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Record of Proceedings

Redwood City Council Meeting - December 8, 2025: Recognition of City Manager's Retirement

City Council — Monday, December 8, 2025
BodyRedwood City, California
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, December 8, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Good evening, everybody.

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Thank you for joining our regular City Council meeting of December 8th, 2025.

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Tonight's a very special evening as we congratulate our city manager, Melissa Stevenson-Diaz,

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on her retirement at the end of the year.

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And if you're here to share any remarks about Melissa,

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public comment will be taken under her recognition item, which is 5A.

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Thank you to all of those who have joined us today at the welcome reception and here at tonight's meeting.

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It's very nice to see so many familiar faces at City Hall.

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and we are holding tonight's meeting in a hybrid meeting format with both in-person and virtual

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participation. The city welcomes public comments on topics within the city's subject matter

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jurisdiction and members of the public may provide comments as follows. In-person speakers will be

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called first. Speaker cards are located at the back table in council chambers and must be turned

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in to the city clerk here at the dais. Please be sure to indicate the agenda item number which

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which you wish to speak on. Attendees who have joined us by Zoom will be called to speak after

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the in-person comments have been given. Detailed instructions for public comment will be provided

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on the screen when the time for public comment begins. And if there is a high volume of public

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comment this evening, we may decrease the total time allotted for each comment or limit the total

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time for public comment. In the event this occurs, please feel free to send your full comments to the

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City Council at council at

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redwoodcity.org. Written

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comments are not read aloud, but will be

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made part of the final meeting record.

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And I'll now turn it over to our City Clerk

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to call the roll. Good evening.

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Let's start with Council Member

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Chu. Here. Council Member

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Gee. Present. Council Member Howard.

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Here. Council Member Padilla.

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Here. Council Member

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Sturkin. Here. Vice Mayor Aiken.

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Here. Mayor Martinez-Caballos.

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Here. Thank you. Thank you

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everybody. We'll now move on to

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the Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member

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Sturken, could you lead us? Please

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join me for the Pledge of Allegiance.

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I pledge allegiance to the

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flag of the United States

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of America and to the republic

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for which it stands,

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one nation, under God,

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indivisible, with liberty and

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justice for all.

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Thank you,

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation██████████████████████22%
Personnel Matters███████████████████19%
Community Engagement███████████████████19%
Economic Development██████████████14%
Transportation Safety██████████10%
Parks and Recreation█████5%
Procedural███3%
Engineering And Infrastructure███3%
Affordable Housing███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Redwood City Council Meeting – December 8, 2025

The Redwood City Council held a regular meeting on December 8, 2025, with a major focus on honoring City Manager Melissa Stevenson-Diaz for her upcoming retirement after 34 years of public service. The meeting also addressed several substantive items including adoption of work plans for advisory committees, approval of Mills Act contracts, impact fee project lists, a development agreement amendment, and a compensation adjustment for the City Attorney.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent calendar was approved unanimously without discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Recognition of City Manager: Numerous speakers, including representatives from Congressman Kevin Mullen, Supervisor Lisa Gauchner, State Senator Josh Becker, Assembly Members Berman and Pappin, former Vice Mayor Shelley Mazur, former Mayor Ian Bain, San Mateo City Manager Alex Kojikian, former City Planner Michelle Littlefield, County Executive Mike Callagy, and Belmont City Manager Afshan Skoui, expressed gratitude and praised Melissa Stevenson-Diaz’s leadership, mentorship, and impact on the community. They highlighted her role during COVID-19, diversity initiatives, and development of future city managers.
  • General Public Comment: Aaron Coleman raised an ongoing issue regarding his floating home at Docktown Marina, stating the city has a pump to keep it afloat but no resolution. He requested City Attorney outreach.
  • Mills Act Public Comments: Frank Elliott and Andrew Ryan spoke against new Mills Act contracts, arguing that the program costs the city and school district significant lost property tax revenue (estimated $753,000 total, $150,000 city share, $375,000 school share) and that some property owners receive tax breaks without adequate historic preservation work. They urged rejection of new contracts.
  • Impact Fee Public Comments: Dylan Finch (Planning Commissioner, speaking personally) praised the updated project lists and moving timelines forward.
  • Development Agreement Public Comments: Rick Hunter (Planning Commission member) dissented on the proposed Mills Act? Actually, he spoke on the 1548 Maple development agreement amendment, expressing concern about the $2 million reduction in impact fees as an additional concession beyond the extension. He recommended Council consider Alternative 1 (continue for negotiation).
  • City Council Reports: Councilmember Padilla reported attending an SFO roundtable on autonomous vehicles and vertiports. Councilmember Sturkin reported attending the Victory Institute’s International LGBTQ+ Elected Officials Conference in DC, noting data on LGBTQ+ populations and the importance of supporting transgender rights.

