All right, I'm ready to start. Good morning Welcome to the 9 30 a.m. Public Portion of the closed session of the December 13th 2022 meeting of the Santa Cruz City Council If you would like to comment on a closed session item now is the time to call in using the instructions on your screen in This part of the meeting the council will receive public testimony And thereafter the public line will be closed and inaccessible Please mute your television or streaming device once you call in and listen through the phone Please note. There is a delay in streaming So if you continue to listen on your television or streaming device you may miss your opportunity to speak I Would like to ask the clerk to please call roll You mayor council members Calentary Johnson present Boulder Cummings yeah, Brown here Myers here vice mayor Watkins here and mayor Brunner present. Thank you The first order of business on this morning's agenda is item number one referral to closed session For purchase of easements for the Newell Creek Pipeline from Felton to Graham Hill Road and Brackney landslide risk reduction projects For members of the public who are streaming this meeting if this is an item you wish to comment on Please call in using instructions on the screen and raise your hand by dialing star nine on your phone Or select the raise hand feature in the webinar controls of your computer When it's your turn to speak you will hear an announcement that you have been unmuted the timer will then be set to two minutes If there are any members of the public joining us here in chambers and wish to comment on this item number one Please line up to the right of the dais. You will each have two minutes to speak We request that you sign in to ensure correct spelling of the name in the meeting minutes I'm now looking for a motion on agenda item one and Actually, we do have One hand raised. I'm sorry. I didn't see you Attendee with phone number ending in 4844 go ahead and press star six to unmute yourself. Welcome Thank you Members of the community and City Council, this is Robert Norris of homeless United Friendship and Freedom group. I work with I Just wanted to command and thank Bonnie Bush the city administrator for making available The claim forms that you're going to be considering on the closed agenda two of which have to do with police misconduct but Still the problem remains. I keep getting them late and because they're not posted on the agenda as they should be Because they're public documents So I would simply urge the council to direct the administrator or suggest to her any way that it is it would be a good idea to actually Make this document which you these these claim forms in their entirety which the city Public doesn't know about you can't see the details of whereas they can with every other city council agenda item make those available for people to look at and so they can then meaningfully contribute During this open interval that you that you are required to provide under the Brown Act And I think you're also required to provide all the documents Since these don't really have to do with actual litigation in terms of actually going into it These are public documents that are available in public records. So please do this and again. Thank you Bonnie for making these available to me Although again it's such a late time that I can't really meaningfully comment on the two items involving police misconduct Thanks. Okay. Let me make sure there is nobody else No other hands raised. There's nobody in person and no other attendees hands raised Okay, that concludes public comment on item number one purchase of easements for the Newell Creek Pipeline From Felton to Graham Hill Road and Brackney landslide risk reduction projects I'm now looking for a motion on agenda item one referral to closed session I'll move the item to a closed session. Okay item number one I Have a motion by council member Myers to to refer to closed session the purchase of easements for the Newell Creek Pipeline from Felton to Graham Hill Road and Brackney landslide risk reduction projects seconded by Vice Mayor Watkins I Will now ask the clerk for a roll call vote Remember a Calentary Johnson. Aye. Boulder. Aye. Cummings. Aye. Brown. Aye. Myers. Aye. Vice Mayor Watkins. Aye. And Mayor Brunner. Aye. That motion passes unanimously Are there any members of the public who would like to speak to any items listed on the closed session agenda? we have items 2 3 4 On the agenda as well And if there are any public comments on the closed session agenda items now is the time to call in If you're attending virtually, please raise your hand or dial Star nine on your phone or select raise hand in the webinar controls of your computer You will have two minutes to Looks like we have one hand raised Sean Barrow go ahead and press star six to unmute yourself Can you hear me? Yes, welcome. Thank you for the welcome City Council President I am Calling to in reference to item number three the claim against the city of Santa Cruz I submitted a claim to the city of Santa Cruz For my vehicle being told My wife and I came to Santa Cruz for it a day at the tea house spa We got there early. We went to the pier first to find the place to eat lunch We parked in the parking lot on Elm Street at that time Which is also available in my claim. There were no parking signs posted When we came out our car was towed There were now seven parking signs in the eight spots where my car was the one with no parking sign And we went through this process to speak with the cops and the sergeant to get the claim form And then we had to go pay to get our car out of out of hawk now My biggest concern about this process is that in those conversations with the police officer and The sergeant at the time is that they overlooked my experience it with this matter I worked for 27 years for East Bay mud whereas water distribution crew Crew foreman and assistant superintendent and then assistant Then the superintendent of a service area. I've been responsible for towing people's cars I understand what with posting and signage is for Um, I know what it is to do emergency work and to do plan work Now I've had to be that person who had to tell my risk management department That we had to tow that car because it's been an emergency It is completely different when when there are no signs And then we post signs and then we made the mistake of towing someone's car When the signs showed up after now I have a valid parking ticket for that stall at that time We got there at 10 My valid parking ticket ended at one o'clock at a minimum Whoever called in whenever they showed up. I know this this call came at 11 45 to get my car towed If they had to wait at the minimum three hours We would have already been gone But that wasn't the case what happened was we came out at 11 45 our car was time has your time is up if you could Thank you. Thank you Are there any other attendees in person is anybody here to speak to any closed session agenda item? Okay And seeing no other hands raised virtually This meeting is now adjourned and council will go into closed session Members of the public that are attending Please leave the meeting and rejoin at 11 30 a.m. When the regular meeting resumes. Thank you And if council members can turn off your cameras Good morning and welcome to our 11 30 a.m. Session of the december 13th 2022 meeting of the santa cruz city council I would like to ask the clerk to please call roll. Thank you mayor councilmember calentary johnson president boulder Councilmember Cummings is absent brown here Myers here vice mayor wadkin here mayor brunner present. Thank you Our first item Is item number six a light pollution presentation and I'd like to welcome jeff perry international dark sky association Hi there. Welcome. Hi. Thank you mayor Thank you council members I have a power point presentation that has lost slides. I'm going to go pretty quickly with everything Again, my name is jeff perry. I'm a volunteer for the international dark sky association the santa cruz chapter We have been meeting monthly For about five years to discuss the issues about light pollution International dark sky association association was formed back in the 1980s to help mitigate light pollution Next slide please Artificial light at night affects all living things on earth by interrupting the earth's ancient rhythms of bright days and dark nights In 2016 a worldwide scientific study was done titled The new world atlas of artificial night sky brightness In conclusion It told us that one third of all human beings can no longer see the milky way due to light pollution That included 80 percent of north americans In 99 percent of the united states This problem is growing at two percent per year And less than one percent of the basics of light pollution Is known by the population This is why we are here today Welcome to the one percent Next slide please Light pollution in recent years has become increasingly severe with the availability of low cost high intensity Blue rich white color leds LEDs can be a part of the solution through the use of warm color leds incorporating automated controls such as dimming Time shutoffs sensors and shields Next slide please The american medical association has found that exposure to blue rich Light at night has resulted increased cancers diabetes and cardiovascular disease They warn that bright residential nighttime lighting associated with reduced sleep Impaired daytime functioning and obesity Next slide please Santa Cruz has a health in all policies ordinance light pollution is a health issue and could be addressed when considering new policies Next slide please Entomologists are convinced that light pollution is contributing to a great worldwide die-off of insects Next slide Um studies are published regularly providing the detrimental effects of artificial light at night on birds amphibians and fish Next slide please Now the international dark sky association has teamed up with the illuminating engineering society of north america And drafted the five essential lighting principles that include number one Lighting should have a clear purpose Number two lighting should be directed only where it's needed Number three lighting should be no brighter than necessary Number four lighting should only be used when needed And number five the warmer color lights use warmer color lights where possible 3000 kelvin or less Next slide please Now who here has been kept awake by light streaming into their bedroom window at night Nobody Yes, me too Me too This is prime example of light trespass when light is falling outside of the property boundary onto another property or home or sensitive environment Next slide please This is one illustration to show how important light fixture shielding is to prevent Uplighting glare and light trespass Next slide please Now all modern light fixtures should have a bug rating and bug is an acronym that stands for backlight Uplight and glare These ratings are numerical and the lower the number the better the rating Ideally being closer to zero on all three ratings Next slide please Now brighter lights do not always mean increased safety Lighting directly shining into people's eyes called glare Can decrease visibility and safety Glare is especially concerned for the mobility of disabled people And those over 60 years old Motion sensor lighting is a better deterrent to crime by alerting others that there is activity in the area Here are a number of studies. I will not recite to save time, but you can find them on our website darksky.org Next slide please Now unshielded light fixtures causes glare and increased contrast between the light and the dark Next slide please By shielding the light fixtures diminishes glare and focuses a light on where it is needed Next slide please Light pollution is also a waste of money and energy About 35 percent of lighting worldwide is wasted light shooting straight up into the sky When we do the math we spend around three to seven billion dollars a year on wasted light While adding 15 to 21 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year in the united states alone Next slide please Now it's the blue violet short wavelengths that that cause the most disruptive to human animal and plant circadian rhythms Amber lights are not as disruptive to the circadian rhythms of all life forms Next slide The california building energy efficiency code title 24 gets revised every three years and now includes lighting regulations on new buildings To conserve energy and to decrease light pollution Next slide title 24 defined the lighting zones from dark park lands through bright metropolitan downtowns That may help confine light pollution Title 24 also gives local governments such as the santa christ city council the authority to increase the local stridentcy and boundaries of these lighting zones Next slide please The illuminating engineering society of north america and idea came up with a model lighting ordinance Recently mod array has enacted a lighting ordinance and so has malibu Next slide please While title 24 currently does not regulate lighting on existing structures or government buildings Other cities counties and regions in california have implemented lighting ordinances to help address the issue Any towns and regions have found that by carefully designed outdoor lighting and preservation of the night skies Contributes to their appeal as a tourist and vacation destination Next slide please The california green building code as adopted by the city of santa cruz council also provides regulations about shielding and controls of exterior lighting on new high rise for stories or plus multifamily buildings santa cruz has adopted only the most basic option of cal green the city Council has the option to expand the scope of the green building code to apply additional types of buildings Next slide please The 2030 general plan includes a section for a lighting ordinance a strong and enforceable lighting ordinance in santa cruz will allow our town to contribute to the light pollution solution santa cruz chapter of the international dark sky association like to help this city of santa cruz implement changes to enhance the experience of nighttime environment for all Next slide um Now there are many quotes in the general plan the 23rd general plan that i am not going to recite to save time so we can go to the next slide But in chapter 11 I will say It is quoted adopt or adapt a model lighting ordinance and design guidelines jointly developed by the international dark sky association And the illuminating engineering society of north america Next slide There are more experts um here and consider the appropriateness of lighting when reviewing proposed development or renovations of parks and recreational facilities Which leads into our last slide sports lighting Recent advances in led technology lighting technology have offered lighting designers the opportunity to develop lighting Sources strong enough to light the field of play and small enough to be effectively shielded With those advances in lighting technology Recreational sports lighting can be configured and designed to be Effectively shielded to illuminate the field of play and minimize or eliminate glare and light trespass IDA has a design certification process for this Last slide Thank you very much Please let me know if you have any questions or if you're interested in becoming involved Thank you very much for that presentation. Jeff I know this has been a topic That we've Explored and like you mentioned with our california building code and green code and um, I know public works Has also recently had some projects where Lighting has been a priority and it's something I find really Fascinating and and was not aware until recently And I'm happy. I hope you have the slides that we can all receive the slides and