Walnut Creek City Council - Walnut Creek Meetings

Transcript

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Good evening everyone. I'm Cindy Silva. I'm serving as mayor of the City of Walnut Creek this year

and I'm delighted to welcome you to the Tuesday, July 18th, 2023 regular meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council.

Before we begin, our council colleague Kevin Wilk will be making an announcement regarding his participation this evening.

Hi everyone. I'm participating remotely from Washington DC where tomorrow I'm meeting with

Congressman and some staff regarding public funding and grant funding for our

transportation, specifically in areas of sustainability and what we can do to

continue to run a clean energy and advanced energy technology programs with

our public transit. So I'm here to bring money into Walnut Creek and I wish I was

here in the chambers but I will be participating. Thank you. So to further

explain, Councilmember Wilk is attending under California law code section 54953

5 3 f1 which is just cause circumstance if you will all please rise and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance

City clerk if you would please take the roll councilmember darling here councilmember Francois here councilmember Wilk

here mayor pro tem haskew here mayor Silva this evening we have a number of

items on our consent agenda items a through h before we ask for public

comment on the consent calendar do as any council member wish to pull an item

on the consent calendar and I'm going to pull items e f and g but I will take

them as one item with some help with the city engineer any other items to be

pulled. We will see if any members of the public wish to speak to us on items on

the consent agenda. Anyone here in the council chambers? If anyone who is

joining us virtually wishes to make a comment regarding an item on the consent

agenda please use the raise hand feature if you're joining us via zoom or press

star 9 to indicate that you would like to be brought into the meeting. We do

of one hand raised. Alexander, good evening. So this is an item to me where you're making

remarks on our consent calendar. Which item on the consent calendar would you like to speak to?

Public comment matters not on the agenda. Is that this one or the next or another one?

It'll be the next it'll be in a in a few minutes. So thank you. There are no additional hands raised.

will entertain a motion for items A through D and the other consent calendar

items. I move that we accept the consent calendar items A through D and H. Second.

We have a motion and a second to approve consent calendar items A through D and H.

Would the city clerk please take the roll call vote. Mayor Pro Tem Hask you.

Aye. Councilmember Francois. Aye. Councilmember Darling. Aye. Councilmember Will. Aye.

Mayor Silva. Aye. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. I pulled items E, F, and G because

these are all about public works and projects that are occurring in our

roadways and bridges and I have a few questions for the city engineer if he is

here with us. Summertime is always about engineering and road work so

We are being asked to approve some contracts this evening related to road work.

The first is related to the, thank you, the bridge, the South Main Street Bridge over

Las Trampas Creek, which for those of you who don't know where that is, basically it's

between Pacific Catch and Gotts, that bridge, is what, 100, 102 years old?

Good evening, Madam Maricilla. My name is Steve Waymire. I'm a city engineer and portions of that bridge are over a hundred years old.

It's been added on through throughout time, but there are portions that are over a hundred years old.

So what are we looking to be able to do and where are we in the project, please?

So we're currently in the design phase of the project and we're looking to replace the bridge and at this point

we've gone through a bunch of studies and when we replace the bridge

we're actually gonna have to close the roadway down to actually do the work and that was scheduled to occur sometime around

25 is what we're looking at right now. The total project is about a 20

million dollar project and we're looking to prove around some other funds to do

some design work and get the right-of-way going and there's a lot of

environmental work we have to do with a project like this too. So yeah we're

excited to get the project done. It is a huge project for Walnut Creek. I really

want to point out that over 80% of that funding does come from federal funds and

And the city's matches is 10% of that just about not I mean sorry almost 90% is federal funds and about 10% match from the

City's fun. So if the whole

Project costs somewhere around 20 million dollars then 18 million will be funded federally and the remainder will come in through various fees

Etcetera that we collect and

Can we use gas tax dollars other grants?

Yeah, the majority of this is coming from gas tax and measure J

So what you pay for your gas tax is going to replace this to user fee

So another item on the agenda tonight is the engineering work for the design of a safe routes to school project on Walnut

Boulevard, which is up near Walnut Heights

School, can you describe that project and boy a lot of that is County

How do we work with with the county on those kinds of roads? Sure

So this is in front of Walnut Heights a school and it's interesting because there are

portions that don't have sidewalks in front of the school, which is unfortunate.

And so we're going to fix that and we're also going to make it safer to to walk through there. The county is actually

to already done their portion of it leading up to the school.

So the portion right in front of the school is where the city right away or the city property begins. And so

this project will probably put in about half a mile of

sidewalks in there and we work real closely with the school and working on the drop-off and

It's going to be a great project when we get it completed.

It's about a $2 million project.

And once again, it's kind of about the same thing

with the federal grant matching.

And we just finished up a meeting before this,

talking about a highway safety program,

roadway safety program, that we need to get adopted

so that we can get these funds.

So about $1.8 million of these funds

will come from federal funds also.

Great, and then we've been doing some emergency repairs

since our winter storms in early January,

one at Lakewood and one on Ignacio Valley Road

storm drain repairs, can you give us a status on that

and what happened and what the status is?

Sure, on Lakewood Circle, there's a 36 inch pipe

once again that was probably put in about 70 years ago

when that development came in and it started.

That was 70, not seven, right?

70, yeah.

And it collapsed during this last storm

that we had, this major storm that we had,

it started to collapse.

And so we've been working through an emergency order

to replace that piece of pipe.

It is complete now.

And so that roadway is opened up.

And so this order that you're receiving now,

that project will fall off of it.

Another project that's an emergency project

that we're working on is failure of the roadway

on the hill on Ignatia Valley roadway

from all the rain started to erode away part of the roadway.

And so we are in the process of bidding that work

and that works to start the summer sometime.

and what's happening on South Main Street

as long as we're talking about it

because it's a road paving project, right?

And South Main Street is another large project

that we're working on in front of Kaiser,

in front of the high school.

And so we're overlaying the roadway

or rebuilding the roadway, but as doing that,

we're also taking the opportunity

to do some other pedestrian safety projects.

So we're working really closely with Kaiser

to come up with a pedestrian crossing that they do anyway.

And so they're already kind of jaywalking across that area.

so we're gonna put in a flashing beacon

and make a bulb out so that's safer for them to work.

And then over at the school, through this program,

or Safe Routes to School program,

we've been studying how the traffic flows

through the intersection of,

and I'm losing up to the top of my mind,

can you help me?

LILAC. LILAC, thank you.

And the school.

So we studied how it works,

we worked really closely with the school,

and we're gonna also bulb that out,

and we're gonna put a scramble walk into there.

And so these improvements are gonna be

good for the pedestrians and are also going to help the drivers so that they can be safer

going through there and float through their bear in there right now.

So you used a term that maybe the audience doesn't understand, but we have so many people

here tonight.

Why don't you explain what a scramble is?

Sure, a scramble walk, and if you're from Walnut Creek, if you've ever been at the intersection

of Main Street and Olympic, in front of the Apple Store, and then also Locust and Olympic,

those are scramble walks where you can go any direction.

So all the traffic must stop, so that it's safer for pedestrians across, and then the

traffic goes while there's no pedestrians.

So it sort of separates everything.

We have a lot of pedestrians.

It does help make things go smoother when we do that.

Thank you.

Council colleagues, any questions for staff?

Thank you so much for taking the time to be here this evening, and I'm glad so many people

are here in the audience to be able to hear about the great work our engineering and public

works departments are doing.

Yeah, and thank you.

when you see the construction, please understand, be patient, slow down, you

know there's a lot of work going on and it's just going to improve Walnut Creek

even better than it is now. Thank you so much. I will move adoption of items E, F,

and G from the consent calendar. We second. We have a motion and second on

items E, F, and G on the consent calendar. Would you please take a roll call vote

please? Mayor Silva? Aye. Mayor Pro Tem Haskew? Aye. Councilmember Darlene? Aye. Councilmember

Francois, and Councilmember Welk. I, except I would like to ask Public Works

and Engineering if we could have some kind of a sign stating that your tax

dollars at work, we've talked about this before and I think that's really

important for people to understand that this is our tax dollars at work. And a

big shout out to Alex Wong from the Engineering Department who helped me

across the street. I'm not a little old lady but I was at the corner of Leilik

and South Main on my early morning walk and all the work crews were out there

And I went, uh-oh, I can't get home.

So thank you, again, to you and your crews.

The next item on our agenda is public communications.

This portion of the meeting is reserved for comment on items

not on the agenda.

Under the Brown Act, the council cannot act on items raised

during public communications, but may respond briefly

to statements made or questions posed, request clarification,

or refer the item to staff.

We have a lot of people here in the room tonight

who might want to speak.

We also have people who are joining us virtually.

So per our council handbook, we allow 30 minutes

at this time in the meeting for public communication

and each speaker has up to two minutes.

All other speakers are welcome to make comments

under public communication,

but the subsequent item on public communication tonight

will be after our regular business.

So you will have to wait to make your comments until later

if we, for those who do not finish through the process.

And I need to take a pause, I can't.

So if you would like to speak this evening,

you need to complete a speaker card.

They are available on the back.

I do have names of four people here in the room

and I will call your names in batches of five.

So you will be called up randomly.

And those of you who are here with this virtually,

if you could please raise your hands

or press star nine to indicate

you would like to make a comment

because that is the only way we know who wants to speak.

I see two speakers who are joining us virtually.

So what I'm going to do is I'm gonna start

with the first five names that I have in front of me,

Maggie Hoffe-Felder, Kim Bufard, Scott Burrell,

Anja Campbell and Nate Landau.

If you would please line up along the wall

and you are welcome to come on forward.

Again, you have up to two minutes.

We're delighted to have you here.

First speaker, please.

And be ready, I will call your name as the time comes.

Good evening, members of the council.

My name is Scott Burrell.

And thank you for taking the time.

But I do wanna say that I am frustrated.

Um, this has been frustrating and I think you're gonna hear a lot of

frustration today and the voices of a member of a club that has done nothing

wrong but have been depicted time and time again in this hall as villains. I

think you're gonna hear frustration today and the voices of members of a

club that have compromised time and time again and have come to realize

that this compromise is not a two way street.

I think you're gonna hear frustration today

in the voices of the members of a club

that have done so much good for Walnut Creek.

Have created a space that brings people together.

People of different races and ethnicities,

different ages and genders, different sexualities,

different politics, all together in a common cause

and recognizing a common humanity.

I hope that today that this council recognize that the members of the Walnut Creek Pickleball

Club, the good people of that club, many of them here today, have done their fair share,

have compromised fairly, and have been open.

And I hope that this council will recognize that there should be no more restrictions

placed on Pickleball and the Ruggier Park.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Next speaker please.

Hello. My name is Maggie Hockfelder and I'm a resident of Walnut Creek.

I moved here a year ago and a major reason why I moved here was because of

my involvement in the Ruggier Pickleball community

and the existence of all the wonderful parks and

hiking trails out here and the opportunity to have a healthy lifestyle, I don't really

understand what happened between the last meeting and tonight that we received notice

that you want to further curtail our activities.

As far as I know, we have abided by the letter of the law by the suggestions that we limit

our hours, that we limit the joyful sound of playing, and it seems really

unreasonable and unfair. I hope that you'll be able to explain what happened.

What I want to suggest is that there be much more engagement on the part of

whoever is responsible for Park and Rec to broker a conversation between the

disgruntled neighbors and our club we have proven willing and ready to do so

and in this present day political climate I think it really behooves us to

find ways to work together to be together and to not set one group

against another as if there's a bad guy and a good guy. Thank you. Thank you very

much. Next speaker please. My name is Kim Mufard and I am a pickleball player with

the Red Gear Pickleball Club. This is the third meeting that I've attended and I

want to respectfully speak to not only the council but of the neighbors if

you're out there and the pickleball members. My observations and my

questions are comments that are being shared in this forum actually

fact-checked by the City Council. This is important to me because hearing the

neighbors wanting to change our hours even more is concerning the red gear

pickleball club has made concessions for the neighbors the time and the effort

spent to problem-solve the parking and the noise signs have been posted for no

parking numerous sound tests have been done sound barriers tested and hours of

the courts have been changed to please the neighbors things that have been said

by the homeowners that were not true ultimately could have affected the

decision to relocate the courts and could affect taking away even more

hours. An example of that stated by a homeowner in a previous meeting loss of

value to their home because of the pickleball courts. Not true. In pulling

up property values in 2018 on Dapple Gray when pickleball was in full swing a

property sold for $140,000 over asking price. 2023 houses in the

surrounding area six properties were sold one property at 82,000 over asking

two properties at a hundred thousand over asking one property at 208,000

over asking one at asking and only one property out of six sold for 34,000

under asking in that light things being said should be fact-checked as much as

possible because these statements may not be true and the decisions made from

the comments could influence the outcome of the pickleball courts the

The Red Gear Pickleball Club has made huge concessions to the homeowners on Dapple Gray.

I respectfully request that you do not change our hours again.

Check.

Thank you very much.

Next speaker, please.

I think it's Anya Campbell.

Anya Campbell, please.

I'm taking these, I'm literally randomizing it, but I don't know where Anya, is Anya here?

Anya?

I'm Nate Landau.

Hi.

Thanks for having me.

Nate Landau, the CEO of Snowtill, the executive director of Contra Costa Normal, and a council

member for the Veterans Action Council. On April 19th, 2022, in this chamber, the councils were

sitting pretty much exactly the way they were, and five hours and three minutes and 25 seconds

into that meeting, we were promised that a storefront cannabis retail shop would be

discussed at the end of Q1, Q2 at the latest, we're now in Q3, and we have seen no progress.

I don't have to repeat myself, but I will anyways, that every single precinct in this

city voted for cannabis, you guys didn't believe us, you did your own survey, even a bigger

part of the public wanted it. We understand you're very busy, we have a solution for you.

Rossmoor, the Bank of America outside Rossmoor, that's owned by Rossmoor, is vacant, and the

community that is a huge block of the voter population here really wants a

dispensary. I know you guys pride yourself on taking baby steps so if you

take any smaller steps you're gonna be going backwards. As of March of this year

there's twenty five thousand six hundred and thirty three dispensaries nationwide.

I think you don't need any more research you can research from that but if you

want something local you can look up the Pacafarian in the Second District of San

Francisco where the community was very against it and now they love it because

then increased crime, the added security only decreased crime there. The University

of Madison has done extensive research and showed that properties from 0.1

miles away from dispensary property values went up 23 percent. You guys have

had one operated her, she has had no problems. The only thing that the Council

did research on last time was try to attack her and make her seem like she's

some cannabis smuggle when her cousin just happened to have the same name. So I'm

urging you please put it on the next available agenda, something you promise

us, so please commit to your promise. Thank you. Recording in progress. Mr.

Landau, I'm gonna refer you to a member of staff so that that person can bring

you up to speed on where we are with our council priorities, our economic

development plan, etc. So if the Assistant City Manager wouldn't mind or would not

mind. She can meet you in the hallway to correct some of the misinterpretation that you have.

Thank you. Ms. Warren, I'm calling names off and I'm now going to go to the virtual environment

and call Alexander. Please bring in Alexander. Can you hear me? Yes, you have two minutes please.

Before beginning, let's address the standard response to truth being told at many city council

and school boards. We are sorry but that's not in our jurisdiction. Well, free speech is not for the

citizens to tell their truth and it's not subject to your jurisdiction unless the speech is profane,

obscene, or some other violation of the laws of virtue and wisdom that were followed by the men

of 1776 who gave us the First Amendment. Most people have been brainwashed that the founders

were a bunch of racist bigots who owned slaves and are irrelevant. No elected official was elected

to police the speech of citizens criticizing either elected officials or ideas that elected

that officials like or don't fully understand.

This is Ryan Massano of MassanoNews.com.

If you're tired of being lied to by the television,

radio, holly weird, and newspapers

for the last century at least, this website is for you.

If you like being lied to and brainwashed,

keep watching television and movies,

keep reading the newspaper and listening to the radio,

and stay on TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram,

and the rest of the controlled internet.

Follow the money.

The owners of the Federal Reserve control virtually all media,

all corporations, all victim groups,

all nongovernmental organizations, NGOs,

all secret societies, Freemasons, elks, moose,

college fraternities, there are a few,

all unions, all schools, all colleges.

It's quite incredible.

I'd like to commend the gentleman who spoke a few weeks back

defending free speech.

It would appear to be a perfectly obvious truth

that to find out who rules over you,

find out who you aren't allowed to criticize.

The under 40 generation, the first American generation

raised with exposure to the internet and cell phones,

is the most deceived and ignorant generation

in the history of America.

And they have a hard time understanding

the spirit of the law of the constitution.

But there are many over 40 with the same problem.

Religion can be criticized.

All religions can be criticized.

That includes Islam, Christianity,

Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism.

There's no religion that is immune from criticism.

Next speaker please.

It will be Barbara Guinness.

Hello, my name is Barbara Guinness

and I've been a resident of Walnut Creek since 1996.

Just had four items to mention tonight.

On June 24th, there were four vehicles stolen

from the Rancho Prizone Northgate neighborhoods.

At least one was stolen right out of a driveway.

On July 13th, the neighbors sent around a ring video

of individuals that were robbing cars

in a cul-de-sac in Rancho Prizone.

were even going into a garage that was unlocked and into the cars in that garage. On July 15,

two individuals were seen lighting up a cigarette or some smoking device in Lime Ridge right in the

midst of all the dry vegetation. This is near and what is getting darker. Police were called and I

want to thank the police. They came and they said they would investigate. They were going to go up

Timberleaf Trail and see if they could catch the perpetrator so we wouldn't have a wildfire.

Early this morning, my husband was just talking to our neighbor and she said her alarm went

off around 2 a.m. and she thinks someone was trying to get into a back door.

She called the police.

I'm sure they came and a report was filed.

I know the Walnut Creek police are very busy and we thank them for all the work they do

every day.

It's appreciated.

However, these Northgate neighborhoods are looking forward to hearing about Walnut Creek

police's plan of action and will keep our neighborhoods safe from the continued vehicle

theft and homeboy delivery, especially with all the city's plans to increase people vehicles

in and around this neighborhood. Remember that in May 2022 in the citywide survey, public

safety was the number one priority for the citizens. Thank you very much for all you

all do for the City of Walnut Creek. It's appreciated.

Thank you, Barbara. I'm now going to come back here into the council chambers. Phil

Winslow, Falguni Dave, Danny Wong, Karen Means, and Louis Mora. Thank you Cindy. I

am Phil Winslow. I reside at 2307 Dapple Gray Lane right near the park,

Red Gear Park, and we've been there a really long time. The city permitted the

Walnut Creek Private Pickleball Club to convert one of the two tennis courts on

Dapple Gray Lane in 2015. In 2018, they then permitted the private Walnut Creek

Pickleball Club to convert the other tennis court on Dapple Gray Lane to

However, in both instances, the city of Walnut Creek did not do an environmental impact report,

which was and is their legal liability.

