All right, good morning.

I will now call the City Council meeting of Tuesday, April 21st, 2026 to order.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Thank you, Council President.

Councilmember Campbell.

Councilmember Whitburn.

Here.

Councilmember Foster.

Councilmember Von Wolpert.

Council President Pro Tem Lee.

Here.

Councilmember Campio.

Councilmember Bareno.

Present.

Councilmember Ila Rivera.

And Council President Lacava.

Present.

Also attending the meeting are City Attorney Heather Ferber, Independent Budget Analyst Charles Monica, 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, City Clerk.

A quorum is now present.

We will begin this morning with the land acknowledgement and the pledge of allegiance led by Councilmember Von Wolpert.

Please stand if you are able.

Ready?

Begin.

All right.

Clerk, please go over how the public can offer their testimony.

Thank you, Council President.

I'd like to highlight the slide on the screen that reviews how the public can offer their public testimony during today's meeting.

Please note the time allocations for proclamations and consent items for meeting management purposes.

The order can be found on the agenda summary, found online or at the table in the back of the room.

If you are in person, please complete a speaker slip look at the entrance of chambers and bring it to the front of the room, place it in the clear box.

Council ambassadors are available near the entrance and can assist with questions and speaker slips.

No further in-person testimony will be taken once the council begins virtual testimony.

Thank you, Council President.

All right.

As you know, we're celebrating our 50th year anniversary of helping foster children, youth, and families, not only here in San Diego, but throughout Southern California.

I'd like you to thank you all for acknowledging the hard work, the dedication that we do.

We are particularly proud of our programs to prevent homelessness.

So an investment in Walden Family Services and the clients that we serve is an investment in San Diego and in our community at large.

So on behalf of Walden Family Services, thank you very much for your acknowledgement today.

Thank you.

Natasha.

You have time seated to you by Kevin Chen.

Can you please raise your hand, Kevin?

Thank you.

You'll have two minutes, please proceed.

Thank you.

Thank you to the San Diego City Council, Council President Joe Lacava, and Council President Pro Ten Kent Li.

This year, the Chinese School of San Diego is proud to celebrate our special milestone, our 100th anniversary.

Back in 1925, San Diego was a city of about 150,000 residents.

It was known as the Tuna capital of the world, and dredging had just started for Lindbergh Field.

And in the downtown area, second and third and market streets, there was a bustling Chinatown.

San Diego's Chinatown was the center of social and business life for many.

And to maintain their cultural identity and learn English together, a small school was born.

This small school became the Chinese School of San Diego.

In the mid-1980s, my mother Sally, who's here with us today, became the Zhonghua School's principal.

And she enrolled me when I was in elementary school to learn Chinese.

I attended the school on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings, and I met other Chinese American born like me.

It made such an impact on me.

In 2003, I served as the vice principal, later the principal, and now as the superintendent.

And I'm proud of the thousands of students we have educated and engaged.

Our Chinese school is not just important for cultural and linguistic preservation, but also for a sense of community connection.

We could not have reached this special milestone without the support of San Diego.

And we invite everyone to come celebrate with us our golden 100 Gala celebration on May 9th at Diamond Palace.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Cassandra Wong.

Good morning, Council members, distinguished guests and community leaders.

My name is Cassandra Wong.

I am the principal of the Chinese School of San Diego.

Imagine, if you will, a small classroom a century ago, just a few blocks from us, wooden desks worn smoothly, worn smooth by eager hands, the scent of ink, calligraphy brushes, and paper in the air, and the sound of children reciting lessons in unison.

That humble room was more than a place of learning.

It was a seed planted in the soil of our Chinese community, destined to grow into a towering tree of knowledge, culture, and heritage.

Today we gather to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the oldest Chinese school in San Diego in our community.

A milestone that speaks not only to the endurance of an institution, but to the unwavering commitment of generations who believed in the power of education.

For a hundred years, the school has been more than bricks and mortar.

It has been a bridge connecting generations to their cultural roots.

Your time has concluded.

My apologies.

I'm sorry.

Your time has concluded.

It is a minute per person, unless someone seated you time.

Your time has concluded.

Was that two minutes?

You didn't have anybody else seeding you time.

Is there anybody that's joined you that would give up a minute?

Was that two minutes?

No, so you only get one minute per person, and if somebody seeds you time, then you get two minutes.

So there's nobody else.

Council President, perhaps she can add a minute from items 506.

I can note that with that for the record.

Please proceed.

Okay.

For a hundred years, the school has been more than bricks and mortar.

It has been a bridge connecting generations to their cultural roots, a beacon guiding young minds towards excellence, and a home where values of respect, diligence, and perseverance are nurtured.

We honor the visionaries who founded the school in an era when resources were scarce, but determination was abundant.

We pay tribute to the teachers who dedicated their lives to shaping not just scholars but responsible citizens.

A celebrated Chinese scholar, Gun Zi once said, Sub Nin Xiu Mo Ba Nin Shuyan.

A celebrated Chinese scholar, Gunzi once said, it takes 10 years to cultivate a tree.

It takes a hundred years to cultivate a person.

A hundred years ago, a dream took root here.

Today that dream stands tall, its branches reaching far and wide, sheltering generations under the shade of wisdom and tradition.

May it continue to grow for another hundred years and beyond.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Lily.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to members of the city council on behalf of the Chinese community here in San Diego.

I am the chair of the board of the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum, situated on 404 Third Avenue.

We applaud the accomplishments of the San Diego Chinese School, which was established a hundred years ago.

I hope it will have many more centuries of excellence and teaching.

San Diego was where many Chinese landed in the 1800s.

Many of them stayed in the current so-called Chinatown, very close to the city hall.

We have today Mr.

Joe Lacava, who has been giving us support, but the education of children is most important.

My congratulations.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for that concluding comment, David.

Joe Sun, good morning.

I am David Sidd.

I attended the Jongwal Hawk House School from 1958 to 1964.

And every day I would go and learn and develop a lot of friends that way.

So wherever and whenever large Chinese community populations form, they immediately think of educating their children in the language and the customs of their homeland.

This was done a hundred years ago.

The proclamation today recognizes the efforts of community leaders, school staff, parents, and students to establish and conduct a Chinese language school.

The school helps to develop youth into adults who contribute significantly to their communities, be it local, national, or international.

So congratulations, Sally and Natasha.

So the work of the school as well as all the arts and culture groups in San Diego bring vitality and well-being to the community.

So I encourage the council to continue support of schools.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Janet.

Janet Kaye.

After Janet.

Those of you who have spoken, if you can return to your seats, please so you can have those available.

Thank you so much.

Janet Kay, Lauren Garcis, Ian Johnson, and Hasinta Wong, as well as Blair Pekman, if you can come up to the yellow reserve seats.

Janet, you're speaking on item 34.

You'll have one minute.

Please proceed.

Good morning, everybody.

Thank you to uh the mayor, the city council people, and especially our district seven representative, Raul Campillo.

Uh it has been an honor to uh stage a Linda Vista Multicultural Fair and Parade for over 40 years.

We're proud of our community, we're proud of our board, and I say this on behalf of our current president, Mikey Beats.

And he's sorry he could not be here today, but thank you for this proclamation.

It means a lot to us, and we're so glad to serve our community.

Thank you, Lauren Garces.

Good morning, honorable council members, city attorney, and staff.

My name is Lauren Balsita Garces, and I have been serving as the fair coordinator for the Linda Vista Multicultural Fair and Parade for over a decade now.

We're celebrating 41 years this Saturday, April 25th.

Encourage and welcome you all to join us.

It started in 1985 after the war as a reason for the Linda Vista community to welcome their migrant community neighbors.

It was meant to break barriers by sharing food, culture, and traditions.

And that's something, a spirit that we continue today with the over 22 dialects that are spoken in the neighborhood.

A diversity that is unfortunately sometimes targeted.

So we combat that with arts and culture.

We combat that with education.

It's one of the few neighborhoods where we can go from preschool to uh PhD thanks to USD.

So we celebrate education, arts and culture, and the ways that arts and culture breaks barriers.

So we continue to urge you to support those in our neighborhood and the belonging that it creates for us as well.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ian Johnson.

Ian Johnson, you have time seated to you by Karina Pew.

Can you please raise your hand, Karina?

Thank you so much.

You'll have two minutes.

Great.

Thank you.

Good morning, City Council.

My name is Ian Johnson.

My pronouns are he, him, his, and be on behalf of the San Diego LGBT Community Center.

Uh, thank you so much for recognizing 20 years of dining out for life San Diego.

For two decades, hundreds of local restaurants have committed to donating a portion of their proceeds to sustain health and wellness programs, including HIV services and prevention programs, right here in our community.

This year's event carries special weight.

As the federal government continues to roll back funding for the LGBTQ community and Ryan White programs, support remains uncertain.

The dollars raised this Thursday are more critical than ever.

On April 23rd, partners across San Diego, including many of your offices, will dine at a select restaurants and directly support these free life-saving services.

So dining out for life raises critical funding, but it's also so much more.

You know, about 10 years ago we were here, and we had a community member speak right here about the event's impact.

He had been a young adult in New Mexico, unable to access PrEP, the once daily pill that prevents you from getting HIV, and eventually received an HIV diagnosis, facing stigma, rejection, and uncertainty.

He really relocated to San Diego for a fresh start, and the very day he arrived, unknowingly, was dining out for life day.

He walked into a participating restaurant, uptown tavern, and noticed a crowd on Thursday night wearing these I dine stickers.

A volunteer approached his table and openly talked about HIV prevention and services and the community found uh fundraising around him.

Imagine arriving in a new city, carrying that weight, and being welcomed into a room full of supporters.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Hasinta Huh Hasinta Huang.

You're speaking on items 32 and S506.

You'll have two minutes.

All right.

Thank you.

Uh good morning, Council President and Council members and staff.

My name is Jacinta Wang, and I'm honored to be here in strong support of this proclamation today, recognizing the 100th anniversary for the Chinese School of San Diego.

For a hundred years, the Chinese school has been a cornerstone of cultural education in our region, preserving language, culture, and identity while shaping generations of students who carry those traditions forward with pride.

It has also served as a bridge, fostering cultural understanding and strengthening connections across our diverse communities.

Reaching 100 years is a rare milestone, one that only a handful of institutions in San Diego can claim.

San Diego was incorporated in 1850, and Chinese immigrants are already here in those early years, laying the foundation for the community that we know today.

The Chinese school continues that legacy by ensuring future generations stay connected to that language, culture, and heritage.

So I thank you for recognizing this remarkable cornerstone.

In regards to Sally Wang Avery, which I'm also speaking on, I just want to say a quick thanks for um acknowledging her and her work.

I'm sorry, of course, I have don't have my speaking points.

I didn't know I was gonna talk about both of them at the same time.

But Sally Wong's Avery's decades of leadership service and commitment to education and social service have made a profound and lasting impact here and around the globe.

Her work has touched many San Diegan cornerstone institutions serving the Chinese community, including the Chinese Service Center, the Chinese Historical Society and Museum, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the House of China and Babula Park, UCSD, and the Chinese School of San Diego to name a few.

She represents the very best of community leadership, and it's fitting that we take this moment to recognize not just her accomplishments, but the lasting legacy she continues to build.

Thank you for honoring her.

Thank you.

Our final speaker here in Council Chambers is Blair Beekman.

You're speaking on items 3032, S509, S503, and S502.

So you'll have three minutes.

Hi, thank you, Blair Beekman.

Um some of my words may be a bit strong today.

I'm sorry if that ends up happening.

I don't mean them to be, but um a good proclamation uh set today.

Uh I'm very interested to hear uh I what uh denim day will be about, what what uh will be the conversation here?

It'll be nice to hear that.

Um for item 32, uh the Chinese School of San Diego uh 100th anniversary.

Um thank you.

I used to live in kind of uh the old San Diego Chinatown area, and uh it's a nice area.

It doesn't get enough uh credit in this life.

Uh hopefully we can talk about it more often, and this is a nice time too.

So I just wanted to just be here to offer uh a hello.

That it's uh the the work that they do and the effort of the area is is nice, and uh I hope uh good luck in the and the good efforts of that of the area and and what they do as a school, and they they can continue with the the good work they do.

From that, to also mention National Fentanyl Awareness Day.

In being from that area in the downtown area around Third and Fourth and G Street areas, there used to be a really serious fentanyl issue.

You know, when I first moved here in 2022, I mean, like every few months there would be you know three or four deaths at a time sometimes from overdose, you know, from bad bats.

I'd come here and I'd report it to yourselves, and it was helpful.

Something would change after that.

And I think over time that that bad batch stuff isn't happening so much now.

And uh thank you for your work and effort, and that we continue the efforts that we all become more aware of how to address our fentanyl, either our use or or ways to address it, uh curb its uh place in society.

Um, there's a lot of work we got to do with the issue that we don't know how to better talk about.

Good luck that we can.

Um SD day is a really interesting concept to me.

Uh, I keep trying to talk about communication, how we build local neighborhoods and community, and this sounds like a group, uh, one SD that can really um foster that conversation and create good conversations where other groups may be lacking and need help.

Uh one SD can come in and offer some help and guidance and uh good luck what one SD can do for our local neighborhoods uh in the future of San Diego towards communication, dialogue, openness, all the good stuff.

Um, and uh San Diego Council on Literacy Day.

Thank you for an idea of literacy day.

I think um with so much war going on with the U.S.

really threatening places like Cuba and Venezuela and Iran.

Uh it just reminded me of the importance of sovereignty, a country's sovereignty.

They try to do really good things for their own people, so do we.

I hope we learn to respect that from all of us, and that's how we learn to build dialogue and get along and trust.

Good luck in our efforts.

Thank you.

Thank you.

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

Sorry, the five-minute timer, starting with Tony.

If you can please unmute and let me know which item or items you wish to speak to.

Tony morning.

I just wanted to speak to all the items, please.

You'll have three minutes, please proceed.

Thank you.

Good morning, City Council.

Um, I'm in support of this proclamation.

I think this is this is a great thing.

I think that any time that we honor the cultural legacies of the various cultures that have contributed to making San Diego the great city that it is, um, I think that we're moving in the right direction.

I think that this is part of a broader step that we need to be taking and more conscientiously making, especially now that we're seeing that our immigrant communities are under attack by the federal administration.

So this means a lot.

Um, this is really fantastic.

One of my best friends uh grew up in going to one of these Chinese schools.

Um that's like where he learned how to speak Mandarin Chinese.

And uh so yes, I want to thank the groups that have given their presentations that have spoken this morning.

Um I want to thank Blair Beekman uh for his constant dedication uh to city council constantly coming in and speaking and sharing great ideas.

Um I want to thank all the city council members uh for delivering as long as they did yesterday.

Um, and and really putting their thoughts and efforts and their energy into um doing everything that they can to make San Diego one of the best cities to live in.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next is 8700.

If you can please unmute and let me know which item or items you wish to speak to.

Uh thank you.

Uh good morning.

I will be speaking on S502 and S503, please.

You'll have two minutes, please proceed.

Thank you.

On S502.

This is wow, there's just you know, days and weeks and months to speak on this.

But uh I did Google this bit and the fentanyl deaths.

Uh, here are two statistics that really stood out to me.

Uh, in 2000 in 2024, men were three times more likely to die from an overdose than women.

And the highest rates were among adults aged 45 to 64.

That's the piece that really stood out to me, uh, age 45 to 64.

And then the other item on this highest risk groups, individuals experiencing homelessness represent approximately 30% of all overdose deaths in the country.

Big, big thank you to Councilmember von Wilper and Council Member Campel for your heartfelt interest and work on this crisis.

Love to all on S503.

One Sandy, one SD is a regional community building coalition under the I pronounce this, I looked this up the Burnham, the Burnham Center for Community Advancement.

Every word in the list of the whereas thrilled me.

Then I Googled one SD, and it continued every word thrilled me.

A big thank you to Malin Burnham.

Hope I got that right.

Um pioneer of this coalition, and he's gonna be 99 years old this year.

And his personal motto is community before shelf.

Community before shelf.

Isn't it a beautiful personal model?

Um, Mato.

So anyway, uh, Miss P.

Love you.

That does conclude public comment on the proclamations.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

So we'll now turn it over to council members for comments and entertain a motion, and we'll start with council member Moreno.

Wonderful, good morning.

And um, I have comments on item 30, which is denim day and item S504.

Mr.

Enrique Lopez Day.

Uh, today we recognize April 29th, 2026 as Denham Day in the city of San Diego, a day that carries a powerful message rooted in justice, awareness, and solidarity.

Denham Day began as a response to a deeply troubling court ruling that perpetuated harmful lies about sexual violence and consent.

In defiance, women in the Italian parliament wore genes to stand with survivors and to reject the idea that clothing could ever imply consent.

The act of courage sparked a global movement, one that reminds us that there's never an excuse for sexual assault.

We are proud to recognize the vital work of the San Diego Family Justice Center, your safe place, which provides compassionate comprehensive services to survivors of sexual assault and trafficking.

Their work ensures that anybody in need can find safety, dignity, and also support.

Wearing denim today is a visible statement of our shared values that we believe survivors, and that we're committed to building a safer community.

We continue this work not just today, but every day until respect, safety, and justice are realities.

Moving on to S504, we celebrate an extraordinary milestone and an even more extraordinary individual.

It's an honor to recognize April 21st, 2026 as Mr.

Enrique Lopez Day in the city of San Diego.

Mr.

Lopez's story is one of resilience, sacrifice, and unwavering dedication.

Born in Tijuana, Mexico, he took on response, a lot of responsibility at a young age, leaving school early to support his family.

With determination and hope, he came to the United States in pursuit of opportunity, laying the foundation for a life defined by hard work and perseverance, from humble beginnings as a handyman to distinguished careers spanning more than 25 years at Ralph's Bakery.

Mr.

Lopez built a reputation for excellence.

His artistry and cake decorating not only earned him awards, but brought joy to countless celebrations across our community.

Even creating cakes for beloved figures like Tony Gwynn himself.

Along his wife, Mr.

Lopez, he worked tirelessly to build a better life, opening doors for others along the way, providing housing support and opportunities to family members and those in needs.

His compassion extends far beyond his household.

Whether it was saving a neighbor from a fire, lending his skill to those in need, or simply showing up when it matters the most.

Mr.

Lopez has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to serving others.

Mr.

Lopez embodies the very best of San Diego, hard work, generosity, resilience, and heart.

His life is a testament to the impact one person can have on an entire community, and it is my privilege to honor him and proclaim April 21st, 2026 as Mr.

Enrique Lopez Day.

Happy birthday as well.

Happy 70th birthday, and thank you for inspiring us all.

And with that, um, I will make a motion to move proclamations.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Councilmember.

So we have a motion by Councilmember Moreno to move the proclamations.

We'll go next to Councilmember Campbell.

Thank you, Council President.

I'm going to speak about PROC 30 and PROC 31, and also about Angel Castro Day.

It's important for council to recognize Denham Day each year, to reaffirm our commitment to ending sexual violence and supporting survivors of sexual assault.

We call it Denim Day after the court in Italy wrongfully blamed a victim for her rape because she was wearing tight jeans.

The San Diego Police Department and City Attorney's Office have worked hard to pursue justice for victims of sexual assault in our city.

And years ago, when DNA kits were backed up, our police department stepped up and made sure that every one of them was examined, the old ones and the new ones, and on time.

We must continue to empower survivors and stand with them every day.

It takes courage and strength for a survivor to share their stories.

We must do everything we can to teach respect for women and keep our community safe.

For PROC 31, I want to thank Mayor Gloria and my colleagues, Councilmembers Whitburn and Von Wilper, for joining me in proclaiming April 23rd, 2026 as dining out for life, 20th anniversary day in the city of San Diego.

Amazing.

And thank you, Ian, for your remarks.