continue Working to make improvements In that area with lighting Thank you very much. I would like to thank, uh, mr. Dettel as well. He has been very helpful In helping us mitigate light pollution. Thank you. And mr. Dettel is our Public works director outgoing Um, so thank you. Yeah Our next Presentation is uh, let's see is nicole brown here Hi Do you uh, would you like to step forward or come forward, please? Um, I have a mayoral proclamation Declaring december 6 2022 as nicole brown day and um This this item came forward. Thank you to vice mayor walk-ins here um, who introduced me to nicole brown who does amazing work in our schools Um, and I'm happy to read all of what you do and what you've done and and Hi what you've been through And you know reading about your story and Where you've come it is my great honor to present this mayoral proclamation to you today um I myself was in a car crash Five years ago. That was life threatening. I was in the hospital for three months and had to learn to walk again and so, um, your strength Is inspiring. Thank you for sharing um Your story with with everyone Whereas nicole brown's tragic hit-and-run incident that was caused by a minor driving under the influence Which left her paralyzed has fueled her determination and inspiration And whereas nicole brown continues to use her story and experience as a learning opportunity for youth In santa cruz county by speaking as a testimonial speaker at the santa cruz county office of education real dui court in school assemblies And whereas despite the daily challenges and trauma that nicole brown experiences as a paraplegic She finds the courage and commitment To reshare her story in the hopes of helping others Whereas nicole brown has recently connected with the person who has caused her injuries Approximately seven years later and has embraced this person with love forgiveness and connection Now therefore I sonia brunner mayor of the city of santa cruz In recognition of december being national impaired driving prevention month Do hereby proclaim december 6 2022 as nicole brown day in the city of santa cruz Because of her commitment to prevention and awareness and i encourage all citizens to join me in this observance I just wanted to briefly say a few words about nicole if i can just briefly I um i have the honor of witnessing her testimonial story in front of hundreds And if not thousands of students throughout our county And they are sitting on the edge of their seats listening as she has the courage to share and relive her story And i've also seen her over time Transform her story to one that is not only about prevention and awareness around driving and drunk driving But beyond that around just this transformational ability to have forgiveness And love and I am moved every single time Your story is truly inspiring to me and to others and we're so grateful At the city here within our entire county. I know you have your Your support team here my colleague denise pittman roses who also does so much work We're really lucky to have you in this community and we want to support you and acknowledge you and you deserve it So thank you and thank you trevor We can all thank you trevor for being here and thank you All right our next presentation um Is a mayoral proclamation declaring December 30th 2022 is mark deadl day In the city of santa cruz. I'd like to invite our outgoing public works director mark deadl Hi there. Hi. Good morning um And I understand Sergio is here as well Hi Would you like to begin? We have a special presentation and if you'd like to step up to the mic, please Hello everybody Yes, so um, i'm just here in part from senator laird and um, he told me to um, and you uh this resolution Declaring whereas mark deadl director of public works for the city of santa cruz is retiring after more than 21 years of dedicated service to the people of santa cruz and in recognition of his Unstounding achievements. He is deserving of the highest commendations and a heartfelt. Thank you for a job. Well done We have our official photographer council member sandy brown. Thank you sandy And I just i'm happy to take the time right now to just read this And really this is your moment Um, and you know, I met mark deadl back in 2006 when I sat on a downtown parking task force committee and Um, ever since then I really appreciate all the work you've done in so many facets in our city that most people Don't realize so i'm i'm happy to read this Whereas public works director mark deadl has brightly resourcefully and steadfastly led the largest city of santa cruz department for over 21 years And during his tenure has managed 273 staff across five divisions providing uninterrupted essential and quality of life service to the people of santa cruz And whereas mark deadl developed a strong team managing resource recovery wastewater system engineering traffic engineering parking services And operations That have been recognized with project awards many times over And whereas mark deadl's leadership and accomplishments are inspiring as he has consistently gone above and beyond To help city residents businesses and visitors And whereas mark deadl established a funding source measure h for road maintenance that has been significantly improved santa cruz road quality oversaw expansion of bike facilities Including pedestrian bridges coastal rail trail projects the orana gulch multi-use trail And the use of green markings and bike lanes to improve safety And resolved conflicts to allow the construction of the beach street bikeway and completion of two beach area roundabouts And whereas mark deadl oversaw completion of the san lorenzo river flood control project process to fema certification and directed the conversion of street lights to leds And the expansion of street lights along the san lorenzo river levy they're thought thereby improving safety And whereas mark deadl oversaw wastewater treatment facility and resource recovery facility power generation improvements Reducing our energy costs to keep rates down and reduce greenhouse gas admissions And whereas mark deadl extended the life of the landfill by 30 years By replacing the soil historically used for daily cover with tarps And he has been a leader in cowl's working group that led to cowl beach water quality success In reducing levels of ocean bacteria pollution Resulting in three consecutive years that cowl beach has no no longer been included on heal the bay's beach bummer list And whereas despite often limited time and resources mark deadl's creativity was able to meet community needs And time and time again and his accomplishments and community contributions are far too numerous to name on this sheet And whereas after working hard overseeing dozens of projects one could often find mark deadl paddle in hand Ready to compete on the local pickleball courts And whereas mark deadl has enjoyed a prolific career in his hometown and now looks forward to playing more pickleball Enjoying the santa cruz beaches And spending time with his family So now therefore I sonia brunner mayor of the city of santa cruz do hereby proclaim December 30th 2022 as mark deadl day In the city of santa cruz and encourage all citizens to join me In acknowledging his 21 plus years of dedicated service Expressing gratitude for his bountiful contributions To our safety and quality of life and wish him well in his retirement I have not done all this by myself Um, I have a huge um group of quality staff that really deserve the credit. Um I feel like i'm a conductor sometimes and just try to orchestrate but they do the work and they do amazing work I feel i've been very lucky to uh be able to work in my hometown last 20 years that's just unbelievable gift and to be able to give back See the improvements and we have a you have a strong group of department heads that work as a team um that carry out your your work and We have a strong group of leaders in the department and Just amazing what we can get done. It's uh with the support of the council and uh The residents we can deliver the projects and the work and we've done time and time again and they continue to bring in uh grants and um to deliver these amazing projects and I just want to Thank you for the opportunity. It's been awesome What a ride Thank you so much mark Wow, I think a lot of these folks in the room are here to acknowledge that too. So thank you all for Our next presentation item. I will move to later in the agenda So we will that is um item number nine Uh, so we will now continue With our the rest of our agenda I have a few announcements to make And then we'll move on to our regular meeting First I'd like to say that today's meeting is being broadcast live on community television channel 25 And it's streaming on the city's website city of santa cruise dot com Our rules of decorum are here in person on the window ledge to my left It's my job to keep the meeting running without disruption And we ask that you respect your fellow citizens when you are inside or outside the chambers For the consideration of our community, please stay home if you have any symptoms of a cold or flu Or a feeling unwell in any way If you wish to comment on an agenda item today and are attending virtually Call in at the beginning of the item you are wishing to comment on using the instructions on your screen Please mute your television or streaming device once you call in and listen through your phone only Please note there is a delay in streaming So if you continue to listen on your television or streaming device, you may miss your opportunity to speak When it's your turn for public comment, you can raise your hand virtually by dialing star nine on your phone Or selecting raise hand in the webinar controls on your computer Please note that public comment is heard only on items council is taking action on And not on regular updates and reports The items that will be open for public comment during today's meeting are items numbers 11 through 36 on our agenda I'd like to ask the council members if there are any statements of disqualification today Seeing none. We will continue. I'd like to ask the city clerk to announce any additions and deletions Okay I'd like to call on the city attorney to provide a report on our closed session this morning Good afternoon. Mayor Brunner members of the city council this morning the council met In closed session at 9 30 a.m in the courtyard conference room prior to adjourning into closed session the council by motion referred items 5.1 through 5.28 to the closed session regarding purchase of easements needed for the Newell Creek pipeline project for An council met in closed session for the purpose of authorizing the water director to negotiate easement agreements and to provide direction to the water director regarding price in terms of payment for both Council then adjourned to closed session to discuss the following items Item 2 was a conference with labor negotiators involving the poa police management and seiu temps Item 3 was a conference with legal council concerning liability claims. Those are the claims of shan o barrow John Henry Maguire Todd Pinsky Anthony Pacheco Lopez Sandra Laska toff And michael t alexander those items are also listed on your consent calendar for action this afternoon Item 4 was a conference with legal council involving existing litigation There were two litigation items in which the council received a report from and gave direction to the city attorney's office Those items are Herman Martin and Kerry Herman versus the city of Santa Cruz Second item is the city of Santa Cruz versus the regents of the university of california Those items are both pending in the santa cruz county superior court council received a report and gave Received a report from and gave direction to the city attorney's office Item 5 was the aforementioned 28 parcels of real property that was that were referred to Close session the outset of the meeting not going to read the 28 addresses or apns But those are available to members of the public on the posted agenda and there was no reportable action Thank you At this time I will move on to item number 10 And this is an opportunity for council members to briefly state any A significant report outs from external boards committees or joint powers authority meetings that occurred And I will start with council member brown Thank you mayor Just a couple of reports this time with some very good news I'll start with RTC the santa cruz county regional transportation commission Um, I'm sure many of you have heard by now, but I'll just say it again that We have officially santa cruz county has received and the city have received combined over 115 million dollars for Six transportation projects in santa cruz county and that includes 35.7 million in funding specifically for City of santa cruz rail management for segments eight and nine So these grants are in large part going to help us build out our rail trail infrastructure We did very well in the The round and So I I bring this up even though it's been widely Advertised that this happened and we're all really thrilled Because I also wanted to add I attended the RTC open house on Uh, that was last thursday and Had a chance to talk with staff at the RTC. Um, just you know informally and In those conversations, it became so clear and it was consistently expressed how Wonderful, uh, the RTC staff feels about working with city staff the relationship that they have the teamwork that You know the the real feeling like they're a team and um, you're just so effective Mark you're still here. So I'll say it. I don't know if Nathan is still here But you know a lot of compliments for city Public work staff and and others who have been involved in this process And so I just wanted to share that it really was it was just really heartwarming to hear this so consistently and How well you work together, um, so I just wanted to share that the RTC meeting we also The commission voted to move forward on an Environmental impact and some advanced engineering for the rail trail. So we are moving forward and Very excited about that The AAA the area agency on aging we received in addition to some of our regular business We had a meeting with the seniors council a joint meeting which we do annually And there was a panel on senior volunteerism and I there's so much I'd like to say here about it. It was amazing Um, it's introduced by Karen Delaney and really facilitated by Karen Delaney of the volunteer center She's also an internationally recognized expert on volunteerism. She had some amazing Uh, you know stats and and just information for us, which I won't share here But more coming as we work at the AAA to Really develop Volunteer programming and model programming in a systematic way Because a couple of the things that she said which I'll just share a couple one She these are stats that I thought were so interesting a well-run organization We'll see 18 to 25 turn over and volunteers on an annual basis And during coveted it's been over 50 percent so a lot of work to kind of bring people back into Volunteer opportunities, you know the need for diversifying those opportunities and making You know really including volunteers. I also want to add that I learned that gen xers Are some of you will appreciate this on the council here Our um have historically been the highest um Had the highest level of participation in volunteer opportunities. We're a small and mining and under recognized group So there's a lot of opportunity as um gen xers begin to into retirement To really capture that and work in new ways to develop volunteer opportunities I just wanted to share it was so interesting and you know just energizing and um, so more more to come on that And I think I'll leave it there other Other commissions were uh limited Thank you substance. Thanks. Um councilmember Myers Mayor I uh