle housing ordinance
that this council unanimously adopted.
So this will give folks an opportunity
to own that small cottage,
that middle housing will now make possible.
So I did just want to clarify,
because your example showed for each split lot one unit,
but is it the case that you can have more than one unit
on each lot up to the maximum under state law,
which is 10 units?
Yes, so you can have 10 dwelling units and 10 ownership units.
So ownership units can be regular parcels.
They're called fee simple parcels or condominiums.
So any combination of the number of units up to 10
and ownership units up to 10 is allowable.
So you can have a parcel map that, let's say,
splits the lot into two fee simple lots,
but each lot can have two fourplexes.
So that would be eight units, but only two ownership units.
Or then those fourplexes can be condominiums.
So all of these combinations are allowed
as long as the maximum number of units is 10
and the maximum number of ownership units is 10.
So just to clarify, so are you saying
one ownership unit per lot?
Or no?
So lot is an ownership unit.
Okay.
It can be either a condominium or a fee simple lot.
They are the same under the subdivision effect.
Okay, okay.
I think that is all I have.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Is there any public comment on this item?
Oh, you have a question.
Okay, sorry.
Sometimes our parliamentarian system isn't working.
Go ahead, Council Member Trego.
Parliamentarian wasn't following procedure.
I just wanted to, thank you so much for the presentation.
I just wanted to clarify two things.
The local parcel map path,
would that be non-ministerial?
So that would be like the second option?
Yes, the second option cannot be ministerial
because SB 684 is carve out within Subdivision Map Act
to actually allow ministerial subdivision.
Other than that, subdivisions are kind of discretionary,
sometimes administrative.
So parcel maps are mostly administrative,
So the decision is made within the department.
And yeah, so we couldn't create a ministerial process
because of the preclusion of the subdivision map act,
but we did whatever we could to make it streamlined
and as administrative as possible.
Okay, and then when we have approved middle housing,
I think there was one, I think just one,
zoning district where there was a minimum density standard
for a particular lot.
And I was wondering if this recommendation has,
if there's any bearing between those two
or are these apples and oranges?
We do require minimum density per zoning
if it is stated in the zoning development standards
for a particular district.
And across middle housing, I think the lowest is 20, right?
And then as the density increases,
they're a little higher, up to 40, I think.
but for middle housing infill projects,
the project proponent has to propose at least one unit.
So in most cases, that's pretty much enough
to satisfy the minimum density,
especially if there's already existing units
because they are counted towards the density as well.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you, okay, public comment on this item?
We are on item number 20, amendments to title 21,
subdivisions ordinance and title 23 zoning ordinance
to implement Senate bill SB 684.
Good evening council members.
My name is Brianna Morales
and I am with the Housing Action Coalition.
We are a member supported organization
that advocates for housing at all levels of income.
And HAC was proud to sponsor SB 684
because it creates a clear practical pathway
to deliver small-scale ownership housing
with the kind of density that already fits
into existing neighborhoods
and gives working families a real shot at home ownership.
The next step is really about implementation,
taking the state law and making it usable here in Berkeley.
By establishing a ministerial objective approval process
for small lot subdivisions
and creating a complimentary local path for projects
that meet requirements,
The city can provide clarity and predictability.
That predictability is not a small thing.
Our members who build the housing tell us all the time
how much they struggle,
especially when they're a small infill project.
Because the process was uncertain,
there was delays,
discretionary and over-complex pathways that they had to take.
That uncertainty simply causes risk
that they cannot afford and those builders walk away.
when that happens, the kinds of homes that can be attainable
to middle-income households never get built.
And so for HAC, successful implementation means
paving the way to allow builders to build the homes
that Berkeley desperately needs in a housing crisis.
So we urge you to pass legislation
that allows projects to move forward,
demonstrating not only that Berkeley supports housing
in principle, but also through practice.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, thanks for being here.
Is there anyone online
who would like to make public comment on this item?
Three hands raised.
First is Clio.
Clio, you should be able to,
okay, Clio, you should be able to unmute.
There you go.
Thank you, hi.
So first off, SB 684 was actually replaced
by bill SB 1123 on July 1st, 2025.
So it's not clear to me why we're adding an obsolete bill
to the Berkeley code when we should be adding
the current California bill instead.
Secondly, the proposed local alternative to SB 684
doesn't actually offer an equivalent
to the California bill.
This means that the de facto ability to parcel split
in smaller residential lots has been inadvertently removed
completely by the new bill housing zoning legislation.
I would like to see today the city council
adopt the part of the recommendation
that does implement SB 684,
but to hold off on implementing anything
for an alternative pathway for the small housing lots
that have been excluded, because it is my belief
that we can find a better option
that would actually allow those lots to benefit
from a streamlined ministerial approval in the future.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next is Debbie Sanderson.
Hi, thank you. This proposed ordinance does one really good thing, and that's in section
seven of the ordinance. It updates chapter 21 to be consistent with SB 684. So I'm clear
that we should adopt section seven of the proposed ordinance. But the first six sections
modify our parcel map process and I don't think any of those amendments are really substantive.
They don't address any of the particular problems we face now when we want to subdivide a parcel.
Then the last four sections I thought were to update our zoning ordinance to be compliant with
SB 684, but I don't think they do that. In particular, Section 3 creates new
zoning standards for MHIPs, and some of those standards conflict with SB 684. So
if we want to help owners of small lots that don't meet the SB 684 standards, if
If we want to make it easier for them to subdivide, then I think we need to go back to the drawing
board, because I don't see anything in this ordinance that makes that issue easier.
