OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Berkeley City Council Meeting - April 28, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, April 28, 2026
BodyBerkeley, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, April 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:36:17

Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

Okay, hello everyone.

0:04

Calling to order the Berkeley City Council meeting today is Tuesday, April 28th, 2026.

0:10

It is 6 05 p.m.

0:12

Clerk, can you please start us off?

0:16

Councilmember Kissarwani here.

0:20

Councilmember Taplin is currently absent.

0:25

Councilmember Bartlett.

0:27

Present.

0:29

Drago.

0:32

O'Keefe.

0:33

Here.

0:33

Lackaby.

0:34

Here.

0:35

Unapara.

0:36

Here.

0:37

Humbert present.

0:38

And Mayor Ishi.

0:40

Here.

0:41

Okay.

0:42

Councilmember Bartlett is participating in the meeting remotely pursuant to the just cause exception in the Brown Act.

0:51

Forum of the Council is participating in person at the noticed physical meeting location.

0:58

And uh Councilmember Bartlett, if you could provide a brief general description of the circumstances relating to your need to appear remotely without disclosing any medical diagnosis or other confidential medical information.

1:13

Yes, uh, there's a there's a medical situation that I cannot disclose.

1:17

Okay.

1:18

Uh and then please disclose if there is anybody in the room with you who is 18 years of age or older, and if so, what their relationship is to you.

1:27

I'm alone at this time.

1:29

Okay.

1:30

Uh and Councilmember Bartlett will participate through both audio and visual technology for the duration of the meeting, and we can proceed.

1:38

And Mr.

1:39

City Clerk, it looks like Councilmember Tapman is honestly.

1:41

There is Councilmember Taplin.

1:43

So we can mark Councilmember Taplin as present.

1:48

Um Councilmember Taplan's teleconference um location is noted on the agenda, so we do not need to do the just cause exception uh script for him.

2:02

Okay.

2:03

Very good.

2:03

Thank you.

2:04

We are now moving on to our ceremonial items.

2:07

And today we have a proclamation for American Muslim Appreach appreciate appreciation, excuse me, and awareness month, and Councilmember Lunapara has requested this proclamation and will be reading it.

2:18

So if our our representatives from CARE, if you want to come up to the podium, you can receive the proclamation.

2:29

Okay.

2:30

Recognizing April 2026 as American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month.

2:35

Whereas the City of Berkeley takes great great pride in supporting individual religious freedoms and is strengthened by the diverse religious, political, and cultural traditions and contributions of its diverse populations, including those that practice Islam.

2:47

And whereas the history of Islam on this continent dates back to before the founding of the United States, originating with enslaved Africans who brought their Muslim beliefs to the Americas, and whereas over 90,000 Muslims live in Alameda County and significantly contribute to the cultural, political, and economic fabric of our communities.

3:04

And whereas the City of Berkeley is home to a variety of Muslim institutions, such as the Berkeley Masjid, a vital spiritual and community center for prayer and connection, Zaituna College, the first Muslim liberal arts college in the United States, and other Muslim organizations, including the Mus Berkeley Muslim Student Association, each providing support for Muslims.

3:24

And whereas it is critical to acknowledge and promote awareness of the invaluable contributions of Muslims in Berkeley and across the country.

3:30

And whereas the Berkeley City Council acknowledges the importance of local government in advocating for justice and reaffirms that Muslims everywhere deserve to live in peace, dignity, and safety.

3:40

Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Adina Ishi, mayor of the city of Berkeley, do hereby declare April 2026 as American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month.

3:53

Perfect.

3:55

We have um members of care and the Berkeley Masjid here to present.

3:59

Okay.

3:59

Hello, Mayor Ishii and Council members.

4:01

My name is Moussa with Kerr, the Council on American Islamic Relations, and we want to thank you all for recognizing American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month in Berkeley.

4:11

This proclamation is especially meaningful as our Muslim communities have faced an unprecedented and unrelenting wave of Islamophobia and discrimination over the last several years.

4:20

2024 was previously the worst year of anti-Muslim hate and anti-Palestinian racism recorded in CARES 30-year history with a sharp rise in hate crimes and discrimination.

4:30

And this trend has unfortunately only increased and continued through 2025 and into 2026.

