HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-29 City Council Agenda Packet1
City Council
Special Meeting
Monday, November 29, 2021
5:00 PM
Council Chamber & Virtual
Pursuant to AB 361 Palo Alto City Council meetings will be held as “hybrid” meetings with the
option to attend by teleconference/video conference or in person. To maximize public safety
while still maintaining transparency and public access, members of the public can choose to
participate from home or attend in person. Information on how the public may observe and
participate in the meeting is located at the end of the agenda.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION
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Meeting ID: 362 027 238 Phone:1(669)900-6833
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IN PERSON PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENT:
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•If you cannot or do not wish to comply, you can still participate virtually
TIME ESTIMATES
Time estimates are provided as part of the Council's effort to manage its time at
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at any time, including while the meeting is in progress. The Council reserves
the right to use more or less time on any item, to change the order of items and/or
to continue items to another meeting. Particular items may be heard before or after
the time estimated on the agenda. This may occur in order to best manage the time
at a meeting or to adapt to the participation of the public.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
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requests to speak will be taken until 5 minutes after the staff’s presentation. Written
public comments can be submitted in advance to city.council@cityofpaloalto.org
and will be provided to the Council and available for inspection on the City’s
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HEARINGS REQUIRED BY LAW
Applicants and/or appellants may have up to ten minutes at the outset of the public
discussion to make their remarks and up to three minutes for concluding remarks
after other members of the public have spoken.
2 Special Meeting November 29, 2021
Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to the Board after distribution of the agenda packet are available for
public inspection at www.CityofPaloAlto.org.
CALL TO ORDER
CLOSED SESSION (5:00 – 6:00 PM)
Public Comments: Members of the public may speak to the Closed Session item(s); three minutes per speaker.
1.CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS City Designated
Representatives: City Manager and his Designees Pursuant to Merit
System Rules and Regulations (Ed Shikada, Kiely Nose, Rumi Portillo,
Sandra Blanch, Nicholas Raisch, Molly Stump, and Terence Howzell)
Employee Organization: Service Employees International Union,
(SEIU) Local 521, Utilities Management and Professional Association of
Palo Alto (UMPAPA)Palo Alto Peace Officer’s Association (PAPOA), Palo
Alto Police Management Association (PMA), International Association of
Fire Fighters (IAFF) local 1319, Palo Alto Fire Chiefs Association (FCA),
; Authority: Government Code Section 54957.6 (a)
SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY (6:00 – 6:20 PM)
2.YMCA
STUDY SESSION (6:20 – 7:05 PM)
3.Safe Routes to School Annual Report 2020-2021
AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS
PUBLIC COMMENT (7:05 – 7:25 PM)
Members of the public may speak to any item NOT on the agenda. Council reserves the right to limit the durati on of
Oral Communications period to 30 minutes.
CONSENT CALENDAR (7:25 – 7:30 PM)
Items will be voted on in one motion unless removed from the calendar by three Council Members.
4.Approval of Minutes November 15, 2021 City Council Meeting
5.Approval of Amended and Restated Purchase Order Number
4521000199 with Altec Industries, Inc., to Increase the Purchase
Order Amount by $33,202 to a New Not-to-Exceed Amount of
$667,068, for the Purchase of Two Peterbilt Crane Trucks through a
Cooperative Contract, in the Scheduled Vehicle and Equipment
Replacement -Fiscal Year 2020 Capital Improvement Project (VR-
20000)
Presentation
3 Special Meeting November 29, 2021
Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to the Board after distribution of the agenda packet are available for
public inspection at www.CityofPaloAlto.org.
6.Approval of Amendment Number 2 to Contract Number C19173514
With SP Plus to Add Two Years to the Term for the Valet Parking
Program for University Avenue and California Avenue Parking Facilities
7.Approval of the Office of the City Auditor's IT Risk Management
Assessment Report as Recommended by the Policy and Services
Committee
8.SECOND READING: Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Existing Palo
Alto Municipal Code Chapter 5.20, Collection, Removal and Disposal of
Refuse, and Adding Chapter 5.40, Edible Food Recovery, to Comply
with Senate Bill 1383 (Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Reduction
Strategy) (FIRST READING: November 1, 2021 PASSED: 7-0)
9.SECOND READING: Adopt an Ordinance to Amend the FY 2022
Municipal Fee Schedule Increasing Parking Permit Fees (FIRST
READING: November 1, 2021 PASSED: 6-1, Tanaka no)
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS (7:30 – 7:50 PM)
ACTION ITEMS
Include: Reports of Committees/Commissions, Ordinances and Resolutions, Public Hearings, Reports of Officials,
Unfinished Business and Council Matters.