actually did not have any meetings this past do the holidays most minor at the end of the month So I don't have any updates right now. Thank you councilmember calentari johnson Uh similar, um, I think the last metro board meeting we had we already reported on yeah And so we have one tomorrow or friday. Um, our health and all policies subcommittee did meet and we um Had we're brought forward with a timeline for the tobacco waste product work that we'll be considering this next year in 2023 Um, we also looked at the a city like me report that we partnered with santa cruz community ventures to do We got some of the key findings and some recommendations and and that'll come forward to the full council Early next year and then I'll let my colleagues fill in if I missed anything Thank you Councilmember golder Microphone we did have a public safety committing meeting and um There wasn't really any action taken at that meeting. It was more of an update And so I don't really have anything significant to report out from that meeting Unless um vice mayor Watkins disagrees with me on that. Thank you vice mayor Watkins Let's see so My colleagues reported on the uh Meeting the only thing I would say about the public safety as we talked a little bit about Really refining our intent and purpose and kind of maybe bringing to the full council at some point An opportunity to look at how we as a community can define public safety, which I think will be a really interesting process And I look forward to working on that um And then this is santa cruz county met there is uh discussions of a new location and that will be forthcoming as well and um We're lucky to live in a really wonderful place with a lot of diverse opportunity here um And then just in terms of the representation on the farmers market board just continuing to work with the farmers market board and the city and um in light of the outcome of the election on Either temporary and ultimately a permanent location. So that is also underway And I believe that covers my updates. Thank you mayor Thank you. Um council member Cummings Will be rejoining us a little bit later this afternoon, but did um email me his um report out for the criminal justice council Uh, and so I will read that on his behalf The criminal justice council approved their 2022 annual report which this year focused on emergency calls related to mental and behavior health This report provides two key elements in understanding a local law enforcement response to mental and behavioral health calls a comparative snapshot of mental and behavioral health policies trainings and procedures in santa cruz county law enforcement agencies And a look at what mental and behavioral health calls look like when law enforcement arrives From whether and where a transport was needed to when the calls occurred and even whether an arrest occurred The report was unanimously approved by the cjc and it is recommended That the report be used to help inform policy and decision making around expanding mental and behavioral response by law enforcement and expansion of mental health and social worker response to mental and behavioral health related calls And that concludes. I have nothing further that has not been reported out. Um, so that concludes our council report outs. Thank you We will now continue on with item number 11 and um This Well item 11 starts the consent agenda so, um with the consent agenda items 11 through 29 Members of the public who are streaming this meeting now would be the time to call in If you wish to comment on items number 11 through 29 Instructions should be on your screen. Please remember to mute your streaming device You can raise your hand if you're joining us virtually by dialing star nine on your phone or selecting raise hand In the webinar controls of your computer If you're joining us here in person You can line up to the right of the dais my left And uh, all items will be acted upon in one motion unless an item is pulled by a council member for further discussion Are there any council members who wish to comment on? Have questions or pull any items? Uh council member mires council member brown comment on uh, 26 A comment on number 26 So I also have questions and comments on 26 I uh was going to pull the item, but I have spoken with our staff and hoping that they can Join us to answer some of those questions and talk about Some additional direction great. I'll I'll try to do it that way. Thank you um Okay, so we have questions and comments on number 26 vice mayor Watkins A brief comment on item number 21 Okay Any comments or questions? Okay, um So we will begin um with questions and comments from council and then I'll move on to public comment Uh, so let's begin with item number 21 vice mayor Watkins. You had a comment Yeah, I just wanted to um You know just think our planning department. I don't know if there's anybody here from planning But you know, this was a lot of work that went into establishing these nexus studies and fee structures for new development That is happening in our community and how some of those Dollars can go towards supporting um the public good in terms of public safety As well as the child care Impact fee and which is something that's near and dear to my heart knowing that we have such a Um a desert if you will of child care opportunities for people and families and was really excited to see this proposal come forward the money um being Collected as well as the opportunity and potential for a really amazing facility Moving forward in the mixed-use library project. So that's my brief comment and In excitement and support of that moving forward in that way. Thank you And now we will move on to item number 26 Uh council member mires. You had a comment Yeah, I just um for the members of the public. This is the um item 26 is the san lorenzo flood control project federal emergency management agency accreditation vegetation management and burrowing rodent mitigation projects authorize authorization to advertise an award Um, and I spoke with the staff off and on over the last couple days as well as some of the community members that also wrote in And also contacted me directly um I think just for the public's knowledge and sort of the history behind why we're where we are where we are which is that The city is now taking over basically the management of this federally funded flood management program or project Which basically means that people living along the river who have been susceptible to flooding now have some protection for their homes and their businesses But it also means a trade-off that we actually have to maintain The lower part of our river the lower two miles through city through the city as a as a basically a flood control channel And we are one of the few cities in america that actually have a flood control channel that looks like our river Most flood control channels have a cement bottom And they're built to move water out out of the river as fast as possible And we have a very unique situation So I always like to tell that history a little bit Because we really are something very different nationally and what's going on in our river bed where we are actually able to maintain Native vegetation it does need to be maintained each year You've seen folks down there with tractors moving the sediment But um, it's very unique that we actually preserved the lower two miles of the river at least with some riparian habitat And protection for water temperatures for our steelhead populations as well as All the birds that come and go from our beautiful river and we get to enjoy it as a part So that in that context this this project is now needing to look at What's called certifying the levy or certifying the project which basically involves the core of engineers being able to inspect Inspect the the actual infrastructure to make sure it's going to be safe if there is a big flood in sanikers So I've always known about this because I've worked on the river for two decades We knew this day would come where we needed to have this assessment done It's an important part of maintaining actually the river as a as an actual natural area as well If we fail this You don't want to go the other direction You want to stay in the direction we are now because the federal government can come in and just denude the whole thing So I think it's very important to put the context in place I had a really good conversation with the staff And with some of our local organizations yesterday last night I stressed this the idea of really kind of moving towards an adaptive management approach eventually where We're not taking out all the habitat even the small bits of habitat that i've seen grow up over the 20 years. I've been working on the river Plant I planted some of those trees now. They're very tall, which is great We see value in those for habitat for birds for for nesting and foraging areas And and they're important even if they're somewhat altered or maybe areas next to them are altered We still can retain some habitat value So, I mean, I think my main message in my comment to our to our public works and our parks department is This this is 20 plus years in the making the river we have now and we need to maintain that moving ahead It's been compromised on both sides Many people would like to see the river not, you know, completely Manage the way it is but we have a functional system that's supporting a population of steelhead as well as many many bird species And I think this is a good a good adaptive management approach I know in the first year or two we're gonna have to do probably more More trimming and and getting an opening to the Visual visual out be able to visually look and assess the condition of the levees But I think in the in the future with the qualifications that have been put into the bid We will also see improvements and hopefully an adaptive management approach my one comment would be And I bring this up a lot is it would be really nice to also be able to map our work areas each year And not only map the work areas, but maybe working with folks like the coastal watershed council or others We might be able to additionally get some volunteers to do some actual Identification to see how our native plants are responding Um, I remind the public that rivers really love to tear themselves apart We just don't like them to do that in the middle of our town So we have a safe a safety mechanism here called our levee system But rivers are meant to be disturbed. That's when they thrive. That's when the animals use them the most And so, you know disturbance is a natural thing in a river corridor So, but I think there's selective things that we can do and be very Intentional about tracking the changes along the river course. So Thank you to our staff And I'm happy to Support the item, but we'd like to you know, again emphasize this adaptive approach We have to grow into so we can maintain some of those habitats over time. So thank you Thank you council member Myers council member brown Thank you mayor So I um, I did send some questions in advance, which um, thank you, Nathan You said you'd be willing to take on here. I do want to raise them here I recognize we have a packed agenda today, but um, I do think that there are a lot of questions that have arisen that Um We can maybe get some of them answered and help people feel a little more comfortable about what the process is going to be moving forward um and so Because you know, I mean the city itself and many environmental organizations have been working for a long time to You know and to invest in restoration of the the river and you know, I think that making sure that those efforts Aren't undermined or kind of sidelined or is really important. So, um The first question and so I for thank you, Nathan for being here The the first question is why are grasses? Why are we intending for grasses to replace native ground cover along the levee path?  Okay. Um, what kinds of pesticides and herbicides this comes up in in other areas as well Are being considered for vegetation and rodent removal What and are there alternatives that have been explored? Less toxic alternatives and then uh, fourth, where can members of the public Get access to the complete FEMA revision Of the army core of engineer specifications for vegetation management on the urban stretch of the river Thanks Thank you count the number of brown, uh, nathan wind city engineer public works Appreciate the also the comments from council member mires on this critical project for the city and the residents as well as the businesses that are surrounding this Again, beautiful resource, but also a flood control project So as we're moving forward to get our female accreditation You're happy to answer some additional questions and do some additional outreach as we proceed with this process in regards to the ground cover and shrubs as council member mires alluded to we need to be able to do some visual inspections so the existing ground cover and shrubs that are blocking the view of the Outer bank or even some parts of the inner bank of the levy Need to be trimmed up and if they can't be trimmed up. We need to look at Removing some of those plants if need be such as the ice plants where that kind of more of an invasive species out there Which make it really difficult for us to manage going forward We'll be doing that public works We're doing that in partnership with the parks direct department to determine those locations for ground cover Trim back and removal With regards to the pesticides and herbicides those aren't set in stone yet We've basically said in the scope of work that those are tools that can be utilized Once a contractor is hired will evaluate whether they'll be proposing what type of treatment it They'd like to use out there. It's a submittal process that will again go through public works and Parks in arach so we can review and approve and determine. What's the best product to use for our community? As well as you know onsite out there alternatives to pesticides and herbicides We are going to be looking at Some alternatives going forward when we talk about our ongoing maintenance again council member Myers alluded to that this first take at Getting our levy into compliance will feel like a big swath of trim back because there's a lot of vegetation out there That is not in compliance. There aren't any tree renewals planned, but trees will be limbed up wishes will be Trim back in order to see that ground cover of visual inspection as far as the Standards from FEMA the accreditation to the army core In all reality, that hasn't changed there We have actually had an exemption through the army core So we are back for some of the areas for some of the plantings, but over the years over the decade I'd say Some of those plantings have gotten a little Beyond what's acceptable and so since us we're going through this FEMA accreditation process We're going through we just have a higher level scooting at this point in order to get into compliance So that's why it feels the conversation or that some of the comments May feel that we're having a drastic approach But really we're trying to get ourselves into compliance and then as council member Myers mentioned, you know Look at an approach for managing going forward Whether it's an adaptive management or including maps of Work year by year is something that will be considered. So Appreciate the opportunity to Answer your questions Thank you. I do have a couple of comments I think I know there are members of the public who are here. So maybe I'll wait on those. Thank you Um, I I would just like to add to Nathan since you're here. Thank you I know mark deadles here in person Um, I just want to thank staff for being responsive To the community concerns that have come in over the last couple days Since the agenda was posted regarding this item