To correct this oversight, the Park and Rec Commission had a task force and they have

come up with the approval of the Park and Rec Commission of three possible

locations. The one that is the most desirable is as you enter Heather Farms

Park immediately to the right there is a parking area which can be converted and

I think it's important to the Pickleball Club that they have at least eight courts

done there, which is what they have on Dapple Gray Lane right at the moment.

It's important to keep the Walnut Creek Pickle Ball Club and the task force,

which includes a Rudgear homeowner, timely updated with progress in this

matter. We haven't had much communication in that area. And in the

meantime, the Rudgear homeowners do request that the City Council

immediately cut back some of the hours of pickleball to reduce the noise and

thank you very much thank you the next speaker is and I think I have damaged

your first name Ms. Dave. Good evening council members my name is Falguni

Dave and today could you put the microphone a little closer just gently

there we go my name is Falguni Dave and today I stand before you on behalf of

urban joy, Walnut Creek's first and only cannabis delivery service. First and foremost, I would like

to express our gratitude of your continued dedication to serving the community of Walnut Creek.

As the only cannabis delivery service in our city, we have had the unique opportunity to closely

observe the needs and preferences of our residents. Through the data we have collected over the past

two years, we can confidently affirm that there is a strong demand for a retail storefront.

Our customers have repetitively expressed their desire for a physical location where

they can browse products, seek expert advice, and engage in a more personalized shopping

experience.

Moreover, it is crucial to address any concerns related to public safety.

We are proud to share that during our operational tenure, there has been no increase in crime

associated with our cannabis delivery service.

We have diligently implemented strict security measures and compliance protocols to ensure

the safety of our customers, employees, and the community at large.

In light of these factors, we believe that the time has come to seriously consider the

introduction of a retail storefront for cannabis in Walnut Creek.

Such a development would not only meet the demands of our residents, but also contribute

to the growth and economic vitality of our city.

appreciate your attention and consideration. Thank you. Thank you very

much. Next speaker please excuse me. This is a business meeting and it's not an

entertainment. And what happens when people clap for one speaker it

intimidates anyone who might have a differing point of view. So we appreciate

no clapping. Good evening. Good evening Mayor Silva and City Council. My name is

Danny Wong and I'm resident of Walnut Creek. I just want to make a statement

men first as a big picture, what if someone told you pickleball can save the world? Just

think about it. You might say no way, no way. Well listen to this. There are proven benefits.

People feel less lonely because they make social connection, they lose weight, they

improve their heart health, they boost their mood and mental health, improve balance, hand

coordination and flexibility, prevent osteoporosis, combat Alzheimer because

the firing, the quickness of the hands battle they do. There's also a reason

why pickleball is the fastest-growing sport these past three years. Now it's

estimated to be 30 plus million people playing. Steve Kuhn, a billionaire

businessman who is also the founder of Major League Pickleball, an elite that has owners

like Tom Brady, LeBron James, and other celebrities, and he also has a project called Pickleball

Cares. Its mission is to get kids to be active so we would fight child obesity and to help

people feel less lonely by building community. Well, Steve Kuhn believes that Pickleball

can save the world. And rug gear here at our park is like a leading example of

that because we you probably have heard before that we actually have remember

that because they lost a loved one they really feel as a sense of community they

they really have much better life myself included I spoke last time about that

that I feel a renew because I found pickleball and we also have older

people that are playing every morning. Thank you very much. All right, thank you.

Next speaker please is Karen. Hi City Council and City staff. I'm Karen Means, 2715 Acacia Road.

I just want to talk about the stuff that the club has done, what we asked to have done,

and what we have been doing. So initially there was concern about parking, so people parking on

the resident side of the street. We don't do that anymore. We've been compliant with that,

so check. There's concern about nudity, I'm not sure about that, but people not making the long

trek all the way to the bathroom. We've been self-policing that and we've been complying

with our agreements around that, so check. Then we're asked to cut back hours, so the

weekends it starts two hours later, which on these really hot days actually really does matter when

it's going to be 105 degrees by 11 o'clock, and then half a day on Monday and no play on Thursdays.

We've been complying with that, so check.

Then we were told, Rudger shutting down,

you guys are moving, that's going to happen.

We're going to go to a different public space than Rudger Park.

And I would have thought that would be checkmate.

Game over.

We'll play there.

We'll have an alternative space at some point,

hopefully not too distant future, and we'll move.

But apparently, the game's not over,

because now we're being asked to cut our hours back some more.

These hours that we're being suggested are untenable.

So right now, maybe it doesn't sound so bad in the summer

to be shut down from 1 to 4.30, because the days are longer.

But in the winter, when it's 36 degrees in the morning,

the courts are wet.

We're not going to actually be on the court

till maybe 11 o'clock or so.

Then we have to shut down at 1.

And then by 4.30, it's dark.

So it really limits the day that we'll be able to play.

I'm just asking.

And we have people in this club that actually

play at a national level.

Like, it's a very well-thought-of club.

You guys have already heard that this is considered

a really great place to play nationwide.

Just let us play.

And then when it's time for us to move, we'll move.

Thank you very much.

Louie Mora?

Good evening.

Before I speak, I would like to respectfully request,

if I could, have five minutes, because I'm representing

a lot of other speakers.

Only if everybody says it doesn't work that way,

because they've all submitted cards, it's two minutes.

So, okay.

Unless everybody else does.

Because I've seen in the past where people

have been granted that.

Everyone else agree that he's speaking for you

and then you're done?

No.

There you go, sorry about that.

All right.

Nice try though.

Well, I mean, the neighbors have gotten that,

but I guess it's different for them.

We're gonna see for a while tonight.

Okay, my name is Luis Mora.

I live about half, you know, two thirds of a mile

away from the courts, and I want to make a point clear

this evening if I may, and I have some props to do that.

We basically are dealing with a very few,

predominantly one very vocal neighbor

who doesn't like pickleball,

and it's a typical NIMBY syndrome.

And I would like to compare that.

If this little golf ball represents one,

there are 224 Walnut Creek residents,

and that represents them.

So the council has paid too much attention

to the complaints of one or a few

when the needs of 224 residents of Walnut Creek,

who are members of the club, are being ignored

and stepped on.

I don't think that's fair.

We already compromised, as it was stated,

and personally, I have more time on the weekends to play.

To start playing at 10 AM when it's already 80, 85 degrees

is just not fair to us.

Somebody could have heat stroke, you know.

So I'm requesting that we go back to starting at 8 AM,

because that's when the temperature is conducive

to playing.

So you should look at the decisions you make

to try to satisfy the largest number of people.

So my request to you is stop paying attention

to the little golf ball,

and start focusing on the needs of the basketball,

the 224 plus Walnut Creek residents

who play pickleball at the members of the club.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Ms. Warren, thank you very much.

I am going to come back to you,

because I have your card,

and after I take one more speaker

who is online, Michael Trejo, and I'm announcing here,

the 30 minutes will be up after these two speakers.

So anyone else who wishes to speak to us this evening,

we will continue public communication

at the end of our regular business,

which I cannot predict at what time that will be.

Mr. Trejo?

Hello, can you hear me?

Barely, so you need to turn up your volume, please.

Hello, can you hear me?

Michael, can you turn up the volume?

Hello, I don't know if you can hear me.

Yes, we can hear you now.

Oh, hello, I apologize for that.

Hi, my name is Michael Trove,

and I just wanted to say that I am thankful

that, you know, in the community

that you let that woman deliver drugs to folks.

And I also want to say that I am also frustrated

that we don't have more trans Negro homosexual pickleball

in my neighborhood.

I would like another pickleball court in my neighborhood.

I think we should just do it nationally.

I would also like to thank the library

for hosting the tranny story time hour

to further degenerate the children.

It's just wonderful.

Maybe that lady could deliver some drugs

to my home later on, you know, and subvert my children.

Wanna appreciate you guys for shutting it down.

The other day when you blocked the gentleman's free speech,

it's not that important in America.

What is important, however,

is that that one guy with the golf ball,

that his voice isn't heard, right?

That the basketball must smash that golf ball, right?

I also wanna say that that man's clapping

earlier, hurt my feelings. And I would say that that concludes my commentary.

Right, thank you very much. Jan Warren. Thank you. We had your card already.

I mean I had it. Anyway, sorry. Thank you.

Jan Warren, Woodlands, and I'll be short. My topic is housing. I know you'll be

surprised. Affordable housing in particular and the housing element that

that I was out looking at the HCD compliance site

the other day, and I still don't see that, you know,

so I haven't heard anything since March,

and March, late March.

So I just wonder what's going on with that.

And I also found a note about the DEI

when they last presented here.

I think they were gonna come back quarterly or something

and wonder, you know,

when we're gonna hear from them again.

Thanks.

thank you Ms. Warren. Again it has been 30 minutes and I'm now closing this first period of public

comment. You are welcome to wait until the end of the meeting when we will reopen public comment.

And I am now turning to my council colleagues does anyone have anything they

they need to offer at this point even though we're midway through public comment.

city manager, the status of that, just to edify,

there's been a lot of staffing changes at the state

on the housing department.

So our housing element,

maybe somebody can advise Ms. Warren on that.

Yes, Dan Buckshi, city manager.

Work has continued on the housing element

rather furiously, as a matter of fact,

so much so I clearly can't speak,

I'm tired of working on it, but in any event,

yes, it has been a high focus, remains a high focus.

Staff has had ongoing discussions

with some of the state housing community development staff.

We have another update later this week.

We are hoping to bring the housing element

for your council's consideration

either in August or September,

depending upon the additional feedback

we receive from the state.

But the goal is to hopefully have this fully certified

within the next month or two.

Thank you very much.

Next item on the agenda is council member and staff.

Mayor, I'd like to quickly speak

or unless you're waiting till the very end

of all the speakers.

I was going to wait until the end of all the speakers

since we're basically have continued.

I don't wanna have to make comments twice

on public comment if that is all right.

That's fine.

Council member and staff announcements,

reports on activities or requests.

Do we have any closed session announcements

city attorney?

Madam Mayor, there are no closed session announcements.

City Manager. I could have asked you about the housing element here but-

Right. Just one update briefly for your council and the public. At the end of June, I did attend

the League of California Cities Government Transparency and Labor Relations Policy

Committee. I'm a member of that group and we did receive an extensive update from an actuary

providing an update relative to the PERS Public Employee Pension System and I'll be brief. The

The short takeaway is after a very lengthy presentation,

there are no major policy changes contemplated

at this time for PERS.

The information we've received over the last year or so

with anticipated cost increases,

we should anticipate those will be

relatively accurate borrowing.

We don't know what will happen in the future,

but there had been some discussions

of potential policy changes.

Additionally, there was some legislation

being considered in the legislature

about changing the potential investment mix.

my understanding is that legislation is not moving forward this legislative

session so that's my update this evening there that was the divestiture that's

correct suggestion councilmember Francois and because we have so many

people waiting for the end of the meeting now let's go really slowly I'm

just kidding let's be efficient in our reports we haven't been together in a

month but let's stay focused primarily on things that we're doing specifically

related to our City Council responsibilities. I'd be happy to, Mayor. Thank you. I attended the

Recycle Smart Board meeting on June 18th. The Mayor and I serve as the Council's representatives

on that board, which is responsible for garbage, but also recycling and organics recycling.

We adopted a franchise procurement process integrity policy, which sounds like a mouthful.

And essentially, it's an important policy,

good government, strong ethics,

in terms of we're about to embark on entering into,

or going out to bid for a new tenure contract

with our providers.

And so this policy is meant for members of the board

to regulate themselves and puts a blackout

on campaign contributions, gifts,

and ex-parte communications,

meaning out of the chamber communications,

with any entity that may be bidding on the work.

So we got that accomplished and shortly thereafter,

I serve as the council liaison to the chamber of commerce

and also serve on their economic development

working group committee.

And we had an update from PG&E

and asked a lot of questions about kind of the amount

time it takes to get for residential or new commercial businesses to get new service.

And they gave a pretty sobering statistics that their average across the region is 333

days, which is almost a year.

Their goal is to reduce that to 180 days, and they hope to essentially get there by

the end of 2024.

So I think the positive aspect of that meeting

was that we have now I think a really good contact

and have a PG&E that the city can only do so much

in terms of building permit and planning permits

that are within the city's purview.

Some of these other utilities, we need to rely on good

contacts at the utilities when property owners

or applicants bump up into issues.

So now we have a good contact there.

And at our next economic development working group

meeting we'll be hearing from the representative

of the Central Sand Board, the sewer district,

and their manager.

And then finally, I just wanted to point out

that I enjoyed the week break,

or the month-long break, actually.

I enjoyed that even more.

That we've had since our last council meeting.

I had a very enjoyable 4th of July,

and I hope you all did as well.

And then today, I had the opportunity to go on a ride along

with our HOP team, the Homeless Outreach Patrol.

And I got the top guy, Sergeant Gary Silva,

who oversees that group

and is standing in the back of the room.

And gave me a tour of some of the facility.

We went to the Trinity Center, we went around town,

and I was really impressed

with the compassion and respect he showed to everyone

that he encountered, even to one gentleman

who was definitely not showing him that respect back.

And so it was helpful for me to do that.

I'd like to go on another ride along,

maybe on a weekend evening with police

and get a better sense of kind of what's happening

in our restaurant and bar scene.

And that's my update.

Thank you.

Council Member Wilk, we're gonna go to you

before you fall asleep.

He is in Washington, DC and he's three hours ahead.

So I know you're paying attention.

I will be up for the entire meeting.

So I'll quickly go through this.

I'm also part of the Cal Cities

Environmental Quality Policy Committee.

We had a big discussion a couple of weeks ago

on water rights during a drought

and how those will be handled.

We didn't have a recommendation on that.

That's going to continue to be part of a bill

that's being discussed right now at the state senate level.

I also went to the Fiesta Cultural Rudney Plaza.

That's great to see.

We're a welcoming community, and we'll

talk more about that later as well.

But it's great to see these kind of events.

And in this instance, this was just

part of a weeks-long cultural festival that

was happening in Walnut Creek.

The latest Bedford Gallery is part of the committee assignment

that I have on Diablo Regional Arts Association.

The Bedford Gallery just opened up

with a new exhibit called Sight Unseen.

If you haven't seen this, go see this,

because the artists can't see it.

They're all blind.

Every one of the artists that have part of an art exhibit

there, they are blind.

It is an amazing thing to see.

So please go there.

I also represented Walnut Creek at the Port Chicago

79th Memorial for the Port Chicago explosion that

happened during World War II, the worst domestic tragedy that

happened after Pearl Harbor during World War II here,

stateside.

and they're going to be having a lot more

that's coming up in the next year.

And then lastly, as a committee member,

board member for CCTA, our county connection,

wanted to mention that there is a summer youth pass program

for ages six to 18 with unlimited bus rides

that started in June and goes through August 31st

for only $30.

This means that anybody 18 and under

can ride on county connection, tribe Delta Transit,

and also Westcat as much as they want

through the end of summer.

You can order those at 511cc.org

and just look under Youth Pass for that.

And the reason that I am in Washington,

I'll mention it again,

is that I am advocating for transit and grant funding

from our own congressmen,

as well as other congress and staff

that hold the purse strings to grant funding

when it comes to what we can do with public transit.

And in this instance, it's being able to continue

to be technologically advanced

and be able to have clean energy moving into the future,

whether it's hydrogen fuel cell or more electric buses.

So that's why I'm here.

And that's my report.

Thank you very much.

Council Member Darling.

Thank you.

Couple things, went out and briefed

the Rossmore Golden Rain Foundation

and they were very happy to hear

that something might be happening

at that Bank of America building

that's been baking out there for so long.

Briefed them on everything else that's going on

and they're happy to continue to work with us.

The Walnut Creek Homeless Task Force did meet

a couple of things.

The county does a point in time count

and they have that pretty well finalized now.

They feel like they've done as good as you can.

It's obviously not an exact tool.

It is showing a slight increase

in the number of homeless countywide.

I think Walnut Creek itself actually saw our numbers go down.

Some of the other findings that the county emphasized

coming out of that is that the role of the cost of housing

as it plays in homelessness is huge.

And the other thing that they're finding,

as they look at the results from the point in time count,

is that the homeless that are here in Contra Costa County

are from Contra Costa County.

They're not coming in from out of the area.

We also talked briefly about

encampment cleanup in Walnut Creek.

There's a whole procedure that we go through

with Public Works, the HOP team,

and the Trinity Center and the CORE team,

which is the social workers that work with the homeless,

where they tag it, notice it,

separate the belongings from the trash

and clean the trash up.

And there's about 11 or 12 sites in the city

that are regularly cleaned up, plus a few extra.

And Trinity gave a quick update on theirs.

They're still seeing new people.

They saw about a hundred new people this month,

but they're starting to get back into a rhythm.

The other things I got to, we all,

several of us got to go to the first employee event

that we've had for a while.

I guess we had one last year, but anyway,

that was a good chance.

And we found out who on the city staff

is the best at hitting a wiffle ball.

Turns out there's somebody that played college ball,

but he didn't win.

And then the other thing I did was there was a presentation

by a local professor who works on hate speech

and the Anti-Defamation League.

And they talked about the different things

that are going on.

And one of the things was what's happening here

in Walnut Creek.

And one of the things that they said is that we

as a community need to continue to speak out against it.

Don't just ignore it, don't let it get normalized.

And I'm sorry you guys all had to listen to it tonight,

but under the First Amendment, they have a right,

but we are working hard to not make it

a normal part of life in Walnut Creek.

And that's my month.

Thank you.

Mayor Pro Tem?

Thank you.

I represented Walnut Creek at the concert

in the Fourth of July at Civic Park

done by the Walnut Creek Concert Band,

who are in fact performing in the Lesher Center,

I think even as we speak.

It was a delightful,

It was a delightful experience

to sing the Star Spangled Banner

with as many people as showed up.

It was amazing.

I attended the Contra Costa mayor's conference

and I cannot remember the name of the group

who came and told us about.

Okay, so I attended

the Contra Costa Transportation Planning Committee Meeting

and we talked more about the potential expansion

of Highway 4 and how multiple modes of transportation

are going to make a difference.

I attended Walnut Creek downtown

and there's coming up in August,

lots and lots of arts experiences and a moving feast

and lots of ways and some art exhibits.

And I'm sure Mayor Silva has other things

that they're going to do,

but the point of it is to come downtown

and learn about some fun things that you maybe didn't know

and didn't experience before.

