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Record of Proceedings

Redwood City State of the City Address - Special Council Meeting, March 20, 2023

City Council — Monday, March 20, 2023
BodyRedwood City, California
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, March 20, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:24

If I could ask our council member colleagues to join us at the day's, we'll get started shortly.

0:37

Keep talking for a minute, but we'll take a deep breath and get set, so it's okay.

0:56

All right.

0:56

Well, good evening, everyone.

0:58

I like to call the meeting to order for Monday, March 20th.

1:01

Tonight's a special city council meeting.

1:03

It's our state of the city address.

1:05

So I want to thank you for joining us in person here in council chambers and also online.

1:12

Um what I'd like to do then is ask our city clerk to call the roll.

1:17

Good evening.

1:18

Councilmember Aguirre.

1:19

Here, Councilmember Aiken.

1:23

Here, Councilmember Howard.

1:25

Here, Councilmember Martinez Saballos.

1:28

Here.

1:28

Councilmember Sturkin.

1:30

Here.

1:30

Vice Mayor Espinosa Garnica here.

1:32

And Mayor G.

1:34

Present.

1:34

Thank you.

1:35

Thank you, Pamela.

1:36

Councilmember Howard, may I invite you to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please?

2:01

Thank you, Councilmember Howard.

2:04

In the post state of emergency world we live in, I have to do this part about AB2449.

2:12

We have all council members present, so no one's asking to be excused for either emergency or family.

2:18

So we'll go on.

2:46

After that, virtual attendees who have joined us by Zoom will be called after the in-person comments have been given.

2:53

If you're attending virtually, feel free to raise your hand on Zoom or press star nine if you've joined by phone.

3:07

Thank you, Mayor G.

3:08

As mentioned, we will start with our in-person speakers.

3:12

And I do not have any speaker cards for in-person speakers.

3:16

I'm looking at our audience just to make sure.

3:18

All right.

3:19

Thank you.

3:20

And so we will turn now to our attendees who have joined us by Zoom.

3:24

If you wish to make public comment this evening, as Mayor G mentioned, this is the only opportunity for public comment.

3:30

So we ask that you please raise your hand at this time.

3:32

Keep your hand raised until you're called.

3:36

And Mayor G, I do not see any raised hands on Zoom.

3:40

So that concludes public comment.

3:42

Thank you, Pamela.

3:43

Appreciate the help on that.

3:45

Well, before we begin our state of the city, I want to take a moment and we really want to say thank you to our public work staff for their commitment and dedication.

3:54

And for the many hours of regular time and overtime spent responding to fallen trees caused by our windstorms last week.

4:02

Over the past several months, we have experienced things I've never heard about before, atmospheric rivers, causing the ground to be saturated.

4:12

And then the winds came.

4:13

And in some places of our country, they call them category one or category two winds, like hurricanes, and trees weren't ready, and they um weren't able to withstand the combination of saturated ground and high winds.

4:35

From our city manager, our crews worked about 1.30 in the morning, went home and came back and started all over again.

4:42

That first night or first afternoon, there were about 57 calls for service for fallen trees.

4:49

About 80% of them were for in the public right away or public trees.

4:53

And the next morning, there are another 80 calls for service.

5:02

Number one, that are in the public right-of-way or a threat to life safety or to our public, you know, first responders be able to provide life safety services.

5:15

So again, thank you to our public work staff.

5:18

And I want to say thank you to everyone on our city team on behalf of the city council.

5:23

It wasn't only our public work staff.

5:25

It was everybody else, our first responders, our city staff.

5:29

During the power outages, our libraries are open and really full from what I understand with people looking to charge their devices, access Wi-Fi and everything.

5:44

But what I can assure you is that our staff is ready to respond when things happen, and they did.

5:48

So on behalf of the council, I thank Public Works and everybody on staff here in the city for helping keeping our community together and helping us survive the storms that happened last week.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement███████████████████████████27%
Homelessness███████████11%
Procedural█████████9%
Parks and Recreation████████8%
Transportation Safety███████7%
Public Safety██████6%
Affordable Housing██████6%
Climate Resilience█████5%
Public Works████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Redwood City State of the City Address - Special Council Meeting

On March 20, 2023, the Redwood City Council held a special meeting for the State of the City address. Council members presented on strategic priorities including housing, homelessness, transportation, children and youth, climate action, and reimagining city services. No public comments were made, and no formal votes were taken.

Consent Calendar

No consent calendar items were considered.

Public Comments

No public comments were made, either in person or via Zoom.

Council Member Introductions

Each council member introduced themselves, their districts, backgrounds, and motivations for serving. Mayor Jeff G opened the meeting, thanking public works for responding to windstorms. Vice Mayor Espinosa Garnica highlighted her focus on equity and abolitionist beliefs. Councilmember Aguirre emphasized Redwood City's leadership in housing and community partnerships. Councilmember Aiken shared her legal background and commitment to climate action. Councilmember Howard described her long service and work on water transit and housing. Councilmember Martinez Saballos spoke about his roots in the community and desire for inclusive governance. Councilmember Sturkin noted his focus on safe, livable, affordable housing and environmental sustainability.

Housing and Homelessness (Presented by Vice Mayor Espinosa Garnica and Councilmember Aguirre)

  • The city has prioritized four housing goals: Preserve, Protect, Produce, Partner.
  • Over 280 extremely low-income units created or proposed since 2020.
  • 257 units/hotel rooms converted to affordable housing via Project HomeKey (over $100M).
  • Over 900 affordable housing units proposed.
  • On February 13, 2023, City Council unanimously approved the housing element, making Redwood City the first San Mateo County jurisdiction with an approved six-cycle housing element.
  • The city's anti-displacement strategy includes recommendations for preserving unsubsidized affordable housing and mobile home parks, and improving tenant protections.
  • COVID-19 rental assistance program distributed over $4.3 million to over 1,300 households.
  • $1.5 million in utility bill relief approved.
  • Homeless initiatives: over 300 emergency shelter beds added since 2020; a navigation center with 240 non-congregate shelter units nearly complete.
  • The safe parking program for RVs served 91 households; 60% moved into permanent housing.
  • Unsheltered homelessness decreased by 23%.