Um, and you know, I know that city staff is committed to keeping as much vegetation as possible I know that Some of the very specific concerns brought up Have already been taken into consideration and implemented in terms of You know updating the rejuvenation mix and Using hand tools and qualified biologists and Really having that city Staff and control over Over this process and I think all of that is really important for Our community to know and to hear because You know Even though it is a levy it has become a very integral part of our nature and Our habitat is everything and we are so lucky to have you know Our coastal watershed and people like jane meo who work every day in those areas to preserve and protect Um, and it's really an asset in our community. So thank you for Um addressing all the concerns that have come in and for really making the preservation and protection A priority within The guidelines that are required and I understand the FEMA certification would need to be complete by march With bids going out in january. Is that correct? Yeah, that's correct. Okay good Thank you Um, okay. Are there any other? No, okay. I'm going to bring it out to public comment on this item and so Uh, I will start with in person. Please and our first member of the public welcome Hi, thank you. My name is lori egan. I'm the executive director of the coastal watershed council Our work is solely focused on the revitalization of the lower san lorenza river And the challenge of managing an urban river is complex You're always balancing these different needs and benefits of this space So what's in front of you today is this balance of flood protection and habitat protection We are so grateful for the over 75 members of our community that came out to say That the habitat protection matters just as much as the flood protection And thanks to that advocacy city staff has been responsive and making the specific changes that may Mayor bruner described so At this point moving forward there are a couple specific things that still remain including the use of pesticides and herbicides that we Believe still need to be addressed We also would like to see some of the qualifications that we've included as desired as required in this project to ensure That the contractor that gets this bid is equipped to balance those competing needs Coastal watershed council will continue to monitor this work on the ground making sure that we have that balance for our community We also offer our resources and assistance and the maintenance and care of this space so that we can have This thriving urban riverfront where we can all connect to nature in our daily lives So as a council, I encourage you to approve this item with these amendments today. Thank you Thank you Our next member of the public welcome. Hi, I'm kaya from the coastal watershed council I would like to correct nathan first of all the fuma certification In the guidelines actually only allows for grasses and trees limped up to five feet So if you go out to the san lorenzo river and look at the outboard side and see the vast amount of removal It's a little bit differentiated than what he previously stated Jane meal and coastal watershed council have been working on the lower san lorenzo river A long time and a lot of the native plants supply a lot of habitat and food resources Especially to our endangered steelhead trout Even the outboard side of the river The insects lay there young in the river and that is the food for the steelhead trout So the amount of vegetation removal will negatively affect that and the amount of vegetation removal will cause erosion because in the specifications of the fuma Certification you'll have to remove the majority of root balls as well And in the place they will replace Native glass grasses that will eventually get roots as well But not similar to what is out there right now I propose that the city thinks a little bit further on this And thinks about mitigation at bare minimum because under the endangered species act if you are To disrupt habitat vital for the endangered species. You must do mitigation. So I hope you think about that Thank you for your comments Uh our next member of the public welcome Hi, my name is Can you move the mic up onto your mouth? Thank you. My name unbelievably is uh barbara river woman I was born on a houseboat in minnesota long before I ever knew about the san lorenzo river So that's my name on my social security card and on my driver's license And then I find myself Living at l real mobile home park, which is the officially designated spillway For the san lorenzo river. So I understand the flood control issue from a very real and personal perspective But I've also um been the co-author of the san lorenzo river blog um For five years with jane wheel And uh we have documented For five years every single week all of the bird life on the river There um many people don't know that that two miles swath of um stretch of river um has been identified as the 14th Of a hundred top birding spots of a hundred top birding spots in the entire county That two miles stretch has been identified number 14 number 14 of a hundred. I hope you all remember that number It's very important. I've also sent you um the a report commissioned by the city council in 2015 A base study that identified all the birds on that river And then they identified 103 different species in a three month period in 2015 So it's in a major wildlife habitat and um, I want to thank councilmember donna meyers for her very useful history. She's played a really important role in protecting the river um, and Um, there was another person. I wanted to thank you. Thank you sandy for reading our letters Is that my time? That's your time. I haven't even started to read my talk But it was about the pesticide and the herbicides and why well the reasoning behind the visibility issue. I hope we can get more answers. Thank you so much Thank you for your comment Our next comment here in person. Welcome Hi, my name is jane mule and this morning I was down at the river working with a downtown street team stewardship program and The king fisher was calling And the warblers were harvesting in the bushes What is also at stake it with this drastic reduction? Is the community cohesiveness that cwc And the estuary project have created we have brought together a huge diverse group of people young old Everybody To feel proud of what they have done to feel proud what they have achieved And that actually cannot be threatened So I urge you to find ways that these Council Coastal watershed an estuary project can work together with the reduction of saving and helping To maintain what we can so that the community can still be engaged in the river and in the river work And I want to just say that I am very very grateful for Achieving these changes because when it first came to us when we first Heard about it. It was devastating Seeing that these changes have been integrated and are possible Are actually what I believe in collaboration And co-working can achieve miracles. Please please keep going along that line I must Thank you for your public comment. I am going to just Double-check our virtual attendees. I'm not seeing any hands raised virtually Is there anybody else? Here in person for public comment Okay All right, that concludes our public comment And so councilmember brown Yeah, I just wanted to ask about the Possibility or I'm not sure if it is going to require any formal direction, but Nathan when we talked earlier, I suggested that I might that it might be worth Responding to the coastal watershed council the estuary project and concerned community members to give an opportunity For them to be engaged with this process moving forward. And so I just wanted to Ask you what you believe the best way to accomplish that would be I mean, I can just make the statement I see you're nodding a little bit but if if there's a it just feels like if we can get them into the Conversation around what work is going to be done how they can be informed and weigh in and collaborate and continue to do the work they're doing That that's what I'm hoping to accomplish here. So that's If you have any thoughts on how to do that Yeah, thank you councilmember brown for giving me the opportunity to speak again. Yeah, I think staff Can still do a lot of public outreach as a part of this project We are working We worked with jane and walks that project with her to talk about looking for alternative locations that are at the toe of the slope so that we can Still have those ecological resources adjacent to our river. It's not necessarily in the levy bank itself And so there's other spots that we're going to work to identify along the levy to Keep those plantings to keep this collaborative work. That's this process has to happen over the last several years and so it's our our public works team our parks next team working together to reach back out to Coastal watershed and other stakeholder groups Just because this process moves forward with taking this project out to bed Does not mean that the the public outreach has to stop as a part of this project And so, you know, I just want to make that very clear as well Okay, so just recognizing that that that is a priority to continue to engage with the Stewards of the river and and folks who care about it. I think that'll really go a long way to ass waging Concerns fears about what what's going to happen and that line of communication is just so critical So I really appreciate you being responsive on that Thank you Thank you. Um All right, I will that concludes our Questions and comments on our agenda Consent agenda items one or 11 through 29 on our agenda today We have one more afterthought just to I'm sorry. Um, so in terms of the this is for Nathan. This is for Nathan. Yeah, sorry In I in terms of timing how how do you anticipate this rolling out just so folks can kind of be prepared to track it and Not necessarily always wait to hear from the city Yeah, I think what we our goal would be would have a another public outreach meeting probably with Coastal watershed Be able to walk the project with them and then ask others who would like to join us on that walk to talk about the project Maybe we've met out there a couple of times now with Jane Mio But if she'd like to come back out and other again people who have been involved with this restoration work out there I'm happy to talk about the project in person to really dive into the details, you know, once you're on site I would hope to do that before We actually open bids so that we have some feedback from the community that's been working out there And so right now we're tentatively scheduled to do a bid opening on January 10th so Probably within the next three to four weeks, you know, maybe before the holidays try to do An outreach effort will work through with Lori and others to get that schedule. Great. And last question Would it be possible? I'm not asking about this coming back to our agenda, but to get maybe a memo update Um on how things are going and and if and when that would be like realistic On a timeline like sometime in the spring. Um, I'd rather hear about how things are going than get a bunch of emails saying you need to You know, you need to fix this Yeah, we can we can you know, we can typically we'll provide our project updates through the city manager and They can decide on what time is appropriate to bring it to council as far as an fyi update for for the uh, For you and the community It would be great to just get something there so we know What's happening. Thank you Thank you councilmember brown. This this would be a great, uh, communication project as well that I know we are working to improve Citywide on all our projects. So this definitely is one I would thank you to the community members for bringing up all of the concerns that I know Are a priority for this council to Um address and staff has heard loud and clear. So thank you and the work will continue to Make the best decisions moving forward on this Okay at this point Move the consent agenda I have a motion from councilmember brown to move consent agenda items 11 through 29 second the motion and a second by vice mayor Watkins May I have a roll call vote, please Councilmember calentary johnson. Aye Boulder. Aye Councilmember Cummings is still absent brown. Aye Myers. Aye vice mayor Watkins. Aye and mayor brunner Aye Consent agenda passes unanimously With councilmember Cummings absent Next up is consent public hearing These items are 30 through 34 on our agenda For members of the public who are streaming this meeting if you wish to comment on items 30 through 34 Now is the time to call in using the instructions on your screen All items will be acted upon in one motion unless an item is pulled by a council member for further discussion Are there any council members who wish to comment on or pull any Of those items I have uh, and I apologize. I was not able to sum these in advance a couple I just want to ask a quick question related to item 31 Okay, councilmember brown has a question on 31 And councilmember golder. I'm just wondering I didn't think about this either in advance But for number 33 if there's any conflict of interest between the three of us that live in that neighborhood Question on 33 Okay, um We will start with a question on item number 31, which is the um Objective objective standards So the questions that came in uh from a member of the public in multiple formats. I just want to Um, I think I've got him here I just want to ask um, and this may be for claire because I know there was an exchange between um miss brown And claire about it. Um, hi, there you are. Um, so and this is related to the transit map and and transit quality Actions or decision-making with ambag and so I'm just wondering if you could share with us um A little bit more information about how this works in relation to Uh changes in state law and the in particular high quality transit stops Oh That's my question. Um, and I would try to keep it as much in english as possible because it gets It gets into the technical weeds so Ambag recently updated their long range transportation plan. It's called the mtp scs It's now the 2045 version In their previous version the 2040 they did their mapping in a certain way We use that mapping as part of our gis and applied it to various things such as density bonus parking reductions for certain land use types, etc As they moved to their 2045 plan, they did their mapping in a different way At the same time ab 2097 passed um at the state and what ab 2097 says is that if you are Most types of development. There's very narrow exclusions And you're located within a half mile of a major transit stop as defined by the state Then you cannot the city cannot require you to provide parking We can't um, we don't say that you can't but we say it's it's not a requirement that we put on the developments um with ambags New plan the way they changed mapping is they had one map that's for um High quality transit and one map that's for bus rapid transit previously. They were combined Ambag realized that this created a lot of confusion with the implementation of ab 2097 And so for the entire ambag region not just for the city of santa crows They are producing new maps that show the applicable areas of ab 2097 Um, so this is not ambag making an amendment. This is ambag creating clarification based upon some confusion in what they did regardless um If ambag it's not the city making a term a determination And so if ambag makes a determination that the stop in question, which is near staff life on on the east side if that is in the planned transit stops because the law allows for existing and planned Then ambag will make that determination and ab 2097 will apply So it doesn't really actually overlap with our objective standards at all and we don't have