Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee Meeting - January 29, 2020
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Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee Meeting - January 29, 2020
The Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee of the San Diego City Council met on January 29, 2020, to consider a consent item, discuss a draft policy on streetlight sensor data use, approve reprogramming of CDBG funds for homeless services, and set committee priorities for 2020. Public comment covered tobacco/vaping bans, chokehold prohibitions, police reform, and technology oversight.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1 (Consent): Approved unanimously. Motion by Councilmember Moreno, second by Vice Chair Bree. No public pull.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Manuel Andrade (tobacco prevention advocate): Expressed support for banning all flavored tobacco products, citing youth vaping rates and health risks. Provided data on declining smoking rates and rising vaping among high school students.
- Yusuf Miller (Racial Justice Coalition): Urged the committee to add a chokehold ban to the 2020 priorities, referencing the "I Can't Breathe" campaign. Noted previous lawsuits and deaths in Orange County. Requested action by February 3rd docket.
- Anita Turner (community member): Called for a chokehold ban, highlighting racial disparities in police stops (Black people stopped 219 times more than white people; Hispanic people 60 times more). Asked for evening sessions to hear from affected communities.
- Seth Hall (opponent of streetlight policy): Opposed the draft streetlight sensor data policy, arguing it was flawed and needed an independent advisory commission. Cited discrepancies with city attorney statements.
- Lily Irani (UC San Diego professor): Raised concerns about the streetlight technology, noting lack of transparency and potential for misuse. Advocated for broader technology policy rather than just streetlights.
- Downtown San Diego Partnership representative: Expressed support for the draft streetlight sensor data policy, highlighting safety benefits.
- Kathleen Lippett (public health practitioner): Urged an all-out ban on flavored tobacco, citing CDC data on vaping-related lung injuries and deaths. Emphasized youth addiction.
- Chelsea Bergenstock (ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties): Requested that the 2020 work plan include limits on police stops and searches, referencing the Campaign Zero and SDSU reports on bias policing.
- Other speakers: Several additional community members spoke in support of chokehold bans and against the streetlight policy.
Discussion Items
- Item 2: Draft Council Policy on Streetlight Sensor Data Use – Presented by Cody Hooven, Director of Sustainability, with support from Chief Nislet. Discussion and extensive public comment both for and against. No formal vote was taken during the meeting; the item was heard but not decided.
- Item 3: Use of Reprogram Funds for CDBG Homeless Services – Presented by staff. Four homeless-related projects: two already under contract (funded), two proposed for reprogramming to close out agreements. Motion to approve passed 3-1 (Councilmember Moreno moved, Vice Chair Bree seconded; one opposed).
- Item 4: 2020 Committee Priorities – Discussion of priorities submitted by members, including fire/EMS, Gang Commission, police, human trafficking, and community-oriented policing. Public input requested. Motion to direct the chair to compile a work plan incorporating priorities and public comment. Moved by Vice Chair Bree, seconded by Councilmember Kate; passed.
Key Outcomes
- Consent item approved unanimously.
- CDBG reprogramming for homeless services approved 3-1.
- Committee directed chair to create a 2020 work plan based on member priorities and public input.
- No action taken on streetlight sensor data policy or chokehold ban, but public comments were recorded for future consideration.
- Public testimony highlighted strong community interest in flavored tobacco bans, police reform (chokeholds, stops, bias), and technology oversight.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here. Um, happy new year. This is our first meeting of the year. Thank you for your attention. I would like to note that Vice Chair Bree, Councilmember Kate, and Councilmember Moreno are here this morning. We also have Baku Patel from the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst, uh Paige Falkman from the City Attorney's Office and Conrad Ware from the Mayor's Office. Thank you for being here. Um, and at this time, I will entertain a motion to approve our committee actions from uh the last public safety and livable neighborhoods committee. Okay, so we have a motion from Councilmember Moreno and a second from Councilmember Kate. All in favor? Any opposed? Thanks. It passes unanimously. We will move on to non-agenda public comment. And you will each have two minutes to speak. Thank you for being here this morning. Um we will start with uh Manuel Andrada, and then after Manuel will be Yusuf Miller. Um, as I call your name, please kind of move over to the podium so we can get you to the mic as soon as possible. Good morning. Thank you. You have two minutes. Good morning, council members. Uh thank you for letting me speak today. My name is Manuel Andrade. I um have been working on tobacco prevention, alcohol tobacco, I know the drugs prevention uh program uh say San Diego for the last 15 years, also uh working on health access. Um I'm here today before you tell you a little story about uh 30 years ago. Um I was in high school, and about 28% of us in high school uh smoke at that time. Uh within the last 30 years, uh we have done three things that uh reduce smoking rates on um uh high school students that uh has been education, prevention, and legislation. We were able to reduce smoking rates from uh 28 percent to less than 10 percent in 2015. Within the last five years, uh the new tobacco industry, specifically cigarettes and uh smoke shops, vape shops, hookah lounges, they have reverse this work. Uh we're talking now that uh high school students uh smoking rates or vaping rates are uh from 20 to 30 percent depending on uh the grade. Um I'm here today to ask you to please prioritize in protecting youth from these new tobacco industries. As you know, um there's several people, um that's about 3,000 people with severe lung damage in the U.S. Because vaping that due to THC and uh vaping flavor tobacco. Please prioritize on uh banning uh flavored tobacco products with no exceptions. We need this. Uh we still have half a million people dying from tobacco-related diseases a year in the US. And this is not going to help this health problem, this health issue. Um last year, um, thank you very much. Thank you very much. Have a nice day. You too. Yusuf Miller, you are next. Uh sir. You will be followed by Francine Maxwell, who will be followed by Martha Welch. Good morning. My name is Youssef Miller with the Racial Justice Coalition. And for two years, the Racial Justice Coalition has been battling to get the I Can't Breathe campaign on the agenda. And we have not since have been put on the agenda.
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