Let's see, I also attended

as part of my Country Cost of Transportation Authority,

the Innovate 680 update and it was about learning.

San Diego has a pilot program on buses on shoulders,

and we're learning what they can do

and how to make it work better for us

as part of the overall improvement of use of Highway 680.

And I'm sure I've forgotten something

and I can't get my computer to agree to talk to me, so.

Thank you very much.

A few updates.

The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority, long name BAFA,

came and spoke at the recent meeting

of the Contra Costa County Conference of Mayors,

which is 19 cities come together once a month.

And the representative, the executive director,

described a bond measure that is being proposed

to be put on the Bay Area, the nine counties' ballots,

in 2024 that would generate per year $1.5 billion

to increase the availability of affordable housing

across the Bay Area.

The funds, if approved by the local voters,

the funds raised would actually help to tackle

the housing shortfall,

which when you have a shortfall of housing,

you have rising housing prices

because demand is so high, prices rise.

It also will, so that is, and it would increase,

the funds collected would be returned to the counties,

the source of origin, 80% of it,

for the counties and the cities to work together

to decide how to reinvest those funds in our communities.

I want to congratulate the Lesher Center for the Arts,

the Diablo Regional Arts Association, and others

who put on Fiesta Cultural.

I hear it was a wonderful success

and the first of many future celebrations

of cultural performances.

And as the one more summer sounds coming up next Thursday.

Okay, the, if you haven't experienced the outdoor plaza

in front of the Lesher Center this Thursday from 5.30 to 7,

you can come down for a free concert.

And then enjoy, go inside and figure out what else

is playing at the Lesher in August,

as well as all of the arts activities around town.

Community Service Day is Saturday, October 14th.

I'm honored to be able to co-chair that,

and I have since 2011, and we have 36 projects.

a few more are still trickling in planned for the day it's just a morning

and it's a great way to give back to the community and I will mention to my

colleagues that I was at the last week's board meeting of the League of

California Cities as well as at the Housing Statewide Policy Committee of

the League of California Cities and I have been nominated to serve another two

years on that statewide board thank you all for what you do on behalf of the

community. City Manager, any further reports now that we've talked a lot?

Otherwise I'm going on to the next item. None for me. Alright, thank you. Next item

on the agenda is our sustainability action plan. It's the consideration of

the resolution to adopt the sustainability action plan and the

associated addendum to the general plan environmental impact report and

adoption of a climate emergency resolution. Welcome. Didn't we just see

you? It was a month ago, wasn't it? Just a month. Good evening, mayor, council members,

members of the public. My name is Carla Hanson. I'm the deputy city manager. The

item before you is the sustainability action plan and this tonight is a

culmination of three years of work with the community, our partner agencies, and

the City Council. We've been working on updating the sustainability action plan

since 2019 and we've done it over three phases. We've done it over changes in

city staff. We've done it over changes of in state law and local regulations and

we've done it through a pandemic as well. So this has been a heavy lift for our

city staff and our our organization and we were in front of you in June, June

120th about a month ago where we presented the draft sustainability action plan and a draft climate emergency

Resolution to get your feedback and the community's feedback. We took that feedback. We went back and we

Finalized we incorporated all of that feedback into this plan that you see this evening

For for adoption

So what are we gonna talk about tonight? So if you haven't been with us for the last three years

We will be providing a quick overview of what is what is the sustainability action plan and what is in it?

The summary of the changes that we made from the June 20th meeting to now a quick overview of the environmental review

that was done on the plan the council's commitment to implementation and then the

overview of our climate emergency resolution

With me this evening is our city staff team

which is Emlyn Struthers from Public Works and Catherine Walsh who is our

AmeriCorps Climate Fellow. Both will be presenting tonight. One of those people,

this is their first time presenting to City Council so ask her all the hard

questions. And also with me is our consultant team from PlaceWorks and from

Harrison Associates. The recommended action for you tonight is to adopt the

resolution that approves the sustainability action plan and the

addendum that for to the general plan for the the EIR to the addendum to the

general plan our mental impact report that is a mouthful and also adopt the

climate emergency resolution as we embarked on this journey it began with a

vision for a sustainable Walnut Creek and this vision was created by the city

council and our community and it really the sustainability action plan is the

roadmap to achieving this sustainability vision. The plan is balanced and focused

on rapidly reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. It also expands partnerships

with our community organizations to help inform residents and businesses of how

they can get involved to be more sustainable in their day-to-day lives.

And it also looks through an equity lens on how we can achieve our goals together

and addresses topics of air pollution, water conservation, waste and climate

resiliency. So that is that is what we're working toward with this plan. This

vision is what we want to achieve with the plan and to hear more about the plan

I'm going to invite Emlind Struthers up to give you an overview. Thank you Carla

and good evening Mayor, Council and members of the public. I'm Emlind

Struthers and thank you for the opportunity to present on our

sustainability action plan. As Karla mentioned, we've created the

sustainability action plan over three phases. In phase one, we created a vision

together, which you saw on the prior slide, and we conducted several technical

analyses that form the foundation of this plan, including a greenhouse gas

emissions inventory and a forecast of what our emissions look like into the

future. In our second phase, we develop the strategies that will address the

greenhouse gas emissions reductions, as well as accomplish other components of

that vision, so other climate resilience and adaptation measures, as well as

general sustainability. In phase three, which began last fall, we have compiled

all of the components of the prior phases together into one document, which

is our plan. And we've released that plan to the public on April 20th. And since that

time we've been performing the environmental review and public review. Throughout this

process we've worked with the community and council each step of the way. We have been

to council six times, not including the quarterly priorities updates. We've presented to three

different commissions. Planning Commission, Transportation Commission

and Youth Commission. We've met with 40 different stakeholder organizations,

businesses, and agencies. We've received 229 responses to two online surveys.

We've held three community workshops, one in each phase, attended more than six

pop-up events in the community, and sent regular updates to our list of 2,500

active subscribers. The Sustainability Action Plan builds on our 2012 Climate

Action Plan and includes those additional measures around climate

mitigation, adaptation, and general sustainability. And the core focus of the

plan is accomplishing our greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals of reducing

our greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and to

to 85% below 1990 levels by 2045,

supporting the state's path to net carbon neutrality.

It's also going to serve as a CEQA qualified

greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan,

which we'll talk more about later.

On this slide, you can see our greenhouse gas emissions

reduction targets in 2020 for reference,

and also 2030 and 2045,

which is what this specific plan really focuses on.

As you can see in the top row,

the targets are 311,000 metric tons of CO2 in 2030

and 77,000, so a huge reduction by 2045.

Without the plan, we would not be able to accomplish,

we would not be able to meet those targets.

We're exceeding those targets.

But with the plan, we're able to reduce our emissions

as a municipality and a community to below that level.

how are we going to accomplish this the plan is organized into five different

chapters the first chapter covers the regulatory framework and how the plan

was prepared in the second chapter we discussed climate change and Walnut

Creek its impacts and our vulnerability assessment that was conducted in phase

one chapters three and four are what contain the strategies and actions in

In chapter three, the strategies include those that reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

And in chapter four, it includes broader community resilience strategies.

And finally, in chapter five, we get into how the plan will be implemented, monitored,

tracked.

The plan includes 21 strategies across six sectors with 128 actions.

we will not be getting into all of the strategies and actions tonight. We

covered that at our prior meeting as well as the two meetings before that. But

the sectors, for frame of reference, are buildings and energy supply, transportation

and land use, water and wastewater waste, outdoor equipment, and community health

and resilience. If you're to flip open your plan to chapters 3 and 4 where the

strategies are contained, you'll notice that each of the 21 strategies includes

a sheet much like this one. At the top you'll see the strategy language, you'll

see the anticipated greenhouse gas emissions reductions associated with

the strategy, the co-benefits such as enhancing economic development or

conserving our natural resources, recommended actions to accomplish those

strategies, and performance assumptions and indicators so that we can measure

success. While all 21 strategies of the plan are important and needs to be

implemented for the plan's success, it's important to note that six strategies

account for 98% of the plan's greenhouse gas emissions reductions. And those

Those strategies are primarily centered around building electrification, transportation electrification

and enhancing multimodal mobility, transitioning to pollution-free outdoor equipment, and reducing

the amount of waste that's going to landfill.

Since you all saw this plan last month, several changes have been made to the final draft.

Those include the consolidation of waste strategies, two strategies into one, primarily

to reduce duplication and to make it more consolidated and powerful.

We also updated greenhouse gas emissions calculations to make them as accurate as we could.

We accelerated several actions to be implemented in the near term.

We made some changes to the executive summary to better tell the story, and we've incorporated

new images, including five eco-art submissions from students in the community, much like

this beautiful image here.

All of the edits are outlined in attachment two of your agenda packet.

So earlier I had mentioned that this is a SQL qualified plan.

So with all those changes, we are bringing the final draft to you tonight for adoption,

along with the related environmental documents.

And forgive me if I read some of this, I've got to read some things for the hearing.

This plan is being adopted pursuant to a public process, which is a requirement for

it to be a qualified greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan under CEQA.

Council is considering this under public hearing and will be receiving public comments.

The draft plan was released on April 20th and staff conducted outreach on the plan through

Community Workshop, an online survey, pop-up events and the eco newsletter.

The Notice of Public Hearing was published pursuant to Government Code section 65090

and CEQA guidelines 15183.5b1f.

Sing along if you know the words.

The CEQA addendum was published with the agenda materials for the June 20, 2023 meeting as

as well as in the agenda materials today.

The agenda concluded that the proposed project

would not result in any new significant impacts

or substantially increase the severity

of any significant impacts previously identified

in the certified EIR for the general plan.

So now that we got the fun part out of the way,

as we look ahead to plan implementation,

the plan includes methods to ensure

that the plan is properly implemented

and is effective at achieving its intended goals.

These methods of implementation in chapter five of the plan

include monitoring and reporting on progress,

partnering with the community to amplify our impact,

securing funding, and regularly updating

the mission's inventory and plan.

The plan also includes a high-level work plan

with actions to be implemented by timeframe.

The actions on the screen are just for example,

they're not meant to be exhaustive.

We've got 128 of these.

You don't wanna see the slides with all of them.

But just to give you some flavor

of what we'll be working on in the near term,

the midterm by 2026 and the longterm by 2030.

So council's already taken big actions

to show its commitment to implementing this plan

at the last meeting.

You saw the budget hearing

where council allocated funding

for a full-time sustainability coordinator position

who will be implementing this plan,

working with the community, seeking out grant funds,

and communicating how we're doing, what's our progress.

Council also has allocated $650,000 for implementation

on top of our regular operations,

where we're already taking a look at sustainability

and other components of our city operations.

And this year alone, staff has applied for a million

and a half dollars in federal grant funds

under the Inflation Reduction Act

and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

to accomplish sustainability specific items

like an urban forestry plan and building more EV chargers.

So as part of council's commitment to implementation,

you've directed us to develop a climate emergency resolution.

And here tonight with us is our City of Walnut Creek

Sustainability Action Plan fellow, Catherine Walsh,

who is with the Climate Corps AmeriCorps Program.

And she's been helping us develop this plan

over the last year.

And I'd like you all to join me in welcoming Catherine.

Thank you, Emlyn.

Oh, is that close enough?

Okay.

Thank you, Emlyn, for that introduction.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council,

and members of the public.

Throughout the planned development process,

Council and the community have affirmed adopting a climate

emergency resolution to acknowledge

the threat of climate change and its effects,

such as increased temperatures, more extreme storms,

and non-normal weather conditions with adverse effects.

The resolution also emphasizes the urgency of taking action

and taking actions that are outlined

in the sustainability action plan,

which you've all heard about today.

Integral to this commitment is centering equity

while taking action, since some groups of people,

such as low-income communities and people of color,

are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

It is vital that any climate action be taken

done with this knowledge.

City staff first presented a draft

climate emergency resolution

at the June 20th City Council meeting,

as has been mentioned,

and have since made edits that have been suggested

by council members at that time.

No substantive changes have been made to the resolution.

So today we are asking council to adopt the final version,

which is attachment five in today's agenda packet.

By adopting a climate emergency resolution,

the city of Walnut Creek will join

over 2000 jurisdictions worldwide

in affirming the urgent need

to take action on climate change.

In our county, the city of Walnut Creek will join Richmond,

El Cerrita, Martinez, and Contra Costa County,

which have all adopted climate emergency resolutions.

Therefore, tonight, the recommended action before you

is to adopt the resolution approving

the Sustainability Action Plan

and the associated addendum to the General Plan

Environmental Impact Report,

in addition to adopting the Climate Emergency Resolution.

That concludes our presentation.

Thank you and the project team is available

to take questions.

Thank you very much and congratulations you survived.

I think council members probably have a few questions

then we'll open it for public comment

before we consider the adoption of the resolution

and the plan and the addendum to the EIR.

Council member Darling,

do you have any questions for staff?

Just two quick ones.

Thank you guys for a tremendous job

and it's a huge lift to get here.

So I really appreciate that.

I know that we probably don't know the answer fully yet,

but I know the inflation reduction act

also includes tax credits in addition to grants.

Do we have a sense of whether,

and that cities are now even though we don't pay taxes

are eligible for the tax credits.

Do we have a sense yet of any of the implementation actions

that would benefit from those tax credits?

Do we know if there's some of them that will?

off the top of my head, I don't know.

I think a lot of them are for building electrification

and some-

I think the EV chargers is the one area.

EV chargers.

So we are working with the county

and their sustainability coordination group

that works with all 19 cities and unincorporated areas.

They have a really great grants tracker,

which includes also the tax credits

and other payment programs.

So we are working to scan for those

and figure out when are we eligible for it

and when is it due so we can put that in our workflow

to apply.

Okay and then Central Contra Costa Sanitary District.

I heard from one of their board members the other day

that we can't do the recycle water part of this plan

without them really taking the lead

because it's their part of things.

And I've heard that they are working on

kind of a strategic planning effort.

And I was wondering if you had heard anything

from them in your discussions

on whether or not that might change the priority

they would give to providing us recycled water.

Yeah, so we've engaged with them early on in phase two

when we developed our strategies

and we'll be continuing to engage with them

and engage with them more fully

now that we'll hopefully be switching

into implementation phase.

A lot of the strategies in the plan

have to do with number one, coordinating with Central San

to make it possible to get the delivery.

and to where feasible and on municipal property

installing the purple pipe infrastructure

to make it possible.

Okay, well we'll keep an eye on central sand

and see if we can encourage them.

Yes, that would be great, thank you.

Thank you, that's all.

Thank you.

Mayor Pro Tem, do you have any questions?

I don't have any questions except in the resolution.

Can you turn your microphone on please?

I'm gonna focus on the resolution.

Item the fifth, whereas, goes on about a lot of things.

And this is our Walnut Creek's resolution

and we've included that we're going to worry about this

throughout the world.

There's a phrase in there throughout the world.

I think it's a big enough job

for just Walnut Creek to do it.

And so could we just delete

the taking responsibility all through the world?

So, we'll discuss that under comments.

Okay.

Because, of course, we can delete...

The answer to the question is, yes, we can consider that.

Okay.

And maybe while we're considering that,

adding animals and flora and fauna to the next one.

And I have one on the next page, too.

So, maybe we can talk about that then.

Yes.

Sorry.

Done.

She made a comment in the form of a question.

We're not on Jeopardy.

Well, we have seen Ken Jennings speak at the Lester Center.

Council member Franks as well.

You know, most of my questions were answered at the last meeting or reflected in the revised

plan.

I had some technical questions, type of things, and staff responded to those by email, so

I am all good.

Council member Wilk.

Thank you.

Yeah, most of my questions were answered as well.

But I did want to focus a couple of questions on gas powered leaf blowers since that seems

to still be a primary issue for a lot of people in the community. So I'm not sure if

Evelyn or somebody else would be able to speak to those. The first question is how much how much

would gas powered leaf blowers reduce greenhouse gas emissions on their own? Is that something

that's able to be calculated? So in our plan the strategy 15 is specific to community-wide. We have

two strategies in the plan related to hand tools.

One is for municipal operations and the other is community wide.

So that's strategy 15, and it is specific to leaf blowers.

And in 2030, there are 1,400 metric tons

of CO2 reductions anticipated from eliminating those.

So 0.3% is the percentage.

0.3% reduction.

10th of a percent. Correct. Okay and the thank you. The second question is talks about the phase out

being in 2026. Does that mean that's the start of the phase out by the state or is that the end of

the phase out? So there's a state ban on sale that kicks in next year in 2024. What we're doing is

we're going further than the state where they're banning sale. We would be banning use of that type

of equipment in the community and that would be phased in over three years from plan adoption.

That being said, the dates in the plan, those are a backstop. There's always the ability to

accelerate those if that's the will of council. So the idea being that the phase

out would be completed by 2026? Correct, or yes. Yeah, great. Thank you.

That's it. That's it, all right, thank you. I have a few questions, thank you to all of you for all

of the work you did over the last month and in particular making things clearer in terms of the

presentation. When we looked at the strategies and the actions in chapter three, you provided the

current state of the state of the city in terms of the conditions for each action as well as what we

that we would then do to get to 2030 and to 2045.

So thank you.

All of that additional detail is very, very helpful.

My questions, in the executive summary page five,

there's a table and there was a recalculation

that actually lowered the number related to the strategy

on waste and waste diversion.

Can you explain quickly what caused the reduction in the...

So this isn't a very glamorous answer.

It's basically what a typo was in the model.

I typo in the model.

Yes, but the strategy language didn't match

what was calculated.

So that's actually the primary change.

All right, thank you.

In our water use strategy related to public,

related to all water, is that it's a large number,

420 million gallons, I think.

and for 2030. And is that across the public sector only or public and private sector

residential business commercial? It applies to everyone community-wide so that does capture

municipal facilities but it's also the residences and the businesses which I believe are the two

lines above it in that table. I have two questions related to strategy 14 which is

waste diversion. And thank you for combining the two because now it's one succinct, albeit many,

many action steps. So this is just a clarification or a confirmation. My assumption is if action

steps are related that we've outlined and they could be done simultaneously or as one program,

that will be a good thing. I believe that's accurate. Those are also supportive actions

that will sort of further the work occurring in the prior set of strategies.

And then related to the action step it's on page 81 for all of you in the audience who are following

along so rapidly. Thank you. The action step is to, it's related to an ordinance or requiring the

elimination of the use of plastic food where restaurants, caterers, takeout. What is the

current state of the state law, and aren't we dovetailing with that?