control over that That's it. That was a discussion between Ambag and our transit providers on what they project their transit level of service is going to be Um, and they're just going to create that clarification in mapping Uh, previously it was in we were surprised that then we thought it was out But that could have been um us us misunderstanding and ambag recognizes that there was a lot of confusion there Thank you for that. Um, I if I could just say a couple things so we can move through this pretty quickly I hopefully make it happen that way. So I I just want to say that um, I'm When we get there, I do want to register a no vote on this item Don't need to talk about why the reasons why I've already been said But I really do appreciate your um helping me Understand the complexity of this one and and just say that I know that I mean This is something that has come up because there are people who are really concerned about the east side business corridor And the potential loss of parking over there And so and any of this is Gets causes people to be concerned. So I just wanted to put it out there Yeah, can I offer one more clarification there? Um in reading the correspondence that we got I think it was portrayed as though we were going to come in and take away parking that exists And that's that's not the case. It's applicable to future development or remodeling or reuse of existing but What you see there by and large, you know, cities change very slowly And so it's not going to be Flip of a switch and all of a sudden tomorrow There's going to be no parking and I think I definitely understand the the fear that people have and it feels like a lot But I do want to offer the reassurance that no, there's not a Santana road plan And no tomorrow there's not going to be all of a sudden parking is going to disappear So it really is state law came in and we are we are reacting to that as best we can Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Um, that was, you know, one of the questions I had asked too. So thank you for Bringing that up and my understanding is that whether um Midtown gets added Back into this transit map that um, claire was just referring to Doesn't affect the objective standards decision that we make today and um Just because parking isn't required doesn't mean developers would not provide parking especially in areas of high parking demand and um How we plan for future Um publicly owned lots will depend on many factors. Um, including private party responses and private sector responses and investments in both parking and alternative transportation approaches Um, so thank you for that clarification We had um a question on item number 33 by council member golder And 33 is um The 404 centennial street right of way abandonment at the frontage of the property Of 404 centennial street located within the r15 single family residence zone district So i'm wondering if The council could move forward with the rest of the consent public hearing agenda Then I might need to take a few minute break to do a little bit of research on the on the potential conflict question Okay, so we have a question from council member golder whether there's a conflict of interest in Voting on this item So our city attorney will assess that and we will come back to this item Uh, and so we will move forward with the rest of the Consent public hearing items uh I will now If there are members of the public that would like to speak Now is the time to do so. Please raise your hand by dialing star nine on your phone or selecting the raise hand feature On your computer when it's your turn to speak you'll hear an announcement that you have been unmuted And the timer will be set to two minutes We don't have any members of the public here in person So I will go out to our virtual attendees. We are accepting comments on items 30 through 34 With the exception of 33 right now And it looks like we have three attendees First one being phone number ending in four nine six five Go ahead and press star six to unmute Hi there Hi Hi, yes, um, I was one that brought up the issue. I'm uh, canvas brown and also on the transformation public works commission and We were told november 21st that this change could possibly happen with ambig maps um The city council was presented the idea that high quality transit would only apply mostly to That going up to the university Which isn't impacted as much because they aren't dealing with high density rezoning which we are today with the objective standards and so that's why I brought it up because Once we make this change if there is a change in the high quality transit then And if it does in the future affect the development standards when it comes to parking then of course that would have a complete ripple effect With midtown almost immediately some of these projects are You know more than 20 units many are 50. I have one at the end of my street. That's 100 units and so um There are dramatic changes um to say that they would be going slowly when these projects would happen immediately I think is Is sort of characterizing that in a way that I Couldn't perceive myself. It's certainly seeing what's happening downtown So I think it is prudent to consider the idea that we do have to mitigate and In my case, I think it would be prudent to recommend that you wait For the ambig standards before making a final rezoning of high density at 2.75 far Which is the maximum in the general plan And it's not specified by right only 1.75 is specified by right in the general plan And that was the recommendation of the original corridor advisory committee They never recommended 2.75 far after doing all the analysis and perfect I'm on traffic parking and just the lots themselves and um the appropriateness of uh, right sizing for that narrow corridor So For your comment Our next Hand raised is I am watching you Go ahead and unmute. That's okay. Thank you. Hey, I don't understand why the time is reduced to two minutes for this item But anyway, uh, there is a little new to say about item 31's proposed street tree in lou fees for removal replacement I haven't stated before the city can propose regulations and demand permits to plant and maintain street trees in the future On parkway public property that existing trees were planted and maintained by previous ordinances and cannot constitutionally be changed this way to react retroactively apply in our good american law The city attorney's argument street trees are like sidewalks is swiss cheese full of holes Trees are not sidewalks and there are many reasons why sidewalks need to be permanently maintained for instance public safety And those laws are old and not new like these in lou fees trees are optional their existence Not a requirement for everyone or for public safety And the city has no stake or claim to them as they can be the private property of adjacent property owners And if so should be able to be removed at their will without charge, especially for instance if the trees are dead Consider if you can what besides size is the just mild difference between trees and any other plant planted in a parkway I joked last meeting about a tree in bethany curved park that was long dead And wondered aloud about when the city finally got around to cutting it down Would they replace it or quit the 1700 bucks in the kitty? And I was surprised and thankful when I was cut down very early the next day Thank you to whomever, uh, but no new tree has been planted Will you be dropping a 1700 in the tree replacement kitty? Surely you wouldn't approve a new law that doesn't apply to the city But mostly the poor saps who planted street trees in the past I don't have a problem with such a law applying to new developments That's a contract developers are going to have to agree to apparently if they want to permit But no existing street tree owner has previously agreed to those in lieu tree replacement fees as a condition of past permits Uh few will want to plant street trees in the future now knowing a potential Thank you for your comment It looks like that concludes the hands raised We have one more hand A phone number ending in 9078 Hi there, welcome Press star six. Hi wanted to talk about the businesses on so cal The business owners on so cal are really rightfully alarmed about the combination of ab 2097 and the city's proposal to increase the far Way beyond the 1.7 far recommended by the corridor advisory committee They understand the threat Posed to their livelihoods if the increased far is enacted today Because it can't go down after it's once put in place But do you recognize that this combination of changes is a threat to their very existence? downtown shop owners have the double protection of the downtown association and the parking district But they also insist that on street parking places remain at their front doors Even though they have plenty of off street parking garages to serve their customers What plans are in place to protect the east side businesses? When this does come to fruition if you pass this high far The combination of ab 2097 and the increased far is missing the most important part It doesn't have a plan in place to protect the commercial viability Of our area businesses Please keep in mind that your vote today will be the one that supports and ensures their ongoing existence Or dooms their existence Thank you for your comment Are there any other further? comments from attendees We are taking public comment on consent public hearing items 30 through 34 with the exception of item number 33 pardon me mayor I have been able to review the matter and conclude that The council members who live on the west side are all outside of the 500 foot radius of the centennial projects So you can take action on item 33 as well. Thank you so much So we are able to proceed with item number 33. There is no conflict of interest in that item If there are any attendees who wish to comment on item 33 as well at this point Um, you can raise your hand by dialing star nine if you are attending virtually um And i'm not seeing any further hands raised um, I would like to ask another clarifying question um Based on the comments that were made in public comment so I will bring it back to council and um let's see if anyone from um Item number 31 If any staff can clarify some some some things brought up My understanding was the general plan Allows already allows for 2.75 far And so therefore we have to allow for 2.7 far 2.75 far and there was um A comment brought up about the 1.75 far floor area ratio for those who are wondering What that stands for? Can you speak to that? Yeah, absolutely. Um, thank you mayor brunner sarah noisy from the Planning and community development department So um the language that's in our general plan was written Presupposing that the corridors plan was going to be conducted So it does currently contain language that is unenforceable in the way that the state laws have changed So it um contains language and miss brown included this with her correspondence that says You know 1.75 far is allowed by right and you can get up to 2.75 far If you meet certain specified standards that are in the zoning code those standards Were canceled when the quarter plan was canceled So there we have nothing in the code to be those standards other than the code as it is Under the state law what this essentially means is that our general plan is allowing a 2.75 far gives that allowance and we don't have zoning that implements that so What that means with the way the state laws have shifted in the last couple of years is that The general plan governs where the zoning and the general plan Don't match each other and and the zoning can't be used to implement the general plan Then we essentially have no zoning standards Then we just go with the development that's allowed by the general plan So the rezoning action that is part of the objective standards package Makes that transparent and it just incorporates zoning that exactly reflects what is already allowed today under the general plan So this is the development intensity that's being proposed and potentially approved by your council today Is the same development attempt intensity that has been on those parcels since January 1 2020 Thank you for that clarification. So we're not increasing Any far that's already no, that's already in place and has been for two years Okay, that's 2020 um and then the um parking Issue that was brought up in in comments. Um, I know we touched briefly on it before but just um, ab 2097 is a state law um, and it's parking exemptions apply within a half mile of uh Existing high quality transit And so how does that affect the midtown parking and the concerns that were brought up and are you working with the midtown Area to address that I know that um You know future parking demand really is um depends on a lot of factors um that I mentioned earlier um So I just want to address those concerns Um, I'll start Claire and then you can step in if you need to So, uh, so there's a couple of things that are going on here So first of all, um, I want to acknowledge that you know, the state law state laws are stepping in and Overruling local rule in a lot of different arenas. This is happening to us in land use It's happening about climate action. It's happening about parking. It's going to continue to happen Um, you know, we are in a place at this point in the state of california Where the housing crisis has created just a completely untenable situation And so the state is trying to pull on as many levers as they can To support the development of more housing so Folks that are operating businesses in existing buildings are Understandably a little bit unnerved when they hear about this, especially if they don't own the property where they're operating their business Um, we understand that a lot of the work that we do city-wide is responding to issues as they come up So, you know, this area along soquel and in midtown, it's a core commercial area, it's uh, you know a very important part of community and um It's also a zone for commercial development and most of the buildings that are there now They're more than 25 years old So there's already some amount of development capacity that hasn't been realized on those parcels And some of them over the next 20 30 years probably will start to turn over and be redeveloped with new type new buildings We do have some things in our objective standards to maintain space So there is commercial space continues to be available in these places because we do want to incorporate policies that ensure that commercial activity can continue to happen in this area And the issues with parking Are going to shift right if new development comes in we're going to see parking demand shift This is something that's contemplated in lots of different city documents There's um direction in the climate action plan or there's an action in the climate action plan I believe that calls for us to really reevaluate all of our parking standards because we know that um easy parking at destinations is one of the primary drivers of single person car trips and so it's you know, we're going to start seeing pushes on parking happening from a bunch of different directions And that's something that we're going to be working on in terms of implementing the cap over the next couple of years So that said A new parking facility at I think it's lot four on so tell next to the fire station Has been discussed at various different points in the past Really lot 32 fire station two. Okay. Thank you. Sorry I don't know what's the parking lot Downtown Okay, thank you. I never said anything else lot 32 um next to the fire station on so cal and has Previously been discussed as and you know a location for a new structured parking solution So maybe that's something that will rise in priority over time if parking becomes really tight in this