So let's adopt section 7, and then we'll be in compliance with 684 and go back to the
drawing board for the other two parts.
Thank you.
Thank you.
That's it.
that's it there was just two speakers that's it there was just two speakers okay
thank you very much if you could address those there are a couple of
comments online that I think I'd like you all to address and then I know you
have comments as well or questions sure I'll take a stab at it I'm not I'm not
totally sure one of the commenters reference to the problems so that people
are having subdividing and I'm not sure what specific problems are being
referring to so it's hard for me to respond to that.
I want to you know the a larger issue that I am aware of that's been raised
that we're trying to address through this process is that when city council
adopted middle housing standards that set higher maximum densities it it made
it more difficult for projects that wanted to take advantage of SB 684 to
meet the requirements of hitting the minimum of two thirds of the maximum density in order
to qualify for SB 684. Say if they only wanted to build two or three units and in order to
qualify they would be required to build four or five units. So that's, you know, I'm not
sure how common that problem is but it's definitely a possible outcome. And so that's the purpose
of our local path that Bronca described. Our local parcel map path is to create a more
streamlined process for projects that do meet our minimum density requirements but don't
meet the requirements to qualify for SB684.
As Bronca noted in I think the Q&A, that doesn't quite match the ministerial process enabled
under SB684 because our understanding of the subdivision map act is that we are precluded
from doing that. They're precluded from offering a ministerial pathway. So what we've presented
to you as streamlined as a pathway as we could come up with and we think that's what we're
recommending to you this evening. City council could potentially consider and explore reconsideration
of the maximum densities adopted under middle housing, as a way to restore the accessibility
of XB684 if, but that's not really, that wasn't the assignment before us for this project.
So we, you know, we certainly looked at this really closely in close collaboration with
the city attorney's office as well and we are confident in our recommendation
this evening. Thank you. Thank you very much. Vice
Mayor Lunapara. Thank you. I just have a quick follow-up to that. If council had
adopted no density maximums then how would 684 apply? So if there is no
stated maximum density then the density under SB 684 state would be the default
metropolitan area density which is 30 dwelling units per acre for Alameda
County and Berkeley and I think it's 66% of that which is 20 dwelling units per
acre and that is the minimum density in the lowest middle housing zoning district.
Okay, thank you very much. Council deliberations are, actually let's close the public hearing.
Is there a motion to close the public hearing?
So moved.
Second.
Okay. Is there any opposition to close the public hearing? Okay. Public hearing is closed.
All right, council deliberations.
Council member Kesserwani.
Thank you very much, Madam Mayor.
Thank you again to staff for the ordinance.
So I just, for the purposes of moving this along,
I had two considerations that I wanted to suggest
to my colleagues, very minor changes to two numbers.
So if you have the packet open,
96 page packet that includes the ordinance. On page 15, the bottom of 15
and the top of 16, there is language around the minimum lot size for the lot
split. So in the multifamily zones it's 600 square feet so that's essentially
the all of the flats where we the middle housing ordinance now applies. If you
want to do a lot split it has to be at least 600 square feet for you to get a
a little cottage on it.
And then in the H O Z, the hillside overlay zone,
that's the only zone that remains a single family zone.
State law says it only applies
to vacant single family parcels.
So it's gonna be very few.
Here we said 1200 square feet is the minimum lot size.
And the question I asked earlier was relevant
because that is not a restriction on the number of units
that can be built on that vacant single family parcel.
You can still get up to 10.
It's just that the opportunities
for the fee simple ownership will be restricted
because it's a higher minimum lot size of 1200.
So what I was going to suggest,
just to maintain flexibility for the ownership,
again, there's maybe very, very few
vacant single family parcels in the hills.
but to the extent that there might be a couple,
I was gonna suggest we just equalize it.
So just say 600 square feet for both.
So we have the same rule citywide
and it doesn't increase the number of units,
it just allows the fee simple ownership to be easier
if somebody wanted to do that.
So that was one suggestion.
I'm interested in my colleague's input.
Apologies, is it possible to put this on the screen
so that we can?
Yeah, oh, you wanna see.
Yeah, it might just be helpful for transparency,
so folks know.
Oh, OK.
It's going to take me a moment to share my screen.
Maybe staff can help us while you're going through.
You all can share the screen because I'm just
looking at the ordinance.
So that was one thing.
And then on page 20 of 96 pages, which I think
we're going to show, there is a requirement for open space,
which is really important.
It says a minimum of 200 square feet per unit.
Our middle housing ordinance, if you will recall,
it said 150 square feet per 1,000 square feet
of residential square footage,
which in my mind is roughly a unit.
So just for the purposes of keeping things aligned
with the middle housing ordinance
and just slightly reducing this requirement,
I was gonna suggest we change 200 to 150.
All it does, if you think about
what are the ramifications of that,
it just makes it a little easier to comply.
It's my feeling that 150 square feet
is a good amount of open space per unit.
And that's what we did in the middle housing ordinance.
So those are the two numeric suggestions.
So I can make a motion to approve the ordinance
as proposed by staff with those two numeric changes.