10.Review and Recommend Renter Protection Policies for Development
and Implementation (Continued from the November 15, 2021
meeting) (7:50 – 8:50 PM)
11.Review Three Grade Separation Design Alternatives for Churchill
Avenue and Confirm Which Alternative(s) Continue Towards Selection
of Preferred Alternative, and Direction to City Staff for Conducting
Additional Studies for Consideration of Final/Preferred Alternative; and
Authorize Staff to Negotiate with AECOM for Additional Scope of Work
for Amendment to the Contract (Continued from November 15, 2021)
(8:50 – 10:20 PM)
COUNCIL MEMBER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS
Members of the public may not speak to the item(s)
ADJOURNMENT
INFORMATION REPORTS
Information reports are provided for informational purposes only to the Council a nd the public but are not listed for
action during this meeting’s agenda.
QA
QA
Presentation
4 Special Meeting November 29, 2021
Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to the Board after distribution of the agenda packet are available for
public inspection at www.CityofPaloAlto.org.
OTHER INFORMATION
12.Schedule of Meetings
Standing Committee Meetings
Finance Committee Meeting November 30, 2021.
Public Letters to Council
5 Special Meeting November 29, 2021
Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to the Board after distribution of the agenda packet are available for
public inspection at www.CityofPaloAlto.org.
PUBLIC COMMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Members of the Public may provide public comments to teleconference meetings via
email, teleconference, or by phone.
1.Written public comments may be submitted by email to
city.council@cityofpaloalto.org.
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CLICK HERE TO JOIN Meeting ID: 362 027 238 Phone:1(669)900-6833
City of Palo Alto (ID # 13503)
City Council Staff Report
Meeting Date: 11/29/2021
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Title: Safe Routes to School Annual Report 2020 -2021
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Transportation Department
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Council receive and hold a study session discussing the Annual
Report for the Safe Routes to School Partnership.
Executive Summary
The local Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Partnership between the City of Palo Alto, the Palo Alto
Unified School District (PAUSD), and the Palo Alto Council of PTAs (PTAC) works to reduce risk
to students en route to and from school, and to encourage more families to choose alternatives
to driving solo more often to promote healthy, sustainable school commutes. In May 2017, the
Palo Alto Safe Routes to School Partnership adopted its first Five-Year Work Plan. This report
and study session document the progress of the Safe Routes Partnership since then and provide
program updates for FY 2021. Due to the pandemic, the FY 2020 Annual Report and
attachments were transmitted to Council as an informational item in December 2020.
2020-21 Program Highlights
• City SRTS staff provided mainly online pedestrian and bicycle safety education to more
than 5942 students in 150 classrooms, for a total of 238,920 instructional minutes.
PAUSD supported this compulsory education with modifications to support social
distancing.
• Led by City SRTS staff, the SRTS Partnership worked collaboratively to partially or fully
complete more than 86 percent of Year 4 Work Plan Strategies.
• Upholding the SRTS commitment to equity, City SRTS Staff and PAUSD/PTA Safe Routes
partners collaborated with the Bay Area Outdoor Recreation Program (BORP) to support
a City-funded summer Adaptive Cycling Pilot event for 20 PAUSD exceptional needs
students and parents. Additional equity-focused programs/activities included:
• Roughly 200 student bikes repaired during 5 secondary school bike repair events.
• 27 parent-facilitated holiday bike, helmet and lock donations.
• A City SRTS Staff-led Spanish online SRTS presentation to 30 PAUSD parents.
• A City SRTS Staff-led “Walk with Ruby Bridges” Black History Month suggested
activity list with 30 signups.
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• Other volunteer-led and organized events included:
• A 12-participant parent-supported family ice-cream ride.
• An 18-participant “Bike Everywhere Day” Family Ride.
• A 15-participant Gunn/Fletcher SRTS “Getting to High School” ride.
• 5 PTAC-supported secondary school Bike Repair events.
• Socially-distanced “Walk and Chalk Return to School” encouragement
events at seven campuses.
• Paly and Gunn student led recreational and bike-repair Bike Clubs.
• High School student representation at City School Transportation
Meetings.
• Council approval to move forward with the VTA-grant funded South Palo Alto Bikeways
project to enhance the Waverly Multi-Use Path, East Meadow Drive and Fabian Way.
• Charleston-Arastradero Bike Corridor Phase 2 Project completion.
• Office of Transportation 20mph speed limit sign installation around 27 schools.