neighborhood um I also just want to reiterate what claire said earlier just because parking can't be required by the city Doesn't mean it won't be built by developers We see that with density bonus projects now like in a lot of places density bonus projects don't have to provide any parking And many of them are still most all of them that we've seen so far Are still opting to provide pretty substantial amount of parking. So, um I understand that there are these concerns. I'm not going to say they're unfounded And I think that we'll just have to address those as they come up. It's not something that we can really, um Plan ahead for like building more parking than we need is part of what got us into the Tangle of traffic that we're dealing with today. So, um, we'll just continue to seek feedback and hear from folks and as issues come up We'll You know discuss them with your council Among our department. They'll get prioritized in the cip You know and we'll continue to move forward and solve them as they arise Thank you. Um, can can I just um add that it would be really helpful to engage moving forward with those um So cal avenue and midtown area businesses As much as possible in the process. So they're informed along the way and not hearing about it After any decisions Are being made but to be involved in that process I think a good point was brought up that downtown businesses have the downtown association And the parking district and some representation there Um, but I know all of us can help with that too But I think it would be really important based on some of the input that we receive today To really make sure that they're engaged moving forward so that those concerns can be Addressed Yeah, absolutely. That's a very good point. Um, I I did actually attend a meeting of the midtown business owners association and they have regular contracts with Staffed in our economic development department. Yes, and I know that parking is one of the things that comes up periodically for them and Just a report out from that one meeting that I did attend with them The biggest concern that they had was um building turnover and sort of being priced out of their existing buildings And that is something that you know, we've discussed with Economic development like what kind of supports can we put in place? And that's something that we're going to continue to deal with um and face as it comes forward as redevelopment happens over time Great. Thank you. I'm happy to work on that as well. Thank you so much um, are there any other um questions or comments, otherwise I will Uh from council. No, I will ask for a motion I was just gonna briefly if I can and then I'll make the motion. Great. Um Just I want but you know, sarah you brought it up in terms of the connection with economic development So how we're working in concert with your division with economic development and the midtown business association Moving forward and thinking about how to mitigate some of these impacts as they come about in the future but I appreciate the explanations and the questions and the um responses and with that I'm happy to move the consent public hearing items Okay, we have a um Motion from vice mayor Watkins on consent public hearing items 30 through 34 And I have a second by council member calentari johnson May we have a roll call vote Council member calentari johnson. Aye boulder. Aye Coming so that's in brown Aye with the exception of item 31. We're registering no vote. Thank you Council member meyers I Vice mayor Watkins. Aye And mayor brunette Aye that motion passes unanimously with um The exception of item 31 council member Brown voted no and council member Cummings is absent All right next on our agenda Is our general business items We have item number 35. This is our city of santa cruz children's fund committee appointments For members of the public who are streaming this meeting if this is an item you wish to comment on now is the time to call in Using the instructions on your screen The order will be a presentation of the item by staff Followed by questions from council We will then take public comment and then return to council for deliberation and action And I'd like to welcome um Bonnie bush city clerk and tony elliott our director of parks and recreation All right. Thank you mayor bruner. Appreciate the chance to present. Um, this children's fund oversight committee proposal to the council today kind of tag teaming here with city clerk bonnie bush and Matt huffaker our city manager has been involved in this process as well as three of our Council members vice mayor wadkins and council members calentary johnson and golders who will welcome their Input and feedback as we go through here, but the their request today and really the goal for today is to appoint The first children's fund oversight committee for the city And so if I may I'll share my screen And go through a presentation. I want to provide a little bit of context and background As this is the first iteration of the children's fund oversight committee So provide some background as we go through this and move toward Appointments to this committee So give me one second. I'll share my screen Okay, are you able to see my screen? Yes. Thank you. All right Okay So the children's fund oversight committee really was A a product of measure a that was voted on in 2021 voter approved ballot measure which amended the city charter to allocate I'm sorry. I'm going to switch my screen here just for a moment. I'm sorry Here we go. All right Forgive that issue there So measure a really established New language in the city charter such that 20 percent of the city's cannabis business tax would be A really earmarked toward early childhood development programs. So this is the children's fund It was created by measure a The children's fund purpose and intent Um, and I've got these areas highlighted on the screen before the council and the public here But the the purpose and intent of the children's fund is to support enhancement and expansion Of evidence-based programs to prioritize access to early childhood development prevention and vulnerable youth programs without supplanting City of Santa Cruz services or investments And the the money is the second bullet point here The monies are to be used to provide services to children and youth less than 25 years old and according to the asset based youth development principles In placing a strategic priority on serving children and youth most impacted by poverty trauma and violence So really that the intent and summaries to serve our our most At risk and in need Youth and Santa Cruz and why does this matter? So I think this is a key part That's really i'm explained by measure a really well And so cities will benefit When our youth live in safe peaceful and healthy lives free from involvement With the juvenile and criminal justice systems Um by helping city of Santa Cruz children and youth to succeed in school and graduate high school prepared for college career and community The city will benefit and then fostering the healthy development of young children ages zero to five We'll have a positive impact on the Santa Cruz community as well So the language and measure a just wanted to call some of this out really to talk about the context here In the importance of this children's fund as we look toward putting this committee together today So over the last year A there's been a children's fund working group Which has included uh, Nicole young from optimal solutions consulting our city manager And then vice mayor Watkins councilmember calentary johnson and golder And so the purpose of that group we really worked on trying to trying to figure out Based on the language and measure a how would we put this committee together? What is the purpose and function of the committee? How would the appointments be made? What would the terms be how would all this work in the spirit of reviewing past allocations, but most importantly Looking toward and ultimately making recommendations to the council for future allocations of the children's fund. So some of the outcomes here We're really geared toward the work of the committee And arriving at what we are presenting to the council today, which is recommend recommendations on the representatives of the committee the terms the appointment process And then ultimately that purpose and function of the committee and big picture for the council and Big picture for the community as well. So this committee does not yet have bylaws So with the appointments today, uh, the next step would be to craft draft bylaws And then bring those back to the city council in the new year for ratification Um, and then the goal would be for this committee to meet in kind of a late winter timeframe And into the spring In its first meetings as it begins to contemplate Where have funds been spent in the past and then what recommendations will the committee have for the council As the council heads into the fiscal year 24 budget cycle in the new year So before I move forward and we get to this recommendation process and again just for the council and the public Um, this has been a I think a really important topic and one that we've shared and Communicated with council on periodically over the last few years But just recently we've created a new city webpage with a lot more information So for the community in terms of how this money has been spent Where the money has been where the money has gone the impact in serving the community A lot of that data and more information More information to come Will all be at city of Santa Cruz comm slash children's fund so Any any information any questions? A lot more information at city of Santa Cruz comm slash children's fund So we'll move toward this process to a point The oversight committee so again just in terms of context the Uh cities let's see. I think I've got some typos on this page But the city council shall designate a community oversight panel To make recommendations on the use of future revenues in a manner consistent With this section this comes from measure a Which may include but shall not be limited to representatives of the following Um parks and recreation commission Santa Cruz city school district first five Santa Cruz youth organizations and the city council So what we've arrived at in the uh proposal before the council today Um would be a seven member oversight panel So it would include one member from the parks and rec commission One member from the city school's district one member from first five Um one member from a youth organization Two at large positions. So uh or uh seats Um and those uh were Part of an application process. We'll talk about here in just a minute and then one applicant Or appointment from the city council. So seven positions total And i'll lean on the city clerk here in terms of our uh process to Make these appointments, but the recommendation Will be to and we've got the names here. So the recommendation on the at-large positions We've got two names rachel dan and donna geffkin to serve as the at-large members. Those were the two applications that were received Uh recommendation to direct the mayor to appoint one council member and one member from a youth organization And then to ratify the members brought forward And already recommended prior to this meeting by the parks and rec commission The school district and first five. So those three members Are listed on the screen here as well. Holly look at telly christman row And david brody So I will leave it at that and would welcome bonnie bush to speak to just the process Um and mayor would lean um On your direction as well in terms of the best process Uh to make these appointments I think the process may be a little bit different for for each one But would welcome bonnie to weigh in on the next steps. Thank you Thank you so much. Uh director aleat Appreciate the context and background and information This is a very exciting moment I know I'm excited that I've watched this process evolve. So um, I'm happy I think what what I will do is separate out each of the three Numbered items in the motion and so that we can vote on each one. Does that work? Um city clerk. Yeah Okay, do you have anything else to add? Um, no, I don't okay I I will go out to public comment after we have any questions from council. So at this point Are there any questions from council? Okay, so I will um take it out for public comment Uh, there's nobody in person here. Are there any virtual attendees if you would like to comment on item number 35 city of santa cruz children's fund committee appointments Please press star nine on your phone or choose the raise hand feature on the webinar controls and um You will have two minutes to speak I'm not seeing any hands raised From our virtual attendees Okay I will bring it back to council and so, um, I will start with um Uh item 35 one is a point two at large members to the children's fund committee with terms ending january 31st 2026 and My understanding. This is the application process that happened and we had two applications submitted Rachel dan and donna jeffkin Geffkin, I apologize uh geffkin and um So our do any, uh Uh council members, uh Have any nominations on those So there's are we to support one or two? to These are for the at-large members So I would move to a point rachel dan and donna geffkin to serve as the at-large public members second Okay, we have um A motion by council member mires seconded by council member brown To a point rachel dan and donna geffkin to serve as at-large members Of the children's fund committee with terms ending january 31st 2026 May we have a roll call vote council member calentary johnson. Aye boulder. Aye Um coming to the absent council member brown. Aye Okay mires I spare what can't I and mayor brunner. Aye that motion passes Six Eyes with council member Cummings absent so moving on to 35 number two Direct the mayor to a point one council member and one member from a youth organization to serve on the committee I'd like to um first ask council for any um nominations uh for council member to serve Council member golder. I'd like to nominate uh vice mayor wotkins Okay, we have a nomination for vice mayor wotkins any other nominations Okay, may we have a roll call vote? I'm sorry. Who lives a second? Oh, I'll second a second Uh, I thought somebody's made a motion so no Council member golder nominated and no other nominations For council member. Okay. So for by consensus, it would be vice mayor wotkins by consensus vice mayor wotkins Thank you. I know you've been working with this since its inception. So thank you for continuing the work with this Congratulations Um and Are there any council members that would like to nominate a youth a member from a youth organization to serve on the committee Council member calentari johnson. Yes, uh executive executive director of united way of san jacuz county keisha broder Okay, we have a nomination. Is there Any other nominations? Okay, so is that a by consensus Um, we have keisha broder from united way As the member from a youth serving organization to serve on the committee. Thank you item 35 3 Ratification of members brought forward. We already have these recommendations here Um, this was brought forward by parks and recreation commission We have holly locatelli christman roe and david brody those members Okay, a second We have vice mayor wotkins With a motion to ratify the members brought forward by parks and rec commission and a second by council member mires May we have a roll call vote? Council member calentari johnson. Aye Boulder aye council member Cummings is absent brown. Aye Myers aye vice mayor wotkins. Aye and mayor broder Aye that motion passes six eyes with council member Cummings absent Thank you very much. I look forward to hearing more and council member calentari johnson I just have a brief comment. I