The minimum lot size for the vacant single family homes
will be 600 square feet and the minimum square feet of usable open space will
change from 200 to 150 that's the motion. And I'll second that. Okay thank you. Okay
are you able to pull that up and it yeah if not no I understand it's it can take
a while to pull up that document okay are there other comments then council
member Vice Mayor Leno Parra please. Thank you I'm wondering if staff has any
thoughts on those amendments proposed or specifically I'm curious about the
the reason for the state law having a different size for a single family home
versus multi-unit. I think that's ported from SB 9 which is a subdivision
ministerial process for single-family zoned parcels referring to 1200 square
feed lot size. I don't think there's there's more to that than you know just
being consistent with husband. That's helpful thank you and do you have any
other thoughts on those amendments? No I mean as Councilmember Casarani already
stated it doesn't increase the number of units so it doesn't really increase
density. It does increase the number of ownership fee simple ownership units
potentially. I think that's consistent with the policy intent where you know
we are trying to find options to for increasing affordable naturally
affordable home ownership options. Thanks. Thank you. Other comments from my
council colleagues? Okay well we have a motion on the floor so I think we should
take roll please do you have a comment I want to express a little discomfort I
think I was trying to form a question still I guess you know since this is
this change is really only gonna affect hillside overlay which my district has a
lot of it's only gonna effect we're just saying that we can make the lot smaller
in in vacant lots and council member it's only for a vacant right I understand
And I understand we're not, like this isn't like an end run around density or, I get that but I guess I'm just, I'm a little uncomfortable with this, not getting to vet this beforehand.
That's my discomfort. So I'm not sure how to, maybe I'll just have that be the reason for my vote.
I don't even know what question to ask, which is not a comfortable place for me. That's my concern.
It's probably seems fine. I can't think of a reason against it right now, but I just I want more time to think about it
That makes sense
Okay, councilmember tracob
Yeah
Sorry to be dense no pun intended
So this
Could potentially
applied to R1H now as long as it's not a very high fire severity zone, correct? Is that
the issue at hand that's leading to?
Councilmember, this is not a change. The ordinance always applied to the hillside overlay zone.
Okay.
Yeah, it's just all we did was change 1,200 to 600 square feet in the hillside overlay
but it was always applying to the hillside overlay zone.
Okay, thanks for helping me remember
what we voted on before.
Thanks, and just if it helps at all
with your discomfort, Council Member,
we're trying to increase the ability
of people to have ownership,
and so that that's the kind of piece here, right?
So hopefully that helps a little bit.
Oh, Council Member Blackaby.
if you wanted to follow up and then.
I just wanted to say it does seem reasonable on its face.
I just, it's kind of sudden.
I like to think things through.
That's all.
Sure, thanks.
My question to Councilman Kraswami is,
so again, help us understand the,
so lot sizes on vacant parcels will be reduced,
but density doesn't change.
Again, just help me walk up through a little bit.
And I actually discovered this
in talking to Director Klein.
Yeah, so, so, and you know,
when we're talking about middle house ordinance,
you know, we think about like the edge extreme case.
So that's what I was thinking about here.
So I think this is highly unlikely,
but there's a vacant parcel in the hills.
Let's say maybe for this example,
it's a better thing of like a smaller,
something on a smaller side.
Maybe it's only 3000 square feet.
This change would matter because it's saying,
well, your minimum lot for your split
could be as little as 600 square feet.
Okay.
So 1,200, so you could still,
if you wanted to do five units or 10 units even
on that 3,000 square foot parcel, that's still allowable.
Nothing we did here changes that.
What we are trying to do here is simply say,
well, if you wanna do four ownership units,
it'll now be a little easier
because your lot size can be smaller.
1,200 is rather large.
So I think it's going to be
something that's going on in
the city and relative to what
we're doing for the rest of the
city which is the 600. So the
idea is just keep it the same
for the whole city.
And the controlling kind of
legislation around the density
in the hillside overlay is
still what we did with middle
housing.
So it's not. It's do staff do
you want to explain because
remember hillside overlay is
right so it defaults to what the state law says which is two-thirds of the r1
density which do you want to explain that would be it is actually two-thirds
of the state oh oh it's there it's 30 dwelling units per acre because it
doesn't make sense two-thirds of one unit like two thirds it's two thirds of a
unit so it's it's it's two-thirds of 30 dwelling units breaker which is what the
state law says so you'd have to do the math 30 dwelling units per acre what is
that like for units on a 5,000 square foot lot so you could do two-thirds of
four units so yeah that's two units so that's the minimum I think you're
complaining I think you're asking about the maximum yeah so the maximum is 10
and that's established by SP 684 that's established by six that's that's state
law, right? So whether we implement any ordinance or not, that would still be
allowable just under the provisions of the state law. This comes actually in the
earlier question was, but then how does the very high fire hazards, the
Verity Zone piece come into play? The laws that are within that zone are just
automatically disqualified. Right, so then thinking all the way through, again
and I'm just thinking of the different strips.
So if you're in the very high fire hazard severity zone,
Westview, yeah, you can subdivide, right?
If you are in the hillside overlay zone,
you are not covered by middle housing,
but you are covered now by this.
Yes.
State law.
If it's a-
Regardless of this legislation, we are-
If it's a vacant lot.
Correct, only for vacant lots.
If it is a lot with a current SUNY family home or duplex or something on it, this does
not...
SB9.
Also, I just want to note, I'm sorry to complicate things, but I mean this is true of R1H.
They're R multi-unit.
Yeah, R1H.