Background
For more than 50 years, the City, PAUSD, and the PTA have maintained a child transportation
safety-focused collaboration in Palo Alto, meeting monthly as the City/School Traffic Safety
Committee (CSTSC). In 2006, this collaboration adopted a National Consensus Statement relying
on a ‘5-E’ (Encouragement, Education, Engineering, Enforcement and Evaluation) injury
prevention framework to support safe, healthy and active school commutes. In 2016, the
Partnership adopted a sixth ‘E’ for Equity to align with national standards ensuring that SRTS
Partners provide additional resources to support the needs of under -resourced or under-
represented families. Additionally, the SRTS Partnership approved a “Five-Year Work Plan.”
While Five-Year Work Plan objectives remain somewhat fixed from year to year, the strategies
to achieve the goals change each year, based on priorities set by program partners (Refer to
Attachment A for the 5-Year Work Plan). Five-Year Work Plan goals and strategies depend on
the Safe Routes to School Partnership’s funding and capacity and may be subject to change as
demand dictates.
In 2020, at the recommendation of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, the term
“Enforcement” was replaced with the term “Engagement” to support a more communit y-
focused approach to supporting transportation safety and compliance with existing regulations.
Discussion
COVID-19 Impacts
Prior to the onset of the pandemic, most yearly SRTS mode share data reflected linear positive
growth, warranting the creation of innovative, progressive programming strategies to sustain
these trends.
In light of pandemic-related mental and physical health and safety considerations 2020 -21 SRTS
efforts to integrate daily physical activity into student schedules, foster independence and
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academic achievement, reduce traffic congestion and pollution around schools, and promote
healthy social and emotional stress reduction and coping skills were more relevant than ever.
When it became clear that 2019-20 school closures would present transportation challenges
well into 2020-21, the Partnership pivoted to prioritize the transportation safety needs of more
vulnerable student populations that faced disproportionate pandemic-related impacts, as
highlighted by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership in Attachment C. These
challenges provided a unique opportunity to further integrate equity and inclusion into SRTS
education, encouragement, engagement, engineering program priorities. In addition to the
outcomes shared in the 2020-21 program highlights, a recently drafted Equity and Inclusion
Action Plan will help the Partnership advance strategic equity goals to maximize impact and
support continued program growth. The plan will be reported out on as a part of next year’s
Council Report.
Proposed Pandemic-impacted City budget cuts prompted PTA Parent Transportation Safety
Representatives to successfully advocate to restore school crossing guard program funding.
Although the PAPD Traffic Team funding was not restored, remaining officer s continued making
themselves available to support schools during arrival and dismissal times, when feasible. This
year’s funding gaps also led City SRTS Staff to provide direct education to PAUSD students,
where those programs are typically contracted out to regional pedestrian and bike educators.
In doing so, staff achieved the outcomes captured in the 2020-21 Program Highlights, amidst
navigating the complexities of halved teaching time, quarantined classrooms, differing levels of
student and parent mastery with the Zoom platform and scheduling and accommodating all
synchronous, asynchronous, distance, hybrid and mixed grade learning cohorts.
On-campus social distancing restrictions warranted the cancellation of yearly in -person 8th
Grade Getting to High School events, the 6th Grade PTA-supported Back to School Bike Safety
event, the 90-minute blacktop portion of the Third Grade “Bicycle Life Skills Bike Rodeo” and
the PTA-supported “Bike Palo Alto” education and encouragement event. Online classroom -
based pedestrian and bike safety lessons were provided in place of these programs, and the
Bike Rodeo blacktop activity was converted into an opt-in summer class. Staff anticipate
resuming regular in-class Bike Rodeos in Spring 2022 and are hopeful PTA partners will
resurrect Bike Palo Alto as an in-person event next year.
Pandemic-related factors significantly elevated the number of SRTS-related community safety
requests at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year. More than 168 direct and online SRTS-
related program assistance inquiries were issued, and as City and District partners collaborate
to catch up on these requests, resources and staff capacity are stretched. Parent partners and
community members have been patient waiting for responses to their req uests and some
parent Transportation Safety Representatives volunteers have even pitched in to provide
assistance in responding to concerns voiced by their school communities.
