OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Oakland Rules & Legislation Committee Meeting - November 20, 2025

City Council — Thursday, November 20, 2025
BodyOakland, California
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, November 20, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:12:17
Transcript — Verbatim
1:57

Okay.

2:15

Okay.

2:28

Okay.

2:31

Councilmember Five.

3:01

Good morning and welcome to the.

3:05

Good morning.

3:07

Trying to associate with the people.

3:09

Good morning and welcome to the rules and legislation committee meeting of Thursday, November 20th.

3:14

Before I call roll, I will go over speaker card instructions.

3:17

If you're looking to speak on any agenda item, you must fill out a speaker's card before the item is called or ten minutes after the start of this meeting.

3:26

This meeting was called to order at ten thirty-two AM, making that time eleven thirty-two AM.

3:31

So fill out a speaker's card, you can get a card from one of the ladies at the front desk.

3:36

And you must submit that card before the item is called for discussion, or again, ten minutes within the start of this meeting.

4:08

So two announcements because of the matter of speakers.

4:30

Item number 3.36 will not be scheduled today.

4:35

Thank you for that announcement.

4:36

Going to item two, approval of the draft minutes from the committee meeting of November 6th, 2025.

4:43

I don't have any speakers, just need a motion.

4:47

Move approval.

4:48

Second.

4:49

There is a motion by council member five.

4:51

Seconded by Council Member Brown.

4:52

Council Member Brown.

4:54

Aye.

4:54

Council Member Five.

4:55

Aye.

4:56

Chair Jenkins.

4:57

Aye.

4:57

Motion passes with a vote of three ayes, one excuse.

5:00

Rama Chandron.

5:01

Going to item 3.1.

5:04

Under new scheduling items.

5:07

A resolution accepting and appropriating funds from the East Bay Community Foundation in an amount not to exceed 279,000 to support two staff positions in the mayor's office.

5:18

And this is asked to go before the December 2nd City Council agenda on consent.

5:24

Item 3.2 confirming the mayor's appointments of Emily Habanaski to the commission on persons with disabilities.

5:31

This is going to the December 2nd City Council Agenda on Consent.

5:35

Item 3.3 confirming the mayor's appointments of Denise Schmidt, Shada Rajer, Tanya Love to the Bicyclist Advisory Pedestrian Advisory Commission.

5:44

This is asked to go before the December 2nd, 2025, City Council agenda on consent.

5:58

Tanya Love and Jesse Olsen to the bicycle pedestrian advisory commission.

6:03

Just an extra individual for the appointment.

6:06

Thank you.

6:07

So again, can you clarify the change?

6:10

Oh, yes.

6:11

Uh resolution confirming the mayor's appointment of Denise Schmidt, Shada Rajer, Tanya Love, Jesse and Jesse Olson to the bicycle pedestrian advisory commission.

6:21

Okay, thank you.

6:22

And just please uh ensure that the legislation is received to my office.

6:26

Going to item 3.4, a resolution confirming the mayor's appointment of Vanessa Zamora and Raina Badar Matley to the budget advisory commission on the December 2nd City Council agenda on consent.

6:40

Item 3.5 I believe has a title change.

6:48

Title change when you're ready.

6:49

Okay.

6:50

Staff recommends that the city council conduct a public hearing and upon conclusion adopt a resolution finding Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner, owners of record of assessor, parcel number 48H-7672-18.

7:06

In violation of the Oakland Municipal Code, Chapter 12.36 in parentheses protected trees by illegally removing 38 protected trees at said parcel and imposing a penalty pursuant to chapter 12.36.150 of the Oakland Municipal Code of a total sum of 915, 135.40 cents to place a hold on any building permits and place a lien for said property until this penalty is paid in full.

7:42

And if I may uh through the chair, um to count uh rules committee staff and uh department staff.

7:48

We also are amendable if um admissible the item be scheduled to December 16th City Council rather than the second, noting that there's uh multiple public hearings, and this will help alleviate uh an impact at council.