So yes, the California State Legislature adopted Assembly Bill 1276, I think two

falls ago, and it kicked in last year. And that bill requires that when you are

doing takeout or delivery service, that single-use foodware, like a plastic fork

or spoon or knife or even a ketchup packet, is only provided upon request and

it was required of municipalities to adopt that at a local level so that they

had enforcement power. They could do exactly the state law or have a

variation thereof as long as it did at least the state law. And we in Walnut

Creek, the City Council adopted an ordinance last summer. There is still a

gap in compliance or following that and a lot of it has to do with education the

fees are relative fees and fines are very low for that so really what we're

looking for isn't the $25 from the retailer or the the food vendor

restaurant we want people to follow it so that's where we need to do more as a

as a municipality to outreach and educate consumers

and restaurants.

OK, in our regular progress reports, Chapter 4,

what's regular?

We would love to have direction from council on that topic.

At the very least, we get quarterly reports

on our priorities, and this is in our priorities.

So I can affirmatively say quarterly, at least

for the next two years.

Excellent, thank you.

Okay, thank you.

And the addendum to the environmental report.

It was long, small type,

but my takeaway is that we're basically relying

on approving this plan under the auspices

of the existing general plan environmental report

and we're tearing off of it.

And the general plan established basically a 25-year look

at potential impacts that would incur,

including allowances for growth, not only in people,

but changes in all sorts of things.

My takeaway is that most everything

that we would propose to do and take action on

through this sustainability action plan

over the next so many years fall within the umbrella

of the capacity of the environmental documents

from the general plan.

Have I summarized that correctly?

Yeah, that's correct.

Oh, good. Thank you for not going all legal on me.

There were a couple of instances, however,

where it looked like they might be significant impacts

unless mitigated.

And can you, somebody tell me what those few were because?

So the two areas where there are impacts

would be air quality and hydrology.

And it's generally associated with any type of development

or new construction, but they are all in alignment

with what is anticipated under the existing general plan.

So this doesn't initiate any new housing development,

but it does initiate maybe some solar installations

that have construction involved with it.

So it'd be truck movement and dirt movement that...

I think that's a good example, yeah.

It's the air quality issue,

because I don't think we've talked about it.

It doesn't impact the population.

And I'm gonna answer some.

Yeah, and then I'm going to.

We're gonna get the technical guy, yay.

to kick this over to Darrin Newfield.

Mayor, council members,

Darrin Newfield with Harrison Associates

and I helped out on the CEQA document.

The general plan, EIR itself did have significant impacts

for air quality, noise, utilities,

and service systems and transportation.

The sustainability action plan

does not have any significant impacts.

We do not require any mitigation

for the actions in this plan.

And it does fall within the environmental impacts

of that general plan.

the envelope. All right thank you very much. And I think those are my questions so I think we're

ready to open this for public comment. So everyone who's here and has joined us virtually this is the

opportunity to provide public comment on the sustainability action plan and the attendant

parts. If you would like to speak to us this evening and you're in our virtual you're attending

virtually please raise your hand again this is your comments are limited to the

sustainability action plan so please raise your hand now because we need to

see how many we have use your raise hand feature in zoom or press star 9 you

will have up to two minutes to comment if I see Jan Warren who is here in the

council chambers anyone else here on the sustainability action plan okay please

line up. Thank you. You can stay in line with everybody. All right, Ms. Warren, please.

Good job, team. Three years. I can hardly wait to work on the general plan.

You know, it was COVID time. Yeah, that's old. We're not going to go with COVID again. Anyway,

Great design, I agree with Miss Silva

that real improvement on readability.

I love the pictures that the kids grew

and it broke up all the reading.

Talk about the GHG targets and goals

and the sustainability vision.

And then somewhere we split and we talk about

here's what the city's gonna do to reduce

and here's what the community's gonna do to reduce.

And the only thing I can figure out

from going through it a little bit

is that the community's being tracked by,

you mentioned the state laws.

So it's being tracked by our permits

and our EV purchases and all those types of things.

Otherwise, I'm not sure how you come up with those.

I bring up again, I brought it up last time.

We just went through some heat spells again

And I got quite a few emails from different districts

and other areas about here's where you can go

to be cool and stay safe.

And I may have missed it, but I didn't see ours.

And I'm hoping that we actually,

I know that we have from time to time,

use the library and whatnot,

but I'd really like us to have something

that everybody knows about and when this happens

and it hits this degree or this goes out,

People know what to do, and if they need help

getting to a place that they can get that help.

I saw that the county core group

was putting out extra folks.

I want to skip down to the bottom

and say I hope we're planning to replace some trees

this fall on the median in YVR before the rains come.

We got some empty spots, we could use some more trees.

I look forward to the additional staff you committed

to help with implementation, permanent staff.

And so glad we have gotten here.

The equity piece, I'm not sure how we really identify.

We're gonna do that.

Thank you so much.

Next speaker, please.

I'm in to talk, I have one question

for the fellows on climate change.

If 36.5 million people can pickle ball for two hours a day.

I'm sorry.

Could you- I'm just wondering what-

Could you, excuse me.

Excuse me, you're gonna speak to the-

Council. Oh, okay. Well you ask questions of the council and we will

seek an answer but who are you because you were you were ten steps away when

you were... I'm sorry my name's Bridget Cox and if 36.5 million people do an

activity outside during the day instead of using their air conditioning driving

their car or doing things that cause electricity to run running leaf blowers

And they're participating outside an outdoor activity.

Would that make a difference in the impact of climate change of them using those?

Excuse me.

Speak into the microphone.

I'm sorry.

Would that cause a difference in climate if those individuals were using vehicles or driving

or doing things that ruin the climate instead of being outside doing something healthy like

pickleball?

Okay.

The what?

That question is for the fellows who do the climate change activity, outdoor activity.

We will.

Okay.

comments are to us okay and we will speak further. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next speaker please.

Hi my name is Melina Rafferty and I'm a Walnut Creek resident. I am here today in support of

sustainability action. I believe it is important to understand and acknowledge that we are in a

climate crisis. We in Walnut Creek are so lucky to have our beautiful open space. With that privilege

we must pledge to protect it. I am so pleased that our city has exceeded its community-wide

and municipal carbon emission reduction goals, but the work is never done, and I think this

plan and resolution are great steps in the right direction.

I just want to thank everyone who played a part in this project for all their hard work.

It will be well worth it.

I'm excited to see this plan in action.

Thank you and have a nice night.

Thank you very much.

Seeing no other speakers here in the council chambers, we will go to the two speakers who

are joining us virtually, Jeffrey Perrine.

Can you hear me?

Yes, thank you.

OK, so first off, I just want to say,

I believe in sustainability.

I understand what sustainability is.

I just feel like this board is confused

on what it means to actually sustain something or conserve.

I don't think you guys quite understand

what's going to happen when you replace gas mowers and gas

blowers, with electric. There are lots of people around the world that are being turned

into the modern day cotton pickers and the slaves of the past. You go to Africa, you

go to the other continents, where they're digging ginormous holes and digging for lithium,

it's horrendous. The abuses and the slavery continues and the elite are only getting richer.

There's a very select few people that actually have the ability to be able to afford this

so when I hear equity I'm just assuming that you mean white people will be having to pay

for everything. I just think that you guys need to understand as a grower and a farmer

and someone that's grown, when you grow carbon levels are higher. When you grow indoor food,

indoor vegetables, indoor anything. You increase the CO2 levels. So decreasing the CO2 levels

within our environment and hoping plants will thrive

is idiocy.

It's clearly brainwashing of the modern day left

and the elites that have convinced you

that we need batteries.

We've had rolling blackouts and brownouts over the years.

What do you think's gonna happen

when you force everyone to drive an electric vehicle

or use an electric tool?

You people have lost your minds.

Leftism and liberalism is a mental disorder.

You folks really need to take a look at what you're doing.

you're going to destroy us.

This is working along with the new Green Deal

and the progressive left and their 15-minute cities.

This is all an implementation to lock us down

so we have nowhere to go.

Obviously, the rule.

Thank you very much.

Catherine Walley, please.

Looks like Catherine Walley put her hand down.

All right, then, oh, go ahead, back up.

Here.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes, thank you for being here.

Wonderful. Thank you. Sorry, the join us panelists thing took a while to come up. Hi is Catherine Wally resident of Walnut Creek. Thank you for this sustainability action plan and everything that the city is doing to

Reduce carbon emissions and to create a more sustainable Walnut Creek.

In considering this. I'd also love to encourage the council and those in attendance to take a look at a book that I'm currently reading. It's the climate book by Greta Thunberg

She only writes a short portion of it.

It's primarily a series of articles

written by a variety of climate scientists,

as well as environmental journalists,

who are looking at the true climate crisis,

what we're truly facing.

And very importantly is the discussion on,

very important is the discussion on

what net zero actually means.

Largely with many of the nations

throughout the developed world,

Net zero for us doesn't take into account

the materials, the manufacturing of the goods

that we actually use.

It only considers what we are actually producing.

So because the developed world,

we largely have manufactured much of the steel,

manufactured much of the concrete, the roadways.

We have all the infrastructures that has required

high emitting materials, CO2, methane, et cetera

to get us to this point.

we now can say we're getting,

we're gonna be able to approach net zero

because we're all the goods that we're using,

we're offsetting onto other countries

that are actually producing

and actually the ones manufacturing

that are manufacturing that are creating

the carbon emissions and the methane emissions

for the products that we then ship in here.

We're not accounting the shipment of products here

in our calculations.

So what that means is that as a city,

I am so in support of everything you all are doing,

but also I would love for us as a city

And also as individuals, myself included,

I'm taking a really strong look at what is it

that we're consuming and what is it that we can do

to reduce our output?

Thank you very much.

Moving more sustainably.

Thank you, all right.

Seeing no other speakers, I'm closing public comment

and bringing it back to the City Council.

Councilmember Darling, do you have any further questions?

No.

Councilmember Francois, any further questions?

No.

Mayor Pro Tem.

Councilmember Wolk any further questions? No. Let me start with our represent Cindy

Darling councilmember represents the city on the MCE board and I'll ask you

to go first. All right I am very excited to be here and get to this point it's

been a long time and it is something that I think we as a city have done a

great job at to date and I look forward to continuing to implement it it's why

we have it as our priority. I know when you think about climate change and you

think about the ocean temperature off the coast of Florida hitting 98 degrees

and you think about a flash flood in Philadelphia that actually overtook a

woman driving down the road it can feel like it's almost insurmountable but we

are an inventive people and there's a lot of new technology coming online and

and I am mildly confident that with what we're doing here tonight we can move it

forward so I am prepared to support this and adopt this plan. Thank you.

Councilmember Wilk, comments at this point? Yeah, thank you. Well sitting on

the Environmental Quality Policy Committee for the League of Cities this

is the kind of thing that we're constantly talking about. I really

appreciate the time and energy that staff has put into this. I appreciate that we're looking at a

climate resolution as well and we'll be looking to adopt that. As Councilmember Darling had just

mentioned, we are at extreme weather events now. This is all part of the cumulative effects of

climate change over the years. Can Walnut Creek do it alone? No, but we have to set an example for

residents as well as for all of our neighboring cities, and hopefully with all cities in the

region, in the state, in the country, that we can go along and help to impact some of these,

some of the climate change effects that we are currently seeing. This is it. It's not hypothetical

anymore. We're seeing it, and so I appreciate what staff has done, but I really appreciate that

the residents and that the council have seen this as an emergency, that we're moving forward,

and we are doing our part. It's not as fast as some would like in some areas and it's faster

than some would like in other areas but we're doing our part and we are helping to lead the way

and I thank everybody within the council, the staff and the City of Walnut Creek for helping

us get there. Thank you council member Francois. Thank you mayor. I too am pleased that we are at

At this point, since I've been on the,

served on the city council since 2018,

climate change has been one of our council priorities

and it's remained our priority now for going on six years.

I imagine it will continue to be a priority

for not only us, but our nation and the world

in my lifetime at least.

And I hope that, you know,

it has taken quite a bit of time to get here,

but it also, we were able to factor in some changes

that happened as recently as the last legislative session.

So we didn't have to adopt a plan

and immediately amend the plan.

And I also fully support that from the beginning,

this was not just a climate action plan.

It was not just about reducing greenhouse gas emissions,

but it was also a sustainability plan.

and now I think that is the title,

that this is our new normal

and it doesn't have to be our future,

but it's a way that we can adapt

and respond to a changing climate

that in many respects is quite frightening.

And it's unlike anything that I've experienced

in my lifetime, we all remember the orange days

from the fires a few years ago.

And I'm a skier and seeing the lack,

not this year, but in some years the inconsistency

of this Sarah snowpack is alarming.

And it's not a future that I want to have for myself,

for my children or my grandchildren.

So I view this as a positive step forward

and probably one of many that we'll be taking

over the next years to come.

And I'm also, I just want to put in a plug too

and I appreciate staff pointing this out

that anyone that is interested,

There is a website where you can go and find out

where there are electric vehicle charging stations currently

in the area, and I think our fellow may have helped

find this website.

It's afdc.energy.gov, and you can sort it by fast charging

and level one and level two.

So, good to know that that resource is out there.

Mayor Pro Tem.

It's been a long time coming,

And I remember reading books in the 60s and 70s

about how it was made up that the world was

having a climate change.

Yet in the newspaper, every day on TV,

however you get your communications,

it's talking about even Antarctica reducing its size

and the potential of the ocean rising.

and we should be buying a property in Nevada

because we're gonna lose California to the ocean.

I was a little sarcastic there.

But anyhow, it is important.

I resisted initially kind of singling out Walnut Creek

because to me it was like spitting into the ocean,

yet again another ocean reference.

We're a little place and we were doing so many things right

in the first place, all on our very own.

But I now recognize that this is probably one

of the most important things that Walnut Creek has done

in terms of leadership in this arena,

in terms of acknowledging that it is now a real situation.

And I think our staff has done and their consultants,

our consultants has done an extraordinary job

in taking probably one of the most complex areas

in order to make progress and made it understandable

and implementable and measurable.

And it feels right.

And I am so proud of everything that's been done

and the staffs and the council's persistence

to say we're going to get this done.

So thank you, I'm supporting this.

Can I talk about my resolution now?

Well, that's not a question.

Okay, so the next one I want to add and Flora and Fauna

because we forgot, we were keeping it on another level.

And the last thing is the section four,

where I would like to add the word continued funding

to the funding, providing continued funding.

I'd like to acknowledge that we've

been funding sustainability for a really long time.

All right.

So let's take your suggestions one at a time again.

So in the fifth whereas, fourth line down, delete the words,

and throughout the world, this is what you're suggesting?

Yes.

It's not within our purview.

I haven't commented about that before.

OK, I'm all right.

What other changes would you like to recommend that we consider?

And in the next comment, I want to add a flora and fauna

because we've talked about vulnerable populations, but

so people, flora and fauna, isn't that part of the ecosystem?

I I'm not an expert. I can't say yes.

It's covered. You OK with that? I'm fine.

And what's the last one?

It was in item four, I would like to say,

providing continued funding to acknowledge that we've been.

So including providing?

Yes, continued funding.

Confending and investing in sustainability program

and program staff and continuing.

What?

This is getting awkward.

City Law and Reprising.

Prioritize the implementation

of its sustainable action plan,

including investing in sustainable program staff

and providing continued funding.

I want to acknowledge that we've been,

we've been working hard on sustainability all along.

Okay, can I do this?

And? We sure can.

Take ETHLE including and change it

and continue to invest in sustainability programs staff

and provide additional funding?

That'd be fine.

Everybody live with that?

All right.

So when it comes time, let's discuss the amendments

to the resolution.

See if everybody concurs so we can do it all as one motion

and not have to have amendments to motions.

Would that work for you?

It works fine.

Councilmember Wilk, did you have a comment on the resolution

amendments?

Were you able to?

I'm fine with what Mayor Pro Tem mentioned on two of them.

But on the one regarding throughout the world,

on that first, on that paragraph on the first page that really just discusses where climate

change is impacting throughout the world, that it's not just in Walnut Creek, which

obviously it does impact, but it's looking at throughout the world. And I look at that

as reference to on the second page on the very last whereas, so it's third from the

top on the second page, it talks about the city of Walnut Creek will join the more than

2300 national international and local jurisdictions it refers again to the

world and it just shows that Walnut Creek is part of a much larger picture

in this and so I do think that keeping it as throughout the world is the

important because climate change isn't just impacting Walnut Creek it's not

saying that we are going to impact the whole world it's just saying that we're

part of the world so I have a suggestion here because I can see how you could

read it that way if we change the first line to say whereas in the city of

Walnut Creek and across the world comma climate change so then the noun is

climate change will impact you good with that Kevin so move that across throughout

the and throughout the world to the first line that's fine and then strike

in the city and throughout the world whereas in the city of Walnut Creek and

then you good with that councilmember darling okay so whereas in the city of

Walnut Creek and throughout the world climate change will contribute risk of

safety life critical infrastructure and threatened physical and just right

outer worldwide statement which acknowledges we're part of the bigger

world okay and we're striking out from in the city of Walnut Creek and

throughout the world the second one yes okay don't worry I have notes so what we

have is the change in the fifth whereas whereas in the city of Walnut Creek and

throughout the world, comma, and then taking it out of the fourth line. And then

in the floor in Fauna are acknowledged to be part of the ecosystem and in

section four the city of Walnut Creek will prioritize the implementation of a

sustainability action plan and continue to invest and provide in sustainability

program staff and additional funding.

It's not perfect, but it's as close as we're gonna get.

Yeah, thank you.

So my comments are first and foremost to thank everyone

who worked on this over the last three years.

City staff, the consultants,

and the community who participated.

And I know it as my colleagues said, it can be frustrating.

But there was a fortuitous, as Matt Francois mentioned,

fortuitous thing where the state law again changed

and we were able to turn on a dime

because we were in phase two, not phase three.

It would have been much more significant

because it was a significant impact,

the changes in the regulations and the goals,

and it would have caused us to have to recalculate

and basically re-adopt this.

So every once in a while you can make lemonade out of lemons.

I think this is incredibly important

because it's a long-term plan.

And one of the things that we're committing to

is the investment every year of dollars

because you can make a plan.

You can divide the big goal into bite-sized chunks

and you can put it on a timeline,

but without funding, you can't get anywhere.

We were able between 2012 and 2023 currently

to accomplish about 80% of the goals

that we set out on our climate action plan

and we did so more quickly

than we originally thought we would be able to.

And I have confidence that with the investment

of funding every year,

and the willingness of the community

and our council and our staff,

we will be able to do this together.

And so Mayor Pro Tem,

I will allow you to make the motion

because you made the amendments to the resolution.

All right, Council Member Wilk,

would you like to make the motion?

Yes, I would, thank you very much, Mayor.