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Possible factors generating an elevated number of SRTS-related community safety requests
include:
• Traffic congestion and poor driver/bicyclist behavior exacerbated by:
o A year of work-from-home and distance learning policies disrupting normal
traffic patterns;
o The closure of some school entry points to align with PAUSD social distan cing
protocols;
o A cohort of distance learning and Kindergarten families that may have missed a
year of active transportation messaging and on-foot or bike practice;
o A move toward car-based event programming to accommodate social distancing
guidelines to minimize the risk of COVID transmission;
o An elevated number of Spare the Air Alerts due to wildfire increases and other
poor air quality events;
o Delayed, missed, abbreviated or less interactive 2020 -21 SRTS educational
programs impacted by truncated teaching schedules and policies limiting the
presence of adult educators on campus.
• Staff and volunteer capacity limitations including:
o Implications of constrained City financial resources, resulting in adjusting staffing
resources to accommodate special grant activities, diminishing capacity for
general program coordination;
o Labor shortages in key support roles including: crossing guards, bus drivers and
police officers
o Turnover of existing, tenured staffing, resulting in delays in hardscape and signal
modification projects due to recruiting and training activities.
o Overcommitted parent volunteers, several of whom resigned from their roles
due to distance learning choices and personal family challenges related to
navigating the pandemic.
Preliminary data suggests that the aforementioned factors have resulted in 2021 -22 declines in
active transportation mode share. As conditions normalize, a return to the average 1% year -
over-year mode-share growth experienced in pre-pandemic years is anticipated (See
Attachment B for 2019 travel mode data). 2022-23 academic year strategies in the Five-Year
Plan will focus on achieving this goal. A comprehensive table of 2020-21 SRTS activities
organized by the Six Es is provided below.
Table 1:
Safe Routes to School Program Activities, 2020-2021
DATE ACTIVITY PARTNERS (IN ORDER
OF LEADERSHIP)
DESCRIPTION OUTCOMES
ENCOURAGEMENT
Bi-Monthly City School
Transportation
Safety Committee
Meetings
CPA SRTS, PTA, Palo
Alto Police
Department, PAUSD,
Community
Community
Meetings
• 6 2-hour meetings
• Approx. 130
participants total,
or 21 participants
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DATE ACTIVITY PARTNERS (IN ORDER
OF LEADERSHIP)
DESCRIPTION OUTCOMES
Participants per meeting
Bi-Monthly City School
Transportation
Safety Committee
Planning Meetings
CPA SRTS, PTA, PAPD,
PAUSD,
Agenda-setting
meetings to
support CSTSC
• 5 1-hour meetings
10/15-11/01/20 Fall Walk & Chalk
School Reopening
Events
PTA, PAUSD, CPA
SRTS
Green
transportation
encouragement
events to
support the
return to school
• 7 School-based
events
1/20/20 Ruby Bridges Winter
Walk and Roll
Activities
CPA SRTS, Youth for
Community Service
An online
Google form
highlighting
various options
and activities
• Outreach to more
than 50
community
members
• 30 Participants
11/19/20 PAUSD Family
Engagement
Specialist Event
PAUSD, PTA, CPA SRTS Online Zoom
Q&A-based
parent event
• 34 Participants
6/29/21 Silicon Valley Bike
Coalition Annual
Bike Summit
CPA SRTS, SVBC Participation
in a panel of 3
presenters
sharing active
transportation
best practices
• 5-minute “Palo
Alto Safe Routes to
School: “Pandemic
Edition”
presentation
EDUCATION
Ongoing Spare the Air Youth
Meetings
Metropolitan
Transportation
Commission, City,
Regional Providers
Sharing best
practices in SRTS
programs across
the Bay Area
• 4 quarterly
meetings
August-
November
2020
Sixth-Eighth Grade
Back to School
Bicycle Safety
Lesson
PAUSD, CPA SRTS Bicycle safety
online
education
provided to all
PAUSD 6-8
grade students
• 14 1-hour
presentations
• 950 students
March-May
2021
Bicycle Life
Skills Lesson
CPA SRTS, PAUSD 1 30-45-minute
online bicycle
safety lesson for
