e suggested that the west walkway will provide wave force mitigation And will protect against pilings or sorry marine debris damaging pilings Particularly under those buildings where they can't be repaired But nonetheless in conversations and through the the public comment that we've heard We feel it important to To offer the opportunity, you know to put it forward the opportunity for counsel to decide from a policy standpoint Is now the time to consider that is it really the right thing for the wharf? There's certainly no money attached to it at this point And so the the staff recommendation has been revised to include a third option Which would be to remove both the landmark building and adopt alternative to removing the west walkway And then providing a staff direction to make conforming changes to the master plan and look into alternative Alternative options to achieve those same defensive functions Without the You know perceived impacts and negative connotations of the the west walkway So that is before counsel Um, and what that means is that with the alternative chapter should you choose to adopt it the landmark building would be removed Although the the plan still anticipates that future development will be needed at the end of the wharf Whatever that may look like in the future In order to provide the resources and the the functions to sustain that end of the wharf However, it calls for a new public process to determine what that looks like how it is It doesn't point us towards a large building As the end goal and it ties that need to that development to the wharf needs not a speculative building based Without a use And most importantly it focuses on the human experience at the end of the wharf. It says that's what we need to prioritize Those functions needs and experience And then the second would be if you were to adopt the alternative to We would not receive the the protection as we mentioned from marine debris Or the dissipative, uh function against wave action Which which continues to or will continue to present risks to the buildings and the pilings beneath them As you can see here at the capitol of wharf, uh, the outer function or the outer stretch of of decking there provides such Disappation and protects the building From those waves although the angle of attack is a bit different on the west side of wharf admittedly at the time being but Nonetheless the function is a sort of a trident true marine engineering approach And we also won't get the sort of that defensive barrier to absorb over topping which ends up with the Sort of the lateral and downward force of wave action Against buildings and things so we did see that in action in january when the the wharf hq was hit And it damaged the the sliding door and flooded their break room. So it does happen And the west walkway was intended to protect against those But we've heard very loudly people's concerns and questions and we offer You know council the policy decision today And just a quick example. This is uh, when we consider the west walkway the the views Study in the in the ar at the bottom there The white railings that are shown are really there for contrast to help you understand Where it would be But the master plan actually proposed minimalist railings Sort of things to try and make it less visible And then you can see up the top the just sort of the line a little close-up of where it might be and And what that implication might be for views in and underneath those pilings in between Looking forward In any path should you adopt the wharf master plan today in any fashion whether it's modified or not The next steps will be to prepare a public works plan with the coastal commission And then we expect to come back in february with news on a Grant we've been working with the coastal conservancy on To provide resilience funding that would repair the east parking lot Or at least the outer section of the east parking lot Would fund the wharf interpretive plan Would lead to the outreach permitting and engineering for the east promenade the small boat landing south landing in the entrance gate relocation And would fund Together with the city match the entrance gates relocation to reduce those traffic impacts So the coastal conservancy is very excited about this opportunity But we need a master plan in place for particularly for the planning elements The east parking lot and things were you know some of this work The the immediate repair falls within our maintenance permits So we should be able to move quickly apace with that And then the the other elements are are planning in design and would follow up with the coastal And then throughout all of it there will be many opportunities ahead going for additional community engagement and design input on any of these elements Having resources to actually do the design and engineering and bring them off the from the vision page to reality Means we'll be able to engage the community and really get the pieces and the details of what they want And what will make it a great place for all of us Um, so here's just a list of many of those opportunities that we expect to see And then i'll leave it on the uh the staff recommendation or the revised recommendation for for council consideration Mr. McCormick, thank you very much. Thank you to the entire team over economic development public works All the other agencies have been involved or departments as city government quite well done long time in the process and Uh, very much appreciate that matter. Let me ask if council members have questions or comments on this item Miss brown I do. Thank you. Um, I have some comments as well reserve. Um, the The image you showed of the capitol awarf was a jarring one and I the question of overtopping is is obviously a concern um How tall is the cap how high are the pilings on the capitol awarf? My understanding is the deck level of the capitol awarf is about 19 feet 19 feet And relative to the city of sanikers just for the public. Yeah, and ours is I believe 23 At the bottom of the deck. Okay um, thank you I think I'll leave it there for now. I have other questions may arise. Thanks for the questions to comment at this point Before we go to public comment This would be the opportunity for anyone to comment on this item Uh, we'll alternate my guess is please come up. My guess is we're going to have people online. Is that correct miss bush? Miss green site. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, ma'akiri before You'd start my time. Uh, I had to ask for extra time. Could you let me let me announce how that works? Typically under our rules of procedure Uh, a request for additional time needs to be in by a certain time on sunday prior to a tuesday meeting However, that was not done in this case However, miss greenside has been so deeply involved with this for so long It would seem inappropriate not to grant your request for some additional time. So please proceed Five minutes, uh, a reasonable time. Thank you. I have timed it and hopefully it will Uh, so could I oh does the time? Oh, it's already started. I haven't started. Don't worry about it. Just Thank you very much Well, ma'akiri and uh, vice mayor golder and council members My name is jillian greenside and i'm speaking on behalf of the community group don't morph the wharf The overwhelming majority of the community is opposed to specific parts of the wharf master plan as reflected in the emails you receive for this hearing The lowered west side walkway is a major focus of community opposition Including that of the sierra club the santa cruz bird club your historic preservation commission As well as a central issue for the courts The last minute letter you secured from a bird biologist Said the assessment of the west side walkway impact on the migratory Pigeon geelamots is speculative In this case, it seems a correct speculation The three biologists who studied these birds on site for the environmental impact report stated and I quote It was noted repeatedly during nesting season Observations that pigeon geelamots often require multiple attempts at landing in the confined Cavity spaces under the wharf before successfully reaching their destination end of quote To put in their way a fixed below deck barrier with people and activity may well be the tipping point The letter from the fire chief written on november 6 after all public hearings were over Explains that the fire boat an important fire fighting resource for the wharf was liquidated due to age That its replacement is a priority The chief writes if the west side walkway is excluded from the plan Then the acquisition of a new fire boat becomes a must Since there has never been a west side walkway And if kept in the plan construction of such walkway is years away shouldn't this must Be immediately addressed As a reassuring counterpoint the engineering report concluded that Existing fire suppression and alarm system are in overall good condition and tested regularly Recommendations include limiting boat mooring near the wharf that's on the west side to reduce risk of ignition There was no mention of the west side walkway in terms of fire safety This leaves the questionable issue of the west side walkway acting as protection for the current wharf piling The recent damage to the pilings next to the dolphin restaurant and perhaps underneath it has nothing to do with global warming For the engineering report Divers examined each of the four and a half thousand wharf pilings They found 95 in good or excellent condition The five percent needing replacement were pin pointed on a map with red dots and some have since been replaced The rest have not Including the ones earmarked for replacement that failed near the dolphin restaurant at the end of the wharf The conclusion is clear and has nothing to do with climate change Or the other 95 percent of wharf pilings in good condition And it should not be misrepresented to promote the wharf master plan In 1913 Master engineer Henry J. Brunier It was said spent a year on beach hill observing the waves and ocean conditions Before designing the wharf He positioned the thousands of Douglas fir pilings at 23 feet above mean low lower water level That was not arbitrary It allowed even large waves to pass between beneath. This is a critical point. I'm sorry. I'll start that again This was not arbitrary. It allowed even large waves to pass beneath the deck of the wharf So that their force would largely be Unobstructed although some of the force would be absorbed by the pilings. I'm almost finished His design has stood the test of time In fact 110 years of time this year Don't assume that today's storm waves are bigger than in the past Big boy stagnaro would regale me with stories of the massive waves at the wharf in the 1940s A lowered walkway Acting as a barrier in the face of big waves Staff claims will absorb the wave energy and protect the wharf pilings under the restaurants That conclusion neglects the reality of how energy is dissipated Once wave energy meets a barrier that force must go somewhere If it cannot pass under the wharf It will be absorbed by the west side walkway demolishing it as fast as you can repair it Since the west side walkway is attached to the wharf Some of that Let me just point out. So you were granted five minutes. You're about five minutes and 30 seconds into your five minutes So if you could wrap it up, that'd be great. We'll wrap up. I'm right near the conclusion. Thank you Since the west side walkway is attached to the wharf some of that energy Will also dissipate onto the wharf rather than passing under it. Mr. Brunier must be turning his grave At this unwise alteration to his design that has stood the test of time in conclusion The ball is in your court We have made it clear that we will not pursue further legal challenge If you drop the west side walkway from the plan This offer is made in the spirit of compromise Protecting our historic wharf and reflects widespread community support. Thank you for your consideration Thank you, miss greenside We'll take the person online person online Good afternoon excuse me Excuse me. We're having a council meeting here if you want to have a conversation take it outside Next person online It's Bradley Snyder again. The wharf truly is a unique part of Santa Cruz. It's an engineering marvel It's It was a very strange working at the dolphin restaurant at the end during January of 2016 when Pokemon go It was a big craze so I'd get off work at 11 p.m.  But in all seriousness It's one of I think eight or nine different wharf or pier structures. It's the longest pier on the west coast of Of the united states to my knowledge It's um It's the sixth pier at that location It's bent at the end because uh, that used to be Dock for steamships in 1914 So it's a pretty unique, uh, you know a heritage.  I mean you yourself you you are the landlords I you know one thing I think would be cool or fun is, uh, you know that to have a charity swim from the The jetty at the uh, uh, the harbor to the to the wharf, uh, the landing on the wharf You know, uh, it's only about two miles in the wharf itself. So only, you know, uh, half mile long But, um, you know, if you got a lot of, uh, um Students involved, I think it'd be a lot of fun. You could you could do a lot there. Um, I don't know for a long time There were many many vacant, um Restaurant locations on the wharf. They had all all kinds of problems. So Um, the wharf really does need renovation I personally would like to see uh pedestrian access between seabright beach and main beach If you connect the two beaches I think that just as an engineering, uh, you know, uh, I mean a trivial compared to building the wharf, but, um, as an engineering suggestion, um, you know, allowing people to go from main beach over to seabright beach beach and vice versa at now the, uh The walkway onto the promontory. That's something I've spoken many times in front of council I see I have 17 seconds left But I really do feel pedestrian should have access If limited access because obviously, um, you know, the old, uh walkway was taken out for a reason But I do feel there should be walk, uh walkway access out there onto the promontory. Thank you Thank you very much Good afternoon Well, my name is still James Ewing Whitman. Sorry for any disruptions. Somebody put some tape over where I was sitting Where to begin everybody likes stories I think some of my earliest memories of being in california were on that wharf and that's 50 years ago I think my next earliest memory was accidentally sitting on a red ant hill when I was still in diapers Yeah, we have memories So I think it's great the previous speaker who spoke for, uh More than five minutes. She talked about some storms in the 40s You know, that's one of the reasons nasa was created And I think it's amazing that this thing is in the condition that it's in and it's Was I think built in 1913? There's 4500 Pilings only five percent are damaged Um, you know, I'll get to A suggestion about there should be some really Good fire protection on that wharf at all times Um What else? You know, it seems like some further protection to the wharf would quite would be quite useful and since 95% of those pilings are in good shape um There are reasons why the weather is the way it is Just like there's reasons why the weather was the way it was in the 40s A lot of people are talking about different sun cycles now where we're going to have weather that we really haven't seen in 2000 years So if uh 2024 has Some really wild weather 2025 will be even more So back to uh, the you know the fire protection. I mean, I actually own and have in my possession to military marine hail portable fire pumps They're rated to pump 150 psi 250 gallons a minute They weigh less than I do Individually, so um, maybe I'll try to get a hold of them because they're just sitting in storage and they're