For 20 years, the San Diego LGBT Center has partnered with dozens of local restaurants, bars, and coffee shops across the city to support critical HIV aid services and prevention.

This ongoing partnership has supported the center's ability to provide free health services, including HIV testing, prevention care, and mental health support.

This long-standing tradition exemplifies the good that can be accomplished when we come together as community.

By coming together in partnership, we support our local businesses who are who are providing us this opportunity and feeding us as we enjoy it.

And more importantly, we are helping people who are experiencing health challenges.

We are all collectively helping with this important cause that saves lives.

I encourage everyone to participate this coming Thursday and go to one of the participating businesses.

You can find the list of participating businesses on the center's website, the LGBT Center.

Cheers to 20 years.

And next, I would like to join my colleagues in recognizing a resident from my district, District 2, Angel Castro, for 45 years of dedicated service to our city through through her role in parks and recreation department.

Amazingly, 45 years of service.

Unfortunately, she recently passed away, but she left a lasting impact of service and dedication for our communities.

She began her career leading recreation programs around the city and advanced to become the area manager in the Department of Parks and Rec.

Angela organized many popular community events, including for holidays as well as movie nights and concerts in the park.

My heart is with her family members after her passing, and thank you for sharing Angel with us, and we know that her dedication is appreciated by all of us.

May she rest in power.

Thank you, Council President.

Right, thank you, Councilmore Campbell.

Can I take that as a second?

Happy to second the prox.

All right.

Thank you.

So we have a motion by Councilmember Reynolds, second by Councilmember Campbell to move the proclamations.

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

Thank you, Council President.

I'll start by thanking my colleagues for the many uh recognitions and proclamations today, starting with item 30 with Denim Day.

Um especially, I don't want to echo everything that everyone else has shared, but to especially thank our city attorney's office and the work of our the URS Family Justice Center that we have as a city.

Um thank you for the work that that is being done by your team, uh attorney Ferbert.

Um for item 31 for dining out for life.

Uh I want to thank the uh LGBT Center for your work throughout the year, and I know our team will be one of many uh across the science that will be joining you for that uh each year.

We can't miss it.

So of course it's more than just an opportunity as a fundraiser.

I think it's a continual reminder of uh taking that as a chance for us to show our support and to get the community together in a fun and meaningful way for that day.

Um I've got a couple other proclamations I wanted to pay tribute to.

One is S500, um, and want to thank my colleagues, uh, Council President Lacaba, uh, Councilmember Campio for bringing forward Walden's uh Family Services' 50th anniversary day, and to congratulate Walden Family Services and my good friend uh CEO Teresa Stivers on her on their 50th anniversary.

They've been an invaluable organization in the city, providing support for foster care and adoption, uh, transitional housing for youth and other supportive services, and since opening their doors have supported approximately 1,500 children, youth, and families annually, and have placed uh 233 children in nurturing homes.

It was a pleasure to be able to celebrate the occasion with you and your team as well as many of your volunteers, and congratulations again on the remarkable achievement of 50 years of service.

Next is item 32.

Uh, I think everyone heard a little bit about the Chinese School of San Diego, um, and certainly celebrating a hundred years as an organization is a milestone feat anywhere.

Uh so I want to thank uh Council President Lakava in joining me to recognize the Chinese School of San Diego for this hundredth anniversary.

As the oldest Chinese school in San Diego, it has long provided opportunities for uh students to learn, um, not just language, but really to be immersed and to understand culture uh as well.

And it's not just open to children.

Um I've seen many adults as well participate in the programs, and what I've seen through your programs is this opportunity to create a vibrant hub for San Diegoans who are interested in learning a second language, maintaining their linguistic heritage, uh, deepening their understanding of Chinese culture through different activities from calligraphy to dance to seasonal festival celebrations.

Um, and I would especially note that they uniquely offer not just Mandarin Chinese, but also Cantonese, which is extremely rare and happens to be the dialect that I continue to speak with my mother to this day.

Uh the Chinese School of San Diego also houses the Chinese bilingual preschool, uh, which opened in 2008 and happens to be special to me because my son Oliver, who is now six, uh, spent his early years there at the school.

So I want to take a moment to congratulate uh Sally Wang Avery, Superintendent Natasha Wong, Principal Cassandra Wong, and the entire staff and community for their service as part of this community institution uh throughout its 100-year journey.

And we're gonna celebrate that in early May at your upcoming gala, uh, which I certainly look forward to.

Um now, maybe as a bit of a surprise, I think it's not just enough to recognize this milestone moment uh for the Chinese School of San Diego without also paying tribute to an individual who has been foundational to much of its impact over decades.

So, for item 506, uh, it's my honor, along with Council President Lacava, to bring forward a proclamation recognizing Sally Wang Avery in the city of San Diego.

Uh when looking through Sally's achievements and contributions to our community and across the continent, it is hard to choose just a few.

Her life has truly been rooted in community service.

Sally Wang Avery was the co-founder of the Chinese Historical Society in the 1980s, the first woman president of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in the 1990s.

She's uh was a co-founder of the Chinese bilingual preschool and served as principal of the Chinese School of San Diego from 1984 to 2012.

Sally actually opened her law practice in the mid-90s in the mid-city area, where she knew there was an influx of immigrant families that needed numerous services.

She also helped to found the Chinese Service Center in 2003.

And between her professional career as an attorney and her multitudes of community engagement, she dedicated countless hours to provide crucial pro bono services to low-income families and numerous community organizations.

I remember sitting at a dinner just a couple of weeks ago with some of the very first Asian American judges to serve in the county of San Diego.

And they too recognize Sally for her many years serving as an interpreter and a translator for many immigrant families, all as a volunteer.

And it's one of those small things about Sally's service that many may not know of that is part of the history right here in San Diego.

Her contributions as an educator, an attorney, and a philanthropist have been recognized far and wide.

In 2006, she was awarded the Susan B.

Anthony Leadership Award in 2009, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

And in 2016, she was inducted into the San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame.

And at her alma mater, UC San Diego, you can find the Sally T.

Wong Avery Library, as well as support from much of the East Asian Pacific studies and programs that they have available at UC San Diego.

So with that, I know this is a surprise, Sally.

We didn't necessarily share this with you.

But I'd like to share a moment.

Sally, if you'd like to come up along with Natasha Wong, your daughter, just in case you'd like to come up and say a few words.

Thank you, Ken, for your kind uh comment.

And thank you, Joe, for supporting and coming to our activities throughout the years.

I am very uh privileged to and honored to really share my culture and my language and help all the other people that are interested in Chinese in San Diego.

And I think uh starting early, now it's about 30 years.

I can see a difference in San Diego.

We teach character, we teach virtual, we teach uh Confucius uh teaching.

And that is file piety on the sinews, and also be kind to handicaps, people that are needed, and it has a lot of different uh Chinese stories throughout our uh teaching.

Uh our school is recognized by um People's Republic of China, the Secretary of Education in Beijing came and visited us and was very impressed.

And also in Taiwan, where they have the uh director general, Uso King, and they also give us an award that we hang on the wall.

So our school is very special.

I just love it.

I love doing it, and we have trained a lot of young people to take over because I'm a little tired.

Yeah.

But thank you very much for the acknowledgement, and uh I'm continuing serving in many, many boards.

I think San Diego in England in uh Toronto.

We have a library in Toronto, Long A Ray Library, that uh illustrate what the Japanese has done, and also uh music gallery in um Cambridge in England, and there are others.

I think too many too many to mention.

Thank you.

Well, thank you for this opportunity uh to recognize your contributions to San Diego.

Council President, that concludes my comments.

All right, thank you, sir.

So we'll go next to Councilmember Von Wolford.

Uh thank you very much, and thank you to my colleagues as always for bringing forth wonderful proclamations for our community.

Um I have a bunch of comments, but item 32, the Chinese School of San Diego 100th anniversary day.

Uh I too have visited the school.

It's absolutely beautiful.

Thank you for opening it up to community events, including events by the Commission on the Status of Women.

Um I'm very excited to come to the gala and celebrate with all of you, but it's fantastic.

Um, and I'm looking forward to learning more on item 500 S506, Sally Long Avery Day, um, Sally Wang Avery.

You have raised an incredible daughter as well.

Natasha has become a good friend to so many of us and really become an ambassador for the Chinese community to all of us.

And so I'm very excited to have her as a friend and a mentor.

And also thank you for your service, your pro bono service as a lawyer.

That really touched me when I read that.

Including, you know, teaching health um restaurant workers, health and sanitation.

You really have helped so many people throughout your time, and you continue to help.

So we very much appreciate you.

Um on item S502, National Fentanyl Awareness Day.

I'm honored to join Council Morale Campillo in recognizing national fentanyl awareness and the urgent need to address this crisis.

Fentanyl still remains the leading driver of overdose deaths impacting families in every single part of San Diego County.

It's often found in counterfeit pills, increasing the risk of accidental exposure and overdose and even small amounts can be fatal, which is why prevention and public awareness are critical.

Um, expanding access to naloxone, investing in education, are proving strategies to save lives.

And guess what, folks?

It's working.

We are now bending the trend, and fewer people are losing their lives to fentanyl overdose in San Diego County because of the work we've all done together.

So we have to double down and can keep going.

On item 30 30, which is denim day, I'm proud to join my colleagues in recognizing uh denim day in the city of San Diego.

I too am writing denim.

You can't see it very well.

Um, and thank you to everyone who's come in.

I know Blair Beekman had asked what this case was about, and uh unfortunately, the story began in Italy in 1992 when an 18-year-old girl was on her first day of her very first driving lesson, and her 45-year-old driving instructor took her to an isolated road, pulled her out of the car, removed her jeans, and forcibly raped her.

She reported the rape, and the perpetrator was arrested and prosecuted.

He was convicted of raping her and sentenced to jail.

But during the appellate process, he appealed the conviction, claiming that she was wearing jeans that were so tight, she must have helped him take them off.

And the Italian Supreme Court agreed and overturned her conviction.

Enraged by the verdict, woman in the Italian Parliament Parliament launched a protest wearing jeans on the steps of the of the Supreme Court of Italy.

This protest was then picked up by the international media, which led the California Senate and assembly to do the same and wear genome jeans on the state of the California State Capitol.

It was then picked up in Los Angeles, and since 1999, we have all been commemorating denim day every year in April to raise awareness about sexual assault and that clothing will never ever mean consent.

I'm also grateful for the work of our San Diego Police Department and our detectives and the Family Justice Center, who prosecutes uh uh anyone who commits sexual assault and provides uh hope for survivors.

On item 31, dining out for life.

I'm very excited to be joining our friends from the LGBT Center again and many other partner organizations to recognize Dining Out for Life, to support HIV AIDS service and prevention, and what a beautiful story you shared about someone finding hope in San Diego.

I'm grateful to the restaurants, small businesses, and volunteers who continue to show up and give back.

I do believe we in the federal government need to continue recognizing World AIDS Day, supporting the Ryan White and Hopwa funds and making sure that we fully invest in science, medicine, and prevention going forward.

So thank you to our LGBTQ community.

I'm very excited to commemorate with you and eat some good food for a good cause.

Um next item 32, and I will need my additional three minutes, please.

Um, Angel Castro Day.

I want to take a moment to recognize Angel Castro and her incredible legacy of service to the city of San Diego, having dedicated nearly 45 years to the parks and recreation department, and RIMBET can be filled in communities around the city, including in District 5.

We're very grateful for her legacy of leadership, including movies in the park to holiday events to help create community, including in District 5.

So, Angel, we will think about you often.

Thank you very much for the work you have done in our city.

And finally, item S501, Daryl Malone Memorial Poker Run Day.

I am very, very honored to recognize Darrell Malone Memorial POCORN Day and the veterans and honorins that this day supports.

This event brings together veterans, writers, families, and honors service and strengthens our community.

It carries forward Darrell Malone's legacy by continuing to show up for those who have served our country.

I want to thank the American Legion Writers, Chapter 365 for your ongoing commitment to supporting veterans and their families.

For those who don't know, we have many of the members here with us in the audience today.

American Legion Writers Chapter 365 is currently the fourth largest chapter in California and among the most active groups right here in North San Diego County.

Their mission is rooted in service and community engagement and making a lasting impact for those who have served our country.

And in fact, we have one of our own here, Elias Rodriguez, who served our very own San Diego Police Department for 26 years and is a retired U.S.

Navy SEAL.

I'd love for you to come up and please uh give us some comments about what's going on today.

I'm sorry, Elias.

I said I pronounced your name wrong.

Elias Rodriguez, please come on up.

Hi, good morning.

My name is uh Elias Rodriguez.

I'm the director of the American Legion Writers 365, located in Vista.

And on behalf of the American Legion 365, we'd like to thank Councilmember Marnie Van Wilper, the City of San Diego, and the mayor for this proclamation.

And although we're based out of Vista, uh we support veterans in the entire county.

So the work that we do, the volunteer hours that we put in, um, and the money that we raise go to the veterans, their families, and the organizations that support the veterans.

This recognition is not only uh for our members who are here today, some past presidents as well.

But it's for all of us that we contribute towards our cause.

We'd like to invite you to the 12th annual Darrell Malone poker run.

That's this Saturday at 1234 South Santa Fe Avenue in Vista, where we're gonna donate $16,000 to four different organizations.

So this is how we raise, we help raise our money.

So if you're a motorcycle rider, bring your motorcycle show up at 8 30.

If you're gonna drive a cage, which means a car, you've got four wheels, show up at 12.

And uh we have a barbecue, a live band, and raffle prizes that uh we're gonna be giving away.

So thank you very much for for uh this proclamation.

We we're honored to receive that.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

And I know we have many veterans in the room here who have served everywhere from Vietnam going forward.

So can our veterans please stand so we can recognize you as well.

All right, thank you.

Thank you very much.

Your your work has made a real impact in our communities.

We continue to look forward to every year, and I will be there on Saturday to celebrate with you.

So thank you so much.

And thank you very much, Council President.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Von Wolper.

We'll go next to Councilmember Kempio.

Thank you, Council President, and thanks to everyone who's here, and congratulations to everyone uh receiving a proclamation.

Uh denim day.

Thank you to our city attorney's office and everyone who's helping stand against sexual violence, dining out for life 20th anniversary.

Uh my family deeply appreciates that.

Uh, my uncle uh Francisco, who passed away in 1992 from uh HIV AIDS.

My family sees the work you do and really appreciate it.

Um, and the Chinese School of San Diego 100th anniversary, an incredible milestone.

Congratulations on that.

Uh Walden Family Services.

I'm honored to join uh your office, Council President in proclaiming April 30th as Walden Family Services 50th Anniversary Day.

I thank them for being in chambers for five decades, uh, delivering comprehensive and culturally competent support to families and youth across San uh Southern California has had a profound impact, and may your next 50 years build on that legacy even further.

Uh I'm honored to proclaim May 12th, 2026 as uh one San Diego Day, and I thank the Burnham Center for the of community advancement and their partners and their leadership in this uh as leaders in this region, uh as Mr.

Burnham uh as uh one of our callers uh mentioned, 99 years old, has uh contributed so much to our region, and the Burnham Center continues to carry that legacy forward and by sharing data and aligning efforts and advancing real measurable progress.

I know we'll go even further together.

And last but not least, uh Linda Vista Mutt Multicultural Fair Day.

I want to thank my uh my good friends that I see every year, Janet Kay and Lauren Garasis for being here today and leading the charge to keep the amazing tradition going.

It's always such a fun time being with you, and of course, the community that organizes such a great event every single year.

It's gotten bigger and bigger and bigger over the last five years, and I will be there uh this weekend with my team.

I invite everyone to be there on Saturday between 10 and 5 along Linda Vista Road.

Uh there's rides, so bring kids.

That's always fun too.

Uh and with that, I will conclude my comments.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Campia.

I will go next to Councilmember Foster.

Thank you, um, Council President.

And um just really want to just take a quick moment to acknowledge um all of the um proclamation um recipients, a lot of good items um today.

Um I'd like to touch on just uh a couple of them.

Um one denim day.

I just want to acknowledge the mayor, uh city city attorney and my colleagues for bringing this proclamation forward.

Uh denim day is about standing with survivors and being clear that there's no excuse for sexual violence.

This is about challenging harmful thinking that shifts blame onto victims instead of holding abusers accountable and making sure victims feel supported when they come forward.

This recognition sends a clear message that we stand with survivors and against victim blaming.

We must continue to provide safe places, support and protect victims, and hold abusers accountable.

Also, dining out for life, uh 20th anniversary for 20 years, dining out for life has brought people together to support critical HIV prevention, care, and support services here in San Diego.

It's a simple idea with real impact, showing up, supporting local businesses, and giving back at the same time.

These efforts help fund services that many in our community rely on every day.

I look forward to participating with my team and supporting this important cause.

Thank you to the LGBT Center for continuing to stand in the gap and for the work you continue to do.

The Walden Family Services 50th anniversary.

I want to thank Council President Lukava and Councilmember Campillo for recognizing Walden Family Services for many young people leaving foster care.

The transition into adulthood comes with real challenges, especially without stable housing or support.

We see this across our city, including in District 4, where too many young people are navigating the next step on their own.

Organizations like Walden Family Services provide stability and guidance on the path forward.

Your work helps young people build life skills, continue their education, and move toward independence.

Fifty years of this work has made a real difference for youth and families across our region.

Thank you.

Also, uh National Fentanyl Awareness Day.

Fentanyl continues to impact communities across our city, and too many families has have felt that loss firsthand.

What makes this especially dangerous is how often people don't know what they're being exposed to.

Awareness, education, and access to tools like Narcon are critical to preventing more lives from being lost.

I'd like to acknowledge the Project Aware team and Mr.

Reginald Washington for all the work that him and his team do in protecting our community from this dangerous drug.

Thank you to Council Member Von Wilbert and Councilmember Campillo for bringing this important proclamation forward.

And Council uh President, um that will um conclude my comments and again um congratulations to all of the um receivers of the proclamations today.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Foster.

We'll go to Councilmember Whitburn.

Thank you, Council President.

I too want to congratulate all of those being recognized with proclamations today.

Thank you for your service to our city, to our community.

Uh, thank you to Angel Castro's family for being here and for honoring her legacy, her passion for bringing people together is missed by our entire city.

I want to thank my colleagues for bringing forward the proclamation recognizing denim day.

Millions across the nation will wear denim and stand with survivors of sexual violence on April 29th.

We reject any excuse for sexual violence.

I'm honored to join my colleagues in recognizing dining out for life 20th anniversary day this Thursday.

Uh, the center organizes this event year after year, making sure that those resources reach our community.

For two decades, San Diegans have come together to diet out to directly support HIV and aid services, including testing and prevention, care and mental health services for those who need it most.

Uh I also want to thank the dozens of participating restaurants and bars and establishments across San Diego who donate a significant portion of their proceeds, uh dining out for life day to support the Center's health and wellness programs.

And I would encourage as many people as possible to take part this Thursday and support the businesses that are helping to make a real difference in our community, particularly when you consider, as Mr.

Johnson said, the challenges that the community faces of the current federal environment.

And I also want to thank many of my colleagues for participating in this important day on Thursday.

The 100th anniversary of the Chinese School of San Diego is such a milestone, one that really highlights the contributions and influence of the Chinese community from San Diego's earliest days.

Congratulations to the WAG family and everybody who has attended and supported the Chinese School of San Diego over the years.

I am proud that it has its roots in downtown San Diego and that we continue to have a thriving Chinese historical district dating back to the 1860s, about five blocks down the street, uh, right here.

Uh it is also fitting that we are honoring Sally Wag Avery today.

She's done so much to honor the heritage of uh San Diego's Chinese community while also ensuring that the community and culture continues to thrive in our city and cities around the world.

So thank you for contributing so much to our community over so many years.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, Councilman Whitburn.

