So much for your leadership for your advocacy for getting on that plane every single week.

We thank you for what you're doing because it's having real results here in the city.

I also want to express my appreciation to State Senator Steve Padilla.

Not just for being here today and looking very Dapper May today.

That's I love that coat.

But for his broader efforts to bring more state funding back here to San Diego County.

He has a very large district.

You educated me the other day.

Is it five counties?

Four counties?

Four counties.

And so he has pulled in a lot of different directions.

But we know that he is a uh a leader here from our South San Diego communities.

Uh and in when he's in Sacramento or in any part of his district, he's always thinking about us down here in our southern San Diego neighborhood.

So, Senator, thank you for what you do to bring dollars back to support community investments like this.

Uh both of them deserve a round of applause.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Both you know, from parks to infrastructure to programs that expand opportunities, having champions like assembly members, uh, assembly member Alvarez and Senator Padilla in Sacramento who understand what San Diegans need is how we can make difference in the quality of life for people right here in this neighborhood.

Uh the investments of Proposition 4 uh that uh Assemblymember Alvarez mentioned do matter, and we are grateful to the voters of California who back in 2024 approved this, authorizing literally billions of dollars in bond proceeds to go to support critical environmental uh and community infrastructure like a neighborhood park.

Uh now that those dollars have been authorized by the voters, now we have to have folks who are gonna go out there and get those dollars and get our fair share to San Diego, and that's what these gentlemen are doing, and that's what we're celebrating today.

This funding is real, it is tangible, and it's gonna make life better for folks right here and the Grove Neighborhood Park, I think is a perfect example of why the voters of California supported Prop 4.

Um, I want to say I'm here on behalf of the city, but we have other city representation.

Unfortunately, uh Councilmember Moreno is not able to be here, but we do have representation uh from her office.

Thank you guys for being here uh to uh representing council district eight.

Um I also want to point out that our chief uh community services officer and city engineer, Ranya Amen is here.

Uh Ronnie, thank you.

She's uh the one that'll be overseeing and making sure this gets done.

Uh the person who's in charge of parks and in engineering, this is the right combination.

Ronnie is our person, uh, and she gets a lot of big important things done.

So, Ronnie, thank you to our park and rec staff, to our library folks who are here as well, uh ground maintenance PD.

Uh, what I hope this neighborhood sees is that this city cares deeply about this community.

I know historically that hasn't always felt this way, but under the leadership of folks like as Councilmember Moreno, Assemblymember Alvarez, and Senator Padilla and myself, we're hoping to show that we're paying close attention, we're trying to invite some of these historic wrongs and building more parks in this neighborhood is exactly one of the ways that we can do that.

Everyone in this community deserves access to high quality outdoor recreation spaces.

And while I recognize there may be a need for a senior center or a dog park or just recreational space for kids, we will figure that all out.

Um but the fact that we're paying more attention to these communities to figure this out long term, this will get done and this will be better for everybody.

So let's continue to work hard to build a city that works for all of us, including our South San Diego communities.

Um we will get this done.

This is one of many uh uh parks that we either built or are under construction.

Uh we'll be back soon for buyer park phase one.

That's gonna be incredible for this community.

And again, that's a cooperative effort of our partners at the federal, state, and local level to get that done.

So in the meantime, I want you to hear from somebody uh who is a fierce advocate for these communities and a dear friend.

Uh again, like David, traveling up to SAC away from the family, but importantly getting stuff done, and that's what we're here to celebrate today.

Would you please welcome and uh hear a few words from our state senator Steve Padilla.

Senator.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Mayor, and thank you, Assemblymember Alvarez, two amazing leaders and collaborators.

And look, I'm just here to add my voice to congratulating you two.

I mean, I am I am happy to always be fighting for our underinvested, underserved communities.

I was honored in the uh legislature to be part of the team that helped negotiate the framework for this.

But every team needs some leaders on different issues.

And on this park, you had Mayor Gloria saying, we gotta deliver.

We have to deliver for this community after all this time.

And here he is today, joyfully joining all of us in the collaboration that he was part of and leading to make this happen.

And here we are, we're gonna get a check from Assemblymember Alvarez.

And my colleague uh David Alvarez in the assembly never forgets his roots and his experiences, never forgets where his heart belongs and his work needs to support that heart.

And he has been fighting like hell in Sacramento also to make sure that the right priorities are recognized and communities like ours here are not overlooked because we know they are so often overlooked.

So I just want to add my voice.

I was happy to be part of a group, but I have to really congratulate the mayor and assemblymember Alvarez for uh putting in some real leadership and some effort to make today happen.

And I'm happy to congratulate them both.

Uh and to all of you who supported the resource bond, prop four, and voted and exercised your power.

You made this happen.

You helped give us the ability to say that these funds need to be appropriated, they need to be in our spending plan, they need to be put to work for all of you.

And I'm always reminded, I spent a little time in local government before serving in the legislature.

Um, and this is the best kind of things we get to do as elected leaders is to be on the ground celebrating not just the facilities and the equipment and what we call infrastructure, you know, the brick and mortar, but that brick and mortar, the park space and the recreational opportunities, they allow the real community to come forward and to be appreciated.

And the real community is the beating heart and the souls and the curious young minds and the families and the neighbors that gather together to be together and to enjoy time that really is what life is all about.

And so park space, certainly in suburban and urban settings are so important.

We have more and more studies that are showing us that the more access people have to park space and recreational space and gathering space, it affects your health.

It affects your well-being, it affects your productivity at work, it affects your ability to learn, it affects health care costs.

So this is so important that we celebrate and work hard to bring these spaces for our communities together.

And I'm just happy to have been invited.

To add my voice in celebrating this moment and to thank them both again for their extraordinary leadership in this fight.

Um, and thank you for having me.

Good job.

Well, it is it is a great day.

We are uh very, very thankful to the people, to the voters.

Uh I think Senator Padilla said it quite uh quite well and eloquently.

It's not just about building a beautiful space, it is gonna be much more beautiful than it is today.

Uh it's about what it's going to represent and mean for the people who use this space.

And the benefits aren't just physical, they're definitely uh there in many other ways.

And so I want to thank him for his partnership in the legislature.

As we look to do more, and hopefully more to come for the South Bay soon, Senator, especially on our Trulon River Valley.

We have not forgotten, we will not forget until that gets addressed as well.

Uh, but with that, again, thank you to all of you.

Thank you to all the uh students that's here for the students one more time for this is all about you guys in the future.

Uh I started being a big advocate for parks because I was a father of two young ones, and they're now growing and growing.

Uh, but our community still needs to make sure that we have representatives that are doing work for the future of our community, and that's what this is all about.

So it's a great day of celebration.

And now it's my honor to introduce uh or to provide Mayor Gloria with a ceremonial check for this wonderful park.

Thanks.

So it's truly meaningful to gather here today to celebrate these renovations in the common area and more importantly to recognize what this space means for so many families here in our city.

This renovated common area is a physical space improvement, that is true, but it is so much more than that.

It is a place of dignity, it is a place of connection, and for families experiencing homelessness, this is a place of stability at a time when stability can feel out of reach.

Families can't plan for the future if they don't feel safe in the present.

And today we're unveiling this newly renovated community space.

This room is where community happens, where meals are shared, homework is done, and parents can meet with case managers to take real steps towards housing.

We have served more than 5400 San Diegans, including 1,000 children.

As your mayor, I am proud that the city of San Diego continues to invest in partnerships like this one because we know that lasting progress happens when government, nonprofit, philanthropic, and private sector forces come together to get the job done.

This safe parking lot program here at Rose Canyon is a powerful example of how we can meet people where they are and provide them with real and practical solutions to end their homelessness for good.

Toralta Park is a special place and a product of community members coming together to provide a central gathering place to mitigate the division of the neighborhood that the 15 freeway brought.

And before this freeway was here, there were homes here, right?

And the freeway would had a huge impact on the community.

We're standing above a fruit on a park that's above a freeway.

And that's not common.

And when you all feel like you own this park, you'll want to come back again and again and again.

A seed today, a tree today, and you're gonna watch that grow over time, and your younger siblings are gonna be able to take shade under those trees.

How beautiful is that.

So know that the work that you're doing today, it's not just about today and the way that the park will look better when you leave.

Today is really about the future.

Uh, the future of the college area, the future of our city.

There we go.

And the future of the tens of thousands of students who call SDSU home during one of the most important chapters of their lives.

This is the first comprehensive plan update in more than 30 years.

And for me, the best thing about it is more options for future SDSU students to stay close to the campus.

What I heard was a community that wanted to elevate their community.

A safe community, a community with a high quality of life, a place filled with belonging where everyone has the opportunity to be where they want to be.

And a community that's up for everyone.

A road diet and a usable park will not only activate the corridor, but connect the various neighborhoods and communities of permanent residents and students that tend to be isolated.

From housing affordability to transit access, safe streets, welcoming public spaces, all directly affect whether or not students can focus on their learning, graduate on time, and build their futures right here in America's finest city.

The goal was and is to make the college area a destination and a place people want to live in.

Welcome to Council Chambers.

We do have overflow.

Hi everybody, thank you so much for coming in.

Again, we do have overflow in the committee room, which is the room directly opposite of this room.

My staff is opening it and there are TVs in there.

Just make sure that you're either sitting somewhere or if you're standing in the back, make sure you're not blocking the doorway.

So anybody by the digital kiosk over there, please try to move more this way just for safety purposes.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Council President.

Councilmember Campbell.

Councilmember Whitburn.

Councilmember Foster.

Here.

Councilmember Von Wilbert.

Council President Pro Tem Lee.

Councilmember Campillo.

Councilmember Moreno.

Present.

Councilmember Elo Rivera.

And Council President Lacava.

Present.

Also attending the meeting are City Attorney Heather Ferber, independent budget analyst Charles Matica, Council Affairs and Council of Affairs Advisor in the Mayor's Office, Coda Zeiser, and myself, your city clerk, Deanna Fuentes.

Thank you, Council President.

All right.

Thank you.

Quorum is now present.

We will begin this morning with the land acknowledgement and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilmember Whitburn.

We respectfully acknowledge that the Kumiai nation are the original inhabitants of the unceded land, now known as San Diego.

Despite enduring the horrors of genocide and colonization, the Kumiai spirit remains unbroken.

We honor the resilience of their ancestors who fought to protect their culture and land.

Today they carry their legacy forward, ensuring that their traditions continue to thrive in gratitude and strength.

We stand with the Kumaiai Nation, connected to our past and committed to a thriving future.

Please face the flag.

Ready to get.

Clerk.

The public comment period for the proclamation items is now open.

Each speaker will have one minute per item per person.

If you would like to speak on three or more items, you will have a maximum of three minutes.

The proclamation items being approved are items 30 through 32, S501 and S502.

And we do have several speakers here in Council Chambers for proclamations.

If I can ask the following individuals, please come up to the yellow reserve seats.

We have Shannon Collins, Sherry Woods, Chris Young, Lonnie Harper, and Robert Hicks.

There are yellow reserve seats right at the front.

And Shannon Collins, if you'd like to come up to the podium, you are our first speaker on item 32.

Council president.

Patrick Henry in the 70s, maybe?

Did you play football?

I didn't play, but yeah, you you admitted how old I am.

So hey, I'm a graduate.

I'm a graduate of Crawford High School in 85.

So third generation native San Diegan.

I um my three children are fourth generation native San Diegans, and I appreciate I'm never leaving San Diego, no matter what people do.

I'm never leaving.

This is my town.

I love it.

And I appreciate the council and you offering uh this large city um this opportunity for our next generation, our next kids who are going to be sitting up here.

Um I appreciate the role models you guys are and what you do.

Um for again our wonderful children.

I've been teaching for 35 years.

I think I'm going another 10.

And uh I love my job.

My dad was uh PE teacher here in uh San Diego Unified School District as well.

And oh what an opportunity.

And here's your future right here.

We're blessed, you guys.

I've never been here before.

What was I supposed to do?

That was just my thank you.

You nailed it.

Okay.

Hi, thank you.

This is an honor to be here.

Um, as one of the assistant coaches of the girls' flag football team and an educator.

I hope that this council and everyone in this room understands the importance of funding public education.

These girls are amazing.

I believe we have GPAs above 3.5.

They are the hardest working individuals.

Um I love this school.

I love this community, just like Coach Collins says, and I just hope that we can continue this for years and years and just promote this amazing sport because these girls are awesome.

Thank you.

Chris Young.

Hello, council members.

Thank you for inviting us.

Uh, we are so glad to be here and uh so glad that you're here to honor our flag football team.

Uh, I graduated from Patrick Henry as well, and so do my parents, and so it's great to be able to give back.

Uh, and so I want to say thank you to Coach Lonnie for coaching a great year.

Thank you to all the girls, way to go, and ready for another year.

Lonnie Harper's right here.

All right, good morning.

I wrote a little speech for my girls.

Um, good morning, and thank you all so much on behalf of our entire program.

I am truly honored to accept this prop proclamation today.

This recognition represents more than just wins on our team.

Um, it reflects their dedication, their sacrifice, resilience, and belief uh from a whole community, the San Carlos community.

So I appreciate you guys.

Um into my speech.

First and foremost, I want to thank God for the strength and guidance and purpose he continues to place in our path.

There were moments this season where their journey wasn't easy, but faith kept us grounded, focused and moving forward.

None of this is possible without him.

So thank you, Lord.

Um, it is also a true honor to stand here as the first African American female to win a uh CIF championship for women's flag football and to make history alongside all of my girls, um, being the first team at Patrick Henry High School to win the CIF championship, um, as well as for sending the five school district.

Uh this moment is my concluding comment.

Oh, thank you.

But thank you so much.

All right, thank you.

Robert Hicks.

Robert Hicks, you'll be speaking on item S502 when you have time ceded to you by Deshaun Bradshaw.

If you please raise your hand, thank you so much.

You'll have two minutes, please proceed.

Good morning.

Good morning, council members.

My name is Robert Hicks.

I'm the associate regional director for ADL, the Anti-Defamation League of San Diego in Imperial Counties.

Today we're thankful to the City Council for commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day and for honoring the survivors that we have here in our city.

This date, January 27th, was chosen because Auschwitz-Burkenau was liberated on this day, 81 years ago in 1945.

But the systematic and normalized hatred that eventually enabled the creation of a place like Auschwitz isn't as easy to trace to a single date or moment.

The pathway to the Holocaust began with normalized anti-Semitic bias and attitudes, which were followed by thousands of small and large choices made by governments, civil institutions, and everyday people.

It was not an inevitability, but rather the culmination of decades of unchecked hate.

In San Diego and across the country, ADL has seen a rise in the anti-Semitic incidents that are reported to us.

But we've also recorded an alarming escalation in their severity.

Jewish students in our public schools being targeted for bullying, harassment, and even assault.

College students hiding their Jewish identity for fear of ostracization and exclusion from academic and student life.

San Diego synagogues targeted with anti-Semitic and anti-Israel vandalism and threatening phone calls.

For our colleagues, friends, and classmates, this moment demands action.

We stand ready to work with the city council to pursue measures, including the IRA definition and Holocaust education and remembrance to combat anti-Semitism in all its forms and keep our community safe for everyone.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That does conclude public comment here in Council Chambers going to those participating remotely.

We have Andrea Ebbing, if you could please let me know which item or items you wish to speak to.

Andrea, I can't there you go.

I'm sorry about that.

Hi, it's Gandhi Ebbing.

I'd love to speak to item um S3 S 502, um 32 and 31.

Those are on the consent agenda.

Oh, sorry.

We have the wrong uh slide up.

Uh we need the slide for uh the proclamations, but please proceed.

You'll have two minutes.

You you listed two or three, my apologies.

Three.

Please proceed.

Okay, thank you.

Um, so thank you for um these uh proclamations, Patrick Henry High School girls.

Go get it.

I'm so happy to um to see the support for you girls out there um doing your thing and making good decisions is gonna keep you uh you know living a great life.

Um so congratulations to you guys, kudos.

My daughter, uh Bianca, my oldest daughter, was uh coronado la crosse player.

Uh before her father abducted her, and then it was facilitated by our district attorney because he's a county contract rehab owner.

This despite my family, so we were left for dead, basically, off to the side, um defend for ourselves, even though I'm a citizen of the United States of America, and my family survived the Holocaust.

So I appreciate the Holocaust Remembrance Day as well.

And the gentleman speaking earlier about hiding um Jewish identity, I can really relate to that because um I was raised Russian Orthodox my whole life, and then um, because my family came to Ellis Island in 1958.

My mother was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany.

Um my grandfather, an architect, joined the uh army to become a paratrooper to come to the United States.

So we went through a whole lot to get here.

Um 1958, they came over, um, lived in Massachusetts, but I was raised strict Russian Orthodox because um we, you know, never was a word, a word about being Jewish mentioned in my family until I was almost 18 years old.

So they lived in such fear and such um fear of being exposed or caught for being Jewish, uh, maybe fear of prosecution, but certainly the anti-Semitism and the depth of it is real.

So I appreciate uh Jennifer Campbell bringing forward this motion for um the Holocaust Remembrance Day.

And I just um really wish that our district attorney didn't take um donations from Dallas Marston, the guy that sold the gun for the Poway synagogue shooting, um a defendant in a felony case.

So that's really unfortunate.

And I hope that we can prov continue to prevent hate crimes um like the one that took place in Power with Swatztica, um, the shooting, and kind of any just in general um uh Jewish hate because of the conflict taking place right now in Israel and um Palestine.

So uh anyways, I appreciate it.

That's really all.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

That concludes one of the comment on uh Paclamation.

Ernie, did you want to jump?

Okay.

All right.

Um thank you, City Clerk, and thank you everybody that called in.

Uh given the uh that Councilmember Campillo is not here with several proclamations.

I do want to recognize the flag football team and Patrick Henry.

Um as was I was out in class of 72 first class to go all the way through the brand new school there, and uh sports rivalries were pretty intense, but congratulations.

Not only is it important to recognize a first ever CI title for the flag football team.

Not only is it important to recognize the groundbreaking of the coach going forward, but really a testament to you girls in terms of your commitment to both scholastic, academic, and athleticism and the time commitment that you have to put in to make this all possible.

So kudos to you all.

Um you carry a very proud tradition of Patrick Henry and one more banner uh in the gym with uh your name on it.

You'll be able to fondly remember what you've done, and that's a terrific course for who you will be going forward in the future.

So I did want to jump in uh with that.

So uh with that, we'll go over to my colleagues.

We'll go first with Councilmember Campbell.

Thank you so much, Council President, and congratulations to all of our proclamation recipients.

It's a wonderful day.

I am going to speak about Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is today the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a solemn occasion when we honor the six million Jewish people and six million other civilian victims who were murdered by the Nazi regime during World War II.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is recognized each year on January 27th today to mark the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

In the aftermath of the Holocaust, many Jewish people came to the United States to seek refuge in a country that was founded in part on the guarantee of the freedom of religion as well as other freedoms.

One of those Holocaust survivors is going to be with us today, is with us today.

I'm going to tell you a little bit of his bio, and he's going to come and speak to us in a minute.

Louis Pesci is his name.

He was seven years old when the Nazis invaded Yugoslavia.

Help me out.

In response.

In response to the Nazi killing machine, the Pesci family managed to escape and ended up in America.

Decades later, he wrote a book recounting the memories of his childhood.

The book is titled I Am Lubo, referring to his nickname.

And I would like to invite up Mr.

Lou Pesci to the front to share his story.

Please come up, Mr.

Pesci.

Well, thank you very much for having me here.

It's an honor to see this.

I'm not used to speaking through uh video.

So uh I hope you'll forgive me for my back, okay?

But I see you can see me from there.

And today, as you mentioned, is uh the Holocaust remembers day.

And actually, we uh we are able to record history thousands of years into the past, but we can only remember it no more than a hundred or hundred and ten years as long as we we still are alive.

And I'm 91 years old, and I can remember uh what I I witnessed the history.

I was part of it, okay.

And my uh as a 70-year-old boy, I encountered I was in the bombing or Belgrade when Nazi Germany bombed it.

We went to see my grandfather, and I was caught in the bombing.

Well, when the bombing was over, luckily we survived, I wasn't killed.

There were 70,000 people that were killed in Belgrade by the Nazis, okay?

And they didn't care if you were Jewish or you know, we weren't Jewish, you were Serbian, they were all killed, okay.

And to really start my story, my name is Lubo.

And Lubo in Croatian means love.

And it was the love of people that saved me, that kept me here.

And I during that time, I had to hide my name, my identity, and of course my religion.

But I survived because I was survived surrounded by good people that risked their lives their lives to save mine.

So that's how I'm here.

Okay.