I would like to make the motion to adopt the resolution

approving the sustainability action plan

and associate an addendum

to the general plan amendment impact report

and adopt the climate emergency resolution

with the amendments that we've already approved.

And I would like to second that.

We have a motion and a second.

City Clerk, so we don't get into year four,

please take the roll call vote.

Council member Wilk.

Aye. Council member Darling.

Aye. Council member Francois.

Aye. Mayor Pro Tem Pascu.

Aye. Mayor Silva.

My question carries unanimously.

Mayor, I just add something very briefly.

I just wanted to add to your thanks.

I did want to more specifically acknowledge the team here

that's done a lot of the heavy lifting,

our consulting team, Tammy Seale, Eli,

Chris Bandera-Newfield, thank you for all of your efforts.

And in particular, I do want to acknowledge

the work that Carl Hansen and Emmeline Struthers have done.

About a year and a half ago, they volunteered or were asked.

I don't recall quite how it worked.

It'll teach you not to tie your hands behind your back.

We had some turnover, we had some vacancies,

and they stepped in to help with this.

And this is, as you've acknowledged, a very large project.

Their other workload was not reduced,

and it's been a very big lift.

So thank you to both of you and to Catherine as well,

for all that you've done.

Thank you, and thank you again.

So at this point, here's where we are.

We have two additional items on the agenda this evening

before we go back to public comment.

We're going to take a 10 minute break at this point

and return at 8.15.

The council was in a other meeting, it started at four,

so we need a little bit of a break.

You are welcome to come back

and wait for public comment.

You are also welcome to return to your homes and zoom in.

You won't lose, I mean, you don't have priority,

but you can do it from home

or you must love hearing about us talk.

So we're happy to have you, but you can do it either way.

And we are in a break.

to the July 18th, 2023 regular meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council. We are also

joined this evening by Councilmember Kevin Wilk, who is in Washington DC, and in short

45 minutes, we will have a meeting that occurs on two days, because it's going to be midnight

in Washington DC. Our next item on this evening's agenda is a discussion of the community engagement

plan for the design of the future heather farm aquatic and community center and it's a presentation

by our public works department our arts and recreation department our community development

department and welcome. Good evening Mayor Silva and members of the city council my name is Janine

Cavalli I'm a senior planner with the community development department and I'll be presenting to

you this evening on options to engage the community during the design phase in the planning of the

Heather Farm Park Aquatic and Community Center. So tonight we're looking for a council direction

to identify the desired level of community engagement to support the Heather Farm Park

Aquatic and Community Center project during the design phase of the project, which is anticipated

to last approximately a year. First to provide some background, the Year Parks Your Future project

set the framework for this next phase of design work

and also supports council priorities for parks

and park facilities.

It was a several year project that

culminated in the development of a conceptual site

plan for the combined facility at Heather Farm Park.

And it was accepted by council in February earlier this year.

And at that time, council directed staff

to initiate the design and construction phase

of the project and to begin the consultant selection process.

A preferred architect team was selected in June earlier

this year, and staff are currently

working out the details of the scope of work,

including the community engagement strategy

for the design phase of the combined facility project.

So again, with a little bit of background,

This slide gives a summary of the community engagement

that was completed during the Your Parks, Your Future

Project.

It initiated with a community open house

to get feedback on the facilities and arts and recreation

programming at a few different parks,

including Heather Farm Park.

We conducted an online survey, held a number of pop-up events

that take place at already scheduled community events,

such as First Wednesdays, Farmer's Market,

and that type of thing.

We also held a number of stakeholder meetings

at key points throughout the project.

We had an advisory committee that we

met with on six occasions.

We also presented at arts and prose commission meetings,

as well as joint commission meetings and city council

meetings.

So tonight, we're here to discuss the community engagement

strategy for the design phase of the Heather Farm Park Aquatic

and Community Center.

So we're looking to answer the questions of the what, when,

and how to engage the community over the next year or so.

So what are we looking for a community input on?

There are three outstanding items

from the Your Parks, Your Future project

that we're wanting to get initial output or input

from the community as we initiate this project.

And those three areas are here on this slide,

including looking at the building.

So what are the architectural styles and materials

that are desired?

And looking at the pools, in particular the deck area

and the recreational pool amenities.

And then the third item is, how does this new facility

interface within the context of the park?

This is a unique situation in that you

have these facilities within a park setting.

So how did the two of them interact with one another?

And then the when.

We've identified four key points in the planning process

that would be appropriate for community engagement.

The project kickoff, where we would

want to get some input.

Schematic design phase, where we might have some ideas

to present that we would want feedback on.

Then moving into the design development phase,

again, we may want feedback.

And just to give you a bit of a understanding of what

is schematic versus the design development phase,

I kind of look at it as a funnel where you're starting out

at very kind of high, more conceptual in terms of what

the building looked like.

So maybe it's forms and shapes and roof lines.

And then when you get to the design development phase,

you're looking at a lot more details.

What does the window trim look like?

What are the actual plant species that you're

using for the landscaping?

And then once we have the final design,

having an opportunity to present that final design

to the community.

So how do we engage?

Staff and the selected architect team

have been working together to develop a spectrum of community

engagement options.

And we present these as six different levels of engagement.

And I'll go over those on the next couple of slides.

And with each level, you're building off of that level

and adding engagement activities to what

was identified in the previous level

as you move from level one to level six.

And each of these levels include a variety of methods and formats

for engaging the public, from community open houses

and online surveys to a more formal commission or council

meeting like this evening.

So this slide shows those six levels of community engagement.

Again, engagement level one has just very few opportunities

for engagement.

And then as you go towards six, each one

adds additional activities.

So starting with council and commission, a project website,

an open house, and social media at number one.

And then as you go through the rest,

you're adding stakeholder meetings,

open house online survey or pop-ups,

Maybe a third open house, maybe more pop-ups.

And then with level six, having all of those items

plus an additional two virtual open houses.

So again, each level is cumulative.

And the staff recommendation is to go with the level three

community engagement, as it balances

the benefits of involving the community in a variety

of formats at key stages throughout the process

while not delaying the overall schedule.

And this level of engagement can be accomplished

within the target date of opening the pool in July of 2027.

So as you move up to levels four, five, and six,

there's additional costs associated

with not only the additional activities,

But the cost associated with the delay of the project opening,

that's referred to as cost escalation.

So those are the much larger numbers

that you're seeing here on the slide,

is associated with that cost escalation,

rather than the direct costs associated

with the consultant fees to add those additional activities.

Similarly, as you work your way back down the scale

with reduced activities, there's reduced cost

and reduce time.

And just to highlight again, the cost escalation

is about a $260,000 cost associated

with each month of delay.

So this slide goes into a bit more detail

about not only the recommended activities,

but when they would occur within those four points of engagement

that I identified earlier.

So the recommendation is that during that initial kickoff

of the phase of the project, there

would be a project website that's

launched and maintained throughout the project,

as well as social media to inform of any upcoming meetings.

A kickoff open house, which would be a great opportunity

to get the initial feedback on those three key outstanding

items, because that's really going to need

to get that input early on.

and then an online survey to mimic those three questions

in a virtual format.

And then going to City Council to review all of the input

that's been received before we move into that next schematic

design phase.

The schematic design phase and the design development phase

are very similar.

And that we start with stakeholder meetings,

then commission meetings, then council meetings.

Again, getting those feedbacks first from the community,

then the commission, before we go to Council

to review that feedback and provide direction.

We've added an extra set of outreach

to the schematic design phase, which

are those three pop-up events.

And again, the pop-up events are where

we're going out to the community to where the people already

are, rather than asking them to come to us at, say,

an open house format.

And then lastly, having a nice way

to celebrate the end of the project with an open house

to unveil the new design.

So beyond just community engagement,

there are a few other items that will be brought to council

in a future date, including the approval of the architect

consultant contract, which includes the scope of work,

the community engagement strategy, and a budget.

And that's anticipated to come to council on August 1.

Secondly, we would be seeking input

from the council for whether or not

they want to include an essential services hub

as part of that building design, and then

a determination of whether to add a one meter movable

bulkhead to that 50 meter lap pool.

And then just to give an overall picture

of the timeline of this project, we're

reaching the end of the consultant selection process,

and now about to initiate the design process, which

includes the community engagement and CEQA documentation

and is anticipated to go through April of 2025.

And then that would be followed by construction,

which is about a two-year process ending in July of 2027.

So again, in conclusion, tonight's staff

are requesting council direction

to identify the desired level of community engagement

to support the Heather Farm Aquatic

and Community Center projects.

And I am joined this evening by members of our staff team and we're available to answer your questions. Thank you

Thank you very much. Janine. So this is an opportunity for questions and

I want to get at some some meat of this because I'm not quite sure what is meant by some of the some of these things

But I'll go to councilmember Darling since you served on the ad hoc with me. Do you what questions? Do you have?

Yeah, thank you. Um, I

Appreciate the work you guys have put into this on the questions for public input

There was a couple things that we spent a fair amount of time in the architect selection talking about

that I want to understand how those would work into this because they might not be

open house topics, but they're definitely topics for the commissions and the council and those really come down to

The sustainability elements of the pool and the community center. I think we've said it that the community center will be all-electric, but there is

some variability and I think the consultants original proposal called for a design charrette in the early stages and

So that would be something I would be interested in

Hearing what your thoughts are on the sustainability side of things how what input no you thinking on input

Yeah you raise a good point. So I think that that might be one of these items

that we would need to add to this list of items that we still need council to

weigh in on. Yeah I would put the sustainability element of the program

into future considerations for council and it would probably be a good thing to

make sure that at least like Planning Commission gets a chance to look at it

too when they're doing their part of things. Which is not currently on the

list of commissions to reach out to. Oh. Well never mind then. No I'm not saying

you're, you can add something, why are you taking away. No, I just, I want to see it.

Anybody else? And then we also had a lot of discussion about the pond and I know

there are unknowns associated with the pond and if I were to pick one element

this project that is most likely to throw our schedule into the pond. It would be the pond.

So I would, what's your thought? And I know you're like the pond. I dream about the pond.

Are you thinking, I mean, I, it's not really something that we've already said, yes, we want

to fill in the pond. But do you think that that would, how are you anticipating dealing with pond

uncertainty as we go through this. I'm gonna ask our city engineer

that question yesterday or today I can't remember which time I talked to him. He

had an answer so let's share. He's figured it out. He knows what to do with

the pond now. Well he said my husband is not going deep-sea diving to check the

bottom. So good afternoon Steve Weimar city engineer and the pond is on my mind

all the time. I had a meeting yesterday and I mean today on the pond and I think

we have a pretty good direction figured out with the pond and it's been nice

because Nolan Tam, even though they're not under contract, they've already started working

with us on that.

The secret consultant's working with on that, and we also have another consultant working

with on that.

So our approach to the pond is we are going to relocate a portion of the pond, but we're

just going to move forward with that, with the understanding that there probably is some

jurisdictional oversight on that.

And more than likely there will be some sort of mediation that's going to have to be done

or to take care of that piece of the pond.

Luckily, over the last three or four years in the last capital budget, we had funds to

to go look at possible improvements that we could do

to the water quality that's coming into the ponds,

both of the ponds.

And so we've just completed that study.

So when we go, and you'll appreciate this Miss Darling

as much as anybody,

when we go and talk to the Fish and Wildlife

and the Regional Water Quality Control Board,

we're gonna have some tools that we think we can use

to show them to help improve the quality

that are actually onsite.

So we met today with our CEQA consultant.

We have an agenda set up.

They're going to get a meeting in the next month

to get together with the water board and Fish and Wildlife

and at least start those conversations

so that we can incorporate into the CEQA document

and not wait until we're done with CEQA to go to them

and get what they need for that.

So our goal is to be ahead of it

and hopefully they'll appreciate that

so that we can have those incorporated

into the CEQA document so it's part

of the project description and it all fits together.

So we have a plan for doing this.

It's a lot of work and it's gonna take a lot of energy

to get the water board and those agencies

that are extremely busy and understaffed

to help understand the urgency

and us getting this taken care of.

Okay, thanks.

So to summarize, we're moving forward on it

with the assumption that we're doing it.

So we're not waiting until we get community feedback

on what the trees should look like

or the color of the walls to address it.

That's exactly right, that's the only path I see forward

meet our schedule is to assume, number one, it's a jurisdictional water, we're

gonna make that assumption, and we're gonna have to do some mediations, but

we're gonna move forward with that relocation of that piece, or taking out

that piece of the pond. I think that's the best way for this project to work in

the park, and to not do that and just keep pushing off until we see what's

gonna happen, we won't be able to meet the schedule. Yeah, my advice to people

is always develop a mitigation plan that inarguably mitigates for the impact.

That's that's our goal. Yeah, and if we were to delay and then something went wrong

We would have a bad plan for the site plan because the assumption is that this part of the site is

Currently in that corner of that pond. That's correct. All right

Okay

Thank you. Yeah, any other questions or

Nope councilmember Francois. I think I have more comments and questions. So I'll hold okay

Councilmember Wilk questions

I'm not quite sure if this is the time to ask that,

because obviously it hasn't actually been designed,

but is the idea that the pool and

the area big enough for a city or a county swim meet?

I may be months ahead of time or a year ahead of time,

but I thought I'd ask it now.

Yeah. The point you're raising is

really one of these three outstanding items that we're

still needing to get some input on, we reference here the pool decking.

So that's really what that is referring to as we acknowledge that we've been hearing

comments about the deck and needing to do a little bit more detailed design work on

that.

Okay.

All right.

And then...

So wait, you're going to get an additional answer and the constraints that have already

been established.

Okay.

Right. So for the record, Kevin Safin, Director of Arts and Recreation, Council Member Willkie

asked about the ability to host major meets, which could be aqua nuts, it could be county

meet, could be all-city meet. The current setup at Clark Pool is established such that

events can take place that occur both on the pool deck, in the water, and in the park itself.

We're operating under that same model whereby we could design a facility that utilizes both

the space inside the fencing as well as the park itself so that we can have a place that

isn't just built for two or three major meets and then it has a lot of deck but it may not

be needed during the rest of the season so that's the concept but we'll be exploring

that with a lot of stakeholders with the aquatic designer people who have expertise

in this topic.

Okay, I'm sorry Kevin you lost me on a couple of those things.

So we're saying that it could be but that's going to be under further discussion.

The intent is for us to be able to host those major meets, absolutely.

Okay.

We had the architect came out there during all city meet to experience what it's like

to be around thousands of people in tent city.

So they've seen that firsthand now, and they know that that's the goal.

But again, the idea that this would take place in the pool deck in the park is the fluidity

that we're looking for these major meets.

So if that helps, but the short answer is yes, we're operating under that goal.

Great.

Thank you.

swimming. So it sounds like synchronized swimming is planning on being still part of the pool.

Absolutely. Okay. And the last question, thank you. Last question is, I was looking at the

design and it was a little bit hard to tell, but how far is the parking from the entrance

to the area where people would go in then to the pool? Like right now people can park,

they just walk in, there's the clubhouse, there's the pool. I was having a little trouble

determining that from the picture that was given in the staff report and

actually Janine you I think it was the second or third page you actually had

that in the deck yeah I'm not prepared to answer the actual details of the

conceptual site plan tonight I apologize we are gonna work through more specific

details as we continue I don't know if there's anything the city and you know

you want to bring up the job okay here here we go here's the conceptual site

plan from February.

And it looks like parking would be toward primarily

the 12 o'clock area of this.

So there's really meant to be three different existing

parking areas that support the new facility, one to the north

where there's the solar PV panel shaded parking,

one to the east that also supports the ball fields,

and one to the south that also supports

the all-abilities playground.

So those three would continue.

And so in the next phase, we would need to look at

making sure that there's clear paths

and directional signage from those parking lots.

Great.

Thank you, that's it for now.

Mayor Pro Tem, questions?

All right, well, I do have some.

So I appreciate understanding what the three outstanding,

not outstanding as in great, but missing the MIA feedback

that we have related to architectural styles

and materials.

Tell me a little bit more about architectural and styles

and materials.

Oh, yeah, sure.

Is that like mid-century modern versus Spanish colonial?

I mean, it could be that specific,

but it could also be more like rustic versus modern.

Like, it doesn't have to be an actual specific style.

It could be more like what the style of the architecture

feels like, or the character conveys.

So you might have, like I said, modern or rustic,

something that looks more like the Ohane

that I think we heard somebody reference a while back,

versus something that's a lot more modern.

So it doesn't have to necessarily be

those very traditional styles.

But what we would be looking at is some photos and concepts

or other buildings that are out there as examples

to use as reference of do you like this or do you like this.

And it would also be similarly with materials.

Do you like woods and metals, or do you like glass and plaster?

And again, there would be materials and photographs,

examples that people could visually see and respond to.

Pool decking, pools, decking and recreational pool in the 1980s.

Some of this is also about, I would call it seeding or stadium capacity as well.

Some of that is recreational pool amenities. Describe that a little more as to what you think

you're what the architects believe they need at this point in time. And I'm not saying we don't

need to provide it. I want to know that we have a clear. Yeah, I think again it would be kind of

like just presenting some examples and ideas. And again we wouldn't be presenting examples and ideas

that are not feasible for either our budget

or for something that would be palatable in Walnut Creek.

But we would be showing examples.

So whether that's a climbing wall within the pool,

or I was talking with Kevin earlier for some examples,

and he mentioned this bucket that you can pull

and a bunch of water gets dumped on you.

And so it's just playful, family-oriented activities.

And so we would again show different examples to the community to get their feedback, whether

that's something that people would support.

And then the interface with park and park users, that's other than those who are in

the community center pool.

Is that the surrounding what I would call the internal neighbors?

Like the tennis, the soccer, the...

Right, right, exactly.

So how does it interface with the pond that we were talking about?

Or with the all abilities playground?

Or maybe we want to introduce we're going to be replacing some picnic or locating where

there's currently picnic tables.

Are we going to put in some new picnic tables around the edge?

So again, it's those existing park amenities that are already there.

How do we interface with them?

So now I, okay, so these are things you know, is this all, does this project get longer

if we don't get the answers to these questions in that first project kickoff phase, September

through November?

Based on my understanding is that we need to get these answers up front in order to

stay on schedule.

So these are the questions for phase one.

initiation of phase one? Oh, I see what you're calling phase one. Okay, yes. Project kick-off.

Yes. Stage one. Stage one. Let's call it stage one. And so, in some cases, the people

who respond are targeted users, and in other cases, they're the general public. The general

public might have comments about what the park looks like. So, you're nodding affirmation.

says yes then tell me about state what what do we when it comes back to council

at the end of stage phase project initiation the council hears the input

but don't we have to agree with what the recommendations are for these items I'm

looking at the slide if that's the intent of the yes so the intent would be

to synthesize all of the input received from the various formats of public

engagement as well as the various bodies that we reach out to, the commissions, we would

then present to you our synthesis of what we heard from the community and then ask for

your sort of acceptance of those ideas and direction, which of those to pursue moving

into the schematic phase.