Uh now that all my colleagues have spoken, I will close out the Council comments.

Um thank you, our congratulations, everybody that's being recognized and the proclamations being offered today.

Thank you to my colleagues for bringing them forward.

Um I'll speak to just a few of them, starting with item 30, denim day, uh, in collaboration with Mayor Gloria, City Attorney Ferbert.

Council members Campbell, Von Wolpert, and Moreno.

I join my colleagues in recognizing Denham Day and stand in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault.

Sadly, despite the progress we have seen from the Me2 movement to until up until now, recent rev revelations underscore that individual behavior and simple respect has so much further to go.

We must continue to do all we can to eradicate sexual violence and create safe spaces for survivors to tell their stories.

Denim Day provides an opportunity to show those in our community that the City of San Diego stands with survivors of sexual violence, and we will continue to seek opportunities to offer support services and deter sexual violence.

Item S500, Waldham Family Services, a 50th anniversary day.

As Teresa herself said, and Councilmember Campillo noted, the work being done at Walden is nothing short of extraordinary.

Through their investment in foster care youth, they instill the knowledge and skills to strive as youth continue to face the challenges of foster care and adoption.

From providing culturally responsive programs like child family therapy, transitional housing for youth and LGBTQ plus services, Walden Family Services proactively creates a safer future for San Diego's youth.

Thank you to all the staff at Walden Family Services for the amazing work that you do to help positively shape the future of foster care and its youth over the past 50 years.

Item S509, San Diego Council on Literacy Day.

Today I joined I asked my council members to join me in proclaiming May 1st as San Diego Council on Literacy Day to highlight the importance of literacy rates in the City of San Diego.

Literacy is more than just an academic scale.

It is a necessity that allows for opportunity impacts overall quality of life.

With youth literacy rates ranging from 22 to 91 percent in San Diego.

The San Diego Council on Literacy aims to close this gap.

Through community partnerships and local organizations, they provide on average 65,000 people with literacy services that include programs and over 500,000 new books.

This work would not be possible with the dedicated work of the San Diego Council on Literacy staff, volunteers, community organizers, and teachers who work truly does make a difference.

Thank you for your efforts in creating opportunities for San Diego.

I too will join Council President Pro Tem Lee on item 32 and congratulating the Chinese School of San Diego on the organization's 100th anniversary.

San Diego is a mosaic of diverse cultures, backgrounds, histories, and traditions that each contribute to our city's vibrancy.

Cultural institutions and culture bearers play vital roles in our communities that preserve and strengthen our collective story for the next generation.

The Chinese School of San Diego has enriched our city in providing cultural and language education, providing critical ties to the past while enriching the city's future.

As they celebrate 100 years, I applaud their dedication to fostering community bonds and contributions to our cultural fabric.

And closing S506, Sally Wong Avery Day.

An important piece of Chinese school's history is Sally Wong Avery, as we've heard.

As one of the organization's co-founders, Sally's contributions have helped generations of Chinese Americans through financial literacy, English language classes, tax assistance, and even pro bono legal services.

On top of her community contributions, Sally's philanthropic contributions span the globe, but also fields of study ranging from historic preservation to music.

Through her leadership and generosity, Sally continues to leave her legacy in community empowerment and education across the world.

Thank you, Sally, for all the work that you have done to create connected Asian communities in San Diego.

And I have said for the past four years in a row, we will get via Capri repaved.

This is the year we're really going to do it.

So mark my words.

But thank you, Sally, for the good work that you've done.

So with that, uh and all my colleagues have now spoken.

We have a motion by Councilmember Moreno and a second by Councilmember Campbell.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Thank you.

That does pass unanimously.

All right, we will pause council hearing for photos, and we will start with the San Diego Council on Literacy.

And then for the others, look to hide for the order of the next one.

All right.

Still a little bit of business to do this morning.

We will now proceed with the approval of the consent items, items fifty through fifty-seven, one hundred through one hundred eight.

S five oh five, s five oh seven, s five oh eight.

Before we take public comment, I will pull items one hundred six and one hundred seven to be heard after the vote is taken on the balance of the consent agenda.

Are there any other requests to pull any other items?

But also let me note for the record the potential appointment that is on the agenda this morning is item one oh eight is the potential appointment of um TBSA Matovu to the Board of Administration of the San Diego City Employees Retirement System.

Blair Beakman and Stephen Prescott, if you can please come up to the front.

Blair, you're speaking on items fifty fifty-four, fifty-two, one hundred one oh one, and fifty-two.

So you'll have three minutes on the consent calendar.

If you can please come to the microphone, all right.

San Francisco Chinatown has a really large Cantonese language uh population there to note.

Um starting with my comments.

Starting with my comments, item 50, acceptance of floating restroom, uh, California Department of Parks.

When you have this item comes up kind of regularly, uh every six months or so uh here.

Um when it does, thank you very much for it.

I it because it usually it's kind of an interesting idea, and um it kind of brings out other ideas and in future agendas like bathroom use in the downtown area and what we could be doing to better serve those kind of issues.

So this item actually it floats, it does float.

It brings new ideas of how we consider our issues in San Diego creative ideas.

So good luck how what this item can be representing.

It's expensive, but uh good luck what it can be representing.

Um item 52 is uh equity issues.

Um really I you you had really good equity reports on what the equity group is is building uh for the future, and you had to to work out the language so it works within uh is it working within the um IBA is that what office is that what it's doing?

I see a really good potential and coordination and communication that can be developing.

And I think with the budget issues we had yesterday.

I uh council person um Foster made it so nice.

He said it so well that um I really hope we're focusing on equity.

Our whole community is all of us.

Uh the mayor's office, parts of the community that don't want to do that.

They I hope they really understand the value of uh I use the word guiding light.

Uh I maybe a roadmap.

It's just kind of just our best ways to think about ourselves and good look how that can be developing our budget uh this coming year.

Um for you have item 54.

Again, the Minolta item is back about uh copying services.

This is a really big contract, and it's been coming back and back and back to uh consent calendar.

So you guys are really working on it.

Thank you that items do come back.

You're making a habit of doing that.

I I think that's a nice feature.

I think some people won't like it, but I think it's kind of a good thing to do.

It gives us time to talk and shows realistically what the process is actually about.

You guys don't just instantly approve stuff, it has to be worked out and worked out and worked out, and so you're bringing it back.

That gives us more time to talk on issues if we want.

Thank you for that.

Um those are my big three.

Um poll undergrounding.

Thank you.

Uh that's an important issue to be working on, and uh thanks for your time.

Thank you, Stephen.

You're speaking on items 50, 54, and 55.

You will have three minutes as well.

Good morning, city council.

Stephen Prescott, city constituent.

I'm in Marnie Von Wall von Walperts, City Council District in Carmel Valley.

Just wanted to come in today again uh because to thank everybody, the whole city council for working for the city and being public servants.

Uh one of the things, a few of the things that keep come that keep coming up over and over is the city doesn't have money and costs are too high.

And that's what I want to talk about.

There's the the three consent items about city contracting and also delivering the the floating bathroom.

Thank you very much for thinking about the floating bathroom by parks and rec.

Um, however, one way to cut costs in the city is by contracting with employee-owned companies for a lot of these services.

And there's a lot of there's a lot of companies that are employee-owned that's very democratic that are efficient, effective, and cost competitive that can deliver these services for the city at most likely a lower cost than the city can deliver the services.

And it's very democratic, and the employee and the employees and the employee-owned companies are able to retire as well because they receive any profits that the company makes in their retirement plans.

And I wanted to make that point for the floating bathroom.

Thank you very much.

The floating bathroom has some risk to it of contamination, potential spillage, and things like that.

The beautiful thing about contracting with a private company is liability and leaning on liability of the private company's insurance.

And that also goes for possibly clean and safe.

Thank you very much for rolling out clean clean and safe in downtown San Diego.

In my opinion, that is a that is a key component to fixing the city's finances problem financing problems, specifically because city revenue is impacted by a downtown that's deteriorated and the lack of visitors.

Now, uh a crazy idea might be to contract clean and safe with private contractors because there's there's accountability.

There's accountability if they're not performing.

A new contractor can be hired and things like that.

And employee-owned contractors would do a great job for the city, in my opinion.

A fantastic job, most likely at a lower cost to the city, would and also become be more higher more effective.

Another way to fix city budget problems is charge for parking at the beaches.

The city of San Diego gets as many visitors as Las Vegas.

That's what people don't realize.

We get 30 million visitors a year.

And they will and they will gladly pay for parking, because they will gladly love a nice new parking lot.

And that's a great source of revenue for the city, potentially.

And maybe less controversial than the zoo than charging for parking at Belbo Park and the Zoo.

And I just wanted to bring that up because at our beaches, we also have a bathroom problem.

They're not that nice.

Other countries have wonderful bathrooms.

The country of New Zealand competes on their public bathrooms.

How nice their bathrooms are.

So I encourage the entire city council.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes uh speakers here in Council Chambers going to those participating remotely.

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

Oh, I just wanted to speak to all the items, please.

Please proceed.

Hey, good morning, City Council.

Um just wanted to follow up on yesterday's meeting and um wanted to thank you all for all the work that you're putting in and encourage you to keep going.

That's it.

Next speaker is item 8700.

If you can please let me know which item or items you wish to speak to.

Uh thank you.

52, 103, and 108, please.

Thank you.

You'll have three minutes.

Our next speaker will be John Stump.

Please proceed.

Uh dear Kim 52, dear Kim Desmond.

I look forward to seeing you often at next month's budget hearings.

Since we will be using an equity lens.

You've uh given us goal four budget equity framework.

And along with that, during the budget cycle, each department is required to submit a budget equity impact statement.

Wow, what a great part of our budget process.

Thank you so much to Kim and her whole team.

And of course, the IBA is part of that team.

A 103 CPPS funding for CD4 Summer Community Enhancement Series.

This supports in a beautiful way our underserved community.

It's a good thing for your uh your beautiful community.

Glad we're shaping up in many, many ways to help our underserved uh constituents.

Thank you, Chida Warren on 108, the director of that uh department of boards and commissions.

You do such great work.

Thank you so much.

Now, this uh and I congratulate the uh person that's going to serve on the SD SERS board.

Um dear public, read the article in the UT from March 14th of 2026.

It's an amazing article.

I I don't fully understand it.

I've read it twice, and I'm going to study it again and again.

It talks about the uh pension uh situation for San Diego and the whole system and the board and everything.

So from that article, I came up with the pension system.

I call it the group, and there's nine groups on the group.

Uh here it is, actuary and team, SD SERS board, investor investments, San Diego Key closed session attendees, San Diego City Council, labor team, San Diego employees, the public, and lastly, this one really, really is amazing.

39 California pension systems.

So uh again, thank you, Chida.

This is such important work, and thank you, everybody on the council and the public and the mayor, everyone who makes these boards happen and encourages and inspires our public to come on board and be part of that that wonderful, wonderful thing that helps us uh come together.

Your time has concluded.

Thank you for your comments, John Stump.

And then our final speaker, 7499, John Stump, please unmute.

Hi, John Stump.

Uh, first uh I think it's item uh 52.

Can you please let me know all the items that you're speaking to so we can give you that correctly?

Uh 101.

You'll have three minutes, please proceed.

Uh, thank you.

Uh 52 is deals with the uh Ms.

Desmond and the Office of Equity.

As most of you may know, I was chairman of the city's Equal Opportunity Commission under three mayors.

And during my time we met every city department met or exceeded their goals for that year.

I'm concerned, and I've written you a number of times that staff reports um when they as a standard part of the report, they ask for the whether there are impacts on the equity and diversity.

And they've either put not applicable or nothing.

Um I don't know how this is possible.

Yesterday we had uh it is the city's policy to have equity and to report on it.

And yesterday we had the report on the uh San Diego Gas and Electric Franchise Compliance Review, and there was no information about the utilization of men and women uh and where they came from in the report.

The council, if it's committed to equity, needs to require that there be a report on equal opportunity or diversity or whatever we're calling it today.

Uh not only because it um it says how many jobs are being uh given to who from what council districts, but it also affects climate action because if all the employment, let's say from a the largest employer SDG, is uh from people who live in Riverside County, you'll never make your climate goals.

Finally, on 10101, the key factor there is when SDGE charges us and places utilities in the ground for undergrounding, those facilities become the property of the landlord, the city of San Diego, under the law of fixtures.

So, you know, we had that report giving the estimated buyout cost, and I think it was wrong because it had us paying twice or thrice for things that the ratepayers have already paid for and S D G and E stuck on the ground.

So let's get some equity reports.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

And our final speaker is 7499.

The five-minute timer did conclude, and this is the last speaker with their hand raised.

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

Uh 51, 53 through 57, 102, S507, and S508.

Please proceed.

Bob Kazuski here.

A huge portion of this city's budget is spent on contracts like these.

A million here and a million there.

Before you know it, you're many millions of dollars in the hole.

One reason that this city is cutting so many services is that you're not properly managing the many contracts where you spend the citizens' money.

Who is actually overseeing all these contracts and ensuring that these businesses are carrying out the city's goals in a fiscally responsible manner?

If you look at all of these diverse agenda items, who has the background to properly oversee them all?

The answer is no one.

The city doesn't have the staff to properly oversee all of these contracts.

I know because I've watched how this city hasn't properly overseen the one contract that I know at the Tory Pines glider port.

Furthermore, the businesses know how to schmooze the scarce oversight that they do get from the city.

If you want to see this in action, make a public records request for the communications between the city's Rosuita Sanchez and the business that she supposedly manages at the Tory Pines glider port.

Is this city council too stupid to realize that you desperately need independent oversight of all of these contracts?

Or is the city council too corrupt to do so?

Which is it, Joe Joe Lacava?

Are you too stupid or too corrupt?

City Clerk, I cede the remainder of my time for any city council member to give any reasonable defense of their inactions.

Please allow them the time to do so.

Thank you.

That concludes public comment on the consent items.

All right.

Thank you, City Clerk.

I'll turn it over to my colleagues for questions, comments, and entertain a motion on the consent items and a reminder that 106 and 107 have been polled to be heard next.

Um I will move.

You want to move the consultant.

I'll move the content agenda.

All right.

Um and If you want, do you want and we got a second by council member Whitburn?

So we have a motion by Councilmember Von Wolpert to move the uh consent items and a second by council member Whitburn.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Oh, wait a minute, don't call the roll.

I want to make a couple of comments.

I'm sorry.

Um I want to thank uh Charles and Kim on item 52 for the good work that they did.

Um I want to use this also as a moment of education.

The reason you saw this keep coming up is because you hear it once at committee.

You get a first reading at council when it's an ordinance, and then it comes back a second time when it's an ordinance to make sure we got the ordinance right the first time.

That's why it appears that it's it's uh comes up many times.

And while I'm happy to share constituency, so I don't know if that constituent really is uh in district five, living in Carmel Valley or District One, which is what I think of a Carmel Valley.

Uh, and S507 is in District One.

It used to be in District 2, so not getting protective district one boundaries, but just saying so.

Anyway, my apologies to my colleagues and the public for jumping back in now.

Please call the roll.

Sorry, I've restarted the voting system.

Please cast your vote.

And that passes unanimously nine to zero.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you.

Uh, before we proceed with items 106 and 107 that were pulled from the consent agenda, Councilmember Von Wilbert, I believe you have a statement to make.

Yes, thank you, Council President.

Um I am recusing on item 106 and item 107, and I will be leaving the room during the consideration and vote for these items.

My recusal is based on the conflict of interest since I serve on both the city council and the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, both of which are involved in these matters.

I also recused from the San Diego County Regional Airport Authorities discussion and deliberation on these items on that board as well.

So I've stayed out of this completely.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

We'll give you a moment to leave chambers.

All right, we will now take up items 106 and 107 as a joint uh item, uh taking public comment at one minute each or two total.

So uh first, do my colleagues want to hear any presentations these were on the consent item uh on the consent agenda.

Not seeing any requests to hear the presentation.

Uh seeing none, clerk, please proceed with public testimony on items 106 and or 107.

We have no speakers here in council chambers for those items going to those participating remotely.

Nobody has their hands raised.

There's no public comment.

Thank you, Council President.

All right.

With excuse me, with that, I will move item 106.

Can I get a second?

Councilmember Whitburn.

Uh so I have a motion by myself on 106 and a second by council member Whitburn.

Please call the roll.

Please cast your vote.

That passes unanimously 8 to 0 with Council Member Von Wilbert recusing.

All right.

And again, I'll make a motion on item 107.

Take council member Whitburn for the second on that.

Please call the roll.

I'm sorry, the voting system, please cast your vote.

That passes unanimously.

Did somebody not vote?

My apologies.

My apologies.

I will restart the voting system.

I restart the voting system, please cast your vote.

That passes unanimously 8 to 0 with council member von Wilpert recusing.

All right, even though we did it just uh seemingly a few hours ago.

Are there any comments from the mayor's office, city council members, city attorney's office, independent budget analyst or city clerk?

Not seeing any.

Uh, we will now take up non-agenda public comment and let's see if we can power through it and clear this morning's uh docket.

The 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, Council President.

Pearl 2.7 non-agenda public comment is an opportunity for members of the public to comment on items that are not on the agenda but within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city council.

You speaker will have two minutes.

If you're in chambers, please submit your speaker slip if you're joining us virtually.

Now's the time to raise your hand by tapping the raise your hand icon or calling participants star nine.

Jacob Edwards.

I do not see Jacob Edwards here.

Blair Beekman, if you can please come forward, you'll have two minutes.

Hi, thank you, Blair Beekman.

I um it was nice to hear here and see so many people from San Diego at the public meeting yesterday.

And um what we're working on.

We're working on the same issues as last year.

We have a mayor who's adamant who wants to um uh control deficit spending uh and the San Diego budget deficit.

Um I hope this year it can become more clear the ideas.

I tried to describe what how Oakland is working in their massive deficit issues as well.

Um I haven't described LA before.

LA had a billion dollar deficit, and they reduced it to about 200 million.

How what do they do?

Um, well, I think they're trying to maintain services, and the mayor also took a cut in pay.

And she was willing to do that.

I think we we really have to consider that pay issue and what symbolically, if nothing else, even the smallest amounts, symbolizes uh what we want to accomplish as a city.

So good luck how to consider that.

Uh what I've said about Oakland, um, they have a real care for the community and social services.

We don't hear.

I um the mayor is adamant on budget uh cutting.

Um I hope you can understand Oakland's philosophy.

I was trying to think of.

They take a softer approach, and that these things can take time.

We don't have to do everything in one year or two years.

Um, this takes time to work on.

And uh by that sort of philosophy, we can practice our social services and and and mine the budget, make those cuts when necessary, but maintain our importance of social services.

I hope everyone who's against revenue building and taxes understands that.

This isn't just cut and cut.

Thank you.

Thank you for that concluding statement.

Starting the five-minute timer going to those participating remotely.

We currently have three speakers in the queue.

8700, if you can please unmute.

The next speaker is 7499.

8700.

You'll have two minutes.

I there you go.

Uh thank you so much.

I have uh a batch of items.

Uh number one, uh, a shout out to the Padres.

They are 15 and 7.

One game behind the Dodgers.

Best of luck to both.

I connect the two teams because I have found fond memories of sitting on the grass at PETCO and watching Padre's player, Dave Roberts, do his award-winning base stealing.

Perhaps 2026 is the Padre's turn to win the World Series.

Go Padres.

Number two, uh, thank you, everyone, for a very robust budget discussion yesterday.

Councilmember Campbell, I missed you at that meeting.

I look forward to your very important comments at the upcoming budget hearings.

It's so great when I look at the voting board on City Clerk by City Clerk set up by City Clerk and see nine green lights lighting the way on our budget agenda items.