really quite beautiful tools A little hours on them. So I appreciate the the information and uh Preventive maintenance is pretty important, but I'm blown away that that's lasted as long as that's amazing Thank you, sir Another person online. We'll take that person then we'll be right with you person online. Good afternoon three two one Come forward Good afternoon. Good afternoon mayor vice mayor of household members. Thank you for listening to me My name is peter drawback and my family owns and I operate two restaurants out on the wharf Riva fish house and mackay island kitchen My father martin drawback started riva fish house in 1981 with janet and katara stagnero We've been operating continuously for more than 42 years there mackay opened in 2020 in may in the dark days of the pandemic, but we're about to hit our four year in may So we're very proud of serving both the locals and the visitors to santa cruz I've been coming to santa the santa cruz wharf since 1973 when my family moved us here and so For most of us who've been coming for that long who've seen it seen that it has changed over the years not all of it's for the better But it has changed and that's the natural process for public institutions and landmarks It is a cherished landmark. It is an important historical It's an important historical landmark and I actually think that it is an important commercial center as well So that's why i'm here to urge that the council approve and the wharf master plan Having worked on the wharf for the last 10 years one of the things that's become A new experience for me is seeing how important the wharf is as a commercial hub We all know about the recreational opportunities The historical significance the sentimental value of the wharf, but it's actually a really important commercial center and you know, David mentioned Some of the figures, but you know my two small restaurants alone employ more than 115 people at any given time And our payroll just last year was more than three million dollars All of that goes back into the community We spend several hundred thousand dollars a year in rent to the city And we're happy to be in partnership with the city and in fact, I would like to thank David and his team For being such good stewards of the wharf. I enjoy working with him and we consider the city to be partners with us in this But while it's an important commercial center, it's an important recreational center to be blunt It is a decaying and underutilized asset right now It has the potential to be so much more than what it is And it needs the investment and the strategic plan to make it what it could be The wharf could be so much more It could be a destination for shopping, sightseeing Dining And in many other things And all these things are harmonious with each other and they interact to create a really vibrant community resource And I think that um I'm hoping that with the adoption of the wharf master plan that it not only increases the activity on the wharf But it also ends up increasing the activity on the wharf on a year round basis And that's the most important thing for those of us who do business on the wharf The wharf does not generate enough traffic in the off season currently To make it economically feasible for some of us to be out there And I would just like to conclude that um If if if this is approved the wharf master plan specifically addresses that and provides an opportunity for a year round Environment community and for that reason I request that the council approve the plan Mr. Joe back. Thank you and thank you for your to your family for the investments You made and all the good works that the families have done over the years. Thank you so much for that We're very glad to partner up with you Ms. Bush, do we have anyone else online? We'll do the next person online. Good afternoon three He needs unmute Good afternoon. Hello Hello, we can hear you Hi, my name is Charles Meyer and I am a business owner in the wharf as well and A person that's growing up in in Santa Cruz my whole life and I just want to say that I support um the wharf of development and making it a safer place and Making it nicer and upgrades. Um, there's a lot of people I think that I've kind of stopped going to the wharf over time because it has kind of gotten a little dated and um And older and I think there's plenty of people that visit Santa Cruz that also have um Kind of gone away from the wharf because of it's been needing updating so I think that I mean I support moving forward with the the master plan and in one of the aspects that you choose is back at you guys today, but um, also I want to um Also Bring up the point that I think that if you do develop the wharf a little bit more that in the off season Which is really challenging for businesses out on the wharf that um, it will become more of an environment where it's a year around business for people and more viable um, it's very challenging for Half of the time of the year on the wharf for I think all businesses out there. So I would like to to just say that I support the plan. So thank you very much Well, thank you very much. Good afternoon Welcome Mayor counsel My name is john bombachi. I'm the most recently retired wharf supervisor Uh, I just like to say there's so much that I could say about the wharf master plan I've poured so much of my life into it um Total agreement with the the speakers that In support before You've read my letter. I presume and you've seen my my editorial in the sentinel this morning um, I want to get right to the west walkway and I want to I want to make you aware of something If you ever know if you've ever been to stag narrows restaurant and you look to the west side Okay, that is the wisdom of the two supervisors prior to me And the public works department and jim fene the wharf engineer at that time okay That's essentially the west walkway that section of it that was always Imagine to be continued and there's a good reason for it if you look at the damage to the dolphin today How would we proceed to fix that without a path to that construction site? And without a staging area for it Okay, that that is just a huge reason to put that west walkway there in addition The west walkway what is needed on the wharf right now Is a way to contain lateral movement in what I believe is going to be much more frequent and severe winter storms It's something I think the wharf can weather quite well if if we take the precautions that have been outlined in the wharf master plan essentially In circling the wharf in new construction using the advanced materials that we have today to Tie into the shear panel that is I mean We can talk pilings But what the wharf is in more danger from is from having it losing its shear Because then you don't just lose you'll start to lose sections of the wharf You won't just lose a pile here or there You'll have entire sections starting to come loose basically the deck is what holds that wharf together Now that deck is in really bad shape through a lot of the wharf right now because Of the fasteners that were used during the time it was constructed They're corroded because we haven't had proper protection of the decking It hasn't been sealed off from weather. So there's a lot of dry rot there. So basically what you're having is you're having a Corrosion of of the wharf shear panel The city doesn't have The money take take a few Please continue. Okay. The city doesn't have the money To address that as rapidly as it needs to be fixed Surrounding that wharf In new construction will go a long way to dampening The lateral motion that's tearing at it right now. It buys you time Not only does it buy you time It gives you additional public access area and staging area for construction But mostly public access which can't you then can Apply for grant funding for Grants don't They don't fund maintenance. I know this after being out on the wharf for 40 years. I know this I've tried Okay, but what they will fund is new public access. They'll they'll They want to hang their name, you know granting agencies want to hang their name on something like that And it's a win-win You need more space out there for not just for the audience that exists not to mention, you know a future visitors coming from A regional area a regional area that burgeoned I built Or was I won't say I built I was part of the construction crew That made the additions to The wharf in the 1980s and I can't tell you how much time that has bought already in terms of The wharf stability I just urge you to to approve this plan as it is And and i'm not going to threaten litigation if you don't Okay John thank you for all the years the wisdom the experience the heart and soul. Thank you very much for doing all that john Someone online nobody online Good afternoon Hello, thank you for your consideration of this important decision regarding changes To a beloved a beloved historical landmark in our community I'm Andrea Rosenfeld and I've written all of you previously with my views So I don't need to reiterate all of my points again I'd just like to urge you to accept the proposed option c as an alternative that was presented today for the current Wharf master plan I believe the necessity and function of the western walkway despite with this gentleman spoke of and despite the fact that he's an expert Um have been misrepresented and they're they deserve further study And there are alternatives to protecting the wharf That should be Studied and we need time for that I'm appreciative of the city's proposal that was made today to eliminate the western walkway And for sure the landmark building Which I believe finally Addresses many of the concerns that the community members have expressed throughout the process. I know that the process Solicited opinions of the community, but I do not feel that the community's Opinions have actually been taken into account In the process in a way that it we it should have been so I am appreciative that that Option was presented today because I do Feel that is it reflects the community's opinion I just want to urge you in a way that does reflect the concerns that the community has put forth And I look forward to opportunities that we can have as a community to discuss Options in a new plan, which I know will go forward which can be discussed along the way So I do agree the wharf needs to be updated But we can do it in a mindful way that doesn't hurt wildlife that doesn't eliminate Fishing spots for people that won't necessarily have access on the walkway And we can do things that's a better fit for this community. Thank you Well, thank you very much anyone else online Good afternoon. Welcome Afternoon Mark Gilbert. I'm the owner of the dolphin and firefish And I'm going to keep this really short because it's very nerve-wracking for me I'm in support of the master plan and I think everybody's in agreement to Fix this this wharf up as we go along. So That's my two sets Mark, thank you very much for your constant investment And that beef in the wharf. I've been there since 1980. Yeah, thank you very much. I started as a dishwasher There we go. And uh I still am a dishwasher now that I think about it Okay, guys. Thank you mark. Thank you, sir Good afternoon and welcome Thank you My name is david johnston I own the kayak shack out on the wharf. I've been out there for 30 years Uh caught my first fish on the wharf and I'm from Santa Cruz and you know Top three destination in Santa Cruz over three million visitors. I see it every day people are thrilled to be out there Last year we lost our landing The year before we lost the landing and the stairs to large waves and I see the frequency of these Large storms increasing and I think, um Well, I was concerned at first about the west, um walkway I I was concerned about the roundabout in front of the wharf. I thought that was going to be Armageddon, but it turned out to be great But uh, I come to believe I think that the west walkway will improve the structure of the wharf I was encouraged to see some of those pictures today that the west walkway has not The whole length of the wharf and the proportion of The length there is not as big as I thought Perhaps it could be even smaller. I don't know to affect the pigeon guillomots in some way, but um I'm encouraged by by what I saw today and I encourage you to Go ahead and pass the What we have before you Whether the west walkway is included um in some modified farm I think that's Could also be at a later date Thank you for being such a good partner. Thank you for your investment Mr. Myberg, good afternoon Good afternoon, mr. Mayor city council. Um, thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak on this I am gratified that the landmark building has been removed from consideration That seemed quite inordinate Um, I feel that the west side walkway That more work should be done at the very least on that Maybe an abbreviated version Maybe an elimination for the reasons that more of the wharf people have said Um, I'd like to bring A perspective though to the wharf for someone who at some time in life Couldn't afford to even the parking or the entry that is required today This was a place where we would save so we could go with our two kids and have fish and chips And it was great and I think that whatever we do In terms of planning on the wharf has to be seen also through the issue of social justice There are people that have used that wharf as we did and love it and entitled to the recreational abilities fishing and The problem with upgrade although very necessary in terms of stability structural It sometimes interferes with access So it really encourages the city council to bear that in mind We are a community that supports social justice one word of caution In terms of building landings to accommodate more boats or whatever it is In moss landing where the sea harvest is They invested a lot of money into a smaller landing that would accommodate kayakers small boats That landing in a very short time was occupied by seals And I mean really occupied three deep The people who built it put in a gate to try and stop that The seals overwhelmed the gate That expensive landing has been dismantled And so the one change that we need to bear in mind as we look at the historical concept and I looked at all the diagrams They're not showing the seals So anything we build out there will be an invitation to seal habitat There are rules governing what we can do once that's established So please bear that in mind as we go forward. Thank you very much for the opportunity to talk to you Thank you Mr. Erd welcome. Good afternoon, sir. My name is john erd. I've been involved in this Pretty much from the beginning, you know, we've been at this for uh, I think 10 years And I've watched uh, mr. McCormick. He is a spell-binding by Spell-binding speaker But that doesn't change the facts here number one In the objectives for this plan There is nothing about The the need the absolute requirement for structural safety That's pretty striking There's also nothing in the objectives. Now. These are the staff created objectives There's nothing in the objectives about preserving and protecting Uh, the this iconic landmark So it's not too surprising that you'd have a plan that is economically driven Even though they don't have anything in it about other than the whole thing will cost 27 million dollars There's nothing in which in it which shows a return on investment. That's pretty surprising The bottom line is this It's a plan that this community does not support The western walkway has received Uh, a massive amount of pushback for the reasons that uh, that you're well aware of um The sequel lawsuit that the city is facing said specifically that Alternative two was preferable And that the staff that the city had to prove its infeasibility That has not been proven There's an off ramp here The off ramp is the