So my story begins, as I said, on Easter Sunday when the Nazi bombed Belgrade.

After surviving the bombing, my mom, of course, and I returned back to Zagreb.

And we returned to Zagreb only to realize that the Jews had to wear in order to find out who was Jewish.

They couldn't tell who was Jewish.

If you look at me, you just by looking at me, you wouldn't you wouldn't know I was Jewish.

So what did they do?

They we had to wear this sign, z, which means uh in uh Croatian is a little phonetic language, so we have a letter for each sound.

We don't have spelling these.

So in meant zidov, and zidov meant Jew.

So my mom wanted to um escape, and uh we went to the local only the Jews were not allowed to travel, so my mom says, fine, we'll become Catholic.

So we went to the Catholic church, and my parents were baptized uh Catholic, and 10 minutes later I was baptized Catholic, okay, because the Germans didn't care if your two parents were not were Jewish if you if they you were Jewish too.

And so they left for Italy, they escaped to Italy, and they sent me to my uncle who lived in a local uh small town.

He was uh my aunt was married, and he was a Catholic uh tailor in that town.

And so they sent me there to over there.

And I finished, I went to school uh for almost two years to Catholic school.

I went to Catechism, uh, you know, and did everything that a good Catholic boy would do.

So I was two years living as a Catholic, having to pretend that I was Catholic, because I realized I knew you all the time that I was Jewish but not very religious, okay.

Uh and one evening there was a knock on the door, police, and two policemen took me and put me in jail, and they put me in a little little uh jail with the women because I was just seven years or eight years old at that time, and uh but my uncle was able through the uh knowing the chief of police because he was like it was a small town and he knew each other, and they got me out one evening.

He got he they got me out six hours after that at six o'clock in the evening, he I was released from the jail, and at 10 o'clock, either at midnight the train left for Auschwitz.

So I missed the train by six hours, and he found a German woman who was able to transport me to Treviso, Italy, where my parents were interned.

Uh they were internati di guerra, and that means that they were interned because of the war, and they had to report to the police every Sunday.

And we loved going to the police every Sunday because the chief of police would make a cup of coffee and we would have a nice little get together.

Well, one evening we showed up there and he says, you're free.

And we said, what happened?

He says, Well, uh Mussolini, we deposed Mussolini, and you can you're free.

So my mom said the Americans are gonna come to Venice any day.

By that time, the Americans, the Allied forces were moving up the up the coast.

Sir, I I I don't want to be rude, but we do have a rest of the hearing.

I'm gonna give you my three minutes.

This is this is perfect.

Thank you.

Anyway, to make things quick.

Uh to make things uh we spent the war in uh Rome hiding, liberated by them.

Uh my parents divorced.

My mother uh encountered Frank Petrich.

And Frank Petrich was a son of a fisherman, Croatian fisherman in San Diego.

And uh he went to San Diego High when he came to the States with 14.

Then he went to USC on a football scholarship, came back to San Diego, became a teacher at San Diego High, and eventually chairman of the department art department.

So I met and he was a commander in the Navy.

Anyway, uh I joined my mom.

Uh later on, I'm not gonna get into the details.

Uh I when I came to the San Diego, I didn't have a high school diploma.

I didn't have a uh uh citizenship.

I enrolled in the Israeli in the American Air Force and got the true uh got my degree.

I got my BS in the in the engineering at San Diego State.

I got my MBA at uh Pepperdine University, and I retired 20 years ago in San Diego.

And that's where I wrote my book, I am Loubo, and I'm here to talk to you.

And I apologize for once you wind me up, I can't shut up or so thank you very much.

I appreciate it.

Thank you for that powerful story.

Do you have more comments?

Oh, yeah, yeah, go, go.

Thank you, Mr.

Pesci.

I hope everyone will uh go to Amazon.

He has actually three books at least and check it out.

Um I I just want to say that this serves us as a great reminder.

There is no place for hate, especially not in America.

San Diego must remain a safe and welcoming city for all people and serve as an example to the rest of our country.

We must uplift our neighbors and embrace our differences for a better, stronger community.

All of us are loved.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Pesci.

Can I take that as a motion to uh move the proclamations?

Yes, please move all the proclamations.

All right, thank you.

Uh, we'll go next to Councilmember Whitburn.

Thank you, Council President.

Uh, I want to say congratulations to all of those being honored today.

We have no shortage of exceptional uh individuals and organizations in San Diego.

Uh and I want to thank my colleagues for bringing forth so many great proclamations this morning.

Uh I am pleased to join uh Council Members Campbell and Campillo and Ila Rivera in bringing forward the proclamation, recognizing International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Uh Mr.

Pashi, it is a privilege to have you with us today.

Thank you for uh being here today and for sharing some of your experience.

Uh and I think Councilmember Campbell gave us an indication of just how meaningful and powerful this day is for so many people.

Days like today are not just important to honor the victims of the Holocaust 81 years ago, but also to use this day to reflect on the societal conditions that led to the start of the Holocaust discrimination and scapegoating and intolerance led to the death of millions.

And it is important that we never forget how susceptible our society is to normalizing hateful and divisive rhetoric.

Let us never forget the atrocities of the Holocaust.

Let us never repeat the intolerance and the inaction that allowed it to happen.

And I am pleased to see so many bright young minds in our council.

In our council chambers today, and we are counting on you to be the future for this country that we all hope to see.

And I am pleased to second the motion.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Whitburn.

Uh go to our city attorney.

Thank you so much.

I um usually don't bring pogamation.

So today it is my privilege and honor to recognize a dedicated public servant in the city attorney's office, assistant city attorney Paige Fulkman.

Over her 22 years serving the city, Paige has shown incredible commitment, leadership, and skill.

Well, I'm so excited for Paige and her retirement.

I know the office won't be quite the same without her.

Paige is a native San Diegan who attended Freemont Elementary, Roosevelt Junior High, and San Diego High School.

She received her bachelor's degree from UC Riverside and a jurisdoctorate from California Western School of Law.

She started her legal career in the city attorney's office in 2002 as a paid intern and quickly rose through the ranks.

In 2004, Paige became a criminal prosecutor, and in 2006, she transitioned to our workers' compensation unit.

In 2008, she joined the police legal unit of the civil advisory division, significantly impacting public safety in our city.

Paige's leadership as chief of the public safety unit resulted in vital contributions to the city, like the safe storage of firearms ordinance.

Over her career, she's worked alongside four police chiefs.

And in 2022, she became the assistant city prosecutor and assistant city attorney overseeing a team of almost 200 individuals dedicated to keeping our community safe.

Her initiatives in recruitment, race blind charging, and diversion programs, such as the sex trafficking education and prevention program, have left a lasting legacy.

Paige has been a strong mentor for new attorneys in the office, providing guidance, support, and inspiration.

Her dedication to empowering the next generation of legal professionals ensures that her influence will be felt for years to come.

I'm so happy to join Councilmember Von Wilbert and Council Member Campio, who also work closely with Paige in our office and celebrating today as assistant city attorney Paige Folkman Day.

Thank you, Paige, for your incredible service and unwavering commitment to our community, and thank you to her wife, Jill, for sharing Paige with a grateful office.

Paige, congratulations on your retirement.

You will be greatly missed.

Thank you, City Attorney.

We'll go next to Councilmember Elo Rivera.

All right.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, everyone, uh, for being here today.

Uh, thank you, my colleagues, for bringing forward the proclamations um that um we have in front of us.

I before getting into the Holocaust Remembrance Day do want to say uh congratulations to uh our Patrick Henry flag football team.

Um as someone who's been a long time coaching high school sports.

I know how much dedication it takes to succeed, and how much sacrifice it takes, and want to make sure um you all know that we appreciate that work and it's gonna set you up for lots of success in the future.

So, congratulations.

Um thank you, uh Councilmember Campbell, Councilman Whitburn, and Councilmember Campillo for joining me in recognizing Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Uh Mr.

Petchy, thank you for sharing your story um for for being here today um and and sharing that.

Um as was mentioned, today is a day to remember the six million Jewish people who were systematically murdered in the Holocaust.

Families, communities, uh entire generations targeted for extermination by a regime that was built on hatred and dehumanization.

We also recognize the millions of other people who were persecuted and killed by the Nazis.

Roma people, people with disabilities, LGBTQ plus individuals, political dissidents, and anyone who is deemed undesirable.

So for me as a Jew, the Holocaust teaches me a truth that I don't think any of us should ever forget, and that is violence often begins with words, with lies, and with stripping people of their humanity with dehumanization.

And when any group is portrayed as less than human or less deserving of basic human rights or as a problem that must be eliminated, the worst atrocities in human history can follow.

So remembrance is certainly about recognizing the past.

It's also very much about a responsibility in the present and in the future.

And I I see a call to action in that, an urgent one, and that we must never allow anyone anywhere to be dehumanized.

Not in schools, in politics, media, in communities, nowhere.

Uh, because again, history shows us that when Haiti is tolerant tolerated, it grows.

Um, as many folks um have shared who uh survived the Holocaust.

Uh it wasn't just the Nazis themselves who perpetrated the the worst atrocities, but the people who stood silently and allowed that to happen.

And there was courageous neighbors who stepped up and put their own lives on the line to protect people from those horrors.

And I believe that honoring the victims of the Holocaust means standing up every day for the dignity, humanity, and safety of everyone.

And that never again means never again for anyone anywhere.

Uh with with that, I do want to recognize that it feels incredibly important in this moment.

Thank you, Council Whitburn, for for mentioning that, and Councilmember Campbell.

Council Whipur, and I think about where we stood this weekend.

I think about other community members here in San Diego who've been called trash and garbage by the most powerful person in the world.

And how that sort of dehumanization sets the table for the atrocities, the worst atrocities that we've ever seen.

And so again, as a Jew, I sit with that, not just as a way of honoring those who came before me, but with a deep sense of responsibility to ensure that can never be done anywhere to anyone.

So thank you again for bringing this forward.

And this is very heavy time, but a time that makes recognitions like this that much more important.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, Councilmember Yulovera, we'll go next to Councilmember Foster.

Oh, yes, thank you, Council President.

And just want to, you know, there's several proclamations, but really just um want to say uh congratulations to the Patrick Henry Flag football um team.

Um also um looks like we have of Mr.

Conk here, um, 35 years of service um in our library system.

Thank you for all the work that you have done.

And I also um just want to take a quick moment to recognize um Paige.

Um had the pleasure of working with Paige in all of the public safety items that we were dealing with as I was the chief of staff for now Supervisor Monica Montgomery Step.

Um your efforts were very helpful in what I think uh was moving forward with some very significant um legislation for a few items.

Um and so just want to thank you for um all of that work.

Um also um just want to touch upon the international um Holocaust Remembrance Day and really want to thank um my colleagues, Councilmembers Campbell, Whitburn Campillo, and Councilmember Ilo Rivera for bringing this important proclamation forward.

This moment asks us to remember lives lost and to sit with the weight of a history shaped by cruelty and exclusion.

These stories matter because they show us what happens when fear is weaponized and entire communities are dehumanized.

In today's climate, as we are witnessing aggressive enforcement, displacement, and continued targeting of immigrant and historically disenfranchised communities.

We must not forget the true history of genocide, of hate, and racism.

Rather, we must continue to stand together to speak the truth of history's past and ensure we do everything we can to not go backwards.

San Diego is built on many cultures and faiths, and our responsibility to one another must be rooted in compassion, dignity, and the courage to stand up when harm is happening.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to being a city where all people, all humans, all of God's children are welcome, protected, valued, seen, and most of all, loved.

Um just to um the gentleman that spoke, um, thank you for sharing those stories.

Um, and and I must say I commend you for being able to keep a smile on your face as you deliver those stories.

And I hope we truly listen to the story, we understand the story, and we continue to move forward together.

So thank you so much.

That concludes my comments.

All right.

Thank you, Councilmember Foster.

We'll go next to Councilmember Von Wolbert.

Um thank you very much, and thank you for the students for being here today, being part of your government.

Hopefully, many of you will run for office someday and be our next leaders.

Congratulations on all the hard work you are doing.

Um, on item 30.

I also want to um recognize Robert Cronk for 35 years of dedicated service to the city of St.

Diego and the city's public libraries.

I recently learned that Bob was going to be retiring, and I said it's too soon.

Uh we we could take another 35 years of your leadership as well.

Um I also want to honor that he has not only worked in every level of the library system from branch management to deputy director of public services, uh, to ensuring equitable and high quality library services city wild, citywide, so that every child, no matter what zip code you come from, you have access to uh a wonderful, brilliant, beautiful library services.

I also want to recognize Bob's collaborative leadership, mentorship, and commitment to fostering a positive and inclusive workplace culture for all.

And it acknowledge your lasting contributions to advancing the San Diego Public Library's mission as a place for opportunity, discovery, and inspiration, and your work for your colleagues.

You have been a leader in our union movement for a long time, and we appreciate the work you've done.

So I'm very proud to be proclaiming February 5th, 2026, as Robert Cronk Day in the City of San Diego.

On item S501, I also am proud to be joining City Attorney Heather Ferbert and Councilmember Campio.

Councilmember Campio just had a baby.

He and his wife are out on a paternity leave and maternity leave right now, but I know that Councilmember Campio Paige also sends his love your way.

Page's career in the city attorney's office reflects a deep commitment to public safety, legal excellence, and service.

She has held critical leadership roles that strengthen partnerships across city departments and supported all of our essential operations.

As a leader in our public safety unit and later in the criminal and community justice division, Paige has modernized division practices, mentored rising legal professionals, including me when I was a deputy city attorney, advanced initiatives that made our justice system more effective and more equitable.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Paige provided steady legal guidance to the mayor's office and city leadership, helping ensure continuing operations at the city during an unprecedented time in our community.

Page's integrity, professionalism, and dedication have made a lasting impact on the city of San Diego.

It is an honor to recognize her today and to proclaim February 2nd, 2026 as Paige Folkland Day in the City of San Diego.

And finally, I'd like to take a moment with my colleagues to recognize Holocaust Remembrance Day.

My colleagues have made beautiful remarks today from the SDIS.

And thank you to Lubo as well for being here and sharing your story.

You know, we're all going to take a moment, we're all here in this chamber anyway, going to take a moment to honor the more than six million Jewish people and millions of others whose lives were taken and murdered during one of history's darkest chapters in this world.

And we remember the survivors who continue to share their stories, the families who carry this history forward, even here in San Diego County, and the responsible responsibility we all share to ensure that hatred and dehumanization never take root in our society again.

And we're seeing a time when anti-Semitism and hate is unfortunately rising around the world.

We saw what happened in Bondy Beach in Australia over the holidays.

We saw what happened in Jackson, Mississippi, just a few weeks ago when the only synagogue in the state capitol was burned by a self-proclaimed white supremacist.

Last year, I was very proud to join many of my colleagues here to dedicate city funding from our community projects, programs, and services program to support the Remember Us the Holocaust, an educational program honoring survivors of San Diego County Holocaust survivors here in our San Diego library systems.

I'm also grateful for the community partners who are helping step up to fight hate, and I invite you all to come to the public safety committee meeting that I'm leading this Friday, in which we will be having an entire meeting addressing how the city of San Diego is standing up to hate crimes, standing up to anti-Semitism, working with our county partners to make sure that everybody feels safe from hate crimes in the city of San Diego.

So please do come.

And Holocaust Remembrance Day matters even more now because remembering it's how we honor the millions of lives lost, but also how we guard against letting hatred, dehumanization, and authoritarianism take root again.

History repeats itself when we ignore it or try to erase it.

And here at home in our government, we're watching efforts to scrub our own public memory.

In May of 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring all of our national parks to report any information that tells a negative story about American history, needs to be removed.

Since then, we have seen national parks removing images and lessons about slavery.

We've seen our national parks take down pictures of Chinese exclusion.

We have seen entire museums about the Japanese American internment closed.

And we are even watching the federal government attempting to rewrite or minimize the history of the January 6th insurrection.

That kind of erasure of our own American history does not make us stronger or more united.

It makes us vulnerable to the exact kind of things that led to the Holocaust.

So we have a responsibility and a duty to keep remembering, to keep teaching, to keep telling the truth about our past.

Because only by facing it honestly can we learn to heal from it as a nation and never repeat it again.

So thank you to my colleagues for being strong on the city council.

I'm so proud to be a member of the city.

So kudos to all the uh retiring city employees there, and thank you to my colleagues for remembering them and recognizing them.

All right.

Okay.

Uh, with the birth of their recent child, uh, wasn't put a lot of proclamations forward and was not here to um uh speak to a lot of them.

Um but I want to make sure that uh all the ones that he uh recognized um, including Mr.

Crotick uh Joel Crotic Day.

Is he is Joel in the audience today?

Do you want to come up and say a few words?

We don't often ask uh recipients to talk for themselves, but I want to give you an opportunity.

Gee, thanks.

Um, I just have to say what an incredible honor.

I've just finished almost 23 years working for Jewish Family Service of San Diego, which is no question one of the finest organizations I have ever encountered.

Um it was a privilege to work for them for so long and be a part of such an amazing organization.

And so the fact that they're honoring me today is very, very humbling, and thank you all very much for this opportunity.

And thank you for your service.

Thank you.

Uh Jewish Family Services does every day and is a great partner with the City of San Diego.

Uh so with that, not seeing anybody else in the lights.

We have a motion by Councilmember Campbell and a second by Councilmember Whitburn to move the proclamations.

Clerk, please call the vote.

I started the voting system, please cast your vote.

And that passes unanimously eight to zero with Council Member Campio absent.

Thank you, Council President.

All right.

Uh with that, we will take a short pause as we're going to take photos, because we don't want you all come down here without getting a photo opportunity.

And we're going to start with Mr.

Kroc.

So if you and your family and friends want to come up.

And then for the rest of you, look for Heidi in the purple top, who will direct who is next.

All right, we're gonna get back to the city council's business.

So if you could take your seats and settle in We will now proceed with the approval of the consent items, but first I understand uh item one oh four appointment to the San Diego Convention Center Corporation.

Uh is being returned to staff.

It'll be returned at the next available date.

Okay.

Um don't read anything into that.

It's just a procedural issue.

So are there any requests to pull any of the consent items?

I don't hear any.

So clerk, please proceed with public comment on the consent items.

Please notice we'll have one minute per item per person.

If you would like to speak on three or more items, you will have a maximum of three minutes.

The consent agenda includes items fifty through fifty-four, one hundred through one oh three, and one oh five, one oh seven through one oh nine, s five hundred and s five oh three with one oh four being returned as mentioned.

Also, let me know for the record the potential appointments and reappointments that are on the agenda this morning.

Item one hundred five is the potential appointment of Sohail Nux to the Board of Building Appeals and Advisors.

Item 107 is the potential appointment and reappointments of Grace Jones, Cynthia Rose Harris, Stan Williams, Eric Lardy, and Abe Annabel Yi Gong to the resiliency advisory board.

If you we do have some comments here in Council Chamber, starting with Bob Kazuski, if you can please come up to the microphone, you will have three minutes for items 107, 50, 51, and 52.

And if I can ask the following individuals to please come up to the front row, Paul Krueger.

Bob Kazuski, um, I just want to speak on uh as far as 107 advisory boards, you know my standard speech.

Uh you have a resiliency advisory board.

I'm not even sure what resiliency is supposed to mean in the city of San Diego, but you don't have an advisory board for the one thing that you know you don't have any expertise in, which is the Tory Pines Glider port.

As far as the other items, um, these are all contracts, subcontracts, and I have to ask why the city isn't able to provide these uh employees to do these jobs yourself.

In particular, the Highland Cloud contract.

When I go to the city's website, the City of San Diego, San Diego.gov, and I look for the uh agenda for today's meeting.

What do I get directed to?

I get redirected to San Diego.highlandcloud dot com.

Now we have a lot of young people in here, and they'll all tell you, in case you guys don't know, that San Diego.highlandcloud.com is a domain owned by Highland Cloud.

It is not a San Diego domain, it is not San Diego.gov, which you are paying for and which you already have.

I don't understand why our agendas are not served from the City of San Diego's own website.

Why do I have to go to a third party to some business we don't know what their agenda is and get our agenda from this council meeting from their website?

The city clerk can't put the agenda on our own website, they can't put up PDF and serve it from our own website.

The outsourcing of city contracts and city services to outside organizations should only be done as a last resort.

Thank you.

Next is Paul Kruger.

Okay.

Uh for the proclamations where there's a lot of enthusiasm and excitement, we do the applause for these items that are a little more business oriented.

Uh, if you want to indicate your support, thumbs up.

If you don't like what you're hearing, thumbs down.

But that way we can just keep the meeting going.

So thank you.

Paul Kruger.

You're speaking on items 100, S500, and S503, as well as item 51.

