San Leandro City Council Meeting - July 9, 2025
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San Leandro City Council Meeting - July 9, 2025
The San Leandro City Council met on July 9, 2025, to address a range of items including a commission appointment, consent calendar, public hearings on code amendments and the capital improvement plan, and public comments on various issues. The meeting lasted from 7:02 PM to 10:46 PM.
Consent Calendar
- The council approved the consent calendar with the exception of items 5A, 5B, 5E, and 5F, which were pulled due to recusals (Councilmember Azevedo from 5A and 5F; Councilmember Simon from 5B and 5E). The remaining items passed unanimously.
- Separately, items 5A and 5F passed unanimously with Azevedo recused, and items 5B and 5E passed unanimously with Simon recused.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Online commenter (Jesse) expressed concern about allegations against council members, calling for accountability.
- Manuel Ramirez (Bay-O-Vista resident) urged the rebuilding of Lake Chabot Road, citing traffic and safety issues on View Drive.
- James Davis reported problems with a used car dealership parking inventory on residential streets.
- Edward Escobar (Coalition for Community Engagement) criticized inadequate notice and high fees for vehicle towing.
- Leo T. West raised concerns about crime and police effectiveness.
- Diane Castleberry (AC Transit) announced the new AC Transit Railing Bus Network effective August 10, 2025, with rerouting and service improvements.
Discussion Items
- Commission Appointment: Carrie Mason was appointed to the Human Services Commission (District 6 vacancy) via a unanimous vote.
- Code Amendments (Public Hearing): Planning Manager Wayland Lee presented amendments covering reasonable accommodation, tobacco retailing, repeal of all-electric building requirements, oversized vehicle parking, and waterways. Public comment featured many speakers:
- Tobacco retailers and associations (including 7-Eleven franchisees, convenience store owners) expressed confusion about grandfathering of licenses, impact on business sales, and lack of outreach. Several requested a meeting to clarify.
- Speakers on oversized vehicle parking (Building Futures, residents) opposed the restrictions without a safe parking alternative, while the Chamber of Commerce supported the measure for business safety.
- Council discussion clarified that existing tobacco licenses could be transferred to new owners, and the moratorium would be lifted if amendments passed. A motion to approve the code amendments except the tobacco and oversized vehicle parking items (to allow more community input) passed unanimously. Those two items were deferred.
- Capital Improvement Program (CIP) 10-Year Plan (Public Hearing): Engineering Manager Erwin Ching presented the plan for fiscal years 2026-2035, with a $52 million budget for the first two years (excluding previously segmented projects). Many Bay-O-Vista residents spoke in favor of reopening Lake Chabot Road to two-way traffic, citing fire evacuation risks and traffic dangers on neighborhood streets. Council discussions focused on the need for geotechnical reports, updated cost estimates, and pursuit of grant funding from ACTC. The council affirmed direction to reopen the road. A motion to approve the CIP plan passed 5-2 (Councilmembers Aguilar and Viveros Walton opposed).
Key Outcomes
- Carrie Mason appointed to Human Services Commission (unanimous).
- Consent calendar approved with recusals handled.
- Code amendments on reasonable accommodation, repeal of all-electric requirement, and waterways passed; tobacco and oversized vehicle parking amendments deferred for further community input.
- 10-year Capital Improvement Program plan adopted (5-2).
- Council direction reaffirmed to reopen Lake Chabot Road to two-way traffic and seek funding.
- Council reports included updates on Stop Waste board, Pride events, and the U.S. Mayors Conference.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, so let's go ahead and get started here in the chamber. Okay, it is 702. I'm calling to meeting, calling to order the meeting of San Leto City Council. Today is Monday, July 7th, 2025. And I will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Please stand if you're able to at this point in time, Madam Clerk. Would you please take a roll? Councilmember Aguilar. Present. Councilmember Azevedo. Present. Councilmember Bolt. Present. Councilmember Simon. Present. Councilmember Viveros Walton. Present. Vice Mayor Bowen. Present. And Mayor Gonzalez. Present. Thank you. Okay, so today we do have a commission appointment. And if there's no objection, I'd like to move that item from 10A up to the front of our meeting. Seeing no objection, we will move that forward. The City of San Leno conducts orderly meetings to fulfill its mandate, discriminatory statements or conduct that would potentially violate the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and or the California for Employment Housing Act, California Penal Code Sections 403 or 415 are per se disruptive to a meeting and will not be tolerated. Please say the city council handbook and the city council meeting rules of decorum for additional information. Madam Clerk, your announcement, please. Thank you, Mayor. If you would like to make a public comment during the meeting, you can do so in person or via Zoom. If you are present at the meeting, please complete a speaker card and submit it to the city clerk before the item is presented. If you wish to participate in public comment via Zoom, you can use the raise your hand tool when the item is called. During the public comment session, speakers will be invited to speak and will have a set time to share their comments. And when the time is up, the microphone will be muted. All raised hands outside of public comment will be lowered to avoid confusion. Once public comment is opened, hands may be raised to speak. After this time is up, the council will proceed with the rest of the meeting's agenda. If you have not had the opportunity to speak during the initial 30-minute period, there will be another chance to do so after item 12 City Council reports. So for item number three, we did have closed session extensive discussion for two hours, but no reportable action was taken. This is where we will take up the appointment of our new commissioner. So Clerk, would you please lead us through this? Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The item before you this evening is a motion to appoint Carrie Mason to fill the district six vacancy on the Human Services Commission. And Ms. Mason is here in the office in the room. If the item is approved, she will be administered the oath of office. Councilmember Bolt, District 6. Would you be interested in moving the minute order? You so move.
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