So I I today I just looked at those nine lights, and it was just it's thrilling.

You know, this is us working together.

So thank you, everyone.

Uh, number three, a shout out to Catherine Rhodes for her ballot measure and just for her continuing service to the people of San Diego.

But her ballot measure is is for strong revenue, a strong revenue source.

Please, please uh continue to look at that thoroughly to see how viable it is and how it could work because wouldn't that be terrific?

Now uh my last item is on the furloughs.

So, uh dear public, please read April 1426 UT article.

Uh SD's offer to union includes furlough.

My apologies, your time has concluded.

7499, if you can please unmute Bob Kazuski here.

We've all heard the news from the glider port this past weekend.

There was yet another paraglider crash at the Torrey Pines glider port.

There was yet another lifeguard rope rescue and yet another helicopter rescue.

What do you know about the cause of this accident?

Joe La Cava.

What do you know about the cause of this accident?

Jennifer Campbell and Stephen Whitburn.

How about you, Henry Foster and Marnie Von Wilper?

Kent Lee and Raul Campillo?

What do you know about this?

How about you, Vivian Moreno and Sean Elo Rivera?

What does Mayor Todd Gloria know about the cause of this accident?

I'll tell you what you all know.

You know whatever that business operator tells you.

You have the fox guarding the hen house at the Torrey Pine City Park.

How stupid do you have to be to allow a private business to make millions of dollars a year from our public property with virtually no oversight at all?

The very least you could do is step up to reactivate the Torrey Pine City Park Advisory Board, but not one of you will do that.

And that leaves the blood of these pilots and the blood of all past and future accidents and deaths on each of your hands and records.

You know, I watch this council posturing and posing every week as if you actually care about the citizens of this city.

Yet how many times have you heard about these ongoing abuses and done nothing?

I learned long ago that you can't judge politicians by all the posturing and posing of good public deeds that they shove in our faces.

And that includes you, Joe La Cava, and you, Marnie Von Wilper.

That concludes your comments.

If you can please unmute your final speaker.

Well, coming last is, I guess, good.

Um I'm very disappointed by the city council continuing to support the police and fire overtime scam.

The city council has not been able to require that the police department and fire department fully staff up since Pete Wilson's day.

As some of you may know, uh, for nearly 20 years before I was a lawyer.

And um it's quite clear that the easiest and best place to recruit qualified police and firefighters is San Diego.

Why?

Because we have military bases here that utilizes military police and firefighters.

And they would want to stay in San Diego as much as anybody else.

They know it, they'd like a job play paying up to $500,000 a year.

Please, when you're considering the budget, cut the overtime to no more than 10% and require full staffing at police and fire.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

That does include non-agenda public comment.

If you raise your hand after the five-minute timer, we cannot take you today, but you can definitely send in comments to City Clerk at Sandiego.gov, and those will be distributed.

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.

I like the steel.

All right.

Good afternoon.

I will now reconvene the City Council meeting of Tuesday, April twenty first, twenty twenty-six.

Clerk, please call the role.

I heard her.

Councilmember Whitburn.

Councilmember Foster.

Councilmember Von Wilbert.

Council President Pro Timley.

Councilmember Campillo.

Councilmember Moreno.

Present.

Council Member Ela Rivera.

And Council President Lakava.

Present.

I do see Council Member Von Wilper in the room.

Councilmember Von Wilbert, you're present.

Also attending the meeting, our assistant city attorney, Leslie Fitzgerald, independent budget analyst, Charles Monica, Council Affairs Advisor and the Mayor's Office, Coda Zeiser, and myself your city clerk, Deanna Fuentes.

All right.

Forum is now present.

Clerk, please introduce items 330 and S510.

Thank you, Council President.

Item 330 is amending San Diego Municipal Code sections 21.0104 to rename Cesar Chavez Day to Farm Workers' Day, and item S510 is to rename the existing point eight mile long streets, Cesar A.

Chavez Parkway from Commercial Street heading southwest to Crosby Road as Chicano Park Boulevard.

Thank you, Council President.

Sorry, if people would like to speak to this item, please be sure to submit your speaker slip to the front of the room in the clear box, or press star nine or the raise your hand icon if you're in the virtual queue.

Thank you, Council President.

All right.

Council President, can I ask is there a reason why we're taking both items together?

Um that was the way it was introduced to me.

Was your preference to have them?

Yeah, if we could split them up, I know that there's community members that are unfortunate or fortunately attending a port meeting, and they were looking to potentially come and speak on one of the items.

Okay.

Uh your preference for which one to go first?

No.

We could do this one first.

The 330.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Um we'll stand corrected, then we will take the two items separately, and we will start with item 330.

Are you prepared for that?

Well, introduce yourself for the record and let us know how much time you need for item 330.

Good afternoon, Council President.

I will need 10 minutes for today's presentation.

All right, when you're ready.

Uh good afternoon, Council President Lacava and members of the City Council.

My name is Lucero Maganda, and I am the Deputy Director of Community Engagement for Mayor Todd Gloria.

I want to note that today's presentation has been updated to include slide numbers and correct the year on slide number eight.

Next slide, please.

We come today to respectfully request the council adopt an ordinance amending the San Diego Municipal Code to rename March 31st, known as Caesar Chavez Day to Farm Workers' Day, and to adopt an ordinance approving the renaming of Cesar E.

Chavez Parkway to Chicano Park Boulevard and the waiving of San Diego Municipal Code Section 112.0301 subsection A.

Next slide, please.

Recent investigative reporting by the New York Times has brought forward serious and troubling allegations regarding Cesar Chavez.

The City of San Diego unequivocally stands with the survivors who came forward, whose courage in speaking out to disclose abuse, often at great personal costs, demands acknowledgement and action.

The legacy of the farm workers' rights movement belongs to the farm workers, organizers, and families who sacrificed to build it, a collective achievement that no individual's conduct can diminish or define.

The City of San Diego's facilities, programs, public assets, and official designations should reflect the values of dignity, safety, and justice that the farm worker movement fought to advance.

Next slide.

Considering these troubling circumstances, Mayor Gloria issued an executive order to direct all city departments to take inventory of all assets that honor Cesar Chavez and report back to the mayor's office within 30 days on their progress.

These assets include the Cesar Chavez Recreation Center in San Isidro, art in the Logan Heights Library, and the Cesar Chavez Parkway.

To date, the recreation center has been removed, and the community recreation group will conduct the process to rename the facility.

Art from the library was also taken down.

The executive order also directs the mayor's office to work with the city council to amend the San Diego Municipal Code and redesignate March 31st as farm workers' day, replacing the current designation designation of Caesar Chavez Day.

This will be in direct alignment with the state uh with the State Assembly Bill 2156, approved by the governor on March 26, 2026.

Next slide.

While today's actions are prompted by troubling allegations, we recognize that the farm worker movement led by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and other leaders through the United Farm Workers remains a vital part of labor and civil rights history.

At the same time, the communities of Barrio Logan, Logan High, and Logan Heights share a nuanced history nuanced story of activism, one that is grounded in the community fight to create and preserve Chicano Park.

Chicano Park is in the heart of Barrio Logan and embodies the resilience and collective community struggle that began over 50 years ago when the community came together to organize and ultimately reclaim the park.

The establishment of the Chicano Park Steering Committee, along with the mural movement, and ongoing advocacy of for advocacy efforts for access to the Bayfront are all part of a local legacy.

Approving the renaming of Caesar E.

Chavis Parkway to Chicano Park Boulevard recognizes the history that happened and lives here in this community and would greatly help restore the original intent discussed years ago, honor the internationally recognized Chicano Park movement, connect the park, neighborhood, and bayfront into one historical corridor.

Acknowledge the people who fought to create and preserve the park, and most importantly, help rebuild trust between the community and the city.0104 subsection D, which names March 31st as Cesar Chavez Day to now declare March 31st as farm workers' day.

This is in alignment with the state of California's actions to enact assembly bill 2156 approved by the governor on March 26, 2026.

Next slide.

I'm sorry, can I I'm trying to figure out how we navigate because they're doing a joint presentation.

So we have to keep it.

It's not for me, it's for the community.

No, for the community members.

On its own, yeah.

So I'm trying to figure out how to split your presentation so that we only take 330 and then come back and pick up the pieces.

Is it possible to uh maybe trail S510, um, wave the presentation to the end of the agenda, or I know the port hearing is literally happening right now or until another time uh to take the vote and then do public comment on that item at a later date in the agenda.

Okay.

Yeah.

We we want to hear both items and vote on both items today.

We just want to take the presentation separately so that community has an opportunity to come and have their voice heard.

Oh, yeah, I get it.

I'm just trying to figure out how to navigate that.

So why don't you hold off there?

And anything else that has to do with farm workers' day that you might want to add.

Um I could cover the stakeholder engagement.

It's it's similar for both.

Okay.

Why don't you do the last slide for proposed actions?

Okay.

Thank you for being flexible.

Today we respectfully request that the city council adopt an ordinance amending San Diego Municipal Code section 21.00104 subsection D to rename March 31st, known as Cesar Chavez Day, to now be known as Farm Workers' Day.

That concludes my presentation.

All right, thank you.

And again, thank you for your flexibility.

So we're just going to take public comment on item 330 at this point.

I do not have any public comment speakers here in chambers on items 330 of start of the five-minute.

Oh, sorry.

Blair Beekman, if you can please come forward.

You'll have two minutes, please proceed.

Thank you.

We're going to speak on uh Cesar Chavez Day name change first.

Um holiday name change.

Thank you.

Um I was originally from San Jose in the past decades, a few decades, and um man, I learned a lot uh of their work, uh both um Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.

They started in San Jose, so um they're pretty important there.

And um I just learned a lot of good community advocacy ideas from there.

And um, so just a communication, sharing, um, keeping it real, I guess, you know, just trying to be practical about it.

It's a learning process for myself, and so it's been um hurtful uh in learning this.

And I'm one of those last to know people.

So I'm sure this has been an issue that has been developing and uh for quite a number of years now, and it's now finally coming to pass.

And um I like that you've waited a bit of time before doing everything all at once.

And uh I'm a better adjusting now.

And um so I'm ready for this change, and um thank you.

Thank you for uh the work that we can continue to do is really important.

Um I don't know if I can continue to say si se puede, si se puede, to say it twice.

If we can, yes, we can.

I think it was a beautiful statement to say, and um I that's in trouble how to say that in the future.

But we'll always have good work um the farm workers, what was accomplished and what I think you know, just their legacy is um the the way they worked uh with the Filipino culture also really good things we can be working on together and uh good luck in our continued efforts.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, the five-minute time are going to those participating online.

Tony, you'll have two minutes, please proceed.

Hello, City Council.

Can you hear me?

Yes, please proceed.

Hey, I just want to say that I support the the uh the adaptation of the uh new name changes.

Um I think that that's always been proposed in the history of Chicano Park.

I'm in my understanding of it.

They've in its inception always wanted that uh street to be named Chicano Park Boulevard.

Um and actually our our regional history is like more uh relatable to Chicano Park than it is to Cesar Chavez.

Um, you know, that that speaks more to our regional history, so that than necessarily the the farm workers' legacy.

Now, and the farm workers legacy uh is obviously here as well, too.

But um, you know, we have local history that I think should be celebrated above sort of uh nationwide history.

Um and so I I support these changes, and I hope the council will as well.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes public comment on this item.

All right.

Um thank you, City Clerk.

So we will now turn it over to council members for comments, questions, and entertain a motion.

We'll start with Councilmember Moreto.

Thank you, and thank you uh to the mayor's staff for accommodating uh the community and giving them an opportunity to uh speak um on this particular topic.

And thank you for your advocacy on this topic.

Um while growing up as a Chicana, there were very few people in power that actually look like me.

Uh the lack of representation and role models made it um especially difficult to reconcile.

Uh reconcile the recent New York Times reporting detailing allegations of deeply troubling conduct by Cesar Chavez, but we must confront this painful reality and stand firmly with the survivors who've had the courage to come forward.

Uh their voices matter and they deserve to be heard, believed, and supported.

Um at the same time, we must be clear that farm worker that the farm worker movement um is bigger than just one person.

Um it was built by countless farm workers, people who endured uh backbreaking labor, uh, who organized against injustice and who fought tirelessly for dignity, fair wages, and safer working conditions.

Uh, because of their courage and sacrifice, real change was achieved.

Uh the movement brought national attention to the exploitation of farm workers, secured uh important protections, and paved the way for greater equity in the workplace.

It's a legacy rooted in resilience, uh, unity, and the relentless pursuit of justice.

Uh that legacy belongs to the workers, to the families, and to the communities who carried it forward.

Um I recently had the opportunity to attend a coastal commission meeting in Salinas, California, where I worked witnessed firsthand the hard work of our farm workers.

Uh now Salinas is definitely very far from the city of San Diego.

Um, but it is important to understand and to know that agriculture uh generates over 50 billion dollars in annual revenue, and it employs more than 420,000 people in the state of California.

Um California remains the most important agricultural sector in this country.

Um and so by renaming this day farmworker day, we're uplifting the collective uh strength and achievement of a mu of a movement that has done tremendous good and continues to inspire progress today.

So uh with that, Council President, I move to approve staff's recommendation on item 330, and that concludes my comments.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Councilmember.

So we have a motion by Council Member Moreno to move the recommendation for item 330.

We'll go next to Councilmember Campio.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, Councilmember Moreno, for your very strong words.

I will second the motion and call attention to the farm workers uh movement, which is a movement that is ongoing today, and that which we should continue to celebrate and recognize their contribution, not just to California but to the United States of America.

Uh and of course, the farm workers themselves are the men and women who bend down in the fields and endure the heat and oftentimes the poverty and indignity, and still find the courage to organize and march and boycott and demand something very simple, which is respect for their labor.

My family's uh history with farm workers is personal.

My grandparents, both sides of my family, mother and father grew up in Calexico, a community deeply connected to farm labor and to the lives of the working people in those fields in the 60s and 70s.

They supported the farm workers' movement, especially during the lettuce and grape boycotts, and stood with the United Farm Workers.

And it's it's hard to understate the amount of racism that came from standing up for yourself along the border at that time, and yet here we are.

Uh, and we still see a lot of that same treatment.

Uh, but nonetheless, the uh power of the people who work in those fields, and of course, I think the respect that the state of California has shown them through the uh education we have in our public education classrooms and the fact that we are recognizing them now today, not because of one leader uh who and very, very shockingly to all I would say all Mexican American families whose grandmothers had a crucifix and the Virgin Mary, and then right next to them, Cesar Chavez up on their wall.

We now realize that history was long shrouded, and nonetheless we're grateful that the survivors of his disreputable conduct so many years ago has come they've come forward so that we could know the truth and give the people the credit who deserve it, which are the farm workers themselves.

So this recognition is deeply important and personal to families like mine, and though that was um well.

But I know that they themselves, the family as they grapple with this, understand it was not about their Theo or their bisabuelo or whatever title he had in their family.

It was about the people they were marching for.

And so we do the right thing by celebrating the farm workers and remembering that their labor mattered, their struggle matters, their legacy still matters.

And as we think about this day in history, we remember the families that Cesar Chavez, the indignity and the disrespect and the violence he put them through.

We need to remember them.

And so this is an important step forward, and I appreciate Councilmember Moreno's leadership on this.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, Councilmember.

Uh we have a motion by Councilmember Moreno, second by Councilmember Campio to move the staff recommendation on item 330.

We'll go to Councilmember Ilo Rivera.

Thank you, Council President.

Um thank you, Lucero, for the presentation and your work on this.

Um everyone in the mayor's office and city staff who moved quickly a few weeks ago.

And um, Councilmember Moreno, thank you for um speaking quickly and and um very directly.

Uh I think you said that our even our heroes have their day of reckoning, and we should not safeguard their heinous actions.

Um thank you for doing that quickly and and and um leading in a moment where um community um saw uh someone that they'd looked up to completely kind of vanish before their eyes.

And that takes a lot of leadership.

So thank you for doing that.

Um Deborah Rojas, Dolores Huerta, and other survivors came forward with their truth, with truth.

And as survivors, they deserve our respect, our support, and our commitment to act.

And um, this is kind of the bare minimum in terms of action that can be taken, and I'm glad we're doing that today.

Accountability sh cannot be reserved for everyone except the rich, the famous, and the celebrated, and those who've been lifted up and held in high regard must also be held accountable and to the same standards we hold everyone else to, if not higher standards.

So while this is a moment of accountability, I also appreciate the other form of justice in this moment that my colleagues, Councilmember Moreno and Councilmember Campio spoke to the lifting up of people who have nourished us while being mistreated, disrespected, and underappreciated.

The farm workers' uh rights movement was never one man.

It was a built, it was built by thousands of workers, overwhelmingly immigrants, overwhelmingly people of color who fed this country while being deliberately excluded from the most basic protections every other worker was guaranteed.

They were explicitly left out of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 that gives workers the right to organize and bargain collectively.

Every other worker had that right.

Farm workers did not.

And this was a multiracial movement as well.

Larry Italong and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee led 1,500 Filipino workers on strike against grape uh grape growers.

And that solidarity, that multiracial, multi-ethnic solidarity is what built the movement.

And an action like this actually creates more space to recognize that that solidarity.

These are workers who are 35 times more likely to die from heat-related stress than workers in any other industry, and they deserve protection and recognition.

We've seen California take strides on that front.

Some of the legislation authored by Lorena Gonzalez, which ended farm workers being denied the same overtime rights as every other California worker.

So again, while I am glad that we're taking the action to strike Cesar Chavez's name from the this day, I think it's really important that we take a moment to really recognize the workers who the movement was truly about.

There was a line in this in the New York Times story that really stood out to me when I read it.

And the line was from Esmeraldo Lopez, who was 19 when a 61-year-old Chavez tried to use his clout to sleep with her.

She concluded that the article concluded with a quote from her where she said the movement, that's the hero.

And there's incredible wisdom in that.

And I'm glad that that's what we're honoring today.

And so I'm very proud to support this.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Yela Rivera.

We'll go next to Councilmember Bon Wilbert.

Thank you very much.

And thank you to my colleagues for their very eloquent words about this.

Thank you so much for bringing this forward to Councilmember Baby Moreno's staff and to thank you to the mayor's team as well.

While it is a very sad moment today that we have to do this, it's also very important to recognize that as incredible leaders like Delores Whereta always said, um, this movement was never about one person, and it's about all of the people who work day in and day out, as my colleagues have already mentioned, to provide the basic nourishment that our society relies on.

And we are not done.

Um basic rules such as making sure that people have safe transport to and from work when they work on farms is a battle we're still fighting.

There were some horrific accidents in the last few years where farm workers were transported in completely unsafe vehicles, and dozens of people lost their lives and really terrible car accidents.

And uh in 2024, the Department of Labor federally required that workers and agricultural sites be provided with restraints, seat belts when they're transported to and from work, and we're seeing the current administration is rolling back that rule right now.

So we still have to make sure we can do everything we can here to protect farm workers, and we have them here in the city of San Diego in the San Pascual Valley, is actually farmland, and we have incredible farm workers working every day on our dairy farms, our citrus farms, avocado farms, our soils.

Um it's some of the best climate action work we're doing, actually, is in the San Pasqual Valley.

Um so I want to thank everyone today for the work we're still doing to mark progress as a nation, even though we're still confronting painful realities like the reality with Cesar Chavez, and they cannot be ignored.

But at the same time, we are recognizing the historic strides of the farm worker movement, one of the most important struggles for labor rights, humanity, dignity in our country, built by workers, families, and organizers who fought for fairness, safety, and respect.

And today let us celebrate the farm workers and the resilience they represent, the dignity they bring to our our nation's kitchen tables, literally, and justice will also earn honoring survivors by censoring their voices and committing ourselves to a future where safety, truth, and accountability are not simply ideals but realities like we're making today.

