Okay, it is 7.07, and at this point in time, I'm calling to order the November 17th meeting

of the San Leandro City Council.

I'll lead us in a pledge of allegiance.

Please stand if you're able to.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for

which it stands, one nation, a God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

At this point in time, Madam Clerk, would you please take roll?

Thank you, Mayor.

Council Member Aguilar.

Present.

Council Member Azevedo.

Present.

Council Member Bolt.

Present.

Council Member Simon.

Present.

Councilmember Viveros Walton.

Present. Thank you. Vice Mayor Bowen. Present.

Mayor Gonzalez. Present. Thank you.

So with respect to item 5L on our agenda, please be aware that Ms. Marianne Benz has indicated that she is unable to accept the nomination to the Senior Commission at this time.

time. And so we thank her for being willing to participate, but we understand that she is not

able to do so. The city of San Leandro conducts orderly meetings. So by the way, so that item is

just pulled, right? We will not handle that. The city of San Leandro 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 Fair Employment and Housing Act.

California penal code sections 403 or 415 are per se disruptive to meeting and will not be tolerated.

Please see the City Council handbook and City Council meeting rules of decorum for more 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.

A countdown timer will appear for their convenience, 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.

There will be a 30 minute window for public comments, which will take place under item

seven public comments as per the published agenda.

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

There will be another chance to do so after item 12, City Council reports.

At this point, item number three, is there any report on closed session action taken

today?

Thank you, Mayor.

No reportable actions were taken in closed session, although I do have a brief announcement

on behalf of the council and that on the advice of the city's legal counsel, the agenda item

related to the waiver of the attorney-client privilege was not placed on this evening's

agenda. The council apologizes for any confusion this may have caused. The council is working

to cure a Brown Act issue related to the 11-3-2025 council action, which includes the scheduling of

a special meeting to schedule the continuation of the request for discipline by Vice Mayor Bowen.

Please continue to stay tuned for updates regarding this special meeting that will happen sometime in early December.

That is my announcement.

Thank you.

So for item four, recognitions, at this meeting we are recognizing Transgender Awareness Week and Transgender Day of Remembrance.

And we've got Willow Idlewild here to accept the proclamation.

Come on up.

Okay, here we go.

And by the way, thank you for your activity in the community to support individuals who are transgender and others in the LGBTQ plus community.

So thank you for all that you do.

So whereas all people live, whereas all people deserve to live in a community that respects their dignity, respects their safety, and respects their overall well-being.

and whereas transgender people from all walks of life continue to face high levels of discrimination, fear, and stigma.

And whereas each November, Transgender Awareness Week is held to raise the visibility of transgender people

and to address the issues that they face.

And whereas the week concludes with Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20th,

which brings specific awareness to the hate crimes committed against transgender people

and honors the memory of those harmed and killed by senseless acts of violence.

And whereas, according to available data,

there are approximately 2.8 million people in the United States who identify as transgender,

representing approximately 1% of the adult population.

The San Francisco Bay Area has one of the highest percentages of adults

who identify under the LGBTQIA umbrella.

And where San Leandro benefits from the diversity of its population

and seeks to promote inclusion among all people

as a testament to our shared values of dignity, equity, fair treatment,

without regard to gender identity or expression.

Therefore, I, Juan Gonzalzo III, Mayor of the City of San Leandro,

do hereby proclaim the week of November 13th to the 19th as Transgender Awareness Week

and November 20th as Transgender Day of Remembrance in the City of San Leandro

and encourage all residents to join this worthwhile cause

to promote inclusion, equity,

and understanding of transgender individuals in our community.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for that.

You were kind enough to let me have the mic for two minutes,

which I appreciate.

and I timed myself on this

so it'll be either 10 seconds or under

or 10 seconds over

but hello and thank you so much

for this step in standing with trans people

I'm honored to have become a San Leandrin

five years ago

and to raise my four year old here with my spouse

and I look forward to hopefully spending the rest of our years here

I am agender and queer

and use they them pronouns

the few trans friends

I have made in San Leandro are moving away

because standing with us

in a safe room is not the same as standing with us in the streets. Standing with us in the streets

also means standing with the other scapegoats of this authoritarian regime, our immigrant neighbors.

Some immigrants are trans folks who escape countries unsafe for them only to find this

country becoming the same. We believe this unaccountable ICE presence rounding up our

immigrant neighbors could come for others next. When the country doesn't have our backs, our state

must. Disappointingly, Gavin Newsom is throwing us under the bus. When our state doesn't have our

backs our city must. I'm sad to report that our city refuses to stand against ice when they

actually show up, leaving our militarized police force only militarized against its own citizens

and not against a reckless federal takeover in our neighborhoods. So what can we do? Look for

ways to demilitarize our police force, especially if they're not willing to stand with us to protect

our neighbors. Stop storing sensitive data about us through things like flock cameras that can be

hacked or forced to be shared with a reckless federal force rounding up long-term residents

regardless of if they have citizenship, kids, or are strengthening our community.

Maybe hire a sanctuary consultant to figure out how to live up to our sanctuary policy

with real action and not just talk even though talk matters and thank you.

I know these are medium-term actions so here's something you can do tonight that's low stakes.

When you get home, promote solidarity with your trans neighbors by starting to use your

pronouns consistently in public emails and writing. These forces are coming to our city.

They're already at our doors, and they could soon be knocking on my own family's door,

my own four-year-old in his bed right now. Even without official support, I think we will get it,

and I think that we have it. I continue to build solidarity with my neighbors. My neighbors have

my back as I have theirs. Thank you so much for being here today. I believe that we will get

through this to build something even more beautiful together.

United we are all standing.

Thank you.

Thank you.

At this point in time, we will move to our consent calendar.

Is there any item that a council member would like to pull from the consent calendar?

I'll begin this with Council Member Rivera-Walton.

I don't want to pull it, but I have questions on item 5C,

which is the contract with the area community services to manage the permanent local housing allocation,

homelessness prevention, rental assistance program.

Please proceed with your question.

Okay.

I just, my question was whether,

I looked up Bay Area Community Services.

They don't currently provide services in San Leandro.

So I'm wondering if there were any local providers

that applied for these funds.

Okay, and we've got Human Services Director,

Jessica Lobedon approaching.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

Thank you for the question.

Currently, the city does not contract with Bay Area Community Services for contracted services in San Leandro.

However, the organization does have a longstanding presence in San Leandro, works with many community members and households through their various programs that they offer.

we did receive three applications for this for this RFP one of which was a provider that the

city does currently contract with okay providing homeless services providing basic means support

Gotcha.

Okay.

That's my only question.

Thank you.

Thank you.

At this point in time, I'll go to Vice Mayor.

Yes, I'd like to pull item 5A, please.

Okay.

Thank you.

Council Member Aguilar.

I'd like to move the consent calendar with the exception of item 5A.

and just to be clear for our record i'm assuming that excludes five uh five l because the commissioner

is with a potential commissioner has withdrawn her name is there a second on councilman regular

motion vice mayor okay so i've got a second from vice mayor on the motion it's point in time we

will go to public comment mayor we have received one comment card from within the room and we have

two hands raised on zoom please proceed in person Sarah Bailey

for the consent calendar Sarah Bailey

oh sarah bailey has joined online so there are three hands raised online okay so is there anybody

here that wants to speak on the consent calendar on items 5a through 5 l minus 1 whatever's 4l

okay seeing then i'm going to close in person public comment and we'll open up

online public comment the first speaker is douglas spaulding

thank you um i know sometimes i look at the consent calendar with a more critical eye but i

i see a lot of good things uh in here and i wanted to applaud them um in terms of the permanent

local housing allocation i don't have an opinion about bay area community services versus another

provider, I just don't know. But I'm happy to see that the contract is for an 18-month period

extending into 2027. And likewise, on item 5D, extending the operation of the alternative response

unit to the end of June in 2027, really important. But I also would like to see the hours of the

alternate response unit extended. Happy to see anything going on around Bayfair. So item 5B is

the Bayfair transit plan. I am wondering where are the plans for the transit village that goes there?

And finally, item 5G. What is this? Western Alameda County Tree Partner Network. It's just

nice, you know, $195,000 is a pretty nice sum. And I think it shows some trust in the community,

in the gardening army here in San Leandro, and also the resiliency network that continues to,

you know, make its web and strengthen in our city. So lots of good things.

Looking forward to your positive votes. Thank you.

Thank you. The next speaker is Alvaro Ramos.

Can you hear me?

Yes.

Okay. So I want to comment on item 5C. I noticed that there was a mention of data collection on this item.

And so one of the questions that came to my mind was that if there was a way to measure the unbanked and underbanked populations, so unbanked people who don't have a bank account and underbanked people who do not have adequate financial services, it sort of alludes to there's something around finance, but maybe I missed the specifics.

I don't know. But I'm also kind of wondering if rent funds are being eaten up by debt fees and predatory banks.

And so I think measuring the population would be important to build that knowledge, especially for a future reference.

And I'll just say that work can't solve that problem because people are living paycheck to paycheck.

So the lack of wealth is a significant problem for families.

Now, on item 5D, I wanted to bring up that I was concerned about the use of psychiatric holds and care court.

There is a historic debate in psychiatry between institutionalization versus deinstitutionalization.

So putting a person in a facility versus letting them out free on some kind of community facility.

And then also a debate between involuntary treatment versus voluntary treatment.

So forcing treatment versus letting a person decide.

And so I really want to see a prioritization of reintegrating people back into society.

So I'm telling you to steer the alternative response unit away from involuntary treatment and away from medical incarceration and to prioritize human dignity and human rights, which in my view would be a combination of institutionalization and voluntary treatment coupled together.

That's it.

Thank you.

Your time is up.

The next speaker is Sarah Bailey.

Hello.

Thank you.

I wanted to thank Mayor Gonzalez and Council Member Bowen for advocating on behalf of Stan Leandro with the Alameda County Transportation Commission.

my thanks and congratulations go to the engineering and public works department for

snagging six million dollars in grants for the crosstown bike corridors i applied applaud

director marquises and her talented staff for their tireless dedication to making san lehandro

better place for all of us i hope you mayor and members of the council tell them often how much

appreciate them and their great work and that neither you nor your spouses

whatever thing to disparage them to residents of San Leandro thank you

director Marquisis and congratulations

mayor that concludes our raised hands on zoom okay so we'll close public comment

online bring it back to council members I've got a motion to approve the

consent calendar with the exception of 5a which has been pulled and 5l where the person self

removed seeing no further discussion please vote all votes are in and the motion passes unanimously

So that will move to item 5A.

