Mountain View City Council Meeting Summary

Date: February 24, 2026

The Mountain View City Council met on February 24, 2026, for a joint meeting with the Shoreline Regional Park Community. The meeting included a closed session, presentations, consent calendar items, public oral communications, and new business items. Key actions included terminating the automated license plate reader (ALPR) contract with Flock Safety, approving mid-year budget adjustments, and adopting zoning code amendments to streamline small business permitting.

Closed Session

• City Attorney Jennifer Logue announced two closed session items: negotiations for city lots four and eight (with Robert Green Company) and property at 928 Mariner Drive (with the Department of the Army). No final reportable action was taken.

Presentations

• American Heart Month Proclamation: Mayor Ramos proclaimed February as American Heart Month. Dr. Carol Somersill (El Camino Health) and Dr. Neil Scott (Mountain View resident and cardiologist) accepted. Dr. Scott noted that heart attack survival rates have improved from 60% in the 1970s to over 90% today, with El Camino Hospital performing above national averages.
• STEM Award Recognition: The council recognized Anastasia, a student winner from the Santa Clara County 2025 Synopsis Championship Science Fair. Her project focused on modifying an inhibitor for foot-and-mouth disease virus. Forrest Williams (committee chair) and Kathy Jarvis (volunteer) also spoke.

Consent Calendar

• Items 4.1 and 4.4 were approved unanimously. Item 4.4 (Miramonte Pump Station) was commented on by Councilmember Showalter, who emphasized the importance of infrastructure maintenance.
• Item 4.2 (Pro-Housing Policy): Pulled by Councilmember Ramirez. She moved to approve the staff recommendation with a modification to exclude K-20 (original e-bike language) and replace it with broader language (K-21 and K-22). The motion passed unanimously.
• Item 4.3 (Thompson Mini Park Consultant): Pulled by Councilmember Hicks. Public Works Director Jennifer Ng and Community Services Director John Marchant clarified that the consulting firm (Westwood Professional Services) has a local presence in Pleasanton and that full community outreach will occur, with the first meeting planned for spring 2026. Councilmember Hicks moved to approve, seconded by Showalter, passing unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Oral Communications (Non-Agenda Items):
  • Elena Tyson requested that the 2022 smoking prohibition be amended to explicitly include duplexes, citing enforcement issues with a neighboring duplex.
  • Dylan Rich (Palo Alto Prep School) raised safety concerns about poor sight lines for students entering/exiting the school, urging action to prevent accidents.
  • Tim McKenzie (resident) advocated for ranked-choice voting as part of the upcoming city charter review.
  • Karen Burke (resident) requested lowering the speed limit on Rengstorff Avenue to 25 mph and converting a flashing yellow light to a red light, citing near-misses with her children at the Monta Loma Elementary crossing.
• Item 6.1 (ALPR Contract): Extensive public comment opposed the Flock Safety program. Over 20 speakers, including residents and representatives from organizations such as Silicon Valley Democratic Socialists of America, Indivisible Palo Alto Plus, SIREN, and ACLU of Santa Clara County, urged the council to terminate the contract, reject all ALPRs, seek reimbursement, and sue Flock. Speakers cited privacy violations, data sharing with federal agencies (including ICE), racial profiling, and Fourth Amendment concerns. They praised Chief Canfield for turning off the cameras but rejected any future use of ALPR technology.

Discussion Items

• Item 6.1: Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Contract with Flock Safety
  • Police Chief Michael Canfield and Captain Evan Crowell presented. The pilot program was designed with strict access controls, but staff discovered that Flock had enabled "nationwide lookup" and "statewide lookup" features without the city's knowledge, allowing data access by out-of-state agencies (including ATF offices in Kentucky and Nashville, Langley Air Force Base, and others) from August to November 2024. Chief Canfield immediately deactivated the cameras and recommended terminating the contract. The pilot resulted in 794 alerts, 233 stolen vehicle alerts, and 41 arrests, but also over 25,000 searches by MVPD and over 3 million by outside agencies.
  • Council discussion: Councilmembers expressed frustration with Flock's breach of trust. Councilmember Kamei made a motion to authorize termination of the contract, not to pursue other ALPRs at this time, expedite camera removal, and communicate removal to the community. Councilmember Clark suggested allowing query-only access as part of negotiations, but this was not included in the final motion due to lack of information. The motion passed unanimously.
• Item 6.2: Fiscal Year 2025-26 Mid-Year Budget Report and Adjustments
  • Finance Director Derek Ramponi and Assistant Director Grace Sang presented. The general fund is projected to end the year with a $1.7 million operating balance, slightly higher than budgeted. Revenue growth is slowing, with property tax down $2.5 million (3%) and utility users tax down $1.2 million (10%). Expenditures are slightly lower than budget. Proposed adjustments include transfers to reserves ($2M to CIP reserve, $1M to strategic property acquisition reserve, $1M to parental leave reserve), new positions (public art administrator, facilities maintenance supervisor, etc.), and increased funding for homelessness prevention. Councilmember Ramirez moved to approve with an amendment to increase the homelessness prevention program from $100,000 to $150,000 (actual total $85,000 after accounting for existing funds). The motion passed unanimously.
• Item 7.1: Small Business Streamlining and Zoning Code Updates
  • Assistant Community Development Director Lindsay Hagen and Economic Vitality Manager Amanda Rotella presented amendments to eliminate change of use permits, reduce parking minimums for retail/personal services from 1 space per 180 sq ft to 1 per 250 sq ft, and create a streamlined small footprint land use framework (max 4,000 sq ft) for retail, restaurants, personal services, and indoor recreation in commercial zones. The changes are based on the Economic Vitality Strategy and aim to reduce barriers for small businesses. The proposal also includes minor code cleanups (e.g., adding "public recreation" land use, renaming "churches" to "religious institutions"). The motion passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

• ALPR Contract: The council voted unanimously to authorize the city manager to terminate the Flock Safety contract, expedite camera removal, and notify the community. No replacement ALPR system will be pursued at this time.
• Mid-Year Budget: The council approved the budget adjustments, including the additional $50,000 for homelessness prevention. The budget will be finalized in June 2026.
• Zoning Code Amendments: The council adopted the ordinance, with a second reading scheduled for March 10, 2026. The changes will take effect in early April 2026.
• Next Steps: Staff will continue to work on precise plan updates and explore expanding the express permits program. The city will also consider future zoning code cleanups, including child care facility provisions.