4:37

We have a federal administration that is openly and violently targeting our most vulnerable immigrant communities for speaking up about global justice, for opposing the genocide in Ghazza, and for existing.

4:48

2025 saw powerful public officials try to tell our communities that American freedoms come with conditions that they must look, speak, and worship in their approved ways, or that they do not belong.

5:00

And this all has very real consequences for Muslim community members in Berkeley.

5:03

And that is why today's proclamation is an important step in celebrating and cherishing your Muslim communities whose contributions continue to strengthen Berkeley's civic, cultural, and economic life.

5:14

We thank you for affirming that Muslims are woven into the fabric of Berkeley, especially in this critical moment.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability█████████████████████████25%
Procedural███████████████████████23%
Housing██████████████14%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████13%
Public Comment██████████10%
Cultural Recognition█████5%
Homelessness███3%
Affordable Housing██2%
Environmental Protection██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Berkeley City Council Meeting - April 28, 2026

The Berkeley City Council convened on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 6:05 PM. The meeting included ceremonial recognition of American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month, a presentation from the City Auditor on the city's financial condition, public comments on non-agenda matters, and several public hearings and votes on federal funding allocations, bond financing, zoning amendments, and a rezoning application. All action items were approved.

Consent Calendar

  • Item 10: Resolution supporting Luna Dance's May Day event. Councilmembers donated from their discretionary accounts: Bartlett $200, Luna Para $200, Blackaby $250, Traggub $150, Humbert $200, Kesarwani $100, O'Keefe $250, Mayor Ishii $250. Approved unanimously.
  • Item 3: Appointment of Pat De Temple to the Police Accountability Board, supported by Councilmember Blackaby and O'Keefe.
  • Items 7 and 8: Disaster and Fire Safety Commission recommendations on wildfire and insurance bills. Item 7 was incorporated into Item 11, and no action taken on Item 7 separately.
  • Item 11: Resolution supporting a package of 13 state bills on wildfire prevention and insurance. Approved unanimously.
  • Other consent items were adopted as amended.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Non-Agenda Public Comments:
    • Dr. Stephen Alpert presented research challenging the notion that excessive regulation causes housing affordability crisis, citing studies from London School of Economics and Georgetown Law. He criticized Councilmember O'Keefe's belief in market-rate housing.
    • Rolf Bell, a 26-year resident and business owner, complained about a traffic signal installation at Bancroft and Sixth Street that disrupted businesses without notice, requesting a meeting with the traffic engineer.
    • A speaker (phone ending 211) raised a long-standing personal grievance against the city and threatened legal action.
    • Rob, a coworking space user, echoed concerns about parking and traffic disruptions.
    • Seth Shane Wynn, a homeowner and board chair of Berkeley Art Center, thanked the council for support and noted the organization's leadership transition.
    • Makai Freeman advocated for accessible sidewalks and bike lanes.
    • Della Luna complained about lack of bathrooms at the downtown Saturday farmers market.
  • On Item 12 (Annual Action Plan): Carol expressed concern about potential elimination of emergency shelter funding, urging prioritization of shelter.
  • On Item 14 (Zoning Amendments): Kelly Hammerground raised a question about the inclusion of ESR (Environmental Safety-Residential) zoning in the changes, but staff clarified no changes were made to that section.
  • On Item 15 (Rezoning): Matthew Wadlin, applicant, requested that the city-owned adjacent parcel (1654 Fifth Street) be included in the rezoning, but the city declined due to current use for transitional housing.