Vice Mayor, please proceed.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor.

I wanted to poll 5A just because I think it would be important for the community to get

some clarification on this project.

One, I'll echo what the public commentator said, $6 million is significant and I am incredibly

happy to see that we are receiving that and I know that Director Marquis says you and the team are

the ones doing the bulk of that work and the mayor and I are happy to uplift that in the the meetings

that we're in with ACTC and other agencies um can you share with us just a quick summary of what

this project is and also highlights the the purpose or some of the benefits of being on

Bancroft and Williams, especially as it pertains to our kids in the community.

Good evening. Sheila Marquise is Public Works Director.

So a little bit of a background for the Crosstown Corridor and the scope of the project.

The main purpose of the project is a few things.

is mainly to improve the walking and bike ability for the two corridors, which is both Bancroft

and Williams. And the project or the study actually commenced in 2021 with robust community

engagement to ask the community what are the problems that they're experiencing along the

corridor. And we heard several, which are mainly due to the speeding of the vehicles along both of

these corridors, the ability for the students to walk and bike to school because of the limited

facilities that are available to them. And so from the study, we also provided the community some

options on how we can improve safety along those corridors, which included different versions of

the bicycle facilities as well as crossing improvements such as bulb outs rapid rectangular

flashing beacons for visibility at crossings and ultimately at the end of 2022 city council approved

the cross town corridor study which proposes to install a class four separated bike lane

for Bancroft it would be on the east side of the road which is by this high school side and the

Bancroft side and along Williams it's also the class four bike bike lanes on the north side of

Williams and as far as the improvements that we hope to achieve there is slower vehicles traveling

through the corridor for those who can walk and bike to school there would be safer facilities

for the students and the parents to do so and as far as the timeline with this six million dollar

grant we will be able to release a request for proposals for consultants in about January

with the hope of entering into a contract and beginning design about summertime summer of

2026. And at that point,

our consultants would be able to give us a better timeline.

The professionals about how long the design would take,

which we would be looking at about 2027.

Can I answer your question?

That's great. Can I follow up about the,

I understand there was robust community input in the 2021 study.

Once we're able to get a consultant to begin to work on the design process,

Will there be opportunities for the community to engage in the design, both for the folks that are living along the corridor, which will be impacted, and also for the families and people that just use the corridor in general?

Yes.

As part of the consultant design process, we anticipate that we would reach out to the community at different milestones of the project.

we would also have our project website to provide some feedback from the community

into what we are developing.

Okay.

And the last question I have, for the $6 million from both the California,

for the Federal Highway Grant and then the Alameda County Transportation Commission grants,

is that specifically for infrastructure,

or is it possible to include programming for bike safety or promotion of biking and walking in the community as part of that?

I believe the grant agreement is focused on just the design of the project at this time.

I'm going to turn to our city engineer if he has any corrections.

Good evening, Mayor and members of the council.

JC Numaia, city engineer.

so the the Alameda County Transportation Commission grant the CIP grant that's

specifically for design and the federal earmark grant can be used either for

design or construction but they are specifically for the for the named

project for the crossed on corridor project so using it for bike safety

programs or you know advancement outside of the scope of the project may be

may be questionable. Okay the one thing that I will highlight and I did not get

my referral in time so I'm not going to do that to you city manager but I was an

example of a really fantastic thing that other jurisdictions are doing Hayward

we just sort of our last ACTC meeting but they have a program that they were

able to get a grant through the California Air Resource Board for their

Sustainable Transportation and Communities Division for Equity and and the project is named Hayward Rides but

it's really focused on providing residents with access to free bicycles and pedestrian safety

pedestrian bike safety and so if we're going to spend money and interest and time building out this infrastructure for people to build a bike and walk

We want to make sure that residents can actually bike

And have resources to build to do so so for us to find a way

With with grants and other resources to be able to promote that

Thank you

Seeing no other questions or comments, I'll just ask one final one here.

I've seen drawings of what you have in mind.

We would describe that as some level of engineering or that's literally just called conceptual

drawings and now we will move into the engineering and design phase or design and engineering

phase whatever the right term is.

Yeah those drawings were again, I'm sorry Jason you might say the engineer, those drawings

were more in the preliminary conceptual stage but now when we have the design consultant on board the

the real design work and the plans and specs will start perfect thank you at this point in time i

will accept a motion vice mayor please approve 5a okay i've got a motion from vice mayor council

member asevita please i'll second that so i've got a motion with council member from vice mayor

Bowen, second council member. Please vote. All votes are in. The motion carries unanimously.

Okay, so we'll move on to item number six. We've got a city manager and city attorney reports. I

I think we only have a city manager report today, correct?

Please proceed.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Good evening, council members and community members.

I'm excited to share that this past Friday, November 14th,

was the long-awaited grand opening of Sprouts Farmers Market in downtown San Leandro

on the ground floor of Central Callen.

Hundreds of people were lined up around the block on Friday

ahead of the 7 a.m. ribbon cutting and ground opening.

I'm excited to welcome Sprouts and its team to the City of San Leandro community as they

strengthen our local economy, bring valuable jobs, and support our quality of life.

Sprouts' substantial investment reflects strong confidence in our community, thanks to the

economic development, community development, and public works engineering teams whose hard

work helped make this project a reality that was many years in the making.

I also want to remind the community that Saturday, November 29th, is Shop Small Saturday.

Each year, San Leandro shoppers are encouraged to visit their local small businesses for their winter holiday shopping.

Shop Small Saturday is important because it supports our local small businesses and strengthens and unifies our community.

You can shop local by buying a gift certificate to local businesses like barbers, salons, and spas.

You can also visit upcoming winter holiday events, including Mistletoe Madness at the Veterans Building on Saturday, November 29th,

and the annual It's a Wonderful Night event in downtown on Friday, December 5th.

And Mayor, that concludes my announcements.

Okay, so at this point in time, thank you for that.

We will move to public comment.

this opportunity for the public to comment on items that are not on our agenda but are within

the subject matter jurisdiction of this council. Madam Clerk, how many cards do you have?

Mayor, we have received eight comment cards. Perfect. We will begin in person and please proceed.

The first comment card is from Sarah Bailey.

I can't do it.

Okay.

I'm speaking as a member of the League of San Leandro Voters.

Mayor Gonzalez, residents want to see the investigative report into allegations made by Council Member Bowen against Council Members Simon and Aguilar.

She has accused them of ongoing workplace misconduct, including gender bias, bullying, intimidation, and retaliation.

for months you dragged your feet accepting the report you would not have accepted it had council

member bowen not gone record demanding it then in a delay tactic worthy of a circus contortionist

you accept the report on the friday before the council meeting and somehow give it to bowen and

her tormentors behind their backs by delivering it to their mailboxes without telling them until

the meeting started. After more than four hours spent discussing who you'd allow to see a report

only four of you have seen, you say you refuse to print on principle to release the report

to the public because Council Members Simon and Aguilar have not read it.

Four hours previously, we learned that you actively and intentionally hid the report from them.

If you told us all about your so-called principles at the start of the discussion,

we could have all just gone home.

As mayor, you are responsible for enforcing the code of conduct,

not duck it whenever you can think up or manufacture, in this case, some excuse.

You all promised to decide today after council members

Bowen, Simon, and Aguilar have the report whether to release it to the public,

but you changed your minds.

Are you going to hide the report?

Keep voters and residents in the dark about the real character of our council members.

If you do, then your reports out of your closed session meetings need to be as explicit as possible without breaking confidentiality.

And censure goes back on the table.

And this time, give it some teeth.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next three speakers are Mads Jewell, Darlene Evans, and Mitch Hedema.

Mr. Jewell, are you present?

Seeing that he is not present,

Darlene Evans, followed by Mitch,

followed by Willow.

We can't all be everywhere at the same time.

Some of us have agendas that we need to go elsewhere.

We have out in the front a display that for years gets water because we have seasons.

And instead of putting one copy to the meeting on the council agenda doors, we don't.

so we have to take our arm and get it clean for us to read.

Or there's new ones down at the north part where you can read.

Our city council room has in essence been closed as an entryway into City Hall.

The woman who spoke earlier, she did not stay here until 11.30 at night.

She did not go outside as I did in the lobby and wonder what I heard and the things that were projected.

Our San Leandro Times has projects that they have to do.

They did not mention what may be coming in the future.

Sometimes I think we need to just very importantly in the city of San Leandro

get rid of this three-day notice that the public gets information.

I think you need to cut down some of your agenda

so that the public can be part of governing.

Because in essence, we have things to do, you have things to do.

But we are on the ground that God made us.

And if we don't have the information, what do you expect of us?

All to be sitting in our seats and doing nothing?

Thank you.

The next speakers are Mitch Heideman, Willow Idlewild, and Whitney Walker.

Good evening, everybody.

I am here also on behalf of the League of San Leander Voters.

First, I want to publicly thank Council Member Vivrose Walton for doing such a fabulous and dogged job of attempting to push forward the investigative report release and transparency with the public.

Thank you.

Well done.

Thank you for your hard work on that, even though your efforts were thwarted.

It was noted.

Second, I want to give honorable mention to Council Member Dylan Bolt for also attempting to push things forward last time and to try to make sense of everything.

third I want to express my deep gratitude to vice mayor Bowen for standing up for herself and not

just quietly folding when she had been the butt of terrible treatment over and over both in public

meetings which I have witnessed and I'm sure in private as well it's not easy it's exhausting

I have been there and I know how hard it is and the response has not been what I would like to

from our council.

Lastly, given that the city attorney, Pia Roda,

said that this will be taken up in early December,

I want to note here out loud and for the record

that if you take action on this

when Vice Mayor Bowen is pre-scheduled

to not be here in attendance,

I and everyone else will know

that you are purposefully conniving

to prevent the release of this important information

to the public.

Thank you.

Thank you. The next speakers are Willow Adelwild, Whitney Walker, and Moline Dupree Dominguez.

Hi, I'm Willow. We already met. I'm also with the League of San Leandro voters, but I'm new to these things, so we'll see how this goes.

