Mountain View City Council and Shoreline Regional Park Community Joint Meeting - September 22, 2026

The City Council and Shoreline Regional Park Community Board met jointly on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, beginning with a 5:00 p.m. closed session followed by a 6:30 p.m. regular session in Council Chambers at 500 Castro Street. Councilmember Pat Showalter participated remotely by teleconference. The council acted on a closed-session litigation authorization, approved the consent calendar, heard public testimony, adopted the historic preservation ordinance/register update and the Active Transportation Plan, and approved compensation adjustments for the City Clerk and City Manager. The meeting continued past 10:00 p.m. on a 5-2 vote and adjourned at 12:40 a.m. on September 23, 2026.

Closed Session

• Closed session included (2.1) a conference with legal counsel regarding potential litigation and (2.2) appointment of a City Attorney.
• In the open-session report, Interim City Attorney Quinn announced the council voted 7-0 to authorize initiation of litigation against Golden State Fire Apparatus, Pierce Manufacturing, Oshkosh Corporation, REV Group, Rosenbauer America, Fire Apparatus Manufacturers' Association, and Does 1-99, to recover excess charges for city fire engines and other vehicles based on suspected federal and state antitrust violations.
• No final action was reported on the City Attorney appointment item.

Presentations

• National Arts and Humanities Month Proclamation: Mayor Ramos proclaimed October 2026 as National Arts and Humanities Month; Carol Donahue, Performing Arts Committee chair, accepted. The proclamation noted 271 events, 74,302 patrons, $2,922,060 in ancillary spending, and 52 public artworks.
• Childhood Cancer Awareness Month Proclamation: September 2026 was proclaimed Childhood Cancer Awareness Month; Eric Lua, CEO of Jacob's Heart Children's Cancer Support Services, accepted and said the organization supports more than 440 families.

Consent Calendar

• Approved unanimously, with item 4.2 pulled for discussion: 4.1 Resolution updating designated positions required to file Statements of Economic Interest; 4.3 Settlement, Limited Release and Reimbursement Agreement and Monitoring Reimbursement Agreement with Google LLC for 2000 North Shoreline Boulevard, including reimbursement for past environmental work up to $4,968,700 and ongoing monitoring up to $900,000, funded from the Shoreline Regional Park Community Fund; and 4.4 Addendum No. 14 to the Regional Water Quality Control Plant Basic Agreement authorizing Palo Alto to manage $31 million in projects, with Mountain View cost-sharing up to $11.7 million and appropriating $2.0 million initially (five votes required).
• Item 4.2 was pulled by Councilmember Showalter and then approved unanimously: sole-source professional services agreement with Tetra Tech BAS, Inc. for design and construction support for Shoreline Athletic Fields renovation, not-to-exceed $880,000 from the Shoreline Regional Park Community Fund. Discussion noted the fields sit on a capped landfill under regulatory oversight, requiring synthetic turf, and reviewed efforts to select more environmentally friendly infill such as cork or corn cob.

Public Comments & Testimony

Oral Communications on Non-Agendized Items

• The head of operations at Lunar Energy described safety problems from RVs surrounding 755 Ravendale Drive, including blind driveways and near-misses with children, and invited council members to visit.
• Several Starway/Miramonte residents opposed a proposed R2-to-R3 rezoning, saying they received no notice, it could lower property values 5-10%, that assembly of 13 separately owned parcels is unlikely, and asking the council not to rezone or to delay the vote until August 2027.
• Alan Whitaker reported community comments on the Rengstorff Avenue complete streets study and appreciation for sidewalk maintenance.
• Valerie Fenwick said the Berlin Wall art pieces at the library have faded, asked for maintenance of the Central Expressway sidewalk, and thanked the city for filling a dangerous hole at Beatrice Avenue.
• Alex Brown argued R3 upzoning is insufficient and urged R4 or special P zoning near Starway to address the housing crisis.
• A virtual speaker described RV-related trash and a dangerous gasoline-siphoning incident on her street and asked for a city department to respond.

Public Hearing: Historic Preservation Ordinance and Zoning Map Update

• Several speakers supported the update, calling downtown historic buildings essential to the city's identity and economy: Jerry Steach, Luis Katz, Hala Al Shawani, and Jonathan Davis. Davis requested a supplemental preservation fund for owners of very old homes.
• Many property owners and residents opposed or raised concerns: Massimo Praty, Ron Iki Bay, Bill Mark, Marina Keith, Daniel Holsey, Jesse, David Watson, and Kevin Ma. Their concerns included involuntary designation, loss of development value, inadequate incentives, too many properties on the register, low voting thresholds for districts, the "historicity industrial complex," using historic designation to block housing, and spending public resources on old buildings.