Discussion Items

  • Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) Work Plan: Principal Planner Malahat Orang and TAC members presented the proposed work plan for FY 2025-26 and 2026-27, focusing on Vision Zero, updated parking codes around transit-oriented areas, residential traffic calming guidelines, and regional coordination. The plan was approved unanimously.
  • Historic Resources Advisory Committee (HRAC) Work Plan and Mills Act Program Update: Senior Planner Ryan Kutchenig, HRAC Chair Ron Goldman, and Vice Chair Glenn Babbitt presented the HRAC work plan and an overview of the Mills Act contract program. Discussion covered the current 37 active contracts, annual reporting, five-year inspections, and feedback from prior study sessions. Council members debated the program’s equity and fiscal impacts, with some advocating for future changes such as limited-term contracts and means-testing. The work plan was approved unanimously.
  • Mills Act Contracts (Four Properties): Staff and applicants presented four properties for historic designation and Mills Act contracts: 731 Edgewood Road, 839 Blandford Boulevard, 1018-1020 Main Street, and 979 Arlington Road. The Main Street properties are already nationally registered. Applicants described the historic significance and planned 10-year preservation work. Council debated whether to approve with a condition to issue non-renewal after 10 years. Ultimately, a motion to approve the four contracts without additional conditions passed 5-2 (Councilmembers Chu and Sturkin opposed). A separate motion to direct staff to study non-renewal policies for future contracts was not adopted; instead, the council had already directed HRAC to review the program.
  • Parks and Transportation Impact Fee Project Lists: Staff presented the annual list of projects to be funded by park impact fees and transportation impact fees, noting that the lists are substantiating the fee programs. The park list includes land acquisition and improvements; the transportation list includes multimodal and operational projects. Both lists were unanimously approved.
  • 1548 Maple Street Development Agreement Amendment: Staff recommended a fourth amendment to extend the development agreement for a 131-townhome project by three years (with an optional two additional years) and reduce impact fees by approximately $2 million in exchange for completing the Blomquist Street extension and other benefits. The applicant noted the project has been delayed due to financing and construction costs. Council approved the staff recommendation and the second amendment to the subdivision improvement agreement unanimously.
  • City Attorney Compensation Adjustment: Human Resources Director Michelle Katsuyoshi presented a compensation survey showing the City Attorney is 1.2% below the median. Mayor Martinez-Caballos reported the ad hoc committee’s recommendation of a 3% merit increase (retroactive to September 6, 2025) and a one-time $15,000 bonus in recognition of exceptional performance and increased workload. Council members praised the City Attorney’s service and approved the adjustment unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • Transportation Advisory Committee Work Plan: Approved unanimously.
  • Historic Resources Advisory Committee Work Plan: Approved unanimously.
  • Mills Act Contracts for Four Properties: Approved 5-2 (Chu, Sturkin opposed). The council directed HRAC to study potential program reforms, including contract renewal policies, but did not attach conditions to these approvals.
  • Parks Impact Fee Project List and Transportation Impact Fee Project List: Both approved unanimously.
  • 1548 Maple Street Development Agreement Amendment (Fourth Amendment) and Second Amendment to Subdivision Improvement Agreement: Approved unanimously.
  • City Attorney Compensation: 3% merit increase and $15,000 one-time bonus approved unanimously.

Meeting Transcript

. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, everybody. Thank you for joining our regular City Council meeting of December 8th, 2025. Tonight's a very special evening as we congratulate our city manager, Melissa Stevenson-Diaz, on her retirement at the end of the year. And if you're here to share any remarks about Melissa, public comment will be taken under her recognition item, which is 5A. Thank you to all of those who have joined us today at the welcome reception and here at tonight's meeting. It's very nice to see so many familiar faces at City Hall. and we are holding tonight's meeting in a hybrid meeting format with both in-person and virtual participation. The city welcomes public comments on topics within the city's subject matter jurisdiction and members of the public may provide comments as follows. In-person speakers will be called first. Speaker cards are located at the back table in council chambers and must be turned in to the city clerk here at the dais. Please be sure to indicate the agenda item number which which you wish to speak on. Attendees who have joined us by Zoom will be called to speak after the in-person comments have been given. Detailed instructions for public comment will be provided on the screen when the time for public comment begins. And if there is a high volume of public comment this evening, we may decrease the total time allotted for each comment or limit the total time for public comment. In the event this occurs, please feel free to send your full comments to the City Council at council at redwoodcity.org. Written comments are not read aloud, but will be made part of the final meeting record. And I'll now turn it over to our City Clerk to call the roll. Good evening. Let's start with Council Member Chu. Here. Council Member Gee. Present. Council Member Howard. Here. Council Member Padilla. Here. Council Member Sturkin. Here. Vice Mayor Aiken. Here. Mayor Martinez-Caballos. Here. Thank you. Thank you everybody. We'll now move on to the Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member

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