So I'm gonna be very happy to celebrate Farm Workers' Day going forward every year, and thank you for bringing this forward.

All right, thank you, Councilman Von Wolpert.

Not seeing anybody else in the lights, all that kind of a small footnote.

Uh thank you, Councilman Moreno, uh, for your quick reaction once the news started breaking and knowing exactly what needed to be done.

Thank you to the mayor's office for navigating the bureaucratic process that we have to do and how we do things here at the city and bringing this material forward and your flexibility on splitting splitting the two items.

I think there's a certain tiny bit of elegance that we had denim day proclamation that speaks to these very kinds of issues and it's not just about bringing a PROC forward and saying nice words but it's actually doing the work when the moment calls for it.

And I think as all of us kind of reflected this morning despite some of the progress there's still a lot of work to be done in a lot of areas and whether it's recent activities or those from long past that are finally surfacing and individuals are finally brave enough to come forward and share their awful tragic stories.

So thank you all for your various roles.

So with that we have a motion by Councilmember Moreno and a second by Councilmember Campill.

Clerk please call the role on item 330.

I started the voting system please cast your vote that passes unanimously nine to zero all right now I've been watching the door I don't think anybody new came in yet so we will trail get my numbers right we will trial S510 until after 333 and 332.

So and then we'll thank you for that and thank you to staff.

Yeah and we'll reassess at that time if members of the public have not made it in the chambers.

So with that Councilmember Von Wolpert I understand you want to make a statement before we introduce item 333 gas station my staff was incorrect is item 332 I need to make a statement so I understand Councilmember von Wolpert does not want to make a statement at this point I do not want to make a statement on this one.

Thank you though.

All right with that and that cleared up clerk please introduce item 333.

Thank you Council President Item 333 is 1606 Market Street gas station project number PRJ 1102575 this item is not subject to the mayor's veto if you'd like to speak on this item please be sure to submit your speaker slip to the high lectern in the clear gap in the clear box.

If you are participating remotely you can raise your hand by pressing star nine or the raise your hand icon.

Thank you council president all right I see staff for settling in once you're ready introduce yourselves for the record and let us know how much time you need for your presentation good afternoon James Alexander Development Project Manager Urban Innovation Division of the Development Services Department we'll just need about five minutes.

All right begin when you're ready like I said my name is James Alexander from the Urban Innovation Division.

I'm joined by Kelly Rasmus Associate Planner in the environmental analysis section of the Development Services Department the action before you today is a gas station project at 1606 Market Street in downtown San Diego.

Okay can you stop for a second it is not appropriate to have these kind of conversations in public in chambers.

You want to step outside do whatever you want but we're actually trying to conduct quasi judicial hearings and I think we ought to operate under a certain protocol.

My apologies please continue and if you want to start over feel free.

Councilmember that was my fault though please don't blame Marcella Escobarak I ask her to speak to me just for the record the project site is at 1606 Market Street.

It's on the north side of Market Street between 16th and 17th streets and just west of Interstate 5.

It's in the East Village neighborhood of the downtown community plan area and it's surrounded by a mix of uses including residential development which I've highlighted in yellow on this slide.

And now for some quick background on the project's environmental path I'm going to turn it over to Kelly.

Thank you James the slide before you is a timeline of the project's environmental review pathway to today's hearing.

When the project was being reviewed by the development services department necessary information regarding vehicle access driveways was not provided by the applicant which prevented staff from completing their review resulting in unresolved issues and preventing a full environmental review.

Pursuant to CEQA guidelines and environmental determination must be made before presenting a project in a public hearing for approval with the issues remaining unresolved and the applicant's desire to move the project to a hearing as expeditiously as possible staff provided the applicant with three options to move the project forward the applicant chose to proceed with without addressing the unresolved issues a staff recommendation of denial and a secret denial exemption pursuant to CEQA guidelines section 15270 a statutory exemption for projects which are disapproved shortly after an appeal of this environmental determinant was filed by the applicant which was presented to the city council on July 22nd 2025.

Shortly after, an appeal of this environmental determinant was filed by the applicant, which was presented to the city council on July 22nd, 2025.

Council decided to uphold that environmental appeal and directed city staff and the applicant to continue to work together to resolve the remaining issues so that a full environmental review of the project can be completed.

After the council decision on the appeal, city staff worked with the applicant, and additional information regarding the vehicle access driveways was provided, enabling staff to complete the review.

Subsequent to that, a complete environmental review was conducted, and a new sequel determination was issued, allowing staff to return to the item today to city council.

With all issues resolved, the CEQA determination was made that the project is consistent with the previously certified City of San Diego Downtown Program EIR.

Pursuant to CEQA guidelines, section 15162.

When an EIR has been certified, no subsequent or supplemental EIR shall be prepared for a project unless new significant environmental effects are determined associated with the project that were not in the certified document.

Upon the full environmental review of the project, no additional significant issues were identified, and a 15162 consistency analysis checklist pursuant to CECO was prepared.

To be clear, this consistency analysis confirms that the project is within the scope of the previously certified downtown community plan update, final EIR, and no action is required by the city council on this environmental determination.

The project includes a neighborhood use permit for the expansion of the previously conforming gas station convenience market building to add new uses, a new food and beverage vendor attached to the existing market, which is in green on this slide, and a new drive-through in red on this slide.

Also, this expansion triggers the municipal code requirement to replace the surrounding public improvements in the rights of way to current city standards for which deviations are requested through a planned development permit, specifically for the vehicle access driveways in yellow on this slide.

The currently non-conforming existing driveways are proposed to be rebuilt but not to current standards.

The rebuilt driveways uh propose uh these deviations on this slide from current code regulations, which are to increase the maximum combined length of all curb cuts allowed on the site by 100 feet, increase the maximum length for a single curb cut by 10 feet, reduce the minimum distance from a curb cut to the nearest intersection by 42 feet, reduce the minimum separation distance between curb cuts by 43 feet, and allow two curb cuts on Market Street, which is subject to the limited vehicle access overlay zone of the center city plan district, which prohibits curb cut curb cuts on that street.

Since the last hearing, staff worked with the applicant to analyze the proposed driveways and how they impact vehicle and pedestrian traffic in and around the site.

The downtown community plan establishes goals and policies that prioritize pedestrians to create a safe and walkable downtown.

The implementation of the development regulations that advance those goals and policies is important to incorporate into all future development in order to achieve those priorities of the downtown community plan.

Although the deviations from the development regulations for the driveways are substantial when compared to the baseline requirement of the code, the project does reduce the overall amount of driveways onto the site by about 66 feet from its existing condition, which is an improvement for pedestrians.

So, as such, findings for approval have been provided to council in the draft resolution, and the staff recommendation is to approve if council affirms the findings.

That concludes my presentation.

Kelly and I are available for questions.

We also have staff from the transportation development team here to answer questions, and the applicant team is here to make a brief statement as well.

All right, thank you for the presentation.

Again, my apologies for the interruption.

Yes, I understand the applicant will have comments.

So this would be the appropriate time and let us know how much time you need.

My comments will be brief, less than three minutes.

My name is Robin Madaffer.

Uh I'm here today representing the BRICOS.

Joey and Eddie are in the audience here today.

Um it took us a lot to get to this point, and I'm really proud of the work that we've been able to do with staff.

Specifically, I want to thank the leadership of Elise Lowe, uh, Samir Hajiri, uh, of course, James Alexander, um, Liz Sherwin, and Brian Cho and Fish.

Um, we really have worked hard over the last several months since July, and uh we just ask for your uh approval, and we will make this a much better site for the East Village and one that we can all be proud of.

Thank you.

All right, that concludes the applicant statement.

Uh thank you for that.

So, with that, clerk, please proceed with public testimony on this item.

I have four speakers that request uh that uh submitted a in favor with no request to speak in favor, and then Blair Beekman.

Um in favor, and then Blair Beekman.

If you can please come forward.

The four that were in favor were Jim Madaffer, Faro Mazari, Joseph Rico, and Kyle Alderman.

Hi, thank you.

Blair Beekman.

Um reviewing this, uh seeing this presentation.

I visit that corner a lot.

I take the bus, and it's a really vital bus corner for the three bus and the five bus.

And a lot of people from the unhoused community need that bus line.

It's important.

That means there's a lot of pedestrian use, and that means there's a lot of, you know.

Uh people are not always in the greatest of space.

But the people are trying and chugging along.

And um the the project, it seems it has like one or two too many uh gas pump things, and it's just gonna create uh I think you guys are already debating this.

Uh, you know, how is the entrance and exits gonna go with so many gas pumps?

Can you reduce one set of gas pumps, two set of gas pumps, and still uh profit and still you know have a uh uh a good feeling for the place that and it can do its job, and I think if you do it would be inviting pedestrian traffic that I'm not hearing you guys talk so much about and what what's the pedestrian situation in all of this?

I mean, how are cars cars only can be making a right turn out of the place, it sounds like I mean it seems like it's really tight left turn to go back on to uh market street.

So um I see a few pedestrian issues, and just reducing the the uh pumps by at least one or two would help ensure that there's just an overall flow.

And we're always trying to work towards overall flow these days, the pedestrian traffic, cars, and not just all one or the other.

I mean, preferably obviously pedestrian, but we need to mine that.

We need to mine and create that balance and talk about this balance here.

I'm not hearing it talked about.

Um so good luck in those efforts, and uh we need to keep the East Village as a pedestrian zone, not just traffic, uh not just cars.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That uh completes public speakers here in Council Chambers starting the five-minute timer and going to those participating online, starting with Zoom user.

If you can please unmute.

And Blair, I see you online, but you already spoke, so I will be lowering your hand.

Zoom user.

Hector here.

Hector here.

I remember the thing coming up a few months ago at the city for this guy.

I think you should refund about 30 grand of his fees, his permit fees.

This guy's been in business a long time.

He wants the best for his business.

More gas pumps, quicker service, more people can come and go.

And then ha send the city guys over there to use the station.

Tell them to, you know, hey man, I want to go over this guy's place on market, and there's no gas stations around there.

Yeah, just give them business, man.

The city guys that drive around those cars.

You know, you'd sorry hassle this family.

You gotta get a lawyer to to put in a parking thing or put in a driveway.

Come on, man.

It's it's just typical city stuff.

Give him a 30 grand refund on his on his fees to the city and then send them some customers.

Thanks a lot.

Thank you.

That does conclude public comment on this item.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

Uh with that, we'll turn it over to the council for questions, comments, and entertain a motion, and we'll start with Councilmember Whitburn.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you very much to Mr.

Alexander and the entire development services team for your continued work on this project.

Uh thank you to the applicant for working with staff uh to improve this area of Dowtob.

Uh last July, as many of my colleagues will remember this council granted the environmental appeal and asked staff and the applicant to work together to resolve the outstanding driveway questions.

And they did that.

Uh this project improves on what exists there today.

It reduces total driveway footage by nearly a third.

It upgrades the public right-of-way, it adds sidewalks and street trees, installs a new concrete bus pad, it actually relocates the bus stop to a better position.

This will bring new commercial activity to a site that has served the downtown neighborhood since 1954, and it leaves this quarter of East Village better than it voted.

And with that, I will make the motion to approve the staff recommendation.

All right, thank you, Councilmember.

So we have a motion by Councilmember Whitburn to move approval of the resolution.

Yeah, because that's not actually staff's recommendation.

So and that's how I normally should say it, and I don't typically say it correctly, so my apologies.

So but you're moving the resolution.

Approval of the resolution.

The staff recommendation is approval of the project and adoption of resolution.

Is it not?

2026.

I just wanted to make sure we were clear.

Okay.

My apologies if I've confused the situation.

You're good.

Okay.

I am moving the staff recommendation, which includes adoption of the resolution.

Yes.

My apologies.

With that, we'll go to Councilmember Campbell.

Happy to second the motion.

All right.

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

And we'll go now to uh Councilmember Elo Rivera.

Thank you, Council President.

The the last what was the last slide you showed before the one that was just up there?

I'll bring it up.

This is the last slide.

Oh sorry, can I?

I'm trying to sorry apologies for the delay.

I'm trying to reconcile what I understood to be the recommendation in the staff report.

Which so what I'm what I'm reading was the requested action is consider the request, approve a resolution, or approve the project with modifications.

But the end says the staff recommendation is approval of the project if the council makes the findings in the attached resolution.

So is that recommendation is approval if council makes the findings.

Yeah, okay.

Um would typically be very deferential to this being in another councilmember's district.

I presentation that I what just saw the report that I read, that's those findings that doesn't add up to me.

Just um I it is no doubt better than what is currently there today.

The deviations though are still meaningful and I think impactful and run counter to uh priorities related to pedestrian safety, cyclist safety, um, and our climate goals.

So um for those reasons I I will uh not be supporting the motion in front of us.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Hilo Rivera.

Um not seeing anybody else in the lights.

Um this is a quasi judicial, so I haven't talked to anybody about this except with my staff.

Um again, with deference, we have not colluded on this uh in any way.

I have a long-standing opposition to drive-throughs, and I've been trying to get the land development code changed.

Um, and commercial interests have forwarded that attempt, even though there's a lot of agreement with that.

Um I noticed the planning group voted against this unless changes were made, were changes made, or help us understand what changes were made.

No changes were made.

Um we just received more information over time, and yes, when it was uh presented to the downtown community planning council, they voted to recommend denial.

Okay, I just want to make sure I wasn't missing something, having not mentioned the entire history.

So uh with due respect to my colleague, um I won't be supporting this item uh because it's consistent with the positions I've taken on um adding drive-throughs and locations where uh we're going for pedestrian and given what the downtown community plan is trying to do in that area.

Um and I find it a little disingenuous to thank a lot of staff who are probably struggling with this going forward.

So I'm not gonna ask any of you to come up and speak on this issue.

So uh council member Whitburn.

Uh thank you very much, Council President.

Uh what I'm going for is an improvement to downtown.

The current site is with forgiveness to the owners not attractive.

If we do nothing, it remains that way.

That helps absolutely nobody.

It helps nobody to have all the curb cuts that currently exist there.

It helps nobody to have it continue to appear the way it appears.

I want a better block in Dowtown.

This project reduces the number of curb cuts, it makes it safer for pedestrians, it improves the area, uh, it adds a retail amenity.

Uh I think it's better for Dowtown.

It's better for my constituents, and I strongly support this.

Thank you.

Uh, and I fully respect it as better.

Um, seeing no one else in the lights, we have a motion by Councilmember Whitburn and a second by Councilmember Campbell.

Uh clerk, please call the roll.

Sorry, the voting system, please vote.

And that passes 7 to 2 with Council President Lacava and Councilmember Ilo Rivera voting no.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, congratulations to the applicant for the good work you've put in and the apparently tons of permit fees you had to pay to get here.

Uh DSD and the Enterprise Fund greatly appreciates that.

Umbreak has anything changed.

Do you make a statement or are you on 332?

Yes.

We're yeah, it's time.

So uh before we introduce item 332, you want to make a statement?

All right, thank you.

Um during the past 12 months, I am disclosing that I received campaign contributions of more than 250 dollars from Mr.

Mike Burnett, who is a party to the right-of-way vacation, which is before the council's item 332.

Therefore, I am kindly refusing from item 332.

We'll give you a moment.

My apologies.

You said more than 250, was it more than 500 based on the Levine Act?

Yeah, that was the old Levine Act language.

It's more than 500.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Oh, we have a little bump.

All right, Councilmember Von Wolbert has left chambers.

So with that, clerk, please introduce item 332.

Item 332 is the public right-of-way vacation for a portion of Harvey Milk Street.

Project number PRJ 1140038.

This item is not subject to the mayor's veto.

If you'd like to speak to this item, please be sure to submit a speaker slip to the front of the room in the clear box, or to raise your hand now by pressing star nine or the raise your hand icon.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you.

I see staff seated.

So introduce yourselves for the record and let us know how much time you need for your presentation.

Sure, good afternoon.

Uh Jose Bautista de Blum Project Manager, and I'm just gonna need five minutes.

All right, when you're ready.

Good afternoon, Council President La Cava and Council members.

My name is Jose Bautista presenting item number 332, uh Harvey Milk Street Vacation on today's agenda.

The project before you proposes a public right-of-way street vacation of a portion of Harvey Milk Street, formerly known as Blaine Avenue, which is located directly south and adjacent to 3912 Center Street.

The 0.04 acre portion of Harvey Milk Street to be vacated is located within the residential multiple unit base zone in the heelcrest neighborhood of the Uptown Community Plan.

The project is seeking approval of public right-of-way vacation permit number PMT-336437, which does require a city council decision.

The project was deemed to be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA guidelines section 15305 for minor alterations and land use limitations.

This area of use shows the 11-foot wide by 100-foot long portion of Harvey Milk Street to be vacated, which is highlighted in yellow and is located directly south and adjacent to 3912 Center Street.

This portion of Harvard Milk Street was previously improved with private landscape and hardscape improvements of 3912 Center Street and therefore was never utilized for public use.

There are no existing or proposed public utilities within the project site, which is highlighted in yellow, and it is not required for street or highway purposes.

The proposed public right of way vacation will not change the current land use designation or zoning, and it will still provide a 14-foot-wide parkway for pedestrian usage, which is highlighted in green.

Once vacated, this public right-of-way portion would revert to the abutting parcel to the north.

There are no plans for development on the area to be vacated other than private improvements, which are associated with the residential development that is currently under construction and has already been reviewed and approved by Development Services Department.

This includes walkways to access the first floor residential units.

On December 2nd, 2025, the Uptown Community Planning Group voted seven yes to four no's and one abstention to recommend approval of the project without any conditions.

City staff recommends the council adopt a resolution for the categorical sequel exemption pursuant to CEQA guidelines section 15305 and to adopt a resolution to vacate a portion of the Beach Street Public Right of Way Vacation Number Permit Number PMT 336437.

This concludes staff presentation.

City review staff, myself, and the applicant's team are available for any questions.

Thank you.

All right, thank you for the presentation.

Did the applicant want to make uh statement?

Okay, seeing uh they will pass.

Uh clerk, please proceed with public testimony.

Blair Beekman, please come forward.

And we had four speakers in favor with no need to speak.

Hi, Blair Beagrin.

I wish I had more to say on this item.

Uh thank you that um if this is uh Harvey Milk Street that uh it's being done respectfully and whatever it can be.

And uh thank you.

Thank you.

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

If you can please unmute Tony, your there you go.

Yes, can you hear me?

Yes, please proceed.

Yes, uh, thank you.

Just wanted to say that I'm in support of this uh item.

I think that it's a good idea.

Um, and uh hopefully it passes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes public comment on this item.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

Uh with that, we'll turn it over to the council for questions, comments, entertain a motion.

And we will start with Council Member Whitburn.

Thank you, Council President.

Uh, again, this item is a public right-of-way vacation for a narrow 11-foot strip of Harvey Milk Street in Hillcrest.

It's been part of the public right-of-way since 1888, but it has never been improved.

It's never been used for public purposes.

Uh, this vacation is not going to impact the sidewalk or parking or the parkway strip along Harvey Milk Street.

It will not affect pedestrians, cyclists, or vehicles.

Uh the city benefits by shedding the maintenance liability.

Uh and with no community opposition, I am happy to support uh staff recommendation, and I will make the motion to approve the staff recommendation.

All right, thank you, Councilmember.

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

Uh, we'll go to Councilmember Campbell.

Thank you, Council President.

I am happy to second the motion.

All right.

Motion by Councilmember Whitburn, a second by Councilmember Campbell to move the staff recommendation.

Not seeing anybody else in the lights.

I'll simply say I've dotted T's crossed, and I'll be in support.

So, Clerk, please call the roll.

Sorry, the voting system, please cast your vote.

That passes 8 to 0 with council member von Wilbert recused.

All right, thank you.