option that has been presented In the slide. I can't remember which slide it is which is to Uh drop the western walkway Take that off ramp If you take that off ramp as has been said before The the we will pull back On the the lawsuit We will go to the hearing before the sequo officer with the city And show tell them that we no longer oppose this and it will support it You know one of the united states' greatest Philosophers yogi bearer said When you come to a fork in the road take it I would take it Thank you, mr. Eric. Good afternoon, sir welcome Good afternoon, uh, honorable mayor and council members. My name is mark traving. I grew up here I had a career in local government southern california, so I applaud all the Efforts that's gone into this by staff and council yet. I have some concerns about the future of the wharf Um cities with more resources than santa cruz redevelop their waterfronts and in my view failed And I'm referring to san francisco's pier 39 in monterey's cannery row and They've turned into retail and and commercial and intern entertainment centers And i'm not sure that's what the community of santa cruz wants I'm not sure if they have a share a goal of increasing The number of uh foot traffic out there to two three four five million I'm not sure if they Wanted the wharf to be a commercial hub Um, you know to an economic development department. I can understand that You know, we would like to you know increase the revenue to the city and so forth But I think the trade-off for the intangible benefits Of historical aesthetics were lost in san francisco in monterey um So I I would agree with option c at this point that seems to be where they're there where we're at I would uh, I would like to see as least development as possible, but it's too late for that On the way here, I grabbed a painting that's been in my family for a long time of the wharf And I can imagine that with a stainless steel, uh walkway on the on it right now but I think that's the kind of wharf that the community and and Myself have uh value and so forth so um, the region the region has lost so much in the in the past uh year or two, you know, the big basin and the smith ship and urbanization of downtown and so forth and Work from an emotional point of view. Um, I give us something to hang on to Um So I think the wharf is a key part of the waterfront connecting the west cliff drive and the and the boardwalk and So I'd like to preserve that one aspect of Santa Cruz that we all love. Thank you very much Thank you, sir. Thank you for being here Miss bush anybody else online? Last call for anyone who would like to provide testimony on this item Seeing and hearing none the matter is back before the council. I'll recognize the council member for a motion the council member Newsome is Thank you, mayor keely. I'd like to make a motion uh to adopt the resolution adopting the Santa Cruz wharf master plan and certifying the final environmental impact report adopt the resolution approving findings of facts and mitigation monitoring and reporting program for the santa cruz wharf master plan under, uh, california environmental quality act and three adopt the Santa Cruz wharf master plan subject to one of the following packages modifications proposed by the staff and I would like to make a motion for The package c or option c and Direct staff to prepare a public works plan with the coastal With the california coastal commission for implementation of the wharf master plan. Is there a second? There's a second by miss calntar johnson under debate and discussion mr. Newsome you may open on your motion. Thank you, mayor keely I want to first thank director libscomb and asset and development manager McCormick for their work on this project I think this plan is a really great work. It provides for a 20 to 30 year vision for an improvement to our wharf That I think sets up the wharf to thrive and to remain a vital iconic asset for our community to enjoy and take pride in Uh, as we heard there's a community concern with certain aspects of this plan and I appreciate those who showed up today And and express those concerns I think this direction addresses those concerns while allowing for much needed work that is needed on the wharf to begin And for exploration exploration into alternatives that could improve the lateral stability of the wharf But I really think this is a great plan overall and I think it will expand access to Recreation on and the economic vitality of the wharf and we'll preserve this iconic community asset for future generations to enjoy and take pride in And I support it. Thank you, sir further debate or discussion Miss bruner than the vice mayors recognize Thank you. I just have a comment as well. Thank you for everyone who reached out and provided input and feedback And thank you for the um updates. I think um, I'm Going to support the approval of the wharf master plan with this alternative and option c I think it's really important that um we provide uh integrity and structural support to our wharf and that we start investing in the backlog of needed love and um looking regards to the west west way walkway Um, you know, alternative structural support. I think um is the direction that we should be looking at. So, thank you Madam vice mayor Thank you. I associate myself with the comments that were previously made by my colleagues I would also like to just thank all of the business owners that came out And all of the investment you you do in into our community. I worked at the Miramar I worked at Riva and I do think uh, and I ate at macai of this last weekend. And so I just have to say we we um It is an asset to to us and um, also to visitors to Santa Cruz and so While I like the western walkway, I'm also going to support this because I think it's time that we move on We just need to protect the infrastructure and um, you know Um Move forward with the deferred maintenance and I acknowledge that you did make this motion several years back And I did not agree with you then but I agree with you council member brown. It's time. We move on. Let's do this Council member cal entire johnson is recognized. Thank you ditto ditto ditto. Um I do want to thank staff for all of your work and community members for the last decade of um, Your attention to this your patience with this and I think the thing that I really heard over the last Several weeks that I've been talking to community members and reading through letters and talking to folks and hearing folks today Is that we want to move forward? It's been too long. There's a lot of work that needs to be done And we owe it to the businesses on the wharf. We owe it to ourselves as a community and we owe it to our visitors to um Do the best that we can and move forward and I think this motion that my colleague a council member nusa made Is a good way to move forward. I appreciate staff working with us to bring something that I'm hoping we will all have consensus around Thank you for the debate or discussion miss walkins I'll just add because I want to offer my comments as well. I just want to thank everybody I want to thank our staff for the work. I know it's been an ongoing procedure and process and different iterations and ultimately I feel supportive of the direction we're going to be heading and I think it's a compromise one thing I hear loud and clear is just the love for the wharf Similar to council member vice mayor golder I grew up going to the wharf and as was mentioned it changes over the years I remember going to revist as a kid with my grandmother and she would sit and smoke at the bar the whole time That's very remember the whole time because that's when you could sit and smoke at the bar, right? And that and that has changed and that's how How how it goes and I think it's really important to Make these investments now I get to spend time on the wharf with my kids and junior lifeguards and jumping off and enjoying it and wanting to see it improved for the next generations of Santa cruises as well as visitors is a priority for us as a city But also as our community and so I hope that this moves forward and I hope to see these improvements happening Quickly and I appreciate the work that went into getting us to this place today. So I'll conclude my comments there. Thank you councilmember brown has recognized Thank you mayor. Um, thank you to our To dave mccormick and Sabrina teller our Staff and consultant here or legal council here today to walk us through this I I want to say I am I am so thrilled To be here at this point. Um, it you know four years later Are almost three three and a half years later to be at this place And I'm I'm fully supportive of this recommendation. I'm also thrilled that I'm just get to close my Copious notes of arguments about why I believe this is the right approach because you're convinced now and I appreciate staff for You know kind of finally getting with the the flexibility of this this political question that we have And the you know the the input we've received from our community I love the wharf it has changed and in many ways it hasn't and there are things about it that I think people love that you know, they want to see continue. It doesn't mean we can't make improvements Um that will benefit our whole community tourism, etc But um, it it will mean a lot for the people who Love the wharf and there are many. Thank you I just want to clarify for the record that the motion does include adopting the revised resolutions that were prepared To make it consistent with the direction given by the council with this revised motion. That is correct, sir Thank you for the debate or discussion Clerk will call the roll Councilmembers Newsom. Hi Brown. Hi Watch it Rinner. Hi Eulentary Johnson. Hi vice mayor Golder. Hi, Mara Keeley. Hi We're on item 28 Item 28 is an ordinance many chapter 5.11 Delivery driver tipping at section 5 point 1 1.030. Excuse me I I I I I Excuse me. We are still having a council meeting here. Yeah, I think we just have Thank you. Mr. Kandadi on the ordinance Yes, thank you. Um, this is a follow-up from action taken by the council at its December 12th meeting at which time After several months of work put in by an ad hoc committee composed of council members Watkins Calentary Johnson and Brunner the council finally adopted an ordinance adding chapter 5 point 1 1 to your municipal code the ordinance Is a novel ordinance as far as we can tell in the united states and it requires delivery companies to provide An option to their residential customers to enable the customers to tip their drivers for residential deliveries So the action that was taken by the council at the December 12th meeting was a culmination of In addition to several months of research and and work by the committee Outreach to the delivery driver Industry that was made That unfortunately did not generate a lot of input, but we did receive input from federal express or fedex I'll note that mickey aiden from fedex sacramento office is here this evening again In which and so During the course of this process We've met several times with representatives of fedex and they provided some valuable input That at the December 12th meeting resulted in the council directing that we bring back this ordinance that would amend chapter 5 point 11 as previously adopted essentially the amendment would Exclude from the ordinance delivery companies that do not both process orders and arrange for transportation or shipment of products As part of a single transaction. So companies like fedex and dhs would be Exempted from the ordinance, but companies like amazon zappos ebay would still fall within its its ambit and perhaps other Retailers that engage in both order and delivery service so we're here to Respond to the council's direction with a recommendation that you introduce this ordinance At this time and we would bring it back for final adoption at your January 23rd meeting happy to answer any questions or respond any comments Thank you. Mr. Kandadi are the questions of the city attorney on this item Seen here none this would be the opportunity if anyone wishes to testify on this ordinance This would be your opportunity to do so Do we have anyone online miss bush? Nobody with their hand raised no we do the matter is back before the council a motion would be in order I'll move the recommendation And thank you tony Motion by council member walken second by council member bruner under debate and discussion miss walkens You may open on your motion No, I just I don't think we've had many discussions at this time Or to this point on this item and i'm happy to Incorporate the input and appreciate the work of our city attorney and the office of the city attorney To make some of these Changes so that we can move forward and hopefully have Ordinance in place that will put more Money in the pockets of our delivery drivers who are often traveling from far distances and Could really use that and so Hopefully this will lead to Our residents feeling that they want to one be exposed to the option But hopefully being able and if able to contribute to supporting our drivers getting our packages So i'll leave it there and thank you to the council for all the discussion in the past to get us to this point Thank you so much for the debate or discussion Uh, I will say This is so you This is so you Uh Good work excellent work excellent work No further debate and discussion clerk call roll Council member newson i ground I I bruner i Calentary johnson i Face mayor golder. No And mayor keely. All right motion passes us awarded So let me Explain to folks how we are going to proceed this evening So we have two items left on our agendas today One I suspect is the resolution or the item that many of you are here on Following that item we have an item which is an appeal of a of a tree removal And that will be taken up after the resolution so on item 29, which is what I suspect you're here for We set that because Folks had asked us to do so We set it for a specific time and that time is five o'clock So what we can't do what we won't do is start early Because folks who wanted to come if we started early. Gee, I might have missed something So what we'll do is we are going to go into recess the council will recess Until five o'clock. We will all come back at five o'clock I'll explain to you the process We will go through at that time. We will hear Everyone whether you are here in person or you're Joining us online Everyone will have two minutes to make their presentations The council will then consider action I will explain all of that in some detail at five o'clock Uh, so what we are going to do now is recess until five p.m We will come back at that time and take up item 29 The hour of five o'clock having arrived the santa cruz city council We'll come to order and the clerk will call the roll Thank you mayor councilmember newson present brown. It's currently absent Watkins here Runner present elentary johnson present vice mayor golder here and mayor keely president quorum having been established We will proceed to item 29. This is a resolution affirming santa cruz commitment and support for a ceasefire and peace We have items submitted in writing by council members on this item What i'm going to do now is take a couple of minutes and explain for those of you Maybe who have not attended the city council meeting before how we proceed on such matters So what we'll be doing is we will first hear from council members Brown and bruner who have brought an item forward Once they have made their presentation. That is not a motion. That is not an action item They will simply explain what it is. They have done in the In the month or so since we were here last on this item Then what we will do is we will take public comment On this topic and that will take place in two ways one Those of you who are here who wish to provide testimony will take you