Redwood City Council Meeting – April 13, 2026: Stanford Cancer Center, Police Tech, SamTrans Update
Redwood City Council Meeting – April 13, 2026
The Redwood City Council held a regular hybrid meeting on April 13, 2026, at 2:00 PM. The meeting covered the SamTrans Connect Bay Area local investment plan, public comments on 5G towers and youth programs, a consent calendar including fire engine purchases, a public hearing to initiate study of Stanford Medicine’s proposed cancer center, and the annual military equipment use report with a proposed five-year Axon technology contract. All council members were present, with three recusing themselves from the Stanford item.
Consent Calendar
- All consent items were approved unanimously except item 7E, which was pulled for discussion. Item 7E authorized the purchase of two new fire engines for an amount not to exceed $2.9 million. Councilmember Chu expressed hope for smaller, more maneuverable vehicles in the future, and Vice Mayor Aiken noted concerns about national consolidation among fire apparatus manufacturers raising prices. The motion passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Youth Leadership Institute: Jenny Nube invited the council to a youth panel on April 23rd at The Yard Coffee.
- 5G Cell Towers: Jana Jacobs, Martin Elliott, and Ronnie Ben David spoke against the placement of 5G towers by Crown Castle, citing inadequate notification to residents and health risks. They urged the city to adopt stronger regulations. Ronnie Ben David shared a story of a school where a nearby tower caused families to withdraw children.
- Transit Support: Dylan Finch and Michael Arusa thanked the council for supporting public transit.
- Stanford Cancer Center (Public Hearing): Mike Morris opposed the project due to traffic and scale, advocating a moratorium on development until Woodside Road interchange is fixed. Former Mayor Danny Gasparini strongly supported initiation, saying “F cancer, initiate the study.” Larry Moody (Job Train) supported, citing Stanford’s partnership and job placements. Chris Johnson supported initiation but asked for equitable community benefits, noting that Redwood City received far less than Palo Alto in the original 2013 agreement.
Discussion Items
- SamTrans Connect Bay Area Act (5A): Jessica Epstein presented the proposed half-cent sales tax measure for the November 2026 ballot, which would generate roughly $50 million per year for San Mateo County transit over 14 years. The funds would be administered by SamTrans to prevent service cuts and support local priorities. A survey is open to rank ten categories. Councilmembers expressed strong support for transit, emphasizing frequency, safety, reduced fares, bus rapid transit, and carbon pricing. Councilmember Chu advocated for the bus as a mode for all; Councilmember Padilla supported road maintenance for bus routes. The council encouraged community input.
- Stanford Medicine Cancer Center Initiation (8A): Staff and Stanford representatives presented the request to initiate general plan and precise plan amendments for a cancer center on the existing Redwood City campus. The proposal includes up to 320 inpatient beds, 100–200 new clinic rooms, research facilities, parking garages, and a central utility plant. Councilmembers Howard, Padilla, Vice Mayor Aiken, and Mayor Martinez Sabayos discussed scale, traffic, energy use, community benefits, and sustainability. Vice Mayor Aiken asked about net-zero goals and energy demand. The council voted to approve initiation (4-0, with Councilmembers Chu, G, and Sterkin recused).
- Police Military Equipment Report & Axon Agreement (9A): Lieutenant Castro and Sergeant Boyce presented the 2025 annual military equipment use report, covering drones, an armored rescue vehicle, and other tools. They also proposed a five-year, $3.56 million agreement with Axon Enterprise for body-worn cameras, drone expansion, and integrated evidence management. The drone program responded to 608 incidents in 2025, reducing response times and avoiding car chases. Councilmembers discussed privacy, data security, training, and costs. Councilmember G asked about security audits; Sergeant Boyce confirmed encryption and limited access. Councilmember Sterkin raised concerns about future budget impacts. Vice Mayor Aiken suggested considering leasing for rapidly evolving technology. The council unanimously approved the report and the Axon agreement.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved, with item 7E (fire engines) passing unanimously.
- SamTrans: No vote; the council expressed support and encouraged community participation in the survey.
- Stanford Cancer Center: Initiation of study approved (4-0), allowing environmental review, community engagement, and formal application later.
- Police Technology: Unanimous approval of the 2025 military equipment use report, readoption of the policy, and the five-year Axon agreement.
Meeting Transcript
Thanks, everyone for being here for tonight's council meeting. Okay, yeah. All right, everyone. I think we have our audio back online. Good evening. We're gonna go ahead and get started. Thank you for joining our regular city council meeting of April thirteenth, twenty twenty six. We hold meetings in a hybrid format with both in-person and virtual participation. The city welcomes public comment on topics within these cities subject matter jurisdiction. And members of the public may provide comments as follows. Speaker cards are located at the back table in the council chambers and must be turned in to the city clerk here at the day's. 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. 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 redwood city dot org. Written comments are not read aloud, but will be made part of the final meeting record. And I will now turn it over to our city clerk to call the rule. Good evening, and thank you everyone again for your patience. We'll start with Councilmember Chu. Here. Councilmember G present. Councilmember Howard. Here. Councilmember Padilla. Present. Councilmember Sturkin. Here. Vice Mayor Aiken. Here. Mayor Martinez Sabayos. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. With that, we'll move on to the next item. And we have all members of the council participating in person, so we'll move on to the pledge. And Councilmember G, could you lead us, please? You all rise and join me in saluting the flag of our country. And with that, we will move on to item five presentations and acknowledgments for our presentation item this evening. Sam Trans will be giving an update on the Connect Bay Area Local Investment Plan. And I'd like to welcome Sam Trans government and community affairs director, Jessica Epstein to the podium to give the presentation. So uh as you said, tonight I am doing a presentation on the Connect Bay Area Act. Uh my name is Jessica Epstein. I am the director of government and community affairs at Sam Trans. So basically I'm sharing information on a potential revenue measure that's working its way towards the November ballot as a citizens initiative. If it makes it if it becomes successful, uh, we're sharing what information on what that would mean for the community, uh for transit and uh for Sam Trans itself. So here's the the agenda. Um the measure uh sorry uh so there's information in here on the measure as a whole, uh, but just wanted to emphasize the real focus of tonight is San Mateo County, not the rest of the measure. So a little bit of history and you know, snapshot of Sam Trans who we are. Uh we provide bus and paratransit service throughout the county. It's an essential service getting people to work to school, to jobs and appointments and other destinations. So you can see some of the bullet points on our service.
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