You'll have three minutes, please proceed.

Thank you.

Um thank you very much for uh listening to the public.

Uh I just wanted to make a couple brief comments about um item 51.

Item 51 extends a contract for public art to total cost of more than a million dollars.

And I just wanted you to give some thought to uh the concerns the public has raised about the need to um identify budget items that that might be uh reduced or cut uh as an alternative to increasing fees and taxes.

And well, you'll probably find no one more supportive of public art.

I think it's incumbent on the council to look for ways to fund public art than the use of taxpayer money.

Many foundations have stepped forward in these times to work with governments that are strapped for cash.

And I hope in the future that you will, if not today, uh give more critical thought to items like these that are something we'd like to see government do in times other than these.

Um that goes also for the I believe it's 779,000 that council members spend on nonprofits that they deem to be uh beneficial to their communities.

That you should look at every expenditure that you're making and think about how much money that could save and avoid charging people with really what are very retroaggressive taxes and fees.

You know that in Balboa Park, those of us fortunate enough to either uh not think twice about paying uh eight or sixteen dollars for parking, or who can afford an Uber or whatever, are not the ones as Councilwoman Moreno points out, who are most deeply affected.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for those concluding comments.

I'm sorry, the five-minute timer going to those participating remotely.

Blair Beekman, if you can please unmute and let me know which item or items you wish to speak to.

Hi, uh Blair Beekman.

Um I just wanted to speak to one item, and let me get it out here.

It is the item 51.

Thank you.

Please proceed.

Great.

Hi.

Hi, everyone.

Uh happy Tuesday.

Happy uh day to everyone that we're uh thinking of our lives uh after the carnage of Minneapolis.

We're trying to begin to rebuild.

Thank you.

Uh good luck to all of us in that effort.

I wanted to quickly comment that um the uh about the public artwork for the Pure Water North uh City Public Art Project as we ponder and meditate over such artwork, whatever it will be decided as.

I hope we can be considering our our process.

You had a great environmental uh committee item last week on a lot of pure water issues, by the way.

Um, I hope we can be considering the the role of our city government in the pure water process.

How is that part of rate raising or not a part of rate raising for water rates at this time?

It has to be an open, clear conversation what pure water is doing to our economic systems here in San Diego.

Please thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes.

Oh, sorry, Kathleen Lippett, if you can please unmute.

Please let me know which item or items you wish to speak to.

Thank you.

I just wanted to point out that yes, artwork is critically important.

However, perhaps the city's residents who are harmed by the floods might be able to use that 171,000 more productively.

Just a thought.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes public comment on the consent agenda.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

We'll now turn it over to my colleagues for questions, comments, and retina motion.

We'll start with Council Member Whitburn.

Thank you, Council President.

Happy to move the consent agenda.

Uh congratulate Sohail Dakshab on his appointment of the Board of Building Appeals and Advisors.

Uh, Mr.

Dockshab has had an exceptional career as an architect and engineer with extensive experience at Mission Hills at East Village and Bankers Hill.

Uh, he's going to be a great addition to the Board of Building Appeals and Advisors.

And on item S500, I want to congratulate the many local organizations being supported this year for District 3's CPPS program.

Uh some of the organizations include those that provide educational programs for children and youth, nonprofit agencies that provide services for seniors who are out of fixed income, uh, business improvement organizations, organizations that support the LGBTQ community, and organizations that help people who are experiencing homelessness.

This year's process was particularly competitive due to the impacts of federal cuts, which increase demand for local support.

On that note, uh I want to recognize and thank all the applicants uh of the meaningful and impactful work they do in District 3 and across our city.

And lastly, I also want to thank uh council administration for all of their hard work uh throughout this process.

There's a lot of work that goes into these uh programs, uh especially uh Blocky Baliki uh and uh Abby Edwards for their guidance and coordination uh to move all of these uh allocations forward.

So uh thanks to them, but thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Whipur.

We do have a motion by Councilmember Whitburn to move the staff or to move the consent items.

We'll go next to Councilmember Von Wilbert.

Um thank you very much.

Um, and uh I'm happy to second the motion, um, but again, I'd like to register an I no vote on item 51, please, since this is an expired contract.

Um item 105, the appointment of Sean Dixon to the San Diego Mention Center has been moved, so I will not make comments about that yet.

Um I am excited though for Elephant Valley to be opening up in the San Diego Safari Park.

I still call the Wild Animal Park, having grown up here.

Uh, but that's coming very soon in March, so stay tuned.

On item 107, I do want to thank uh Mr.

Stan Williams for his continued service uh to and longstanding commitment to advancing resiliency and sustainability in our communities.

Mr.

Williams brings extraordinary expertise in water resource management and flood mitigation, including over a decade of leadership as CEO of the Santa Clara Valley Water District and federal service with FEMA through his consulting work.

He has helped communities developed forward-thinking water policies that balance ecological stewardship with the needs of residents, businesses, and agriculture.

I'm proud to support his reappointment, and I'm confident his experience and vision will continue to strengthen our city's long-term resiliency planning.

So thank you for your service to the board.

I appreciate you.

And um very proud to be supporting all of our arts and culture programs, including the work that we are doing to support uh remember us the Holocaust and nonprofit to eradicate hate and anti-Semitism in our communities.

We also supported Bloom Collective, which is doing mental health work for low-income folks who cannot have access to therapists on our streets and many other nonprofits, and you know uh public art to me is something incredibly important.

Uh, if you go to uh Franklin Delanore Roosevelt's memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., you can see the work he did about public art, especially during the New Deal and uh the Great Depression.

And he has an statement stating that art in America has always belonged to the people, and it is fostering our American culture, resilience, and employment.

So proud to be supporting public art here in the city too.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Von Worpert.

So again, we have a motion by Councilmember Whitburn and a second by Councilmember Von Wolpert to move the consent items.

We'll go next to Councilmember Campbell.

Thank you so much.

I'd also like to speak on item 107.

I am honored that Cynthia Harris, a resident of Behoe in District 2 in Claremont, is willing to be reappointed to the resiliency advisory board.

Cynthia received a JD from the New York University School of Law.

Her areas of expertise include space and environmental law, climate change, water resources, also federal Indian law and indigenous rights.

She worked once for San Diego City Councilmember Marty Amherald, so she was right here in the city and council as policy advisor and community liaison.

And then she became the first director of the Institute for Environmental Sovereignty at the National Congress of American Indians.

She also was director of the tribal programs and deputy director of the Center for State Tribal and Local Local Environmental Programs at the Environmental Law Institute.

Given her ample experience working in the environmental field, I support the reappointment of Cynthia Harris to the resiliency advisory board, and I so appreciate her willingness to continue to serve.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Campbell.

We'll go next to Councilmember Foster.

Yes, thank you, Council President.

And I just um just briefly um item 503, the FY26 Community Projects Programs and Services funding allocations from District 4.

Just really want to thank all of the organizations, um, all of the um folks who helped to identify a gap and step in that gap and to provide the services that they bring to the community.

So just thank you for all the work that you do as we continue to move forward.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Foster.

Uh, not seeing anybody else in the lights.

We do have a motion by Councilmember Whipper and a second by Councilmember Von Wilbert.

Please call the roll, Clerk.

Start at the voting system, please cast your vote.

That does pass unanimously uh with Councilmember Campio absenting council member von Wilper voting no on item 51.

All right, thank you for that.

Uh next up, uh, do we have any comments by mayor's staff, city council members, city attorney, independent budget analyst, or city clerk.

Not seeing any, we'll move right along.

We will now take up non-agenda public comment.

Council members respect and appreciate the public's input and are fully committed to protecting every participant's free speech rights at council and committee meetings.

Clerk, please proceed with public comment.

Thank you.

If you're in chambers, please submit your speaker slip now.

If you are joining us virtually, please raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon or a call on participants star nine.

If I can have the following individuals, please come up to the mic or to the front row.

Cara um Dowdy, if you can please come up to the microphone, and then we have um Ka Hallett and then Bob Kazuski.

And then Bob Kazuski.

K-A-B-G.

Yeah, if you can just speak into the microphone, though, so that those on the Zoom can also hear you.

So once upon a time, I lived in the convention center during coronavirus.

They moved us to supportive housing, permanent supportive housing.

It was uh labeled as a business address.

We lived there for five years, and we believe it should be residential, but it hasn't been.

Because it is business, they handle our mail.

Sometimes they don't give us our mail or packages because they don't feel like it for no reason.

Um also we have had mold problems from day one.

Several people have died.

We believe it's because of the mold.

A code inspector recently verified the mold was in our building and told them to take care of the problem.

Where they moved has the people into hotels for like two months.

When they came back, the code inspector said they did not fix it.

They only did the hallways and not the apartments the people lived in.

Okay.

As we've lived there, we were told several times that um elevators were broken for months and months at a time, sometimes years.

Disabled people using the stairs in pain just to find out.

They lied.

The elevators were working, they simply turned them off.

No one seems to be able to make anybody responsible to the way that we live.

No one is stopping them.

Close inspectors said one more time, our place will be shut down.

What will happen to us?

So many special people have um requested special circumstances.

Like a lady with uh missing two legs on the fifth floor, simply requested to be put onto a lower floor.

Or mine.

I have a dog of 22 years old who's blind and has a heart condition.

I simply requested my stroller outside my door so I can get her to the bathroom faster.

I'm only one person trying to help.

So many more.

There are so many people with voices and stories.

Um, I don't know where to start.

But if we were a residential, would we matter more?

I don't know if there's any way that we could become residential to be noticed or what I can do to fix anything.

But that's why I'm here today.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next we have um Ka?

Kate.

Kate.

Oh, my sloppy handwriting.

But all right.

Uh sorry.

It's okay.

Uh good morning, council members.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

Um I'm speaking today not as a partisan, but as a San Diego resident and as someone who has seen firsthand what certain policies mean in real human terms.

Um, history teaches us something very clear.

Systems of mass detention do not begin with atrocities, they begin with silence.

Uh today's Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day the world pauses to remember where dehumanization, detention, and silence ultimately led.

That remembrance is not only about the past, it is meant to sharpen our moral awareness in the present.

When harm is carried out using our tax dollars, our silence, or our proto political cover, neutrality is not neutral, it is participation.

I want to share that last year a boat capsized just offshore near my home, and I helped pull people from the water who were arriving here, seeking what every human wants, which is safety, freedom, and a life worth living.

As I held one woman and helped regulate her body temperature in that moment, I felt that connection changed me.

They were not a threat to our society.

There were people just like us, exhausted, human beings clinging to hope.

This experience changed me.

So I'm here to talk about the detention center down in Otai.

I'm asking that the public council please publicly oppose ICE activity that causes harm in our communities.

Urge the mayor, you the San Diego police department to protect residents and limit cooperation with ICE immigrant enforcements to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Because currently our community is running watch 24-7, keeping our people safe with watch groups.

Um I'm also asking the council to address serious human rights concerning connected to the detention facilities in Ota Mesa calling for transparency, oversight, and fair due process and using your platform to advocate for humane treatment and to refuse cooperations with policies that harm our neighbors.

Thank you.

If you do have additional if you do have additional comments, you can email them to City Clerk at Sandiego.gov and we'll distribute it to the council as well.

Thank you.

Bob Kazuski?

Close the video, please.

Thank you.

So what's what's Todd Gloria gonna do about the Tory Mind Sliderboard?

What are you gonna do about the desk?

So Todd, what are you gonna do about the deaths and abuses of the glider portal?

What are you gonna do as mayor?

I don't have a medopter right now.

When will you have glider public debts?

What are you gonna tell us what you're gonna do about it?

Will you tell us tonight?

I don't have a medal tonight, no bomb, I don't.

When will you have one?

I don't have an answer for you right now, Bob.

Public land should serve the public.

Public land should serve the public.

Public land should serve the public.

Public land should serve the public.

Public land should serve the public.

Public land should serve the public.

Public land should serve the public.

Public land should serve the public.

Public land should serve the public.

Public land should serve the public.

Public land should serve the public.

Thank you.

Next is Paul Kruger.

Thank you very much.

I know you've all paid close attention to the news reports, but I haven't seen you in the park in this last weekend when we saw these number one, the tremendous outpouring of opposition to paid parking in the park.

It was one thing for people to hear about something from their neighbors about there's going to be paid parking in the park, and a completely different thing when people show up and see the reality, not only of how much they're gonna have to pay in the park, but of a system that doesn't really work for most anybody who tried to use it.

Let me state that I am unequivocally opposed to paid parking in Balboa Park, and that I stress the regressiveness, as I've said before, of this parking which harms over and above anybody, those who can least afford it, and is so terribly unfair in charging um people in neighboring communities who pay taxes when they eat and work.

Many of them work in San Diego.

But just um an anecdote, I was talking with the artists who sell their artwork right across from the Oregon View pavilion parking lot, and they were telling me about the precipitous decline in business.

But one woman said, you know, this Chinese couple came over to me.

They could speak English pretty well, but they couldn't read, they don't read English.

And when they looked at the sign, they had absolutely no idea what to do in terms of how to pay for parking.

I also tried to use the app, and let me tell you, it's confounding.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm starting the five-minute timer going to those participating remotely.

We have nine speakers in the queue with their hands raised.

Please be sure to raise your hand before the five minute expires.

Madison, if you can please unmute.

Okay, thank you.

Um, so this morning I just wanted to talk about how in public debates about drug policy, we often hear the claim that marijuana is no worse than alcohol, and therefore should be treated the same or easier.

That comparison might be convenient, but according to decades of neuroscience and clinical research, it is a false equivalence.

As Dr.

Bertha Madras, a Harvard medical school neuroscientist and expert in addiction, explains marijuana and alcohol produce fundamentally different medical and psychiatric harms.

Treating them as interchangeable ignores those differences and puts public health at risk.

Take one example.

Vomiting.

Alcohol-related vomiting is typically an acute, self-limited response to excessive intake.

Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, by contrast, is a chronic condition caused by long-term marijuana use.

Patients experience relentless cyclical vomiting, sometimes dozens of times per day.

The only effective treatment is complete abstinence from marijuana.

These are not comparable conditions.

The psychiatric risks also differ sharply.

Long-term studies show that cannabis induced psychosis converts to schizophrenia at much higher rates than alcohol-induced psychosis.

This risk is especially pronounced in adolescents and young adults whose brains are still developing.

This association has been observed for over a century and repeatedly confirmed by modern research.

Alcohol is undeniably harmful and remains a major public health challenge, but we should also be acknowledging marijuana's distinct risk and not excuse alcohol's damage as well.

It simply rejects the idea that one harmful substance justifies another.

So let's pay attention to that and educate yourselves on the issues that seriously affect our youth.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next is Terry Ann Skelly, then Blair Beekman, then Barbara Gordon.

Terri Ann, please unmute.

Proceed.

Good morning, San Diego City Council.

My name is Terry Ann Skelly.

I'm a parent and public health educator and also a planning group member.

I came this morning to share information from the U.S.

Surgeon General Periodic General's report, and it's entitled Eliminating Tobacco Related Disease and Death Addressing Disparities.

The report especially dealt with the role of secondhand smoke and vapor contributing to unclean air, which has a much higher toll on less advantaged people.

And it has two main strategies that apply to San Diego City Council.

Strategy one is implement smoke-free and vape-free policies for public places and apartment complexes.

And number two, making smoking and vaping products less appealing and less available.

The Surgeon General advises that the advertising, promotion, billboards, and sponsorships of smoking and vaping products be highly restricted and out of sight of children and young adults.

And to limit the number and density of retailers of smoking and vaping products, which is either tobacco, marijuana, or CBD products.

The stores for tobacco, marijuana, and CBD smoking and vaping products notoriously are located in communities of concern because it's cheaper to locate there.

And communities of concern are less likely to have medical resources and education regarding the physical and mental hazards of smoking and vaping.

So now is the time for our city council to hold the course.

No more stores that sell tobacco, marijuana, or CBD smoking and vaping products here in our city.

Thank you for hearing me this morning.

Thank you.

Next is Blair Beekman.

If you can please unmute, then Barbara Gordon.

And Catherine Libett.

Blair Beekman.

Hi, thank you.

I got my facts a little wrong yesterday.

It's 400,000 plus that Obama was deporting back in 2012 and 13.

Really large numbers, and I don't think he was doing it with such violence that Trump is using currently.

If Trump could bring it down to those levels, that's still a hefty, hefty number.

And learn to do it like Obama did without as much violence.

Um that would be accomplishing a lot, wouldn't it?

Shouldn't we be talking in those terms?

At the very least, I think we have a have to larger immigration conversation.

Thankfully, uh, about yeah, overall.

But uh, thankfully, Trump is beginning to reduce ice age in Minnesota.

It may be beginning with time of reflection.

Um, hopefully, um, this time of reflection can allow San Diego City uh to, in the next few months to begin again to turn our attention to best practices and better balancing neighborhood public safety and the use of neighborhood surveillance technology.

It's a tremendous relief that the city of Oakland is finding ways to offer uh Oakland, the SF area and this planet ways a community can work together to more openly question and clearly address neighborhood public safety, its surveillance technology and data collection, law enforcement, and more local control of national security priorities and learning to leave flock surveillance.

This may be good examples of patients and compromise for the future of Oakland and simply may be a shining guiding light for its council and community for better decision making based on items of peace, open community democracy, and love life as how to more clearly better address community public safety, civil rights, civil protections, law enforcement, and national security.

In the upcoming comprehensive full review of the trust ordinance and San Diego's use of tech and data collection, I hope there can be open public discussion that reduced placement of surveillance tech in local neighborhoods can also do the same amounts of public safety work as a plethora or over saturation of tech in a local neighborhood.

Good luck.

We can go over this stuff soon, guys.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next is Barbara Gordon, if you can please unmute.

Thank you.

As a public health advocate and someone who works with young people, it is crucial to understand the patterns considering considering drug use.

As the new year begins, I want to share the current drug landscaping in our city.

The opiate crisis continues to pose significant challenges with synthetic opiates like fentanyl continue to contribute to overdose deaths.

This trend is exasperated by the increased availability of methamphetamine, nitric oxide inhalants, cocaine, pratum, kratom products like 70H.

These substance often mix with other drugs, making them even more dangerous and impacting residents across socioeconomic boundaries.

The blending of stimulants and depressants can create unprecedented effects, heightening the risk associated with use, especially with our kids.

Additionally, the normalization of marijuana, particularly among youth, raises concern regarding the mental health and substance use disorder.

Research shows that Americans are dependent on marijuana more than any other illic illicit drugs.

Data indicates 30% of current users follow cannabis use disorder.

It is imperative that we collaborate with public health officers, law enforcement, community organizations to develop a more comprehensive strategy designed to combat drug use.

And by fostering prevention, we can address these trends and work towards a healthier, safer community, especially with our young people.

Thank you for letting me speak.

Thank you.

Next is Kathleen Lippett, if you can please unmute.

Kathleen, they can unmute for you.

Yeah, there you go.

Thank you.

Sorry.

Um, thank you for letting me speak.

I think there is little appreciation today for the very serious side effects of marijuana, heavy marijuana use.

The onerous and misguided COVID policies stopped the life of John, uh, Joshua John, 29-year-old Texan.

He was misguided, and five years later, he was on a rooftop shooting at federal agents.

He attacked one and killed another person.

But this is just one example of many, and we failed to follow the data that would illuminate these many serious assault violent assaults and murders that are the result of the mental illness caused by heavy marijuana use.

Man who killed two children in a shooting at a Catholic church in late August.

He blamed cannabis for his gender transition and his mental illness.

Gender and weed effed up my head, he said.

And I wish I could have stopped vaping, but I couldn't.

If I could have, I could have stopped myself from doing this attack.

But I just don't want to.

It is unbelievable that our public electeds want to continue to support this industry.

Your opinions about marijuana are only half opinions because you are only posting what you think are the positive side effects.

And then that's money.

Your time has concluded, Becky Rapp, if you can please unmute.

Good morning, um, Chair and Council members.

My name is Becky Rapp.

I'm a member of my local planning group, and I'm here today out of great concern.

For a growing public safety risk that's that often is unaccounted for, um, cost of the city resources associated with marijuana sales.

Last week, a marijuana delivery driver was shot in the neck during a robbery.

That incident involved multiple suspects, a firearm helicopters, and major law enforcement response.

Thankfully, the victims survived, but we know that crash, sorry, that cash-based marijuana delivery creates targets for violent crime.

Marijuana delivery drivers are known targets.

They carry product and cash and often work alone and move through our residential neighborhoods.

That increases the risks of armed robbery, gun violence, and danger, not only to workers, but to residents who live nearby.

This safety threat comes with real public cost.