one at a time for two minutes at a time We will alternate between that folks who are here and folks who are online We will alternate someone in person someone online someone in person someone online And we will stay here until everyone who wants to speak Who is present or online until everyone has had an opportunity to do that Two minutes at a time Then what will happen is the matter will be back before the city council When all the public testimony has been completed that will be the time I will acknowledge a council member for a motion Making a motion to do something this evening If that motion receives a second Then the maker of the motion has time to open on that motion There then can be motions to amend Substitute motions all kinds of procedural actions are available to the council at that point We will go through that until the council has taken Whatever action if any they wish to take on this matter So again, we'll open with the council members who were charged with bringing something forward We'll hear from all of you however long that takes Matter will then be back before the council. We will debate and discuss actions But I want to be really clear on a couple of of Items that would be helpful and I'm going to ask for your cooperation We're going to model for you The behavior we would expect back the other way and what I mean by that is we will give you our undivided attention Without interruption Every single person for two minutes All we would ask back is when the matter is back before the council that we get that same respect Which is to say that without Other interference with our work That we are able in your presence in public to have our debate and discussion on this topic So with that I will recognize council members bruner and brown to open on item 29. Thank you, mayor Thank you to community members and the public joining us here today. I'm actually pleased To see so many People here to express And give input on this very important topic So since our last meeting in december council member brown and I Set upon a task a monumental task of meeting with many many many people leaders community members in santa cruz to Craft what is before you today in the agenda packet And that is an expression of all the input that was received and that we heard We spoke to community members Who's shared we we heard so many stories We've also I know other council members as well have received many Hundreds of emails and Just sharing experiences of connections with family with loved ones with friends Who are directly impacted and so We heard many stories as well here in santa cruz Regarding Students who had incidents At school anti-semitism We heard of other people who had some discrimination experiences here in santa cruz We listened to people and their fear and their anxiety And People who Were muslim who were jewish We talked to many different folks Who really wanted their voices heard and so The listening that was done. I feel really Good about I feel that we heard from many of you We Were able to take pieces from Things people sent us via email things. They shared in person And we're able to take all of those pieces and create a A draft and from that draft We sent it out to a lot of the people that we Had met with and talked with some I see here in this room today and they provided further edits and input and And from that another draft was created and so on it was working draft until we submitted the Resolution that's in the packet today and Along the way, and I'll I'll keep it Quick But I think it's important that You know since I've been on council Uh I've really worked and strived to Create policies and to further support Equity and diversity here in santa cruz and what that means to everybody here Looks differently But we've taken significant steps I feel in recognizing Um We've officially declared racism as a public health crisis We've adopted a racial equity resolution support for black lives We stopping asian heat supporting our lgbtq plus community members in many ways, especially when there were national bands and I stand very firm in My dedication To the people of this city I am a council member because of the community and We received input from folks who really felt that us Creating this resolution Was not necessary to to voice anything with foreign policy or affairs And I just want to say on that point that the people of santa cruz are affected and that is our business Our business is with the people of santa cruz and we have to acknowledge all of the varied views and feelings and experiences and create safe spaces in our city and support All of the voices that that we've heard from With that being said We have received further input since the Draft resolution that we submitted Was posted the agenda report was posted. I believe thursday to the public And we've continued to receive further comments and suggestions for amendments and edits and I think for me today the most difficult thing is to word smith a A document on the dais In a formal process rather than a working dialogue and so I look at my my colleagues today and I know this has been a very Very hard process for for everyone and for all of you and I know that we can work through this and support the people of santa cruz in this and I appreciate I just want to say I appreciate everybody's input Into what created this voice of Peace really and I know a lot of the additional input that has come in has come from people that fear more divisiveness or or More polarization in our community and that is exactly not what we hope and we are not Demanding foreign policy to listen to santa cruz california, but we are sharing All of the voices that we heard from in this document and so I hope that context Is clear for everybody and I'd like to pass it on to councilmember brown if you'd like to add anything Councilmember brown is recognized. Thank you. I'll just say a couple of things. I think that councilmember brunner really laid out the The commitment that we made and our approach to Doing this work over the course of the last month or so over the break and the conversations we had I was certainly enriched by those conversations. I learned things I coming from a place of you know, I'm a academic and you know analysts and so I have You know a way of thinking about issues that we that come before us and Sonia really brought her heart in a way that was Just really like profoundly affected me and I want to just appreciate that it It was tough to have some of the conversations and to hear the the real pain and trauma and intergenerational trauma that people are experiencing And we want to continue to move this dialogue forward in a positive way But I I just couldn't I'd be remiss if I didn't Say this, you know, I mean Sonia you really councilmember brunner You stepped up you thought about, you know who we Should talk to at people who wanted to come and talk with us you You know found like techniques for Kind of parsing what you know what we could include or what should be included and and really trying to make it responsive to all of the concerns we heard and so I I really salute you for that And I'm glad that we were able to bring this forward and I I hope we can have a Meaningful and productive conversation about next steps Thank you councilmember for the questions comments at this point seen here none We will begin first person in line come forward. You have two minutes welcome Mayor killie and city council members. I'm ross shornstein. I practice medicine in the city for 40 years I thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak against resolution 29 It is october 6 2023.  What do many of them? Have in common anti-zionism. They defend hamas atrocities They slander israel with blood libels and false narratives about genocide Anti-zionism is the current mutation of anti-semitism the vicious virus Honed by soviet propagandists to invigorate marxist agenda After their arab allies lost the war against israel in 1967 In 1920 my grandparents escaped pogroms in russia By both the white and the red Russian armies My grandparents would have easily recognized these anti-zionists who dehumanize and negate jewish identity As a step towards fracturing civil society and gaining power rhetoric like free palestine from the river to the sea and globalizing intifada Just incite crime hate crimes against jews, which have been up 400 percent since october 7th City council and mayor, please use your goodwill and power wisely To unite the community for the common local good Build bridges do not dig trenches Put down the shovel so we can work together Reject the divisive and futile ceasefire resolution. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration Thank you Ms. Bush, who is the first person we have online? We will go to that person Good evening person online welcome Person online welcome Hi, am I on? Yes, you are Oh, hi. Oh, my name is joe. I'm a citizen of stanley cruise And when I was a kid we learned about the golden rule that we should always do into others that we have them do unto us So I was disturbed as many here were By the horrors of october 7th and given the history of the conflict I could empathize then and now with much of the rage that I heard from both sides then in the aftermath of that day But since that day I've watched with growing sadness and despair as israel backed by funding and weaponry From the united states of america has slaughtered over 20 000 people Including 9600 children Almost 10 000 kids in retaliation for the 1300 that were killed on october 7th So I ask is this justice? Is this defense? Is it making israel or ultimately our world any safer? I would suggest that it's none of those things. It's savage. It's asymmetrical. It's unjust It's absolutely counterproductive to finding a lasting peace I would ask that you sign the ceasefire resolution out of basic human decency and respect for human rights in our troubled world And I thank you for your time and your consideration to this matter. Thanks. Thank you Hello santa cruz council members i'm ilam and palestinian musim american born and raised here After 96 days in counting to say that i'm traumatized does not come close to a good enough description To explain what I and many of us here today feel after watching the civilian blood of my beloved palestinians Standing the streets of gaza I am saddened to see that community members of my own are against the ceasefire because they don't see us as human Or an equal I can begin to To explain the horrors i've seen but the support of the people here today Shows you that this isn't us problem and I don't need to remind my folks here of the pain But I urge you to do some research of your own tonight and seek the realities for yourself In terms of numbers there are over 30 000 palestinian civilians killed in terms of humanity That's more than 30 000 lives dreams and goals brutally murdered while billions of us are watching horrified i'm also here representing palestine solidarity central coast or pscc a coalition of individuals and groups committed to the liberation of palestine PSCC is as diverse as it is unified. We are young people and elders. We are brown black and white folks We are muslims jews and christians and atheists We are here today calling on you the santa christ city council to pass a ceasefire resolution on today's agenda We strongly oppose amendments to this resolution or substitute resolutions Has set out to remove the word ceasefire condition or limit aid or denounce hamas attacks on october 7th Without denouncing what is at the root of all the all the violence Over 75 years of occupation Dispossession ethnic cleansing and state of violence by israel against palestinian We support the resolution as it stands in today's agenda because it calls for a permanent ceasefire and immediate ceasefire The release of all hostages the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into reza the respect for international law and protection of all civilians We support this resolution because it makes all of us safer and brings our community together to stand for the sanctity of human life If you support the ceasefire resolution as it stands on today's agenda, please raise your hand Next person online Next person online. Good evening and welcome Hi I can't see myself, but um, I'm assuming that you all can see me Uh, we we can't but we can hear you. So you're doing fine Um, well, my name is albergan and I'm a registered voter in district two of the city of santa cruz And i'm also the parent of a nine-month-old who is currently sitting on my lap and joining me um, and i'm here today To add my voice to the united and resounding call from our community that you pass item 29 The ceasefire resolution on today's agenda as is and reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions There is no sufficient alternative to the demands laid out in this ceasefire resolution Anything less legitimizes the continuation of israel's staggering and unconscionable violence towards the palestinian people over the last three months Which is situated within israel's 75 year occupation whose consequences are innumerable palestinian deaths injuries imprisonments and displacement I cannot fully convey the depth of grief that I feel for the people of palestine For the martyrs the injured the sick the starved the refugees the parents the orphans the babies I hold my baby in the comfort of my home And I weep for the thousands of parents who no longer have homes or their own babies to hold This resolution pursues justice and it communicates to the world including people in higher positions of power But the city of santa cruz is committed to representing its majority The diverse and unified community members calling for a permanent ceasefire And an end to the genocide that we all as an american taxpayers are implicated in Thank you for your time. Well, thank you You you go right here to that microphone. You're good. Good evening and welcome Thank you. Thank you for hearing our voices this evening My name is rabbi paula marcus. I'm the senior rabbi of temple betel and thank you to sonia and to sanny for working on this But I have to say I appreciate the efforts of all of you and the city council and know how hard it is to hold a community together And judy is a minute of itself really honors debate and different ideas and different opinions As the senior rabbi of the largest synagogue in the county that is what I care about and what I urge you to consider How best to protect our community from all forms of anti semitism anti arab racism and islamophobia And redirect these ideologies is wrong. They must be opposed by all who struggle for a just and fair resolution of the conflict We see I see the suffering of jewish israelis arab israelis Those in gaza and the west bank and affirm the rights of all those living in the holy land to live in safety Dignity and equality and a mutually agreed upon political resolution of the conflict that all parties can sustain I support grassroots efforts that are joint efforts on the ground that promotes peace and justice Such as standing together combatants for peace and other important efforts that are happening on the ground And that's where I think you should be putting your energy as well I'd like to read this poem that was written by rabbi urwin keller Today i'm taking sides. I'm taking the side of peace Peace which I will not abandon even when its voice is drowned out by hurt and hatred bitterness of loss cries of right and wrong I'm taking the side of peace whose name has barely been spoken in this winterless war I will hold peace in my arms and share my body's breathless peace be added to the body count I will call for de-escalation even when I want nothing more than to get even I will do it in the service of peace I will make a clearing in the overgrown thicket of cause and effect so peace can breathe for a