Berkeley City Council Regular Meeting – November 12, 2024

The Berkeley City Council held its regular hybrid meeting on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 6:00 PM in the School District Board Room, 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley, with a teleconference location in Anaheim. Mayor Jesse Arreguin presided, and all eight councilmembers were present. The agenda included an urgent excused-absence item, a large consent calendar, a public hearing on a solar-plus-storage power purchase agreement, and first reading of a research-and-development grant tax exemption. The meeting was adjourned in memory of Joseph 'Joe' Panicali, a Berkeley physician and community volunteer.

Ceremonial Matters and Urgent Item

• Council honored Ray Yep on his retirement from the Transportation and Infrastructure Commission with a proclamation; Yep gave brief remarks on his volunteer service.
• Council unanimously approved an urgent item excusing Councilmember Sophie Hahn from the October 29, 2024, council meeting due to illness.
• Councilmember Tregub requested, and council agreed, that the meeting be adjourned in memory of Joseph Panicali.

Consent Calendar

• Items 1–3, City Manager contracts: authorized a five-year cooperative agreement with East Bay Regional Parks District to manage free-roaming cat populations; amended the Paw Fund contract for no-cost spay/neuter services by adding $10,000 for a new total not to exceed $144,466 and extending the term to October 31, 2026; and approved planned formal bid solicitations and requests for proposals totaling $10,200,000.
• Items 4–14, budget referrals and holiday fund: approved Berkeley Holiday Fund contributions from discretionary council office budgets, with the Mayor and several councilmembers contributing amounts from $100 to $500. Also approved budget referrals for South Cove Seawall design ($250,000), F and G dock deck replacement ($500,000), afterschool program expansion ($300,000), Shattuck Avenue/Delaware Street traffic study and pedestrian safety ($50,000), an Accessible Pedestrian Signal at Sacramento Street and Allston Way ($30,000), emergency support for Berkeley Art Center ($100,000 plus technical assistance), a five-year arts-and-culture recovery plan ($150,000), Glendale La Loma Park play structure and ADA access planning ($250,000), conversion of the Parkside Drive median 'Round Park' to an official city park ($150,000), and one-time bridge funding for the Bread Project ($70,000).
• Items 17, 18A, and 18B were moved from the Action Calendar to the Consent Calendar. Item 17 accepted the annual Surveillance Technology Report for body-worn cameras, GPS trackers, fixed cameras, license plate readers, street-level imagery, and unmanned aerial systems. Item 18A, the Peace and Justice Commission resolution opposing the criminalization of poverty and homelessness, was placed on consent for the purpose of taking no action; Item 18B, the City Manager companion report recommending no action, was accepted.
• The consent calendar as amended passed unanimously. Councilmember Lunaparra abstained on items 17 and 18B.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Non-agenda public comment included multiple speakers from Where Do We Go and the Berkeley Homeless Union criticizing recent encampment management at the Bancroft encampment and at 2nd and Cedar Street. They said the city’s written encampment policy was not being followed, requested dialogue with residents, and asked for fair compensation for RVs, clear timelines, and ADA accommodations before any closure.
• Several speakers urged the council to act on Gaza, with one saying it had been over 400 days of genocide and another asking the council to pass the Peace and Justice Commission resolution. Other speakers raised anxiety after the November 2024 election and called on Berkeley to remain a sanctuary city.
• One speaker said the homeless services panel of experts voted unanimously to set aside shelter funding for people at the Harrison site, citing costly litigation.
• Employee union representatives from SEIU CSU/PTRLA announced a strike planned for November 20–21, 2024, unless the city returned to bargaining, and demanded a substantial cost-of-living adjustment. Vice Mayor Wengraf announced a closed session would be held to discuss labor negotiations with SEIU CSU/PTRLA.
• During consent calendar comment, a Berkeley resident supported item 17 and asked the city to incorporate and monitor privately funded Flock cameras, citing a recent burglary in his neighborhood.
• Multiple Berkeley Art Center board members, former board members, and artists spoke in support of item 10, describing the center’s financial crisis, its history of paying artists, and its role supporting diverse and emerging artists.
• Peace and Justice Commission representatives opposed moving item 18A to consent, saying the commission’s resolution was broader than the city’s recently adopted encampment policy. A UC Berkeley student cited studies estimating that frequent sweeps can increase deaths by 15 to 25 percent and said Berkeley’s sweeps could lead to at least 22 avoidable deaths over 10 years.
• Several speakers commented on item 1, expressing concern that trap-neuter-release programs for free-roaming cats still allow cats to kill birds and other wildlife.
• Mary Annie Reeby of the Old Berkeley City Hall Tent Village requested an encampment budget, including security, supplies, a generator, and housing support services.

Discussion Items

• Item 15 – Ava Community Energy Solar + Storage PPA: Staff presented a proposed 25-year power purchase agreement with Ava Community Energy (formerly East Bay Community Energy) to install solar and battery backup at critical municipal facilities, specifically Live Oak Community Center and the Corp Yard. The city would have no upfront costs and would not own or maintain the equipment; Ava would finance and build the systems. The project is intended to provide emergency resilience, offset peak demand charges, and qualify under NEM 2.0 rates if operational by April 2026. Public hearing comments included support from former Berkeley Energy Commission chair Ben Paulus and a concern from Kelly Hammergren that battery capacity might be insufficient for an emergency shelter. Staff and Ava representatives responded that the solar array would recharge the battery during the day and that the Corp Yard would retain its existing generator. Council authorized the City Manager to negotiate and execute the PPA unanimously.
• Item 16 – Amending BMC Section 9.04.165, Tax Exemption for Research & Development Grants: The Mayor and staff from the Office of Economic Development presented a first-reading ordinance to expand the existing R&D grant tax exemption. The current waiver, enacted in 2019, allows a cumulative $1 million exemption for qualifying companies with less than $100,000 in other gross receipts and applies only to government grants. The proposal would remove the $1 million cap, remove the $100,000 other-receipts restriction, and extend the exemption to philanthropic grants used for public-interest research and development. Staff reported that 21 companies received waivers over five years, an average of about eight per year, and that the city forgave approximately $45,000—roughly $9,000 per year—in business license tax revenue. Staff projected the expanded exemption would reduce business license tax revenue by no more than 0.1 to 0.3 percent and argued it would help retain startups and increase business license registrations. Public comment was divided: supporters included Baker Labs, the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, Activate Berkeley, Biocom California, and startup founders; opponents and skeptical speakers cited a lack of hard numbers, the absence of a sunset or company-size cap, inequity with other small businesses, and concerns about the process. Councilmembers, including the Mayor, defended the measure as a small cost with economic benefit and dismissed what they called misinformation. Councilmember Hahn stated that the FPPC had dismissed a conflict-of-interest complaint against her related to biotech interests. The first reading was approved unanimously; a second reading will be required for final adoption.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the amended consent calendar; Councilmember Lunaparra abstained on items 17 and 18B.
• Approved Item 15 unanimously, authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute the Ava Community Energy power purchase agreement.
• Approved first reading of the ordinance amending BMC Section 9.04.165 unanimously; final adoption requires a second reading.
• Approved the urgent excused absence for Councilmember Hahn unanimously.
• Accepted the annual Surveillance Technology Report and took no action on the Peace and Justice Commission resolution, per the City Manager’s companion report.
• Vice Mayor Wengraf announced a closed session on SEIU CSU/PTRLA labor negotiations.
• The meeting was adjourned in memory of Joseph Panicali.