The only point I want to make is that you are given power by being on this council, and having power comes with accountability and transparency.

and if you are not willing to face that you should not be in power thank you

thank you the next speakers are Whitney Walker Malin Dupree-Dubingas and

Manaka Mahajan I'm another Sanliener citizen and member of the League of

Sanliener voters demanding that the council release the investigation report

to Vice Mayor Bowen's charges about bullying and misconduct

on the part of Council Members Aguilar and Simon.

I was horrified and heartbroken to read the article

in the Sandlander Times last week

and hear about all that Vice Mayor Bowen has been through.

I applaud her for speaking out

because standing up to bullies

and trying to hold people accountable

is the only way to change the system.

And I'm appalled at the way

that she has been treated for doing so.

The behavior that Aguilar and Simon are charged with

is serious, unacceptable, and must not be swept under the rug.

Any discussion and vote about releasing the report,

which was omitted from tonight's meeting agenda,

must happen in a city council meeting, not behind closed doors.

The council also voted to continue the discipline hearing on December 8,

based on investigation findings, and that must happen.

Nothing should take place without Vice Mayor Bowen present.

As citizens and constituents, we want to see our city leaders take accountability for their behavior, apologize, and make amends to do better.

Thank you.

The next speakers are Malin Dupree-Dominguez and Manaka Mahajan.

hello maline dupree dominguez san leandro resident for 18 years look justice delayed

is justice denied this has been going on far too long i am not sure by what procedural loophole the

item was taken off the agenda today but i'm here to say that the delay in the release of the report

regarding harassment and bullying towards Vice Mayor Bowen by council members Aguilar and Simon

means that the negative impacts of this unprofessional unacceptable behavior continue

to ripple through the life of Vice Mayor Bowen and those of us who support her release the report

immediately it was paid for with taxpayer dollars it deserves the chance to be read by taxpayers

immediately further it is beyond time for this council to take appropriate disciplinary action

resulting from this report let's get this done so we can move on

thank you our next and last speaker card is from meneka

good evening my name is meneka mahajan i am also here as a member of the league of voters

and my fellow community members have spoken about a number of issues I'm

gonna focus a little bit on process I have already sent my questions by email

and I will restate again here to in hopes of getting a more complete answer on

November 3rd the City Council voted on a substitute motion made by Council

member Viveros Walton seconded by council member bolt to do three things the first was to waive

attorney client privilege and release the investigative report to the council members

and their respective attorneys second to place the mem place the matter on the november 17th

2025 city council meeting agenda and third to schedule a disciplinary hearing on december 8th

To me, that was a very clear mandate from the city council that was voted on by our representatives.

But for some reason, it did not show up on today's agenda.

I appreciate the city attorneys addressing this at the beginning, but it did not answer my questions.

My question is, why was this not placed on the November 17th agenda as decided by the council's November 3rd vote?

and what is the basis for overriding or disregarding a council vote?

Could that happen with the consent agenda items that have just been voted on

or is there a special circumstance that allows it in this case?

I would also like to say, as the clock winds down,

that I urge the council to release the independent investigation report

regardless of what it says.

I did note that Councilmember Bowen had committed to respecting the findings even before seeing it, while other council members sought to seal it from public view without having seen it.

The vagueness and delays are only raising more questions.

Thank you. Your time has elapsed.

Mayor, that is our final in-person comment card.

Would you please proceed online?

So we'll close public comment in person.

We're opening public comment online.

Leo West, you may unmute yourself.

Yes.

The relatives of that criminal, Stephen Taylor,

have succeeded in bringing back the case

against Officer Jason Fletcher to Alameda County,

even though Officer Fletcher was just doing his job

of protecting the community.

A police officer facing trial in Oakland has less chance than a snowball in hell, even

when the people of Alameda County has voted to recall Pamela Price.

We can see the reaction of Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, who to the killing of the Laney College

football coach, instead of declaring war on criminals,

she declared war on guns.

The objective is to disarm law-abiding citizens

in order to make criminals' job easier.

That is Barbara Lee, who while in the US Congress

for the case, never had a town hall meeting in San Leandro,

Most likely because San Leandro is not black enough for her.

Donald Trump must reconsider his decision

not to deploy the National Guard and ICE in the Bay Area.

There's still time.

No trial for Jason Fletcher.

Blacks, lies, mother.

Thank you. The next speaker is Deborah Acosta. You may unmute yourself.

Good evening, Mayor Gonzalez, Vice Mayor Bowen, and Council Members. My name is Deborah Acosta

with the League of San Leandro Voters. Many of us in the public are alarmed that the independent

investigation into Vice Mayor Bowen's complaint is still not released. This is no longer procedural.

It is now about our integrity. First, bullying is misconduct under your own handbook and the

mayor is required to enforce those rules. Vice Mayor Bowen listed dates and behaviors that

appear to violate them. Staff witnessed the conduct. That's why the investigation occurred.

occurred. Second, the council voted 4-2 on November 3rd to place a privilege waiver vote

on tonight's agenda and to release a redacted full report. Please explain how that public vote can be

undone by staff or legal counsel between meetings. What about the Brown Act reversed this vote?

Third, announcing a special meeting sometime in early December is not transparency.

It is yet another vaguely explained delay.

Set the meeting date.

Keep the disclosure commitment made to the public on November 3rd.

Finally, concealing this report is becoming misconduct of its own.

Ignoring your own vote and delaying public release of your own investigation destroys trust and it prevents you, our elected officials, from returning to the people's business.

Residents are asking for three things.

Release the full report, redacted as legally required.

Two, ensure Vice Mayor Bowen is present when it is discussed.

Three, create a public portal posting emailed public comments for all agenda items.

And we are not asking for removals.

We are demanding transparency, accountability, and adherence to your own handbook.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Douglas Spaulding.

You may unmute.

Thank you.

Well, I'll join the call to release the report, which you discussed at length at the last

meeting and agreed to.

And it strains credulity that I was just overlooked.

You know, if that creates a Brown Act violation, that is really, really disappointing.

I thank Councilwoman Bowen, both for her courage and her wisdom.

The mistreatment, misconduct that she described needs to be acknowledged in its specific and addressed in an effective way.

Discrimination just results in disenfranchisement of the target of the discrimination.

But at the same time, I've been really trying to listen carefully.

And what I heard the councilwoman say is that she is seeking discipline, but not punishment.

and in specifics she's not seeking a censure. In response to that what I heard was council member

Aguilar really softened his response and recalled their working relationship and friendship and

willingness to kind of work things forward. That suggests to me that a restorative process not a

punitive process but a restorative process is the most appropriate and most effective way to move

forward. The problem is as many clamor for consequences, punishment, censorship, resignations,

is that it just makes everybody defensive. And Aguilar himself has said he's just reluctant to

talk if those are the terms. You know, punishment is a power play and punishment suppresses some

individuals while elevating others. I think really what's called for is something akin to a threat

truth and reconciliation. It's not that one instance of discrimination cancels to the other.

It's just like, let's get everything on the table in a confidential way with an objective

facilitator. And I think... Thank you, sir. Your time is up. The next speaker is Jesse.

Hi, can you hear me? Yes. Okay.

my name is jesse rubin and i am an active member of the league of san leandro voters

i am giving time comment tonight in complete dismay about the state of this council

i listened to the full four-hour council discussion on november 3rd about the fate

of the independent investigation that resulted from councilwoman and vice mayor bowen's complaint

against councilmen simon and aguilar what i heard was that bowen made a brave decision

many months ago to lodge an official complaint and not because she desired retribution. As the

former, as the previous speaker said, she has even said she is not interested in censure.

She simply wants the misconduct to stop. In response to this request, Simon looked for

legal loopholes on November 3rd to continue to avoid accountability. As I believe Councilwoman

Viveras Walton pointed out, we teach our children that when someone tells you that you've wronged

them, you do what you can to make amends. We do not teach our children to double down on their

behavior and look for ways to avoid accountability. Shame on you, Aguilar and Simon, for refusing to

show even a hint of contrition for your actions. Even if there is a great reason that continued

discussion on what to do about the report was removed from today's agenda, we are all watching

to see if you do something to stop the behavior that led to it.

If you do not, then it is clear that you are willing to let misconduct

continue to stymie progress in San Leandro.

San Leandro deserves better.

Better.

If you don't do better, we will vote for better.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Jennifer Molina.

Hi, good evening, Mayor and Council members. My name is Jennifer Molina, District 5 resident,

newish member of the League of Santa Leandra voters. I'm going to sound like a broken record,

but I'm just going to just lay it out there. Obviously, earlier this year, Vice Mayor Bowen

filed a formal complaint describing bullying, gender bias, inappropriate behavior by Simon

and Aguilar. The investigation is now complete. On November 3rd, after, I'd say, what, four plus

hours, pretty painful hours of listening into the process, the council voted four to two to add an

agenda item to tonight's meeting to consider, again, waiving attorney-client privilege and

releasing a redacted full report to the public. However, the item is not on the agenda.

My asks, again, release the full investigation report detailing the findings and next steps, including how the council plans to work together moving forward.

How is this going to happen? We have work to do. This city needs, we need work to be done, not to be spending time on this topic.

Make clear that retaliation, bullying, and gender bias will not be tolerated.

And again, ensure transparency and accountability at the discipline hearing on December 8th.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Yelena.

Good evening.

My name is Yelena Nadelko, and I was there last time for all those four hours.

watching the conversation, listening to council members going back and forth.

And as I said last time, respectful, transparent, and accountable city council is essential for our community to function well and to maintain public trust.

The fact that the report was removed from the agenda tonight is breaking with public trust and really lowering the public's confidence in this council.

I said last time we are all continuing to watch and we will continue to seek and fight for accountability.

And I will give one minute as well to my husband who would like to speak as well.

This is Will Douglas, resident of San Leandro for the last eight years.

I'm just adding to my wife's commentary that we're expecting the release of the report findings.

part of a healthy democracy is an informed electorate

and we need to understand what's happened

what the findings were so that we can move on from this

and focus our attention on other important things happening in San Leandro

thank you

thank you

the next speaker is Bridget Salazar

Bridget, if you're there, you can go ahead.

Thank you.

Good evening, everyone, council members and the public.

My name is Bridget Salazar.

I live in the Washington Manor District.

I'm a mother of two sons.

I've lived here for 12 years.

I know the majority of the people in the city council.

And the reason why I bring this up is because I'm here really to speak in support of council

member Fred Simon.

Yes, we were all there on November 3rd.

And, you know, one thing I teach my kids is actually, and hopefully we haven't lost this, is innocent until proven guilty.