minute and reach for the sky I will do what I must to save the life of peace. Please vote against this resolution I hear from the next person online. Good evening. Welcome Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can Hi, my name is shinny. I am a registered voter in santa cruz county and I would like to call for immediately to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution. I am The grandchild of Holocaust survivors. I'm the child of an Israeli Hebrew was my first language I was raised to believe in Zionism and to believe that to be a Jew you must also support the state of Israel and I no longer believe that I know From my heart that to be Jewish does not mean to support the nation state and so I urge everyone to On the council to pass item 29 ceasefire resolution. Thank you very much Thank you very much Next person Good evening and welcome. Thank you Thank you council members brunner and brown for your hard work and city council for hearing us My name is sylvie stein and I stand unconditionally with my palestinian community members You should not have to watch your people Slaughtered or hear people today justify that slaughter. We will fight alongside you until ceasefire and until palestine is free We love you Speaking from many anti-zionist jews here today and around the world We are horrified to see our people go from surviving one genocide to perpetrating another There is nothing less Jewish than what israel is doing to palestinians right now and we disagree We disagree with rabbi paul that it is jewish holy land palestine belongs to palestinians Some say this resolution is too divisive. This resolution is not causing or deepening divisions It is just laying them bare for us all to see today. What's divisive is the mass murder of palestinian babies For over 100 years as long as people have supported the ethnic cleansing of palestine Palestinians have resisted it anti-zionist jews have resisted it That is the division and until ethnic cleansing stops that division will remain Today we just decide whether the city of santa cruz approves of mass murder or stands up to it So much of santa cruz stands up to it We are unified and brave and loving look outside Look at the over a thousand emails you've received. We learn from and take care of each other We stand together across race ethnicity age class in the palestinian led movement for liberation And together we reject alternative resolutions that hijack the language of peace and social justice to cover up inaction and implicitly endorse mass murder We reject amendments that limit lifesaving aid to people where responsible for caging starving and bombing I grieve israeli death as i do all death But you don't get to center that while erasing that israel has murdered 30 000 palestinians in three months and the average palestinian killed is five years old For 75 years israel has been terrorizing and attempting to annihilate palestinians You either do something to stop the killing or you don't you either value palestinian lives or you don't pass the ceasefire religious resolution on today's agenda Next person online. Good evening. Welcome Person online. Good evening and welcome Hello, my name is teddy and i'm a proud anti-zionist practicing jew who has lived in santa cruz for 14 years I'm urging the city council to stand on the right side of history And show the country that we will not stand idly by while the federal government sends our tax dollars to fund the genocide Myself and tens of thousands of other american jews across the country and world say not in our name My heart breaks more and more every day as a child in gaza is murdered by israel every 10 minutes That's 10 000 children so far 30 000 gazans And 1.9 million people are eternally displaced and being denied food water and shelter by the israeli government I urge you to connect with your humanity And vote to show that santa cruz demands a ceasefire and pass item 29 as it is currently written santa cruz jews urgent and your constituents urgent. Thank you Thank you Good evening and welcome Good evening My name is tam welch and a voting citizen of district two And a parent who has lived and worked in santa cruz for over 20 years I organize and advocate for asian-american pacific islanders We are in trans folks and many other communities here in santa cruz In 2021. I had the honor to work with both councilmember shabra And councilmember brunner um on the resolution 29 for this Denouncement of hate crimes and bigotry are targeted to asian-americans and pacific islanders This resolution in my mind set a president for the city of santa cruz to respond to the international crisis Which dramatically increased violence against a racially targeted group both abroad but also Incidents here in santa cruz We we passed a resolution 29 because the leaders are Committed in making a statement to ensure the safety for all community members by uplifting the most vulnerable here in santa cruz And unfortunately in america without an explicit statement valuing and protecting a vulnerable groups humanity there are some folks in Who think it's the license to express violence towards those groups or find them disposable? But with resolution 29 city of santa cruz did better Violence against palestinian arab communities is not just a distant issue within the last few months Two women right here in abit square wearing kafias were aggressively harassed by two men And in vermont three young palestinians were shot the families of these youth had traveled from palestine to the us The game was safer This is a moment for you all as our elected government officials to stand by your words and commitments to pass resolutions to Support our vulnerable communities here in santa cruz and beyond to make sure that muslims jews palestinians Arabs asian americans blacks citizens alike here in santa cruz can ultimately feel safer in this resolution to cease the fire On the gather religion and to stop profiling the palestinian people as an enemy. We are in this together I stand for The resolution as it is without amendments. Thank you Good evening and welcome Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can Hello, my name is sadia and i'm a palestinian and i am here demanding a permanent ceasefire and an end to the siege on palestine once and for all All my life and now more than ever over the span of the last 95 days I've been watching the brutal murder of approximately 30 000 of my people by the israeli occupation forces Including 11,422 children 5,822 women 481 health personnel and 101 journalists Our tax dollars are being used to wipe out bloodlines and the united states is complicit in the displacement of 1.9 million palestinians Leaving them without any basic humanitarian necessities for survival Over 50 of the people in reza are children and they are being bombarded relentlessly day and night palestinian families are having to drag their injured and dismembered loved ones on hospital beds and wheelchairs And while on this journey to the south they are being targeted by the masses Amputations and reconstructive procedures are performed with no anesthetic or pain medication Most hospitals have completely collapsed. They have collapsed internally and externally They can no longer provide adequate care and treatment because they have ran out of fuel medication sanitation equipment anything any hospital would need Along with most of them being targets for israeli bombing Thousands have been trapped or buried under the toxic rubble made by a bit american made bombs like the ones made in our backyards by companies like lockheed martin Palestinians are digging through the rubble with their bare hands to find those buried beneath it Babies are getting their death certificates before their birth certificates dead bodies are being stored in ice cream trucks I strongly urge you to do the right thing santa cruz city council and demand a permanent ceasefire and an end to the siege on palestine Now and forever. Thank you Well, thank you Good evening and welcome Good evening. My name is eric stats, and I live in the city of santa cruz and district 4 I would like to start by condemning the horrific actions taken by hamas on october 7 of last year Based with such an attack israel as with any nation has the right to defend itself However israel's response has gone too far It has become reckless and risks not only their own security, but also risks drawing the us into yet another war in the middle east We now witness daily images of dead women and children destroyed buildings and starving families Israel may blame hamas, but nonetheless these scenes spark widespread anger amongst israel's neighbors By their own admission israel has a long way to go to eliminate hamas from gaza and yet all the while threats are growing everywhere else This isn't working While the idf is more than capable of preventing the destruction of israel at the hands of hamas The wide-scale destruction in gaza risked the entry of hezbollah the hoothies iran and others that could seriously jeopardize israeli's security In such a scenario the us undoubtedly would come to israel's defense and commit troops to the middle east Including service members from santa cruz This would have a direct impact on our community Furthermore, the last war in the middle east cost us citizens over two thousand dollars each that works out to 120 million dollars for our community We don't need another war It's time for israel to step back from the brink before this gets worse I urge the santa cruz city council to add our collective voices to the growing international chorus Calling for a ceasefire in gaza the release of all hostages and the entry of humanitarian assistance. Thank you Next person online. Good evening and welcome Hey, can you hear me? Yes, we can My name is miranda. I'm a lifelong resident of santa cruz a dedicated trauma psychotherapist and a mother to a yearly three-year-old son I'm also eight months pregnant and due to give birth in just a couple of weeks I'm of jewish descent and personally connected with my heritage through a birthright trip to israel in my early 20s I'm also a member of the santa cruz mental health professionals for palestine and i'm pro ceasefire I stand before you deeply concerned about what's happening abroad I acknowledge that the roots of the conflict are complex, but I simply cannot condone the senseless killing of innocent people I hope that everybody here can at the very least agree on this As a mother the thought of children being harmed is especially devastating to me the images I've seen of thousands of children dying maternity wards under siege new burns being torn from their parents and young lives shattered by the loss of their own parents Are not just heartbreaking. They're traumatizing Many people including myself have experienced vicarious trauma after witnessing this and the continued violence is just unacceptable It's with a heavy heart that I must acknowledge our involvement in these tragedies The financial support our country provides to israel has caused the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people And this realization compels me to urge this council In our community at large to recognize the role that we play the responsibility that we bear We're at a juncture where our collective voices can catalyze change and stop this violence It's imperative that we act now and we have the moral obligation to do so and we can actually save human lives Together we can make a meaningful difference and it's time for santa cruz to pass a resolution for a ceasefire Thank you for your time and for considering this urgent humanitarian issue Good evening and welcome Hi, my name is Sheila Correo 50 year resident of santa cruz county and a city resident currently I'm an ashkenazi jew whose greshin grandparents immigrated to new york to escape oppression I grew up proudly jewish celebrating the founding of israel In 2016 when our local rabbis vehemently opposed a conference on the boycott divest and sanction movement I was confused and disturbed I regarded bds as a nonviolent political strategy to oppose the kind of oppression My grandparents had been subjected to and felt compelled to go on a fact-finding delegation to palestine The u.s. Defends israel as a democracy, but what I witnessed in the west bank was anything but palestinians have different color license plates and can't drive on israeli roads in their own territory We drove past palestinian homes with black storage tanks on the roof to prepare for when israel shuts off their water I walked a children's eerie school route stopped at two military checkpoints with armed guards I visited an organic farm surrounded by a large illegal settlement The farm whose olive orchard had been bulldozed by the settlers I met an israeli palestinian couple who to mary had to leave the country And are not allowed to live together in israel They struggled to get permits to visit israeli relatives I visited a bedouin village repeatedly Do bulldoze to force the bedouins off ancestral land into designated areas for them akin to reservations I returned home a jew deeply committed to justice for palestine Today brokenhearted in view of the unconscionable massacre taking place and funded by the united states I'm grateful to be part of a large and growing diverse santa cruz movement demanding not in my name I implore you to go on record in our name calling for a permanent ceasefire Before we take the next person online, I'm going to ask you for a little bit of forbearance here in order for me to toggle back and forth efficiently I need to be able to recognize the next person online So maybe we could keep the feedback to a second or two Then I we can all get there much earlier tonight to our action item next person online. Good evening and welcome Hello, my name is julia, um, and I'm a registered voter in the city of santa cruz in district three Um, I'm calling on you to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution as it is It is really important to me that the resolution include the word ceasefire because I believe that the very first step to building the world of peace Safety and abundance that we all deserve Is to stop the mass killing that's happening right now in gaza And calling for a ceasefire we are saying that every life is precious And I want everyone here In this meeting and everyone in our city to know that your life is precious And that what we stand together for as a community Is the sanctity of life The safety of the children of our world And a commitment to doing the deep healing work Of the legacies of oppression that we've inherited I'm asking you to pass the ceasefire resolution So that we can come together In respect for human life Thank you very much. Thank you very much Good evening and welcome Dagote shi ani Hello, my name is ani and we are here before you all again Urging to pass this item 29 the current ceasefire demand to stand in solidarity with palestine Using our words of truth advocacy and compassion I believe in the power of spoken word You have heard these people's voices in spanish English and likely in arabic for over 90 days And yet here we are still demanding a ceasefire that represents the people's wants So I will say it again in my people's language both ancient and native to hear of turtle island Listen and feel it Nugash the palestine Me nawalo me goni Me kenewi Men ashmi Through love palestine is strong resilient and shall remain and you will remember that Don't forget your position is to the people here We are the people and we have the power And we demand a ceasefire now as it is We are not governed by money in our pockets for this decision We are motivated by morality and justice and you need to show us That you are part of the people and not in the pocket of power You will pass this current ceasefire demand that supports humanitarian aid and motions