Police response and overtime, helicopters, emergency medical services, investigations, court proceedings, and long-term impacts on community safety.

These are taxpayer funded expenses.

For years, residents and planning groups have asked the city for a full independent audit of the marijuana department.

Not just revenue, but the true burden on public safety, including police, fire, emergency response, and code enforcement.

We're still waiting for a transparent accounting that compares those costs to the profits the city claims this industry generates.

The public deserves a clear understanding of the financial impacts as well as the real public safety concerns this industry has on our city.

Thank you.

Thank you, Peggy Walker.

If you can please unmute, we have three speakers left in the queue.

No other speakers will be taken.

Thank you.

Good morning.

I want to share with you what I see in my work following the marijuana industry.

And that's almost daily science-based findings raising concerns about unproven medical claims for marijuana.

Most recently, a series of peer-reviewed articles confirms what medical experts have long warned.

Scientific evidence does not support broad claims of so-called medical marijuana and fines, harms often outweigh claimed benefits.

A comprehensive review of 2500 scientific studies published in JAMA concluded that evidence supporting medical marijuana is weak and found further that one third of individuals using marijuana for quote medical purposes meet criteria for addiction.

The study reported 27% of US and Canadian adults use marijuana to treat conditions like pain, anxiety, and insomnia.

But scientific evidence fails to support effectiveness for those conditions.

Findings showed that only specific FDA approved pharmaceutical grade cannabinoid products have demonstrated have demonstrated clinical benefits, and only for a limited number of conditions such as chemo-related nausea and certain pediatric seizure disorders.

For other health claims, evidence for medical use of dispensary marijuana fails to support clinical recommendation.

This raises a fundamental question for policymakers.

Why are we allowing marijuana dispensaries to continue what amounts to false advertising of cannabis as medicine when science disputes the claim?

Responsible leadership protects the public from misleading information.

That means stopping advertising.

Hi, this is Andrea Ebbing.

I don't know if it's because I'm so traumatized because I haven't seen my children in so long, and the incredible, I mean, like incomprehensible injustices that have taken place, like over and over and over and over again in this particular case from city and county officials who are paid very well with my tax dollars for like almost 30 years and my cooperation and contribution to society.

As a functioning member and resident of San Diego, I don't know if I've desensitized everybody to what happened to us, but I was almost murdered.

And my children were abducted.

I had full custody and protection of them.

Police reports went missing, uh, DA reports went missing, records were altered.

I recently learned that the RGIS system is one that is a nationwide uh, you know, a nationwide, all law enforcement and legal issues available in one system that would have helped us so much if it was used properly.

But, you know, even like in listening to the presentation about the RJ system at Sandag, like they have a figure up, like just to show you how much this stuff is being altered and lies and everything that's being portrayed to the public.

Uh, they had almost identical uh requests pulled between 24 and 25.

That's statistically impossible.

The data's wrong, and it's being altered and we're being lied to.

And I'm asking if we have so much compassion for people, why don't we have compassion for the community?

You mentioned um Marty von Wilper to not sit in silence and watch.

Please don't do the same with us.

Thank you.

Next is 8813, you're our final speaker, eight eight one three, please unmute.

Uh yes, uh, thank you, Andrea Ebbine for uh yeah, paying attention to what they do, in fact, do at Sandag and at the county, and uh throughout all of our county with these local government agencies and um the media too, quite frankly.

They are all in lockstep to you know fulfill an agenda, and they do not work for us.

They truly don't.

And it's time that people start waking up and paying attention to what happens not only with their local city boards, but also at the county, also at the waterboard districts, also at Sandag, because they are up to no good.

That's it, they're just up to no good.

So I will go continue my speech.

Okay, today is uh World Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day meant to remember what happens when governments grow arrogant, when power goes unchecked, when people comply out of fear, and when institutions forget who they are meant to serve.

And that's why I'm speaking today.

Because here in our county, there's one thing that has become painfully consistent across agencies.

From this board to Sandag to the county itself, you are all working in lockstep to keep the public struggling.

Trash fees goes up, parking fees, taxes go up, debt grows, and what do we get in return?

Millions wasted on things like inequitable bike lanes used by a nanofraction of our population while working families are crushed under rising costs just to live, drive, and survive in this county.

Um, and no progress, no equity.

Uh, this is not serving the people.

And um, yeah, so the question is, what good are you actually doing?

And why do we continue to vote for this type of system?

Because from where we stand, the result of your collective decisions is clear.

Less freedom, less mobility, more financial pressure, and more dependence.

Um now, yeah, on to the media because the media shaped the city.

Your time has concluded.

If you have any additional comments, you can email them in.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

We will now adjourn for the noon recess and reconvene open session at 2 p.m.

or shortly thereafter.

Thank you.

A place filled with belonging where everyone has the opportunity to be where they want to be.

And a community that's there for everyone.

I also want to thank the residents, the students, the educators, the business owners, and the city staff who contributed countless hours to creating this uh college area community plan update.

The plan lays the groundwork for up to 17,750 new housing opportunities for students like me.

That means a real chance to live closer to school, reduce our long commutes, and spend more time learning, working, and being a part of the campus and community that we care about.

A road diet and a usable park will not only activate the corridor, but connect the various neighborhoods and communities of permanent residents and students that tend to be isolated.

From housing affordability to transit access, safe streets, welcoming public spaces, all directly affect whether or not students can focus on their learning, graduate on time, and build their futures right here in America's finest city.

The goal was and is to make the college area a destination and a place people want to live in.

This is smart growth.

It's growth that supports our city's climate goals, it supports our local small businesses, creates safer and more vibrant streets, and uh growth that reflects the reality of a major American university inside a top 10 American city.

Okay.

Good afternoon.

I'll now reconvene the city council meeting of Tuesday, January 27th, 2026.

Clerk, please call the role.

Thank you, Council President.

Councilmember Campbell.

Councilmember Whitburn?

Here.

Councilmember Foster.

Here.

Councilmember Von Wolpert.

Council President Pro Tem Lee?

Here.

Councilmember Campillo.

Councilmember Moreno.

President.

Councilmember Ilo Rivera.

And Council President Lacava.

President.

Also attending the meeting, our assistant city attorney, Mike Michelle Garland, independent budget analyst, Charles Matica.

And not Coda Zeiser.

Oh, there he is.

Council Affairs Advisor and the Mayor's Office, Coda Seizer.

And myself, your city clerk, Deanna Fuentes.

Thank you, Council President.

I don't know why I did that.

Item 331 establishment of residential parking permit program for Sundays in the downtown, uptown, and mid-city parking meter zones.

If you'd like to speak to this item, please submit a speaker slip to the front of the room in the clear box.

If you are participating remotely, please be sure to raise your hand by pressing star nine or the raise your hand icon.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you.

So staff, I see you're settling in.

Good afternoon, Council members.

I am Maggie McCormick, interim assistant director in the transportation department.

And I am joined by Jonathan Carey, Deputy Director in the office of the city treasurers.

And we will need ten minutes for our item.

And the FY26 budget assumed that revenue would be about one point four million dollars.

We are here today to propose the development of three residential permit parking zones for Sundays only.

And what's shown in this slide is the municipal code requirements for the Sunday residential permit program.

First requirement is that a surveyor studies completed that recommends establishing a residential permit parking zone.

This was done through the parking demand study, which showed that there's demand at the parking meters on Sundays.

Next is to conduct public hearings as close to the neighborhood as as possible.

We have been to five community planning group meetings over the past three months to seek feedback on this program.

And then within 60 days, recommend to the city council the establishment of the residential permit parking area.

Our recommendations include information regarding the zone, parking regulations, period of day, and permit fee in the preceding slides.

We are proposing as part of this item that people who live within two walking blocks of a street where a parking meter is going to be extended to Sundays would be eligible for a discounted residential permit option.

If a resident signs up for the permit, then on Sundays, they can park at any parking meter within the residential permit zone.

They will not need to pay the meter, and they can park at the parking meter past the maximum allowable duration.

Residents will need to adhere to parking meter regulations every other day of the week, and this permit program is only proposed for Sundays.

We are proposing the development of three residential permit zones for Sundays.

You'll see them on this slide.

There's the downtown, mid-city, and uptown areas.

These boundaries include all of the parking meters within these parking meter zones.

And so if a resident signs up for this permit, essentially what this will allow is if they are within the downtown permit area, they can park at any parking meter within the downtown community on Sundays if they sign up for this permit.

Same with uptown and same with mid-city.

We are proposing a 141.50 cent per year permit fee.

This is equivalent to a resident paying for one hour at a meter per day.

So it's $2.50 times 52 Sundays in a year, and then plus an $11.50 cost recovery fee for the Office of the City Treasurers to roll out this program.

We do want to note that full cost recovery of a resident were to park at a meter all day every Sunday is $1,560 per year.

So this 141.50 cent rate is much less than if someone were to pay to park at a meter all day every Sunday.

The different community meetings and dates are shown in the slides.

The main permit program feedback that we received from residents on the actual permit program is to first communicate program eligibility on a regular basis, not just one time, and then to also clearly define eligible blocks and area boundaries for each of the three permit zones.

So this slide provides more information on our implementation time and program rollout.

We are here bringing this item to city council.

If this item is to pass, then in February, we will be updating our website to allow people to start applying for this permit, and then we will be notifying all eligible residents, and so that's everyone who lives within two walking blocks of a parking meter via mail that they are eligible to sign up for this program.

Then in March 2026, we will actually roll out the permits to the residents.

We're proposing that that permittees will receive hang tags or stickers used for Sundays.

And then in April, we are proposing to extend meter hours to Sundays.

So people will be able to understand the geographic boundaries of the permit area.

Whenever we speak about parking meters, it's important to talk about where the parking meter revenue goes.

Some recent and upcoming projects uh that we've completed in these these parking meter zones.

We've uh repaired over 1,000 street lights in the past three months, uh, which is more than what is occurring citywide.

We've pot uh patched nearly 1,000 potholes in the past month, and we have upcoming sidewalk replacement and traffic safety improvement projects within these communities.

Thank you.

All right, thank you for the good work and the presentation this afternoon.

So with that, city clerk, please proceed with public comment.

Thank you, Elizabeth Givens.

If you can please come up to the microphone, you will have two minutes.

Well, first I want to thank um the three of you who have opposed pig parking all along.

Uh, those are council members, Whitburn, Moreno, and Campill.

So I thank you.

I oppose the requirement for residents near Balboa Park to pay for a permit just so they can park free on Sundays.

It's nonsensical because they need to park every day.

And it begs the the bigger question about paid parking overall.

Um I urge you to repeal the dreadful paid parking decision, all of it.

Uh the phrase death spiral has been used to describe the impact on our beloved park, and that impact has been predicted for months and is evident now given the significant decrease in visitors.

Um this decision, not only the permit, but the whole decision must be overturned before the park and its incredible resources are harmed irreparably, including the harm to all those organizations and their members who call the park home.

The park belongs to all of us, not just those who can afford the fee.

Uh finally, I believe that uh the impact analysis, if it exists at all, is inadequate.

Uh, I think that paid parking is going to cost the city more than it brings in.

A decent impact analysis, I think would have re would have revealed that.

Um the overall parking scheme is quite complicated.

I think unnecessarily complicated.

I mean, to have a multicolored map to park in the park for all of its different fees is kind of ridiculous.

So uh again, I just want to reiterate the main reason for being here is to oppose the requirement for those who live near Belle Bower Park to pay uh an annual fee and to thank those who've opposed paid parking all along.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, the five-minute timer going to those participating virtually, starting with Blair Beekman.

If you can please unmute.

Hello.

Yes, I'm sorry, we can't hear you here in Council Chambers.

Hi.

Oh, there you go.

Yeah, okay.

Hi.

Blair Beekman, one minute.

Hold on a sec.

I gotta run out the door here.

Can we wait?

Sorry about that.

Thank you.

Uh, yeah, uh Blair Beekman.

Uh I'm surprised my hand uh is is up so soon.

I wanted to quickly comment that um I know it's uncomfortable for the mayor to be considering um lowering fees, but I I think we have to consider two to five dollar fees for parking instead of five to ten for the Balball Park area.

And for this issue, Sunday parking has been really awkward for people and really uncomfortable.

Um, I'm hoping to learn more about um this item and get clarity, but it's it's doing something really uncomfortable overall our parking issues, and how can we make it more comfortable?

I've mentioned uh reducing fares is one way to do it.

Um I think we have to realize that our budget concern should not overtake city happiness.

Um, Oakland is working on like a three-year plan to reduce their budget deficit issues.

Can San Diego take the same approach and learn to reduce you know the the dire need of all these new fees and and uh compensate?

Uh that's that's my public comment for this time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Zoom user.

If you can please unmute.

Oh, Henry here, thanks for taking my call.

This is a very negative thing.

Two weeks ago was a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

And I was on the news that Balboa Park was empty.

I went down to the beach and it was packed.

Well, of three parking lots of uh the roller coaster were just totally packed.

Because nobody wants to go to the zoo and pay or pay money.

So this is a negative.

Do not how about if we generate revenue, say if you make a move on the mayor's office, it's gonna cost you 10 grand.

That would be a way to up the fees.

And I hope those guys got beat up and put on the ground.

Because that's what happened to uh the original down at the county.

She got beat up and put it, she was just talking words.

Those guys did damage.

They need to put their fingers or put their faces on the screen.

And uh let's see who they are.

They're probably Antifa.

If they're antifa, they gotta go to jail.

That's a terrorist group now.

It says plus they're a bunch of wolf little dudes.

You know, hopefully they got roughed up and put on the ground and handcuffed.

Can you get back on the topic?

Oh, okay.

Well, generating revenue.

You guys are gonna generate revenue on Sunday.

No, actually, that's not the item before us.

What's parking, right?

It's actually to reduce revenue on Sunday.

Well, to increase the revenue.

But anyway, parking should be free on Sundays.

That was my sense.

Thanks for taking my call.

Thank you.

That concludes public comment on this item.

Thank you, Council President.

All right.

Um I made a promise to myself as council president.

I'm gonna try to explain when the public gets a little confused.

Uh, this has nothing to do with Balball Park parking.

This is an extraordinary initiative by council member Whitburn to be responsive to his constituents.

I don't want to put words in his mouth, but um it's a much different conversation than Melbourne Park.

So, with that, Councilmember Whitburn, turn it over to you.

Thank you very much, Council President.

I appreciate that.

Uh, and thank you to the team at the Transportation Department and the Office of the City Treasurer for the uh very uh significant amount of work that you had put into this.

When the city made the meters active on Sundays last year, I said they could not be made active in my neighborhoods until we had a discounted permit for residents.

Many renters in my district don't have a driveway or a garage to park in, so they have to park on the street.

On Sundays, when more people are home and parking is hardest to find, many people parked at the meters because that's uh where they were free on Sundays.

If the meters are going to be active on Sundays, we cannot expect residents to spend their Sunday moving their car every two hours and paying for metered parking all day.

We have to have a discounted pass that allows residents to park at the meters all day on Sundays without paying the meters or moving their cars.

This discount will only be available to residents who live near those metered streets in uptown, downtown, and the North Park mid-city area.

And the permit is optional.

People can get one if they think that it is a good deal for them.

As some people get the permits and park at the metered spaces, it will open up more free street parking for everybody else.

So for those who depend on free street parking, this will open up more spaces.

And for those who want the convenience of a metered space without having to pay on Sundays or move their car, this provides an optional discounted permit that is good for all 52 Sundays of the year.

So I will make the motion to adopt the staff recommendation.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, sir.

So we have a motion by Councilmember Whitburn to move the staff recommendation.

We'll go next to Councilmember Campbell.

Uh thank you very much.

Thanks for the motion.

Um I think uh there's a couple of other points uh for people to remember.

Uh the money generated from the meters has to stay in the areas where it is generated.

So this will help those neighborhoods that are involved.

And the second thing to remember, if you do live near the park, it makes Sixth Avenue along the park free for residents.

So I I think it's an excellent idea, and uh I will be happy to second the motion.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

So we have a motion by Councilmember Whitburn, a second by Council Member Campbell to move the staff recommendation.

We'll go next to Councilmember Elo Ravero.

Thank you, Council.

Thank you, Council President.

Uh, let me start by thanking uh Transportation Department and the Office of the Treasurer for uh all the work that went into this.

I do appreciate that.

Uh, thank you, Councilor Whipurne for advocating for the creation of a program.

Um for all the reasons you mentioned.

The the mid-city area encompasses a wide range of communities and income levels, and as I understand it, the program that's being presented to us presented to us today does not yet have the capacity to offer a either a payment plan or discounted permits for low-income residents.

So while it is true that 141 dollars and fifty cents is far better than having to feed uh the meter every Sunday.

Uh so often in American society, people pay more because they have less.

Uh poor families and uh middle income families do not have the cash on hand to access the best price available, and I have concerns that as presented, uh we are replicating that practice here at the city.

The city already operates a successful low-income verification system through the parks and rec department.

So uh I'm not asking the city to create a new system.

I'm asking that we do better to incorporate existing low-income verification systems into parking permit programs to create a program that does not disproportionately impact working families.

So uh with that and with the appreciation for the the work that's been done on this, uh, I will be voting no.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Ila Rivera.

Uh we'll go next to Councilmember Moreno.

Thank you.

Um I've traditionally voted no on any parking changes in the city of San Diego.

Um I do recognize that this gives um I do recognize that this council has passed uh laws that require um these communities to have parking meters, therefore giving them um a very difficult situation in their neighborhoods.

Um I understand that this might alleviate some of the negativity, uh, but um in keeping with my um votes in the past, um, I think this is um this is gonna continue to exacerb exacerbate the situation in communities um of the city of San Diego, so I'm gonna be voting no on this.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Moreno.

We'll go back to Councilmember Whitburn.

Thank you very much, uh Council President.

I uh hear the comments of my colleagues.

Uh I certainly would prefer uh not to have paid parking on Sundays in my neighborhood.

Uh I agreed to this permit process as a way to try to uh minimize the impact on my residents, but if we can move forward without having paid pack parking in my neighborhoods on Sundays, uh that is what I support, so I will withdraw the motion.

All right.

The uh count the way that we handle council, the maker of the motion has withdrawn the motion, so there is currently no motion on the floor.

Now, if I understand and would seek the city attorney to confirm that if we don't take action, we simply have not taken any action, and this would still be yes, that's correct.

You can call for alternative motions, but if there is no motion, no action is taken.

All right.

Um so I'll since we don't have anything, I'll offer whether the my colleagues have an interest in alternative motion, an amendment to the staff recommendation.

And I am not hearing any.

Um so I'll let oh council member foster.

Just if I may, if there's no action taken, what does that mean?

What's the result?

I can answer that question.

So uh the motion that I made uh at the uh transportation uh and infrastructure committee that I chair was that we could not implement uh paid parking on Sundays uh in the neighborhoods that I represent unless there was a discounted permit available.

Uh that was the only way that I was gonna go along with having paid parking on Sundays in my neighborhood.

Uh what I'm hearing from my colleagues is that they're okay with not having paid parking on Sundays in my neighborhoods, and I am certainly okay with that too.

So the impact of this will be that we will continue to have free parking on Sundays in the meters in my neighborhoods, and I'm really pleased about that.

So if I may, what is the impact to the budget?

Yeah, the fiscal year 26 budget assumed that um implementation would be be done by January 1st, 2026, and assumed 1.4 million dollars in revenue would be received.

So this would be a loss of 1.4 million dollars of revenue in fiscal year 26 and then 2.8 million dollars um in in preceding fiscal years, and then um point four.

I'm going to assume we have other issues, I think that we'll be hearing at you know the next budget meeting.

Um but I'm assuming just based on the overall parking projections of the shorefalls, this is just going to compound those efforts, correct?

Correct.

This will add on to that.

Okay.

Um thank you.

Um, Councilmember Von Wolbert.

Thank you, Council President.

Uh I uh appreciate everyone's dialogue today about uh parking issues, especially in impacted areas downtown.

And when we had this discussion at the committee level, um I said that I had originally voted no on implementing Sunday parking whatsoever.

You know, my residents drive down from Rancho Bernardo and Scripps Ranch and Carl Mountain.

There is no trolley to get downtown.

And I was hopeful that we could have one free day of parking in the city.

But I did support this at the committee level, thinking that if we are going to charge parking on Sundays, I do understand the impact of residents may need a permit since they live outside these streets.

However, I'm hearing now that um we're considering not charging for parking on Sundays at all, which is my original vote.

So I do want to support not charging for parking on Sundays.

Thank you.

Mr.

Sharvel, before we go to Council President Pro Tem.

Thank you, Council President.

Just wanted to address Councilmember Foster's question on the impact.

The budget was passed, assuming a certain amount of revenue that included this 1.4 million.