So for none of us to have seen the report but to defame Councilmember Fred Simon is appalling.

I would like to ask the council to approach recent allegations with fairness, consistency, and respect for due process.

It has been widely reported, in fact, that Vice Mayor Bowen is involved in her own serious legal matter.

A lawsuit that's related criminal complaint in Florida involving another elected official.

Again, I want to be very clear. I said this last time. I am not attacking her.

Anyone who reports an incident deserves to have their case fully heard and vetted.

But when an elected official simultaneously is involved with multiple disputes or allegations against others, it is reasonable for the public to step back and maybe just ask broader questions about patterns, credibility, and consistency.

So if we are expected to examine Fred Simon through a microscope, then that same level of scrutiny should apply to everyone who sits on this council.

What many residents are saying right now is inconsistent treatment.

We're defaming his name by just bringing this up without actually saying a report.

Some officials are publicly targeted while others with unresolved legal matters are not held to the same standard.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mayor, that concludes our online raised hands as well.

Okay.

So with that, we will close public comment.

online i do want to make sure that we're clear about maybe two or three things first we the

city council received our report on october 31st 2025. we also received legal advice subsequent

to that meeting as city attorney explained in his commentary based on that legal advice we made a

we offer our input consistent with staff guidance with respect to what action to take

and then the last thing is that we continue to work through we had discussions today

about how to address a brown act challenge with respect to the way that the first motion was

formulated so we are working to cure that so that's all that's in the spirit of transparency

because we want to do the right thing the right way.

And so thank you for your patience

as we continue to work through doing the right thing the right way.

Is there an additional clarification that you seek to make,

city attorney, at this time?

No, thank you.

Anything else, city manager?

Okay, perfect.

So with that, we will move to our public hearings.

Our first public hearing, item 8A,

involves a resolution to approve the issuance

of the California Municipal Finance Authority qualified 501c3 bonds

in the aggregate principal amount not to exceed $80 million

as laid out in the agenda in greater detail.

So at this point in time, we do have a presentation

by Community Development Director Tom Liao for this item.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council.

Sorry for the minor technical.

Okay.

Thank you.

Okay.

Okay. Just getting things up on screen. Thanks for your patience. So tonight we're here to hold a federally mandated tax and equity fiscal responsibility act hearing, but more importantly, to introduce the creation of some new affordable housing units into the city.

tonight we'll give you a brief overview talk about what tephra is introduce the new nonprofit

developer and owner step up housing summarize the project benefits and timeline and end with

the staff recommendation many of you may be familiar but the woodchase apartments currently

are 186 unit multifamily project at 2795 san leandro it is privately owned and all market rate

It was built in the mid-70s and has 186 units, predominantly one bedroom, some studios, and some two bedrooms.

Under the proposed project from Step Up Housing, a 501c3 nonprofit,

they will be applying for federal tax exempt revenue bonds, the amount of about $80 million,

to finance the acquisition and rehab work and the conversion to the majority of units to affordable rental.

The city is, they are not seeking funding from the city.

There's sufficient funds in the tax and bonds.

They are going to maintain these units for a longer term period of 15 years at least for 75% of the units.

So about 21%, over 20% will be for very low income households.

About 55% will be for low income.

And the remaining 25% will be market rates.

So this is actually a true mixed income project

through this financing mechanism.

The proposed rehab work would include rehabbing,

rehabbing a fitness center, leasing office,

pool, furniture, fixtures, and equipment.

In terms of the buildings, painting, roof replacement,

plumbing repairs, electric work,

and also wood repair and sub-panel replacement.

So there'll be an effort to avoid displacement

and refurbished in phases.

And so those are some of the proposed work.

What is TEFRA?

And some of you have seen this before.

We've had about four projects.

We did one about 2022.

It's a public hearing that's required

by the local jurisdiction where the project is to be.

And then the governing body, your efforts

are to review and approve the proposed tax

and bond issuance for the work being proposed.

Typically, for a tax-exempt bond, there's an entity, a joint powers entity.

In this case, it's the California Municipal Finance Authority, CMFA.

They were formed in the early 2000s to help local governments, nonprofits, and businesses with tax-exempt and taxable debt.

The purpose that they have as a joint powers is to promote economic, cultural, and community development.

and they have membership of over 350 local jurisdictions

and San Leandro has been part of CMFA since 2004.

Just wanted to introduce Step Up Housing, the nonprofit.

They were formed in 2021 and their purpose or mission

is to create and preserve affordable housing

for lower income households.

They focus on acquiring market rate projects

and converting them to affordable

to provide safe and affordable rental housing.

They currently have over $150 million in real estate assets,

and that includes over 750 units of affordable housing

across four properties, including ones in Richmond and Pinole.

What are some of these benefits for our community?

We gain 140 affordable rental housing units

that are being converted currently from market rate.

These 140 will actually count towards our RENA, our regional housing need allocation under a housing element that we can count as new affordable housing.

Again, the city has no financial or legal obligations under the tax bonds.

The debt is issued by CMFA and is the sole responsibility of the nonprofit housing provider.

Step Up Housing will not be displacing any existing tenants and converting the market to affordable.

they plan to meet their income requirements through either typical attrition and term normal

turnover and they even expect some of the existing residents to be income qualified already and then

the budget rehab work and will be completed with the tenants in place again so there will be no

temporary displacement as well in terms of the general timeline they are seeking to get their

bond approved shortly this week bond closing will occur in mid-december and they're hoping to begin

and start applying for building permits and doing the work itself in early 2026 again because they're

phasing it and keeping tenants in place this work can go for a potential a couple years or so

but they that they plan to have that completed fairly soon they are also hope they have actually

three years under the requirements under the bond but they do expect to attain their affordability

requirements hopefully by the middle of 2027 if not before so tonight we are recommending you

conduct this public hearing tonight under the federal tefra which is under the irs code and

then to adopt a resolution approving the issuance of the tax exempt bonds by cmfa to benefit step up

housing to finance for about 80 million dollars the acquisition and rehab of wood chase apartments

I would actually add one thing I did forget to mention as community as a

benefit to the city because we are holding this public meeting we will get

a percentage of the issuance of the bonds so it's been calculated that the

city will get about over $20,000 that we can apply for our general fund for

general purposes so I would like to introduce that we have a Mike Potter

he's the board of director chair for step up housing we also have Jeff Smith

from SAC capital partners they are the asset real estate manager for step up

housing we have Travis Cooper from CMFA and also our assistant planner Felipe

Martinez who played a key role in helping to prepare tonight's staff report and

PowerPoint so with that we are here to answer any questions okay what I want to

do actually is I'm going to open the public hearing first here from the

public on this item don't come back to our council members for their questions

or any considerations.

So at this point in time, it is 8-12,

and I am opening the public hearing.

Do we have anybody from the public

who wishes to address the council on this item?

Mayor, we have not received any comment cards in person,

but there are two hands raised on Zoom.

Please proceed online.

Douglas Spaulding, you are the first speaker.

Thank you so much.

I'm a big proponent of by any means

necessary. And this really looks like a great model. Congratulations to city staff for all

your work on it. In particular, I like the more realistic mix of very low income, low income.

You know, I'd love to see it driven even in lower because it's the kind of thing that we

need in order to significantly address the needs of folks. I guess a couple of things I want to

understand, since I'm not a financial person, are the terms of the tax-exempt bonds that

step-up housing assumes complete responsibility for repaying it? Or as a resident, as a homeowner,

am I going to be paying off that bond? And the other question I have is, I'm just wondering

if and how this whole plan may be affected by the very recent announcement at the federal level

that they are really pulling back on monies for affordable housing. And those are my questions.

Thank you. Thank you. The next speaker is Alvaro Ramos. Yes, can you hear me? Yes. Okay. So,

So I'm going to talk a little bit as an idealist, but I would just eliminate the market rate housing just because within the housing market and the rental market, the problem is the commodification of housing.

Only people who have the money to pay can afford it.

And so we have the result of unhoused people on the streets, but that next to the reality of unoccupied housing because of the price barriers.

And so I think the one question, first question I have is who will operate the property after the rehabilitation?

Will that be a step up housing?

And then the second question that came to my mind, this facility was built in 1976.

And as I understand it, the United States lead ban came in 1978, two years later.

And so one of the first questions I have is, is there lead paint?

Is there lead water pipes in the facility?

Because those could be potential public health issues for residents living there.

But also, furthermore, for anybody who has a family and child development, that's lead's bad for everybody, for all humans.

So I'm wondering if there's going to be a lead abatement in the rehabilitation.

I didn't see that mentioned specifically.

So I guess that isn't to say that there won't be, but I would like some clarification and some specifics.

That's it. End comment.

Thank you.

We have one more raised hand on Zoom from Rob Rich.

Hi, this is Rob Rich.

I want to thank staff for work on this.

It sounds fantastic.

I have one question, and that is, it seemed to have a 15-year term, and what happens to current residents after 15 years? Thank you.

Thank you. One more hand was raised from Ginny Madsen.

You did it. I didn't see you setting it up.

Ginny, are you there?

So, hello?

Yes.

So this is Ginny, and I'm sorry I didn't see this in time to research any of this because I have never heard of Step Up.

And I thought I knew every housing, nonprofit housing provider in California.

This is all news to me.

And the only thing that I noticed was 25% market rate.

it's better than we do as a city now because we only require 15 percent affordable affordability

and it's affordable to who i actually know people who were homeless who got put into

wood chase apartments a couple of years ago but i wasn't able to reach them in time to find out

what they think of this, but I will pursue that. Thank you for letting me speak.

Thank you. Mayor, that concludes all the raised hands on Zoom.

Okay, it is 8.17. I'm closing the public hearing. I'm coming back to, first, if we can address

some of the questions that were asked, and I will direct these to Director Leao, and obviously you

can pass them along. I don't know if you were tracking some of the ones that I tracked,

Or will residents be responsible for paying off the bonds that are issued?

Let me go ahead and hand that over to Travis from CMFA.

Michael, that's a financing question, if I may.

Yeah, if you could approach the center mic here.

Travis Cooper from CMFA.

Thank you.

Good evening, Honorable Mayor, Member of the City Council.

My name is Travis Cooper.

I'm with the California Municipal Finance Authority.

And to answer the question, they will not be responsible.

This is a private loan for B2 and the investor.

Perfect. Thank you.

I think there was a second question that I noted.