towards peace I stand for palestine Respect their existence or expect our resistance We'll take the next person online. Good evening and welcome. Hello. Can you hear me? Yes. Good evening Hi, my name is maria walsh and I am a registered voter in the city of santa cruz And i'm not going to spend my time today appealing to your empathy because we are at almost 100 days into a live streaming genocide That is fully funded by our government of which you are part At this point if you were leading with empathy a ceasefire in gaza would not be a debatable topic And so instead I wonder If you are unable to take a stand on the undeniable wrongness of genocide If you are passive in the face of unprecedented horror How are we supposed to be able to trust you as public officials tasked with serving and protecting a community? How you respond to global situations illuminates how you respond to and care for your own community To pretend that the genocide in gaza is not relevant to santa cruz Is a grave misunderstanding of the interconnectedness of struggles that we and you have taken a stand on before It is a cowardly lack of belief in our city's potential to be a role model and to participate in the world at large Calling for a ceasefire is not a particularly courageous act Nor is it a divisive one as it should be the baseline This is precisely the moment for santa cruz to bravely live into its reputation as a progressive city that is on the humane side of history If standing against genocide is a hard choice for you to make I do wonder What moral authority do you have to be our leaders or leaders at all? Thank you Good evening and welcome Thank you, mayor My name is john jackson. My wife and I live in santa cruz First we'd like to thank you all for your service to our community's interests I also would like to thank you for this forum where we make express our feelings about the proposed resolution for a ceasefire in gaza Personally, we oppose resolution 29 Truly the council members must grapple constantly with many challenges and issues facing our city While operating within the constraints of a budget Thank you for your service and willingness to listen to the input of voters Our expectation that city officials will focus on local needs The proposed resolution seems a bit outside your bailiwick a distraction from main duties and Possibly senselessly feeding into already inflamed passions among the electorate Nevertheless, I can sympathize With any urging you may have experienced repose and pass this resolution concerning territory outside the county and the continent The reason I understand is as a medic patients sometimes have earnestly asked me to voice an opinion on matters outside my specialty area If pushed while deferring to the expertise of subspecialists say infectious disease oncology I try to draw from common sense and basic principles Probably known to you already Don't stop an antibiotic prescription before completing it as you may just breed for a resistant species And when it comes to a course of cancer treatment, don't stop midway and thus guarantee a relapse Sorry for the sidebar But feel free to recall my analogies if someone or something is pressuring you to throw The city of santa cruz is good name onto that fiery battlefield the other side of our planet It's still compelled to move forward. Please add to the ceasefire resolution. What was absent? Justice is blind for most things But not to all the facts of the case. Please name Who attacked first and those who are defending against the attackers my wife and I appreciate your good faith efforts to be Thank you I'm going to try this again about two seconds of that after each speaker will be just fine Next person online. Welcome and good evening Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can police proceed My name is steven david engel. I am a jewish resident of santa cruz My ancestors fled europe because of pogroms I have family buried and mass graves at baba yar I worked with palestinian and israeli peace groups in the occupied west bank in 2008 I returned again in 2013 I have lectured on this issue at the carter school for peace and conflict resolution at george mason university and elsewhere I ask that you pass the ceasefire resolution as it is written and without delay There are competing understandings of history and reality in this room that cannot be bridged tonight When it comes to the many specifics of this issue, I disagree with certain people here and they disagree with me What we must agree to is that too much killing has happened and that the killing must stop The bombing of gazen's must stop the ground invasion of gaza must stop the ethnic cleansing and genocide of palestinians must stop An immediate ceasefire is the prerequisite for true peace and true justice and true liberation That is the spirit of this resolution and that is why I support it. Thank you Next person online Excuse me. I'm sorry the next human present. Thank you very much. Welcome and a good evening. Thank you Good afternoon council members. My name is kai and I'm here with the santa cruz mental health professionals for palestine First of all, I'd like to thank you for hearing our calls at the december 12th meeting and putting the ceasefire resolution on the agenda today Today we return to demand a passing of the ceasefire resolution We reject potential substitute motion language that waters down our clear unequivocal message for a permanent ceasefire immediate humanitarian aid and acknowledgement of 75 years of continued violence and occupation by israel I recently started a position at a hospital part of my work is with new parents on the first day of their child's life Listening to the news and seeing images of newborns rotting in a nikyu Being eaten by dogs After workers were forced to leave during due to indiscriminate bombing and shelling by the idf Newborns being martyred before even having a name orphaned at just one day old Then clocking into work to provide education and resources for newborns to thrive in santa cruz Is a level of dissonance. I will never be able to reconcile I believe in justice. I believe we will all be held accountable for our actions How we acted in the face of blatant genocide Remember the power you have Do the brave thing and act Pass the ceasefire resolution as is. Thank you Next person online welcome and uh good evening Hey there, um, my name is kala kumar I'm your phone city council to vote yes on item 29 the ceasefire resolution As it is currently written and oppose harmful amendments or substitute resolutions For those in the audience, it's possible a substitute resolution will be introduced today by other council members That does not specifically call for a ceasefire and attempts to justify mass murder of palestinians We must be clear that we do not support this action Passing this resolution acknowledges the cause for immediate end to the extreme violence toward the palestinian people Rejecting the resolution rejects the world this large part of our community and is akin to justifying the mass murder Palestinian civilians many of whom are children Israel is conducting an absolutely horrific genocidal occupation of palestine and that has never been justified I'm stepping into my obligation as a conscious global citizen to oppose this genocide by specifically calling for a ceasefire And ask that my representatives carry this mandate the higher levels of government to affect and end to its current complicity With this violence I will not be spending time today trying to convince anyone that genocide is wrong Instead, I would like to spend my time letting the palestinians arab and muslim people in the room know that their lives matter No matter how no matter how anybody votes today or what anybody says today I stand with you and your many allies and calling for an end to this genocidal madness and long for free palestine alongside you I also want to make sure everyone knows about the incredible unity that's formed amongst muslims anti zionist jews christians Atheists along with black latinay asian and white folks who have come together in support of the ceasefire resolution We're building community around the fact that lasting peace is achieved through collective liberation Not colonial violence and while council has control over whether the ceasefire resolution passes or not It's always the people that must rise up to effect real change We are the ones that we can count on most to do the right things So if you're here supporting a ceasefire, please connect to longer-term organizing efforts for free palestine. Thank y'all Next person online good, uh, excuse me next person President the council chambers. Good evening and welcome. Hi Um, my name is heart fey. I'm here with the sienna cruise mental health professionals for palestine group All right, um, I'm here Um Well, first I want to thank you for meeting last week and hearing last month and hearing everyone's comments and for tonight You know, this is a big group and it's going to go on and um In that time Right, this has been almost a month and we do not have anything set yet people have been dying every day Um, we are at over 30,000 palestinians who have died And it's been 96 days The level of trauma that people are Experiencing is not just Um, not just personal. It's a collective grief and trauma We need a ceasefire and we need this to pass with no other amendments There will be no peace when there is escalation and continued violence Gaza is asking for aid. We need immediate humanitarian aid to be sent there as a social worker, I came into this field because It is an area where I can impact other people and um Be in action around justice And so this is an obvious Way to do that. Um, this isn't some pie in the sky thing Um, even though we are here in Santa Cruz and this is happening on the other side of the world because It is we have a direct impact our money And lockheed martin is here locally. Thank you Next person online. Good evening and welcome Next person online. Good evening and welcome. Hello. Can you hear me? Yes, we can Hello, my name is Sandra Jamila shama a long-term resident and amft Hello to our respected city council members and to my fellow constituents Thank you for allowing me a moment to speak today as we enter into a critical and critical and crucial wave Of decisions that will no doubt impact our world on individual and global levels Santa Cruz I ask you today in what chapter what you prefer to be represented the chapter describing the tireless efforts But forth by the champions of humanity in order to ensure a just and safe world for all Or the chapter of those who wish to profit by any means necessary driven by greed and power under the guise of justice Santa Cruz, where do you prefer to stand? You know the numbers we have seen the footage There is no denying what is occurring here The only reason why i'm speaking before you in one piece is because my parents chose to run in another direction I am palestinian my family is from hara the nasada in drusen A christian neighborhood within the old city walls and despite my connection and knowledge of the land I have never seen it with my eyes or felt the earth with my hands something me and millions of displaced palestinians long to do But today I can't imagine being there. I would be paralyzed in fear because i'm scared here I'm scared to put my kaffee on and go to safeway. I'm scared to walk up pacific while peacefully demonstrating I'm scared to raise my voice at abbot square. I'm scared to stand for justice in a town That told me it was not just okay, but vital to do so I came here 17 years ago because I was told Santa Cruz is a place where peace is prioritized I was told this is a city that doesn't stand for injustice That doesn't stand for the gainful pursuits while others suffer that refuses to stay quiet in the face of repression As a displaced palestinian woman, I purposefully sought this land for those reasons And now I stand here before you today begging you to uphold the reputation this town has rightfully earned To state on brand and please do not waver despite the intimidation and threats you may receive from your supporters Know that you are saving innocent lives today by voting for an immediate ceasefire and joining a massive global community Of those who seek resolution and peace Not just for palestinians, but for our new expressors and sisters who are also suffering in this ongoing brutality We stand here united today jews and palestinians are hand in hand before you and we are pleading for you to allow nothing But we are moral compass to guide you nothing but your humanity should be making this decisions Nothing but the blood that you share with a palestinian child should be pumping through your heart as you choose Please cease fire. Thank you Good evening and welcome Good evening. My name is Mila Gillich. I'm a ucsc lecture founding member of the institute for the critical study of zionism An organizer with palestine solidarity central coast. I am proud to present these bona fides to you today I am also jewish which I resent having to tell you because this is not the factor that should give my voice more authority But some people today will try to convince you otherwise All four of my grandparents were refugees of war I myself an asylum seeker the fact that we are debating Whether or not to call for an immediate cease fire to stop an active genocide is an outrage Not only is israel bombing and starving people in the gaza strip It is also afflicting this unimaginable suffering on a captive population That has no option of hiding or leaving because israel controls gaza's air and maritime space Its borders and crossings its access to water electricity and other amenities An immediate and permanent cease fire and unrestricted access of humanitarian aid to gaza should be the first decisive step In stopping the genocide of palestinians that we are all witnessing and that the united states is complicit in Voting against the cease fire resolution means voting to support the ongoing genocide Is this what you want your legacy to be that you directly facilitated the genocide? I hope you will make the right choice today and support the cease fire resolution with no amendments and no substitutions Thank you. Thank you Next person online. Good evening. Welcome Yes, that would be you.  