OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Berkeley City Council Meeting on October 28, 2025: Encryption, Wildfire Rebates, and Transit Design

City Council — Tuesday, October 28, 2025
BodyBerkeley, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 28, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 5:32:41
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Okay, good evening, everyone.

0:01

Thank you very much for your patience.

0:03

Um, I am going to call to order the Berkeley City Council meeting.

0:07

Today's Tuesday, October 28th, 2025.

0:11

Clerk, could you please take the roll?

0:13

Okay, Councilmember Kessarwani.

0:16

Here.

0:16

Taplin, present.

0:18

Bartlett.

0:20

Is currently absent.

0:23

Trigum.

0:26

Okay.

0:27

Here.

0:28

Blackaby.

0:29

Here.

0:29

Luna Para.

0:31

Humbert, present, and Mary Ishi.

0:34

Here.

0:34

Okay.

0:34

Forum is present.

0:35

Okay.

0:36

Councilmember Bartlett is present.

0:38

Very good.

0:39

Thank you.

0:39

Okay, so given the number of items on our agenda tonight, we're not going to be able to get to item 32, which is the amendments to allow separate sale of ADUs.

0:49

So we're going to push that back to another meeting.

0:52

However, if anyone came here tonight to speak to that issue, you may still do so during that time when we would have taken that item, which will be at the end of our meeting agenda.

1:00

However, if you want to come back and speak about it at the future meeting when we actually are hearing the item, you can do that as well.

1:07

We'll have comment uh public comment at the meeting where we discuss this item as I just mentioned.

1:11

So thank you all very much for your understanding.

1:15

And just so I have a sense.

1:22

Who's here?

1:23

Okay.

1:24

Very good.

1:25

All right.

1:25

So we are going to move on to ceremonial matters.

1:27

We have one ceremonial matter for this evening.

1:30

It is a proclamation honoring women's breast cancer women's cancer resource center and celebrating breast cancer awareness month.

1:37

Do we have a representative here?

1:39

Oh, wonderful.

1:40

Please come up here.

1:41

Thank you.

1:43

All right.

1:46

So October is breast cancer awareness month, and WCRC does work in the East Bay to support women who are impacted by cancer.

1:54

They have been a longtime provider of holistic care to the Berkeley community.

2:00

And um, see, I'm going to read the proclamation.

2:04

Recognizing Women's Cancer Resource Center for October 2025, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

2:10

Whereas the Women's Cancer Resource Center, WCRC, founded in 1986 by a small group of women with cancer, began as a grassroots effort to support one another and advocate for change in the health care system and has grown into a trusted community organization serving thousands across Berkeley and the East Bay.

2:28

And whereas WCRC has built a strong foundation of care through free, culturally responsive services, including patient navigation, mental health support, wellness classes, transportation, and financial assistance, helping individuals access the resources they need during and after cancer treatment.

2:45

Its Berkeley office continues to be a welcoming space filled with warmth and compassion, where staff and volunteers meet people where they are, offering support that reflects the city's values of equity, inclusion, and community care.

2:58

And whereas WCRC's work centers those most impacted by cancer, low-income individuals, seniors, black African-American women and Latino women, and LGBTQ community members, ensuring that no one is left behind due to barriers of cost, culture, or access.

3:15

And whereas WCRC's leadership and innovative model of holistic care have earned national recognition and its partnerships with institutions like UCSF and Stanford have helped bridge gaps between medical systems and community needs.

3:28

And whereas in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, WCRC's ongoing commitment to supporting individuals affected by breast cancer is exemplified through its administration of the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which for over two decades has provided direct financial assistance to low-income women and men undergoing treatment in Berkeley.

3:48

And whereas through its ongoing advocacy and programs like the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, WCRC continues to provide direct support to those undergoing treatment and remains a vital part of Berkeley's health and social service landscape.

4:03

Now, therefore be it resolved that I, Adina Ishi, mayor of the city of Berkeley, do hereby recognize the Women's Cancer Resource Center for all their hard work serving our community and celebrate October 2025 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the City of Berkeley.

4:18

Okay.

4:21

Thank you so much.

4:23

We're deeply grateful to the City of Berkeley, the mayor, and the city council members for this recognition in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

4:31

The Women's Cancer Resource Center got our start right here in Berkeley in a small apartment on Shattock Avenue in 1986.

4:40

And since then, we have grown to serve more than 30,000 women and caregivers impacted by cancer, including 7,300 Berkeley residents since 2012.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety██████████████████████████████30%
Active Transportation█████████████████17%
Procedural██████████████14%
Fiscal Sustainability███████7%
Housing██████6%
Environmental Protection█████5%
Miscellaneous█████5%
Arts And Culture████4%
Public Engagement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Berkeley City Council Meeting – October 28, 2025

The Berkeley City Council meeting on October 28, 2025, addressed ceremonial proclamations, audit updates, and key decisions on police radio encryption, wildfire hardening tax rebates, and the Telegraph Avenue multimodal corridor project. An urgent item limiting city property use for federal immigration operations was added, and several items were moved from consent to action for detailed discussion.