The outlook assumed the 2.8 million dollars.

So the the consequence of not approving this uh revenue will be that currently we're already under budget on revenue for Bulboa Park about $9 million.

TOT is under budget by about seven, so those two components alone already are having our revenues be under budget by about $15 million.

That would add in addition to that, which would mean that at the end of the fiscal year, we would need to use reserves uh really as the only only alternative unless we are able to identify budget reductions somewhere else.

So that is the impact, and obviously 2.8 million dollars that just makes our 88.8 million dollar deficit even that much greater.

And if it's okay with you the program, let's go to the IBA next and then we'll go back to you.

Thanks, Council President.

Not a whole lot more to add to what Rolando just said, but what did want to note that both the current year's budget was passed, assuming that there would be 1.4 million dollars coming from Sunday parking.

Um I don't think the impact of not passing this today on the current year's budget is 1.4 million.

We're talking about something that was assumed for a half year as opposed to three months.

So the impact on the current year we would project is around $700,000.

That said, as you heard, revenues are coming in low already, which means that when you see the mid-year coming out at the end of this week, you should in all likelihood be expecting to see a deficit that will need to be closed through either cuts to services in the current year or drawing down on the city's reserve.

And I know that that has given folks a lot of consternation.

Moving forward, uh the five-year outlook that Rolando noted did assume $2.8 million in revenue next year, FY27 coming from this amount.

It is certainly council's decision whether or not to implement this fee.

There are consequences to choosing not to implement it, and those consequences are the need to identify revenue elsewhere or to identify corresponding cuts.

Those are policy decisions before this council.

Go whichever way you would like to on them.

Just be aware that there are consequences to the actions that you are taking.

Uh now thank you both to Mr.

Charvel and Mr.

Modica for those comments.

We'll go next to Council President Pro Tem Lee.

Thank you, Council President.

Um, and thank you to our IBA and uh Rolando for chiming in.

Um, just to note the the financial realities of where we stand.

I I understand that and hear that.

Um I I will note that similar to what Councilmember Whitburn noted when this item was brought to the Active Transportation Infrastructure Committee, uh, we had a discussion there.

And part of that discussion was about our willingness to implement a program like this, and with the idea that a residential parking permit program uh would need to be in place.

Um seeing that this heavily impacts several of the districts of colleagues colleagues here on this dye, um, I think their opinion on how they're going to be treated with the residence does matter.

And so I I hear the frustration as well from Councilmember Il Rivera when it comes to his requests about how that parking permit program is set up and how residents of varying levels of income can access that.

And if we're seeing this discussion play out here at the moment, I think it resembles also a frustration that this council is doing its best to deal with the budgetary challenges that we have.

It's also looking to the administration for partnership on how we implement it in a way that is not just about the numbers.

It has to actually matter how it impacts residents in terms of how we roll things out, how they pay for things.

No one here is blind to the criticism and the feedback that's we've incurred as a result of the decisions that we make that are difficult.

So with that said, you know, if if there has been no willingness to move on on some of these components, uh and this is where we stand, I support Councilmember Whitburn's uh decision to no longer move forward um with the item.

So thank you.

All right, thank you, Council President Pro Tam Lee.

We'll go next to Councilmember Ila Rivera.

Thank you.

Um thank you, Council Whitburn.

Um and thank you, Councilmember uh Council President Pro Tem for that.

I I you you heard it um where the frustration was coming from.

We saw a world where this could be implemented in a way that was not going to have the disproportionate impact that uh we feared it would have.

Uh Council Whitburn was crystal clear about what he needed to see.

I appreciated that clarity.

Um, and I think in order for us to get to where we need to be from a budgetary perspective and for it not to land on the folks in this city who I I think the council is pretty united and not seeing that land disproportionately on.

We're going to need more partnership from the administration and and thoughtfulness and commitment to to do that.

And I will just this here's part of the frustration.

I'll I'll be blunt about this.

I see people bend over backwards to help some of the biggest corporations and the wealthiest people in this city.

And they need a favor.

And we're asking for poor folks to have the chance to pay a pay by payment to park in their neighborhood on Sundays.

Um that if they don't have 140 extra bucks sitting around, um, they're not being charged extra for that.

And we we just didn't see the the urgency on that, and so I don't know if this will create some urgency to create a program like that.

Um but what I was um what I could not support is the idea of knowing, and and Council Womper, I cannot stress this part enough.

Your your uh consistency on this, I very much appreciate I know that there will be people who cannot pay the 141 dollars.

That that's that's the part that I have I struggle with.

I I know that.

And if if that's if that's the cost of admission to have a per a resident permit, then it might as well be a thousand dollars or ten thousand dollars because they're not gonna be able to pay it.

And uh knowing that, that's why I couldn't support this.

So um appreciate the work, definitely appreciate the understanding from our colleagues, and I hope that we can get into a place now where um we're being uh more nuanced, more thoughtful about how we bring in what we need to to do the work that needs to be done, but without having the folks who have the lease and are struggling the most uh bear an unfair burden in that in that effort.

Uh Councilmember Whitburn.

Thank you.

Uh I very much appreciate the uh comments of my colleagues and particularly the recognition that there are many residents who have to park on the streets.

Residents who have to park on the streets typically are uh residents who don't have driveways, they don't have uh garages, they don't have their own parking space, and many team in many cases uh they have less resources.

So uh this would have impacted um uh the residents uh in these neighborhoods uh who in many cases could least afford it.

Um I think as we go forward and uh we look at the budget and we look at options in front of us, uh we will start to take a look at the impacts that parking is having on Balboa Park as well, because it is my concern uh that some of the uh residents of San Diego and in fact the surrounding areas who can least afford uh the parking charges at Balboa Park uh are the ones who are most impacted and who are missing out on the cultural activities uh and simply enjoyment of Balboa Park.

Uh so uh I hope that uh we are able to take a comprehensive look at these parking fees and ensure that everybody in our community is thought of uh as we're approaching the budget season uh here in the city.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, Council Whip Barn.

We'll go next to Councilmember Campbell.

Since we're talking about parking, let us go back to I believe it was 2020 when this council passed a law that builders of multifamily uh units no longer had to provide parking spaces.

Uh I think maybe we should revisit that and uh maybe reconsider that builders of multifamily units should provide parking spaces for those who live or rent in those units.

Um just something else to throw in the mix.

Thank you.

All right.

Uh to try to wrap this up.

I don't want to waste um a hearing that we've got amazing staff sitting around.

Uh, can you educate us?

You projected 2.8 million for a full year implementation of this.

Do you know how that breaks down between how many annual passes would be sold versus how many are visitors to these areas?

That does not factor in um annual passes.

So we came up with the 2.8 million dollar projection.

Um, at the time that projection was created, uh Saturday revenue that's generated on Saturdays from parking meter is roughly between 50,000 to 55,000 dollars per day, multiplied by 52 Sundays per year is how we came up with the 2.8 million.

So we are assuming the 2.8 million projection that the amount of revenue that we receive on Saturdays will be the same as what we receive on Sundays if we are to extend parking meters to Sundays.

But we at this time are not sure how many people will sign up for the permit program, and so we're unable to project um how this permit program will impact that revenue.

Okay.

Um I think the other thing that would be helpful to their point raised by Councilmember Elo Rivera.

I think I know I have a difficulty um following when we can offer discounted rates based on income and when we can't.

Um, and so I think it would be helpful not necessarily uh in this conversation, but to the point raised by Councilmember Ilo Rivera that we get later greater clarity about when we can implement um discounted rates on an income uh basis.

Um because I think it's gonna come up more than more than once.

Um, you know, I think one uh I have a great respect for geographic courtesy uh to my colleagues.

We'll certainly follow their that lead.

Um I would be a little hesitant to not say that we're also talking about people that live in four or five thousand dollar a month apartments uh that are going to benefit from this.

Um so I want to be a little bit careful, uh, and that's why I'm also very interested in trying to figure out the difference between, and I'm gonna get yelled at for saying this, the difference between what we're talking about a parking meter in Bakers Hill versus what we see in City Heights, uh, without trying to stereotype who lives in City Heights and who lives in Baker's Hill by any stretch of the imagination, uh, and how much of those are actually people visiting the areas and the role that parking meters um play in parking management, which is becoming an ugly term uh these days.

But I know my daughter lives in North Park.

I will not visit her on a Saturday morning or a Sunday morning uh because that's when all the residents are out there in the street.

They do not have parking meters in their area because it's all uh all residential.

But I think it's something we need to wrestle with going forward.

I think you're hearing some pretty strong messaging from the council um that uh I would ask that the operation side um take and the mayor's office take into account and new initiatives.

Um and so I'm gonna take the um privilege of it say that we're returning this to staff.

I don't know that you have any path given what you've heard today, but um uh we're not taking any action, so the ball's back in your court.

So with that, we are done with um let me make sure I got it right.

We are done with item 331.

And thank you to staff for all the good work that you did to bring this item forward.

Uh with that, um clerk, please introduce item 333.

Thank you, Council President.

Item 333 is the authorization for energy savings performance contract with Wilden Energy Solutions and related financing agreements with Webster Bank.

Six votes are required pursuant to charter section 99.

If you'd like to speak on this item, please submit your speakership to the front of the room in the clear box, or if you're participating remotely, now is the time to raise your hand by pressing star nine or the raise your hand icon.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council President, Council members.

You know the drill.

Introduce yourselves know how much time you need.

Sorry.

Go ahead.

Go now.

Yeah.

Good afternoon, Council members, Council President.

My name is Lindsay Haas.

With me is Heather Werner.

We're from the Department of General Services.

We'll be need about 20 minutes today.

All right.

So to provide some context for this proposal, the Climate Action Plan and the Municipal Energy Strategy established a goal to remove natural gas and electricity from all municipal facilities by 2035.

The Zero Emissions Municipal Buildings and Operations Policy, or ZEMBOP, established a framework that holds us accountable to that goal as we construct new buildings and retrofit existing systems.

We have over 400 facilities burning natural gas and only nine years to fully electrify.

The project we're proposing today involves clean energy retrofits and guaranteed energy savings at 40 municipal facilities and 39,000 streetlights.

This project fully electrifies 23 buildings and removes over 100 natural gas burning systems, many of which are reaching or are well beyond their end of useful life, thereby reducing our deferred maintenance backlog.

The project is valued at 112 million dollars, and the avoided energy costs will be used to repay financing with no increased costs to the city.

The project delivers on the climate action plan goals to electrify facilities and install renewable energy, leading to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and an improvement to conditions for city patrons and staff.

The project is made possible through an energy savings performance contract or an ESPC.

An ESPC is a is executed with an energy services company, or an ESCO, and combines system replacements, energy solutions, and maintenance upgrades into one overarching contract.

ESCOs perform energy audits and design projects that lead to significant reductions in energy costs.

Those avoided energy costs are then used to pay back project costs over a specified financing term.

The ESCO manages construction and then performs ongoing monitoring and maintenance of installed systems.

If energy savings are not realized, they are on the hook to repair systems and reimburse any lost savings based on performance guarantees that are built into the contract language.

The ESCO approach has been around since the 90s and is a well-tested delivery method among federal, state, and local governments.

Recent large-scale local government ESPCs include the City of Fresno, Alameda County, and Fairfax County, Virginia, among many others.

In 2021, Council amended the municipal code to allow us to procure ESCOs so that we could develop a series of ESPCs as we approach our 2035 CAP target.

This slide provides a high-level overview of the progress since that 2021 Municode amendment.

I'll dive into more detail on some of these items in the following slides, but in terms of a high level, in 2022, we adopted Zembop, hired a third-party owner's rep that is an expert in the ESCO approach to help shepherd this process and ensure we adhere to best practices, and we began an assessment of our 400 gas burning facilities to develop an equipment inventory and rough cost estimates to electrify our buildings.

In 2023, we performed a competitive RFSQ to identify a bench of qualified ESCOs, and then selected Will Dan as our first partner.

Concurrently, we worked with asset managing departments to identify 60 sites and 50,000 streetlights to include in portfolio one.

In 2024, Will DAN performed preliminary assessments and delivered 30% design results at no cost to the city, which were then presented to the environment committee as an information item.

In 2025, Will Dan performed investment grade audits at 55 sites and 49,000 streetlight fixtures and provided a proposed scope of work and financing options for consideration.

The scope also included any necessary remediation identified by hazardous material surveys performed earlier in the year.

Diving into a bit more detail.

In 2023, when we set out to develop portfolio one, we were looking for sites that met a few key criteria.

The buildings should remain in place and operate similarly for the next 25 years.

The building should not be involved in an active or pending capital improvement project and should not have known significant hazard materials that would drive up construction costs tied to remediation.

We wanted a portfolio that was distributed across the city, prioritizing buildings that serve our communities of concern.

And we were looking for sites that showed reasonable cost to electrify based on our electrification assessment.

And for streetlights, we focused on non-LED fixtures with no known series circuit issues.

The resulting portfolio was provided to Will Dan to conduct preliminary assessments of energy efficiency and electrification opportunities.

Following the assessments, Will Dan performed investment grade audits over several months in early 2025.

The IGAs involved site visits by Will Dan staff and several potential subcontractors across multiple skill areas to every building and every streetlight, followed by competitive bidding by subcontractors to enable development of accurate project costs.

Will Dan also developed a detailed streetlight GIS map that includes photos and conditions data for just under 50,000 streetlights.

These audits were coupled with hazardous material surveys that tested for asbestos containing material or ACM, as well as lead-based paint or LBP at every site, revealing remediation needs at 13 sites, which Will Dan will address during construction.

Through the investment grade audits, Will Dan identified energy upgrade opportunities at all 55 sites and 49,000 streetlights, totaling 154 million dollars in capital costs.

From there, Will Dan and city staff went through multiple iterations of the scope to meet three main financing priorities.

One, the scope could be financed over the 25 years of expected useful life during which avoided energy costs completely offset financing payments, both principal and interest.

Two, the scope met the requirements of the city's zero emissions policy, which requires facilities be completely electrified when replacing two or more energy systems.

And three, no upfront capital from the city would be required to make the project financing work.

Ultimately, our goal was to prioritize electrification and a few critical retrofits, relying on cost effective measures to cover the cost of more expensive measures that support our climate action plan goals.

And this is where we landed.

A final portfolio that includes upgrades to 40 buildings and LED retrofits to 39,000 streetlight fixtures, full electrification of 23 facilities, new energy efficient systems and water fixtures, solar PV and battery storage at 17 sites, replacement of many very old HVAC systems, and a new roof for Ridgehaven.

The map on the left shows the distribution of buildings included in the portfolio, which includes 16 libraries, 16 recreation centers, four pools receiving upgraded pumps, and two police stations receiving renewable energy systems.

And here we see the names of the facilities included in portfolio one, bolded sites will be fully electrified, and we're meeting Zembop requirements everywhere except for Central Library, where we are requesting an exception to keep a fairly new gas boiler in place as we uh as it will be more cost effective to replace that boiler closer to the 2035 electrification target date with minimal impacts to our GHG emissions.

This slide shows the simple payback of the portfolio as a whole.

There's a lot here, but bear with me, I'm gonna walk you through it.

This chart shows the different measures that will be installed in column A, total costs of each measure type in column B, rebates and incentives we've secured to offset those costs in column D, and the annual avoided utility and maintenance costs resulting from this work in columns E and F, and those two columns are added together for the total annual avoided costs in column G.

And looking at the simple payback equation in the blue box on the left, when we subtract the incentive values in column D from the total costs in column B and divide by the annual total avoided costs in column G, we derive the simple payback for each type of equipment, and that's shown in column H.

This is the number of years necessary to pay back the cost of each measure out of the savings it provides.

Now, as I mentioned a moment ago, one of the great things about the ESPC model is that energy savings from cost-effective measures can cover the costs of more expensive measures that support our zero emissions goals, and that is exemplified here, where we see electrification and electric service upgrades with no payback, meaning they don't generate enough savings to cover their upfront costs.

You'll see an NA in column H.

Alternatively, we have lighting retrofits and renewable energy projects with bigger savings and shorter paybacks.

And when we blend all of these together into one portfolio, we achieve an approximate 21-year payback shown in the bottom right corner, which aligns with a 25-year financing term.

This project will be executed under an energy savings performance contract with Will Dan Energy Solutions.

This is the construction contract.

Will Dan will both self-perform and hire subcontractors to perform the work over an 18 to 24 month construction period.

Prevailing wage will apply to all labor, and approximately 60% of the scope of work will be performed by unionized subcontractors.

The contract includes energy savings guarantees that will be measured and verified by Will Dan and our third-party owners rep for three years post-construction.

Will Dan will also perform operations and maintenance of the installed air conditioning, space heating, and water heating systems, as well as solar PV and battery energy storage for three years post-construction to ensure savings are achieved.

The project costs will be paid out, paid out of a 25-year tax-exempt lease purchase or a TELP with Webster Bank at an interest rate of 4.55%.

The city will draw from the loan to pay Will Dan through the construction period.

Loan payments will begin in October 2028 after energy savings from completed projects have materialized.

An $8 million tax credit for the solar PV will be used to pay down principal, currently projected in fiscal year 2030, and the city will retain ownership of all assets installed.

As previously mentioned, this project is cost neutral.

Energy budgets currently allocated to SDGE and SDCP bills will be reallocated to debt repayment with no increase overall cost to the city.

The line shown here represents the business as usual energy costs associated with the buildings in Portfolio 1.

The line slopes upward due to an anticipated 5% increase in utility rates year over year.

After the project is completed, energy costs will drop to the green line with avoided energy costs shown in the yellow area.

Most of these savings will be used towards loan payments, with the city retaining some savings over time when avoided costs are projected to outpace the financing agreement, financing payments.

We recognize this is a major initiative and a long-term commitment, so we want to provide a complete picture of the impacts of moving forward with this program to inform your decision today.

If council chooses to not award these projects, or sorry, this contract, our energy budget will remain the same.

All of the money will go to SDGE and STCP.

Additionally, we will owe WILDAN $735,000 for the investment grade audits.

This money is included in the financing package if the contract is awarded.

The city will also need to identify funds to fix overdue HVAC and roof repairs at Ridgehaven.

And we would be keeping in place numerous other HVAC units already approaching or well beyond their end of useful life, which will likely need emergency repair or replacement in future years.

First, this project does impact the debt limit, however, deferring the first payment until fiscal year 29 avoids current elevated levels projected in fiscal year 28.

Second, while the loan payments are absolute and not contingent on realized savings, Will Dan will measure and verify savings for three years post-construction and will refund any lost savings.

During that same time, WILDAN will train facilities staff to ensure they are prepared to service equipment in a way that maintains savings over time.

Additionally, the financing agreement has provisions for prepayment or pre-purchase of the entire loan beginning in 2031, allowing the city to refinance if economic to do so.

Third, the financing projections include receipt of approximately $8 million in investment tax credits or ITC for the solar PV systems, applied as a partial prepayment of the principal under a special redemption provision in the TELP.

Due to changes in the ITC deadlines under the current federal administration, solar PV systems must begin construction and incur 5% of project costs prior to July 2026 and be placed in service no later than 2029 to be eligible for the tax credit.

While we're confident that we can meet this deadline by bringing this item forward now, we want to be fully transparent with council that should we not receive these funds, lease payments are projected to be greater than anticipated energy savings under the 5% rate escalator.

Last, this is a lot of work to complete in two years and will involve significant coordination and communication with our asset managing departments.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all of our amazing partners in libraries, parks and rec, ESD, PD, and so many others who have worked with us on this program over the last several years.

The relationships we have with our asset managing teams will allow us to communicate early and often on project schedules, activities, and status.

Should any part of this project be significantly delayed, the lease also allows or provides the ability to retire debt using unspent construction proceeds as a result of stalled or canceled project components.

Similarly, these projects will involve significant coordination with SDGE for system upgrades and interconnection through the franchise and especially the energy cooperation agreement.

We have a strong working relationship and commitments from SDGE to ensure close coordination on all of these projects.

Today's action is adoption of an ordinance authorizing the ESPC with Will Dan and the 25-year TELP with Webster Bank.

That concludes my presentation.

We're happy to answer any questions.

All right.

Thank you for the good work to bring this item forward in the presentation today.

We're going to turn it over to Jordan Moore for a IBA analysis.

Thank you very much, Council President, members of the Council.

My name is Jordan Moore with the Office of the IBA.

Our office released IBA report 2602 last week related to this item, and today my comments will provide a summary of the highlights that were included in that report.

First, we believe is important for council to understand what this proposal is.

As mentioned by staff, these types of energy savings cooperation agreements have been around for a long time.

However, what you are seeing today is not necessarily a traditional one where like for like systems would be replaced.