The administration, current federal administration,

has offered a number of changes.

Will those changes impact this program and the bonds?

No.

Okay.

Third question, who will operate the property after the rehabilitation?

Will it be Step Up or somebody else?

Yeah, Step Up.

I'm sorry, Step Up.

Yeah, I'm sorry, Step Up, yeah.

perfectly and that's for the full duration yeah okay thank you there was

questions about lead in the paint and pipes etc do you know at this time

anything about lead at the facility that I'm gonna pass on I deal with the

financing so well we have Mike Potter the for the board chair for step up

housing good evening mayor and city council members Mike Potter I'm the board

Chair of Step Up Housing. Quickly, with respect to your question, we had a phase one environmental

study done on the property as part of our due diligence and there is no lead on the property.

So there's nothing to remediate. Thank you. There was a question about,

to the extent that we know, what will happen at the end of 15 years?

The term of the regulatory agreement is really driven by the purchaser of the bonds

and that's how we finance the property.

It's usually set coterminous with respect to the loan.

At the end of 15 years,

our intention is just to redo the program again

for another 15 years.

Okay.

So at this point in time,

I'm going to go to Council Members

for questions, commentary, or motion.

Let's go with Council Member Bolt.

Actually, let's just do questions, commentary first,

and if there's none, then we'll go to a motion.

Council Member Bolt, please.

Yes.

thank you that i've been told many a times if it's too good to if it sounds too good to be true

it probably is so there's got to be something in here that says there's there's a problem somewhere

because everything we said is this is great and i read it three times to go where is it where is it

where is it is there anything director leal and i'm not asking you to poo poo it or any of that

but like if there's anything on the edge where we can know now that, okay,

this could be something we discussed later.

No, actually this is a fairly, as, as, as noted,

this CMFA has been around since 2004,

but this financing tool has been around for a while and we've,

this is our fourth project in our city over the last 15, 20 years.

So the other three projects are running smoothly.

So I think, again, this is a program that has a track record.

It's been used. It does.

the 7525 I've heard about that comment removing it does require and and which is great and promotes

these mixed income type projects which we want I think that's how it helps to finance this project

and make it work in the longer term awesome hopefully there's some other projects you're

looking at in San Leandro that we could apply this to I mean I've seen a few different apartment

buildings especially in district 6 on Marina Boulevard I'm being very specific about Marina

Villa and Marina View, I think it is. They're up for sale, so

please take a look, see if it works.

And then the last thing is just a comment.

I know we were number one in the Bay Area with our housing.

Housing element.

Housing element. With this, and we were fourth in the state,

we might be number one in the state with this, no? We get to count

it's when we have our annual report in front of you next uh next spring oh that would be awesome

okay i'm done there thank you for some great news for the city uh dealing with a lot this

is uplifting and put a smile on my face so thank you very much appreciate you

council member uh thank you mayor gonzalez and thank you for the presentation my question is you

you know, to piggyback off of what

Council Member Dylan

Bould had mentioned,

the other projects that

had similar rehabilitation with this

particular

funding, was that

Spring Lake Apartments?

No.

That was different. They actually went

through the Federal Low Income

Housing Tax Credit program.

And you mentioned there were three others or four others?

What were those?

I knew you were going to ask that. I thought I had put that in a prior

presentation um but the most recent one that was in 2022 was 77 and 85 uh metro apartments um over

by um estabrook it's estabrook i'm not metro apartments it's 70 85 um estabrook that was about

80 i think a hundred plus unit uh property that was in 2022 yeah same same combo 75 affordable 25

percent market and a non-profit those are my questions thank you thank you so councilmember

Resevito, please.

Yes, thank you for your presentation, Tom.

Yeah, this seems like a great opportunity for the city.

Excuse me.

My question is, after the 15 years,

is there going to be any displacement or anything?

You know, when we try to renew another,

I mean, do you renew another 15 years with a grant?

If there's not a grant or anything available,

are people going to be displaced because of this?

There shouldn't be any displacement

because people, just like any other apartment building,

are going to have their contracts

with respect to rental contracts,

usually for a year and then they'll go to month month after that and we're not applying for a

grant at the end of 15 years we would just refinance through this program okay thank you

and i don't know if there's any more questions but i would like to move this entertain a motion

possible thank you so seeing no other questions i will accept your motion so i've got a motion by

Okay, Council Member Zavito.

And I've got a second from?

Yes, second.

Council Member Bolt.

So seeing no further discussion, please vote

to accept staff recommendations.

All votes are in.

The motion carries unanimously.

Thank you, Council.

point in time we'll move to item 8b so you'd be involves the potential adoption

of resolution amending the environmental hazards element of our 2035 general plan

to comply with state law and we've got Cindy LaMair here to introduce this item

please proceed

Thank you.

Thank you, New System.

I haven't worked it yet.

Good evening, Mayor and Council Members.

Tonight, staff is asking you to consider adopting the environmental hazards element,

which is the final piece of the housing element package of general plan amendments.

Oops. Here we go.

The general plan is a 35,000-foot level policy document intended to set the tone and direction

of the city. Minor updates occur from time to time, as needed, and comprehensive updates

typically occur every 15 to 25 years. The exception to that is the housing element,

which must be updated every eight years according to state law. For the most recent housing element

update, the state also required adoption of an environmental justice element and an update to

the environmental hazards element.

The goal of this update to

the environmental hazards element is to

modernize policies relating to current and future risks.

So brief background.

In 2016, City Council

adopted a comprehensive general plan update.

Legislation that occurred in 2015,

2019, and 2021 required

changes to the environmental hazards element,

which is packaged with the housing element.

The planning commission reviewed the environmental hazards element with the housing and environmental justice elements in November of 2022 and recommended city council approval.

Because at that time there was a very high fire hazard severity zone in the city, the environmental hazards element needed to be reviewed and approved by CAL FIRE's Board of Forestry, which approved it in August of 2024.

Shortly after that, staff was informed that new fire hazard severity zone maps were going to be published in February of 2025, which they were.

The new maps, which replaced the very high fire hazard severity zones with high and moderate zones, were adopted by city council in June of this year.

The next steps here are city council adoption of the environmental hazards element.

and then following that, the local hazard mitigation plan will be updated, expected in 2026.

What year is it?

Okay.

The staff has ensured that the new policies and studies comply with state law,

various provisions thereof.

New policies in the environmental hazards element address wildfire, excessive heat,

drought, sea level rise, and heavy rain,

which pose the greatest climate change-related risks in San Leandro.

The evacuation analysis, which is a supporting document and required by

state law, focused on the need for policies improving evacuation routes,

capacity, safety, and viability of those routes, neighborhoods with a single

egress route, the need for effective communication, and active route management.

Now the result of that evacuation analysis is a series of very high-level

policies or policy recommendations and those are for the development of

communication tools to reach vulnerable populations and improved emergency

traffic management as well as focusing on the local hazard mitigation plan on

local issues. The draft environmental hazards element is consistent with the

city's intent that the general plan be kept up to date. Again these updates

don't occur frequently but they do occur from time to time. City Council

previously certified the supplemental environmental impact report addressing

the amended environmental hazards element and the housing element and the

environmental justice element as well. The staff is recommending the City

Council adopt a resolution amending the environmental hazards element of the

2035 general plan to comply with the requirements of state law. That concludes

my presentation and we're ready for any questions you might have. So thank you

for your presentation. What I'd like to do is take public input as part of our

public hearing and then we'll come back to council members for discussion and questions

it is 8 29 and i'm opening the public hearing

mayor at this time we have not received any comment cards we have one hand raised on zoom

so let us move online please Douglas Spaulding you may unmute yourself

Thank you. Well, it seems that here in San Leandro, we are replete with environmental hazards. And maybe if we had a little bit more for vision, we could have avoided some of them.

But like, you know, for example, there's a lot of concern among my neighbors here in Bay of Vista about the potential for fire coming from.

Sorry, that's my one going off. Coming from over yonder to the east from Chabot Park.

And, you know, we're kind of like just barely getting started on evacuation plans.

So I'm wondering, you know, it seems like the Bay of Vista residents have taken a huge responsibility for that.

it seems like the fire department has a hand in it. I believe San Leander police department has a

hand in it, but I don't think we're really prepared yet. We really need to enforce that.

And perhaps there are other neighborhoods to look at too. In terms of the Bayshore flooding,

we kind of have ourselves in trouble around Neptune drive construction that should have

never been approved and never happened. You know, and now I believe the city has an obligation to

help homeowners there with what will be, you know, exorbitant flood insurance or inability

to get flood insurance.

Likewise, you know, what I see is the ill-advised development of the marina area without a better

understanding of the effects of liquefaction.

You know, the bedrock is much deeper here in St. Leandro than it is up in, say, in Oakland

around the Brooklyn Basin where there is a lot of construction.

And then finally, you know, I think we have not really adequately wrapped our heads around the potential destruction from the active fault zone and the big one.

And I think, you know, Lake Chabot Road kind of hangs in the balance.

In my opinion, it's not something we're spending tens of millions of dollars on or something that will just need to be made.

Thank you, sir. Your time has elapsed.

Mayor that is our only raised hand on this item. Thank you at this point in time

it's 8 31 we're closing the public hearing. So we did have a couple of

questions asked by our commenter and I'd like to give you an opportunity to

address those questions. Thank you mayor. The plan does in fact look at

primarily was focused on wildfire hazard and sea level rise. The plan does take

into account wildfire hazards. The plan itself has been updated in fact. This is

a page from its figure 7.3 or 7-3 in the environmental hazards element. This is

the new wildfire hazards map and it shows that we have just the high and the

moderate fire hazard severity zones,

the policies that we have incorporated

into the environmental hazards plan

do take into account the change

in the fire hazard severity zones.

So there is a new document

that's out from the state,

the wildfire,

wildland urban interface code.

And this plan has policies in it

that refer to that

and incorporate that

into this document,

incorporate those policies into this document.

So as time moves forward, we'll continue

to see best practices

with respect to

fire protection

and fire hazard

mitigation for this area.

In terms

of

sea level rise, the plan, I don't

have the figure here handy, but the plan

does include the

most recent sea level rise

figures, and

there will be, let me

The state recently required a shoreline resiliency plan for San Leandro and other communities around the bay.

That plan will begin, I believe, in 2023.

But we will be working on that plan, which will help mitigate sea level rise issues around the bay.

