Walnut Creek City Council Concurrent Regular Meeting – May 5, 2026
Walnut Creek City Council Concurrent Regular Meeting – May 5, 2026
The Walnut Creek City Council held a special closed session at 5:00 PM concerning existing and anticipated litigation, followed by concurrent regular meetings of the City Council and Parking Authority at 6:00 PM. The regular meeting included proclamations, a consent calendar with numerous routine items, three public hearings, and councilmember reports. The meeting adjourned at 8:23 PM.
Consent Calendar
The consent calendar was approved in several parts. Items approved unanimously (5-0) included: approval of City Council minutes from April 21, 2026; acceptance of warrant registers and direct payroll transfers; adoption of Resolution No. 26-20 accepting the Walnut Creek Police Department 2025 Annual Military Equipment Report and renewing Ordinance No. 2215 and Policy No. 708; adoption of Resolution No. 26-21 authorizing a $2,900,000 loan from affordable housing funds to Satellite Affordable Housing Associates (SAHA) for the redevelopment of Sierra Garden at 150-170 Sierra Drive; authorization for the City Manager to enter into a Master Consultant Services Agreement with Noll & Tam Architects for the Heather Farm Park Phase 2 Aquatic and Community Center (not to exceed $1,100,000); authorization for a five-year service agreement with Accella for a Development Services Permitting System (not to exceed $871,883); authorization for a one-year extension with Versaterm for police dispatch and records management (not to exceed $222,025); and authorization for a three-year Enterprise Agreement with ESRI for GIS software (not to exceed $190,500).
Items 2c and 2d (entertainment zone ordinance and management plan) were pulled by Councilmember Silva for discussion. After staff presented amendments (including adding restroom requirements, clarifying hours, and specifying permit responsibilities), the council unanimously approved Ordinance No. 2256 and the Management Plan with those changes.
Item 2f (SB1 road repair projects) was pulled by Mayor Wilk. Staff confirmed that the Ignacio Valley Road project is scheduled for construction in 2027. The resolution listing projects for FY 2026-27 was unanimously adopted (Resolution No. 26-22).
Items 2g and 2h (city attorney and city manager contract amendments) were pulled by Mayor Wilk. The council approved Resolution No. 26-23 (Amendment No. 2 to the Professional Services Agreement with Redwood Public Law, LLP) and Resolution No. 26-24 (Amendment No. 8 to the City Manager Employment Agreement with Daniel P. Buckshi). These amendments include a 4% salary increase effective July 1, 2026, and an additional 3% increase effective July 1, 2027 contingent on satisfactory evaluations, as well as changes to severance and notice periods.
Public Comments & Testimony
During public communications, three residents (Joe Warren, Jan Warren, and Lisa Blanco) spoke about ongoing short-term rental violations at a property on their street, expressing frustration with the lack of enforcement and requesting clarity on city regulations. Mayor Pro Tem Francois requested staff return with information on short-term rental rules.
During the CDBG public hearing, Molly P. Clopp (Trinity Center board chair) and Matt Hulse (Contra Costa Senior Legal Services) spoke in support of continued funding, emphasizing the importance of services for vulnerable populations.
Discussion Items
- Entertainment Zone Ordinance and Management Plan: Councilmember Silva proposed amendments to the management plan to clarify permissible days, add restroom requirements, and ensure participating businesses have proper permits. The changes were adopted unanimously.
- CDBG Annual Action Plan: Staff presented the FY 2027 Community Development Block Grant funding plan with a total of $1,050,000 available. The recommended funding of $942,667 includes a return to a half-time core outreach team (shared with a neighboring jurisdiction) to right-size services. Councilmember Silva moved to direct staff to explore alternative service delivery models for outreach services, which was added to the motion. The resolution was adopted unanimously (Resolution No. 26-25).
- Safety Element Update: Staff and consultant Darin Neufeld presented the update required by state law. The update strengthens policies on natural hazards, climate adaptation, and evacuation planning. An errata sheet with minor corrections was provided. No public comments were received. The council unanimously adopted the Negative Declaration and General Plan Amendment (Resolutions No. 26-26 and 26-27).