Public Hearing: Active Transportation Plan Adoption

• Speakers broadly supported adoption, including a coalition letter signed by multiple community organizations and residents. Key requests included removing part-time bike lanes, strengthening tree canopy and green streets, adopting measurable performance targets, creating a proactive traffic-calming program, and adding a walkability/accessibility program.
• Neil Gorniflow and neighbors asked the council to identify Central Avenue as an ATP implementation gap between Stevens Creek Trail and Moffat Boulevard, citing high use and safety concerns and a petition from neighbors.
• Joan Burdowski, a 90-year-old resident, reminded the council that about 10,000 Mountain View residents are over 65 and about 1,500 have vision loss preventing driving, and that the ATP did not adequately address older residents and people with disabilities.
• Youth and adult bicyclists described parked cars in bike lanes and unsafe corridors and urged adoption of the coalition letter.

Discussion Items

Historic Preservation Ordinance and Zoning Map Update

• Staff presented a multi-year project to accept a Historic Context Statement, update Chapter 36 historic preservation standards, amend the zoning map to exclude properties registered before January 1, 2025 from SB 79, and provide direction on the draft Mountain View Register of Historic Resources, which included 99 eligible resources.
• The draft ordinance includes new integrity criteria, historic district provisions, owner-initiated district support thresholds of 50% of parcels and 50% of land area, four levels of development review, enforcement measures, and incentives such as plaques, parking reductions, and impact fee reductions. Staff recommended referring an incentives policy to the Council Policy and Procedures Committee.
• Councilmembers discussed CEQA implications for properties even if not listed, SB 79 exemptions, delisting paths, EIR costs of roughly $150,000-$200,000, and the EPC's recommendation for a five-vote supermajority to create historic districts.
• Councilmember Hicks recused herself from 12 properties; Councilmember McAllister recused himself from 665 Eunice Avenue; Vice Mayor Clark recused himself from 1051 West El Camino Real.
• The council passed a series of register-list directions before the main vote:
  • 5-1 vote (Showalter dissenting) to exclude 624 West El Camino Real, 655 Castro Street, and 472/482 View Street, while including properties eligible for or listed on state/national registers.
  • Unanimous vote to add 665 Eunice Avenue (McAllister recused).
  • Unanimous vote to exclude 1051 West El Camino Real (Vice Mayor Clark recused).
  • Unanimous vote on a broader direction to exclude several local-only, owner-opposed properties; keep downtown-area properties on the list for continued review; and pursue EIR-based delisting review for 1855 Miramonte Avenue and 562 Pettis Avenue.

Active Transportation Plan Adoption

• Staff described the plan's origins in the 2014 Pedestrian Master Plan and 2015 Bicycle Transportation Plan, multilingual engagement, more than 600 map comments and 290 comments on the public review draft, and recommended 20 priority projects for the next 5-10 years.
• The final plan includes over 10 miles of shared-use paths, nearly 5 miles of Class II bike lanes, 4 miles of Class III bike routes, 20 miles of bicycle boulevards, and 22 miles of separated bikeways, plus policies, programs, and green street implementation.
• Councilmember McAllister emphasized considering vehicle travel, parking, and traffic congestion when implementing the plan; Councilmember Ramirez responded that the ATP should focus on active modes and is not a zero-sum competition with drivers. Councilmembers also discussed trees/shade, pedestrianism, enforcement, education, and older adult accessibility.
• Staff identified six coalition-letter requests that could be fully or partially incorporated: greening/tree canopy, part-time bike lane elimination, updated design standards within CIP 27-27, performance targets over the next year, small-scale safety improvements, and traffic calming with green infrastructure. Three requests were not recommended for the plan: a citywide 10-foot inner lane default, adding the 2023 standards review to the appendix, and creating a new walkability/accessibility program at this time.
• A motion to adopt the plan and evaluate Central Avenue was amended to remove the Central Avenue evaluation, and the plan was adopted unanimously.

Annual Compensation Increases for City Clerk and City Manager

• Vice Mayor Clark presented the annual compensation review. The City Attorney was excluded because that position is in recruitment.
• The approved package gives the City Clerk a 2% merit increase and up to $6,500 for professional coaching/development in FY 2026-27; the City Manager receives a 2%-of-base-salary ongoing contribution to a 457B deferred compensation plan, authorization to participate in the Employee Home Buyer and Relocation Assistance Program, and an ongoing $4,527.90 increase to the city's annual 401A contribution indexed to COLA/merit.

Key Outcomes

• Authorized litigation against fire apparatus manufacturers by a 7-0 vote.
• Presented proclamations for National Arts and Humanities Month and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
• Approved the consent calendar, including the Shoreline Athletic Fields agreement, Google environmental settlement/monitoring agreements, and Regional Water Quality Control Plant Addendum No. 14, all unanimously.
• Accepted the Historic Context Statement and introduced both historic preservation ordinances, with second reading scheduled for October 13, 2026; the final Mountain View Register update is expected at a later hearing, likely in December 2026.
• Directed staff to begin council-initiated historic district exploration for downtown, explore a self-designation assistance program, and reduced the redevelopment prohibition for illegally destroyed historic resources from 15 years to 5 years.
• Adopted the Active Transportation Plan unanimously, with annual progress reporting to the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee planned for fall 2027.
• Approved the City Clerk and City Manager compensation resolutions unanimously.
• Voted 5-2 to continue past 10:00 p.m.; meeting adjourned at 12:40 a.m.