8:02

So if you are amendable, we would prefer uh that the item be scheduled to December 16th council as a public hearing, thank you going to item 3.6 a resolution amending resolution number 88341 to appeal the 2020 encampment management policy in replaced with the 2025 encampment abatement policy that defines encampment to exclude vehicles and authorizes citation and tooing of an inhabited vehicles by city departments pursuant to the California Vehicle Code and Oakland Vehicle Code continues to require reasonable efforts to make shelter offers and seven-day notice prior to non-urgent encampment closures and clarifies emergency and urgent health and safety conditions that authorize immediate 24 hour or 72-hour notice for encampment closures, including encampments blocking sidewalks on the December 2nd City Council agenda on non-consent.

8:58

It's a long that's a long title, Trinity.

9:01

Uh the chair, uh, we are seeking to schedule the EAP to the December 2nd City Council meeting on non-consent.

9:11

Okay.

9:12

Thank you.

9:12

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████27%
Technology and Innovation████████████████████20%
Homelessness█████████9%
Environmental Protection███████7%
Public Engagement███████7%
Public Safety██████6%
Economic Development██████6%
Engineering And Infrastructure████4%
Contracting And Procurement████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Oakland Rules & Legislation Committee Meeting

November 20, 2025 | 10:32 AM – 12:30 PM (approx.)

This meeting of the Rules and Legislation Committee focused on scheduling items for upcoming City Council and committee meetings, reviewing draft agendas, and hearing public comments on several high-profile issues. The committee voted unanimously to approve scheduling actions, including sending the Encampment Abatement Policy (EAP) to the December 2 City Council agenda on non-consent. Notably, the Flock camera contract (item 3.36) was not scheduled after failing in the Public Safety Committee with a 2–2 vote.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved draft minutes from the November 6, 2025 meeting (3-0, one excused).
  • Approved the consent calendar of scheduling items (items 3.1–3.39) with amendments on the record (3-0), including:
    • Item 3.5: Title change and rescheduled to December 16 City Council (public hearing on illegal tree removal penalty of $915,135.40).
    • Item 3.6: Encampment Abatement Policy (EAP) scheduled to December 2 City Council on non-consent.
    • Item 3.11: Title change for HDL software contract waiver.
    • Item 3.3: Clarified appointment list includes Jesse Olson.
  • Approved item 4 (draft agendas and pending lists) with noted reschedules (3-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Flock Camera Contract (items 3.36, 3.7, 3.8): Multiple speakers spoke passionately for and against.
    • Supporters (e.g., James Breden, Jim Donatell) cited over 300 public safety successes and argued OPD needs effective tools with only 511 officers.
    • Opponents (e.g., Reem Suleiman, Margaret Farrow, Alex, Liana Sun, Lance Wilson, Jose Antonio Dorado) raised concerns about data sharing with ICE, privacy violations, and the recent AP report on CBP monitoring. Many thanked Councilmembers Fife and Brown for voting against the contract.
    • Rajni Mandal criticized the Public Safety Committee meeting as hostile and exclusionary, calling for better order.
  • Encampment Abatement Policy (item 3.6): Michael Pyatok, architect, argued the policy is illogical without adequate shelter space, noting shelter closures and expanding displacement. Liana Sun requested transparency on amendments before the vote.
  • Business Tax Relief (item 3.7): Stephanie Tran (Oakland Chinatown Chamber) expressed support for small business tax exemptions.
  • Economic Activation Zones (item 3.27): Tran expressed disappointment that Chinatown was not included in the initial pilot but thanked Councilmember Brown for the initiative.
  • Fire Code Scheduling: Kevin Daly (BPAC co-chair) requested scheduling of fire code chapters to Public Works committee, noting urgency before year-end.
  • Open Forum: Blair Beekman urged greater scrutiny of Bay UAS authority; Rajni Mandal repeated concerns about misinformation tactics on Flock.