I think you said 2023?

That was when the laws were adopted, yes.

Okay, and the plans?

I believe they're going to start in, oh, I'm sorry, 2026.

I believe is when the plan is going to get going.

Did you want to address liquefaction or magnitude of destruction?

Magnitude is not something that this plan takes into account,

but it does look at cascading effects.

So, for example, one of the cascading effects of an earthquake

might be the damage to the Lake Chabot Dam.

In that case, we would be looking at evacuation from that.

But I would like to, I think, you have some folks here who might be able to assist with that a little bit.

Any impacts having to do with earthquakes and evacuation.

In terms of the, let me see, which one am I reading?

The last one was?

Liquefaction.

Thank you, liquefaction.

Liquefaction is also an earthquake-related impact.

we do have policies in there that will help and the idea is that they will help

promote what do I want to say promote the development of more specific actions so there are

the environmental hazards element is sort of the larger higher level document and then for example

the local hazard mitigation plan

is a document that will be more specific.

And so as we sort of move through this process

of going from the environmental hazards element

to the local hazard mitigation plan,

we're expecting to see more detailed actions

that can be taken to mitigate those sorts of impacts.

Do you care to add anything?

At this point in time,

I'm just going to go to council members

and if they would like elaboration on the answers

from the public commenters.

So I'm going to go to Councilman Revolta Swalton.

Thank you for your presentation. And I just, I have a question. I'm going to first go to,

let's see, what's the name of, I am looking at page, it says 7-8. I don't know what that means,

but it's on the name of the report is the environmental hazards report I think it's

exhibit one and I'm looking at page 7 slash 8 here it is and it's specific to

fire wildfire risk I'm kind of combining both the evacuation analysis which is

exhibit I don't know what is it the number but the evacuation analysis I'm

concerned that when Bay of Vista residents came and we were they were

talking about evacuation routes and the high risk of fire I continue to be

concerned that residents according to the evacuation analysis that they are

and I'm looking at page there is no page number on this it's figure two it does

not have I'm looking at the Kittleson report but it does not have oh there it

page 7

residents

does this

this evacuation map

is this where residents

should go or is this where

residents

would go

in case of a fire is that where they

should go or where they would go

because on the

right hand side of the Bay of Vista

which is

to the

south of

Bay of Vista, which is the roads get really windy.

There's not really

space for two cars going up and down

those streets.

Is that

an expected evacuation route for

Bay of Vista residents?

So there are a couple things here.

First of all, we do have Kittleson on the

line, so we can call

on Kittleson for more detail.

But I can tell you, having

had a conversation with them about these maps,

Part of what you're seeing here is a function of a,

this is going to get a little technical,

of a traffic impact study.

And traffic impact studies don't show typically local streets.

They show collectors and up.

So there are a lot of streets in here, for example, View Drive,

which isn't indicated here.

And in order for them, if they were going to model that,

they'd actually have to build the model to include all of those streets.

So this just includes the higher level streets.

it's neither than recommended routes.

It's simply, what it's really conveying here

is the degree of congestion

that would be expected

on some of the more major streets in the city.

In terms of where someone would evacuate,

the police department

and probably the fire department to some degree

would be in any emergency situation

would be, I'm gonna say, managing that emergency.

And so the police will have, and the fire department will have, the most current idea of which streets are available.

If there's been, for example, an earthquake, has a street been destroyed or damaged to where it can't be used?

And they would move people around that rather than having people get stuck at those places.

Same is true, of course, of fire or any other emergency.

So the police will be actively managing an emergency evacuation.

So this map in particular, I wouldn't worry about particularly.

There will be a lot of congestion.

People are going to be very interested in getting out of the way.

But the police will be actively managing it.

So that's, the maps are part of required analysis.

And it's not helpful in certain ways.

In terms of, you'd asked a question about, ooh.

it was just a relating both exhibit one which is the wildfire risk with the kittleson report

i'm kind of the question was kind of like you answered the question right okay thank you um

i guess i um i think this anyway that's a comment not a question so i will leave it

am i the only one on the queue okay i'm the only one on the queue let's go

um so i what this for me elevates and actually i do have one question before i go

um how often does the hazard plan need to be updated there's no state requirement for timing

except in this situation the state of california said we want you to include it with the housing

element. There wasn't even a process, to be honest, for going through CAL FIRE. That was all new.

So typically, it'll occur when the general plan gets updated, but also when there's a need to

update it. So for example, let's use a land use, the land use element of the general plan. If we

have somebody come in and want to change an area from residential to commercial, it would go through

general plan amendment and that's that would be amending the plan from time to time for something

like this yes we could see i'm trying to think what we would um what situation might cause an

amendment to the house there might be something let me interrupt you what the reopening of lake

shibble road constitute a reason to revisit this plan i don't believe so no the evacuation analysis

was a required element of this study,

but what it really talks about,

what it speaks to more specifically

are the issues of developing communication tools

to reach at-risk populations and vulnerable folks.

So, for example, we have a lot of folks in the community

who might not speak English as a primary language.

And so one of the tools

that the evacuation analysis discusses

is the need to develop outreach materials

for folks in their native language

so that they can better understand

what situations might necessitate this action or that action.

So better public education.

So the evacuation analysis per se

is not something that would be,

it's not actually included in the hazards element.

So whether Lake Chabot Road is open or closed

is not really part of the general plan itself.

Okay.

Thank you for that.

There are still no questions on the dais,

so I'll continue.

Do I have two more minutes?

Just in terms of my comment, and then that's it.

Please proceed for two minutes.

I'm particularly concerned because the Bay of Vista,

according to these reports,

is at risk of landslides

because of water management

that's happening in just general erosion.

And it is also at a great fire risk.

And so I remain concerned about

when we talk about Lake Chubbill Road

for it to just be kind of constrained to reopening and not reopening.

So I do have an item 11 later that actually,

actually it's great timing with these two reports

because I think it'll elevate some of the concerns and needs

that the residents of Bay of Vista have been elevating for two years now.

So thank you so much for your work.

And I will, I think that's it.

I don't know.

Thank you.

Not seeing other questions.

Before asking for motion,

I do just, I think, want to highlight

or uplift this concept of evacuation.

I understand that we have spent energy

focused on the need for evacuation routes and the like,

and I fully understand that the authority

is delegated to certain groups a role played by fire

in a road role played by police.

I think the concern that I've heard from residents

and that I myself feel

is that the practicality of when it actually happens.

That as a practical matter,

it's not useful to say there are seven evacuation routes

out of Bay of Vista

when the vast majority go into one road.

And that road, as a practical matter,

does not exit out the south side

because you'd get trapped in that maze of streets back there.

And coming out of the north side,

have we really practiced what's going to happen when people exit?

I heard the concern about liquefaction in the flatlands.

The USGS maps that I have seen

suggest that there's going to be potential for severe liquefaction

in the flatlands of San Leandro.

And thinking about the severity of what the need might be

in a severe earthquake the extensiveness of that need i just want to make sure that we continue to

to focus from the emergency planning perspective because it could be simply overwhelming and then

so when things are overwhelming how do we properly triage in order that goes back to the same concept

when i talked about the evacuation because i'm quite concerned that police may have the knowledge

of what the best streets are to evacuate but if that's one then how do we have how do we triage

the movement of traffic how do we communicate upstream you're not getting out of here in your

car right whatever those things are that we need to do that's where i think the magic really lies

in being effectively prepared for that that point in time so we do have a recommendation by staff

to adopt a resolution amending the environmental hazards element as written up on the screen

as presented in our agenda uh do i have someone that would like to move that item councilmember

thank you mayor gonzalez and thank you for this presentation i think

you know according to what the recommendation what you're indicating is you know we've been

advocating for a lot of evacuation plans and making sure that you know we fund our unfunded

infrastructure and that also includes at least trying to make some sort of effort to fix lake

shibble road um and to make sure that we have evacuation plans whether it be in the flatlands uh

you know the um at the bay um on the hillside but you know with regards to global warming and

what have you you know and what we're currently experiencing with uh atmospheric rivers um you

having some sort of backup plans,

but to update our general plan.

So I'd like to make the motion to adopt the resolution

amending the environmental hazard elements

of the 2035 general plan to comply

with the requirements of state law.

Okay, thank you for your motion.

I'll go ahead and second that motion.

Seeing no further discussion, please vote.

All votes are in.

The motion carries unanimously.

Thank you, Council, for that action.

Now let's move to item 8C.

For 8C, we have the first reading of an ordinance to introduce some amendments.

Articles 1, 3 through 9, 10A of Title VII and other actions as listed in the agenda.

We've got Chief Building Official Michael Jeffrey here to introduce the item.

Good evening, Mayor, City Manager, Vice Mayor, and Council Members, and City Attorney.

My name is Michael Jeffrey, Chief Building Official for the City of San Leandro.

Tonight, I am presenting the 2025 Triennial Building Code Adoption.

I have a brief presentation that provides background on the international model codes,

the California Building Standards Code, and our local amendments.

After the presentation, I will be available for any kind of questions that you may have.

So there's a triennial every three years, building code adoption cycle.

And what this is devised to do is to keep us up to date, kind of, you know, teaching us how to regulate new codes, especially with the type of businesses we have coming in, advanced manufacturing and so on.

So it does its level best to keep up on new trends, new codes, new applications from hazardous materials to building standards and so on.

So every three years, so what happens is the first year prior to the triennial, so this whole year, Calvo, California Association of Building Officials, sets a curriculum for building inspectors, plans examiners, building officials, and so on, so we can be ready for the next code cycle.

The process starts with updates, changes submitted by state agencies, industry groups, and public, followed by public review hearings conducted by the California Building Standards Commission.

So they get with testing laboratories.

You've heard of underwriters, laboratories, ETL.

There's many of them.

They all convene.

They don't just convene at the last minute to come up with the next three years of codes.

they meet continuously all year round and then concentrate on the final year leading up to code adoption.

And then these codes are based on, derived from model codes, international building codes.

So, for example, the 2025 California Building Code is based on the 2024 International Building Code.

So we shape that to fit California.

You know, the East Coast has different types of building models, different types of hazards.

The Midwest is different, and of course, the state of California is very varied.

So it's molded to fit us better.

And then the adopted codes are then published, typically becoming mandatory statewide, starting January 1st of the next, so of 2026.