all PAUSD 3rd
graders
• Supported 744
students
3/1-5/1/21 K-2 Pedestrian
Safety Lesson
CPA SRTS, PAUSD
30-minute
online
pedestrian
• Supported 2003
students
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DATE ACTIVITY PARTNERS (IN ORDER
OF LEADERSHIP)
DESCRIPTION OUTCOMES
safety education
classroom
lessons
4/1-6/1/21 Fifth Grade Bicycle
Safety Refresher
CPA SRTS, PAUSD 45-minute
grade-based
online bike
safety
education
• Supported 787
students
8/1-11/1/20 Grades 6-8 Bike
Safety Lessons via
EdPuzzle
CPA SRTS, PAUSD
Gradewide
assembly-based
bike safety
education for
grades 6-8
• Supported 2420
students
6/1/21 Middle School Bike
Skills
WheelKids Bicycle
Club
CPA SRTS
Adjusted for
COVID
• Six 4.5- hour
classes
• 77 students
• Approx. 77
parents
ENGINEERING
Ongoing 2012 Bicycle +
Pedestrian
Transportation
Plan Projects
Transportation staff,
Public Works staff
Improvements
identified by the
community to
enhance walking
and bicycling
• Ongoing design
feedback
• CSTSC input
Ongoing South Palo Alto
Bikeway Support
Transportation and
Public Works staff
Projects on
school routes
arising from
VERBS grant
analysis and
from PAUSD or
PTA requests
• Ongoing design
feedback
• CSTSC input
• Education/
outreach
assistance
Ongoing Palo Alto 311
Service Requests
CPA SRTS Requests for
improvements
on school routes
submitted by
the community
• 11 completed
requests
Ongoing Pedestrian and
Bicycle Advisory
Committee (PABAC)
Support
CPA SRTS Monthly reports
of SRTS
activities and
collision data
shared with
PABAC advisory
committee
• 12 summary
reports
at monthly PABAC
meetings
ENGAGEMENT/ENFORCEMENT*
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DATE ACTIVITY PARTNERS (IN ORDER
OF LEADERSHIP)
DESCRIPTION OUTCOMES
Ongoing Monthly Collision
Reporting
PAPD Juvenile bicycle
and pedestrian
collision data
shared monthly
with Safe
Routes/Transpo
rtation staff
• 103 Collisions
Ongoing Traffic Law
Enforcement
PAPD Juvenile bicycle
and pedestrian
traffic citations
shared monthly
with Safe
Routes/Transpo
rtation staff
• 270 Juvenile
Citations/Warnings
Ongoing Bikes
Registered on Bike
Index
Bike Index, CPA SRTS,
PAPD
• 1142 total bicycles
registered since
2019
• 5 bikes recovered
Ongoing Juvenile
Traffic Safety
Diversion
Program
PAPD, Traffic
Safe
Communities Network
of Santa Clara County
Traffic School
for youth with
on-bike
citations
• 1 Juvenile
diversion class.
Approx. 45
students and 30
parents
Ongoing Adult Crossing
Guards
PAPD Crossing guards
for elementary
and middle
school students
at qualifying
intersections
• 29 Crossing
Guards
EVALUATION
Ongoing SRTS Data Providers
Network
Regional Meetings
Santa Clara Dept. of
Public Health, City
Sharing of
County
resources and
best practices
• 4 2-hour Meetings
7/1/20-11/1/20 SRTS Parent Tally CPA Assessment
Survey gauging
parent support
for active school
commutes
• 481 Responses
EQUITY
Ongoing Local Equity
Presentations
and Meetings
CPA SRTS, City
Manager’s Office
PAUSD VTP
Parent meeting
and Youth for
Community
Service Ruby
• 2 45-minute
presentations
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DATE ACTIVITY PARTNERS (IN ORDER
OF LEADERSHIP)
DESCRIPTION OUTCOMES
Bridges
Presentation
Ongoing Bike, Helmet and
Bike Light
Giveaways
CPA, Stanford,
BikesBridge
Ongoing
coordination
• 25 bike helmets
shared with PAPD
• Approx. 27 parent
volunteer-
facilitated bike,
bike light and lock
donations
Ongoing Materials
Translation
CPA SRTS Translation of
SRTS
Communication
materials into
Spanish
• 2 translations
12/1/2020-
5/1/2021
Bike Repair
VeloFix, PTA, CPA
SRTS
Free school-
based bicycle
repair clinics
funded through
the City of Palo
Alto. Extra
repair costs
funded by PTA.
• 200 bikes repaired
at secondary
schools
• 40 student bikes
given away via
Gunn ReCycles
Source: Office of Transportation, October 2021
Program Evaluation
As shown in Table 2, the 2020-21 education programs reached approximately 5,942 students or
roughly the same number of students educated in a normal year, but at about half the number
of instructional minutes in alignment with the PAUSD modified teaching schedule.