I'm sorry.
Yeah.
You're right.
Right.
So keep that going, so keep the through line other than that piece, but so if you're R1H
the high fire hazards of already zone the two thirty the twenty the twenty
dwelling unit per acre density applies no that's not a maximum that's the
minimum in order to comply in order to be eligible for SB 684 okay maximum
number of units is ten okay so that's true okay but again just on vacant lots
vacant R1H lots. Yeah. And I would also I'd like to add that so when there is a
map for sub-dividing the lot into fee simple lots there are subdivision map
act requirements that still apply so the fire code the access easements all kind
of things need to be complied with in order to subdivide into fee simple so
reducing the minimum lot size,
is not automatically making it so much easier
because there are all of these other requirements
that might even be harder to be achievable
with a smaller lot size.
So yeah, so the lot size isn't the rate limiting factor
in that part, okay, thank you.
Thank you, okay council member O'Keefe.
Yeah, this is kind of random,
but I actually just sort of realized I have a sort of,
I don't think I have a legal conflict here,
but there's sort of a, I think I'm an abstain.
I think I have a little bit of a self-interest in this
that makes me uncomfortable.
I don't think I need to recuse, I can go check with Fremont.
I'm almost positive that's not a requirement.
I just, it's like a personal comfort thing.
So I'm just saying I'm an abstain for that reason.
Okay.
just so we all know. And I can talk about it. famous says I have to say more I will
but I don't think I do. I think you two should have a conversation. Well this is
highly unusual so please give us a moment while we wait for them to return.
Okay so we're gonna take the roll. Second from councilmember Humbert. Okay so it's
the ordinance as proposed by staff including the amendments and the revised
materials and then the minimum lot size for multifamily lots at 600 square foot
minimum and then useful open space at 150 square foot minimum. Yes Mr. City
clerk it was the it's the vacant single family zoned parent parcel that shifts
from 1200 to 600 you said multifamily okay so would that change that's the
motion clarify that includes the reflects the sub 3 materials yes and the
sub 3 yes that's thank you okay on the motion councilmember kester wanting yes
I'm gonna move us on to the final item for this evening which is item number 21 the city of Berkeley's 2026 state and federal legislative platform.
Yes.
OK, motion carries.
Motion passes.
Thank you all so much.
Thank you for those of you who came to watch or give public comment.
I'm going to move us on to the final item for this evening, which is item number 21,
the City of Berkeley's 2026 State and Federal Legislative Platform.
As was mentioned at a previous meeting, I was able to go to Washington, D.C., for the
U.S. Conference of Mayors, as well as the Mayors Innovation Project, and also had an
opportunity to do some lobbying on behalf of the city with our lobbyists.
And so we are very lucky to have Nicolas De Luca here with us to answer any questions
that we might have.
So typically every year the mayor works with city staff and our state and federal advocates
to set a legislative platform that guides our advocacy work.
As in previous years, our priority areas are related to homelessness, housing, economic
development, infrastructure, public safety, sustainability, and the environment, and health.
It takes a long time for legislation to come to fruition,
as you all know.
Therefore, it's logical for many things
to stay on the list year over year.
And so that is to say that many of the things
are similar from previous years
because we know that these are gonna continue
to be our priorities.
I know also that Vice-Marilyn Appara has some things
that she would like to add as a friendly amendment,
and I am happy to accept them.
So if you could also pull up your additions now
to share with folks.
I think I'll just need whoever's sharing right now
to stop sharing.
Is that city staff?
Okay, very good.
Thank you very much.
And yeah, go ahead.
Okay, I'm just gonna read them out loud.
These are some friendly amendments, additions,
support legislative and funding efforts to-
Sorry, could you make it a little bigger
and close that side so that folks can read it
a little better please.
Thank you, is that better?
Okay, support legislative and funding efforts
to assist students experiencing homelessness
and housing insecurity.
Support legislation allowing municipalities
to regulate autonomous vehicles locally.
Support legislative efforts to create
a not-for-profit utility service
to replace investor-owned utility programs.
Support funding for increased lighting
on streets and sidewalks.
Support funding for seismic retrofits
for affordable housing providers,
including nonprofit housing cooperatives
and community land trusts,
support funding for public bicycle storage,
support funding for urban heat island mitigation,
and then a slight addition to the support legislative efforts
to enhance greater access to hospitals and healthcare,
including Medicare for All at the federal level
and CalCare at the state level,
support legislative and funding efforts
to expand the availability of emergency naloxone,
spend an all strips, test strips,
beverage test strips, needle exchange programs
and other harm reduction tools,
support efforts to include information
about emergency naloxone administration
in the responsible beverage service training program,
licensee education on alcohol and drugs,
and program and or other appropriate certification programs,
support restarting and expanding the CalFresh fruit
and vegetable supplemental benefits program,
and support legislative efforts to more easily enable
the creation of the East Bay Public Bank.
Thank you.