Building code.

building standard codes are laws. Codes are laws. Construction of buildings and structures. Cities

and counties may adopt local amendments to strengthen codes based on local climatic,

geological, topographical conditions, codified in the city municipal code as chapter 7-5.

These steps ensure that the latest best practices in safety, sustainability, and technology are

built into every code adoption cycle.

A little example of the code books,

not quite all of them,

but they grow every triennial.

And this is where they're located.

A couple of local amendments in the past for 2022

that we amended in our municipal code

was lowering the square footage trigger

for fire sprinkler requirements,

particularly in assembly occupancies.

So we basically halved the square footage to trigger the requirement for sprinklers.

Excuse me.

Also, we went from $10,000 to $5,000 on valuation triggers for earthquake gas shutoff valves.

So we're seeing a lot of these now by lowering it to $5,000.

staff recommends the city council consider introduced for first reading and ordinance to

amend that municipal code chapter seven five by repealing and replacing the 2022 additions and

adopt the 2025 additions of the california building code residential code electrical code mechanical

code plumbing code energy code fire code existing building code and green building standards code

adopt by reference the 2018 Property Maintenance Code, adopt a resolution

finding and determining the need for amendments to provisions in the state

mandated California Building Standards Code to be adopted by reference in the

San Leandro Municipal Code. And if you all have any questions. Okay, so thank you for

your presentation. What I would like to do is hear from our public first as part

of our public hearing and then we will move on to questions and commentary from

Council members. So this point in time it is 8 53 and I'm opening the public

hearing. Mayor we have not received any comment cards and there are no hands

raised on Zoom. Okay so it's 8 53 and I close the public hearing and I'll come

back to Council members for discussion questions etc and then when we're done

with that we'll take a motion. Council member Bolt please. Yes thank you for the

presentation your best slide obviously was slide five with the sprinkler head on it awesome great

job but to that end you said it's been lowered uh to require so if a building didn't have sprinklers

what is the what did it get lowered to

Thank you for the question.

It went from basically 10,000 square feet to 5,000.

Oh, okay.

And so any additions of 5,000 feet or more, which it's big, but still it's good because if a building is big enough to be required to have sprinklers in it from the past, now they'll have to sprinkle the whole building,

not just that 5,000 feet, correct? Right. And we're talking commercially on this,

you know, A occupancy versus, you know, R3. But as you know, in the California Residential Code

and the California Fire Code, sprinklers are required in new single-family residences too,

which, in my opinion, is a great code. Agreed, sir. That's it. Thank you.

We will now go to Councilmember Acevedo.

thank you for your presentation i just have one question um i have a friend in the manor and i

went by his house and some of the um plugs are upside down was there a code before where the

plugs used to be upside down and then they changed them how they are now that you know of back in the

60s or 70s i i go back building in that time frame i'm not saying you're that old no no i

it's funny that has come up several times because i went in a house in the manor and the

ones were upside down i said this looks crazy he's like well that used to be the code but go ahead

um i'm not sure if it was actually a code but i've been approached by customers in the past in my

you know my my past life and uh they preferred it they preferred the ground to be up i don't know

why maybe easier to insert but i really don't think there's a code i was just wondering okay

It's kind of off topic, but I'm just wondering.

Okay, thank you.

Council Member Aguilar.

Thank you, Mayor Gonzalez,

and thank you, Michael, for this presentation.

I think, you know, codes are constantly changing,

and we need to update them and go through this process.

As somebody who places CBOs and engineers

and municipalities, I completely understand

to make sure that our teams understand the code and that you know they're they're abiding by them

and so you know with that being so i just like to move and make the recommendation to um introduce

the first reading of the ordinance um with regards to the staff recommendation thank you your motion

is accepted we will move on to i'll just second the motion so at this point in time seeing no

further discussion please vote all votes are in the motion carries unanimously

thank you okay thank you at this point in time council members we can only take

a break at nine o'clock what I'd like to do is plow right through if there's no

objection so I think we can probably be done in about 15 to 30 minutes so

presentations we have none today and we have no action items let's move to

council request to schedule agenda items okay I don't think do we have one yes we

do okay please proceed thank you I have three items that actually these were

submitted at the previous council meeting but we ran out of time so two of these items do I get

five per or just run through all three in the five minutes okay so the first two I would like them to

be included in our March council strategy session. I'll talk about the first one.

There are a lot of empty lots throughout the city and as I was thinking about ways to activate

these spaces I would like to propose a what did I name this I haven't seen this in a while

would be to establish a vacant lot activation program that invites property owners to temporarily

improve and open their properties for public use in exchange for incentives.

Could include or not include, this would be kind of, if this does go forward in terms of a council

strategy to activate neighborhoods. It could include regulatory relief, deferrals, recognition

and support, expedited review for future development applications. I put together a full proposal.

They have been submitted to the clerk and to the city manager. I have a whole proposal

with recommendations, background, and purpose.

The purpose of this is to encourage activation

and improvement of vacant

and underutilized private lots in San Leandro

by offering regulatory flexibility

and or relief from certain planning restrictions

to property owners

who make their properties available

for public benefit uses.

So that's the first one.

And the second one is,

let me just open it up.

It is a proposal for consideration in the March meeting to establish a partial sales tax waiver for priority innovation industries.

The purpose of this is to strengthen San Leandro's competitiveness in attracting and retaining high-value employers in biotechnology, research and development, and other innovation-driven sectors.

I'd like to explore the creation of a sale tax incentive program where the

city would offer partial sales tax waivers for qualifying businesses that

either locate or expand operations within our jurisdiction again I have a

full proposal that was submitted with background and some kind of loose

proposals and who would be eligible and then sense of structure would like to

include those in the priority session for March 7th. The other one is not a

submission for the March strategy session for the council but rather it is

I would like to request a complete geotechnical report for Lake Chabot Road

that includes all four sites along with all supporting documents and

presentation materials related to this project be uploaded to the project page

The project page currently only includes the two sites that we'll be getting that are scheduled for improvements.

I would also like to include a comprehensive cost estimate for the full scope of repairs that include slope stabilization, roadway reconstruction, and necessary water management improvements at the top of the hill to prevent future failures.

As we have seen from the hazard mitigation plan that was just presented to the council,

the Bay of Vista neighborhood is at risk for slides due to water management issues,

but also just kind of where it is geographically.

I would also, so just to summarize this report,

The request includes a full geotechnical report and analysis, all presentation materials and meeting notes and relevant documents posted or linked to the project page, a detailed cost breakdown of repairs that's inclusive of roadway and slope stabilization work, drainage and water management systems at the top of the hill, and any interim stabilization or safety measures that can be done to open Lake Chabot Road.

Thank you.

So I'm coming to city manager.

She's got a couple of clarifying questions.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you, Councilman Rivera-Walton.

I apologize.

When I received the referrals, there's actually a box on there that says, are these urgent?

All three of them say no.

They're not urgent.

so it wasn't clear to me that the final one on Lake Chabot Road was not to go on the list for

the March retreat, but it's something you're looking for as an urgent referral prior to that.

Thank you. Well, I put no in that it didn't need to be scheduled for the next meeting,

but I did want to refer this either to the facilities committee to so if I need

to change it to a yes then it would be a yes okay the only two options are

urgent referral which needs to meet the urgent criteria laid out in the handbook

or it goes on the council retreat list for the entire council to decide which

priorities they will select okay so let me resubmit this then as an urgent item and I will

I will

redo it and that sounds good and then that just for the community council's edification that will

then come to the council for a vote if it meets the requirement of an urgent referral

thank you council member simon you're next thank you i have i have two urgent referrals

however i did not submit the paperwork because these have recently come up and that's no problem

we would just need to receive those by 3 p.m on the next meeting date and then you would um share

those at the meeting as well. Okay, so share those at the next meeting? Correct. If they're received

by myself and the clerk by 3 p.m. of that meeting date. Okay, thank you.

Having completed item 11, we will move to our final item here prior to adjournment, and that's

council reports, calendar items, announcements, etc. We will begin with council member Aguilar.

Thank you, Mayor Gonzalez.

On Wednesday, November 12th,

I attended the 1,141st meeting of the Board of Trustees

for the Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District.

We dissolved the Ad Hoc Energy Committee.

We put together an Ad Hoc Committee

to nominate the candidates for the 2026 board,

and we are working to piece those folks together.

we also did go over and the reports for the county of Alameda we have no West now

virus to report although we did there were a total of a hundred there are a total of 11 new

human cases of West now virus disease that were reported this week from five counties LA Monterey

Orange, San Joaquin, and Santa Clara.

And these are the first human cases

of West Nile virus disease reported to,

from these counties.

And also in 2025, 85 human cases

of West Nile virus disease have been reported

from 19 counties of the 85 cases.

78, which is 92% had neuroinvasive disease

and eight, 9% which were fatal.

And so the median age of the case patients

were 65 years and 53 of these case patients

were male.

In 2025, one locally acquired dengue case

has been reported from one county, LA County,

and this was locally acquired

and travel associated dengue cases,

which are indicated from the California Department

of Public Health.

There were a total of two new West Nile virus positive birds,

which were reported that week

from two counties, Orange and San Diego.

And with regards to mosquitoes,

polls West Nile virus, a total of six West Nile virus,

positive mosquito polls were reported this week

from LA and Orange, but with the countywide,

we have no West Nile virus to report.

That concludes my report.

Thank you.

At this point in time, we'll go to Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor.

Just a few quick announcements.

I will be at the National League of Cities

in Salt Lake City starting on Wednesday.

I will be attending the panel,

the Asian Pacific American Municipal Officers meeting.

I serve as the treasurer of that committee,

the consistent community group,

and I will be attending the human development

and the youth council and other sessions,

and I will report back on those.

Unfortunately, I will be away for the December 1st meeting.

I will be out of the country and will not have access to my email as often as I would like.

So just to let the community know that.

One of the things that I want to bring up, I know that it is evolving quickly in terms of,

since the government shutdown has been resolved-ish

is issues around food insecurity and access.

This is something that I've been actively working

with some organizations in the city,

particularly the Vietnamese American Community Center

of East Bay that serves hundreds of API folks weekly

as well as the San Leandro Food Pantry.

I want to encourage the community to visit their websites.

VASIP would really appreciate gift cards to be able to give to their families while the

resource center can work with families to be able to get them food as assistance.

And the San Antonio Food Pantry has almost doubled in the number of people that visit

them on every week.

Just this last Thursday when it was raining, they still had 316 people show up.