Table 2: 2020-2021 Safe Routes to School Core Education Program Reach
PROGRAM NUMBER OF LESSONS/
ASSEMBLIES/DOWNLOADS
NUMBER OF PAUSD
STUDENTS TAUGHT
K-2 Pedestrian Safety Digital Download 385 385
K-2 Grade compulsory online Pedestrian
Safety for Distance Learning and Hybrid
Cohort A and Cohort B Classrooms
110 2,003
3rd Grade compulsory online lessons for
Distance Learning and Hybrid Classrooms
22 744
3rd Grade Socially Distanced Bike Rodeo* 3 100
5th Grade compulsory online Bike Safety
Refresher Distance Learning and Hybrid/In
Person Classrooms
23 787
6-8 grade compulsory online "Back to School
Bike Safety Education" Lessons
N/A 2,420
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Summer Exceptional Needs Adaptive Cycling
Event*
25
Total for Core Education Programs 50 5,942
Source: Office of Transportation, October 2021
* Denotes in-person activity, all other classes were held online
In addition to post-program surveys of teachers, administrators, and volunteers, the
Partnership collects yearly data to estimate levels of school commute alternative mode use. In a
typical year, a table sharing the outcomes of bike counts and travel mode tallies would be
included in this presentation. However, since the 2020 -21 school year was a statistical outlier
from previous years, it was impossible to incorporate meaningful data into longitudina l
analyses. Data collection has resumed for the 2021 -22 school year, and results will be reported
out during the 2021-22 Annual Report out to the City Council. 2019-2020 school year data is
shared in the Attachment B.
Some data gathering efforts moved forward in 2020-21, including the administration of an
elementary school parent travel tally. Data validity was compromised by only 481 out of 4,056,
or 12% of parents responding to survey completion requests. This also led to an over -
representation of one particular school population (Ohlone) in the survey results by a margin of
almost 2:1. Future efforts to improve parent response results may include intensifying a
collaboration with PAUSD’s Office of Educational Technology, supporting regional efforts to a dd
parent school commute questions to the California Healthy Kids Survey, providing additional
resources to incentivize voluntary survey completion, or using staff time/possible grant funding
to promote more effective outreach.
While limited conclusions can be drawn from this data, it was noteworthy that the number one
response (41%) to what accommodations might influence parents who do not currently permit
their children to walk or bike to school to consider doing so was “greater access to protected
pathways.” This could be a significant data point as the City builds out school-focused
engineering projects and plans. Further analysis of a larger sample size to confirm the validity of
this data point is warranted.
Table 3: If your child(ren) do not walk or bike to school regularly, what treatments/actions
might encourage you to reconsider allowing them to do so? Check all that apply.
SCHOOL TYPE
#
RESPONDENTS
% OF
RESPONDENTS
More protected pathways 173 41.4%
Ensuring my child has a better understanding of the rules of the
road when walking/bicycling 120 28.7%
Ensuring my child becomes a more proficient bicyclist 117 28%
Waiting until my child gets older 107 25.6%
More school crossing guards to help student pedestrians cross at a
particular intersection 96 23%
Not applicable, my child(ren) walk or bike to school 96 23%
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A trusted student/adult to walk/bike to school with my child 84 20.1%
A walking school bus or bicycle train organized by the school along a
particular route to/from school 72 17.2%
Changes to transportation infrastructure to help moderate vehicle
speeds along certain routes 65 16.6%
Changes to my work schedule or location 69 16.1%
Changing the speed of traffic along the school route 44 10.5%
A bicycle that will help me/my child cover longer distances more
quickly, such as an electric bicycle 32 7.7%
A working bicycle for me/my child 26 6.2%
None of these things would lead me to reconsider 21 5%
Source: Office of Transportation, December 2020
Additional metrics evaluated educator and parent opinions of the revised K-8 online curriculum.
Findings indicated that approximately 80% of educators favor in -person, hands-on lessons.
Lastly, transportation injury data requests and inquiries continue to be hindered by limited staff
capacity to define the data set, as well as incorporate variables such as chronic under -reporting
of pedestrian and bicyclists crashes, the lack of available solo bike crash data, challenges
measuring the severity of collisions and more.
Adopted SRTS Objectives, 2018-2022
The 2019-20 Five-Year Work Plan as reviewed and accepted at the April 19, 2019, City
School Transportation Safety Committee (CSTSC) continued serving as a roadmap for the
program’s development, as the need for staff to triage pandemic impacts delayed the Team’s
capacity to achieve Year 4 strategies for achieving program goals to grow and strengthen
community-wide support through the SRTS Six E's model for safe, active, healthy, and
sustainable school commutes via the seven key Five-Year Plan objectives. Detailed Year 1-4 Safe
Routes to School Partnership yearly and ongoing strategies are shared in Attachment A.