And I know that also
Councilmember Humbert has something he'd like to add as well
Yes, thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor, and I don't have it
In written form to put up on this screen. I mean I have it on in my notes. I want to thank
you
Mary she and the city's lobbyists for
Your work on this list of legislative priorities
There's one thing I just have one thing and I think it's really important for the future of ownership housing and that's condominium
construction defect liability reform my understanding is that
Assemblymember Wicks and possibly Senator arrogant may be taking this on I'm confident that Assemblymember Wicks
Is or at least you said she's going to it's going to be a political
Fight I think so. I think that adding this to our list would align with some planned efforts
And I'd like to move that we add this to the following list and in the language. It's just a very short
Blurb
reef reform
condominium construction and design defect liability to reduce costs
Improve feasibility and expand ownership housing options
So I'd like to move to add that
Thank you I think it would be good for everyone who has something they want to
add for them to speak now so that we can discuss it all together. I will go to
councilmember Taplin. Thank you under health I wanted to offer support
let us say efforts to protect access to gender-affirming care. Thank you I think
a great addition. Councilmember Blackaby. Thank you Madam Mayor I just add two in
in the public safety area.
It should surprise no on their wildfire related.
Number 10 says currently support legislation and funding
to improve fire safety including undergrounding utilities.
I wanted to propose addition as well as guaranteeing
that homeowners that do fire mitigation work
receive home insurance renewals,
which is an important loop closing mechanism
to get the fire safety mitigation done.
The other item, under funding priorities
in the same section on number five,
where we talk about grants to support home hardening,
including low or no interest loan or grant programs,
I would just wanna add, as well as state income tax credits
to assist homeowners in clearing hazards of vegetation
and hardening homes.
So those are my two additions.
And one more time, state.
State income tax credits.
So again, it doesn't hit us in the county or city
and other states are doing it,
That's a state income tax credit
for work that you're doing to harden your home.
Thank you, I just wanna make sure I heard you correctly.
Okay, thank you very much.
Moving on to Council Member Treggab.
Thank you so much.
Let me just check something.
Okay.
Two amendments under the environmental section.
Support measures to incentivize
and or expand the use of and or funding
for local distributed energy resources,
such as rooftop solar, battery storage, virtual power plants,
and community microgrids.
And then I have, I will have this inviting,
as long as you can read my chicken scratch.
Second one is support efforts to advance
climate resiliency and adaptation efforts
locally and regionally.
Thank you, I'm gonna ask since there are so many here
that you all type these up and send them
to maybe the clerk, what do you think?
What's best?
what's the cleanest way to do this?
Yes, I suppose if you want the exact wording added
that I should.
I think that would be helpful.
Yes.
To me directly would be fine.
To our city clerk.
Thank you very much everyone.
Okay, Council Member Bartlett.
I thank you, Madam Mayor,
but a few additions here.
relate to our conversation tonight actually.
Under healthcare expansion of Medi-Cal reimbursement amounts
and service categories for community health workers.
Second, requesting state technical assistance
for place-based health equity initiatives.
Three, supporting flexible grant funding
to target investment in neighborhoods
with measurable life expectancy gaps.
And then under homeownership housing,
support density bonus tools for affordable condominiums.
Another one is create local flexibility
for inclusionary ownership.
And seven, infrastructure financing
that supports inter-level condominiums.
Okay, is that everything?
Okay, so since we are very lucky
to have Nico Lo here in person.
Sorry, Madam Mayor.
Yes.
In the spirit of transparency, I added two boards on the first one, so where it said
rooftop solar, it now says distributed slash rooftop slash balcony solar, that's all.
Okay.
Very good.
Councilmember Humber, just so you know, your mic is still on.
So as you are all typing this away and sending it to the clerk and the clerk is putting it
all together. I'm gonna ask if anyone has any questions for Nicola Whitey's here.
Anyone? I'm happy to quickly give an overview, Madam Mayor, if that's okay. That would be
great. So Madam Mayor, Council Members, Nicola DeLuca, it's an honor to be down here so thank
you very much. Great seeing many familiar faces and some new ones. We have the honor
of working for the City of Berkeley in Sacramento and in DC. Madam Mayor is a blast seeing you
in DC and you did a great job in all those meetings so your constituents
must be very happy. We've had a good run with you all 16 years over 23 million
and almost a hundred bills that we've worked on specifically for the city. So
here's where things stand right now in Sacramento. Friday was a bill
introduction deadline. There was over 1,800 bills introduced of which about 500
are spot bills. The bags under my eyes are because we've been reading a lot of
bills and I'm also getting older. So what we're going to start doing is
sharing more of our legislative matrices on every Friday to start
highlighting what's out there. We shared one today highlighting fire safety and
insurance and overall kind of what's going on in the world of local
government. It's gonna be an interesting year. We're seeing a lot of trends such
as e-bike regulations, bills on illegal dumping, there's a lot of transit sales
tax measures. A lot of cities and counties are looking at the November
ballot to see what might be coming down the horizon. Of course, housing, streamlining,
affordable housing. We're doing a presentation to a budget subcommittee on
the need for HAP funding. I've been working with Senator Ergan on his RV bill
and his local health jurisdiction bill. I want to thank the city manager and his
team for all of his work there. So, a very active year already. As you know, things
don't really ramp up until March, April, May, June, July. The budget started off
last year we're looking at an 18 billion dollar gap now we're looking at
a two billion dollar gap so hopefully the budget improves a lot of that is
through some of the AI investments that are happening so that's Sacramento DC
we're working with the city manager and his team on some projects to submit for
community project funding also known as earmarks of which the city did well
last year through the leadership of Congresswoman Simon to were signed into
law for Ashby Bart and then for fire safety the East Bay Training Center so
it's been another busy year looking forward to it and just really began to
roll up our sleeves to work on legislation and we appreciate all the positions that
you take the clerk has been great about always sharing positions immediately the
day after you all have taken action and we of course share those with the author
with our delegation we're spoiled we've got a great assembly member and a great
senator and of course leadership speakers office pro tems office and
committee staff so happy to answer any questions you all may have and thank
you for all the support and the strong partnership thank you very much thanks
for your presentation for giving us the overview I think it is really helpful
for everyone to know what's going on and what you all they're working on on
behalf of the city. Councilmember Taplin, did you have a question? Yes, thank you.
