Rules Committee Meeting on CPPS Funding Amendments – February 22, 2023
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Rules Committee Meeting – February 22, 2023
The Rules Committee of the San Diego City Council met on February 22, 2023, to discuss and vote on proposed amendments to Council Policy 100-06, which governs the Community Projects, Programs, and Services (CPPS) funding program. The meeting began with approval of previous minutes, followed by non-agenda public comments on marijuana and airport fuel issues, and concluded with a discussion and action on CPPS reforms.
Consent Calendar
- The committee unanimously approved the committee actions from January 18, 2023, after no public comment.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Terry Ann Skelly expressed opposition to any expansion of marijuana businesses in San Diego, arguing it would break trust with citizens and disproportionately harm communities of color, citing health disparities and the history of tobacco and alcohol.
- Becky Rapp (Rancho Bernardo Planning Group attendee, parent, resident) expressed concern that vague language in the municipal marijuana code allows industry attorneys to exploit loopholes, particularly regarding distance measurements from sensitive uses. She urged the committee to strengthen the code to create a clear, black-and-white policy.
- Sandra Stahl criticized delays in installing an unleaded fuel tank at Montgomery-Gibbs Airport, alleging it benefits special interests and harms children’s health due to leaded avgas. She demanded faster action and transparency regarding FAA concerns.
- Kathleen Lippitt argued against saving the cannabis industry, citing increased teen use, impaired driving deaths, environmental damage, and that for every dollar in tax revenue, the state spends $4.50 on consequences.
- Judy Strang (parent advocate) opposed expanding the cannabis footprint, calling it “soft racism of low expectations” and comparing it to tobacco industry tactics.
Discussion Items
- Item 1: Priorities for Amending Council Policy 100-06 (CPPS)
- Presentation by Council Administration (Abigail Edwards, Mal Kai Belecki): Recommendations included:
- Moving from a reimbursement model to upfront grant funding for organizations.
- Creating a separate budget line item for CPPS to ensure equitable allocations across districts (instead of relying on office budget savings).
- Removing the requirement that funds be used only for one-time expenses, allowing recurring costs, rent, payroll, food, beverages, and travel.
- Clarifying that capital improvement projects (CIPs) on private property are eligible, but not on public property (due to public works regulations).
- Clarifying policy on ticketed events (currently prohibited unless free).
- Requiring each council office to post CPPS information, priorities, and application links on its webpage.
- Giving council administration discretion to grant extensions and amendments during the fiscal year.
- Independent Budget Analyst (Jillian Andalina): Supported upfront funding but emphasized maintaining safeguards (receipt verification). Agreed with moving to a line-item allocation to avoid discouraging offices from spending budgets. Suggested policy clarify that funds should still be prioritized for one-time uses.
- Public Comments:
- Andy Henshaw (nonprofit representative) strongly supported upfront funding and equitable distribution, noting that reimbursement delays strain small organizations.
- Susie Murphy (Executive Director, San Diego Mountain Biking Association) supported upfront funding and clarified that trail projects on public land were deemed public works by the city attorney, making them ineligible for CPPS; she urged exploring a mechanism to allow such projects.
- Committee Deliberation: Chair Elo-Rivera opened discussion, seeking consensus on upfront funding and a budget line item. Council President Pro Tem Montgomery Steppe supported the changes but raised concerns about safeguards becoming barriers, particularly for small grants ($2,500-$5,000). She suggested a threshold for reporting requirements and proposed outreach seminars to guide organizations. Councilmember Lee supported upfront funding and flexibility for ticketed events, but questioned additional performance measures as potentially onerous for small grants. Councilmember Moreno supported all changes but flagged the proposed 50% operational budget cap as potentially harmful to very small nonprofits (e.g., San Isidro Women’s Club). Councilmember LaCava suggested expanding eligible applicants to include community planning groups and recreation advisory groups, and asked the city attorney to explore a mechanism for small-scale public-works projects on public land. He also raised caution about operational funding dependencies and ticketed events where net proceeds are small. The committee discussed additional potential safeguards inspired by county policies (e.g., campaign contribution disclosures, delinquency lists, gift restrictions), but agreed to obtain more information from grand jury reports before deciding. Council President Pro Tem emphasized consistent information across websites and council policy.
