Community and Neighborhood Services Committee Meeting - October 5, 2023
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Community and Neighborhood Services Committee Meeting - October 5, 2023\n\nThe Community and Neighborhood Services Committee met on October 5, 2023, at 9:00 AM. Chair Campbell presided with Councilmembers Campillo and Whitburn present; Vice Chair Elo Rivera was excused. The committee considered three agenda items: amendments to the sidewalk vending ordinance, the San Diego Public Library Master Plan, and a proposed response to a grand jury report on downtown public restrooms. Over 40 members of the public testified across the agenda, with significant debate on balancing public safety, First Amendment rights, and community needs.\n\n### Consent Calendar\n- The committee approved the actions from the September 7, 2023 meeting by a vote of 3-0. During public comment, Lori Saldania requested an update on the provision of menstrual products in public restrooms, noting that funding had been allocated but dispensers had not yet been installed.\n\n### Public Comments & Testimony\n- Item 1 (Sidewalk Vending Amendments): 30 in-person speakers and seven virtual speakers testified. Many downtown business owners, the Gaslamp Quarter Association, the Padres, the East Village Association, and the California Restaurant Association expressed strong support for stronger enforcement against rogue vendors, citing public safety hazards, aggressive behavior, and economic harm. Buskers, artists, and First Amendment advocates opposed combining vending regulations with expressive activity rules, arguing that art and performance are protected speech and that proposed free speech zones could be unconstitutional. Several speakers urged the city to separate the two issues and to engage with the artistic community.\n- Item 2 (Library Master Plan): Five in-person and four virtual speakers testified, all in support. Speakers included the Library Foundation CEO, Friends of the Library president, and a retired facilities planner who urged adequate funding for implementation. Joy Sanyata emphasized the need to prepare for AI and the metaverse. One speaker opposed funding for libraries, citing concerns about children's programming.\n- Item 3 (Grand Jury Response on Restrooms): Three in-person and three virtual speakers testified. Most criticized the proposed response as insufficient, arguing that the city is "kicking the can down the road" and should take direct action rather than deferring to the county. Josh Coyne (Downtown San Diego Partnership) noted 20,000 incidents of feces/urine in August and called for better resourced portable restrooms. One caller supported the response.\n- Non-Agenda Public Comment: Four virtual and three in-person speakers addressed topics including ceramics manufacturing in a residential zone, unleashed dogs in parks, youth safety near marijuana shops, and surveillance technology accountability.\n\n### Discussion Items\n- Item 1: Framework for Municipal Code Amendments on Sidewalk Vending and Expressive Activities\n Venus Molina, Chief of Staff to Councilmember Campbell, presented the proposed amendments. The framework seeks to strengthen enforcement against rogue vendors by replacing initial warnings with fines ($100 for permitted, $250 for unpermitted), adopting impoundment procedures similar to Orange, and clarifying First Amendment protections for pure speech (e.g., art, books, music). The amendments would also create designated speech areas in parks and beaches. Enforcement would be led by SDPD and park rangers. Councilmembers Campillo and Whitburn emphasized the need to distinguish between protected expressive activity (buskers) and commercial vending (hot dog vendors) and to ensure constitutional compliance. The mayor's office pledged to work with central division police for night/weekend enforcement.\n- Item 2: San Diego Public Library Master Plan\n Library Director Misty Jones and consultants Jill Ayers and David Schnee (Group 4 Architecture) presented the plan, the product of four years of outreach involving over 11,000 San Diegans. The plan proposes facility improvements across all 36 branches, categorized as new construction (e.g., zone B+, Allied Gardens Benjamin replacement, Kensington/Normal Heights/University Heights relocations), renovation/expansion (e.g., Ocean Beach, Linda Vista), makeovers (e.g., Mira Mesa, Rancho Bernardo), capital maintenance, and strategic investments. The plan targets 2040 and supersedes the 2002 plan. Public comment had been open for a month, and Director Jones announced it would remain open until Monday. Councilmembers praised the process and highlighted specific needs: Councilmember Campillo noted the Linda Vista branch's poor condition and the need for a senior center in Allied Gardens; Councilmember Whitburn noted North Park and University Heights anticipation.\n- Item 3: Proposed Response to Grand Jury Report on Downtown Public Restrooms\n Baku Patel from the IBA presented the joint mayoral/council response to the grand jury report titled "Downtown Area Public Restrooms: Stop Kicking the Can Down the Road." The report included eight findings and eight recommendations. The proposed responses: agreed with findings 1, 2, 4, and 7; partially disagreed with findings 3, 5, and 6. For recommendations: for 23-32 (forming a multi-agency team) - will not be implemented (city says county should lead); for 23-33 (cost tracking) - implemented; for 23-34 (enforce developer agreements) - implemented; for 23-35 (study other cities) - not implemented but will be; for 23-36 (signage) - implemented; for 23-37 (enhance wayfinding) - implemented; for 23-38 (incentives for business owners) - implemented; for 23-39 (funding mechanisms) - implemented (through density bonuses, not impact fees). Councilmember Campbell proposed an amendment to finding 1 to clarify that of 15 restrooms, 3 are permanent and 12 are portable (later corrected to 3 permanent, 12 portable).