Clerk.

Uh Council Member Moreno, I know some folks have joined us in chambers.

Is that can we move forward or if we have a little bit more time, I would like to give them time.

If we're at the end of the council meeting, then we still have more work to do.

Please, thank you.

All right.

Uh we will continue to trail S510.

Um we'll try again after S511 and we'll see um whether folks have um have arrived.

But uh we'll continue to monitor.

So with that, um, if someone could let oh, I think actually they're here.

So uh clerk, please introduce item S511.

Item S511 is the draft fiscal year 2027 annual action plan for HUD programs, fiscal year 2027 annual HUD programs allocations and associated actions.

If you're here in chambers and like to speak to this item, please be sure to submit your speaker slip to the front of the room.

If you're participating online, 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.

I see that staff has started to settle in.

Let us uh previously introduce yourself for the record.

Let us know how much time you need.

Good afternoon, honorable council president Lacava and members of the Council.

My name is Melissa Villapondo, and I'm a community development coordinator with the economic development department.

With me today is Nadine Hassoon, community development specialist, and it is our pleasure to present you to you the draft fiscal year 2027 annual action plan, and we respectfully request 12 minutes for the presentation.

All right, when you're ready.

At the end of this presentation, the council will be asked to approve action items 1 through 20 related to the fiscal year 2027 annual action plan and HUD entitlement allocations and other actions associated with the ongoing management of HUD entitlement grant programs administered by the Economic Development Department.

The action plan serves as the city's application to HUD for FY27 entitlement grant funds.

Projects and programs recommended for funding will help the city make progress towards achieving its five consolidated plan goals.

The action plan includes budgets for three HUD entitlement grant programs.

CDBG, but CDBG with a budget of roughly 13.8 million, which focuses on improving the living environment for low and moderate income individuals, households, and neighborhoods, home with a budget of approximately 31.5 million, which increases affordable housing opportunities with rental housing production and home ownership assistance, and ESG at 969,322, which provides shelters, outreach, and rapid rehousing services and homelessness prevention programs.

These budgets reflect the confirmed HUD entitlement grant amounts released on April 3rd, 2026.

The CDBG budgets presented to you today are based on HUD regulations and budgetary priorities.

To summarize, HUD regulations limit administrative expenditures to 20% of the overall CDBG budget.

Nonprofit capacity building and fair housing services are also supported with add-in funds.

Public services public services expenditures are limited to 15% of the overall CDBG budget.

The remaining 65% of the CDBG budget is currently split between affordable housing at 10%, city and nonprofit facilities at 35%, and economic development at 20%.

The action plan process begins with a CDBG annual notice of funding availability, also known as ANOFA, which includes an RFQ to determine an organization's eligibility to receive and successfully manage CDBG funds.

Qualified applicants are invited to an RFP and proposals are scored by the Consolidated Plan Advisory Board.

Details on this timeline and process can be found in attachment six.

We will now go over the organizations proposed for CDBG funding and FY27.

The consolidated plan goal for economic development focuses on inclusive economic growth, strengthening the small businesses supporting local entrepreneurs, expanding workforce development, and improving access to job opportunities.

To this end, 11 organizations are recommended for funding for awards totaling 2.3 million.

All organizations are repeat CDBG and CED awardees.

Another consolidated plan goal is to develop vibrant and equitable neighborhoods by investing in the public in public facilities, critical infrastructure, and nonprofit facilities that enhance accessibility, resiliency, and sustainability.

This goal is associated with nonprofit capital improvement projects.

Under this goal, four organizations are recommended for awards totaling about 2.3 million dollars.

Promised to kids foundation is the new awardee of CDBG and the NCIP category.

For public services, the associated consolidated plan goal focuses on improving community services by addressing critical needs and promoting equity through improved and or increased access to community programming.

Under this goal, eight organizations are recommended for awards approximately 1.26 million dollars.

All organizations are repeorities of CDBG in the public services category.

The services provided under these projects are varied and include meal delivery, health services, apprenticeship and workforce training, and youth services.

Funding within this category is capped at a maximum of 15% of the entitlement allocation and program income.

This 15% includes the homeless set aside.

As just mentioned, the annual action plan before the council today also includes recommended allocations for projects related to homeless services as defined by Council Policy 700-02, which states that up to 25% of the city's annual CDBG public services budget, not to exceed $1 million, shall be set aside for the city's homeless programs.

In FY27, this is approximately $441,000.

The CDBG Homeless Services Set Aside is expected to fund one program, the City of San Diego Family Shelter Program.

This program's goal is to improve housing stability for individuals and households with critical needs, including persons experiencing or at risk of homelessness by providing appropriate housing and service solutions grounded in best practices.

The annual action plan also includes approximately 1.38 million for the Bridge to Home Program, which provides gap financing to help affordable housing projects move forward and create home for households unable to afford market rate housing, and approximately $3.26 million to allow contingency increases of program budgets for previously approved CIPs or nonprofit facility improvement projects up to the originally approved allocation in order to ensure timely completion of projects.

Any new city projects, if identified during the fiscal year, would be presented to city council for approval.

I will now hand the presentation over to Nadine to review the other HUD entitlement grant programs.

Thank you, Melissa.

The two remaining HUD entitlement programs included in the fiscal year 2027 action plan are the home program and the emergency solutions grant program.

The home program is administered by the San Diego Housing Commission and provides federal funds for housing activities such as construction, acquisition, and rehabilitation of affordable housing, first-time homebuyer down payment financial assistance, and tenant-based rental assistance.

In fiscal year 2027, home funds are proposed to be allocated to rental housing unit production and first-time home buyer assistance.

In FY27, new grant funds will be $4.8 million with an anticipated $2.8 million in program income from loan payments and $23.9 million in previous years grant funding for a total anticipated home budget of $31.5 million.

The Housing Commission proposes allocating $30 million to affordable rental housing development.

Please note that of the $30 million, $13 million is earmarked for the NOFA, and the remaining balance is already committed to existing home projects.

The first-time home buyer program will receive $378,000 of home funds, which represents a portion of the overall FTHB budget of $3 million.

And $1 million will go to program administration.

These are examples of two projects funded in part with home funds.

On the left is Hacaranda on 9th, formerly known as Cortez Hill.

The development received a $5 million housing commission loan, including $1.8 million in federal home funds.

It includes $87 affordable rental units, $14 for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, and $73 for households with extremely low income.

The Housing Commission has also awarded $87 HUD project-based vouchers to this project.

The project is fully leased and will celebrate its grand opening on May 7.

On the right is Avanzando, located in San Isidro and currently under construction.

The project received a $4.12 million housing commission loan with $3 million in federal home funds.

It will include $101 affordable units plus two managers units and will remain affordable for 55 years for households earning 30 to 60% of the area median income.

This project broke ground on October 14, 2025 and is expected to be completed in summer 2027.

The final HUD grant program we will discuss is the emergency solutions grant program or ESG to provide funding for homelessness activities.

Eligible activities include outreach and engagement, shelter operations, homelessness prevention, and rapid rehousing.

The housing commission administers the ESG program on behalf of the City of San Diego in coordination with the Regional Continuum of Care and the City's Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department.

The Housing Commission proposes to use ESG funds for the following two programs: the Connections Housing Shelter.

This program is contracted with the people assisting the homeless path to provide up to 70 emergency shelter beds for single adults experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the city of San Diego.

It's anticipated to serve approximately 160 individuals and successfully exit 42 residents to permanent housing in fiscal year 2027.

The second project is the homelessness prevention program.

This program offers short-term assistance paired with case management with case management services and financial resources to help clients either remain in their current housing or to explore other housing options.

It's anticipated to serve 31 households at risk of homelessness in fiscal year 2027.

As an overview of the projected ESG funding for FYA 27, the housing commission anticipates spending 60% of the allocation on shelter activities, 33% on prevention, and approximately 7% on administration costs, which are split between the housing commission and the city.

The public comment period for the draft action plan began on April 7 and will end on May 7.

All comments received during the public comment period and during the public meetings, including today's meeting, will be included in the final version of the action plan before it's submitted to HUD.

And staff responses will be included when merited.

On April 8th, the consolidated plan advisory board voted to recommend council approval of the plan.

And on April 16, the EDNIR committee voted to recommend council approval.

Upon City Council approval, we intend to submit the final action plan to HUD by May 15, 2026.

That concludes our presentation.

And City and Housing Commission staff are available for questions.

Thank you.

All right, thank you for the presentation and the work to bring this item forward.

Clerk, please proceed with public testimony.

Thank you.

We have uh Vanessa Ruiz, if you can please come up to the microphone.

And then after that is Blair Beekman.

If you can please come forward to the yellow reserve seats.

You'll have two minutes.

Good afternoon.

My name is Vanessa Ruiz.

I'm representing Promises to Kids.

Promises to Kids has requested support for renovation of our new Mission Valley facility, which will serve San Diego current, uh San Diego current and former foster youth by improving access to our supportive case management, assistance with education and employment, child care, a basic needs pantry, therapeutic counseling, and community meeting spaces.

This new foster youth and family support campus will provide greater service access to the approximately 500 current and former foster youth who reside in the city of San Diego.

This is a critical need given that approximately 50% of unhoused individuals indicate that they were previously in foster care, a fate that can be avoided by providing accessible supportive services.

Upon completion of the renovation for which we have requested CDBG funds, the campus will become a vital community asset as it gives youth who have experienced abuse and neglect a place to build healing and hope as they prepare for a self-sufficient future.

Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you, Blair Weekman.

Hi, thank you.

Blair Beekman.

What Oakland is going through right now.

They are going through with their own house issues.

They're starting to put into process what we did here a few years ago.

It's so sad that I wish I don't know how we can be considering extremely low-income housing and how to call it a truly affordable housing, a more regular part of this process.

And good luck what we can be doing with HUD.

I I am very hopeful still that there can be a really good mediation process to really understand what our local communities need with with HUD and federal agencies and for them understanding that I think can be a real foundational building of good relationships with our federal government in the next few years and hopefully the last few years or the remaining few years of the current administration in that time.

I hope we can be developing just gosh darn good things together.

And I think it's possible, and I think they want to be, and we just have to be showing how we can do that.

I think it's based on our descriptions of what's important is we have to be developing truly affordable housing names.

San Diego has an awesome ability that their construction costs are considerably lower than the San Francisco Bay Area.

And that with that, it makes it a lot lot easier to build affordable housing.

And that's just an awesome combination that I hope we really want to be working towards.

And we've always been thinking about middle income as a good housing development idea.

I hope that can be respected at this time.

It's tough conversations, but really logical and good reasoning.

Thank you.

Thank you for that concluding comment.

I started the five minute time.

I started the five-minute timers going to those participating remotely.

Hassan, if you can please unmute the question, good afternoon.

My name's Hassan Abdurhman.

I am with Somali Family Service, a committee to based nonprofit organization dedicated to serving low-income families in San Diego for the past 26 years.

I'm speaking here today strongly to strongly support the proposed FY 2027 C D BG Community Economic Development Projects.

I would like to thank the city council members for your consideration and thank the community economic development staff for the City of San Diego for their due diligence, guidance, and support to ensure the City of San Diego has the best possible projects.

Most importantly, this investments reach reaches residents who need it the most, or unemployed and underemployed neighbors who wants to work but lack the connection, training, or access.

Those projects are specifically designed to help them become self-sufficient and reduce demand on other service service safety net services.

Please support the proposed CDBG, CD projects.

Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Tony.

If you can please unmute.

And then our final speaker after that is 8700.

Tony.

Yes, hello, city council.

Can you hear me?

Yes, please proceed.

Thank you.

I think that any time that we're addressing homelessness, we're actually also addressing crime prevention.

And this is what I really want to see us funding more of.

I don't I think that this actually is does more to keep crime off of our streets than SDPD does.

And I'd love to see more money invested in our people, as opposed to an unaccountable police force that doesn't have any consequences for the uh tremendous budget crisis that they've put us into with all of the lawsuits that they're costing the city.

Um so I get again, any time that we can uh defer those funds into actual programs that help people and not uh a militarized police force that's in service of protecting private property that has its origins in slave catching.

Um I think that we're doing really good.

So I want to I am super grateful for the presentation.

Uh thank you uh to HUD for all of their work that they've done in putting this proposal forward, and I really hope that city council will push this through.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And our final speaker, 8700.

If you can please unmute star six.

Uh thank you.

Uh Joy Sanyata ED3.

First of all, thank you, of course, for the beautiful presentation.

And I have followed uh this item for years, and here we are doing excellent work with it, and I congratulate you on that.

And uh thank you so very much to the whole team that's involved with this from start to finish implementation and the whole bottle of wax.

So it is my understanding that HUD has tightened its monitoring and oversight of its regulations, uh, not just on this item, but in general.

So do they have a sweet spot?

We all do.

So uh let's work on collaboration in understanding of what they face, and it's very important to to our work with uh with them and with housing.

So I have a little different focus here.

I've said this before on the EEOC program evaluation.

I quote amount of action is about 16 and a half million dollars.

Uh funding source, of course, is HUD, equal employment opportunity compliance contracts and agreements associated with this action are subject to the city's EEO upreach program.

So I wondered um, this is a new point.

I wondered if the race in equity uh follows any of this and checks on us on it, because I think that's critical in any time EEOC or EOC is involved.

Uh question on the ESG uh grant money.

I I think that's ending this year, but I didn't see that in the report at limited amount that I did have time to read it.

So um past proposed actions number 14.

I'd like more data.

Number 15, uh transparency and accountability on number 14's data, and number 18 ties in with HUD uh strict regulation monitoring now.

So uh you're going to be providing them with that information as we've got to be able to do that.

Your time has concluded.

Your time has concluded, and so have all the public comments for this item.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

Uh with that, we'll turn it over to council members for questions, comments, and retain a motion, and we'll start out with the chair of our EDIR committee.

Council member Campio.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you to our EDD staff.

Uh, we heard this at our last ADNIR committee where it passed unanimously, of course, uh working with this money and putting it in the hands of organizations and around the community uh in a way to help our most vulnerable communities.

Uh it's been uh very, very important and successful in the past, as you could hear from members of the public who called in.

So I thank them for their uh work on this uh on the annual action plan, and I will move approval of staff recommendation.

All right, thank you, sir.

We have a motion by council member campio to move the staff recommendation.

We'll go next to council member Moreno.

Happy to second the motion on the floor.

Okay.

Thank you, Councilmember.

So we have a motion by council member campillo and a second by council member Reynolds to move the staff recommendation.

We'll go next to council member Ilo Rivera.

Thank you, Council President.

Uh, thanks for the um all the work on this and the presentation.

Um as is always the case with um almost always the case.

There's only one time where I saw something that I did not want us funding with this money.

Um the the allocations are are this is gonna fund good things.

Um and as always, I'm very caught up on process and making sure that the council has the most opportunity to shape um the way um the dollars that flow into the city are spent.

Um so I am curious.

We're a couple years now into a new new administration.

Is there any more clarity about what the process will look like moving forward and what that could mean for council, not feedback but council input earlier on in the process?

Because I understand we've got a deadline um that we're up against.

I don't know if that's a question for Christina or who thank you for the question, Councilmember.

Um in a couple of previous years, we've had the opportunity and taking advantage of waivers as a result of the federal government, maybe not making decisions as quickly as they needed to.

To that point, it worked in the city's favor.

Um, and and maybe we're able to take consideration of budget priorities this council um had set forward.

Um in this case, there is no waiver this year, and we're moving forward on the the timelines that they've set forward.

They're not exactly inviting local government to make a lot of um input, but when they did last fall, we absolutely put forward our recommendations about timing, about some changes, and as I understand through our government affairs team took some of that into consideration specifically on home dollars.

Um, and so we'll keep the conversation open and we have a very good working relationship with our regional partners.

That's as that's as best as the update as I have today.

Okay, that's helpful.

And and so with that in mind, what might be useful in the future would be to start the conversation with the council earlier.

If we don't anticipate that the timeline will change, which you know that's the prerogative.

Um, and even if it's a fairly rigid set of um, they're fairly rigid in in what the potential um use of of the funds could be.

Um I still think there's opportunity for council to provide um some prioritization.

Um that's my recommendation that the conversation just start a bit earlier, uh, but the content here is is good and um definitely don't want to hold it up knowing that the deadline is what it is.

Uh thank you, Council President.

I'll support the motion.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Yorivera.

We'll go next to Councilmember Foster.

Uh yes, thank you.

Um, Council President, and thank you, staff for their presentation.

I um have just um I think a couple of questions.

Um well, I guess maybe one.

Um, I know it's a competitive process as we look at the different um categories in which um things are or are selected or awarded.

Um for those that do not make the award list.

Is there an opportunity for um a debrief?

Um and can you kind of kind of um provide some information on how that works?

And then for the organizations that don't make it through the RFP or onto CPAB review, we also offer them at that point an opportunity to meet with us and discuss um the reasons why they are not making it through.

Uh we offer them this opportunity to ask questions, we screen share with them kind of points in their application process that might have been some flags to look out for in the following year.

We encourage them to reapply and we encourage them to take up the opportunity to meet with us again, both during the RFQ TAs and the RFP TAs.

So we do um really encourage the opportunity to meet with us virtually for technical assistance sessions, one-on-one technical assistance sessions.

Okay, and one last question.

I think um as folks want to um look at that, uh is it fair to assume that both the response to the RFQ and the response to the RFP at some point in time is um available via PRA or something to that effect if folks want to look at um what was submitted, um how certain things were put together just as a template or to understand um how they got over those finish lines, I guess I'll say.

Um yes, so thank you for that question as well, Councilmember Foster.

So we offer them um before the application process begins.

They have the um we have the scoring criteria that's uh CPAB proposes and approves, and they have the opportunity to review that and the materials for the application.

Um they also after that after the NOFA process, once council approves the allocations, we open it up to um organizations to be able to request a copy of their scoring sheets, and so that's made available to them as well so that they can see specific feedback from uh the CPAB members in different areas of their application.

All right, thank you.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Foster.

Not seeing anybody else in the lights.

Uh couple of questions.

Thank you for the good work.

Council President, if I may, I think we had another.

Oh, I'm sorry, my clarification.

Sorry, Council Park Council President.

I just wanted to add to the question or the response to the question about uh providing feedback to organizations that may not have uh qualified.

There is a grace period also that we've offered to organizations uh through the RFQ, the request for qualifications, if perhaps they might have been disqualified because they're missing one document, or we do give organizations the opportunity to cure that before they submit to uh request for proposals.

So we do provide that extra that grace as well.

Just wanted to add that.

Alrighty, thank you so much.

And I would assume that's done via notification of deficiency, I guess I'll say, or notice to cure.

That's correct, yes.

All right, thank you.

My apologies.

I thought I saw a head nod and I kind of missed it, so my apologies.

Um so I'll jump back in.

Thank you for the good work.

Um I think I'm far enough away that I can't claim any knowledge of the process you go through these days, but I know that it's uh very important work, and there's a lot of grinding and evaluating all the applications that come in and try to separate uh very good applications to just ones that are just that much better, and you have to draw the line somewhere with uh the limited funds.

Um is our annual allocation kind of still holding steady over the past couple of years, or have we heard any indication that it might change?

Um thank you for the question, Council President Lakava.

Our allocation from last year to this year is trending down for all grant funds, um, C D B G, ESG and homes uh from two to three percent.

So it is slightly decreasing.

Okay.

I know that the need is growing and the the funding is lesser.

Um to the comments about uh meeting with HUD, I think the city is done an excellent job of trying to meet with Hub HUD, uh both uh City of San Diego and the Housing Commission has uh it's really up to the federal government to decide they're gonna do things differently, uh, and we hope they put off some of the more difficult things that they've tossed around as ideas uh going forward.

Uh and I also like to disabuse people to not buy into the rhetoric that some members of the public talk about that us that we don't do affordable housing.