Consent Calendar

  • Routine approvals included staff preference for the Virginia Street Bikeway, renewal of the Elmwood Business Improvement District, and funding for Russell Street Halloween festivities with council contributions.
  • Urgent item added: Policy to restrict use of city property for staging federal immigration operations, affirming sanctuary city status.
  • Items pulled to action: Authorization to encrypt Berkeley Police Department primary radio channels (Item 18) and remove pre-transfer eligibility restriction of the transfer tax rebate for wildfire hardening (Item 28).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Non-agenda comments: Carol Morosvik urged enforcement of the source of income discrimination ordinance, while others supported the Turtle Island Monument, with artists Lee and Marlene Watson seeking recognition. Complaints about city services and taxes were voiced, and multiple speakers opposed police radio encryption, citing transparency concerns.
  • Consent calendar comments: Walkbike Berkeley expressed support for bike lanes and greenway projects; residents affected by parking loss on Virginia Street opposed the bikeway plan; concerns were raised about contracts with Superior due to potential ties to ICE.
  • Action item comments: Strong opposition to police radio encryption from community groups like Cop Watch and individuals, who argued it undermines accountability. The Berkeley Police Association and officers supported encryption for officer safety and victim privacy.

Discussion Items

  • Police radio encryption: Chief Jen Lewis presented state mandates, officer safety risks from suspects using scanner apps, and privacy concerns. Council debated alternatives, with a supplemental proposing a near real-time call log on the transparency hub to balance transparency and safety.
  • Transfer tax rebate for wildfire hardening: Councilmember Blackaby proposed removing the $3 million cap to incentivize home hardening. Discussion focused on revenue loss versus community safety, leading to a compromise with an adjusted cap and inclusion of woody vegetation removal.
  • Telegraph multimodal corridor project: Staff presented conceptual designs, recommending concept 3B as a compromise. It reduces lanes for slower vehicle speeds and safer pedestrian crossings, with targeted transit improvements near Ashby to mitigate bus delays.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent calendar approved with amendments, including the urgency item on immigration enforcement.
  • Item 18 approved: Police radio encryption authorized with supplemental for transparency hub call logs. Vote: 8 yes (Kessarwani, Taplin, Bartlett, Trigum, Blackaby, Humbert, Ishi, O'Keefe), 1 no (Luna Para).
  • Item 28 approved: Modified transfer tax rebate with cap adjustments and woody vegetation definition. Vote: 6 yes (Kessarwani, Taplin, Bartlett, Trigum, Luna Para, Ishi), 2 no (Blackaby, Humbert), 1 abstain (O'Keefe).
  • Item 33 approved: Telegraph project conceptual design (concept 3B) with directions to prioritize transit speed and close Dwight Triangle slip lane. Vote: 8 yes (Kessarwani, Taplin, Bartlett, Trigum, Blackaby, Luna Para, Humbert, Ishi), 1 no (O'Keefe).

Meeting Transcript

Okay, good evening, everyone. Thank you very much for your patience. Um, I am going to call to order the Berkeley City Council meeting. Today's Tuesday, October 28th, 2025. Clerk, could you please take the roll? Okay, Councilmember Kessarwani. Here. Taplin, present. Bartlett. Is currently absent. Trigum. Okay. Here. Blackaby. Here. Luna Para. Humbert, present, and Mary Ishi. Here. Okay. Forum is present. Okay. Councilmember Bartlett is present. Very good. Thank you. Okay, so given the number of items on our agenda tonight, we're not going to be able to get to item 32, which is the amendments to allow separate sale of ADUs. So we're going to push that back to another meeting. However, if anyone came here tonight to speak to that issue, you may still do so during that time when we would have taken that item, which will be at the end of our meeting agenda. However, if you want to come back and speak about it at the future meeting when we actually are hearing the item, you can do that as well. We'll have comment uh public comment at the meeting where we discuss this item as I just mentioned. So thank you all very much for your understanding. And just so I have a sense. Who's here? Okay. Very good. All right. So we are going to move on to ceremonial matters. We have one ceremonial matter for this evening. It is a proclamation honoring women's breast cancer women's cancer resource center and celebrating breast cancer awareness month. Do we have a representative here? Oh, wonderful. Please come up here. Thank you. All right. So October is breast cancer awareness month, and WCRC does work in the East Bay to support women who are impacted by cancer. They have been a longtime provider of holistic care to the Berkeley community. And um, see, I'm going to read the proclamation. Recognizing Women's Cancer Resource Center for October 2025, Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Whereas the Women's Cancer Resource Center, WCRC, founded in 1986 by a small group of women with cancer, began as a grassroots effort to support one another and advocate for change in the health care system and has grown into a trusted community organization serving thousands across Berkeley and the East Bay. And whereas WCRC has built a strong foundation of care through free, culturally responsive services, including patient navigation, mental health support, wellness classes, transportation, and financial assistance, helping individuals access the resources they need during and after cancer treatment. Its Berkeley office continues to be a welcoming space filled with warmth and compassion, where staff and volunteers meet people where they are, offering support that reflects the city's values of equity, inclusion, and community care.

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