\n\n### Key Outcomes\n- Item 1: Motion by Chair Campbell, seconded by Councilmember Whitburn, to direct staff to work with the Mayor and City Attorney to draft municipal code amendments addressing sidewalk vending and expressive activities. Passed 3-0.\n- Item 2: Motion by Chair Campbell, seconded by Councilmember Campillo, to recommend the Library Master Plan to full City Council for adoption. Passed 3-0.\n- Item 3: Motion by Chair Campbell, seconded by Councilmember Whitburn, to approve the proposed response with the amendment to finding 1 (specifying 3 permanent and 12 portable restrooms). Passed 3-0. The item will go to City Council with the amendment.\n- The committee adjourned at the conclusion of the agenda; the next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 2, 2023, at 1:00 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Welcome to the community and neighborhood services committee meeting of October 5th, 2023. The committee layers on Natalie Kessler will provide information and instruction. Thank you, Chair. While members of the public are able to attend meetings in person, this meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website, and council administration will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. Additionally, members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony must enter the virtual speaking queue by raising their hand before the queue closes. The queue will close when the last virtual speaker has finished speaking or five minutes after in-person testimony ends, whichever occurs first. This will allow for better meeting management between the two platforms and ensure the committee is able to manage and conduct city's business. We appreciate the public's cooperation. Chair Campbell. Thank you so much, Natalie. I will now call the community and neighborhood services committee meeting of Tuesday, October 5th, 2023 to order. And I will now call the roll. Councilmember Campillo. Here. Councilmember Whitburn. Here. I am also present. And Vice Chair Elo Rivera is excused and absent from today's meeting, had other things that he had to attend. So also attending our meeting today is Matt Ugeagon of the Mayor's Office, Karen Lee from the City Attorney's Office, Baku Patel from the Independent Budget Analyst Office, and Natalie Kessler, our committee liaison. Natalie, please continue with public comment instructions. If you're attending in person and wish to speak on any items, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of chambers and place it at the box located at the speaker's lecture and at the front of the room. Please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper meeting management. And come up to the reserve seats at the front of the room when your name is called and be prepared to come up to the lector and at the order called. As a reminder, if you're here with us in chambers today, please silence your cell phones. In-person testimony will conclude before virtual testimony begins. Members of the public can join the webinar by computer, tablet, or smartphone by accessing the link which is listed online in the preamble language of the agenda on the city's website. To join the Zoom webinar by telephone, please dial 1669 2545252. When prompted, input webinar ID 160-990-0498 pound. This information is also available on the agenda. Please note that if you're watching via City TV 24 or online, there may be a delay. And please participate via the audio on your phone, mute your TV or computer when it is your turn to speak. When I introduce the item you would like to comment on, please raise your hand by either either tapping the raise your hand button on your computer, tablet, or smartphone, or press star nine on your phone. You'll be taken in the order in which you raise your hand. When it is your turn to speak, you will receive a pop-up notice to select to unmute your device. And if you've called in, please press star six on your phone to unmute yourself. We will review these instructions briefly again when the public comment period on an item is open. Chair Campbell. Thank you. A quorum is now present, and we will proceed with dispensing the approval of the committee actions of September 7, 2023. Natalie, please proceed. Thank you, Chair. The public comment period for the committee actions is now open. If you've joined the Zoom webinar online or by phone, please raise your hand at this time if you wish to speak on the committee actions of September 7th, 2023. And Chair, I have not received any speakers' slips in chambers for the past committee actions, but I do have two hands raised in the virtual queue. And speakers will have one minute. Our first speaker is Lori Saldania. Please provide your comments. Yes, thank you. Um at last month's meeting there were a few comments regarding uh the provision of menstrual products in public restrooms.
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