1. Adopt and institutionalize key SRTS practices and policies across the Partnership and
gather best practices from elsewhere
2. Provide, continue, and enhance school- and community-based SRTS education
programs, materials, and communications
3. Expand and enhance SRTS events, encouragement programs, and materials to
communicate the value of SRTS to parents, students, and the community
4. Gather data to assess and improve SRTS program outcomes
5. Engineer routes to school to develop more safe and efficient networks for families
choosing active transportation
6. Increase awareness and engagement between City Departments and the community
to advance awareness of the SRTS mission, goals, and strategies
7. Commit to an equitable distribution of SRTS resources to encourage broad SRTS
community participation
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2020-21 City/PAUSD/PTA Safe Routes to School Partnership 5 Year Plan Year 4 Strategies
Year 4 Strategies Fully Completed
S-1 Including Youth as the Fourth Partner of the PA SRTS Partnership
S-2 Enhance SRTS online educational materials and resource library
Enhance High School youth outreach
S-3 Pilot one Winter Walk and Roll event
Conduct two local family cycling events
S-4 Complete Year 3 Strategy to distribute a PAUSD parent survey
Develop a behavior change-focused SRTS infographic
S-7 Increase SRTS outreach to students with special needs and other disabilities by conducting a
minimum of one SRTS presentation
Year 4 Strategies Partly Completed
S-1 Hold two PAUSD/City/PTA Partnership meetings to reinitiate PAUSD SRTS policy
implementation and renew Partnership Consensus Statement
S-3 Ensure updated, standardized SRTS language is included in all PAUSD websites and
parent handbooks
S-6 Ensure that relevant transportation concept plans, updated Pedestrian Bicycle Plans
and proposed community engagement strategies are reviewed by the CTSTSC
S-7 Complete Year 3 Strategy to Work with PAUSD Family Engagement Specialists to develop an
Equity Action Plan
Year 4 Strategies Not Completed (mainly due to pandemic-related social distancing barriers)
S-5 Complete two site assessments
S-6 Work with the Community Services Department to administer a bicycle facility Needs
Assessment i.e. “Safe Routes to Parks”
Summary
Percentage of Year 4 Strategies Completed: 57%
Percentage of Year 4 Strategies Fully or Partly Completed: 86%
Percentage of Year 4 Strategies Not Completed: 14%
Policy Implications
This program is consistent with key transportation goals in the City’s Comprehensive Plan 2030,
including creating a sustainable transportation system, reducing congestion, and providing a
safe environment for all road users. Specific policies and programs include:
• Policy T-1.16: Promote personal transportation vehicles as an alternative to cars (e.g.
bicycles, skateboards, roller blades) to get to work, school, shopping, recreational
facilities and transit stops.
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• Program T-1.16.4: Participate in local and regional encouragement events such as
Palo Alto Walk and Rolls, Bike to Work Day, and Bike Palo Alto! that encourage a
culture of bicycling and walking as alternative to single-occupant vehicle trips.
• Policy T1.19: Provide facilities that encourage and support bicycling and walking.
• Program T1.19.2: Prioritize investment for enhanced pedestrian access and bicycle
use within Palo Alto and to/from surrounding communities, including by
incorporating improvements from related city plans, for example the 2012 Palo Alto
Bicycle + Pedestrian Transportation Plan and the Parks, Trails & Open Space master
Plan, as amended, into the Capital Improvements Program.
• Policy T-2.7: Work with the PAUSD to resolve traffic congestion issues associated
with student drop-off and pick-up. Address pedestrian and bicycle access, circulation
and related issues such as coordinating bell schedules on City rights-of-way adjacent
to schools and on PAUSD property.
• Program T6.1.1: Follow the principles of the Safe Routes to Schools program to
implement traffic safety measures that focus on safe routes to work, shopping,
downtown, community services, parks, and schools including all designated school
commute corridors.
• Program T6.1.2: Develop, distribute, and aggressively promote maps and apps
showing safe routes to work, shopping, community services, parks and schools
within Palo Alto in collaboration with stakeholders, including PAUSD, major
employers, TMA's, local businesses and community organizations.
• Policy T-6.2: Pursue the goal of zero severe injuries and roadway fatalities on Palo
Alto city streets.
• Policy T-6.4: Continue the Safe Routes to School partnership with PAUSD and the
Palo Alto Council of PTAs.
• Policy T-6.5: Support PAUSD adoption of standard Safe Routes to School policies and
regulations that address the five E's of education, encouragement, enforcement,
engineering and evaluation.
• Program T6.6.2: Continue to provide educational programs for children and adults,
in partnership with community-based educational organizations, to promote safe
walking and the safe use of bicycles, including the City-sponsored bicycle education
programs in the public schools and the bicycle traffic school program for juveniles.