Staff is seeking to achieve, as they mentioned, multiple policy aims, particularly trying to achieve the policy aims in CAP 2.0 and the ZEMBOP by doing so.

That is an important thing to note because we would note that as you are weighing the risks that are put in this proposal, we would also ask you to consider the policy goals that you have as individual council members as those can change.

First, the first thing we would like to point out with the proposal is that this is a financing proposal and that we believe it should be considered in the context of the city's overall debt portfolio.

This proposal will increase the city's debt burden beginning in FY 2029.

But as staff mentioned, it does not exceed debt policy targets.

We will just reiterate that the financing terms for this proposal should continue to be included in future debt policy calculations.

So even though it is a net zero gain on the budget as projected, it does increase the city's overall debt burden.

The bulk of our report contains four potential areas of risk that we believe council should consider as they consider their choices today.

The first is for the is that there is the potential for energy savings to not materialize at the level required to cover debt payments.

The guarantees provided by Wilden in this contract are to actual energy avoidance, so the actual kilowatt hours that are there.

However, you then need to price those kilowatt hours to determine the amount of savings that you have.

Based on our analysis, in order for the city to break even or not increase its own costs over the timeline of this period, the average annual rate of growth and electricity costs would need to be roughly 3.75% every single year.

If the average growth in electricity costs is below that, then the city will need to spend more money than it otherwise would have, even if the energy savings are achieved for Will Denn's contract.

We would note that the average growth in electricity costs over the last nine years for these facilities in this portfolio has been between 5.1% and 6.7%.

So we do believe staff proposals assumptions do appear to be reasonable.

However, we would note that there is a risk because you're trying to project energy markets over the next 25 years.

Our office therefore recommends that if council approves the proposal, council should request that the Department of General Services report on the estimated energy savings and related debt payments annually, both in the budget documents and the year-end report.

The next major risk has to do with the tax credits that you just heard about, which again were a major reason why our office agreed to direct docket this to allow for the direct docketing of this item.

These tax credits have deadlines, which the city is currently in line to meet.

However, the tax credit itself is not guaranteed.

If the tax credits are not received, the city staff noted, the current projections for energy savings are not enough to cover the TELP payments.

We would note that the loss of tax credits could be covered by additional energy savings, but now your break-even points up to 4.25%, further eating into the city's potential gains should energy costs increase.

The third major risk is the pencil for energy efficiency levels to not be reached over the lifetime of this contract.

As noted, Will Denn is guaranteeing the energy in the construction, and they will guarantee the energy savings for the first three years for which they are on for ONM.

However, following those three-year periods, the city staff will then be responsible for maintaining these systems.

As this council is aware, the facilities vision of the city is already facing staffing issues and consequently has needed to focus on reactive rather than proactive maintenance throughout the last few years.

In fact, going back even further than that.

So we believe there is potential reason to doubt whether or not city systems can be maintained unless additional resources are found for the facility services staff.

Finally, we will note that there is an aggressive construction timeline on this project of 18 to 24 months, and this could require some of the city facilities to temporarily close in order to get those construction projects done.

We would note that in order to realize savings on the timeline proposed in the report, it is necessary to prioritize project completion over facility access in order to maintain your payment schedule.

Finally, our report does note that alternative approaches exist if the council now has other policy priorities.

For instance, even once the city does pay will then, if it does not decide to go forward with this project, the city will retain those investment grade audits and could then move to separate the projects into separate CIPs using city debt to fund the projects as they go.

The city could then prioritize those projects that were on that one slide that generate the most savings and have the shortest payback term in order to realize near-term budgetary savings.

However, even this proposal does contain risks because it could increase the overall cost of the projects over the long term.

And we would note that if we use city back debt as opposed to the special telp, the additional payments may not be tied to the energy savings that are achieved as certain projects are brought online.

With that, we would just reiterate our recommendation to add to ask DGS to add uh information to the budget documents in your report regarding this proposal if council decides to move forward and our office available for any questions that you may have.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Mr.

Moore, for uh the IBA's analysis, always helpful.

So with that, Clerk, please proceed with public comment.

Um, Ramses, if you can please come forward.

You'll have two minutes.

Uh I'll make it quick.

Uh first of all, non-agenda public comment should be available any anytime you guys have a meeting, and Daniel Gold should be arrested for manslaughter.

That's all I'm saying.

Thank you.

Going to those participating remotely, Caitlin Haley.

If you can please unmute.

Thank you.

Uh, good afternoon, council members, and thank you, Miss Haas and Miss Werner, for your presentation.

I'm calling um in support of electrification of municipal buildings to reach CAP goals.

As Ms.

Haas mentioned in her presentation, the energy cooperation agreement between S C GE and the city.

Um we SCGE committed to support the city's municipal energy strategy by helping the city to reduce GHG at municipal facilities.

Um, and part of the way that we'll do that is by providing energy consumption data, administering energy audits, and identifying efficiency measures and incentives at the portfolio one sites.

We also agreed to analyze infrastructure and capacity constraints at these sites of the existing distribution system in order to identify any needs for upgrades.

SCG and E will also provide general load analyses and preliminary determination of capacity expansions, um which may be necessary for these projects.

We look forward to continuing our partnership with the city and achieving our shared climate goals.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next is Blair Weekman, if you can please unmute.

There you go.

All right.

Sorry about that.

Sorry, ma'am.

And uh, hold on a sec.

Bobbling out the door here.

Trying to get to the meeting.

Yeah, uh this item.

Thank you.

It was nice to hear uh uh uh its presentation.

It was uh reminding me, I mean, uh the cities of uh the Bay Area did some really important work on electrification and building electrification in the in the teen 2000 teams.

And so I thought I was listening to this item you were offering those beginnings and how you were bringing in many different uh functions that can be serving.

Uh it's really interesting.

Um I I imagine that somehow happens in our local cities across the country, but they don't explain that very well.

Uh, is that what this item is about, or is it truly kind of a bit revolutionary how you're talking about it?

Thank you for it.

Um, I'm a bit concerned that um it is being brought uh a bit rushed.

Um could have this item been brought to council and committee back in the fall and just reviewed and and to tell us what's coming.

I know council person von Wilbert is really working on the accountability for future contract issues.

This is such an important item that it seems it should have had the space and breadth to first bring to council to to or to committee to show you know its importance, what it can be doing for our future.

And uh it seems it's lacked that a bit, and now we're having to rush things, and that's uncomfortable.

I thought I hope in the future for such important goods, and it's a good program too, it sounds like you know, for these good programs, why not bring it to committee first and show it off?

You know, give it its full full ardor is my new word these days, of you know, just showing how good it can be and interesting in the very least.

So uh good luck in making this an open accountable subject for our future, because it sounds like it's gonna be uh with us for a while and it's gonna do it can do some good things.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes public comment on this item.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

And with that, we will go to the chair of the environment committee, councilmember Ila Rivera.

Thank you, Council President.

Uh, thank you for the presentation and the work on this, Jordan.

Thank you for your analysis as well.

Uh is um, as was shown, the the authorization would allow the city to move forward with guaranteed energy savings, which would ensure measurable and verifiable cost savings.

And partnering with Will D and Energy Solutions brings proven expertise in identifying and implementing the efficiency improvements across the city.

We also know that the contract advances the city's climate and sustain sustainability goals, which is something that we desperately need while at the same time prove improving the performance of existing infrastructure.

Uh so there's a lot here that I like.

I do have one question for the mayor's office.

Um, as I understand that the contract is not um covered by the city's PLA, at the same time, the city maintains a desire to ensure that a skilled and trained workforce is utilized.

So uh if you could share with us which components or projects within the agreement could potentially be rebid in a way that aligns with the city's goals of supporting a locally trained workforce.

Thank you, Councilmember Ila Rivera, uh Randy Wilde, uh senior policy advisor in Mayor Gloria's office.

Um, yes, we uh have worked with Will Dan.

Appreciate their uh cooperation and working with the city on this very important project to look at areas where we can potentially open back up for more competition and make sure that all folks uh have an opportunity to to bid for that.

Um we believe the ridgehaven roofing replacement scope of work within the overall contract is a place where we can do that without throwing off kind of the timeline for the the project.

So we've worked with Will Dan to secure commitment to rebid that scope.

Appreciate that.

Uh thank you for that, uh Randy.

I appreciate you taking the time to do that.

Um with that, I am supportive and I'll move the staff recommendation.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you.

We have a motion by Councilmember Elo Rivera to move the staff recommendation.

We'll go down to the vice chair of the environment committee, council member Campbell.

Thank you so much.

Um I first heard about this.

I thought, wow, this is a really great deal.

We're gonna pay 112 million, just about over 25 years at a reasonable interest rate.

It was it 4.25?

4.55, ma'am.

4.55.

Well, for me, who's used to first house I ever bought 14% mortgage interest.

So that doesn't sound too bad to me.

And the fact that we would be able by 2031 to refinance if the interest rates are lower.

That's good.

But I thought the maintenance and replacement as new technology came on board would be up to the company.

Will Dan.

So is the con what I understand for the presentation, that's not true.

Only in the first three years is Will Dan doing the maintenance and the training of our personnel, plus the devices that they're gonna be installing.

So that is correct.

The current ONM and measurement and verification, so the performance guarantee is for three years within this contract.

Um there is opportunity if we get to the end of those three years to discuss with Will Dan amending and extending that.

It would also trigger another meet and confer with our own staff, because obviously there is a balance to be had in terms of our available resources and their work versus this.

There is a cost to that ongoing measurement and verification.

So we selected uh the first three years post-construction, which is usually when you're going to find um if there's effectively a mechanical issue, a flaw within the um the actual you know, boxes or or uh items that are being replaced, those will fall under those, and we'll be able to see those trends going forward.

So the the current performance guarantee, you are correct, is only for the three years post-construction.

We do have the opportunity uh to discuss with Will Dan extending it.

That would come with an additional cost.

That to me is a little bit of a worry.

We're we're gonna give them the hundred and almost 112 million right at the start.

So that is almost entirely the construction cost of all of the work in question.

It does cover, I think just under a million of that is the total OM for those three years.

So in terms of the entire scope of the project, those three years are a minimal component of the total construction value of the scope.

It is not.

It is not considered a specifically city-run property.

Um though this model is something we obviously have good relationships with the convention center, and if they were interested in pursuing something like this, our staff would be available to work with theirs to look at what that would look like.

And of course, they will have access to the measure C funding, so that that helps them with their problems, their maintenance.

Okay.

So uh let's see, I had a couple of other questions.

If we wish to uh if there are technological upgrades after the first three years, that's on the city.

We will have to come up with the money to pay for that.

It would similarly if we installed the equipment ourselves and then there was a major uh technology jump, we would then have to make that financial decision of do we want to replace it in advance of end of useful life?

Is it an is it worth that kind of advancement?

Um, or do we want to maintain the system and replace it on its natural kind of life cycle?

Okay, and and then also they're going to train our staff.

Do we have enough staff that proactively we would be able to send them to work with these people as they install and maintain for the next three years so that we have the electricians, we have the general services maintenance people who will will be educated enough to keep these systems running.

Um I'm gonna let our director of general services, Ms.

Eric, confirm this.

We will absolutely be coordinating with my counterpart in facilities on that construction schedule to be able to on site be training them as the installation is happening.

There's also the training throughout the OM period because a lot of what they're gonna be trained on is the maintenance.

So, but Michelle, I don't know if you want to add to that.

Well, thank you for the course.

I would just add one thing to that.

So all of our staff that's associated with these equipment that are existing will receive that training throughout their three-year period.

And during that period, then we'll be able to make an assessment of what additional resources we might need after that th after that three-year commitment is over.

Thank you so much for that.

I I have a couple of other questions here.

I have to find my little notes here that I wrote.

Um so the facilities that we're that we're involved with with this agreement, don't include every single city-owned property.

No, we're starting with 40, which is a lot of locations to be honest.

Um the main filters were we did not want to try to maneuver a ESPC in amongst CIP work because it's a lot harder to track and be able to model that savings.

And we also did not want to be doing this on buildings where we knew an example would be the library master plan.

We did not include any libraries that have been tagged as we need to replace those.

So we want to only be installing this equipment that is going to be there for that 25 years.

Okay.

Um the federal tax credits, the eight, I think it's eight and a half million, was it?

Eight point one, yes.

Eight point one.

So now that we in order to get that, we have to have a five percent start on all our projects, or just the the first the first tranche.

All of the solar.

So there's 15 solar systems in question.

We have to have uh effectively expended five percent, which in general is we have to order the panels.

You're well past that um by July 4 of this year.

So that is to the public comment made, that is one of the reasons that we did direct docket this because we were getting through negotiations as everyone was hitting uh the holiday recess, and we need the contract executed so that those orders and those payments can be on.

Um then we use the once those systems are in and they're turned on, we then submit and recognize it's not an all or nothing.

We submit system by system by system.

So as they are turned on, we will then submit to the IRS through the direct pay method.

Obviously, we as a city do not have tax liability, so this doesn't actually come in as a credit on a tax line.

Um it is a direct pay to the city for that 30% value of the system.

It's a effectively looks a little bit more like a rebate for non-tax liable entities.

Um, and then the systems have to be turned on by the end of 2029 for us to then file for those rebates.

But we'll be doing it as we they become eligible, which obviously hope we learn, you know, the first one will probably take the longest as we navigate through the federal process and go through from there.

Is there any guarantee that that federal guarantee will still be there after so many executive orders have quashed money coming through?

Um so I think the ITC has been around for several decades.

The expansion to non-tax liable entities was put in during the IRA.

The change in the ITC rules was really where that executive order popped up and it hit the entire industry.

It was in that kind of EO of the current federal administration to try to push as many things back as possible.

So yes, there is that risk, but we do not anticipate suddenly over the next, you know, the rule change they have instituted has been the rule change and this deadline was instituted under the current administration.

The other thing to note is, you know, our PTO deadline is 2029.

So if we go through and say we get a system on really quickly and we run into an issue where the current EOs or commentary coming from the federal administration, specifically those targeted at the state of California, which I know you are all aware of, there is simply the opportunity to wait them out.

We don't have to file until after the 2028 election.

So long as they're in use before July 26?

As long as we have purchased the panels, we've made that first major purchase and hit that 5% value, then yes, we have until all the way through the end of 2029 to turn the systems on and then file in, which is also why when you look at the financials of the TELP, that pay down, that partial pay down of the principal shows up in RFY 30.

Is because we don't expect to necessarily have every single one of those rebate payments completed until probably the middle of that year.

Well, I you know, I I see the risk and I see the benefit.

The benefit is very great.

And we have to think does the benefit outweigh the risk?

Is anyone from Wilden here?

Did we would you please mind coming?

And and just to ask Transportation Department, did we try to?

I I mean the not the transportation.

Just to ask you, did we try to give more than three years with Wilden?

This was also part of that when Lindsay spoke about the financing constraints, and our priority was given the realities of our current budget, finding a cost for the scope, which would include the maximal M and V period that still allowed it to fit within a zero down for the city reality.

And that's where that came from.

Three years.

So it's that that three years cost included still puts us at a total scope value that we do not have to pay anything up front for the contract.

Do you is the engineering department or are they feeling comfortable with the CIPs and us having to do so much in the first few years?

Sorry, council member, I'm not sure I'm understanding your question.

Can you repeat that?

In terms of retrofitting the buildings, do we have to use engineering?

If we do, is it okay with them to have to go through all this quickly?

So this does not rely on our engineering and capital projects team, um, although obviously we have good relationship with them and they are resources to us.

But in this instance, um, one of the very big values of this method is the investment grade audits really get you to about 90% design.

So this isn't like we're bringing you a brand new CIP that then we have to go out to bid the design, etc.

We're very confident in what is coming and the costs that have been spec'd by Will Dan.

But Wilden will submit via DSD for external permits, and then we will use our REs and inspectors just like any other outside construction contract.

Um that's ECP is there obviously as a resource.

They know about these, um, especially for those sites where if a CIP moves forward or something like that, but most of that coordination really has to do making sure that we stay out of each other's way for lack of a better term, um, so that both projects can move forward without any significant impact.

Okay, um, Mr.

Wilden, would you mind telling us your name and your position?

David Daniels, senior vice president.

Oh, thank you so much.

Um I'm sure that may I have my extra, which I never take, so it's about time.

I'll be done next year.

Uh so is this uh is this similar to other things you've done in other cities?

Yeah, so I've been doing um design build performance contracting for going on 20 years, and uh Will Dan was founded in 1964 up in Anaheim and uh serving municipalities uh eventually K through 12's higher ed public sector and uh in my 20 years doing performance contracts design builds uh the standard uh that we see in the industry is is three years to start uh for proving energy savings.

Um we're not in the business of selling things that you know customers don't need, and that was a lot of this conversation that we've had with city staff over the last two years developing this.

Where can we help?

It's not just installing you guys a bunch of amazing systems in the walk handing the keys and walking away.

It's how can we help long-term maintenance?

Okay, yep.

Yeah, and this may seem kind of silly, but knowing how um there uh how products have changed over the last several decades.

Um asking you about plastic parts.

I have noticed at home on my home equipment that a lot of things break just because so many of the parts that used to be metal are now plastic.

Is that uh really doesn't apply here?

I I must say that my my solar panels have lasted a good 10 years and they're still going strong.

Yeah, yeah, I would say on the commercial product lines, uh, depending on whether it's HVAC, solar, there's obviously components uh neoprene, things like that that you know mount to your roof, little boots like that, uh, internal components close to electrical equipment.

Uh but really the commercial HVC stuff is very, you know, it's very thorough.

And you guys have right now equipment that's near and 40 years old in some cases, and a lot of the equipment now is made even better, more efficient, uh, doesn't run as hard.

Um, but a lot a lot of it is is you know more sheet metal, very durable, uh longer warranties.

I know that that's that's where I'm a little bit worried because for example, the systems underneath these buildings here in the plaza center.

Uh we did have a maintenance person who was a machinist who could make us the parts that were no longer available.

However, we do no longer have him.

He has retired.

And so now we are probably gonna have to redo the whole underneath one of these days.

Uh yeah, I know you're you're looking like oh double.

Lovely man, Lyle, I believe.

Yeah.

Transparency council member.

That was also a discussion we had with Will Dan several years ago in with multiple energy companies long before we put this portfolio together.

Yes, God bless you.

Yes.

Okay.

Well, in that case, given all of this, I think it sounds overall like it's a good good fit for the city and a good risk to take.

And I believe in the long run of 25 years, it's really gonna end up saving us.

And so I will second the motion, and thank you very much.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

So with that, we have a motion by council member Ila Rivera to move the staff recommendation and a second by council member Campbell, and we'll go next to Councilmember Von Wolpert.

Thank you for the presentation and all the work on on this contract.

Um thank you to our departments as well for participating because we have buildings that have been severely undermaintained for years, let alone they need new roofs, let alone new HPACs and energy systems.

Um so I I'm glad that we are uh open to energy savings procurement contracts.

I just have some questions about it civically, and including um, and I know that council member Ili Rivera asked this question, but what Randy, I didn't quite understand why this part is not part of the PLA, the citywide project labor agreement.

Uh I would defer to the city attorney's office on the reasoning behind that, but guidance we are given is that the citywide PLA does not apply because this is not a CIP project and the structure of the agreement is a little bit different than a standard CIP, but I'll let the attorneys weigh in on that.

Thank you.

I'll ask Deputy City Attorney Will Smith if he has anything to add to uh the mayor's office answer.

Uh not not much to add, just that the census is non-a city procured project outside the city's CIP budget.

The PLA does not uh did not automatically apply okay.

But I saw in the breakdown of labor participation, a lot of our our local workforce was included in this and had including IBEW and others.

Yes, that's correct.

About 60 percent of the scope is uh the subcont identified subcontractors are unionized shops, and that had to do with when we did both the RFSQ and then the assignment of the portfolio for preliminary and IGA.

We did um express a city preference um for not just our DVEs and our ELBE, but our um skilled labor workforce.

And so Well Dan went out to the market, and when they were soliciting subcontractor bids, they did understand that that was a priority of the city.

Okay.

Um I just can we request that we follow up on this in you know in the future if we have a large contract like this that has to do with construction, it may not be titled CIP under our jargon, but the spirit of the PLA should cover a project like this so that we don't have to go through all this.

So I just like to follow up and then the future, uh maybe we have to amend the PLA, I don't know.

Um but I think the intent that we had on the dias was project like this would be covered under it.

So okay.

All right, thank you.

Um I also just want to clarify that the nomenclature we're using with you know eight million dollars in tax credits.

Uh we as a city entity are not paying federal income taxes as a city unless I am something has changed.

So how how are we getting tax credits?

Sure.