Which is these questions plus a few others maybe.

Yeah, there may be others, yes.

So what is the second schematic phase?

In other words, at the end of this phase?

Yes.

We will have completed the following.

Because a conceptual site plan, we're looking at a site plan.

A lot of people will go build it.

Right, right.

It's ready to build.

Right.

So what do we get at the end of the day?

The end of the initiation phase is more like we

had a ton of photos of what the materials might be,

and now we've narrowed it in.

These are the top three materials.

Or these are all the different architectural styles

we could choose from.

We've kind of honed in on this type of architectural style.

So it's going to be more of like a description in photos,

potentially.

Then, when we do this, we will use that to then,

the next phase is the schematics.

So that's where you start to get into a little bit more

of the form of the building.

Is it really pitched roofs, or is it a flat roof?

And so it's a bit more detail of what the building would

look like, but not to the level of detail

that you would get in the design development, which

is window trams and very specific.

The brick goes here.

The plaster goes there.

Yeah.

So at the end of the schematic phase,

the architects who came in to interview with us,

we were looking almost at schematic design

because the rooms were starting to move around.

No, probably not.

They were taking their best guess at it.

I'm just trying to get a picture here also

of who's needed to give us input based

on what we need to figure out in the right time.

So during the interviews, the architects, a lot of them,

had was almost the end of schematic design

of what they thought would be assuming what,

you already got through the first phase,

and we're going to do a modern building.

So a lot of them had modern buildings,

some had less modern buildings, but they had already

assumed that.

But then they had it to the point where they didn't detail

the windows or the stone exactly,

but they had a general idea what the forms were already set,

and they knew how it was going to fit on the site.

And that's sort of where we're going to get to

before schematic design.

We're going to have those forms set and where we are.

Before schematic design?

During schematic design.

And it's not, it's a flowing process.

It's a flowing process.

And so as we flow through that, but then we

bring it to the final city council meeting,

before we get into design development,

it's going to be pretty nailed down,

the general shape of the building,

and all that's going to be nailed down.

We're going to be taking it to the point

of trying to figure out, OK, what kind of stone do we want?

What kind of windows do we need?

And the pricing consequences and the implementation

or building and construction consequences

are going to be identifiable.

Throughout the project, yeah.

The Arts Commission is mentioned as being,

by the way, I'm not going to design development phase

because I think that's clear.

That's when we get blueprints.

Arts Commission is mentioned.

We have an arts ordinance, public art ordinance

that requires that we invest a certain percentage

construction hard costs I think in public art on the property. How are we

going to integrate the art that public arts process which is different than the

private development process into this to ensure we don't have an issue that

arose with the Rudney Plaza where the art was being put where the activity was

intended. All right so the municipal process is different than the than the

private development process the ordinance calls for a selection panel

including representatives of the council the Arts Commission community folks and

so what I would propose in this case as staff to the Arts Commission is we take

a lot of thought before we jump into where are we going to put something and

what's gonna look like I think we should be answering those questions you're

asking what are we trying to accomplish by entering into this phase? What are our goals?

Before we say this is going to be a sculpture on the corner. So I want to probably start

the process early so we can be given some thought to this and come to you and say who

wants to be part of this team? Let's give some thought to, okay, what do we want to

do before we can get there? And so early, if that helps, and maybe often.

And also recognize the site constraints. Absolutely.

I can only imagine what the pushback will be if we lose one square inch of

pool deck. Yes, I think. No matter if it is Jason Momoa standing as Aquaman, the

statue. The other thing I would suggest is because the city also owns the park

it may be an opportunity for us to look at beyond the concept there and other

or locations for public art in the park itself.

Thank you, thank you for making me.

And what is meant by, what do you consider

to be a stakeholder group, not by definition,

but is it a small group of,

I don't know why you...

So in the, I can reference how they were set up

for the Your Parks, Your Future project, for example.

So we had a series of stakeholder meetings

when we brought forward, for example,

the location of the combined facility,

where is it gonna be in the park?

And so we had aquatic users.

We had users from the gardens at Heather Farms.

So there was a list of about eight,

and I think we had, during the year of Parks Your Future,

had gotten some feedback from council

about what those stakeholders should be.

So similarly, we could be looking for direction

from council on what our group of stakeholders would be,

that we would be engaging with

throughout these different points in the process.

So what does one round, that means to me,

of stakeholder meetings, there's a singular,

but a singular that is a plural,

because a round could be one round of four meetings,

of stakeholder meetings.

Is it meeting per stakeholder group,

or could it be combined because they're all?

It could be combined, I can't recall offhand,

But there were some similar environmental groups

that were maybe grouped into an environmental stakeholder

group.

So there's flexibility there.

But for the New York Park Shore future,

it was around six to eight stakeholder groups

that we met with throughout the process

at the different phases.

So one round would be a round of six to eight meetings

with each with a different group.

And what does this assume?

How many stakeholder groups is anyone assuming?

or is that for us to maybe offer you some input on?

You can give us input on that, yes.

Okay.

I think I will, any other questions

before we open it for public comment?

All right, we've received the presentation

on the proposed public outreach process for this project.

It's a monumental project and one,

it will be here for years to come,

so it's important to have members of the community

give us their input.

At this point, I'm opening the public comment period

for comments on the proposed public outreach process.

This is not for comments on a pool

or build tennis courts rather than a pool.

That's not what we're talking about, we're beyond that.

And we're talking about the public outreach program.

So does anyone here in the council chambers,

you're all waiting very patiently,

wish to offer their thoughts on the public outreach process

for the aquatics and community center

that we are getting ready to start to design.

Anyone who's joining us virtually

wish to offer us their thoughts?

No hands raised on Zoom.

Right, then I'm going to close the public comment period

and bring it back to Council.

Did all of that public comments spur some other questions?

Did anything I say spur some other questions?

So do you have a list of questions?

You know, I'm gonna start this, if you don't mind.

And the reason I'm going to start is because this is,

professionally, this is public communication

and public outreach was what I did.

And the most important thing to think about is,

you wanna know what you need to accomplish.

And so in that timeframe, who you need to talk to

and what's the best way to talk to them.

And what we have here is a list of,

we don't quite have all the stakeholders identified,

but we have the general public

and then we have some key user groups

and then we have some other users and neighboring users.

So I'll just, but I'm not sure everybody needs

to be involved without knowing exactly what we're looking

for them and where we need their input.

We don't know what type of process to have.

So if we want to know what people like

for the architecture and materials,

you can ask everybody because it is just a

what's your favorite color question?

What do you wanna see in the park?

If you wanna know exactly what the competitive teams

think about the stadium capacity,

how to make it for an event environment,

and the decking and the locker rooms to support that.

I don't think you ask the people

who come in to take yoga classes.

They won't be able to respond to that.

So what I struggled with in this outreach plan

was it was all there but I felt like

it needed to be moved around a little bit

so that we get all the information we need

as soon as possible in the right time

so we don't have to keep in a circular reference in Excel.

So I'll start with that comment.

I might come back,

but you can also comment and tell me to go for it.

I think you're absolutely right.

I think that that's the, there's a,

and given the abundance of public comment

we got on the outreach strategy,

it could be that we're asking too many people

about a particular question.

And I guess one thing in thinking about

little bit more tonight is one thing we haven't asked anybody about it seems

like is the community center and I is it because that's a done deal and we don't

need public input on that and if that's the case that's that's fine or maybe

that's covered by our architectural style and materials and the programming

of that building would be more of a staff level decision and I'm seeing

nodding heads so I must have, okay and then the one I guess the one other thing

that sorry Kevin go ahead. I was gonna affirm that and say that generally the

community center is more difficult for us to identify users than the pool. We

can identify rental groups pretty easily but otherwise we have just a series of

people coming in for preschool classes all the way up to seniors so there are

tools that we have to do outreach you know surveys and pop-ups and other

things but just a little bit more amorphous than compared to the pool so

we will do that through the design phase through the architectural style and

other things but programming we have data and we can point to that but we're

looking to add more opportunities to program that space than we do today we

only have two rooms right now to do programming we're looking to add more

will there there will still be the equivalent of the lakeside room that can

be rented out for weddings and other that's that yeah that's the goal for

Can I ask you a question? You have lap swimmers that are not part of the

competitive teams. We know who they are, don't we? They buy passes? We do.

We know who's got kids in the preschool? We do. We know who's renting the space? We

know the renter who rents the space. We don't know all their guests, but yes, we

know the renter. We know people who come to swim and have kids and want to play?

If they buy a pass, yes.

If they just pay at the counter with the cash, we don't.

We have a playground in the park that has a lot of,

almost too many kids in it at all times?

Yes.

Okay, it seems like we can find them.

We can find them, we can search them out,

and they can find us when we're there.

It's just harder to define that group for sure.

But yes, there are many ways because they come to us, yes.

And I was just, the only other question I had or thought

was in terms of the rec swimmers that are in

the formal rec programs.

I'm not really sure who's in charge of them

and how maybe it's the Walnut Creek Swim Club

who puts on City Meat or,

I'm not sure who the right people are,

but I think they should be involved

in the stakeholder groups or whatever

and the timing of that too, like going to,

I mean asking, doing the pop-ups,

are we getting into comments or still questions?

doing the pop-ups at the farmer's market I think is fine and I think we could have the design.

I definitely think we should have something at the farmer's market to talk to the public about.

But, you know, the swim season is essentially over for those rec swimmers and they'd be missing

out on the first, these first two phases of input. I mean, I think we need to be thoughtful and

and intentional about reaching out to them.

Yeah, agreed, agreed.

And I was, when I was thinking about that,

I had the same thought about the rec swimmers.

And that's where I liked the third level of engagement,

because it included the online survey,

which gives you the ability to target people

who are not actively using the facility at this time.

But everybody has the distribution list

for the rats and otters and, you know, you can.

So the other thing you can do

is reach out to the Walnut Creek Swim Conference.

Yeah, yeah.

Which is the umbrella organization

that could bring in 25 people

to talk to you as a focus group.

But just making sure that everybody has a chance

to feel heard.

I like the online survey tool as a potential way

to just give everybody a chance to.

The challenge with any online survey

is it's self-selecting and it's not demographically accurate.

Yes, and that's with all the input we're gonna get.

there's going to be self selection across the board

and we are gonna have to look at it

with an eye to understanding the biases

that will come from different approaches.

So let me see if I can ask the questions

and get everybody up here and Kevin to respond.

So what users do we think we want to make sure

that we reach besides the general public at large?

Cindy Darling.

We need to reach out to the competitive swimmers,

the rec swimmers, the lap swimmers.

We need to reach out to the people

in the event community.

I don't think you're gonna reach brides,

but you know who rents, who works in wedding planning.

Then you need to reach out to the other general groups

in the park, the you know just soccer club tennis,

soccer club tennis, little league, garden center,

Krieger's, Krieger's, equestrians, yeah.

And I don't know if you need to have a specific

sit down meeting with the equestrians and the Krieger's

but just making sure that they know this is going on

and they have an opportunity to weigh in.

But it is when you have a focused meeting

to target that type of the neighboring users

and ask for what they're concerned about and their issues,

you're going to get focus group level answers.

If you give them the general online survey,

which they're certainly welcome to talk about,

then you can't isolate to see if it was a random comment

or a targeted comment.

My public input processes that I've gone through

in the past, you set the table,

you invite the people to the meeting,

if the equestrian folks decide they don't have time

to come to your focus group or your meeting,

you gotta recognize that will happen.

Mayor, can I chime in here for just a moment?

Yes.

We are getting far, far into the details here.

I do wanna bring us back to the areas

that we're looking for input on,

architectural style materials, pool decking

and recreational amenities and interface with the park

and park users as it relates to the more immediate area.

I just wanna remind the council

that we did several years of outreach

with broad groups related to the location,

the uses in the park.

So what I'm hearing is starting to cause me concern

because it feels like we're having

considerable scope increase.

That's what the council wants to do.

I just wanna remind you that we'll likely be looking

at a considerable amount of time extension here

as we're looking at the input

versus efficiency and time continuum.

So if we can zero the focus in on those particular

areas certainly some groups we have those that we want to reach out to be

helpful but I do want to remind your counsel of the input that we already

sought relative to the whole effort to get us to this point we're really trying

to zero in on the facility more specifically at this point I understand

that but this the second item on here number number two the only user group

that we know that will talk a lot to us are the competitive swimmers and those

pools in that community center serve other audiences and the general public

walking by a pop-up at the farmers market when we get people from Concord

and Venetia and all of that as well as if there is a way to figure out how to

get the answer to this question number two from the targeted user group it will

be far more efficient then it doesn't it's not increasing scope it's just

saying do it targeted? Understood. Okay. I also heard some discussions about equestrian

and softball, which is the interface with the park, and that's... Yeah, and I

think what we can do, I mean, we know to whom this is most important, and that is

the swimmers, and we know we will get them, then it's who else do we invite to

the table to the table give them a chance to provide input on the part of

this that affects them you know the interface with the other parts of the

park but not hold everything up if we only hear from the swimmers you know and

and that's where I'd like kind of when you get to level three you've got both

online survey and pop-ups to bring in those groups that you're worried that

we're missing by just doing stakeholders.

You're good with level three.

Are you good with level three?

Yes.

Kevin, are you good with level three?

Yes.

I am as well.

What I'm concerned about is that phase stage one

needs more general outreach to the public

because you need a lot of information very rapidly.

If you wait until the November to February timeframe

for pop-ups, you're in the rain and you've reduced

the likelihood of people wanting to stop and talk to you.

So perhaps just relooking at the sorting order,

I'm not saying go longer, I'm not saying add more,

I'm saying move when it occurs

so that you get the good information.

And please address the Arts Commission

and where they are appropriately placed.

Other comments?

think my other comment is those areas I talked about, sustainability, sounds like

the pond we're good on and essential level, essential services I think was

already reflected in your thing, but sustainability is something that we want to make sure we capture.

I guess because you mentioned that. I have had some conversations with some of our

predecessors who are interested in the pond and the mitigation and so whatever

whatever outreach staff thinks is appropriate

to the Creekside Council or whoever,

it might be good to get that input upfront

as opposed to getting it as a comment letter on the EIR.

Once again, inarguably mitigate and convince certain people

that you have done so.

I have one final comment.

The principal, first of all,

I am really glad that we have the key building features

and the key site features

and where it's going to be located are locked down.

We're building off of what we've already agreed to

in many years of work.

I also like the principles,

but there are two principles we didn't put

into the principles during the year park's year future.

One is staying within the capital budget

and the other is staying within the operating costs.

The intent of this all along for 15 years of discussion

was increase optimized revenues

and reduce over operating costs.

go do not increase the subsidization level and so being mindful of that and

the reason I bring this up and I brought it up during our meeting the

aquatics architect subcontractor that has been selected talked they presented

their proposal and talked about pools and oceanside in El Centro and I happen

to know the former mayor of El Centro because she served on the Cal Cities

board with me. I called her and said, what do you think? How did they work out? And she

said, don't take a, and she fell in the blank. And I said, well, what do you mean? It's a

rec, it's a lovely recreational pool feature. She said, they would, they didn't tell us

that it costs significantly more to staff it, because under state law, you have to put

to lifeguard at every turn in the river.

And so El Centro's aquatics budget,

a very underserved community with very high heat,

they've got a lot of users

but it is a really cost expensive feature.

So we've got to keep those things in mind

so we don't ask for input, my preference,

for features that we can't afford to deliver.

And you mentioned that early on and I'm reinforcing that.

So if my colleagues would support me

and just the general principle of that.

Would you like us to nod or stick our hands up

or how would you like us to do that?

No, we probably need to make, did we?

Well, I think we expect regular updates

on both capital and operating budget.

Expectations?

Yeah, I'm not gonna say 77 million or not a penny more.

No, let's be mindful as we put options in front

of without getting...

Did you have specifics?

Cause I, yeah, I don't want,

I too don't want to kind of be boxed in the corner.

Well right now the estimate is 70 to 77 million.

And if we knowingly, don't knowingly,

for example, a second story exceeds the cost budget.

Yeah.

Let's not let anybody inadvertently start telling us,

get disappointed because the community

center isn't two stories.

Yeah, that makes sense.

Don't put that unbiased.

Don't put Cadillacs in the budget

if you can't afford a Cadillac.

And I trust our staff understands

the financial realities well enough

to not put a three story slide next slide.

And don't let the architect inadvertently do it either.

I could just to summarize.

I mean, what I'm hearing is let's be budget conscious,

not only of the capital expenditure that we have,

also the operating impact and take that into consideration as we go through this

process. We present options and ideas for the community because boy do people

start to get really enamored with ideas. Do you need, Mayor would it be

possible if I ask a sort of clarifying question to make sure that we

understand. Okay so my understanding is that you've requested that we move

Pop-ups up earlier into the process rather than add additional pops up pop-ups. Is that correct?

My suggestion is that pop-ups for the time of year and what you're looking to it get information on

really you need to get to the general public and

They're going to be more engaged in September through November then. Okay, you're on. Thank you

And then my other follow-up question is is generally what what I'm what I'm hearing is that

You're in agreement with the activities, agreement with the overall approach, but we may need

to target some questions specific to specific groups and maybe not bring all questions to

all groups.

That would probably be a good idea.

Okay.

Thank you.

I think you got it.

Okay.

I think you said it perfectly.

Thank you.

You'll save time.

And one of the other things I remember hearing when we were interviewing architects is be

clear on when you're asking a question versus just presenting something that's already there.

Right, thank you. We look forward to hearing more back and whatever we can do to help with

identifying people that might be good for focus groups or when we're at the farmer's market and

whether the downtown or the one at Shadelands might be better and let us know. Next item on our agenda

the page that I'm missing. It's to provide policy direction on refinements

to the design review process. Hello. Good evening mayor, council members of the

community. I'm Erika Vandenbrandt, community development director here in

Walnut Creek. As the mayor just said the issue for consideration is to provide

policy direction on refinements to our design review process.

So specifically tonight, we're trying to find out does council wish to consider changes

to the city's design review process, and if yes, where should that focus be?

So why consider changes?

So first of all, you asked us to at your May 16th meeting, as well as one of your priorities

in the economic development priority for permit streamlining.

In addition, there's been substantial state legislation that emphasizes objective design

standards and we've also received feedback from the community both through the stakeholder

outreach for objective design standards that's currently occurring as well as the previous

vision blueprint permit and process streamlining evaluation.

