San Leandro City Council Regular Meeting - June 1, 2026
San Leandro City Council Regular Meeting - June 1, 2026
The City Council met on Monday, June 1, 2026 at 7:00 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers, with Councilmember Victor Aguilar participating via teleconference from Groveland, CA. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Juan González III, who led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call established all seven councilmembers present. The meeting covered a consent calendar, a public hearing on rental program fees and loan, a motion to reconsider a prior urgency referral regarding Lake Chabot Road, and various council reports and announcements.
Consent Calendar
- Approved unanimously (7-0): The consent calendar included:
- Adoption of a resolution to accept the Single Audit Report for FY2025 (Enactment Reso 2026-063)
- Acceptance of the 2026 First Quarter Investment Report (Reso 2026-064)
- Authorization to execute a Master Programs Funding Agreement with Alameda CTC for Measure BB and Vehicle Registration Fee funds (Reso 2026-065)
- Approval of on-call civil engineering consulting services agreements with nine firms, not-to-exceed $1,500,000 over three years (Reso 2026-066)
- Approval of the FY2027 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) project list funded by SB1 (Reso 2026-067)
- Appropriation of $250,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund for the Monarch Bay Drive Bridge Abutment Repair Project (Reso 2026-068)
- Acceptance of the 2025-2026 Board and Commission Report of Attendance (Min Order 2026-022)
- Approval of minutes from the May 18, 2026 City Council meeting and the May 27, 2026 Rules Committee meeting
- Public Works Director Sheila Marquises clarified that the SB1 funds for Lake Chabot Road Phase 1 (item 5e) are part of a $2.8 million project, with $2.09 million in federal grants and $720,000 in local match, including SB1 funds.
Public Comments & Testimony
- On non-agenda items (12 in-person speakers, plus virtual):
- Marikita Banks and others raised concerns about illegal parking signs near San Leandro High School; the Mayor stated the city is the entity responsible for parking signs, not the school district.
- Gloria Strom, Jack Strom, and Carol Haberkoss addressed a gender discrimination lawsuit settled for $335,000 and a $100,000 independent investigation, urging the Mayor to clearly state that harassment is unacceptable and outline concrete steps to ensure safety.
- Jenny Madsen and Craig Williams spoke in support of the rent stabilization program and urged the council to add a "just cause" eviction ordinance, citing examples from neighboring cities.
- Gunnar Hassam, Woody Square, Brian Sandine, and others urged the city to prioritize the long-delayed MacArthur roundabout project, citing safety concerns after multiple crashes at the intersection.
- On the Lake Chabot Road urgency referral (4 speakers):
- Janet Everett and Sarah Bailey argued the road is not an urgent priority, as it is already open for emergency use and the cost estimate has ballooned from $10 million to $15 million.
- Douglas Spaulding (virtual) criticized the geotechnical reports, noting the underlying rock is fractured and part of the Hayward Fault, making two-lane traffic infeasible.
Discussion Items
- Rent Program Fees and Loan (Item 8a): Staff presented a revised fee study, increasing the base fee for rent-stabilized units from $149 to $258 annually, with a proposed general fund loan of $2,230,500 at 4.03% interest (up from 3.76%) over six years. The ordinance would prohibit the 50% pass-through of the rent stabilization fee to tenants. Councilmember James Aguilar and Vice Mayor Viveros-Walton moved to adopt both the resolution and the ordinance; the motion carried unanimously (7-0).
- Reconsideration of Lake Chabot Road Urgency Referral (Item 10b): The Mayor filed a motion for reconsideration of the May 18, 2026 vote that deemed the referral urgent. The council voted unanimously (7-0) to reconsider the urgency question. On the substantive question of whether the referral was urgent, the council voted 3-4 (Ayes: Victor Aguilar Jr., Fred Simon, Sbeydeh Viveros-Walton; Noes: James Aguilar, Dylan Boldt, Xouhoa Bowen, Juan González III). The motion to accept the urgency referral failed, meaning the item will be placed on a future priority session rather than an immediate agenda.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously.
- Rent Program Resolution and Ordinance: Adopted (Reso 2026-069 & Ord 2026-007) establishing fees, amending the Master Fee Schedule, approving the general fund loan at 4.03% interest, and prohibiting the pass-through of the rent stabilization fee to tenants. The ordinance has a first reading; second reading scheduled for June 15, 2026, with an effective date of July 15, 2026.
- Lake Chabot Road Urgency: The motion for reconsideration passed, but the underlying urgency vote failed. The referral will be handled at a future priority setting session, not as an urgent item.
- Council Referrals: Councilmember Bowen submitted four future agenda items: a home hardening ordinance, a food service packaging reduction ordinance, a resolution reaffirming intent to construct the MacArthur roundabout, and an amendment to reduce solicitor hours. Councilmember James Aguilar and Bowen jointly requested a council self-assessment model.
- Upcoming Events: City Manager announced the Cherry Festival on Saturday, June 6, 2026, and the new Chief Technology Officer, Alicia Hernandez, began on May 26, 2026.
The meeting adjourned at 9:40 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, so it is seven o'clock, and I am calling to order the City of San Leandro City Council meeting. Today is Monday, June 1st, 2026. At this point in time, if you're able to stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance, please do. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. Madam Clerk, would you please take our role to establish quorum? Councilmember James Aguilar. Council Member. Present. Councilmember Bowen. Present. Council Member Bolt. Here. Vice Mayor Vivero Swalton. I would like to tell my son that I am present at work. Thank you. Uh Councilmember Aguilar, Victor Aguilar, if you are on the Zoom call. We are looking for you. Councilmember Victor Aguilar is presently absent. Thank you. And I am present. Just saying. Let's have some fun. Okay, so a couple of announcements. First item 10A. The appointment swearing in of a new youth advisory commission has been removed from the agenda as the appointee is graduating from high school and is no longer eligible to be part of the youth advisory commission. For item four A, our proclamation recipient is going to be a little bit delayed, and so we'll just kind of handle that. We'll try to weave that in when the recipient arrives. And for this evening, we have a presentation that was scheduled under 9A that's relatively short. And I'd like to move this up to section four in recognitions because this is basically a recognition of city staff and great things that are happening in the city. And so if there are no objections to that, we will move that item into uh our slot number four for our agenda. Okay. Madam Clerk, your announcement, please. If you would like to make 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, then wait for public comment on that item to be called. 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 we'll 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 comment on items not on the agenda, 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 will be another chance to do so after item 12, the city Council reports. Okay, at this point in time, we'll move to our closed session report. Was there any reportable action taken? No reportable actions were taken in closed session. Direction was provided to staff. Thank you for that report. So at this point in time, we will take our agendized item on the recognition, the presentation from the California Association of Local Economic Development. I believe that we do have uh economic development manager Katie Bowman who's going to make the introductions to get us rolling on this item.
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