Thank you Good evening. Welcome My name is debora feldstein As a child i was confused when i heard my older relatives say if we don't take care of ourselves No one else will I now understand that they were speaking from a place of truth and fear Rooted in their own lived experience and as and the deep-seated multi-generational trauma that has shaped the history of our jewish family And so many others I'm a 20-plus year resident of santa cruz's west side and a parent of two teens who attend santa cruz high school My activism and racial justice human and civil rights and advocacy for palestinian self-determination Spans more than four decades. I've been an active objector to netanyahu's leadership of israel My grief and empathy extend all innocent victims of the war between israel and gaza whether they are palestinian or israeli muslim or jewish I as much as most people in this room want an end to this war to the violence and destruction And to seek peaceful resolution coexistence and safety for all in the reason region and beyond i'm a proud Peaceful zionist who believes in the jewish people's right to self-determination and statehood in their ancestral homeland israel I also support the right of palestinians to an independent state An offer that has been made and rejected five times by hamas's leadership This was true of vivian silver the 74 year old peace activist who was murdered during october 7th massacre on kibbutz bieri by hamas terrorists It is true for most members of the jewish community and our allies in this room today I want to address council members bruner and brown You said that you heard the voices of people in this room and in this community. You did not hear my voice You did not hear the voices of the 600 members of this community that signed a petition asking you to oppose this resolution You did not hear the voice of my children and you did not hear the voices of the jewish people in this room Who you are violating I oppose this resolution and any resolution that addresses the conflict between israel and gaza You're supporting the vitriolic violent and the anti-semitic rhetoric that this the supporters of this resolution has used to mobilize its base No, no everyone everyone everyone I don't want to have to repeat myself But I will We're gonna hear from everyone for two minutes as you can already see if you go past the two minutes and you're wrapping up Be glad to hear you do that People online. We're glad to hear from them Let's keep it to that Next person online. Good evening Good evening next person online welcome next person who's with us come forward Good evening and welcome Thank you for this forum. My name is make sandow. I stand in favor of this resolution As a jew a woman and a human being i'm horrified by the many sadistic brutalities of october 7th The written descriptions have brought me to my knees And I cannot imagine what it was like to actually experience that day As a jew a woman and a human being i'm also brought to my knees by the mass murder of more than 20 000 palestinians in gaza A majority of whom are women and children As directed by israel they have fled to so-called safe areas only to be bombed both there and non-route To have their homes businesses schools and hospitals destroyed To be literally starved and fatally sickened by a lack of clean water With generations of civilian palestinians blown to bits and buried under rubble Palestinians past and future are being savagely eradicated As a psychologist and well acquainted with the effects of trauma And I can tell you that both israelis and palestinians are deeply traumatized people There has been no time for grief on either side and israel's military response will only deepen the anger and despair The bombing of gaza the displacement of a majority of the population the privation the starvation The destruction of cities and infrastructure None of these things will make israeli's whole or safe If anything they will deepen any existing fear and hatred and will plant the seeds of future resentment And hatred Hamas will be fertilized not destroyed. This is human nature not rocket science As regards the claim that israel is entitled to defend itself Self-defense is when I grab a weapon to combat an aggressive intruder into my home or personal space Bombing the neighborhoods in which the intruder then hides out is no longer self-defense. It is murder I absolutely and fully support a resolution for permanent ceasefire as necessary for meaningful healing and peace humanitarian problem-solving I am ashamed and outraged that my tax dollars are being used for the punitive destruction of gaza and the palestinian people It would be better spent to aid the healing and well-being of palestinians and israelis Which is tikkun olam repair of the world. Thank you. Thank you Next person who is with us online. Good evening and welcome Next person online. Good evening and welcome Hi, my name is lue ursa. I'm a psychotherapist a registered voter And a member of santa Cruz mental health professionals for palestine I'm here to condemn the mass killings in gaza enacted by the israeli state and funded by us tax dollars And to urge for immediate action including this council passing the resolution For a permanent ceasefire as it is written I'd be proud to be a member of the community who can follow our moral obligation to take this life affirming stance for peace What is happening to the palestinian people is deeply traumatizing and also psychologically damaging to all who witness the violence As a trauma therapist, I know that even those who avoid or feel numb to what is occurring in gaza are still Psychologically impacted by this ongoing collective trauma I am here in solidarity with my jewish community members ancestors friends and clients Who have been horrified to see their identity being used as a justification for terror A descendant of ashkenazi jews and holocaust survivors. I'd like to finish by Uplifting voices of jewish elders speaking out against the genocide of the people in gaza Esther farmer says we as elder jews. We know what genocide looks like. We know what genocide feels like It's in our bodies in our bones. It's horrifying. It's devastating It's hard to get up in the morning to see this and it's being done in the name of jews So here we are as elderly jews to say not in our name Karen ackerman says don't let them tell you it's complicated Palestinians are being slaughtered not just by bombs also by starvation. It has never been more important that we act Rosalind pacheski says israel is murdering elders children's doctors journalists scholars and poets We demand an end to this cataclysmic nightmare. Please pass item 29. Thank you Good evening. Welcome Thank you. Thank you council My name is ziggie rendler bregman and i've lived and worked in santa cruz for more than 50 years Nice catholic girl from la meets nice jewish boy from new york Later we were married by a rabbi and jezuit priest interfaith work began at our kitchen table I've been working with jews muslims and christians for more than 20 years through the tent of abraham sarah and hagar To promote peace through conversation and shared spiritual practice In 2006 i went to israel with a delegation To learn firsthand what the challenges are for people living there One morning i walked through the yad vashem the holocaust museum in jerusalem and that afternoon Picked olives with palestinians in the west bank. I was in hebron Bethlehem in the galilee listening asking questions After the horrific attack on israel on october 7th the tent gather people in early november to witness The pain suffering outrage the fear and broken heartedness of our muslim and jewish sisters and brothers It was not easy It was hard Really hard 175 people showed up desperate to find a way to be heard Everyone wants the horror of war and suffering to end But we must do the hard work of peacemaking together This resolution divides My new definition of evil is that which divides us To me peace is what unifies us gathers us We need to do the work of reconciliation theology, which includes truth justice forgiveness With the increase in islamophobia and anti-semitism in this country and right here in santa cruz You must not pass resolutions like the one before you tonight which divide us I urge you to go back to the table Listen deeply speak carefully Listen some more until you come up with a more balanced resolution that cherishes all who are broken by the ravages of this war Making peace is hard work Love is hard work Next person online. Good evening and welcome I can hear me. Yes, we can Hi, I'm irakili. My name is faz voter in city santa cruz Really glad to see the city council listening to the constituents and putting this item on the agenda I'm in strong support of having the c-spire resolution Um, you know, it's been really difficult and I've really felt incredibly helpless watching the genocide unfold on my phone screen And really just being unable to reach out to the other side of it to help Um, I felt really enraged that our tax paying dollars are funding this massacre And that we have a congress and a president that are doubling down on their support Um, it makes me sick Innocent men women and children are being murdered at unprecedented rates Hospitals are being destroyed and basic medical aid can barely reach them Um, palestinians can't even take a breath of air without having to worry about having bombs dropped on them And what's happening honestly is an international war crime and there really should not really be even be a debate tonight Um a poll by the data for progress a polling organization shows that a ceasefire in palestine Is supported by 61 of voters and even amongst republicans more of them support a ceasefire resolution than the polls So for people here who are saying that passing this resolution is divisive Not passing it is actually You know, going to be more divisive in my opinion, right? And I hope that you all as city council members will recognize that level of support by the voters And remember that as your seats are for reelection So please do the right thing. Please be a part of the right side of history Make us palisthenics residents the council that passes the overall that backs the overwhelming majority And passes ceasefire resolution. Please do not water it down We must send a strong statement to our federal government to the terrorism committed by israel and to the rest of the world Cease fire now free palisthen. Thank you Good evening Okay Okay, good evening and welcome Thank you First and foremost, I want to thank each of you for your continued service to all members of the santa cruz community This is difficult and often thankless work and please know you are deeply appreciated I'm a 50 year resident of santa cruz and I've raised my family here We love this community. So this has been a very difficult time for all of us as we experience deepening divisiveness Our hearts ache as we read the news watch television coverage and scroll through social media Learning more about the hamas israel war For me, this hits a very sensitive and personal note as I have precious family members living in israel right now My nephews three children cannot attend school in tel Aviv in a classroom Because it takes too long to get to the bomb shelter and it won't hold enough students They hold classes in the next safest place the stairwells Can you imagine middle schoolers cramped in a stairwell trying to learn and study? The youngest is seven and he spends his time playing war games on the computer He never used to know the word war He probably never even heard of it The day-to-day uncertainty weighs heavily on each and every israeli living with threats and rocket fire constantly This is not how it should be for anyone and i'm not just talking about israelis or jews We have compassion for all of those affected in both israel and gaza And so I respectfully stand before you tonight urging you to vote no on the resolution as it stands While seeking peace is essential the current language of the proposed resolution will only deepen the divisiveness in our community Can't you already feel that happening? A better and more even-handed approach would be to reject this resolution and if you feel compelled to make one at all Devise one that promotes unity dialogue and peaceful resolution not one that divides and ignores history I've helped develop a draft of a peace-centered resolution currently circulating This would be much better than a resolution which will likely stimulate further conflict I can't imagine anyone who would oppose a desire for peace. Thank you. Thank you Fine person online. Good evening and a welcome Good evening. Good evening uh My heart is broken into my name is bb lang Uh, i'm a resident here in santa cruz I work and live on the west side of town and my heart is broken into 96 pieces for my arab and jewish neighbors suffering here in santa cruz And my brothers and sisters Suffering across the globe in another beautiful seaside town the palestinians and gaza and the less bank Anything but divisive this entire process has promoted interracial solidarity between many black brown and white residents here in santa cruz And interface solidarity between muslim jewish and christian communities As a body you're ignoring our overwhelming voice thus far is unconscionable You are our voice We call on you to pass resolution 29 as is Israel is escalating regional tensions and throwing our national security into jeopardy in the process The people do not support your silence. And if these calls are again ignored I'll be organizing to remove you from office that you serve It's all ready too late. Don't make it too little ceasefire Thank you Good evening.  With all due respect Your actions won't affect foreign policy But this resolution Without even a mention of hamas a terrorist organization And their hideous attack that started this conflict on october 7th divides us further Thank you. Thank you This lady if you would be kind enough to step outside We have heard from you the woman holding up and speaking if you would step outside, please We have heard from you already. Thank you very much. I'm going to make this real clear for the last time We're going to respect each other here this evening.  You're not going to interrupt each other And you're not going to interrupt each other Next person online. Good evening person online. Good evening and welcome my check. Can you hear me? Yes, we can. Thank you Hey, my name is david antonio robles And i'm calling it in support of the ceasefire resolution as is um Yeah, wow Everything that was just said is exactly why you just ceasefire. It seems like um You know This level of violence There's war and then there's genocide and this is genocide This level of violence should never ever be allowed to happen anywhere in the world and I just want to encourage and empower our city council members to understand the impacts that they Can have by passing this resolution by saying ceasefire You're also saying that this level of violence should never happen in santa cruz That this level of violence would never be allowed to happen anywhere in the globe and we do have a responsibility We're paying for it Everybody here all of like our tax dollars are going to that All of the people here are actively paying for it So it makes sense to to take stand and and we have to realize that what we do here and What we say now will have an impact on what happens there so I do believe that ceasefire is a call for peace and If you want the opposite of a ceasefire if you want this level of violence to continue happening You don't want peace you want quiet That quiet that silence is something that can only be achieved through ethnic cleansing and we cannot allow that to happen Please pass the ceasefire resolution as is. Thank you Thank you. Mr. Mannheim. Good evening. Sure Good evening Thank you all for giving us this opportunity. I'm tom manheim a long time resident of santa cruz Let me start by saying I hate what is happening in Gaza and israel right now I can't stand the killing and the violence I wanted to stop as much as anybody I'm also opposed to israel's unfair policies towards the palestinian people And the settlements that encroach on their land Palestinians deserve a place a state of their own Where they can govern themselves And live peacefully with dignity But I am asking you not to approve the resolution before you this evening Despite my disagreement with the current government's policies. I can't accept any resolution that ignores hamasa's brutal attack on unarmed is israeli civilians And I can't accept a resolution that by what it doesn't say blames israel alone for the current situation Words matter and this resolution fails on that count It calls for an immediate ceasefire, but only urges without a timeline the return of the hostages And it fails to acknowledge that a ceasefire now would leave hamasa An organization committed to the disruption of israel in control of gaza In fact, this will have no impact on the situation in gaza, but it's already stoking anger fear and divisiveness here at home What you have in this room Are irreconcilable differences a resolution calling for a unilateral ceasefire ignores the pain and suffering imposed on the israeli people by amas And a resolution that conditions a ceasefire on other factors Will not satisfy those who blame israel and want the