I have two questions. You mentioned bills respecting e-bike regulations. Yes.
Could you speak more about that? What kinds of things? Absolutely. So through
the mayor council members. So right now I think we've got about four bills out
and we're expecting about 12. It's just tighter regulations on how the e-bikes
basically their capacity whether it's the horsepower or some of the output
there's there was a study last year about overall e-bike safety and I've
read reports about some of the operating room surgeons seeing high number of head
trauma for young people 16 and younger so what we're expecting is regulations
on overall output of the e-bikes probably starting effective 27 going to
next year. Maybe different types of infractions for the vehicle code. We do
know that e-bikes are a affordable way of transportation for some but then
we've also heard when I say we because we talked to a lot of legislators and
staff have heard some of the horror stories of the accidents of the Catholic
joyriding of the comparability of e-bikes like motorcycles. So really
looking at a handful of bills trying to be more strict on output of the e-bikes
and their overall kind of product production. Thank you. Yeah, I was I've
been following some of some of those bills and and this isn't a question but
for us to think about as you mentioned e-bikes are an affordable mode of
transportation for many people and I'm I am concerned that efforts to adopt
stringent regulations will create a barrier and and I think you know we all
support road safety but if there's there's no mystery around which vehicles
are causing the most harm on the road and it's on e-bikes so but my second
question was are there in the overall landscape are you noticing any shifting
headwinds I'm thinking about in public safety in particular you know I think
I think if we roll back six years there was I think one headwind that started
to shift a little later on and wondering if there are similar things taking place
in other areas including public safety? Absolutely that is a great question when
When it comes to public safety last year,
as you all may recall, I want to say this,
it was an assembly bill about how you treat
prostitutes and the Johns and the age limit
of who is soliciting sex from who and how those,
what the different punishments may be,
felonies, misdemeanors.
That bill was heavily discussed,
and quite frankly, when I'm in my 19th year,
I was a little surprised that it was signed into law.
The legislature that I'm more used to
has been a little bit more progressive
on kind of law and order bills,
so I was a little bit surprised that that one was signed
and pushed kind of so aggressively.
There's actually now already a bill
to essentially undercut that,
about whether you're soliciting or loitering
or how you even define that.
So, we do have a new class of assembly members and senators and I am seeing a bit of a shift
a little bit more kind of towards the middle.
There's also something to keep in mind which isn't necessarily the tone and tenor, but
this is the governor's last year and the governor has been clear on some of his priorities and
there's also a sense of not knowing who would be the governor next year and who would be
in the cabinet next year, so former legislative proposals that might have been maybe waiting
for next year or going to be expedited this year. And so hopefully I'm answering your
question as directly as I can. But I have seen a little bit of a shift on public safety.
None of the bills that we've looked at this week and in today really kind of stood out
on the side of public safety other than an assembly bill seeking to water down or undercut
of the bill that was sent into law last year on prostitution and loitering.
Thank you.
And I actually have one last question, my apologies, and this is kind of a follow-up,
but just from a high level, is the posture among the legislature, are we, do we think
that they're in a position to advance or hold or protect?
I think we're, you know, on defense against the Fed, so I'm wondering whether how much
appetite there is of the state to to push for innovative new things versus
fighting to keep things we currently have? Great question definitely both. Last
year there was a lot of bills towards the end of session on ice and masks
there continues to be a handful handful of bills on immigration what ice should
not be allowed to do in our state things of that nature continue to see the trend
of pushing back against DC primarily through the governor and a lot of his
budget proposals so I expect definitely pushing back but at the same time
continue to advance. I mean there's you all know because you're all a very well
versed. I mean there's a tremendous amount of pride in being a Californian in the
California values in everything that our state does and that just gets louder and
louder each year with a greater sense of pride which could be whether it's a
housing bill or a bill about climate change as you all know they the capit
invest was approved last year a lot of good funding for housing affordable
housing land conservation but then also fire safety so if you ask about trends
I'd say two trends have been really clear this year there's several trend
to address illegal dumping handful of bills on that and then another trend is
overall fire safety and that impact and how do you whether it's zone zero which
you all led on, how do you do defensible space, what does that look like and how do neighborhoods
really take a stand themselves against what mother nature may deal towards you.
Thank you.
Thanks for your questions and for your thorough responses.
Councilmember Trico, did you have a question?
Yes, I have two questions.
One, I know I've been following the legislature not as closely as you of course and affordability
continues to be top of mind.
Any predictions or surprises thus far in the cycle
around those discussions?
And my second question is more pointed
because it might inform one other potential amendment
if the council, to our priorities of the council,
signs off on it.
We do have a no unfunded mandates language before us,
I appreciate it.
In the context of the governor's released budget,
which appears to shift the burden of funding
for certain mental health services
to local and county jurisdictions,
I'm wondering if you could talk about that a little bit and would it be, if you were
advising a city council, which you kind of are, would you feel that it might be beneficial
to insert some language around making sure that there is appropriate funding and resourcing
for local jurisdictions for mental health
or other forms of health care.