So I'll expand on that a little bit.

Um so yes, the the tax credit, the ITC in this instance is a little bit more of a programmatic reference as opposed to a specific technical financial term.

Um as I mentioned, the solar ITC has been in place for several decades under Biden.

Uh the Biden administration's R IRA, they expanded the ITC uh 30% value to non to to non-tax liable entities.

That's municipal governments, schools, nonprofits, churches, those who wanted to also be able to access and put solar on roofs and take the benefit that was available in the federal budget.

The way they did that was setting up something known as the direct pay system.

Um it follows the same rules in terms of what projects qualify, the deadlines, um, the percentages, et cetera.

So it's kind of the ITC program, and we do still file it with the IRS because the IRS reports on the total value of that credit kind of to OMB and CBO.

But in this instance, no, it is not a credit on a tax statement.

We, to your point, no, we are not paying federal tax.

That did not somehow magically change.

Um, it is just a direct payment to the city as a cash transfer.

Okay, all right, got it understood.

Um appreciate it.

Uh uh, and also the three-year guarantee for energy savings.

So, do we already have mapped out mathematically what we believe the energy savings will be as assigned to this contract?

Yes, that is part of the contract.

Um, and that is specifically there for the measurement and verification is Will Dan does that report.

We still have our third party owners rep Tetratech that confirms that report, and both those bodies are also training not just our facility staff, but also our energy billing staff, so that after year three we can continue to confirm that measurement and verification that they are meeting that kilowatt hour reduction as determined in the contract.

Okay, but after year three, the city is on the hook, the taxpayers on the hook.

If if these perfor systems are not performing as we anticipated to them based on our graphs, we would then have to still pay the debt service.

We would, yes.

Okay, so then um I understand that comes with risk.

I mean, we can't predict what's gonna happen 15 years from now.

We to the best we can.

Uh we also know that um the city with given our funding situation has not been the best at maintaining our own building systems, and so if we are going to secure the energy savings from these systems throughout the life of this loan, the 25 years, I anticipate we need to maintain them so that they work to produce the energy as opposed to having to go through SCG and E.

So I saw uh a request that the IBA made, and I'd like to um offer a friendly amendment to the motion actually that council should request the Department of General Services to report to the council uh every year the um energy savings and related debt payments annually, uh both within the budget documents and the end of year report, but also to the appropriate committee, whether it be environment or so would you would the maker of the motion, the amend second or be amendable amenable to requiring you to report it publicly to us every year?

I'm certainly amenable to that.

I just want to make sure that there's no uh legal concerns or um that we can actually do that.

We want to make sure that what's that being asked for will actually be delivered upon the I'm sorry, council member.

Any legal concerns with adding the request in the motion?

Can you clear the request?

Correct, yeah.

No legal concerns.

And then from an operational perspective, no staff has no concerns.

We can do that.

Um we because we request things sometimes as part of motions and then we have challenging conversations later on.

Um so with that in mind, um, I'm certainly happy to include that in the motion.

Thank you, and I agree.

Does the city clerk understand what that is?

Yes, I do.

Okay.

Thank you.

Um, so then what about warranties for the actual equipment we're purchasing?

Do we have you know the three years of energy savings guarantee is fantastic?

But you know when I buy a new HVAC for the house or a dishwasher or laundry machine, usually comes with a warranty for the product as well.

So do we have a warranty on the product itself?

Yes.

So the warranties are included in the contract.

Um and Will Dan in the first three years can then leverage those, or if the warranties go beyond that three years, they would be transferred to the city.

Okay, understood.

Um the projects to be completed with 18 to 24 months, it's a lot.

I mean, what 39,000 street lights is fantastic, and we need those street lights to be repaired.

Do we have the capacity to do that within 18 to 24 months?

Um I will I main lean on David to come back and confirm in terms of how they do subcontractor management in order to hit those deadlines.

Um but yes, the value um, I think the street lights are one of our first things because it doesn't require going through permitting, it's a traffic control permit.

Um and then how they manage subcontractors and construction timelines in order to meet that target.

Um David, I don't know if you want to take that.

Yeah, so even though we're finishing the development essentially the last six months, is we're also you know planning for construction.

Um optimistic moving in as quick as possible.

So one of the risk-averse fashions on the energy savings is hopefully uh boosting the energy savings to the city quicker quicker is getting the street lights deployed as quickly as possible.

So our plan right now is uh subcontracted in three subs in parallel, um deploying across the city by region.

Um so that like like uh Heather just said is because of the nature of the work, we actually can avoid going through a long permitting process.

It's it's maintenance essentially.

So uh plan spec approved by the city uh meets the ordinance and all that.

So we're really gonna be running those in parallel.

Obviously, we need to coordinate with city staff to an extent uh to go out there, put notices out in the neighborhoods, um, you know, public streets and all of that, but they go very quickly.

So we're really hoping, assuming for approval today, we're we're really anticipating it to be done close to the end of this year.

Um so we were that and the majority of the savings from this project come from the street lighting.

So that's um again, hedging some bets.

I think we're gonna see a lot more energy savings quicker uh if we can deploy the uh the street lighting that fast.

Okay.

Yep.

Um I see this exact also wants to hi uh Bethany's act chief performance and logistics officer.

I just want to be very clear.

You use the word repair streetlights.

So the city has approximately 60,000 right-of-way park uh lights as well.

This is not repairing the street lights, this is retrofitting.

So these are very different terminologies.

Transportation department will still be in charge of actual repairs and the functionality.

This is a retrofit from an energy savings performance standpoint.

So I just want to be clear that those are two separate and independent efforts.

Okay.

Thank you.

Got it.

Well will some of the broken street lights now be retrofitted, though?

I'm sorry to say that.

Will some of the broken street lights or I know it's parks and rec lighting too?

Yes, so we would we would be repl you'd be replacing the fixtures regardless, and because street lights are bulk bills, so the savings really goes to confirm that the fixture is in and then updating our bill because our bills are fixture times rate times 12 hours effectively.

Um and so those are yes, we would still just because uh unless it's literally fallen over, um, we would still be able to retrofit the fixture, change out the bulb, um, whether it's on or not, so that when we are able to then repair it, um we are still seeing the benefit of those fixtures.

We're not skipping them just because they're not on.

Okay.

And MEA in 127, you met and confirm they're okay with this.

Okay.

I just want to make sure.

Um, okay.

Um another question about you know, delay in in when a project might be done.

I mean, there could be a million reasons we had weather bomb cyclones that prohibited the terminal one construction from being done, and we can't control the rain.

So will this three-year energy guarantee start from the moment a particular project is completed, or does the time start from we sign the contract?

And if we don't get it done within three years, we lose out on the energy guarantee.

When does the time clock start?

The clock starts when all construction, the whole construction period is complete.

Per project for the whole construction scope, if I believe, if I remember correctly.

Um let us can yeah, it's the entire construction scope because you'll have a bunch of projects start, but the three-year period is effectively the three years post that 24 that those 24 months.

If we get everything done early and at 18 months, um so I think we would probably consider the clock starting when the final construction payment to Will Dan is issued.

So their final invoice would trigger that three-year period.

Is that Weldon's understanding of the clock?

So do you mind coming up and saying it to because there's people watching on City TV, including my mom.

Uh she loves City TV uh and um people online, so that's correct.

So your understanding is a three-year time clock would start when the final invoice is sent?

Substantial completion, so beneficial use to the city that kicks off usually warranty, the warranty period as well as uh the performance period.

Got it.

Okay, those are completely two different things.

Uh the contracting perspective.

Substantial completion is not when the final invoice is sent.

So I hope you guys can figure out when the three year periods.

It's it's usually the same time.

Substantial completion doesn't mean that with the part that everything is signed off on undone.

So substantial completion is work usually when this the city takes full acceptance and signs off on the ever all the scopes are completed.

Um they're doing what we expected.

You've fulfilled the scope of work.

And that usually is uh followed by a final invoice or retention.

Correct.

Yep.

That's why they're two different things.

Because there could be a punch list, there could be things.

So I just want to make sure that we know that going forward.

Do we know when the three years guarantee would start?

I mean, this is important for us to know that welded would pay anything we don't recoup for three years.

I believe we're all the same.

The can the performance period starts at the issue of payment for the substance for substantial completion.

That's correct.

Yes.

Yes.

Council member, we have a provision in our contract that is uh requires signature upon city's agreement that we have achieved substantial completion once we sign that document and will dance hands all of the equipment over to us for our ownership.

That is the point at which the three-year performance uh period will begin.

But again, to speak to your um invoicing and payment, it's not related to the invoice, it is related to that document being executed.

Understood.

And uh, my other qu how many projects are there?

49 project sites?

There's 40 sites.

46.

So 40, just 40, 40.

Oh, 40.

Okay.

So substantial completion of the 40 projects or as each project goes.

Of the entire portfolio.

Got it.

So you won't start guaranteeing the payment back until the whole portfolio is done.

That's correct.

Okay.

So what if there's a delay on one one of the sites?

That happens a lot.

So we we have a contingency plan basically.

So street lighting is the perfect example.

So we're gonna finish street lighting very quickly, and then we've got another, say, 12 months um of potential construction on the HVC, longer lead time items and things like that.

So we we hold um any of that.

So we'll cover warranty items and things like that um in the meantime until we substantiate um substantial complete all the rest of the scopes of work, even if it's a year later.

Okay.

Yeah.

And what about um, you know, I noticed in one of the PowerPoint slides that we have to continually work with uh our partners at S D G and E to hook up to some of these projects, and I've heard over and over from small businesses that the S D G and E parroting department is even worse.

So they hold us back.

So this is where um the amendments that we just recently made to the energy cooperation agreement, and you heard Caitlin Haley from SCG and E also call those out, um, become very uh useful in that we've they've known about these sites and have actually kind of started looking at them in advance.

The other value, and I won't say this is every site, there are definitely sites where we've identified that likely utility upgrades will be necessary.

Um we do know generally where those are, and so do S D G and E.

Um, but the other is that because we are doing both efficiency and electrification, the goal is you're not doing like, hey, I need another megawatt of power.

Um you're reducing your load and then bringing it back up so it eventually is in certain sites, it definitely goes up.

Um, but there's a lot of offset in terms of the uh total amount of upgrade is not actually expected to be something like we're pulling a whole new wire.

Um similarly, they also have the have identified we they know where new solar systems are going in and interconnection is obviously they have.

I will give them credit, they have significantly improved their interconnection timelines.

That is still a thing.

So I think both in terms of um not just the ITC program perspective, but getting those first interconnection uh programs in.

Again, those solar systems are generally designed again.

The IGA gets us 90% design.

Um so getting those interconnection projects in as early as possible.

Um and then we have quarterly, we have monthly working meetings just with staff level.

We have quarterly meetings all the way up through our chiefs, and then we also have quarterly working meetings on specifically on electrification.

So we have multiple points of check-in that if anything feels like it's getting stuck on the SDGNE side, we have the ability to raise it directly up to their senior vice president and potentially the pre uh president of the the utility.

Okay.

Um thank you.

I don't want us to have to be delayed in doing this because of an outside entity that shouldn't be so slow as a for-profit company.

Um, I appreciate it.

I you know there is financial risk involved here over the term of the 20 plus years that we won't realize the energy savings.

We hope that we do.

At the same time, there's financial risk to the city to continue to operate completely old systems that are falling apart and you know, roofs that are caving in and buildings that have not been maintained.

So that also is a lot of money to the city.

Uh and plus, we have the added benefit here of you know putting in energy efficient systems that'll help us meet our climate action goals for city facilities.

So given all this, I am very hopeful that this pans out as we hope it will financially for the city.

Uh we cannot control the federal government and whether or not they're going to subsidize the installation of solar panels.

I mean, maybe maybe by 2030, there's a new administration and they will again.

Who knows?

Um given that you know we still have financial liability for not moving forward with repairing our facilities and going energy efficient.

I'm going to hope that this actually guarantees in the energy savings over the next 20 years.

Um but either way, I think it's still a good investment so that we can provide new facilities and we can or repaired facilities and we can provide energy savings to the city.

So thank you very much.

I appreciate all the questions being answered.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Von Wolbert.

Not seeing anybody else on the lights.

Uh I'll offer uh a couple of comments.

Um you've been working on this since 2022 when I was chair of the environment committee.

Uh and uh it is just so gratifying to see this finally come to fruition and the rigorous discourse we've had about this coming, so there's no surprise uh for anybody who tracks um how the committees and fall council considers this.

Uh I appreciate my colleagues' um comments and questions, especially Councilmember Mulbert digging into the the contract language, um making sure that we actually all understand.

Um I think this is really a testament to how we can operate as a city and do big things.

Uh we have the benefit of the office of the IBA who can clearly articulate what the risks are uh that we should consider uh a project of the scale is going to come with uh some risks uh going forward.

So I appreciate uh Mr.

Barr.

Uh you're always taking that deep dive and and sharing that information in an almost easily digestible uh matter, but uh you did a good job uh going forward here.

Um I a couple of things I'm not gonna make an amendment to the motion.

I think we have enough amendments, uh, but I think keeping the council informed about the progress of the construction, in addition to what the other calls were for um 18, 24 months that this might be just to keep maybe the committee informed of the progress of this.

So we absolutely can do that.

I also note the map that was shown in the slides that kind of shows where all the facilities are, that will be a live public GIS where people can click on what's going on at my building and be able to get just basic overarching construction status, so that will also be available to the public as well as um any briefings that council members request.

Oh, that's that is actually even better than what I'd hope for.

So I appreciate that.

Um and to Miss Bzacks, I got the message that my series circuit street lights are not going to be fixed with this contract.

Uh sorry, I had to drop that in.

Um I also want to ask, because I think some of the questions that I heard from my colleagues, these are all projects that if we had the funding that we would do through CIP, right?

These are not vanity projects, these are not gosh.

I wish we could do this.

These are all things that we need to do, and this is an extraordinary mechanism to actually deliver on these very old facilities going forward.

Am I correct?

They'd either be kind of smaller CIPs, just simply maintenance projects, flipping out lights, flipping out water fixtures.

That would be stuff that our facility service staff do.

Um, yes, so none of this is oh plus, you know, throw on some shiny squirrel object.

This is definitely trying to take as much of our deferred maintenance backlog and advance it, kind of leapfrog it to new technology with our climate goals as possible.

Sure, that's fantastic.

And as you said, as many have said, this is part of our climate action plan goals.

Uh so for those who think we're not moving forward on our climate action plan goals and implementation.

Um, this is certainly a poster child of something big and impressive.

Uh and I also I I didn't hear it mentioned, and maybe we're just getting so casual about it.

But you know, I was a little nervous when we got rid of a route of sustainability and mobility, but that commitment by the mayor to say we are going to integrate climate action plan efforts in every department.

This is another great example of what that actually translates to.

Uh so very proud of that.

And also, this is also weaning us off fossil fuels, right?

I mean, with the one exception uh that you mentioned that uh this gets us to fully electric.

Uh, and I assume that um we're currently signed up for Power 100 through community power, that all of these would be uh purchased through community power and the Power 100.

So that's another thing that is just above and beyond uh what we've done in the past.

So extraordinary, extraordinary work.

So my colleagues asked a ton of questions.

I think we got the answers we needed.

Thank you for the good work.

So we have a motion by Councilmember Ilo Rivera, a second by Councilmember Campbell.

Uh it was modified, and I think you can see it in the top line, top section in italics.

And that's the amendments that I think Councilmember Wolpert uh asked for and was agreed to as suggested by the IBA.

So with that, City Clerk, please call the vote.

Thank you, Council President.

I've started the voting system, please cast your vote.

Thank you so much.

And that passes unanimously 8 to 0 with Council Member Campio absent.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you.

And again, thank you to all the staff that worked on this.

So please introduce Clerk Item 332.

Item 332 is the PRJ 1059329 at 3823 Ingram Street, Ava Pacific Beach Project.

This item is not subject to the mayor's veto.

If you'd like to speak on this item, please submit your speakers up to the front of the room in the clear box.

And if you are participating remotely, now's the time to raise your hand by pressing star nine or the raise your hand icon.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you.

As we do with discretionary land use uh permits, as we have in front of us, we will first get a presentation by staff, and then we'll have a presentation by the applicant.

So staff, as you settle in, uh introduce yourselves for the record and let us know how much time you need.

Good afternoon, Council President Locava and Council members.

I'm Sarah Osborne, the development project manager for development services, and I'm presenting item 332.

And I will need eight minutes for my presentation.

Thank you.

All right, when you're ready.

Before you today is project number 1059329 at 38 23 Ingham Street.

The site is located in the Crown Point neighborhood of the Pacific Beach community.

The project site is 12.96 acres and zoned for multifamily RM3-7.

The project is a process five city council decision and includes a land use amendment to the general plan and Pacific Beach Community Plan, a rezone, a coastal development permit to construct 138 additional units, and a public sewer easement vacation.

An environmental impact report was prepared for the project and includes findings in a statement of overriding considerations and a mitigation monitoring and reporting program.

Additionally, this project is an amendment to the local coastal program and land use plan and will require approval by the Coastal Commission.

The 12.96 acre site is currently developed with 564 multi-dwelling units and 765 parking spaces.

4.35 acres of the site are proposed for infill development and are shown in orange.

These areas contain surface parking and underutilized private recreational space.

The project would add 138 additional multi-dwelling units, including seven affordable units, a surface parking lot, and two new parking structures.

This picture shows the existing condition of the site along Fortuna Avenue.

This site is along Jewel Street, and this site is looking from the corner of Jewel to La Playa.

There is an elementary school to the north, single and multi-dwelling unit housing surrounding the site, ranging in one to three stories, and neighborhood commercial on the corner of Ingram and La Playa Avenue.

The project is located in a transit priority area with existing bus service.

A class three bike route is proposed along Ingram Street and a bike boulevard, which is an enhanced class three, is planned for Jules Street.

The current land use is medium high residential density at 29 to 43 dwelling units per acre, and is implemented through the RM3-7 zone.

The land use amendment would redesignate the entire 12.96 acre site to high residential 15 to 54 dwelling units per acre and rezone the site to RM 3-8.

The project will replace underutilized private recreational space and surface parking with 131 market rate multi-dwelling units, seven affordable units, new amenity space, structured parking, and associated site improvements.

The 138 new units will be divided among three buildings and include a mix of one and two bedroom units.

Two buildings are partially wrapped parking structures, and one building will be two stories with surface parking.

The proposed total number of units on the site will be 702 with 756 parking spaces.

New residential amenities would include two outdoor courtyards, a dog wash, a linear park along Jewel Street, which includes pedestrian resting areas, and a bicycle repair station.

The building will be two to three story.

The buildings will be two to three stories, compatible with the existing development and compliant with the 30-foot coastal height limit.

Additionally, the design and materials will complement the existing structures on site.

The seven affordable rental units will be for very low income and allow for one incentive and three requested waivers to deviate from the planting requirement for parking, off-street loading requirements to reduce the street side setbacks and allow public open space to encroach into the setbacks.

The unit will be the units will be dispersed throughout the project and have access to the same amenities as the market rate units per the San Diego Housing Commission requirements.

The planning commission initiated the land use amendment and rezone on May 5th, 2022 and identified issues to be analyzed as part of the project.

The project considered the appropriate land use designation and zoning, site and urban design elements, including bulk and scale and compatibility with the existing built environment.

The initiation issues also analyzed mobility enhancements and improvements to the multimodal circulation network and also looked at incorporated affordable housing units.

City staff determined that based on the environmental analysis and information, an EIR was the appropriate environmental document to be prepared for this project.

The project would result in significant but mitigated environmental impacts for historic resources, tribal cultural resources, and transportation.

The project includes mitigation, monitoring, and reporting program.

And although there are multimodal improvements, transportation VMT impacts would result in significant and unmitigated impacts, and therefore the project has also prepared CEQA findings and a statement of overriding consideration.

The Pacific Beach Planning Group voted 120 to recommend approval of the project without conditions.

And I apologize the slide is incorrect, but the planning commission voted 601 to recommend approval of the project without conditions.

A staff memorandum was submitted requesting to add a permit condition for tier 4 final equipment.

That condition reads all diesel powered construction equipment used for the construction of the project shall be powered by California Air Resources Board certified tier 4 final engines.

Please consider this condition when making a motion.

Staff's recommendation for the city council is to certify the environmental impact report and associated documents and approve the general plan and Pacific Beach Community Plan Amendment, the rezone, the coastal development permit with the additional condition, and the easement vacation.

And this completes staff's presentation and staff and the applicant are here to answer any questions.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Sarah, for the presentation.

And now we'll turn it over to the applicant.

And I believe you have a presentation as well.

And if you could give your name names for the record and how much time you will need.