Discussion Items

  • City Auditor's Financial Condition Audit (April 28, 2026):
    • City Auditor Jenny Wong and Performance Audit Manager Caitlin Palmer presented the audit covering fiscal years 2016-2025. Key findings: Berkeley faces ongoing long-term financial challenges, including a structural budget deficit. The city has used one-time balancing measures (e.g., redirecting $4.7 million from workers' compensation fund, using $3 million from Section 115 trust for pension payments). Unfunded pension liability is $695 million (high risk). Unfunded capital and deferred maintenance needs grew to $1.8 billion. Recommendations include formalizing sustainable budget strategies, regularly evaluating enterprise fees, providing investment reports with five-year return rates, replenishing the Section 115 trust, and developing a capital financing plan.
    • Councilmembers asked questions: Councilmember Blackaby inquired about the disconnect between actual revenues/expenses and the structural deficit; the auditor explained that actuals reflect balancing measures. He also asked about appropriate pension liability targets and the annual investment needed to curb capital backlog. Councilmember O'Keefe asked about bond rating improvement. Vice Mayor Traggub asked about the inverse revenue/expense relationship, the "other" category in personnel expenditures, and prioritization of recommendations. Councilmember Luna Para and Humbert thanked the team.
    • Mayor Ishii requested a report back in one year on implementation of audit recommendations.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Calendar: Adopted as amended (motion carried unanimously).
  • Item 12 (Annual Action Plan): Public hearing closed; motion to approve staff recommendation carried unanimously (9-0). The plan allocates approximately $3.4 million in CDBG, ESG, and HOME funds for affordable housing, public facilities, and homeless services.
  • Item 13 (Bond Financing for Ephesian Legacy Court Apartments): Public hearing closed; motion to approve bond financing carried unanimously. The project will create permanently affordable housing.
  • Item 14 (Zoning Amendments): Public hearing closed; motion to adopt amendments to Title 23 for state law consistency and technical edits carried unanimously.
  • Item 15 (Rezoning of 1646 and 1655 Fifth Street): Public hearing closed; motion to approve general plan amendment and rezoning to MUR (Mixed Use Residential) carried unanimously. The applicant's request to include city-owned parcel 1654 was not pursued due to its current use for transitional housing.
  • Adjournment: Motion carried.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, hello everyone. Calling to order the Berkeley City Council meeting today is Tuesday, April 28th, 2026. It is 6 05 p.m. Clerk, can you please start us off? Councilmember Kissarwani here. Councilmember Taplin is currently absent. Councilmember Bartlett. Present. Drago. O'Keefe. Here. Lackaby. Here. Unapara. Here. Humbert present. And Mayor Ishi. Here. Okay. Councilmember Bartlett is participating in the meeting remotely pursuant to the just cause exception in the Brown Act. Forum of the Council is participating in person at the noticed physical meeting location. And uh Councilmember Bartlett, if you could provide a brief general description of the circumstances relating to your need to appear remotely without disclosing any medical diagnosis or other confidential medical information. Yes, uh, there's a there's a medical situation that I cannot disclose. Okay. Uh and then please disclose if there is anybody in the room with you who is 18 years of age or older, and if so, what their relationship is to you. I'm alone at this time. Okay. Uh and Councilmember Bartlett will participate through both audio and visual technology for the duration of the meeting, and we can proceed. And Mr. City Clerk, it looks like Councilmember Tapman is honestly. There is Councilmember Taplin. So we can mark Councilmember Taplin as present. Um Councilmember Taplan's teleconference um location is noted on the agenda, so we do not need to do the just cause exception uh script for him. Okay. Very good. Thank you. We are now moving on to our ceremonial items. And today we have a proclamation for American Muslim Appreach appreciate appreciation, excuse me, and awareness month, and Councilmember Lunapara has requested this proclamation and will be reading it. So if our our representatives from CARE, if you want to come up to the podium, you can receive the proclamation. Okay. Recognizing April 2026 as American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month. Whereas the City of Berkeley takes great great pride in supporting individual religious freedoms and is strengthened by the diverse religious, political, and cultural traditions and contributions of its diverse populations, including those that practice Islam. And whereas the history of Islam on this continent dates back to before the founding of the United States, originating with enslaved Africans who brought their Muslim beliefs to the Americas, and whereas over 90,000 Muslims live in Alameda County and significantly contribute to the cultural, political, and economic fabric of our communities. And whereas the City of Berkeley is home to a variety of Muslim institutions, such as the Berkeley Masjid, a vital spiritual and community center for prayer and connection, Zaituna College, the first Muslim liberal arts college in the United States, and other Muslim organizations, including the Mus Berkeley Muslim Student Association, each providing support for Muslims. And whereas it is critical to acknowledge and promote awareness of the invaluable contributions of Muslims in Berkeley and across the country. And whereas the Berkeley City Council acknowledges the importance of local government in advocating for justice and reaffirms that Muslims everywhere deserve to live in peace, dignity, and safety. Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Adina Ishi, mayor of the city of Berkeley, do hereby declare April 2026 as American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month. Perfect. We have um members of care and the Berkeley Masjid here to present. Okay.

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