Absolutely, through the mayor, council member,
I would say the way that the Ledge platform is written
now it's clear about any impacts of local funding,
whether it's to the city, to the county or the region.
So I think you're very solid there.
You were mentioning about overall mental health funding
kind of pushing that back on the county.
So I'm gonna keep in mind,
and the governor was very proud of was Prop 1
and the funding for Prop 1
and how that's tied to not just services but also housing.
So that was part of it.
Something that the governor did towards the end
of the session last year was use a cap and invest proceeds
to help offset other costs that the state would take
to make sure the state's general fund
wasn't as negatively impacted.
Affordability, you asked, I would say,
we're still extremely early in the legislative process
and that is something a lot of us have identified
and we're waiting to see what happens.
Whereas both houses, the Senate and the Assembly,
have been clear they want to make the state affordable,
especially for middle-class families
and working-class families.
What's gonna be interesting though is also
the lack of redevelopment, so there's not the funding
that the cities have for greater flexibility to build.
There's a discussion of the housing bond,
which could be up to 10 billion,
which would be spent very quickly.
but there's also been a push from the legislature
of let locals decide how they wanna handle things.
And so I think the rub could be
what the affordability package would look like
versus allowing cities and counties and others
to take their destiny in their own hands.
As of right now, we don't yet have an answer on that,
but affordability is a theme
I will hear kind of throughout the legislation.
Thank you.
Council Member Bartlett, do you have a question?
Oh, thank you.
was curious of what's the outlook on our insurance issue? There was a handful of
the first there's an informational hearing about two weeks ago three weeks
ago on overall housing in insurance for houses whether it's affordable housing
whether it's in a fire area what have you. It's getting louder and louder to
make sure the insurance companies cannot increase their rates so high at the same
time that they're protecting in case of a catastrophe. We're expecting a handful
of insurance bills that are substantive and are really going to try to help move the needle.
Definitely going to flag those for the city. There was a few last year that didn't make
it to the finish line, but I know their authors are committed to doing so. So that will remain
another hot topic of what does affordability for insurance look like? How do you maintain
as much coverage as you possibly can, especially for single family houses in the urban wildfire
interface area. Thank you. Okay. So one other thing I want to make sure that I
get everyone's okay on is our ability to send advocacy letters that are supported
by these areas without coming to council first because that will allow us to move
more expeditiously if things come up that we can support. Just want to see if
anyone's opposed. Okay. All right. So we have a number of additions that have
been recommended.
Personally, I'm fine with taking all of them
as friendly amendments.
I just want to see if anyone has any other comments about that.
Actually, I need to take public comments.
So let me do that first.
Public comments.
Hi.
And I would like to thank Carol and Brianna
for yielding time to me.
So do I get a minute from each of them?
OK.
Hi, my name is Sarah Bell.
and I'm speaking on behalf of Berkeley's
Housing Advisory Commission.
The Commission met on Thursday, February 5th
to make recommendations on the housing section
of our city's legislative priorities.
And as a commission, we recommended a number of edits.
I would like to emphasize that the Commission
voted unanimously in favor of each of our edits.
So we respectfully request that council
incorporate our feedback into the final
legislative priorities, which overlap with changes
suggested by council members already tonight.
You should have received a memo with the rationale
for each of our edits in the agenda packet.
In other words, we did type it up.
And I will attempt to summarize them now.
There are some complications around which version
we started from in making our edits.
I'm happy to sort out which items we're referring to.
And I would also like to thank the city's lobbyists
for all of their efforts thus far.
So starting with recommendations for tenant protections,
we recommended codifying rent relief and eviction moratorium
for future emergency situations,
and enhancing our state code around preventing tenant harms
that come from predictive algorithms,
both of these are timely given the changing world
we inhabit.
Moving on to housing construction,
we recommended pursuing changes to the building code,
such as universal design and elevator reform
to make our buildings more accessible,
and allowing single stair modular construction
and the use of the residential code for middle housing,
that last one being very important for our city
because we just passed middle housing.
We also recommended pursuing condo deposit
and condo defect reform to enable multifamily
for sale housing to pencil,
because despite our recent boom of rental housing,
significantly less for sale multi-family housing
has been constructed in Berkeley over that same period.
In the area of funding, we suggested edits
in order to be concrete in the outcomes we wish to achieve
without being overly specific on the mechanism.
We also recommended expanding the item
on funding seismic retrofitting
to include home hardening as well,
since many homes in Berkeley
are at elevated risk of wildfire.
On changes to the California Constitution,
the commission recommends promoting the repeal
of Article 34 to its own item, and to put a finer point
on the item about lowering the voter threshold
for passing affordable housing bonds,
specifying 50% plus one.
We emphatically need to make it easier
to approve and fund affordable housing.
The final piece of text that we recommended adding
is an edit to item nine in the mayor's memo,
and number 10, and the one that we received
to expand the scope of our support for student housing,
and also to include education workers in that support.
As for the text that we recommended removing,
the item on LIHTC changes, nine in hours,
eight in the mayor's manner, did not actually,
we recommended removing that because it did not actually
indicate a need for any legislative changes at this time.
The item on programs to fund, which was 14 in hours
and 12 in the mayor's version, we suggested merging
just into a more general item on funding.
And lastly, the item on ADU law seemed to be a holdover
past, so we recommended removing it.