Discussion Items

  • Item 3.36 (Flock Camera Contract): Chair Jenkins confirmed the item failed in the Public Safety Committee (2-2) and would not be scheduled. Councilmember Five noted that another council member had attempted to schedule it from the floor but it was not occurring.
  • Staff Requests:
    • For item 3.5, staff requested and the committee agreed to move the public hearing to December 16 (rather than December 2) to avoid multiple hearings.
    • For item 3.11, a title change was read (waiving competitive solicitation instead of competitive bidding).
    • For pending lists: code enforcement semi-annual report rescheduled to January 27, 2026 CED; anti-displacement strategic plan rescheduled to January 13, 2026 CED (director cited staffing and integration with Race and Equity).

Key Outcomes

  • Votes: All motions passed 3-0 (Councilmember Ramachandran excused).
  • Scheduling:
    • Items 3.1–3.4, 3.6, 3.11 (with title change), and multiple staff-approved items forwarded to December 2 or other committee agendas as listed.
    • Item 3.5 moved to December 16 City Council.
    • Item 3.36 (Flock) not scheduled.
  • Reschedules: Code enforcement report to January 27, 2026; anti-displacement plan to January 13, 2026.
  • Directives: Title changes for items 3.3 and 3.5 to be updated; legislation for item 3.3 to be ensured to council office.
  • Next Steps: The Encampment Abatement Policy (item 3.6) will go to December 2 City Council on non-consent; the Flock issue may be reintroduced via new scheduling request but not at this meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. Okay. Okay. Councilmember Five. Good morning and welcome to the. Good morning. Trying to associate with the people. Good morning and welcome to the rules and legislation committee meeting of Thursday, November 20th. Before I call roll, I will go over speaker card instructions. If you're looking to speak on any agenda item, you must fill out a speaker's card before the item is called or ten minutes after the start of this meeting. This meeting was called to order at ten thirty-two AM, making that time eleven thirty-two AM. So fill out a speaker's card, you can get a card from one of the ladies at the front desk. And you must submit that card before the item is called for discussion, or again, ten minutes within the start of this meeting. So two announcements because of the matter of speakers. Item number 3.36 will not be scheduled today. Thank you for that announcement. Going to item two, approval of the draft minutes from the committee meeting of November 6th, 2025. I don't have any speakers, just need a motion. Move approval. Second. There is a motion by council member five. Seconded by Council Member Brown. Council Member Brown. Aye. Council Member Five. Aye. Chair Jenkins. Aye. Motion passes with a vote of three ayes, one excuse. Rama Chandron. Going to item 3.1. Under new scheduling items. A resolution accepting and appropriating funds from the East Bay Community Foundation in an amount not to exceed 279,000 to support two staff positions in the mayor's office. And this is asked to go before the December 2nd City Council agenda on consent. Item 3.2 confirming the mayor's appointments of Emily Habanaski to the commission on persons with disabilities. This is going to the December 2nd City Council Agenda on Consent. Item 3.3 confirming the mayor's appointments of Denise Schmidt, Shada Rajer, Tanya Love to the Bicyclist Advisory Pedestrian Advisory Commission. This is asked to go before the December 2nd, 2025, City Council agenda on consent. Tanya Love and Jesse Olsen to the bicycle pedestrian advisory commission. Just an extra individual for the appointment. Thank you. So again, can you clarify the change? Oh, yes. Uh resolution confirming the mayor's appointment of Denise Schmidt, Shada Rajer, Tanya Love, Jesse and Jesse Olson to the bicycle pedestrian advisory commission. Okay, thank you. And just please uh ensure that the legislation is received to my office. Going to item 3.4, a resolution confirming the mayor's appointment of Vanessa Zamora and Raina Badar Matley to the budget advisory commission on the December 2nd City Council agenda on consent. Item 3.5 I believe has a title change. Title change when you're ready. Okay.

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