- Energy Efficient Lighting Contracts: Public Works Director Rich Payne presented a proposal for sole-source energy services contracts with EcoGreen Solutions, Inc. for LED lighting upgrades at the Lesher Center, Walnut Creek Library, and Clay Arts Guild. The project is financed through PG&E's On-Bill Financing program, with an estimated cost of $444,000 and annual savings of $41,500. Councilmember Silva recused herself due to a potential conflict of interest (husband's PG&E retirement income). The resolution was adopted 4-0 (Resolution No. 26-28).
Key Outcomes
- All consent calendar items, including the entertainment zone, SB1 projects, and city attorney/city manager contracts, were approved unanimously.
- The CDBG Annual Action Plan and FY27 funding plan were approved, with a directive to explore alternative outreach service delivery models.
- The Safety Element Update was adopted, including a Negative Declaration and General Plan Amendment.
- The sole-source energy services contracts with EcoGreen Solutions were approved 4-0 (Councilmember Silva recused).
- Staff was directed to provide information on short-term rental regulations at a future meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Walnut Creek. Welcome to the Tuesday, May 5th, 2026, special meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council. This special meeting is called for the purpose of holding a closed session related to the following of a Chris Conference with legal counsel existing litigation and conference with legal counsel anticipated litigation. Under California law, public comments at special meetings are limited to subjects on the agenda only. Therefore, public comments will be received at this time for the item previously mentioned. Seeing nobody here, we will uh we will uh resume this meeting up in closed session and then be back for our opening session at 6 p.m. I'm Kevin Wilk, mayor of the City of Walnut Creek, and welcome to the regular meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council. The City Council is conducting this meeting from the City Council Chamber. This meeting is being video streamed and can be viewed live or later on the city's website. As some attendees may be participating in their first Walnut Creek City Council meeting, I wanted to welcome everyone and talk briefly about the public comment process. For each agenda item, there will be an opportunity for public comment on the item. Thus, if you desire to speak to an item on the agenda this evening, please hold your comments until the city council considers that item. Additionally, we have a section on the agenda titled Public Communications, which is for public comments for items not on the agenda. Any comments during public communication should not relate to an item that is on the agenda this evening. Consistent with section 9.5 of the city council handbook. 30 minutes will be initially allocated for public communications for items not on the agenda. Additional time for public communications for items not on the agenda will be provided at the end of the open session portion of the meeting if necessary. If you desire to provide a public comment, please complete a speaker identification card and line up behind the lectern at the appropriate time. Wait your turn, and then when you approach the lectern, please state your name and city of residence for the record. You will have two minutes to address the city council. Please keep in mind that this is a city business meeting. The city council has adopted rules of decorum to ensure that meetings are conducted efficiently and effectively, and that all members of the public have a full, fair, and equal opportunity to be heard. The city council handbook outlines decorum expected in the council chamber and can be found on our website. All remarks should be addressed to the city council. Please do not use threatening, profane, or abusive language, which disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the council meeting. Again, each speaker will have two minutes to make your remarks. Written comments submitted and received up to two hours before the meeting have been posted to the city's website for public review and are included in the meeting record, but will not be separately read into the record. So for any of you in this room, you're gonna see it live, and maybe we're gonna rely on you to tell everybody what happens. But in any case, so just hang tight about five more minutes. Thanks. So we're not going to be broadcasting. So he found a way to broadcast. It's just that the PowerPoint doesn't show. So what he'll do is once it's presenting, he'll come out with a camera. So it will be broadcasting. But the PowerPoint will be on a separate camera. Okay. Okay. All right. We're back. Uh we do a little bit of MacGyvering in the background. We'll let uh we'll make sure that there's this is going to be recorded as well, so people will see this. There'll be a broadcasting component to it, a little bit different than usual, but uh we're on. With that, good evening. I'm Kevin Wilk, mayor of the City of Walnut Creek, and welcome to the Tuesday, May 5th, 2026 concurrent regular meetings of the Walnut Creek City Council and Parking Authority. And would you all please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? One nation under God and indivisible with liberty and justice for all. And City Clerk Susie Martinez, would you please call the role on this Cinco de Mayo? Councilmember Darling. Here.
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