So this is just simply a sampling of the California state housing laws that call for objective

design standards that essentially takes away the discretion in design.

This list gets longer each year of things that require only objective standards rather

than shorter.

So what does this mean?

So reliance on objective design standards and development standards really is, there

There really is limited discretion so that the subjectivity of years gone past has really

gone away.

In fact, subjective feedback is discouraged by these state laws.

Now, the next thing is really important to remember, the number five, maximum number

of meetings, hearings, and this is also inclusive of community meetings.

So just, you know, meeting with the community, et cetera, as well as appeals.

So keep that number five in your mind.

In addition, constrained VU timeframes, so some things, depending on if the project invokes

some of these laws, could limit the review time to 90 days or 180 days, depending on

its level of complexity, number of units, et cetera, and then also other laws focus

on streamlining the processes.

design standards. So we're going through the process right now of getting stakeholder feedback

and then ultimately bringing forward to council objective design standards for residential

mixed use as well as nonresidential uses. But we have the first booklet that we've been

shopping around with our stakeholders. The intention is to provide increased clarity

and transparency, reduce uncertainty about the design, which leads to decreased timelines

and costs, also substantially reduced evaluation discretion so that subjectivity goes away.

And it's also paired with objective development standards.

This is important as you'll see a little bit later.

Feedback that we've received from the community or stakeholders, essentially people are looking

at decreasing development time, cost and uncertainty, looking to eliminate the go back to the design

review commission for final design approval, and I'll talk about this in just a second,

and then for mixed use projects, ensuring that the ground floor heights and layout supports

ground floor uses, such as retail, restaurants, office, et cetera.

And the reason why I note this here is that this is where, in this mixed use environment,

it begins to transcend just simply residential uses.

So Walnut Creek's current process, again remember that number five, has some interesting things

about it.

So that for certain projects that say have required discretionary tree removal, a conditional

use permits for non-residential uses within residential developments and then also, oh

there's one other thing I can't remember, but anyway essentially it has a process where

goes to DRC for the study session, essentially.

Then it goes to Planning Commission.

And Planning Commission gives entitlements,

but then circles back around to the DRC

for final design review.

And so that's three right there.

The fourth thing is that if there were to be an appeal,

that is number four.

And if there were any previous community meetings

that, because there was complexity

or some controversy with regard to the specific project,

that also counts against the limit of five.

The other thing that is in there is that for vesting

of subdivision maps.

So these are very common in our current development environment,

having some combination of all those things

so that it puts the potential for projects

to be put into jeopardy by exceeding those five meetings

begins to increase every year with the complexity.

In addition, we have processes where the design review

commission then sends it directly to planning commission.

And then there's an appeal, so that's three.

And then I know that council has also

experienced the situation where, because of certain overlay

zones or plan development, that council

is also in the place of making that final decision

for design review.

And so prior to that, the Design Review Commission

made a recommendation to Planning Commission

when ultimately it gets to you.

So again, consider the rule of five.

Erica, can I ask a question on the last slide?

Certainly.

That first line, DRC, PC, DRC,

any project requiring design review

requires two trips to the DRC? Not every project, but projects which so that

there are a number of projects so there are multifamily projects or so projects

that require vesting of subdivision maps require that trip back, discretionary

tree removal, as well as conditional use permits for non-residential uses. And the

reason why is because the logic goes is that Planning Commission needs to first

determine which uses will be allowed within the development and then it

circles back around for final design you know for subdivision maps etc. Can you

just give it like is an example a recent example of project that had to make two

trips to DRC? The minor Apigail road project is one example of that and so it

took a trip around the world. So other jurisdictions have gone before us. In

your packet you had a more comprehensive list in this but what I did was I

excerpted out the jurisdictions that were most like the city of Walnut Creek

where there were mixed use developments.

And then the situation I just described

was much likely to occur.

In each case, they have chosen not

to have a design review commission,

but to do one of two things.

Either to go to an advisory design review board,

or alternately to go to what I would refer

to as a hybrid type of approach, which

which is the zoning administrator, which is code for staff, or planning commission.

And the bifurcation there is that, you know, there are specific projects, so that those

that where there is minimal discretion involved, those were going to staff, and then for the

more complex projects that are going to planning commission, and that within that, there's

also different compositions of the planning commission, so some of them have members of

have expertise in design. Yes. So Concord has an advisory design review board. Advisory

to whom and do you think I know San Ramon has an advisory design review board. This

was a lot of information to collect from so many jurisdictions. So it so advisory to so

in Concord it's advisory to both staff and to Planning Commission. So when they serve

as an advisory board first but they don't get a second bite.

Right, and then they're not the decision making body.

They are advisory to planning commission.

Or to staff if the staff has authority for that type of.

Correct.

When does the meeting happen in this and you know our goal is

to get it within the five.

So when did the meetings pop up?

So the meetings pop up either prior so that the end stop is either staff or planning commission.

And so there's not that loop around back.

So you know it reduces four to three.

Still allowing for the community meeting as initial DRC as advise or D.R. design review

board as advisory the decision making body and an appeal.

Correct.

Keeping holding one back. Okay

Okay, I'm gonna keep going

essentially with that information I have a couple questions for council for you to consider so would you

desire to consider changes to the city's design review process for these

SB 330 will use that as code for the state, you know

legislation that requires objective design review and if so which body should review and make decisions about design

So these are for those housing projects

To help you with that that we have a little handy dandy chart here that has design review commission

Which is our currently process current process. There's planning commission as an option

There's a variation of that which is planning commission with design review professional members

Then there's an advisory design review board. There's also ministerial staff

Which also means zoning administrator or it could go directly to you counsel or there's a hybrid

moving on to the next

similarly, there's a next tranche of

Projects to consider and it's all the other residential development projects so that they may not fall directly

under

the state legislation at this point at this point, but it may in the future, but

Currently they don't it's the same set of questions

lastly

same chart

So then lastly and if we're if you were to be considering the residential side

Would you also want to consider changes for the non residential development projects and this question?

comes into mind because of mixed-use projects, etc., which I mentioned previously, and so

none of the other

jurisdictions that I had shown you before have a

dual process for one for housing and one for

commercials, so they've all chosen to use the same process together, but it doesn't mean that it's not possible.

Again, options to consider.

Lastly questions

Thank you

I'm going to turn to councilmember Francois to see what other questions as I land use attorney and former

Let's try not to get into comments because I can see

The CEO of the Chamber of Commerce out here and I'm sure he isn't spending the night just to listen to us

I'm sure he has comments that he wants to make

on the

There were a lot of options and kind of mostly dealing with with the structure, right?

and whether or not DRC remains a decision-making body

or an advisory body.

Okay, I'm trying not to get into comments.

Isn't it true?

The advisory function, I think you answered this

by saying that even if the planning commission didn't have,

even if the project didn't require a discretionary approval

from the planning commission,

there still could be a possibility

that the DRC would be advisory to staff.

You'd still need design review approval

and that the DRC would be advisory to staff

in that instance?

So for projects where the objective design standards

didn't apply, certainly that's an option,

but for the objective design standards,

once those are anchored in place,

there's relatively little latitude for anybody,

whether it's staff, a design review commission,

Planning Commission or even you counsel to be able to make substantive changes

Okay

and then in terms of

Well that it kind of I think it kind of begs the question of what are they advising on at least in terms of projects?

I know that sp 330 projects that we're only reviewing for conformance to objective design standards, but

if what we're trying to solve for is the multiple,

one of the things we're trying to solve for,

I think we all agree, are the multiple,

the two bites at the apple.

You should only have one bite at the apple,

that, I didn't see that as an option,

that would be something we'd have to amend the code

to eliminate that possibility, right?

Correct.

Okay, and then can we also eliminate the code

to require that the council review in overlay zones

or PC, well there are PCs that are already established.

We couldn't change those without changing everyone, I guess.

But in overlay zones we could eliminate

council design review.

I absolutely don't think we should be doing that,

but that could be another code change.

That's also true.

Let's see if I have any other leading questions for you.

I'm just trying to, I guess what I'm,

and I mean I welcome your input on it

because I'm trying to get at like

what makes the most sense to streamline the process.

We all agree that we want to streamline the process

and we've identified these multiple hearings

and maybe these decisions being made at a higher body.

How is it by say changing the name

or making them advisory versus decision making

that were streamlining the process, I guess,

is what I'm trying to understand.

So the first thing in terms of streamlining the process

is that we're having more and more developments come through

that have their mixed use.

And so they have conditional use permits

that go along with it.

And then it ends up doing that loop around.

And I'll refer to it as going to design review twice.

So that's one thing.

The other thing is, depending on how far you would like to go

in terms of council, you could consolidate that role

into different functions so that some jurisdictions have

incorporated the design review process directly

into planning commission and have eliminated

having a separate design review commission or board,

but then having that expertise on the Planning Commission.

Councilmember Darling, you can just conjure tape.

I have to ask an ignorant question.

Is it always clear that something's subject

to SB 3330 or not?

Like, if you see a project, you know that that's subject

just to objective design review standards.

Oh, they tell us.

I know.

But it's clear.

So actually, I had the same question.

and it's the Housing Accountability Act, SB 330.

What is the quantifiable trigger?

Is it two plus units?

Because I read and reread the summary and the staff report.

So there are a number of different pieces of legislation.

So the SB 330 is just one of the things

that would subject a project to objective design standards.

So that's one.

There are other pieces of legislation

that are there if a developer would choose to use union

or prevailing wage labor and so forth,

that that also could subject the project

to objective design standards.

I'm not trying to be cagey,

I'm just trying to represent state law.

Yeah, and I guess, so if we were to give you direction

to say, for those things that only have to comply

with objective standards.

They don't need to design review.

It would be clear what projects we're talking about.

It would be clear until the next legislative session.

It would be clear as long as the legislature doesn't expand

the area where objectives design standards.

Right now, objective design standards

under the Housing Accountability Act

apply to, as the mayor indicated,

residential units over two.

and mixed-use projects were more than two-thirds

of the units are residential.

So those are very, you know,

they're quantifiable standards that can be applied.

The same is true, SB 35 has very specific standards

as well too, and so those can be,

it's just that if the legislature continues

to expand the law, what is very clear

in the way that they have been expanding the law

is they keep applying the objective design standards

as a mechanism to promote more housing

and to limit discretion at the local level.

Okay, thank you.

So just to continue that clarification,

it's not which law does it.

The real question is if we look at 30 projects

that have gone through us that are residential

or mixed use, do any of them not qualify

other than single family homes?

There are relatively few these days

Just because it's getting finance and getting fewer all the time. Well, it would be

to the extent that the

Residential project is being contemplated requires a general plan amendment or a rezone those would be excluded

And we have one of those right now with the Toyota project, right? Right. Okay

mayor Pro Tem

So I think I know I have a disadvantage these guys have been on Planning Commission and they kind of

understand the system.

And people pay him to do this.

Yeah, and there's even that.

So my first reaction was, what would I

do if I could redesign the system that we have

in place in Walnut Creek?

Just erase everything and start from scratch?

And what would we need to have at what level

to accomplish what we were trying to do?

And then figure out what of the remaining choices we have

that gets us to that pretty expeditiously.

Is that a fair summary?

Yeah, I put chime in.

I think that's a reasonable way to summarize it.

And I think where it gets a little tricky is

the level of design review you would like to have

is completely discretionary.

I mean, it could be limited to staff.

It could be as we have now.

It could be anything in between.

And so that's why we were trying to frame it up

with the different types of projects to give you a sense.

But I mean, as I think you're aware,

I mean, you could completely eliminate the design review.

I'm not recommending this to be clear.

I'm just saying you could completely eliminate

the design review commission

and have staff make the call and design standards.

It would be a very efficient.

I'm not sure it's, you know,

would be necessarily what would be desired,

but there is a full range here to your point

of what the council could consider.

So the other question I have is what is the purpose of Design

Review?

In my layman's brain, it is so that everything in Walnut Creek

blends with everything in Walnut Creek.

I'm sure I could use a lot more different terms.

But it's, why don't you let Erica answer that for you?

What is Design Review supposed to do?

Is that the question?

So the intention behind Design Review

is to elevate the aesthetic standards within the community.

And there are other things that are more

florally written within the code.

But the code and the intention behind it

were also written in a time where

there was a lot more subjectivity, both desired

and allowed within the universe, if you will.

A state law, at least for housing projects,

has substantially reduced the ability

to apply more subjective evaluation or assessment

for residential or housing projects.

And then for, as we go into a place in space

where there's a blend of multi-family housing,

which didn't exist to this extent,

you know, 20, 30 years ago, right?

That it starts to go into that commercial

or non-residential space.

And so the intention is to be able to elevate design,

but the ability to do that has also been far more constrained.

To answer your original question about if you're designing it

from scratch, are city managers entirely correct?

Because it depends on the level of design review

that both you want representing the community

as well as what's allowed by state law.

And there's less and less that's allowed by state law.

Okay, so, Daily City, the tic-tac houses on that,

that is not a design review concept, is it not?

I would not dare to comment about

what their design was within Daily City.

what we are aspiring to do within our community

is to establish a basic set of objective design standards

that is reflective of the type of housing, first,

that we desire within the community,

and then through that process of actually having quite

a lot of input and participation

from our current Design Review Commission members,

as well as the greater community and developers.

So it's trying to set with those standards

and be much more clear rather than, you know,

we'll know it when we see it,

which is kind of how it was originally crafted

back years ago.

The last part with what I was looking for, thank you.

Council Member Wilk, are you still with us?

I can see you.

I'm still here, I'm still here.

So I'm gonna keep this high level.

I understand that there are some areas

that are less objective now, but if I can ask Erica,

Is our process broken?

I mean, I'm not quite, in other words,

somebody's asking for us to be making a decision

based upon this.

And the seven years that I've been on council,

there hasn't really been a change in DRC.

So, what's staff preference?

I'm kind of wondering,

we're being put in this position right now

of parsing up what DRC can or shouldn't be doing.

What's the reason that we're here doing this

if it's not broken and we have to make some

latitudinal adjustments based upon state law?

Council Member, if I could, I'll answer that initially

and then defer to Erica for more input.

I'll share going back, and this predates my time here

to the blueprint for success.

And then in the time that I have been here

for nearly six years, we've received very consistent

feedback from largely the development community developers

of all sizes and all types that the design review process

is challenging, that it's lengthy, it's costly,

and at times it's confusing.

And we've made some steps to improve that,

but frankly, probably not as much as what those folks

who had provided that feedback would like.

So there have been ongoing challenges for many years

with the overall process.

I'm not suggesting that's owned by the commission

or any set of commissioners on the Design Review Commission.

It's just the process overall.

And then secondly, there has been the fundamental shift here

with state law that's driving a lot of this.

And I will use an example here

where there was some general alignment.

I heard from at least one Design Review Commissioner

when the minor project came forward and they wanted

to provide input, but they were precluded from doing so.

And they were wondering why was it being brought to them

if they're not allowed to offer input that can be legally required.

And so there was some alignment and frustration amongst the Design Review Commissioners

as well as with the developers, and frankly I think everybody involved in the process

that our current system required this second go-around with the Design Review Commission.

So there was considerable alignment in that frustration.

So those are, that's a little bit of history related to your question.

and I'd defer to Erica if she wanted to add to that.

No, I think I'd answer that.

And based upon the questions that have already been asked,

I'm fine with my questions now.

I guess just following up on that, then,

you know, we had an appeal of a project, a design review

approval on Walnut Boulevard.

And I think all of us were kind of struggling with what is,

you know, why is this before us?

So can we really solve for the why is this before us unless we eliminate design review altogether?

Because it could still be appealed to the council right at some level it could even if we made it a staff level decision

Just for conformance with objective design standards

well, I mean so

The if you're asking if you can solve there are ways to solve

but I think the way that staff has framed up the questions is

intended to help the council get to that so that the laws that apply to a

Non-residential development still allow you the flexibility have design review

so if you think that in commercial development or other types of development that the town is that the city is benefited by

Kind of a more subjective design review you can do that

The same is true for multifamily that's less than two-thirds residential, which as we all

know doesn't actually happen very often that way.

It tends to have that level of residential in it.

But so you can, part of the solution could be breaking this into the component parts.

And then with regards to residential development, what the council can do and what state law

still allows you to do is really put your emphasis on what are the objective design

standards that you adopt.

So if you're, you know, one of the benefits, historical benefits of Walnut Creek and really

from their design review process is the creation of development that, you know, people find

interesting and they come to downtown and whatnot.

And so if you're trying to, trying to, trying to retain that effect, then it's maybe done

better through the objective design standards, recognizing and we along with the staff who've

been working on this, drafting objective design standards that are truly objective means that

they're not fully subjective.

And so you get, it's hard to say, well, I know I can get to this design because you

You can't have an objective design standard

that covers every possible outcome.

Yeah, I mean, so I'm thinking of like the,

well, I mean, there are a lot of projects I like in the city,

you know, 1500 at Mount Diablo,

probably being one of them that's at the top.

And I thought the Neiman Marcus turned out

to be a beautiful building too,

and that I think those were both enhanced

by the design review process.

And then I remember being on the Planning Commission

I think the council struggled with it at the time though the lyric which may have required a general plan amendment

Yeah, but it

It was solved for I think by the pop-ups and pop downs and the variation in height. So

You're saying that we can get there through

There can't be any more than so many linear feet before there's a drop down in of one story or something like that

through the design guidelines

Yes, yeah

Alright, I have a couple of questions if it's okay, and then we're going to open it for public comment the I think I

Pretty clear that a lot of this requires five me meetings only in objective design standards the

I'm sorry. I lost my question. Let me think a minute. Oh

What is the difference from a regular story standpoint or a legal standpoint between a design review board and a design review?

Commission one must have less authority than the other and is that inherent or

is that just how we by changing the name and then we redefine it we're

redefining the authority it's really you're redefining the authority what what

you call it it matters less it's it's do they have the authority to make a

decision which effectively means that they can you know in in an exercise of

their discretion I'm not making any judgment on this they can hold a project

If they want to whereas if their advisory the council could say

there will be one meeting at which the project is proposed the

The board will make their recommendations and those recommendations then will follow

Wherever the project goes for the ultimate approval

some some cities I think that Eric has talked about where they where they have something that's either advisory or kind of a

You'll go one time earlier in the process

effectuate it that way.

They have a recommendation that comes out of the board, and then that just follows through.

It shows up in the staff report, the planning commission considers it, if the council or

the ultimate approval body, the council considers it, but ultimately those decision-making bodies

make the final decision, not the designer view commission.

And we have the ability to just reform.

We did this 12 years ago.

Were you with us?

One of our commissions, we changed its mission and scope.

You do have that.