They are a nonprofit organization that is volunteer run.

And so I encourage anybody to give, especially recurring donations to support them.

One of the other things, if people want to reach out to me, I am working to find ways to potentially do a grocery buddy project to support families,

especially our most vulnerable folks that are in mobile homes with mobility issues.

and obviously with not just food insecurity,

but income inequity and difficulty meeting our most basic needs.

So I welcome people to be able to do that.

I also wanna let people know that if you have kids in schools,

the district is doing Know Your Rights training

in English and Spanish.

I wanna encourage people to continue to educate themselves

and their neighbors to reach out

to ensure that people are doing well.

Things may not be front and center in the news here,

but certainly things are still happening.

And to stay informed and prepared

because we will need to help each other.

And the best way to do that is to reach out to your neighbors.

Finally, I have been getting a lot of emails

about the status of the MacArthur Roundabout.

And I just want to remind folks

that there are timely updates

that are put on the public works page.

An update is actually scheduled to go up this week.

So to continue to check that as well.

And that is the last of my comments.

Thank you.

At this point in time, we go to council member Simon.

Thank you.

I would like to appreciate vice mayor's comment

on food insecurity.

I have a similar comment.

This is, I went to a Mission Bay Mobile Home Residence Association meeting this past weekend.

Had a lot, heard a lot of good comments about their concerns on a mobile home rent stabilization ordinance, which we have heard for years now.

And I understand that once we, this council moves forward, if we so decide with the citywide stabilization ordinance sometime next year, mobile home rent stabilization would come to council.

that's my my hope and as far as the food insecurity we are seeing that as vice mayor

mentioned in the mobile homes residents associations such as mission bay also trailer

haven and a lot of them are putting their efforts into collecting food themselves and giving them

out to neighbors so that's just one thing wanted to bring to folks attention if they'd like to

assist with those in need. Many in the mobile home parks are feeling that considering SNAP and

those programs have been eliminated during the past shutdown. Something else I would like to share

and I'm going to start this off by saying even though I have only one vote on this council

and the city attorney rich pierrotto has told me this that i have a voice i believe that for a while

however unfortunately on this council and in this city that is not quite true both in open session

and even more so in closed session i will also note just today during this meeting at the end

of public comment at 8.06 p.m.

And I do appreciate public comment,

even though it's not in my favor

or someone else's favor.

Good dialogue is appreciated.

However, when a member of the public walks out

and gives me the finger,

and my colleague, the finger is completely inappropriate.

And when you're watching this video,

you are going to know who you are because we saw you.

I would like to reiterate the rules here

for council chambers expectations of decorum we we respect your right to participate as citizens

but we expect you to be courteous and polite to the council city staff and other members of the

public i'll reiterate that gives you no right to give me the finger my colleague or anyone else

you were pointing that at today i will also say that our city is experiencing self-inflicted wounds

It is time to stop subjecting our city and our residents and businesses to loss of time and resources.

It diverts the city's attention away from getting work done and instead leads to highly volatile publicly aired personnel matters.

It is divisive and contentious and frustrates council and staff to work together.

Nearly two years have been spent on these publicly aired personnel issues.

I even had a constituent tell me yesterday a concern she had for my safety, saying I shouldn't even ride my bike around town anymore because she doesn't know what's going to happen.

This is how bad it has gotten.

However, I will continue to ride my bike around town.

Three points I'd like to state.

Number one, in closed session, I do not feel comfortable with speaking even on seemingly non-controversial topics or subjects.

as there is no recording as things are misrepresented and untruths told.

Therefore, I am requesting that all closed session meetings are recorded

and these recordings held by the city attorney indefinitely.

I am requesting a vote and I will submit that in writing as an urgent item,

be taken by counsel.

My question to staff and counsel, what is the problem with recording

if it's kept confidential by the city attorney?

What are you afraid of?

Number two, lack of confidentiality.

The history of San Leandro, 153 years, never done before to a council member.

Before myself and Council Member Aguilar, black and brown council members, have investigations been released to the public.

With by far most council members in the 150 year history all being white.

Not one has had their personnel investigation released besides me and Councilmember Aguilar.

I see this as do many in our community.

We see this as an act of discrimination, as a public lynching.

And we are all here over the past months and year, two years, may I continue,

debating these matters in open session, never before in the 153 years here,

never before in the 153 year history because I'm a black man.

The city's review during an anti-slap motion that's filed,

and this is a publicly available document,

and I have a copy of a few excerpts for our council

if you hadn't had an opportunity to look at it.

There you go, if you could pass these out.

And members of the public, if you'd like a copy,

I'm going to sit right here.

With the city's review of the anti-slap motion that was filed in Superior Court,

and again, this is a publicly available document,

formal legal proceedings in Superior Court with formal evidence,

unlike the Butorud former city manager internal investigation completed with no formal evidence,

no documents under oath. It's pretty clear that the city's anti-slap legal position is accurate

and that I and council member Aguilar were acting within our roles as members of the council.

As stated in the court filings and I and I and it did not warrant a censure

and a reverse of the censure and an apology are due to both Councilmember Aguilar and I

and should be completed as soon as possible.

I repeat, the anti-slap motion clearly states that Councilmember Aguilar and I

were well within our roles as Councilmembers in our interactions with the former City Manager.

And I'll direct you, if you're interested to see, in this document,

I have pages 1 and 2 and page 20 with the summary conclusion attached.

And I'm going to go ahead and read the conclusion.

It says the plaintiff, which is the former city manager,

her complaint demonizes the city council members, Simon and Aguilar,

for engaging in conduct that is quintessentially protected by the First Amendment.

Plaintiff cannot identify a single example of conduct taken outside of the council member's scope of official duties

and beyond their capacity as elected officials advocating for the constituents' needs.

nor can plaintiff point to a single law, statute, or ordinance prescribing the council members' conduct beyond vague references to the city charter.

The plaintiff advocates for a deeply unsettling precedent of punishing city officials for conduct necessary to Maine a modern representative democracy.

last item i'd like to share going forward i do believe the council should make a policy

to never release public to the public personnel files unless by a court order

and this applies to everybody not just black and brown council members like council member

aguilar and i workplace investigations should be kept confidential

It diverts the city's attention away from getting work done to highly volatile personal matters.

It is divisive, contentious, and frustrates council and staff from working together as we've seen the past two years.

Plus, releasing the report to the public can impact the accuracy and validity of future investigations due to fear of lack of confidentiality.

note that there is a report online right now as we speak and it's been there for about a year and a

half from the former city manager investigation which could be impacting the current investigation

report i recommend changing the city's discipline policy and i'll be recommending this as an urgent

matter to reflect this however if the will the council decides to release the vice mayor's

investigation report, it should be released in its full unredacted version.

Full transparency, all details included so the public can fully understand what's happening.

Again, I repeat, full redacted, excuse me, fully unredacted version if the council so decides.

I'm also requesting that all these documents from the former city manager investigation be taken

down immediately from the city's website.

I'll also place that as an urgent matter.

As these have been posted out of malice

and the city has filed papers in court,

the anti-slide motion that I provided today

would show the opposite of the censure.

Thank you.

Thank you.

At this point in time, we go to Vice Mayor Bowen.

Thanks, Mayor.

I just want to clarify one thing in the comments.

When we refer to people of color that are brown or others, just to clarify, in case you didn't know, as an AAPI woman, especially as a Southeast Asian woman, I also identify as brown, just so that you understand who you're grouping and not grouping and calling out and not calling out.

at this point in time for other announcements and calendar items i see none so i will offer

a few of my own do we happen to know on wednesday did you get a reaction

okay so i do want to begin by thanking the recreation and parks department

they are they teamed with girls on the run bay area to bring 1500 runners and their parents and

coaches to the San Leandro marina on Saturday wonderful event there's a sign

up for the spring event I know that four schools out of the San Leandro

Unified School District participated and it was just great to see so many young

runners and so much energy out on the marina green I want to thank the library

staff specifically for for the the provision of a program to support Native

American Heritage Month. We talked about it last year that, hey, it would be nice to expand

that service because it's not just sufficient to do a proclamation here, but part of our mission

is to educate and to encourage. And to see that programming this year in response is greatly

appreciated. I spent some time with First Five Alameda County this week, specifically focused

on measure C funding measure C is funding that's collected by the county through the sales tax

process and advocating for San Leandro in particular to make sure that we get at least

our proportional share of the measure C monies and if not a disproportional share given the

significant number of children that are on free and reduced lunch here in the county I had the

opportunity to see those folks again at assembly member ortega's state of the district and again

re-emphasize this importance of recognizing who we are as a city our needs and making sure that

we are advocating for our fair share of the money veterans day i do want to thank the city staff we

had a city staff member come out and open up the senior center for the veterans day celebration

that's greatly appreciated we lit up our city hall this year in green and so thank you councilman

bolt for bringing that idea to to us and thank you for city staff for making that happen

i represented the city at the national data ecosystems roundtable in oakland where folks

from washington dc came out to really try to understand how local agencies governments

need access to national data, what data sets need to be created, and how to really answer questions

that local governments face around things like empty properties, properties that are being acquired

by investors but are not really being occupied and the like. I do encourage residents, particularly

our senior residents, we have on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so not this Wednesday, but

the next Wednesday, we will have at the Senior Center a meal for community members that are

seniors. I believe they ask you just to help them plan accordingly to register online. I'm not

positive about that, but do look on our website for more information. And the last thing that I'll

highlight is just the number of ribbon cuttings and visits to businesses that are growing in our

city we have um uh rody roly or roly roti coming into san leandro expanding their operations

significantly in our city it was great to see their land their um manufacturing line expansion

here all they could do was gush praise about all the support that they got from the city

in expanding manufacturing here great to be at panda express for their ribbon cutting they were

very excited to keep growing in San Leandro. Carrington College was excited about the growth

that they're doing here in San Leandro and how good the city staff has been to work with.

And then Sprouts, I mean, that was the cream of the cream, the top, the best. It was an amazing

day to see literally, as you were saying, I think 500, between 400 and 500 people lined up just to

get in, to just be in that moment. It's like opening day at a new baseball season or something

where people just go for the experience.

And to see that level of excitement

is just a wonderful thing in our city.

So thank you for all the people

that have worked so hard over so many years

in support of all of these businesses

and other businesses

as we continue to expand economic growth

in the city of San Leandro.

The time is 9.26 and we are adjourned.