Uh capital A affordable, uh income restricted housing.

Um, I know the word gets abused, affordable, lowercase a attainable often gets thrown around a lot.

That's not what we're talking about.

Uh, we're talking about truly affordable, income restricted to help uh the most vulnerable.

Um, and there's just simply not enough funds uh to meet the need.

Um, if we had more funding through the general funds, through state funds, through federal government funds, uh, we would happily accept that and do more because it's absolutely uh needed.

So don't let other people confuse you as to how hard this city is working, uh especially the good folks in EDD that you do that good work every day.

So with that, uh we have a motion by Councilmember Campio and a second by Councilmember Moreno.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Start the voting system, please cast your vote.

The virus has gone down.

If you can let me know your vote for the record, my apologies.

I vote yes.

Oh no, that's because I pressed it.

My apologies.

That does pass unanimously nine to zero.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, again, thank you for the good work in bringing that item forward.

So with uh apologies to the good folks who have stepped in the chambers.

We are now going to go back and pick up uh item S510.

So, clerk, please reintroduce item S510 for the record.

Item S510 is to rename the existing 0.8 mile long street, Caesar E.

Chavez Parkway from Commercial Street heading southwest to Crosby Road as Chicano Park Boulevard.

If you're hearing Council Chambers, now's the time to submit your speaker slip to the front of the room, or if you're participating remotely, please raise your hand by pressing star nine or the raise your hand icon.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you.

All right, again, thank you to staff for your flexibility.

Uh if you could reintroduce yourselves for the record and then maybe provide an abbreviated presentation on S 510.

I'll use let you do it at your discretion.

Thank you.

Uh good afternoon, President Council President Alcava and members of the city council.

Uh again, my name is Lucer Maganda.

I am the deputy director of community engagement for Mayor Todd Gloria, and joining me today is Michaela Valk, the director of community engagement for Mayor Ta Gloria.

We will need about five minutes to conclude the presentation.

All right, when you're ready.

Thank you.

Uh today we come uh to the council to respectfully request and adopt to adopt an ordinance approving the renaming of Cesar Chavez Parkway to Chicano Park Boulevard and waiving of the San Diego Municipal Code Section 112.0301 subsection A.

Next slide, please.

Well, today's actions are prompted by troubling allegations.

We recognize the farm workers movement led by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and other leaders to the United Farm Workers remains a vital part of labor and civil rights history.

At the same time, the communities of Barrio Logan and Logan Heights share a nuanced story of activism, one that is grounded in the community fight to create and preserve Chicano Park.

Chicano Park is in the heart of Barrio Logan and embodies the resilience and collective community struggle that began over 50 years ago when the community came together to organize and ultimately reclaim the park.

The establishment of the Chicano Park Steering Committee, along with the mural movement, and ongoing advocacy for access to the bayfront are all part of a local legacy.

Approving the renaming of Caesar Chavez Parkway to Chicano Park Boulevard recognizes the history that happened and lives here in the community in this community and would help restore the original intent discussed years ago, honor the internationally recognized Chicano Park movement, connect the park neighborhood and bayfront into one historical corridor, acknowledge the people who fought to create and preserve the park, and most importantly, help rebuild the trust between the community and the city.

The transportation department posted a uh A-frame signage along Caesar Chavez Parkway along the following intersections.

Caesar Chavez Parkway and Main Street, National Avenue, Kearney Avenue, Irving Avenue, and Harrison Avenue.

These signs have remained in place until this hearing.

Given the expediency to process the street renaming in the broad public interest, a waiver of the requirement for a notice of application at at least 60 calendar days prior to the first public hearing is requested.

In addition to the required public hearing notice, extensive outreach was conducted with community stakeholders to ensure all interested parties have been informed of these efforts.

On March 22nd, 2026, the Chicano Park Steering Committee met and issued a public statement that they were actively working with the city to rename Caesar Chavez Parkway to Chicano Park Boulevard.

On March 25th, the Barrio Logan Association held a special meeting and voted in support of renaming the street to Chicano Park Boulevard.

On April 2nd, the Barrio Logan Planning Group held a special meeting and voted unanimously in support of rename the street to Chicano Park Boulevard.

The Transportation Department mailed notification to property owners and tenants within 300 feet of the street.

Outreach efforts included coordination and communication with other public agencies like the California Department of Transportation, the Port of San Diego, and the San Diego Community College District.

To conclude, we respectfully request that the council adopt an ordinance approving the renaming of Caesar Chavez Parkway to Chicano Park Boulevard, waiving San Diego Municipal Code Section 112.0301 subsection A.

This proposed change in the name reflect the cultural, historical, and community significance of Chicano Park and the surrounding Barrio Logan neighborhood, and we request your vote and support.

That concludes my presentation.

Happy to take any questions.

Alright, again, thank you for the presentation and your flexibility.

Very much appreciated.

So with that, uh Clerk, please go to public comment.

Thank you, Council President.

Blair Beekman, if you can please come uh forward.

We'll be to going to a minute and a half.

Okay, thank you.

Hi.

Uh Blair Beekman, uh, part two for this item.

Thank you.

Um, I think it's a pretty good name change.

Um, I don't know enough about San Diego history to know uh the intricacies of why it's named Chicano Park.

But I've been here for a few years now.

I I've seen some initial reasons why, and it's it's history and uh it's uh it's nice.

It's it's a good name, I think.

So thank you for that.

I wanted to comment that um in my whatever forms of advocacy.

By the way, thank you to Council Person Lacaba's words.

I will have to um reshape my words accordingly, or I will shape my reshape my words accordingly from the previous item.

Um I've learned a lot of good activism uh from San Jose as I was learning whatever forms of activism I have from a lot from Dolores Puerta, more so actually than Cesar Chavez.

So I've been kind of learning from her styles, and I think that was being promoted to young people, uh, her importance and what she offered, and and councilperson von Wilpert offered very good advice.

Um that you know it's not just one person, it's it's it's a collective, it is an embodiment and working towards that uh concepts of uh uh indigenous issues, uh the indigenous uh concepts uh in in sort of uh working together is interesting and uh good look what we can do together continuing.

Thank you.

Thank you, David Rico.

David Rico, Donancine, Cena Sanchez, and Sylvia Enrique.

Uh-huh.

Uh thank you for your time.

I just want to um uh say that I want to support uh the name change to Chicano Park Boulevard, and uh also there's a lot of community members and uh that are not able to come here and that I've talked to and uh uh so I want to also uh let you guys know that there's a lot of people in support of uh the name change because we had uh wanted that name change a long time ago.

Uh there was a proposal for the um the name change.

Uh I don't exactly know the exact year, but uh I just want to say that I support it and I hope uh that it can be uh done the name change.

Thank you.

Thank you, um Ancine Cena.

You do have check that people are seeing your time, but I don't see any other speaker slips.

So then it's a minute.

Sylvia wants to give me hers.

No, I don't.

But I if I take longer than a minute and a half, then I am gonna continue speaking just FYI because I do feel it's important that certain things be said and noted.

So um good afternoon, council members.

Um my name is Donatin Guadalupe Sanchez.

I also go by CNET.

I am the youngest daughter of Ramon Chunky Sanchez and Isabel Sanchez, and I'm also the current vice chair of the CPSC and a direct descendant of the original founding families of Chicano Park and Chicano Park on the Bay.

As you know, the CPSC has served as the caretakers and protectors of Chicano Park for more than 50 years.

That's why the reason we've emdured me so long in more than five decades is very simple.

We refuse to be sellouts or compromise our morals.

We are refused to become disconnected from the community, and we have refused to become under the outside pressure.

Sorry, our responsibility has always been for the people that we advocate for within our community.

And that is also why relationships and communication is very crucial to the work that we do.

Having strong communications and connections with council members or their representatives like Lucero Maganda helps ensure that our community stays connected to decisions affecting our neighborhood, our park, and our cultural spaces spaces.

So when issues arise, we know who to call, how to communicate, and how to ensure our community's voices heard.

Additionally, the CPSC's efforts have gone beyond the park.

For 70 years, CPSC members like the Lei Ronnie Trujillo, Jose Gomez, Rico Bueno, Chunky Sanchez battled for access to the waterfront, and Chicano Park on the Bay was created as a result of that effort.

Our advocacy to restore names and histories connected to Chicano Park existed long before the current conversations around this street renaming.

Names matter.

They carry the story of a place and the people who fought for it.

Renaming Cesar Chavez Parkway to Chicano Park Boulevard recognizes the movement that was born in Badiologan slash Logan Heights, the struggle, the organizing, the resistance, and the collective determination that created one of the most important cultural landmarks, not only in this country, but I believe throughout the whole world.

For decades, our community has had to defend our land, our culture, and our history against forces that attempted to overlook or erase it, and even still to this day.

But yet we are still here.

This work has always been collective, and it will continue to be collective.

And speaking personally, I will not stop advocating for this community until the cultural erasure that neighborhoods like Barrio Logan have faced finally come to an end.

Because our history deserves to be protected, and our story deserves to be told by the people who lived it.

Thank you.

All right, for the record, Councilmember Foster gave a minute and a half.

So thank you, sir.

Sylvia Enrique.

The gentleman who spoke first.

The people you see here and have presented do and are and have been and continue and will be always as long as I live.

Part of that history.

But we did not need that.

So we took it over.

And it became what you see now as Chicano Park and National Historically Recognized Monument to art which has many cultural influences, which is what makes up the Mario.

And so we honor that.

The street as named, um, as the city has noted, does not represent what we want to be represented.

We want to be represented as the community that was divided, not divided before the five was built.

Which was I believe in 19 whatever.

You that's history.

And we you can look it up.

Anyway, but then again, here we are facing an issue that is morally and socially important to be represented by the city because Chicano Park rebrands represents this community, the city of San Diego, the state of California, and this area of the US integrated states.

Worldwide, worldwide.

We are a nationally recognized park.

In addition to that, we are the only Chicano Park in the world with murals as large as for anyone who passes by even or goes over the bridge can see it's art.

And once we start disassociating our art and its origins, origins to access, then we are not doing a service to the artist, to the community, and to the region.

So I encourage we do rename that avenue, whatever it's called now, whatever it was called before.

From what is it?

The beginning association of the name to the end by the bay.

And I'm letting you know, I just came, we just came from the bay from the coastal commission office.

They're waiting for your decision on what to do.

So I hope you do the right thing.

But in addition to that, I want to end with something that is really very relevant because all the people here that you see talking, except for the gentleman over there, is related to someone who said there is an energy here, there's hard to describe.

When you see your people struggling for something positive, it's very inspiring.

The park was brought about by sacrifice, and it demonstrates what a community can do when they stick together and make it happen.

This is from your own website for your tourist attractions, your general outreach to the world.

Chicano Park Boulevard will provide easier access by no name nomenclature from the freeway, from the streets, everywhere.

And that I am hoping you support as well for Chicano Park on the Bay, because that's what it was named when the original plans were drawn and approved by the port in 1989 and never enacted.

We are now pushing for that as well.

So we hope you have that.

And speaking about petitions, this is the boots on the street petition, one page only of signatures that we're getting door-to-door, people to people.

We walk the streets, we spend the evenings talking to workers, we go to their lunch hours on Chicano Park in the Bay.

We are getting signatures.

We don't have enough for to present for today because one boots on the street.

We didn't get them together in time.

But that is a sample that I believe you have it in your packet.

So Chicano Park on the Bay is the end of Chicano Park Boulevard, which comes from the five to Chicano Park.

And so I hope you do the right thing.

Thank you.

And for the record, I gave three minutes.

That concludes with a comment here in Council Chambers.

I'm giving starting the five-minute timer and going to those participating online.

Jesus, Martín Gallegos.

You are an okay.

Hi, good afternoon.

My name is Jesus Martín Gallegos Muñoz, community organizing coordinator at the Chicano Federation.

As a first generation Mexican American, I grew up with the less sense of the farm workers' movement, less sense of the collective fight against injustice that have been instilled in our identities.

The news about César's conduct shocked our community, and this is it is clear, it is a clear violation of our movement's values.

But as we continue to fight for justice, accountability, and respect, we must recognize the systemic harms and continue on a transformative path to heal past wrongs and forge new paths.

At the Chicano Federation, we believe that this movement has always been greater than one individual.

And our community has been at the forefront of that movement here in San Diego with the fight for Chicano Park.

Recognizing Farm Workers' Day and changing the name of our street to Chicano Park Boulevard is a great first step.

On behalf of the Chicano Federation, we support both these initiatives and we hope they will serve us a catalyst to recognize harms and restore justice.

Yes, yes.

Next is Zoom user, if you can please unmute.

Thanks for taking my call.

As a white guy, it really saddened me to hear about Cesar.

You know, I always respected him.

I knew the story being born in San Diego in the 50s.

And it saddens me too that it this is turning out like this.

But I think we should have like Barrio Lokan have its own city, give them a mayor, maybe uh let them make more decisions for their own place.

So it's a great place.

So it's a no-brainer.

They're gonna change the name of the street.

It's a no-brainer, but there could be other things that they have a that they have wants for, and we the city should meet their wants, like three or four more just while we're doing this renaming a street.

So have a good day.

Next is Tony, if you can please unmute.

Yes, hello, thank you.

I'm in strong support of this decision to rename this street.

Um, I think like uh studying the the origins of the history, like I said earlier, that's what the people have always wanted.

Um, as a Chicano activist, this was uh huge disappointment to learn this information or to to hear these allegations.

Um yeah, I'm in support of changing the name.

So hopefully that gets done.

Thank you.

Next is Andy Garcia, if you can please unmute.

Thank you, Council members of San Diego.

My name is Andy Garcia, founder of Ortega Park Steering Committee in Santa Barbara.

We are a sister park to Chicano Park.

I am here in support of the renaming to Chicago Park Way.

We are here to also state that Chicano Park, its founding families like DeSanche family and the current steering committee are nationally known entities that have influenced and impacted millions globally.

I'm a former student of San Diego Colleges, and my own connection with Chicano Park, its legacy that has fueled my own community work.

It is in fact the Chicano Park song that inspired me to leave Santa Barbara and attend college in San Diego.

I'm sorry, I'm just quite emotional.

It's it's a home to me.

We applaud the council and the San Diego community in making this adjustment to move forward upward and for generations to come.

Give a Chicano Parkway.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next is 8700.

Uh some people some people have been putting their hand up and down, so just make sure you leave your hand up.

8700, please proceed.

I'm sorry, a city clerk, how much time?

Uh a minute and a half.

Thank you so much.

Uh Joy Asanata.

Uh I have to start out by saying I'm sorry.

I I just raised my hand.

I just needed to, and I'll tell you why.

But I I really don't know the history of this, and and I can't speak well to it for you.

Uh so I'll leave that all up to you to make your decision.

Uh but certainly listening to everyone, which I did.

It seems very clear which way to go.

But I want to say this, uh, President Lakava and and uh Councilmember Marino.

I I was just very touched by the dialogue that happened between the two of you and how we were willing to be malleable and shapeshift the rules of things or the procedures of things or change the process of things.

This is what's exciting about life when we can go outside to the edges and and just meet the moment.

And that's the opportunity of life.

And I just was really touched by seeing that back and forth between the two of you, and and you know, of course, being a participant, I I was part of that, you know, seeing the flow of the agenda items and and so forth.

So it's just a beautiful experience for me, and I'm gonna tell you how much that meant to be, and we need more of that in our government and in our processes of government.

So thank you very much.

It's been a great week.

Love to all.

Thank you.

That does conclude public comment for this item.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

Uh, so we will now turn it over to council members, the comments, questions, entertain a motion on item F510, and we'll start with Council Member Moreno.

Thank you.

And I want to start off by thanking all of the residents that spoke on this item today.

And I also want to thank Ms.

Maganda from the mayor's office uh for your work in advancing this item forward.

Uh, today's action is about more than renaming a street.

Uh, it's about community identity and ensuring that our public spaces reflect the people in history that define them.

Uh the recent reporting on Cesar Chavez has raised serious and deeply troubling concerns that we cannot ignore.

It's important that we take these matters seriously and ensure that the names of our public spaces reflect the values we uphold as a city.

This action is not about diminishing the broader movement, but about making a thoughtful decision in light of information.

Renaming the street allows us to move forward in a way that centers community values and respects the voices and concerns that have been raised.

I'm pleased to see the strong support from Barrio Logan for renaming the street to Chicano Park Boulevard.

It shows that this decision is grounded in the voices of residents, community leaders, and organizations who know this neighborhood the best.

Chicano Park is not just a national historic landmark.

It's the cultural heart of the Latino community in San Diego.

It is sacred land.

It represents take decades of activism, art, resilience, and also pride.

We must also recognize our ancestors, past and present, past and present, who fought for this land to become a park.

Renaming this street to reflect the legacy honors the community as a whole and recognizes a place that has inspired generations.

This is a meaningful and positive step, and I'm glad to support it.

I do have a few items for staff.

Number one, um, how long will it take to fully implement these changes, particularly the installation of new street signs along the corridor and the freeway exits for your question, Councilmember Moreno?

Um so the ordinance is gonna be coming back to council for a second reading, and then we would need to wait 30 days before we can change the signs.

Uh it'll put us at around mid-June as the earliest date for us to install.

And as I mentioned earlier, uh we are coordinating with other agencies, including Caltrans, and they're currently working on a project uh this fall, so we'll need to have additional coordination with them as well.

Okay, so it sounds like the street signs are gonna go first, and then we'll start seeing movement around fall with Caltrans.

Correct.

Okay, thank you for that.

Um, second, what support will be available for residents and businesses who may face challenges updating their address.

Um, this includes things like driver's license, identification card, um, mail services, business records, legal documents, passports, and other important records.

Um, I'd like to understand how the city plans to assist in easing uh this transition.

Thank you for that question.

Uh well, this is typically not part of the renaming process.

Uh the mayor's office is committing to uh putting a bilingual one pager uh together to provide guidance for all of those personal documents that need to be uh updated, and as mentioned, we did do door-to-door canvassing and plan to continue to do so following the adoption of this item.

We did also coordinate with the Barrio Logan Association, and they've agreed to support these efforts.

Thank you.

Thank you for answering this question and um or the two questions I had.

Um I do believe this is a meaningful and deeply thoughtful action, uh, one that reflects the strength, resilience, and enduring uh cultural identity of Barrio Logan.

Uh this is a community shaped by struggle, pride, and generations who turned hardship into art, voice, and visibility, creating something truly powerful and irreplaceable.

Um it honors what makes this neighborhood not only unique but profoundly important to the story of our region.

Chicano Park stands as a living monument to the legacy, a testament to the Chicano movement and the generations who fought to be seen, heard, and remembered with dignity and respect.

And with that, I'm happy to move uh staff's move approval for staff's recommendation.

Y que viva la raza.

All right, thank you, Councilmember.

So we do have a motion by Council Member Moreno to move staff recommendation.

We'll go next to Councilmember Campillo.

Thank you, Council President.

I'll second the motion.

Uh, thank Councilmember Moreno for very, very strong words, and thank the members of the public who came in today to represent the community so well.

Thank you for being here and thank you for fighting for decades for it.

That concludes my second.

All right.

Thank you, Councilmember.

So we have a motion by Council Member Reynolds, second by Council Member Campillo to move the staff recommendation.

We'll go next to the Council Member Elo Rivera.

Thank you, Council President.

Uh, I'll just reiterate the appreciation to uh staff for moving quickly on this, to the community for being engaged.

And I'll just like I'm really really glad we're doing this.

This is a moment in time where um cities, states, institutions are running away from actions like this that proudly lean into culture and identity.

Uh and I'm glad that we're not allowing the Trump regime to intimidate San Diego away from actions like this.

I think that's really important.