And furthermore, allowing other cities to count ADUs
towards their arena allocation could be detrimental
for a city like Berkeley that takes its housing goals
very seriously, where, and of course,
housing is a regional concern.
And so that's another reason to remove the item on ADUs.
Thank you so much for your time
and consideration of these changes,
and we hope you incorporate our suggestions.
I'll make myself available to answer any questions
help track across versions and I really appreciate, again, both our lobbyists work and the council's
work on producing these priorities. Thank you. Thank you Sarah. I did not receive your email so
we're checking for it right now but I don't think we received it so it's very concerning.
So we might need to take a mini break at some point probably after public comments so we can
go through this to make sure it's clear. So is there any other public comment? Yes.
Hello, not taking any position on any item but wanted to just piggyback on the question
about headwinds and I know it's not a back and forth but in case anyone else has this question,
I just recently started tracking the kind of mental health diversion efforts that have been
happening at the state level around more mental health diversion in the courts.
And I know today the Public Safety Committee at the state, like Senator Arreguin, came
out with some recommendations around a bill related to mental health diversion.
And I just thought, given Berkeley's challenges, it would be nice if that subject were included
on the list in some way for the city to be able to maybe lobby around.
I'd like to be interested in hearing sort of more of the headwinds around that if that's something
That the lobbyists could talk about if someone else had that question. Thank you. Thank you
Any other public comment on this item here in person online?
Anyone online have public comment on this item?
There's no hands raised
The letter from the hack is in the sub 2 packet. I see it. Yeah, we found it. Thank you
I want to give us like five minutes just because there's a lot of different pieces of things.
So if you can give us five minutes, I want to review a couple of things and then come back and we can have a conversation.
Hi, so
so the
reviewing what was sent the numbers don't line up with the current numbers of this and it's very messy and
all of these different things together, and I think for the sake of transparency and making sure everyone is clear on what it is that we are voting on, I'd like to actually continue this item until another time so that we can actually take the time to rewrite it, take everyone's edits, make sure it's clear what we're all voting on, because I understand, like, right now, I would say most of this is not controversial, but I do think it's important for us to be clear what it is we're voting on.
So I'm going to ask that we continue this item, which Mr. State Clerk, I just want to make sure means that if we
We would move this to the next council meeting
Which is yes, he certainly certainly can on March 10th March 10th
Okay. Okay. We are gonna do that for the for the sake of transparency and clarity
So I apologize. Thank you all very much. I really appreciate you
for coming to be here to answer our questions and by next time we should have
something that's a little cleaner for us to actually approve and we'll be able to
pass it forward with you but you know like I said nothing here is is super
controversial it's really more a matter of getting it getting it straight clear
so okay so with that we won't be able to carry over any of the additions that
that were added tonight.
What's that?
So, I mean, they could be re-introduced
at the next meeting.
We will re-introduce these changes at the next meeting.
Yes.
All of them in together.
Yes.
Okay.
Is there a way to, could we submit them as a supplemental
so they could be published ahead of time?
Yeah.
Instead of just read on the dais again?
I think that would be the idea,
is to have it printed ahead of time, written down.
Everyone can review it and read it before.
Okay, okay. Very good. All right. Thank you all very much for that
And that is our actual our final item for this evening
So I will ask if there's any public comment for items not listed on the agenda
And thank you
Why they advise counsel that
At the end of June the mental health trauma comment contracts that we have will all be coming to an end
and so that's the contract to serve
the African American population,
the Latino immigrant population, the LGBTQ population,
and those may or may not be renewed.
So as long as mental health was raised,
that's kind of mentioned that may be an additional gap
in our system as we address all of these issues.
I also was sad to hear during the legislative presentation,
I don't know if what that law was
that was mentioned as far as sex workers and the customers,
and I'm gonna take a look at it,
because a while ago sex trafficking came up
as a recommendation from another commission I was on,
and it really is an issue in Berkeley.
It's very sad to attend an event in,
am I able to keep talking?
Okay, it was very sad to attend
very well attended event in Berkeley and see a young girl who is cool was
clearly and she was clearly underage with her zipper down posed on the
sidewalk and passing by and what do you do I don't know what to do I mean I
want to have her arrested that is not a response to a young girl who's being
exploited so I wonder and I how much do we really care about addressing that
issue that young girls are being trafficked and I had mentioned
previously about coming across someone in a homeless encampment what was very
suspect the man she was with was about 60 when she was clearly underage and six
months pregnant so it is an issue in our community and there are only I'm
further to the city manager. Thank you. Thank you. Is there any other public comment on items not
listed on the agenda? Anyone online? There's one one hand raised online.
Should be able to unmute. Call our ending in 211. Hi, last item which I must talk about.
since Donald Trump rejected the nuclear test treaty that had been in effect for over 50
years.
The dawn of the day clock was advanced seconds before midnight.
This man is crazy and he will do it.
If we do have nuclear war, which can happen because of Ukraine, mostly or any other war
else, 98 percent of humans are going to vanish within minutes or seconds or hours. Two percent
will die within days or weeks from very painful deaths. That must stop this crazy man. And
you know, please watch his talking tonight and laugh. Have a good night and good to talk
to you.
Thank you. Any other public comment? That's all. Okay. Is there a motion to adjourn? So moved. As long as there is no opposition to adjourning, we will be adjourned for this evening. Meeting adjourned. Thank you all.