wasn't sure when the appropriate time for that was I do want to acknowledge and thank everyone who worked on this especially vice mayor wotkins who I think you initially brought this forward in like 2017 or something so A long time. So this is a really special occasion to see it moving forward And I want to thank tony and everyone's on us on staff who helped us get here I do want to mention that um, I've been in touch with and working with a youth action network And bringing in our youth liaisons per the children youth bill of rights that we passed last year And there is interest certainly by youth in our community to be participating As part of this advisory committee. So one of the asks of the advisory committee is to engage with The youth liaisons to figure out a way that is meaningful and authentic for youth engagement in this oversight committee Thank you very much Vice mayor wotkins I could go on and on and on but I won't I won't I'll spare you all for that But I do want to just thank the council for Nominating me to serve on this committee as mentioned This is something that's near and dear to my heart And it's something that we should be really proud of as a community as a council So I want to thank each and every one of you for Really traveling these uncharted territories in waters because this is a brand new thing and that not Having a dedicated children's fund but in that it's using a portion of our cannabis tax dollars Which was a new revenue source which communities rarely ever often see Um to have it go to this purpose I also just want to thank parks and rec and all of the attention that you put into creating this process that I think Is um holistic and yet not overly cumbersome and hopefully will serve as a great advisory tool Moving forward and and extended gratitude to those who will be serving and who have Volunteered to serve as our at-large as well um And I think just you know moving forward there's so much opportunity to really celebrate what we're doing right and All these preventative investments matter and we don't often Quantify them in terms of what we're not seeing later down the line So by supporting our youth by supporting our families with child care We're supporting their ability to live in a balanced lifestyle here in Santa Cruz or after school care or others, right? And so however we can paint that as part of the bigger picture of our community and the wellness of our community And really in line with the health and all policies work. It's part of that So anyways, I just I will stop there, but I just want to thank you all and I look forward to serving on this committee And thank you for the opportunity Thank you so much We are very lucky to have this new committee moving forward and I look forward to hearing About the work and seeing the bylaws next year That concludes item number 35 And it looks like councilmember Cummings has joined us And we are about to begin item number 36 homelessness response quarterly update. I'd like to welcome I'd like to welcome larry and walle homelessness response manager Welcome and while larry and walle is getting set up. We Have been receiving these quarterly updates This will be an update regarding some of the homelessness response programs since our last update and services Including our homelessness response action plan Implementation some of those details objectives and outcomes And while he's setting up, maybe we will take a five minute bio break And just give the tech a minute to get set up. Thank you so much Okay, if council members can turn on your cameras It looks like we have Council members returning. All right Is everything on track now? I think we're ready. Thank you, mayor. Great. Thank you. I'm glad we were able to Do that So next up on our agenda is item number 36 Homelessness response our quarterly update For members of the public who are streaming this meeting If this is an item you wish to comment on now would be the time to call in Using the instructions on your screen and the order will be a presentation of the item by staff Followed by questions from council and then we will take public comment and return to council for Deliberation and action I would like to now welcome larry and walle homelessness response manager Good afternoon, mayor members of the council larry and walle homelessness response manager Pleased to present this quarterly update on our homelessness response programming I'm enjoying this afternoon with my colleagues and our city's homeless response team specifically our outreach team With monica. Hernandez and jeremy lennard who will be presenting As part of this presentation on their experiences and perspectives in doing this work And so they'll join me in a little bit For this homeless response update you will notice in both the staff report That's provided in the way we organized this presentation where we've changed the format a little bit To follow the areas of our action plan. So this is kind of a new organizing paradigm if you will to presenting this work And so we organize the report in our five action areas Which are building capacity and partnerships permit affordable and supportive housing basic support services care and stewardship and community safety So for this report So we have time for the presentations from my colleagues Really just want to highlight a couple of items in each of those categories There's more detail on your staff report and happy to entertain any questions you have for the more detailed report But we really just want to go through the highlights And key updates in this presentation So in the first action area building capacity and partnerships The key pieces of updates on our partnership and collaboration Involve our continued work with local partners including the county And multiple community-based organizations and philanthropic organizations That we're working coordinated to meet some of the shelter and service needs in our community As we continue to see behavioral health mental health and addiction issues are key struggles for our unhoused population And to address this challenge We're taking a collaborative programmatic approach By working collaboratively to create systems of access and care to help people understand their options And we're doing through that through outreach service connection coordination shelter expansion And a little bit later in the presentation. I'll talk a little more in depth about the reef housing Rehousing focused service coordination that we've been engaged with with county and community partners Related to the closure of the camp in the sander mental park The city and county also continue to collaborate on shelter expansion on the housing matters campus at coral streets We're moving forward with plans To demolish the river street shelter that's in a dilapidated state And really trying to repurpose that site for shelter expansion As i've reported previously We're collaborating On that work where the city will be procure the sleeping shelters for that site individual sleeping cabins And the county will fund the program and service operations that would be provided by housing matters So that's a key piece of collaboration to work to expand shelter capacity in the city of sander crews In addition a lot of work in this past quarter has been done around expanding our internal capacity in the city Is i mentioned the last quarterly update We worked on The additional positions that were Part of the homelessness response action plan specifically making The positions for our outreach staff permanent and expanding that team by Another part-time position. So we're fully staffed there in this last quarter The focus has been on standing up the new public works homelessness response field division That will be supporting this work as we do the homeless response work in a cross department integrated and coordinated fashion So this is a team of four and a half full-time equivalent positions We have the field supervisor on board and the recently the field workers were hired. So this unit is nearly Complete And began operation in early november Community engagement efforts have has been proactive communications has been a focus over this last quarter It's particularly during the san lorenzo park encampment closure process. We established regular updates Both for internal and external stakeholders including city staff neighbors business community organizations partners as well as the media The city also published a new homelessness response website, which you can find at www cityofsanta crews.com slash homelessness And it now features a frequently asked questions Section that is informed by community questions that we receive And there's also a news and updates section that highlights recent activities successes and community engagement opportunities The second action area of permanent affordable and supportive housing Uh Update on our housing production progress This work is principally led by our planning and community development departments. So this is looking at the expansion of affordable housing production Currently the city has over 2,300 residential units in process Approximately 850 of those units are deed restricted affordable housing units and over 220 of those affordable units Are permanent supportive housing units for people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness In addition, there's two 100 percent affordable projects under construction the 70 units at Pacific station south and 65 units on the west side of cedar street at cathgard In addition, um at the housing matters campus the harvey west studios project, which includes 120 permanent supportive housing units Uh Has had good success in achieving its fundraising goals for that project in the last quarter They've been awarded 26 million dollars in funding from the state and they anticipate construction beginning as soon as spring in 2023 Also over at coral street. We're moving forward with the master planning process We've contracted with the dollon group to lead the design master planning design process Last night we kicked off the community engagement process with a Designs charrette process Was well intended. Uh, this was an opportunity for community members service providers members of our unhoused community Participated as well in providing input on what are the key features and services that Should be integrated into as we envision what could be built out at that campus And so ideas around the type of housing what it would look like the different uses the kinds of services that would be on that site Whether it be expanded medical care mental health services Basic hygiene services available not just to people That are in programs on campus, but available to the public at large So great conversation Great ideas and so the design group will take that feedback from this initial Community meeting develop some design concepts and present it back in a month or two to get feedback on those concepts So that's moving forward and There'll be more info at the next quarterly meeting Um, also, um an update on eviction prevention efforts if you recall back in april of 20 22 the council authorized 150,000 dollars to be dedicated to support eviction prevention efforts In alignment with the county's efforts county invested 500,000 dollars And this was really um at the timing was associated with the moratorium from the state ending on eviction protections So so far So that 150,000 dollars augmented an existing contract with the community action board And to date That's 108,000 dollars of that 150 has been utilized to support 40 households in the city of santa cruz That encompasses a total of 111 people in those households So that that effort has been effective and useful and most of the funds have been expended to support families in need The third action area is basic support services, which includes safe sleeping and safe parking Extensive work has been accomplished in this area over the last quarter and really over the last the entire year Thinking about where we started in january to today Since the beginning of To 2020 back in january when we first opened the 12 20 river transitional community camp The city has opened 165 safe sleeping and shelter spots And 27 safe parking spots And collectively these services have reached and served about 310 individuals this year A quick update on the hygiene bay At the housing matters campus As you may recall that this has been closed since about 2019 because of its need of repair Funding was provided Ultimately out of the american rescue plan act funds But that work be commenced back in august and is on track to be completed either at the end of january or early february So that'll bring bring back online much needed hygiene services including showers and restrooms and a whole new boiler system water tanks and HVAC system for the poly loft building that it's contained in A little bit more detailed to just give you an idea of the programs And the outcomes that we're beginning to see So at the city overlook up at the armory building This is a again, we've talked about 135 tent space program We opened the first 75 at back in may and the second Phase of that shelter expansion Utilizing the inside of the building Was opened in september For a total of 135 again This is a 24 7 staffed program from the salvation army that provides service connection We now have other service providers that are up working at that site um on occasion to Support the service connection and housing navigation.  