Um so all of the history that built to this moment, um, I think that's that's why we didn't even consider that.

Um if there hadn't been decades of movement work, um I there's a different world, a different reality where um we default to um the preferences of the regime and and and and move away from identity.

And um thankfully, all that movement work happened, and we're here in this place where don't bat an eye.

We lean into it, we're proud of it.

It's core to who San Diego is.

Um so very glad to see that.

Thank you for everyone who who's been part of that effort, part of that movement work.

Um very, very supportive.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Yo Rivera.

Not seeing anybody else in the lights.

I too will reiterate my thanks to Councilmember Moreno for the leadership on this and the quick reaction and to the mayor's office for your response and once again navigating the the uh nuances of the municipal code and how we can actually get these things done and coordinating with other outside agencies that also will be affected by this action.

So, with that, we have a motion by council member Moreno and a second by council member Campio.

Uh and please call the roll.

Sorry, the voting system, please cast your vote.

Oh, sorry.

That passes unanimously nine to zero.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh and thank you, Coda.

Thank you to staff for your flexibility in navigating these two items.

Um I think it was exactly the right thing to do.

So with that, Clerk, please introduce the city council and the public facilities finance authority companion items.

Thank you, Council President.

Um item 331 is the authorization for the public facilities financing authority of the City of San Diego Sewer Revenue Bond Series 2026 A and Series 2026 B, the 2026 sewer revenue bonds preliminary official official statement, and item FA1 is the approval of the form and authorization of the distribution of the permanent official statement and authorization of the execution delivery and distribution of the official statement in connection with the issuance and sale by the public facilities financing authority of the City of San Diego Series 2026A and Series 2026 B sewer revenue bonds.

This item is not subject to the mayor's veto.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

And with that, staff, as you settle in, please introduce yourself for the record.

Let us know how much time you need.

Good afternoon, Council President Lakaba and members of the council.

This is Yoti Pantlu, Assistant Director of the Department of Finance.

And presenting with me today are Kevin Werner, Financing Coordinator, also the DOF, and Deputy City Attorney David Powell.

We'll need about 10 minutes.

All right, when you're ready.

Thank you.

The action for your consideration this afternoon is the authorization of the preliminary official statement for the public facilities financing authority, sewer revenue bonds, series 2026A and 2026 B.

SSR standard practice for long-term bond issuances.

The authorization is obtained through a two-step process.

The first step, approval by the city council and the PFFA of the legal framework for the bonds was completed late last calendar year.

This included authorization to issue bonds in a principal amount not to exceed 240 million, as well as authorization to refund the existing sewer revenue bonds.

Today we are here for the second step of the process seeking authorization for the POS for these bonds.

With that, I will turn it over to Kevin.

Thank you, Josie.

I'm here to give a 2026 sewer revenue bond update.

With our 2026 Series A, our new money, we anticipate uh receiving 226 million dollars of proceeds at a uh true interest cost of a 4.43 percent.

That makes an annual uh estimated annual debt service of 14 million dollars from FY 2027 through 2056.

In addition, our 2026 Series A uh refunding bonds, uh, we will be refunding 2015 and 2016 A bonds in order to achieve savings.

We'll have net present value savings of around 11 percent, and those annual savings is approximately three million dollars uh from fiscal year 2027 to fiscal year 2039 on an annual basis.

Now our 2026 Series B, this is a short-term issuance.

Uh this uh provides a liquidity to the system.

We anticipate the proceeds to be approximately 30 million dollars.

Uh the purpose of this is for uh providing liquidity for SRF loan reimbursement timing issues and year-end true up uh statements.

Uh this uh item uh the total interest cost is about 2.8 million dollars and the maturity is May 15, 2028.

This uh is anticipated to be re uh uh revenue neutral as the uh interest earnings on the uh amount that we borrow will cover the cost of the interest on the bonds.

In addition, we have just the estimated sources and uses uh table put on here, as well as we have finalized our underwriter syndicate.

We are going a negotiated route uh for our underwriter syndicate, our underwriters sell the bonds for for the city.

Uh our underwriters include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, uh Academy Securities, and Seabird Williams and Schenck.

Uh the city also recently received strong credit ratings for the 2026 A and B sewer revenue bonds with a double A rating from SP global ratings and a double A rating with a negative outlook from Fitch ratings.

The negative outlook from FITCH is a new development for the wastewater system and reflects their view of the city's increasing capital needs over time, including major investments such as Pure Water Phase 1, Pure Water Phase 2, and broader system-wide sewer improvements.

Importantly, the underlying double A rating remains intact, indicating continued confidence in the sewer system's credit fundamentals.

A memo will be circulated in the next few days to City Council regarding additional detail on the Fitch's rating outlook.

For our 2026 sewer revenue bonds financing schedule, we are hoping for approval today from both the council and PFFA.

We would release the uh POS uh later this week.

A bond sale uh happening uh most likely on Tuesday, May 5th with our bond closing on May 27th.

The bond closing is when we receive all the funds.

With that, I'll turn it over to David Powell from the City Attorney's Office.

Thank you, Kevin.

Uh so I'm gonna first discuss the 2026 sewer bonds uh preliminary official statement, or POS as we call it, uh which is the city's marketing document, uh which is designed to provide information that a reasonable investor would consider material in making informed investment decision.

Uh so some of the items that are included in the sewer POS are going to be the bond terms, plan of finance, security and sources of payment, uh, information regarding the wastewater system, some risk factors, the ratings, uh, and pertinent system financial regulatory information, including service area, facilities, uh capital improvement program, financial operations, labor, insurance, pension, and some litigation information as well.

Uh additionally, you can see there are several appendices that are listed here up on the slide that are included with the POS as well.

Uh also included are risk factors related to the sewer system or the wastewater system, which include the demand, expense, collection, rate setting, and the supply, water supply, uh, and risk to the bonds themselves, uh, which are that they're limited obligations, this acceleration provisions, limitations on remedies, tax exemptions, and absence of a secondary market, um, and then other risks which include potential impact of climate change, cybersecurity, uh, economic, political, and social environmental conditions associated with the issuance of the bonds.

Uh finally, I'll quickly go over the preliminary official statement disclosure process, which many of you have heard several times before, um, but it's worth repeating uh as it I believe gets security for you all in making your decision today.

So uh the security disclosure ordinance uh establishes the disclosure practices working group or DPWG, uh which includes the COO, the city attorney, the CFO, the Deputy City Attorney for Finance and Disclosure, uh, outside this and outside disclosure council.

Uh DPWG establishes our controls and procedures which outline the disclosure process.

Uh this mandates certifications from the mayor, the city attorney, the CFO, stating there are no material misstatements or omissions in the disclosure document in the POS.

This also includes solicitation of information from the city attorney's office, PUD, Department of Finance, and other contributing departments.

Um, in addition to review uh publicly available sources of information believed to be reliable.

Uh also there is a review of the multiple drafts of the POS with the financing team, city officials, and DPWG prior to your consideration here today.

Uh the financing group and contributing departments also certified to DPWG on the process and content of the POS prior to posting and sale.

Uh so the POS is ultimately re approved by DPWG pursuant to the controls and procedures.

Uh also there are certifications by the mayor, the city attorney, the CFO, and DPWG provided to city council via the disclosure responsibilities memo issued by the city attorney's office.

This memo, as you know, member uh outlines the city council's legal obligations and includes certifications from all the contributing departments.

Uh any final updates uh of the POS will be provided to City Council prior to posting.

And I will turn it back over to Kevin.

Thank you.

Uh these are the items for consideration for the distribution of the preliminary official statement and authorization and execution of the official statement after the pricing of the bonds.

With that uh concludes our presentation.

We're open for questions.

All right, thank you for the presentation and the work to bring this item forward.

Clerk, please proceed with public testimony for these two items.

Blair Beekman, if you can please come forward.

You'll have two minutes.

Hi, where beacon.

Thank you for this item.

I didn't quite understand um all the other uh uh bond mentions for items such as cybersecurity, uh how that relates to the sewer uh bond issues.

I'm just starting to learn to to re-separate uh further understand the differences between sewer bond issues and and stormwater issues.

So um good luck in that process.

It's an important separation of the two items, and I'm trying to better better understand that.

Um I just I guess with bond issues, uh you know, if if we if you're dealing with uh at some level cybersecurity bond uh concepts, uh the work we do with tech accountability uh just makes our city if we do it well uh more valuable, more uh people are more interested, and I guess I'm hearing that that that includes uh money situations as well.

Um so we're just considered a more a better uh all the way around.

So good luck uh tech accountability can help uh helps with the procurement process as well, and how you talk to other people about um when you present that we have good tech accountability that helps everyone.

And if we and that means also we're practicing safely, and that means uh people don't want to hack us as much.

If if we're doing good things and building trust, people won't want to hack us as much.

Simple as that with the cybersecurity stuff.

Thank you uh for that.

Uh patience with that.

Overall, uh, that's my description of uh my life, trying to understand the differences between sewer and uh stormwater issues for ourselves.

Good luck what you can be doing and uh with these sort of items and and uh and working on our sewer issues and how we can talk to Mexico about good sewer things.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, the five-minute timer going to those on line 8700.

If you can please unmute uh thank you, city clerk.

Uh Joy Signat of C D3.

I'm going on a limb on this because I I'm just getting putting my big toe in this bond debt system and so forth.

But what here's just one thing that popped up.

It's going to be short.

Uh I did look at the POS on Google.

It was very, it's very fascinating.

I just had a run through real quick.

And uh, you know, it's very critical to the investors.

So I'm concerned about this our CIP gap.

And and uh how much we have to express about that to the investors and how that exacerbates our risk.

So I don't know if that's those are decent comments or are a decent question from a public person, but I thought I I'd put that out there for you.

Uh thank you so much.

Love to all.

Thank you.

That does conclude public comment on this item.

Items um all right.

So we'll turn over to council members for questions and comments, and we'll entertain in motion on each of the two items starting with item 331.

But we'll start with council member Moreno.

Wonderful.

Thank you so much for the presentation.

And um, as always, I appreciate the work of debt management and the department of finance.

Um I would also like to thank the disclosure practice working group for the review of the preliminary official statements.

Um, I do have a few questions that I will be asking for the record.

Uh, do you believe that all relevant and material information that would need to be considered by potential bondholders and investors has been disclosed in the preliminary official statement?

Yes.

Do you believe that any information contained in the preliminary official statement is inaccurate or misleading to potential bondholders and investors?

No.

Is there any additional material information that this city council should be aware of today concerning the content of these preliminary official statements?

I believe so.

And are there any questions this council has not asked that should have been asked?

I don't believe so.

With that, I'm happy to make a motion to move staff's recommendation.

Thank you, Council President.

All right.

We have a motion by Councilmember Moreno to move the staff recommendation on item 331.

We'll go next to Councilmember Campbell.

Thank you so much.

Um thank you for the presentation and for all your thoughtfulness in regard to these kind of matters.

Uh I'm very happy to second the motion.

All right.

Thank you, Councilmember.

So we have a motion by Councilmember Moreno and a second by Councilmember Campbell to move the staff recommendation on item 331.

We'll go to Councilmember Von Wolpert.

Thank you very much for the presentation and the work on this.

I know a lot of work goes into putting in uh the bond financing document disclosures, and I just want to make sure that this is planned for in our debt ratios, correct?

We're still not going to bump above the line that we need to be below.

Uh councilmember for clarification.

This is the sewer credit, that's the debt ratios are only for the general fund.

Okay.

Okay, got it.

All right, thank you.

Thank you for reminding me of that.

It's we're already in budget season, and I'm getting confused on our funds.

So thank you very much, and I'm happy to support the motion.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Von Wilpert.

Not seeing anybody else in the lights.

We have a motion by Councilmember Moreno and a second by Councilmember Campbell to move the staff recommendation on item 331.

Please call the roll, clerk.

I'm sorry, the voting system, please cast your vote.

And that passes unanimously nine to zero.

Thank you, Council President.

We will now adjourn as a city council and convene as the public facilities financing authority to vote on the public facilities finance authority item.

Uh Councilmember Moreno, can I have the and council member Campbell a second?

All right.

So we have a motion by Councilmember Moreno and a second by Councilmember Campbell to move the staff recommendation on public facilities financing authority item FA1.

Clerk, please call the role.

I started the I started at the voting system, please cast your vote.

And that passes unanimously nine to zero.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you.

And with that, we will now take up the public facilities financing authority non-agenda public comment.

Public facilities finance authority members respect and appreciate the public's input and are fully committed to protecting every participant's free speech rights at the public facilities financing authority meeting.

Clerk proceed with public comment.

Thank you, Council President.

Per rule 2.7 non-agenda public comment is an opportunity for members of the public to comment on items that are not on the agenda but within the subject matter jurisdiction of the public facilities financing authority.

Each speaker will have two minutes if you are in chambers.

Please submit your speaker slip.

If you're joining us virtually, please raise your hand to speak by tapping raise your hand icon or star nine.

Blair Beekman, you can go to the microphone.

Hi, thank you, Blair Beekman.

Um thank you for taking my uh card.

I um I wanted to offer, I really meant to offer um more from uh the the sewer bond issue that um you know you just you just worked on an arrangement for um Choyus Creek, I think.

Uh a very new innovative uh underground water pipe system that has filtration systems that that leak into the uh marshlands at the end and um end of its journey.

And it um it it's like innovative and interesting, and I think those ideas for Mexico could be really helpful in how we're trying to address Mexico at this time.

And I had the really interesting thought that um uh there's I I've been back and forth in San Diego since the uh late 80s, and um it's like there's always this code that we're not supposed to quite be fully working with Tijuana in some ways.

And uh interestingly, I just realized that Tijuana kind of probably has the same feeling about San Diego, and so it's that rub that we don't quite get things accomplished together.

I mean, there's a lot of worry about what the Tijuana River is doing right now.

That same worry was there in the 1980s, and the same conversations were happening then as they're happening now, where we have some conversation, in other ways we don't talk to each other.

And I I'm trying to figure out ways that you know we we build up certain societal standards that we don't work with Tijuana, and they do the same.

And how do we work through that at this time?

Uh good luck in your efforts with this sort of item, or with the previous item with with sewer issues and how to develop good communication and dialogue with Mexico and uh technology practices.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, the five-minute timer going to those participating remotely, 8700.

If you can please unmute.

Uh Joy Asaniata.

Councilmember uh Moreno, you know, you remember, I hope, that I have loved when you uh you asked those questions, and I think everybody knows what I mean by that.

She just asked them on that last item.

Uh and uh so my request for you, Councilmember Moreno, is that who are you gonna pass the question button to uh before you leave?

Uh and thank you for your beautiful service to the people of San Diego.

But uh, I'm really concerned about that because those questions must be asked.

And I don't remember anyone before you really asking the questions of the way you do and and and just your sincerity and your power behind them.

So thank you.

Now, a little more on this.

So uh let me, if I have time, I hope so.

Let me read this from the pension article.

The higher payment this year comes despite the city's unfunded pension debt shrinking slightly from 3.49 billion to 3.646 billion.

The debt formerly called an unfunded actuarial liability is based on Koworski's long-term liability projection of 14.5 billion compared to his long-term uh asset projection of 11.5 billion.

So I'm just getting into this power of debt.

And and uh San Diego County Water Authority, there's some problem with their debt too, or they're going into a problem with it in the future.

I just briefly read that, and and FD SERS, I just read that to you.

Uh I don't get it, but it's a concern on the debt.

So that's new to me.

I just wanted to put that out to you that that this is a place where I think a lot of the public just has no idea.

Your time has concluded.

My apologies, your time has concluded.

That does conclude non-agenda public comment for the PFFA.

All right, thank you, City Clerk.

We will now uh we will adjourn as the public facilities finance authority and reconvene as a city council.

Uh we'll close with two adjournments in memory, and we will start with council member Foster the third.

Sir Thank you, Council President.

Today we adjourned this city council meeting in memory of Coach Tony Devon Jackson, a mentor, a leader, and someone who was deeply significant to my community, and who meant a great deal to me.

Coach Jackson was born on July 27th, 1957 in Oklahoma.

He moved to San Diego at 13 years old.

And from that point on, this became his home.

A place where he would grow, where he would go on to make a lasting impact.

He attended O'Farrell Junior High School and graduated O'Farrell Junior High and graduated from Patrick Henry High School, where he stood out in both football and basketball.

Even early on, you could see the discipline and leadership that would define his life.

He continued his education at San Diego City College, then San Diego State University, where he earned his teaching credential.

He later earned his master's degree from Mesusa Pacific University.

Education mattered to Coach Jackson, not only for himself, but for the young people he would go on to guide.

Coach Jackson dedicated his life to working with youth as a teacher and a coach.

He showed up every day with purpose.

He taught the game, but more importantly, he taught accountability, discipline, and how to carry yourself.

He made sure you understood that what you did off the field mattered just as much.

He began coaching at Helix High School in 1980, but his legacy is deeply rooted at Lincoln High School, where he spent more than 15 years shaping young men and leading teams to championships and building something bigger than the game.

As a Lincoln High School alum, Coach Jackson was one of my coaches.

He expected a lot from his athletes and students, and he never lowered that standard.

He pushed us because he cared, because he saw something in us, and he made sure we saw it too.

That's something you carry with you long after the practices and long after the games.

The discipline, the accountability, the expectations, the way you show up in life, that stays with you and is part of his legacy.

He poured into young people across San Diego, Monta Vista, Southwestern College, Youth Leagues, and Travel Teams, always giving his time and energy to others.

And through all of that, he remained grounded in his faith, his family, and his community.

He made you feel seen, and he made you feel like you mattered, not just as an athlete, but as a person.

He built a life centered on love, family, and connection, and that showed, and that showed in how he led and how he lived.

I extend my deepest condolences to his family, loved ones, and all those who had the privilege of knowing him.

And with great respect, we honor the life of Coach Tony Devon Jackson, his impact, and the legacy he lives, he leaves behind.

Council President, that concludes my comments.

All right, thank you, Councilmember.

I will have the second adjournment in memory.

It is with a heavy heart that I adjourn today's meeting in memory of Angel Castro, a beloved daughter, sister, wife, friend, dog mom, and dedicated city employee.

Angel was a lifelong San Diegan, spending her childhood and adult life as a proud resident of Claremont.

For nearly 45 years, she served as a dedicated city of San Diego parks and recreation employee.

Starting with the Parks and Recreation Department in 1981 as a recreation aide and rising through the ranks with her most recent position as an area manager within the department.

She also served over 10 different communities in the city of San Diego, spanning council districts one, three, and six.

Angel saw the successful opening of both the Carmel Mountain and Saber Springs Rec Center and the Pacific Highlands Ranch Rec Center.

A few examples of how Angel's work was celebrated within the Parks and Rec department include her participation in the automated external defiliator deployment at the Ocean Beach Rec Center in 2005, and her receipt of the exemplary performance award for COVID-19 in January 2021.

Angel's specialty was her meticulously planned and joy-filled community events that have a reputation of drawing in crowds worthy of all.

Some of her well-known events were movies and concerts in the park, Breakfast with Santa, Spring Aggro, excuse me, spring egg hunts, and Halloween carnivals.

Each year, these events have grown larger, and these communities have become more connected and engaged with each other as a result of her work.

Her gift of making others welcome and creating lasting connections earned her the title of second mom to many of those around her.

Selflessness was Angel's defining characteristic, manifesting itself through her acts of service towards the people she loved and the city she called home.

Always first in line to be a helping hand or someone to talk to Angel.

Angel did it all.

Angel passed away on February 22nd, 2026, leaving behind a legacy of service, community, and endless kindness to the community she served.

The Parks and Rec Recreation Department and her friends and family.

Rest in peace, Angel.

And with that, we will now adjourn council to the next regularly scheduled council meeting on Monday, May 11th, 2026 at 10 a.m.