Transportation (Presented by Councilmember Sturkin)

  • Goals: bicycle/pedestrian safety (Vision Zero), sustainability (zero emission trips), regional mobility.
  • Redwood City Walk Bike Thrive plan approved June 27, 2022, including citywide bicycle network and Vision Zero action plan.
  • Transit district redevelopment approved November 28, 2022, including four-track station, bus depot, housing, bike/ped improvements, potential car-free Franklin Street.
  • 101/84 interchange reconstruction project to improve connectivity, reduce congestion, add bike/ped facilities.
  • Six at-grade rail crossings; grade separation study underway with community feedback (500 survey responses supported full separation at Chestnut).

Children and Youth (Presented by Councilmember Martinez Saballos)

  • PACE program (Purposeful Action Creation and Engagement) for transition-age youth (12-24) launched in response to disruptive youth behavior; created jobs, activities, and advisory spaces.
  • Library programs: STEAM makerspace, story times, teen advisory boards, summer learning challenge (9,347 participants in 2022).
  • Park renovations: Jardin de Niños expansion (bid award summer 2023); Dolphin Park playground renovation (90-day construction starting before summer); Downtown library park (community input through May 2023); Hoover Park and pool renovation (community engagement ongoing).
  • Board and commission eligibility expanded to include youth 16+ and non-voters; recruitment open through April 30, 2023.
  • Pride and Beautification Committee: annual spring cleanup; collected over 3 tons of trash in 2022.

Climate Action (Presented by Councilmember Aiken)

  • Climate Action Plan approved November 2020; exceeds state and national goals.
  • Examples: gas-powered leaf blower ban (state ban effective Jan 1, 2024); Climate Resilience Video Contest for students.
  • Redwood City is a member of One Shoreline (San Mateo County Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency District) to address sea level rise, flooding.
  • Emergency operations plan being updated with multilingual information; CERT program (disaster preparedness) starting March 30, 2023.

Reimagining City Services (Presented by Councilmember Howard and Mayor G)

  • COVID-19 recovery framed as three Rs: Respond, Restore, Reimagine.
  • Service level studies for police and fire departments (56% of general fund) to be presented in April/May 2023.
  • Mental health crisis support pilot with San Mateo County (licensed clinicians co-responding with police) showed positive impacts.
  • Public Library Listens program engaged community to shape service priorities; results forthcoming.
  • 2022 People's Budget: $1 million participatory budgeting with 1,759 voters; funded mobile shower/laundry service (187 individuals served), anti-displacement strategy ($100,000), youth peer mentorship program, bike lanes on El Camino, mini street sweeper.
  • Equity Plan implementation: equity impact statements required for staff reports; cultural event recognition policy adopted.
  • City lost $82 million in revenue during pandemic; annual operating budget is $165 million. Council to review fees and new revenue sources in November 2023.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes or decisions were taken during this special meeting; it was an informational presentation.
  • Council emphasized continued work on strategic priorities and upcoming implementation items (e.g., zoning code updates, anti-harassment policies, service level studies).

Meeting Transcript

If I could ask our council member colleagues to join us at the day's, we'll get started shortly. Keep talking for a minute, but we'll take a deep breath and get set, so it's okay. All right. Well, good evening, everyone. I like to call the meeting to order for Monday, March 20th. Tonight's a special city council meeting. It's our state of the city address. So I want to thank you for joining us in person here in council chambers and also online. Um what I'd like to do then is ask our city clerk to call the roll. Good evening. Councilmember Aguirre. Here, Councilmember Aiken. Here, Councilmember Howard. Here, Councilmember Martinez Saballos. Here. Councilmember Sturkin. Here. Vice Mayor Espinosa Garnica here. And Mayor G. Present. Thank you. Thank you, Pamela. Councilmember Howard, may I invite you to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please? Thank you, Councilmember Howard. In the post state of emergency world we live in, I have to do this part about AB2449. We have all council members present, so no one's asking to be excused for either emergency or family. So we'll go on. After that, virtual attendees who have joined us by Zoom will be called after the in-person comments have been given. If you're attending virtually, feel free to raise your hand on Zoom or press star nine if you've joined by phone. Thank you, Mayor G. As mentioned, we will start with our in-person speakers. And I do not have any speaker cards for in-person speakers. I'm looking at our audience just to make sure. All right. Thank you. And so we will turn now to our attendees who have joined us by Zoom. If you wish to make public comment this evening, as Mayor G mentioned, this is the only opportunity for public comment. So we ask that you please raise your hand at this time. Keep your hand raised until you're called. And Mayor G, I do not see any raised hands on Zoom. So that concludes public comment. Thank you, Pamela. Appreciate the help on that. Well, before we begin our state of the city, I want to take a moment and we really want to say thank you to our public work staff for their commitment and dedication. And for the many hours of regular time and overtime spent responding to fallen trees caused by our windstorms last week. Over the past several months, we have experienced things I've never heard about before, atmospheric rivers, causing the ground to be saturated. And then the winds came. And in some places of our country, they call them category one or category two winds, like hurricanes, and trees weren't ready, and they um weren't able to withstand the combination of saturated ground and high winds. From our city manager, our crews worked about 1.30 in the morning, went home and came back and started all over again. That first night or first afternoon, there were about 57 calls for service for fallen trees.

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