We've got behavioral health on site A couple times a month as well as hbhp medical staff as well. So that's another aspect of collaboration That is ongoing to Provide more robust services for that program and so far we've seen nine percent Of the participants have moved on into housing or more stable shelter through that program And it's served approximately 217 total individuals over the course of this year 1220 river Transitional community camp. This is the other city program That is operated directly by our city staff. It's a 2710 program case management services are provided weekly It's self managed program by the participants with community responsibilities and we've seen Really remarkable outcomes. I think for the short time that this program has been ongoing 30 percent of the participants so far have moved into housing or more stable housing And at this time I would like to turn the presentation over to my colleague monica hernandez um, we'll talk about A case study with one of the participants in the 1220 program about their rehousing experience Good afternoon mayor vice mayor and council members I'm monica hernandez and i'm a member of the city outreach team I've been on this team since july of this year and have been working in human services locally since 2015 Thank you for the opportunity to share a case study on housing out of the 1220 river street transitional encampment A couple who has lived in our community for many years were able to secure the space at 1220 the first week that we opened Although they have been connected to downtown streets team since 2017 Housing had been difficult to attain and still remains difficult to attain With dst's assistance in in employment support services and case management One member of the couple was able to attain and maintain full-time employment since 2018 the other partnered The other partner volunteered with dst but still had the responsibility Of managing the vehicle that they lived in Ensuring they would not be ticketed or towed and other basic survival functions while their spouse was at work Downtown streets team helped this couple obtain an emergency housing voucher ehv in 2021 and provided housing navigation support EHVs are tenant-based rental assistance under section 8 that ensure the voucher holder does not exceed paying more than 33 Of their income towards rent With a combination of the voucher and funds made available by the county and through community action boards flexible funds This couple was able to have their deposit paid for as well as furnishings to their permanent space Staying at 12 20 meant this couple had a stable and safe place to sleep without worrying about having their belongings stolen No longer having the worry of having their vehicle sighted or towed. It provided breathing room They were no longer in survival mode as they had time and space to begin their transition from houselessness to housing The participant who held the voucher could focus on housing searches instead of focusing on moving her vehicle While her spouse was at work Her spouse was able to stabilize their health and could maintain full-time employment 12 20 provided the pathway to stable housing by helping this couple transition From living out of their car into a transitional community camp and into eventual permanent housing one of my biggest takeaways from supporting this couple Navigating the process of attaining housing during their time at 12 20 Is how crucial it is to have Is how crucial it is to have an active supportive and transparent collaboration with other agencies in this work There is often an overlap And duplication of efforts when one agency does not have the awareness that another Is already engaging with a participant It would better serve all of our participants If the services they previously accessed or are continuing to access and are eligible for are reflected in homeless management information system hMIS Working with this couple to obtain housing reinforce the need there is for permanent Housing but also for the need there is in this community for more housing stabilization support It means so much to me that i'm still in touch with this couple and have the opportunity to continually witness their successes And clearly by getting so emotional um It's been a privilege to be able to help them Finally get out of homelessness Because that as we know is not always the case and it's incredibly difficult work So thank you for providing the opportunity for me to share this very personal story Thank you monica Yeah, our city outreach team do incredible difficult emotional work every day and I thought it was important to try to bring their perspective to to this work. So, um, thank you monica for sharing that and I'll thank jeremy in advance One last item i wanted to add to uh, this area is just an update on our The safe parking programs up at the armory so Our tier three program At the armory opened august 22nd august in this year That is a program with the free guide as the operator In partnership with the association of faith communities uh The program quickly filled up. It's a capacity of 16 participants 16 vehicles And a total of 26 participants Um, in addition to filling up the capacity Almost immediately there's an extensive wait list And this is a 24 7 program for extended period of time That's providing case management service connection and also doing housing navigation and problem solving Um, and so this program has been very successful. I think in getting to capacity It's still early and so there's not really, um housing outcomes yet to be able to communicate But in terms of participation and interest and demand for the services has been really robust and and Our contractor free guide and association of faith communities are doing tremendous work The fourth action area of care and stewardship I want to talk a little bit more about the rehousing focused service coordination This also speaks to the collaboration and partnership that Has been built over the last year with the county and our other community partners As I reported the last quarterly update back in august We talked about The collaboration that was established to try to expand case management service connections and rehousing efforts for persons Camping in the bench lands as we went through The closure process of that camp City and county staff along with our community partners met weekly Back beginning back in july and continue that work through the closure process Working to coordinate a line and augment the services that were provided in the camp It began with the city outreach team conducting a census of everybody in the camp That was willing to provide their information getting that information into the outreach module of the HMIS That really became a platform for being able to share information across the agencies And so that was really successful This past quarter as we wrapped up the closure of the camp the focus has shifted for this group and so The service coordination that was established continues We've invited different partners now that the focus Um has shifted The relationships and connections that were established with case managers and other service providers When people were in the encampment Have followed them to those who took shelter up at the city overlook or 1220 So we've maintained those service relationships with our partner agencies And we're continuing to have now twice a month meetings with this new Team of collaborative service coordination, which we're referring to as rehousing focus service coordination That is really trying to focus on case management And problem-solving housing navigation So it's really kind of a case review to ensure coordination alignment But that collaboration that was built through that process is ongoing and we anticipate it continuing As an effective method to coordinate our work and be Effective in how we're serving our unhoused community and building connections towards housing Also in this area just a quick update on progress towards Building a mobile crisis response team We've initiated the process Engaged with the consultant to do essentially the feasibility and needs assessment This model is You know designed to provide an alternative response to law enforcement response For those requests for service that are non-criminal and non-emergency in nature The model operates Really in two person teams with a crisis intervention worker that's skilled and counseling and de-escalation As well as a medic such as an EMT or a nurse That can respond to a broad range of situations. Those are the familiar. This is kind of a cahoots style kind of model That's in operation and several jurisdictions across the country and across the states And so we've engaged a consultant this first phase of feasibility and needs assessment And they'll have a report completed In february is what we're anticipating and then a second phase of work would involve supporting operational and service implementation based off of that Over the last quarter a significant lift With the city related to homeless response Was the sand the renzo park restoration project and this first phase of the bench lands camp encampment closure Uh The goals of this project were to relocate people living the bench lands to safer places with access to better services To return the park to a safe and usable public open space and then Thirdly to restore the park's local habitat for environmental and flood protection The camp enclosure phase uh was completed in the first week of november Uh the city provided an alternative shelter option to Everyone who is interested in shelter Through that process 39 of the people who had been living in that encampment accepted an offer to a city shelter Um now this does not include uh placements and other shelters Which we know there are some but don't have a complete number again as we're building kind of the data integration Um, we're getting a better handle on data, but this is strictly for this our numbers going through the phase closure process and overall through that process 170 people connected with um a better Shelter or safe sleeping site and are moving on a path towards more stable housing Um, and at this time, I would like to turn the presentation over to my colleague jeremy lennard thank you larry Mayor vice mayor and city council I'm honored to be here today to highlight some of the successes and hardships that our homeless response team has seen over the past two years I appreciate you taking your time Uh to listen to these boots on the ground Experiences that we've had My name is jeremy lennard. I'm a long time santa cruz small business owner And i've working with i i've been working with houses folks in santa cruz for over 10 years Previously I was a case manager at housing matters working with families as well as assisting people with obtaining housing under a rapid rehousing grant I worked for the county as part of the management team for the benchlands managed camp and later the gulf lands Uh for the armory complex I've been providing direct services in the san lorenzo park for three years I imagine there isn't one person listening to this report whose life hasn't been touched by substance use in one way or another Nationally our streets are being ravaged by fentanyl and santa cruz is no different From what i've witnessed while working in the benchlands the negative impacts of substance use coupled with varying degrees of mental illness greatly impact many of our houses neighbors Over time as the camp became more entrenched I saw peripheral issues develop around substance use which caused the most vulnerable to become victims of violent crime Uh these crimes generally go unreported to authorities The social environment and the ease of access to fentanyl in the streets make it difficult for service providers To operate and find success with referring people to various services Couple all of that with high cost of living lack of affordable housing and we have the situation that we see playing out on the streets In conjunction with our city partners our outreach team was able to advocate for and refer hundreds of people to mental health services medical health services Drug treatment and assistance with obtaining benefits and placement into shelters and sle's sober living environments We work very closely with the incredible staff at hbhb housing matters Downtown outreach workers downtown streets team social workers and service providers county wide and beyond We get a lot of call from from mental health workers from from all over surrounding counties Uh often on our outreach phone Uh to me personally the most satisfying assistance that we provided on the streets of santa cruz is successfully Uh reuniting at strange families We would often run across parents wondering the bensons looking for their missing children Outreach team our outreach team received recieves calls almost daily from people looking to connect with lost family members We assist willing parties with reunification and attachment to mental health services counseling substance use treatment and all kinds of other services I would like to take this opportunity to specifically highlight one of the many positive outcomes that our team faced and one that hit me especially hard Over the course of the time of our time in the bensons our team intervened in nearly 50 overdoses In the afternoon of one of our normal stints in the bensons We heard a commotion and a call from narcan from a nearby tent After gaining entry we found a person unresponsive and immediately administered two doses of narcan We called ems We could not detect a pulse so I began CPR and after about 10 minutes the person regained consciousness just as ems arrived They were taken to the hospital and made a full recovery In my experience people are often hesitant to go with ems after an od so we stand by and encourage them To avoid recurrence of an overdose We also make ourselves available after the fact to help people navigate substance use treatment options that we have available to us The next day the person found our team in the bensons thanked us and asked us if we could get Help getting referral to drug treatment, which we did we contacted our county partner ryan jimenez Who is a gem of this community? She works really hard with the folks on the street Um, and she referred refer this person to substance use treatment and they were admitted Fast forward four months. I was walking down next to the county building I was just kind of lost in my thoughts just walking down on my way to the bensons And I heard a voice call out from from behind me. Hey, jeremy. Hey, how's it going? And I I mean people call our names all day long, right? So I I turned around And they said they wanted to hug the person that saved their life We had a nice conversation and they told me that they had been clean and sober for 90 days living in an sld Sle and regained employment Due to our trauma informed approach and consistent outreach this person trust our team and was able to reach out and ask for the help that they needed From my experience left unchecked people in active fentanyl use don't often recognize that they have a problem Which can lead down a very dark path These issues don't just affect the user and their families and friends They affect the health and well-being of our entire community They negatively impact the ecology of our wild lands and our watersheds and the natural beauty of santa crews that we all care about By providing access to treatment support and coordinating access to services We were able to uh and also providing assistance in a shelter our outreach team has been able to mitigate some of these problems At the 12 20 river street transitional encampment And the city overlook were able to go one step beyond just outreach by offering some stability in what oftentimes is a chaotic lifestyle This can be a first step in providing access to services That offer intervention into that cycle of addiction Um or other hardships that our participants may be experiencing At 12 20 participants are required to meet regularly with case management and work on their individual service plan with the goal of getting off the streets I feel that only providing compassionate access to resources while simultaneously holding people accountable Will we be able to come up with solutions to this vastly complex issue of houselessness? I really appreciate everybody here listening to our stories. Obviously we we care a lot about these things So I really thank you guys. Thank you so much Thank you, Jeremy Our final action area if community safety some quick updates Just where are we at in the coastal development design permit process related to the oversized vehicle ordinance? If you recall the last updates, um, it's Making its way through the appeal process It's on track for de novo hearing with the coastal commission That date has not been set yet by the coastal commission. Their next meeting is not until February of 2023. So that would be the earliest would be heard Coordinated outreach and response Again, I've talked a little bit about The integrated approach to doing this work Rather than doing in silos with individual departments Uh, so during this quarter the Santa Cruz police department is dedicated to community service officers to support outreach and encampment response across the city In addition, I mentioned the new public works field division. Uh, that started operation in November Uh, and these teams are working in tandem with our city outreach staff and other staff in police fire and parks To outreach to people experiencing homelessness and support connections to services and available shelter And to clean up and mitigate the impacts of encampments Uh, and then just another quick update Related to the care court, you know, the governor's proposed uh care court proposal sp 1338 was approved by the legislator in legislature And signed by the governor in september This legislation compels people with untreated Uh, severe mental health illnesses into housing and treatment And counties will have to establish these new courts by december of 2024 There is some additional funding provided by the state to establish the courts, but there is presently No new