war to stop now A resolution that takes sides will only inflame antisemitic and islamophobic anger here in our community And that is not in the best interest of anyone Thank you Good evening to the person online and welcome Hi councilman My name is melissa So Sorry, can you hear me? Yes, now we can hear you Excuse me for just a moment if you would just hold for a second Oh So I am told that maybe you have two devices there if you would Turn off one of them and we'll just hear from you on one of your two devices there if that works for you That would work better for us We good, you know, we'll do we'll have you got them now miss bush. We got that person We we good Okay, let's hear from you. Good evening and welcome My name is elise thornhill. I'm a registered voter and a teacher here in santa cruz I'm also deeply ashamed and enraged that the city council is prioritizing comfort and silence over human life I beg you to listen I've worked at almost every school in this district with hundreds of kids some of which are probably your children your neighbors Most days are joyful. I watch a kid in kindergarten run back to her mom for five extra kisses before going to school I remind children to be gentle and kind the importance of standing up for your neighbor When I come home from school, I see the great and bloodied bodies of children in gaza Little boys running to get water and hours later lying lifeless in their father's arms Back home. I am armed with band-aids for a small recess scratch In gaza doctors my age are forced to sever children's limbs with no anesthesia No medication no hope of recovery We teachers parents we teach our children that there is right and wrong There is no gray area when it comes to the genocide in gaza There is nothing to be dated debated about bombed hospitals dismembered corpses death by starvation and shock This is not about giving in to hate or fear or prioritizing the comfort of a few over the murder of tens of thousands This is about using the power the city council has to stand for something right Look at all of us standing here and and cheering outside. Look at all of us flooding bridges and freeways and city halls Flooding your inboxes Stand with us not just for your children, but for the children of the world We demand a ceasefire. I urge you to pass item 29 and demand a ceasefire resolution immediately and Santa Cruz. Thank you Next person online Good evening and welcome Hi, good evening. Can you hear me? Yes, we can. Good evening There's zoom testifying isn't complicated, but I appreciate the accessibility with covet navigations and all I'm calling to offer testimony and affirmation. I'm a registered voter Santa Cruz live in district one Calling on y'all hoping you will pass item 29 tonight after we conclude our testimony Thanks for outlining the procedure a process and procedure and you know, san francisco just passed their resolution today and Would love to continue After the biggest city Process empire has done so for our Home to also be clearly on the right side of history.  You are smart enough all to be able to do that and diligent enough to hopefully also do that so Again total affirmation of the resolution for item 29 specifically how it stands now I reject. I ask you to reject any harmful amendments or substitutions Please keep ceasefire as language Yeah, just keep it as it is it's on point. We've got your backs be be with us be with us together And thank you for everyone who turned out on the phones and in person Today as well. So I know it's gonna be a long time. You've heard my contribution There's more to say there's you know 75 years of Violent aggression, but I'll let you have your 15 seconds back. Thank you so much. Thank you very much Good evening Greetings of peace My name is Zion Davidson I am the descendant of ashkenazi jews I'm a practicing sufi I'm a santa cruz county resident and i'm currently working as a farmer A chef and a nutritionist Some are saying that there are no solutions besides war This is what the military industrialists and their political frontmen always say Of course, there are other solutions There are millions of jews including me who want the war to end And who do not support net and yahoo's genocidal campaign This war is the tipping point moment for our species We must transcend this cycle of warfare and domination The justification for the genocide is that there is no alternative, but to destroy hamas Yet net and yahoo has been funding hamas for decades This is well documented even the new york times reports it Why aren't more people talking about this? It's the same playbook as afghanistan fund your fund your enemy orchestrate an unspeakable tragedy Drum up international support for war and then begin writing blank checks to weapons manufacturers When they ask what is your alternative to war we can say why was net and yahoo funding hamas We can say there are millions of jews who want to ceasefire We can say there are israeli women and mothers of conscience Who want to join arms with palestinian mothers and create an entirely new story We can say that true peace comes from the grassroots level the human to human level We can say that the war criminals who profit from endless war must be held accountable We can say that one day even they can be forgiven if they Seek forgiveness for the wickedness and unconsciousness that they are behaving with Permanencies fire now Next person online good evening and welcome Good evening and welcome person online Hi there Thank you for hearing our voices This community this evening. My name is brian. I've been an educator in this community for over a decade I would like you to approve the ceasefire resolution without amendments In my classroom, we regularly discuss the importance of what it means to be an upstander versus being a bystander When our youth when our youth witness something that is harming an individual or groups of people They're raised to stand up and say something Excuse me our youth understand excuse excuse me. Will you have to will you ask the Excuse me officer. Would you ask the gentle lady to step outside? I understand that I'm not going to hear from her about it Thank you Please pause my time Please pause my time. Okay. Well, that's their problem Please pause my time Please pause my time Please go ahead In my classroom, we discuss what it means to be an upstander versus a bystander When our youth witness something that is harming individuals or groups The youth understand to stand up and say something Our youth understand that the harm being done to individuals or groups ultimately harms the greater community as a whole Our youth understand that choosing to do nothing when someone is being hurt is a vote to allow that harm to continue As the adults in this community let let's model for our youth What it means to be an upstander by standing up for those being harmed in Palestine by voting to approve the ceasefire without resolution without amendments For those in the audience this evening join me in saying ceasefire now Thank you Good evening Welcome Good evening. My name is Cassandra Borreco I'm grateful to be here again to plead with you to pass the ceasefire resolution without amendment or substitution This week Israel will be on trial for genocide at the Hague in a case brought forth by South Africa the birthplace of apartheid To the international court of justice I know the word genocide makes many of us uncomfortable Many of us myself included with it perpetrated against our ancestors We must get comfortable recognizing patterns and with being honest with our words I quote Raphael Lemkin who was like me a polis Jew He coined the term genocide stating More often genocide refers to a coordinated plan aimed at destruction of the essential foundations Of the life of national groups so that these groups wither and die Like plants that have suffered a blight The end may be accomplished by the first disintegration of political and social institutions Of the culture of the people it may be accomplished by wiping out all basis of personal security liberty health and dignity When these means fail the machine gun can always be utilized as a last resort We are witnessing the obliteration of culture and infrastructure of the fabric of dignified life for Palestinians Schools mosques churches aid organizations ambulances hospitals theaters historical archives archaeological sites cemeteries and orchards are intentional targets of bombing and destruction journalists doctors poets and artists The healers and keepers of truth are being intentionally decimated without mercy While Israeli soldiers post videos of themselves laughing and applauding Are you seeing this? Israeli heritage minister. I'm a high ally who recently said Israel must find ways more painful than death for the palestinians. It must inflict torture and pain first and then kill them Cease fire is the only path to deescalating the spread of conflict It is the only way to get the remaining Israeli hostages back As you may know three of them were gunned down by Israeli soldiers while waving white flags We cannot continue to allow the weaponization of past pains in order to justify current slaughter We cannot bomb our way to peace Please do your part in stopping this brutality and pass the item 29 ceasefire resolution as is Thank you. Thank you The next person online good evening and welcome Good evening and welcome We're going to take a pass on that. Good evening, sir. Who is with us and jamers Welcome We aren't here to decide the fate of this war in the Middle East We are here to decide how we come together or fall apart as a community I am a high school teacher. I passionately want peace. I can only hope every other person here does in their own way as well I can only hope there's not a person here Who hatefully celebrates the the death of any Palestinian or Israeli whether civilian or not No matter your angle this resolution demanding a ceasefire will not result in the halting of any missiles The release of any hostages the elimination of any terror tunnels or greater security for Palestinians or Israelis That's it. That's the truth. I'm sorry sucks for everyone Local resolutions impact those living locally and bringing it local Beyond anything going on in israel and Palestine beyond the rights and wrongs in the middle east I went to a pro-palestinian rally in our abbot square some weeks back There were signs calling for a global intifada and speakers screaming hatefully Uncrucibly calling for blood definitely not a peace rally to be clear I have been and will be continued to be Among the first people to stand with my muslim brothers and sisters upon an islamic islamophobic attack The first to join arms and protest of any hate crime against a person of any race But no matter what you think of israeli policy and I definitely disagree with a lot of israeli policy The palestinian rally I went to in abbot square was something akin to a kkk lynching mob MLK jr. Whose birthday is coming up would have found it abhorrent Their only message of violence and that was tolerated in santa cruz Such an approach to a conflict should be shut down instead of catered to with this counterproductive resolution I want a santa cruz that feels safe for all people whether they wear yamakas. He jobs or cowboy hats I've known wonderful palestinians and israelis in our community and they embody law better than the israeli government or hamas This resolution is a tricky way for geopolitical idiocy to poison our community with one sidedness and hatred Instead make a resolution condemning jew hatred and hatred of muslims. Thank you Okay, so now this is time number four that i've had to say this We're going to hear from each person For up to two minutes tonight. However long it takes We're then going to debate and discuss this issue We're going to extend to you as you have seen since five o'clock tonight Great respect for your opportunity to speak whatever it is you have to say Those of you who can't abide by that please step outside And join the other people who are outside if you are inside these chambers You're going to comport yourself The way that i have indicated you will Next person online. Good evening Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you Okay, uh, my name is alex and i'm a jew with a broken heart for what's being done in our name I urge not only city council, but my fellow jews everywhere who know how important speaking up when it's hard to is To ask yourself what would israel have to do in order for me to speak out against it Is it building concentration camps? Building ghettos where certain people certain groups of people can't come and go freely dehumanizing entire groups of people bombing hospitals killing children I urge all of my fellow jews and people everywhere who have not spoken out yet To know where that line is and to speak out bravely when it happens For me that line has been crossed and it is so important for me to say not in my name And not with the support of this government. So I urge city council to pass this resolution calling for a ceasefire Thank you. Thank you Please come forward. Good evening and welcome Good evening everyone and I want to thank sonia and sandy for proposing this resolution despite all the challenges and how absolutely insane it is in this moment At the heart of our mission at the resource center for non-violence Inspired by the enduring legacy of dr. Martin Luther king jr. Is a profound commitment to justice and peace and commitment That has been the cornerstone cornerstone of our endeavors for over four decades Our journey rooted in the values of beloved community has seen us stand as a beacon of hope And a voice for the voiceless particularly in the intricate and often tumultuous landscape of the middle east In the spirit of dr. King's vision and with a moral clarity reminiscent of calls for unity and understanding We affirm our shared humanity An unwavering dedication to justice and peace we recognize the deep suffering of both palestinian and jewish communities And we stand firmly against the global tide of anti-islamic and anti-semite Semitic violence it is it it is a stand that reflects not just our principles, but the very essence of our collective humanity We assert with clarity and conviction that critical discourse on the actions of any state including israel should not be misconstrued as anti-semitic Just as critique of organizations like hamas should not be seen as an indictment of the palestinian people These distinctions are crucial for honest and constructive dialogue a dialogue that is essential for the path to peace In echoing the call For a lasting and meaningful ceasefire We emphasize the urgent need for the release of all hostages and political prisoners and for immediate humanitarian aid to reach civilians in gaza It is a call that resonates our deepest values values that compel us to advocate for acceptance Empathy and understanding and when people evolve backgrounds and faiths. Thank you very much I'm good evening and welcome Hi, can you hear me? Yes? Yes, we can welcome Hi, thanks. My name is keena, and i'm a Loving member of this community. I reside in the city of sanakus I'm raising my children here, and i'm proudly jewish Myself many of my fellow jews are here today to urge you to vote for this ceasefire without any of the amendments or substitute motions That are being offered to water it down. I hear from others that this resolution is Is Sorry, my jewish heritage has taught me that open debate around difficult issues is important and necessary And is also profoundly part of our culture I also heard in comments in council council chambers last month that those supporting a ceasefire are Misinformed I can promise you that we are not My grandparents survived the holocaust and I have always known that never again means never again for anyone I cannot sit idly by with w