And we completely reconstitute it,

we redefined it, we reappointed to it,

and we changed their scope of authority.

We could do that here,

but we could also have a hybrid version.

We have the alternative of having that one body

with hybrid alternatives to see how it,

and over time we could roll more into the less

and less into the more.

Right, I mean, so hypothetically,

I'm not sure if this is what you're gonna have.

Sorry to use me, Commander Rose.

You have the same condition you have right now.

Speaking of marketing.

Making the advisory on housing projects

and decision-making on projects that don't require

the application of objective design standards,

so commercial or hotels.

We have that option before we open it for public comment.

If there are no other questions, let's thank you, Erica.

And would you like to introduce who you have with you tonight?

Yes, I have Ben Schuster, who is an associate planner here

with me.

And he's my backup chorus for all the questions

that I can't answer.

All right.

So far so good.

This is an opportunity for public comment.

If you are joining us virtually and you

to make a comment please raise your hand using the zoom raise hand feature or

press star 9 to let staff know that you would like to make a comment you have

two minutes and are up to two minutes and good evening and thank you for your

patience thanks for the opportunity Bob Lynch I presented CEO the Walnut Creek

Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Bureau and obviously had numerous discussions

about the permit process, the design process.

And I think that first of all I want

to acknowledge the opportunity to work with staff

on convening various groups to have robust discussions

on whether it's tonight the issue of objective design

standards or sustainability action plan

or even the economic development action plan.

and the engagement in my belief has been outstanding.

We're all seeking good outcomes.

I think the city manager mentioned some years ago

the blueprint for success, which preceded him and me,

I think, was initiated to improve

the city's development process,

identified the design review process

as an area for improvement.

So I think that's the ultimate goal, looking for improvement.

And as we looked at the options provided in the community development director report,

I think one thing stands out pretty clear is this body

or the planning commission is the ultimate appeal authority.

And frankly, we don't want to go that direction if we can avoid it.

I think one thing that resonated with me is ultimately we want predictability and I think

applaud this process on behalf of my organization and I think as we you know try to make

Walnut Creek an A-plus community from an A

This is one area that I think if we spend some time when we can get there together. So thanks for the opportunity and

Best wishes on a great outcome

Could I ask you a couple of questions? Yeah sure had you socialized this with our staff with any of your members?

And are they more if yes, are they more commercial or?

Residential well, or is it a mix it is a mix

I would say it's weighted more toward the commercial side of it

But in each and every one of the cases the outreach

We've convened a pretty good group. I would say for these these discussions

Okay, thanks anyone else wish to provide comments public comment on this agenda item

This was a long meeting

Anyone joining us virtually who wishes to provide comments

No one virtually. All right, then I'll close the public communication period

bring it back to the questions we need to answer are there any more technical questions or

Scoping questions for staff. Can I ask a weird hybrid

question

Those projects that go back to design review because they need a tree removal permit or

They need a subdivision map

Are they?

Subsitively different at that point than when the design review originally saw them because I'm just thinking most of the tree removal permits and subdivision

Maps are so after the fact

discretionary tree removal permits and then there's also so the subdivision map and then CUPs for

conditional use permits for the non-residential

Pieces of mixed use development. So those are the things are they substantively different?

Sometimes and so I think that where they're the minor abigail place

project probably is the biggest example of there being a conflict of the of the

charge that our design review Commission's been given and then the

reality of state law and objective design standards. I'm just thinking in

this whole idea of do we want to get it down to one for projects we need to

figure out who still needs design review

and do we need two trips through design review?

What marginal benefit are we getting out of that second trip

through design review?

It is unclear.

And the reason why I say that it's unclear

is that as we have evolved into a different place in space

where there's less ability to be subjected to offer

and then have required to have included that subjective input.

That's the reality and so it starts to diminish.

Okay.

I was just going to offer up if it would be helpful.

We do have the questions on the slides if we want to pull that back up.

Let's take it one slide at a time.

And go through the three different scenarios if we want to talk about each of those to

try to break this down a bit.

I believe the first was for the...

I have a question.

Sorry.

If it can be answered.

Is there any time when the developer is happy that they got strong opinions from the design

review process?

I'm sure there must have been in the past.

You know, when I've heard that they appreciated it was when it came efficiently.

What they don't appreciate is the spin cycle.

that just overweight because if they're spending money to come to the meetings

they're spending its time and and that that can outweigh the that cost benefit

analysis is and I think the biggest risk we have in going through twice as we've

heard from several projects that they have gotten diametrically opposed

opinions the first well it's an in it is all you know it is an inherently

subjective process is a problem and I it just is and I think when you have five

or however many five with seven opinions five and then right with seven opinions

that look at least five opinions that it's hard to coalesce into emotion I

think it can lead to confusion and lack of clarity not only for the developer

but for staff on, well, what do I do with these kind

of five different subjective opinions?

The Design Review Commission meetings in those cases sound

like our previous item on this agenda tonight

where it's a checklist of, well, try this, oh, no, no,

I think I'm okay with that.

And that's what it sounds like having,

we used to have liaisons from council and I went

to a large number of Design Review Commission meetings

and that was what, it was frustrating for everybody.

So you have the questions.

So should we consider changes to the design review process

for SB 330 and similar residential projects,

which is two or more units, mandated by the state

to use objective design standards

and the five meetings are inherent in that?

And just to be clear, these are projects that conform

to planning and zoning that we've identified

for housing and then we have objective design standards for?

That's correct.

That we have or are in the process right now of adopting objective design standards.

State laws that exist right now as you saw in the supplement that was provided.

Cities can still adopt objective design standards, but all they can apply is objective standards.

So if you don't have them, you can adopt them and apply them, but you can't apply subjective

standards right now.

So this is the basic question.

And I think these are the poster children for,

if you set up a design review process

where you actually have no discretion

because you're complying with objective design standards,

you're setting the table for frustration.

And for things that happened in May?

Yeah, yeah, born out of frustration.

So I mean, I'll weigh in on this.

I think that we do wish to consider changes

because for the reasons articulated that essentially

there is no discretion over these projects.

There seems to be limited utility

of putting these projects

before the Design Review Commission or the council

and that perhaps that function can be best served

at a staff level.

I wouldn't even really suggest

that we put the DRC in an advisory role

because I think that would be frustrating too,

that they'd be providing opinions

and expecting something to be done with those opinions

and unless they really related

to the objective design standards,

there's nothing that could be done with those opinions.

So it really seems like it's a staff level decision

to determine conformity with objective design guidelines

similar to how a building permit is done.

So let me pose a question.

The Anton project, 1910,

that didn't have a general plan amendment.

but he needed a rezoning?

I don't think so.

You're referring to the former

FUD record site, is that correct?

I'm trying to think of a project that's large in scale

and you're suggest, by the way,

you're leaping to the next question,

which is who should do it?

If you change it, who should do it?

But if you're suggesting staff do it,

are you comfortable with what the consequences in terms of?

Well, I'm told that, I mean,

that is a site that's within the north downtown

specific plan that's identified for housing

as its own mixed use residential, right?

So Janine has some very specific knowledge

because this is before my time.

Okay, give us an example that this would apply to.

Janine Cavalli, senior planner, community development.

So the project you're referring to was actually,

I believe it was a density bonus project,

so they got waivers and concessions.

So this I'm not sure that this would be the best project for that if they were also seeking,

you know, if you're seeking any change to general plans, zoning code, development standards

or even don't want to comply with objective standards, then you get kicked out of this

project.

Right, the density bonus isn't non-qualifier or it's a qualifier for SB 330, right?

Well, it's no, they can still qualify, it's just that when you put density bonus into

to it, then they can ask for incentives or development standard waivers.

And so you may have a standard that you would otherwise apply, but they ask for a waiver

of the standard.

So the Minert Abigail was a density bonus project.

It was.

Yeah, it was.

It was.

It was 13 units allowed, 17 requested, and concessions.

And with the variances and so forth.

So it would fall into this category.

Yes, because it didn't require legislative change.

Density bonus projects remind me they're approved by the Planning Commission.

So NOMA, for instance, was approved by the Design Review Commission and only appealed

up to the City Council on the environmental determination.

Only CEQA came to the Council.

And that never came through planning, if I remember.

because it was a plant planning staff worked on it obviously the planning

commission to my recollection so all this was before my time so I don't have a

recollection about it but we now have an agreement we're just gonna answer the

first question see if we can get Cindy Darling should we change for this

category or leave it as is because that's the only it's either leave it as

is with a loop the loops I think we have to change it if we have projects that

are mandated to use objective design standards. The goal of that is to move

housing through and it will be very frustrating to make it go through a

design review process that does not change the outcome. Okay Mayor Pro Tem.

Yes. Council member Wilk. Yeah I guess yes except that I'm very

concerned that we're going to have a similarity a similar look among many

buildings downtown without this now but I suppose yes.

I just respond to that councilmember Wolk. I think that the way to solve for that

is through the objective design standards which we have and have tried

to already solve for and maybe we haven't solved for every particular

permutation but I think that a lot of thought went into into those guidelines.

So can we answer the questions what we want to change and then go back and

answer who should do what because we okay okay should we consider changes to

the design review process for other residential development projects that

aren't already going to staff so that's not single family homes so that would

be a project well what would that that's gonna be a residential project of mixed

use project with less than two-thirds residential okay or or or a general

plan amendment or well to be clear a general plan amendment and a rezone don't

require the application of design stand objective design standards now it may

change in the future and once you rezone it and you redesign it in the general

plan then it does apply so so for purposes of the council's thought right

now if there's a legislative change general plan amendment or rezoning these

these changes don't have to apply to that.

Cindy Darling.

I would like to look at these and see if there's a way

to minimize the two trip suit design review,

but I'm not 100% sold, but I need to.

I'm gonna not go to the non-residential yet

because I think now we have two things on the table

is the resident, the two units are greater,

SB 330 required under state law

versus those that are not required under state law.

So for the first category,

how do we, who will do it, would you think,

in terms of, I think we have two options.

I'll put them on the table.

One is we continue to have a design review team.

We haven't answered the first question though, have we?

I thought we were taking them one at a time.

You're getting to who should do it.

Okay, I'm sorry, I apologize, it's not in late.

Your answer to the question.

I guess, I feel like there should be more surgical changes,

but maybe yes.

So I've got two maybes.

I'm a maybe.

Mayor Pro Tem?

I'm thinking, how do we explain

to the potential commissioners what their job is

and have them be enthusiastic about taking them?

I mean, I'm thinking there's a practical reality,

which is is there enough for them to do

over a period of time?

Okay, so I'm a maybe.

Yeah.

Council Member Wilk?

I agree with what the Mayor Pro Tem just said,

but I'm a no because of that.

So we have the majority of us saying,

let's look at what to do.

So now let's go back to the first one.

SB 330, multi-family projects.

Let me see if I can outline the alternatives.

Just go to Planning Commission.

Okay, does anybody just want staff to do it?

I talked to some of the people in Martinez

about what they're doing,

because they're struggling with the same thing,

and they actually said they told staff

to just make the call as to what goes forward

and what doesn't because they were having a hard time.

Look at me funny, but yeah, I said,

how do you decide what goes-

So then staff's just following the law.

Well, yeah.

Could you put the next slide up, please?

So I think we're on, are we back on the first question?

Yeah.

Yeah, so this is, is it this wrong?

I'm gonna go backwards?

Yeah.

Okay.

Which body should we do it and that was the next?

One, okay, that was the next one.

It's different than the chart in the staff report.

Yeah, I think cleaned it up a lot.

So the, who should do it?

So staff only, PC, or D.R. team advisory to PC.

Well, I don't think it makes sense,

especially under the current composition,

that it be done by PC.

And I certainly don't think it should be done by us.

So to me, it's either staff or the Design Review Commission.

And if we're, I mean, it's either

are we going to take a baby step on this

or are we going to just acknowledge the reality

for what it is that there's no, there is no discretion.

I'm not even sure why it's appealable to the council

then in that situation.

That's the public's right to appeal.

You can't appeal a building permit though.

I mean, if it's truly ministerial,

if we've defined this process as ministerial,

that it's not subject to CEQA

and it shouldn't be coming to us on anything.

I mean, it depends on how far we want to go on this.

And I don't know that, I don't hear a whole room of people

advocating for us to make that big of changes.

You wanna talk to us about pickleball.

But the thing that I'm hearing the concerns about

were the multiple trips, the multiple hearings.

We've gotta solve for that, you know?

And then.

Would it still go with staff approval of the design?

would it still go to the PC

for whatever legislative decisions are required,

whether it's a CUP or UP?

Right.

See, I don't wanna limit the Planning Commission entirely

because we have at least one architect

already on the Planning Commission.

Nothing says we couldn't have architects.

Mayor, if I may, I would just say,

if you're talking about a CUP or something like that,

yes, it would, but the council will wanna recall

that not too long ago, you moved some of the decision-making

authority down to the Design Review Commission

with an appeal to the Planning Commission,

and that appeal was final at that point.

And so, if the council feels like some of these projects

should have some commission or body having input

rather than just staff approving the Design Review

and the project because it's effectively ministerial,

then you should give us that direction

and then we can come back to you with the alternative

because it's a little more complicated

because you've already delegated that authority

down to the Design Review Commission already.

So we may have to do some kind of legislative change

to address that.

I mean, it's percolating.

I think I would recommend then option four

in the staff report, which was the design,

I think we can keep calling it the Design Review Commission.

I wouldn't recommend changing the name.

But for these SB 330 projects,

they're advisory to the Planning Commission.

And the Planning Commission makes a decision on it?

On the design review?

Based on the advice?

Yes, yeah, based on the advice from.

And then that's solving for the multiple hearings,

I'm hoping.

So could you please repeat that?

So in the staff report, it's option four.

Can you bring up your next slide?

Yep, there it is.

It's still option four.

No, perfect.

I would still call them the Design Review Commission,

but I think they're not making a decision

on those SB 330 projects,

because there's really no decision to be made.

I agree.

Right, that solves an part.

If you go with option four,

you are limiting the,

from a hearing standpoint,

you're limiting the DRC to one hearing for advice,

and then it's going to PC for a decision,

and then you've got the potential of an appeal

to the city council, which would be a third.

And it still allows for a community meeting.

Well, you would only be at three with that,

so you still have two more left.

Can they be advisory to staff, though?

Because it's adding, it is still having two hearings

to get to a decision on design.

Well, right, but even if they're advisory to staff,

Councilmember, the way that I'm reading the statute,

it still counts as one of the five

because the statute talks about public hearings

and community meetings related to the project.

So the only way the DRC can act as a body is in a meeting.

I can't figure this out.

Councilmember Darling, your thoughts on just this one?

We may-

Okay, so if we took this and put some bones on it

and made design review, advisory,

and then everything else that needs to happen

on the project happens at the Planning Commission,

that can work.

I would want to reserve the ability for staff

to substitute themselves for design review

on at their discretion.

I don't know, I don't know why,

but it just seems like we're setting things up

for two meetings there and there's, you know.

So I want to understand, are you advocating,

what are you, which number are you advocating for?

I thought that was the right one and now I'm not so sure.

Oh, just because I picked it?

I think maybe five is.

So it may actually be kind of a hybrid option so that planning commission would be in the

case that you're describing, planning commission would be the deciding body but then either

staff would either make a final decision on certain things that are delegated to it or

it would be advisory from the Design Review Commission

going to Planning Commission.

And that, if you don't mind my going back a little bit,

is what a lot of, well,

so the designed review occurring in San Ramon as an example,

so that there's an architecture board that is advisory

but not decision making.

and that is an example of what you just described.

So if you did kind of a combination of four and five,

some projects just get a staff review

and that staff review is appealable

to the Planning Commission.

Correct.

Project that's a little bit bigger

gets an advisory consideration by, rather than staff.

Right, so currently Design Review Commission

has had the ability to delegate certain projects

staff so that single-family homes some sign review and then storefronts and

So there may be some additional things that as we go through and if we were to pursue that option

It would make sense, but it could you know essentially look down that pathway

So a combination of four and five. I

Like design I like for

Would they make their their advice happen at the same meeting that

that the Planning Commission

operated

That would in that example would be separate so it would be a

Called a hearing it may not meet the legal requirements of a hearing, but it would be advisory

So let me just back up for one step. I mean it's part of this process. You know staff

Using it as it is now is reviewing the objective design standards and bringing that information to design review

in which they're then interpreting so

It really do obviously depends how far you want to go if we if staff is making an interpretation

if we go to option four

that interpretation goes for an advisor review by the design review board about whether we've interpreted the objective design standards correctly and

that information would then be shared with the Planning Commission when it goes there.

If for some reason the Design Review Commission didn't, I mean they may agree or disagree with their interpretation, that information would be passed along.

Regardless of whether it would go to the Design Review Commission for an advisory

level look at the objective design standard interpretation, staff's interpretation could still be appealed to Planning Commission as part of the project, whether it be by

The community or neighbors or whether it be by the developer who's who's proposing the projects there still would be that

Appeal factor. I think the question is on these ones in which

There's very little subjectivity and we're make we being initially staff. It's making an interpretation of whether the project complies

Do you want another entity in this case being the design review commission to verify whether staffs interpretation was accurate?

I think that's really what this is boiling down to

because they can't go beyond what the objective design standard state, if they

do that could be appealable most likely to the Planning Commission. How is one

different from our current process? It is our current process. It's the null

alternative. Except what happens is they take multiple bites at the apple. They

say come back, come back. We don't like this, come back. Yeah. Can I just give my

two cents here yes please so I think number four because I these buildings

are going to be up for 30 40 years I think it is important for the DRC to be

able to review at least give their advice it's an opportunity for the

public to be able to weigh in on that and yes the ultimately the developer can

take that or not but I think if we're looking for buildings to go up for

decades. It's not a big ask to have to have to have the DRC provide their

input when they're not looking at just X's and O's. Thank you. So I think it is

number four and here's why. We still want to continue to be able to address the

the aesthetics values that are in the community and without a design review

somebody sitting in the midst. At the same time we have to balance that with

the need to streamline the desire to streamline to save time to save money

and to allow for consistency and certainty. We have to meet those state

guidelines. We have to allow someplace in this for community input and if we

truncate this too much all community input will be here. It's not we don't

want the community input, but we will be less qualified to really take that

initial community input and consideration. And we have to, it does

accommodate an appropriate body for appeal. City Attorney, you were voting

with me? No, I was raising my hand to ask a question just for clarification.

Understanding the council was also trying to solve for the five hearing

issue if we were to go with option four would the council be comfortable that we

are clear that the expectation is that the project goes to the design review

Commission once yes with the consideration of time and the public

could I suggest we ask staff to come back with a little more fleshed out of

what this would look like and we can continue the conversation on the other