Albert Cal with Avalon Bay Communities, and we'll need approximately 10 minutes for our presentation.

All right.

Next slide, please.

So to start, uh, wanted to provide a brief overview of Avalon Bay for those who may not be familiar with our company.

Uh Avalon Bay has been a long-term owner and operator of apartment homes in the San Diego community for many years.

And we currently own and operate roughly 1900 apartment homes across eight communities, and we have another 800 apartment homes currently under construction across two communities.

We are a full service real estate company, which means that we developed, construct, and operate all in house.

And we've also been fortunate to be a member of the Pacific Beach community for almost 30 years now, since 1997.

And we look forward to being members of the community for many years to come.

As long-term investors, we really have a long-term vision for the communities that we develop, own and operate in.

And as such, we're really focused on quality and sustainability, and we invest both our time and resources into the neighborhoods that we do business in.

Next slide, please.

And with that, I would like to turn it over to Britney Ruggles Wallace from KLR Planning to walk you through the details of our project.

Thank you.

Thank you, Albert, and thank you, Sarah, for your presentation.

I will endeavor to not duplicate as much as possible.

Next slide, please.

It's important to note that when we were conceptualizing the redevelopment and infill development on this site, that we had a number of parameters and constraints that we were dealing with.

We had the existing character that we looked to both on site and off-site, and we had some pertinent development regulations that we really wanted to address in the development of this project.

As you can see from this image, our development is nestled within the existing fabric of Ava Pacific Beach.

And this was intentional.

You know, we looked to the mayor's executive order to infill an underutilized sites, as well as our own internal mandate to build more housing on the ABA Pacific Beach site without displacing any residents and to provide parking for our residents to meet both the parking demand on site and also to address some of the community concerns relative to parking.

Additionally, we look to the surrounding developments.

As Sarah noted, they're one to three stories, predominantly two and three stories, to help to inform our bulk and scale.

Next slide.

Next slide.

So I just want to take a quick moment to walk you through the buildings on the site just to familiarize you a little bit more with them.

This is building one, it's along Fortuna Avenue.

This would have 69 units, three stories wrapped partially wrapped around a parking garage.

And this would include resident amenities as an outdoor amenity and also a dog spa.

Next slide.

Next slide.

Building two would be located along Jewel Street.

This would be our two-story building that's surface parked.

It would have 21 units, and we have this as a two-story building specifically to reflect the two-story development that's adjacent on Jewel on the east side.

Next slide.

This is a rendering looking southwest along Jewel.

Next slide.

And finally, our third building, this is along Jewel and La Playa Avenue.

This would have 48 units, again, a partially wrapped parking garage and three stories.

This building would include resident outdoor amenity and would also interface with our proposed linear park.

Next slide.

This is a rendering showing the site looking towards the site from or towards the new building from La Playa.

Next slide.

Next slide.

And we envision having our two, the unwrapped portions of our two partially wrapped parking garages to be articulated with some murals.

We hope to work with beautiful PB and other local artists to engage with them and have local artists complete these murals to add a local character and ownership to the buildings.

Next slide.

Next slide.

This would interface with the private residential development amenity that's within building three, as shown in the next slide.

Next slide.

Next slide.

And finally, along Fortuna, we already have a non-contiguous sidewalk here that has a landscape parkway, but it's not of a very high quality.

So we really want to take an opportunity to enhance that parkway, particularly adding some tree canopy.

Next slide.

Along Ingram, we're much more constrained along here, but south of our project entry, we are able to provide a non-contiguous sidewalk and landscape parkway.

Next slide.

And we're really excited to bring to the community this opportunity for an enhanced and improved tree canopy.

Most of the trees, as you can see on the top part of the slide, are located within the on-site parking areas, and they're of a fairly low quality.

Through the redevelopment of these parking lots, we're bringing a lot of our tree canopy to the perimeter of the site.

We'll have a net increase of about 100 trees, the majority of which will be along the public interfaces, which creates not only a pleasant environment for the residents of Ava Pacific Beach, but also for the PB residents as a whole as they traverse the community past our site.

Next slide.

In addition to the pedestrian net resting node and the non-contiguous sidewalk, we have some other uh resident or some uh safety and transportation improvements.

We mentioned the bicycle repair station.

We also have new ADA improvements at the project entry, although we don't have any buildings along Ingram at the formal project entry.

And we also have a new concrete bus pad that we'll be including along Ingram.

Next slide.

Here you can see we are in a TPA, as Sarah mentioned, and you can see in the little inset that we do have four bus stops adjacent to our site along Ingram.

Two are fronting the project site going northbound and two or southbound on the opposite side of Ingram.

Next slide.

And as Sarah also mentioned, we have a potential bike boulevard along Jewell Street, and it's important to note that this is where we are locating our linear park with the bicycle repair station to further support and enhance bicycle mobility through PB into the surrounding community.

Next slide.

As Albert noted, sustainability is really at the core of what Avalon Bay does, and we're bringing that to this project.

With relative to the residential sustainability, we would have all electric appliances, photovoltaics, and low flow fixtures.

Relative to the transportation amenities, we will have electric vehicle charging, we will have e-bark bike charging and bicycle parking, and then kind of to the site as a whole, we'll have some water efficient irrigation and drought tolerant and climate friendly landscaping.

Next slide.

Albert also mentioned that Avalon Bay has been a member of this community for almost 30 years since 1997.

And we are pleased to have engaged with the community throughout the development of this project from informal open houses to formal planning groups.

We did receive unanimous support from the PB planning group for this project.

We've also been active in community events for five years.

Avalon Bay has been a title sponsor at the step up to end homelessness, as well as various PB town council installation dinners and graffiti removal days.

Next slide.

In conclusion, on behalf of Avalon Bay communities, thank you for the opportunity to present this project to you today.

We look forward to bringing much needed infill housing as well as seven affordable units, which will be distributed throughout the project, throughout the new construction, and have access to all the same residential amenities as the market rate units to the beach community where we don't see enough infill housing being brought in.

We look forward to implementing the mayor's executive order in a manner that respects the coastal height limit, the existing density in the PB community, and the surrounding neighborhood scale and character.

And we look forward to continuing Avalon Bay's long-standing commitment and partnership with Pacific Beach.

We urge your approval of the project, and our team is available for questions or discussion.

Thank you.

All right, thank you for your presentation.

Uh Clerk, let's go to public comment.

Thank you.

We have no public comment here in Council Chambers.

The only speaker slips we received were for those of the applicant.

Just making sure nobody else, the head CH member of the applicant, would like to speak.

Charlie?

Okay.

If you can please state your name for the record.

Oh, yes, it's uh Charlie Nieto.

Please proceed.

Thank you.

Uh good afternoon, Mr.

Council President, honorable honorable uh city council members.

My name is Charlie Nieto.

I'm a PB resident, president of the Pacific Beach Town Council and vice chair of our local community planning group.

Today I'm speaking as an individual in support of item 332.

First off, I want to thank Avalon Bay for being a consistent and reliable partner in the community.

It's really refreshing to see a housing builder that really wants to embed itself in its surrounding neighborhood.

As a native and young San Diegan, I've seen firsthand the cost of housing rise, especially along our coastal areas like Pacific Beach, with the addition of 138 new homes with parking.

This will address our region, help address our region's housing crisis while staying true to our community's character and identity.

Further, I commend Avalon Bay for seeking community input throughout the entire design process from start to finish.

It's really refreshing to see a housing builder that not only invents itself and its surrounding areas but also implements the feedback it receives, which I can attest to the fact.

I was so proud to be a part of the unanimous support for this project, and I hope that you will do the same.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Starting the five-minute timer going to those participating remotely.

We have six speakers in the queue.

Marcella, if you can please unmute.

Hello, good afternoon, Council members.

I'm Marcella Bothell, and I'm the chair of the Pacific Beach Planning Group, which voted unanimously for this project.

Some recent projects in PBE have gotten a lot of negative attention, but this is a totally different project.

It's a responsible way to add housing we need while keeping our neighborhood's character and making it livable in the long run.

I really appreciate how Avalon Bay reached out early, met with residents and our community groups, and worked to make sure that this fits Pacific Beach.

They've also been good neighbors for years, showing up at local events and investing in our community.

And I just realized they're adding a hundred trees.

So fantastic.

I love that from the park standpoint.

So thank you, City Council, for voting to approve this.

Thank you, Avalon Bay, for your commitment to Pacific Beach.

So I respectively ask for your support on item 332.

Thanks.

Next is Ron, if you can please unmute.

Good afternoon, City Council and President.

Um I would like to uh I like the idea of the project.

I am a resident of uh uh ground point.

I live at the 3820 Shasta Street.

I've had this property 25 years.

I'm a third generation San Diegan.

I think the project looks pretty nice.

The problem I have is the parking situation.

As uh been in the landlord business for 40 years, most people have more than one car, and if it's couples, there's two to three cars at times.

Um, I'm concerned when it comes to the construction and what will happen to the cars that will be taken off the lot over there at ABBA.

And what would happen what if you've come through here, this area when there is an event going on down at Crown Point shores, you will see parking overflows into the neighborhood here.

Right now, I'm looking out the front window of the home I live in, and that parking's taken up.

I'm very concerned about all that backfill of parking that does disappear.

And um it's minor concerning.

I have some neighbors that feel the same way, some do not want to speak up, some will.

Um, again, I think the project looks nice, but I'm concerned of the overparking, the more traffic, and plus we have the infrastructure, we have sewer issues that I really haven't been looked into.

I appreciate your time and thank you for letting me speak.

And we have a wonderful day.

Thank you.

Next is Denise Friedman.

If you can please unmute.

Denise, I can't unmute for you.

There should have been a pop-up.

I will need to move on to the next caller if you can unmute.

Moving on to the next caller, Brian Flynn, if you can please unmute.

Can you hear me?

Yes, please proceed.

Fantastic.

Uh good afternoon, honorable council members.

My name is Brian Flynn.

I'm an attorney with the law firm Lozo Drury here on behalf of Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility or SAFER.

Uh Safers respectfully requesting that the council not approve the project at this time because it's EIR does not comply with the requirements of CEQA.

One of the main concerns SAFER has is the project's significant and unavoidable transportation impacts.

The EIR concludes that the project's vehicle vehicle miles traveled or VMT impact will be significant and unavoidable.

CEQA does allow projects with unavoidable impacts to move forward, but SEQA also says before you approve a project with such impacts, you have to ensure that all feasible mitigation has been applied.

That is not happened here.

The EIR is requiring only a single mitigation measure, which requires the project to adhere to the city's existing mobility choice regulations.

By doing that, they choose five points worth of measures from appendix T of the city's land development manual.

But that's not how SQL works.

Because the VMT impact is significant and unavoidable, you have to apply all feasible mitigation, even if that means going beyond the bare minimum required by existing code.

Appendix T lists numerous additional measures that could be applied to this project, including installing electric uh bicycle charging stations, providing short-term and long-term bicycle parking beyond minimum requirements, installing pedestrian enhancing amenities at nearby intersections.

So before approving this project, the city should look at appendix T and consider and require additional measures for this VMT impact, or otherwise demonstrate that additional measures are infeasible until it happens.

The EIR is inadequate and should not be approved.

For those reasons and the additional reasons discussed in our written comments, we're requesting you not approve the project at this time.

Thank you.

Thank you for those comments.

The five-minute timer did conclude here in Council Chambers.

So we have three speakers left in the queue.

No additional speakers will be taken.

Bebette Bayer, if you can please unmute.

Hello, um, can you hear me?

Yes, please proceed.

Okay, great.

Um, I've been a resident of 10 years here in Crom Point, and I've dealt with the sewage odors coming from a manhole on La Playa.

Um, they've been coming on and off.

In 2017-2018, a building next door was being built up and the flapper valve was installed.

The smell has stopped at that time, but last year it returned.

And since then, I've met with multiple city engineers and air quality control to fix the issue.

Um, they tried sealing and replacing the lid, which did nothing, and then they did end up replacing the flapper valve again, and it was tempted it temporarily went away until it washed away again.

Um, this is a capacity problem.

Our infrastructure cannot support adding an additional 138 units.

So until it's been resolved, um, you know, I don't think that you guys should proceed with the motion.

Um, I do know that Ava wants to increase their um private lines from eight to ten inches, but expanding the private lines without upgrading the main line doesn't resolve the existing bottleneck, and it'll perpetuate a recurring sewage odor issue.

So respectfully asked that the council hold the motion until the La Playa mainline is evaluated and upgraded.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next is uh Shiloh, if you can please unmute.

Hello.

Happy Tuesday, Council members.

My name is Shila Hales, board president for Discover Pacific Beach, our local business improvement district.

Discover PB stands in support of the Ava Pacific Beach Project because it represents smart community-oriented growth.

The addition of 138 units also represents a new customer base for our local businesses, encourages more activity for our restaurants and retailers, and more vibrancy for our neighborhood.

We respectfully ask for your support of item 332.

Thank you and have a great evening.

Thank you.

And our final speaker is Zoom user.

If you can please unmute Zoom user, there you go.

There you go.

This is this is a great opening.

Hello, we can hear some background noise.

Are you here to speak on item 332?

We cannot hear you here in Council Chambers if you are speaking.

We will need to move on.

My apologies.

Council President, that does conclude public comment on this item.

Okay, thank you, City Clerk.

Um, as uh this falls within council district one.

I will start the conversation.

So again, thank you to staff for the work that you've done in bringing this item forward.

Thank you to the applicant for the work that you've done to bring this forward and your respective uh presentations.

I've reviewed uh all the mirror all the material attached to the docket as well as the public comments of it online and listened to the presentation by staff by the applicant and comments by the public, and also uh review the memo that was submitted during the course of the hearing, adding uh a condition to the coastal development permit uh going forward.

For thank you for for catching that.

Um, with the evidence in the record, I can support the findings to approve this project, although I'll have some questions at the end.

Uh, this is an infill project that will not adversely affect environmentally sensitive lands, and as was stated, this project converts surface parking lots into much needed dwelling units.

The project located in a high resource, the highest resource area includes seven truly affordable deed restricted units, and perhaps more importantly, these units are not being subsidized by taxpayers.

Uh the additional things that were mentioned, uh the new units being all electric, uh, the frontage approvements around all four edges uh are very much um appreciated and add uh to the walkability of this uh this area.

Um this project is requesting incentives and waivers that I find to be both common sense and neighborhood friendly uh was not mentioned, but a lot of the setback waivers were actually consistent with what the buildings are out there today, so that's again made a lot of sense to me.

So a few questions.

Um, we are including seven affordable units, and I want to make sure that they are in fact going to be dispersed throughout the project and will enjoy the same amenities as the market rate units.

Yes, that is correct.

Okay.

And the applicant confirmed that commitment.

And I heard a loud yes out of the audience.

Um the uh linear park, uh, that amenity very much appreciated.

I notice that it does actually go on private property, so I assume that whatever fencing you're having in that corner of the project, that that will be accessible to the public for the public's use.

Does that question make sense?

There will be a separation between the public linear park and the private property of the Ava Pacific Beach development.

So I'm not entirely sure I know what you mean by the fence would be exposed.

So all that linear park, the bicycle repair, that's all within the public right-of-way.

Yeah, the public will be accessible to it.

I may not have zoomed in far enough into the maps.

Um the um the couple of questions that were raised by the public.

Uh you are converting existing surface parks that are well used.

Anybody who drives by can see that.

What is the construction game plan to deal with all those parked cars when you actually convert an existing surface lot uh into the parking garages?

So part of the reason we're able to to even bring this project forward is that Avalon Bay did a couple of parking studies and found that there was about a 74% utilization of the parking.

So part of it is that as those lots are being re redeveloped, those people would shift to a different you know spot in the development.

The other thing is that we're because of the wrapped product, the parking garage itself will be completed first before the units are completed.

So the parking will be online for the new units as well.

Okay, thank you for clarifying that.

Um the other question is um I'm a little bit old school, and I remember when I used to do these kinds of projects, so I took a pretty sharp eye about the coastal height limit when I looked at the site plans and the building elevations uh to verify uh verify compliance with the coastal height limit.

So I just want to get on the record a statement by staff that this project does comply with the coastal height limit.

Yes, it does comply with the coastal height limit, and we do have permit planning here if you would like further analysis.

Okay, and their interpretation, because I know sometimes that trips people up about how the coastal height limit is measured.

Uh good afternoon, Council President, Council members, George Casiga, planning with DSD.

Um yeah, that is correct.

Uh, our interpretation is that the project complies with the coastal height limit.

Okay.

And can I get that same confirmation from the applicant that the project not only in these documents but also in the final building plans will fully comply with the coastal height limit?

Yes.

Okay.

I heard a yes from the audience.

Okay, some of the harder issues.

Um sewer issue, which doesn't necessarily get addressed during discretionary permit process.

Uh will the city look into that issue, whether it is relevant to this project or not.

The project is improving the sewer capacity on site.

Um, the um opposition is concerned about off-site um connections, and I'd turn it over to our water and sewer staff to address that.

Okay.

I know that there was some sewer and water projects done in Crown Point recently.

Good afternoon, Council members.

I'm Merrill Jimenez with DSD water and sewer.

We can um coordinate with PUD regarding the off-site sewer um on the playa that was mentioned.

Um, and see if um they can uh we can uh request um increased maintenance.

And council president to add on, our office has re uh received a handful of inquiries from nearby property owners as well, too.

So uh our community engagement team is working with staff already to engage with the residents uh nearby um to address those issues.

Okay.

Um again, I wouldn't expect that necessarily to be addressed during the discretionary permit process, but certainly as part of the building permit process and make sure we get that resolved.

Um the slightly I wanted to give staff an opportunity to talk about the public comment and the reference to appendix P and whether you have any concerns about the adequacy of the environmental document.

Yes, I'm I believe you're referring to VMT analysis.

And our um our project review staff includes transportation and um and they're the ones that review the transportation study manual and the regulations that um are in the mobility choice program.

And um SQL was prepared, or the environmental document was prepared in accordance with CEQA, but I will turn it over to transportation and our environmental staff too um to address VMT more specifically.

Okay, thank you.

Good afternoon.

And Marja with the SD transportation.

So regarding the VMT reduction measures, uh the projects are proposing uh the five points, the minimum five points VMTIC measures required.

Uh as uh four point public pedestrian walkway and one point uh on site bike repair station.

So however, these measures would not reduce the project's VMT impact to 85th present entire uh regional means VMT pair kept, therefore the projects considered to have a significant and less than fully mitigated transportation VMT impact with San Diego complete community mobility choices uh program CEQA findings uh found to be acceptable in light of the overriding consultation.

And as will the project providing another uh uh like uh along the project's frontage, then contiguous sidewalk and street trees as well to be as an improvement to reduce this VMT rediction measures impact.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

I wanted to give you that opportunity to um allay any concerns um or one last opportunity to document that.

So uh so with that uh uh I will move approval of the staff recommendation uh including the uh addition uh this afternoon of that one additional condition uh to the coastal development permit.

And is that adequate in terms of a motion?

Yes, thank you.

All right, good.

Thank you for confirming that.

We don't want to hiccups along the way.

Um and I'll close by saying I know I'm getting old when I see the daughter of a consultant that I used to work with back in the day.

So you're you're doing great.

Thank you very much.

All right, so we have a motion on the floor by myself to move the staff recommendation as shown on the screen.

We'll go to council president pro tem Lee.

Thank you, Council President.

Um, I'm gonna go ahead and concur with the findings that the council president has offered uh regarding this project um and uh to offer my second to that motion, um, but also just to emphasize the um positivity that we're seeing in allowing for a meaningful um amount of housing to be added in a well-resourced community uh with the affordable housing uh as well.

Um and I want to appreciate the council president's thorough um analysis of a lot of the uh feedback that has been received.

Um I also um appreciated seeing uh the positive feedback from a number of community uh organizations and stakeholders who um I think help to resemble the uh partnership with the community that is always important for any project uh coming forward.

So again, with that, we'll offer my second.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Council President Pro Tam Lee.

Um yeah, I'll leave it.

I forgot to mention that, but you know, for developers who don't understand the importance of connecting with many organizations, uh, you certainly set the bar very high about how to do it and how to do it uh right.

So uh look forward to this to be a very good addition to the Pacific Beach and Crown Point neighborhood in particular.

So with that, we not see anybody else in the lights.

We have a motion by myself and a second by council president pro tem Lee.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Thank you, Council President.

I sorry the voting system, please cast your vote that passes unanimously eight to zero with council member campio absent.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you.

Uh thank you both the applicant and to staff for the work bringing this forward.

With that, we will now adjourn council to the next regularly scheduled council meeting on Monday, February 2nd, 2026 at 10 a.m.