- Presentation by Council Administration (Abigail Edwards, Mal Kai Belecki): Recommendations included:
Key Outcomes
- Motion passed unanimously: The committee directed the City Attorney’s Office to prepare amendments to Council Policy 100-06 as prioritized by the committee, and instructed the Department of Finance, Council Administration, and other impacted departments to determine the fiscal and operational impact of the proposed changes.
- Next steps: The City Attorney will draft language incorporating committee feedback (e.g., upfront grants, line-item allocation, eligibility expansions, threshold discussions, ticketed event policy, public works mechanisms). The matter will return to the Rules Committee on March 15, 2023, at 9 a.m. for further consideration.
- Additional considerations noted: The committee requested copies of relevant grand jury reports on county grant safeguards, and asked staff to explore a scaled approach to reporting requirements based on grant size.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone. Uh welcome to the rules committee meeting of February 22nd, 2023. Our committee manager Ty Birch will go over information and instruction for today's meeting. Thank you, Council President. Until further no as committee meetings will be conducted pursuant to provisions of California government code, Section 54953E at by Assembly Bill 361, which allows the city to use teleconferencing and to provide the public an opportunity to address the council via callinary internet-based service option during a proclaimed stay of emergency while the public is allowed to attend the meeting in person. We encourage you to maintain six feet of social distance as well as follow California mass guidelines where masters strongly recommended. In addition to being able to attend in person in person, this meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website. And the committee liaisons will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. Additionally, members of the public who wish to provide testimony via a call in or internet-based service option must enter the virtual speaking queue within five minutes after the conclusion of in-person public testimony or before the virtual speaking queue is exhausted, whichever occurs first. This will allow for bare-me management between the two platforms and ensure that the committee is able to conduct city business. We appreciate the public's cooperation. Council President. Thank you, Ty. I will now call the rules committee meeting of February 22nd, 2023 to order and will call the role beginning with Vice Chair Council President Pro Tem Montgomery Step. Here. Committee member Moreno. Present. And I am also here. And committee manager Tyler Birch. Okay. Thank you, Council President. If you are in person and want to provide public comment, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance and chambers and place in the box indicated at the speaker's electron at the front of the room. Please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper meeting management. If you are in person, please 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 lectern in the order called. 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 webpage. You may join through the meeting webinar by computer tablet or smartphone through that link listed on the agenda to join the Zoom webinar by telephone. 1669-2545252 and when prompted input webinar ID 160557 2611 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item. Members of the public who wish to provide testimony via calling or internet based service option must enter the virtual speaking queue within five minutes after the conclusion of in-person public testimony or before the virtual speaking queue is exhausted, whichever occurs first. If you are watching VSC TV 24 online, there may be a delay, so please participate via the audio on your phone and mute your TV or computer when it's your turn to speak. When I introduce an item you'd like to comment on, please raise your hand by pressing star nine or the raise your hand button. You will be taken in the order which you raise your hand and you may only speak once on a particular item. When I indicate it's your turn to speak, I will call you by your name as it appears on the Zoom webinar, and that's how you will know is your turn to speak. If you've joined the webinar uh by computer tablet or smartphone, you will receive a pop-up notice when uh and you may select to unmute your device then. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, your hand will be lowered. When you are announced as the next speaker, please unmute yourself and offer your comments. Council President. All right, we have a quorum present. Let's take up the approval of the committee actions of January 18th, 2023. Uh Ty, if you'd like to proceed with public comment on the um approval of the actions. Thank you very much, Council President. Again, this is the public comment period for the committee actions of January 18, 2023, is now open. And Chair, we do not have anyone who has uh submitted speaker slips in chambers or anyone raising their hand in the virtual queue, so that will conclude public testimony on the committee actions. Do we have a motion to approve the committee actions from a motion from Councilmember Lee? A second from Council President Protein Montgomery Step. Um seeing no additional requests to speak. You may use the voting on your screen and council member, if you could indicate your vote. And that passes unanimously. Thank you so much. Did we get Council Cava's vote registered?
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