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• Program T6.6.3: Work with PAUSD and employers to promote roadway safety for all
users, including motorized alternatives to cars and bikes such as mopeds and e-
bikes, through educational programs for children and adults.
Timeline
The Safe Routes to School Partnership supports an ongoing, year-round program which includes
both engineering and programmatic elements. A timeline of recently completed and upcoming
infrastructure projects that reduce risk to students is included in Table 5.
Table 5: SRTS Infrastructure Project Timelines
PROJECT
SCHOOL ROUTES TO
BE IMPROVED
COMPLETION DATE OR
FUTURE CONSTRUCTION
START
Churchill Avenue Enhanced Bikeway,
Phase 0
Palo Alto HS Completed April 2016
Cowper Street at Coleridge Avenue High-
visibility Crosswalks
Walter Hays Completed April 2016
Georgia Ave High-visibility Crosswalk and
Curb Extension
Fletcher MS
Gunn HS
Completed Summer 2016
Los Robles Avenue Bikeway
Enhancements
Briones
Fletcher MS
Gunn HS
Completed Summer 2016
Park Boulevard Bicycle Boulevard Early
Implementation (Stanford Avenue to
Cambridge Avenue)
Greene MS
Palo Alto HS
Completed Summer 2016
Middlefield Road and North California
Avenue Complete Street Project
Greene MS
Palo Alto HS
Completed Fall 2016
Garland Drive Sharrows Greene MS Completed Winter 2017
Overcrossing/Undercrossing
Improvements
Greene MS
Palo Alto HS
Completed August 2017
Arastradero Road at Donald Drive Spot
Safety Improvements
Fletcher MS Completed September 2017
Cowper Street at Coleridge Avenue Traffic
Circle Trial
Walter Hays Completed September 2017
Colorado Avenue at Sandra Place Spot
Safety Improvements
Ohlone Completed July 2018
Channing Avenue and St Francis Drive
Enhanced Bikeway
Duveneck Completed Summer 2018
Ross Road Bicycle Boulevard El Carmelo
Ohlone
Palo Verde
Greene MS
Gunn HS
Palo Alto HS
Completed November 2019;
Adjustments November
2020
Additional minor concrete
work will be done late 2021
Amarillo Avenue-Moreno Avenue Bicycle
Boulevard
El Carmelo
Ohlone
Completed November 2019;
Adjustments November
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PROJECT
SCHOOL ROUTES TO
BE IMPROVED
COMPLETION DATE OR
FUTURE CONSTRUCTION
START
Palo Verde 2020
Charleston-Arastradero Corridor Project
Phase 1 and 2
Barron Park
Briones
Hoover
Fairmeadow
JLS MS
Fletcher MS
Gunn HS
November 2020
Charleston-Arastradero Corridor Project
Phase 3
Barron Park
Briones
Hoover
Fairmeadow
JLS MS
Fletcher MS
Gunn HS
Construction started Oct.
2021
Churchill Avenue Enhanced Bikeway,
Phase 1
Palo Alto HS Construction starts Spring
2022
Churchill Avenue Highway-Railroad
Crossing Safety Improvement Project
Palo Alto HS Spring 2022
East Meadow Drive and Fabian Way
Enhanced Bikeway (as part of South Palo
Alto Bikeways Project)
Fairmeadow
Hoover
Palo Verde
JLS MS
Gunn HS
Estimated construction start
Spring 2023
Bryant Street Bicycle Boulevard Extension
(East Meadow Drive to San Antonio Road)
Fairmeadow
Hoover
JLS MS
Gunn HS
TBD via a new public
outreach process for NTSBB*
projects
Bryant Street Bicycle Boulevard Upgrade
(Menlo Park City Limits to East Meadow
Road)
Addison
El Carmelo
JLS MS
Greene MS
Palo Alto HS
Gunn HS
TBD via a new public
outreach process for NTSBB*
projects
Louis Road-Montrose Avenue Bicycle
Boulevard
Fairmeadow
JLS MS
Gunn HS
TBD via a new public
outreach process for NTSBB*
projects
Maybell Avenue Bicycle Boulevard Briones
Fletcher MS
Gunn HS
TBD via a new public
outreach process for NTSBB*
projects
Park Boulevard-Wilkie Way Bicycle
Boulevard
Barron Park
Briones
Fletcher MS
Gunn HS
TBD via a new public
outreach process for NTSBB*
projects
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PROJECT
SCHOOL ROUTES TO
BE IMPROVED
COMPLETION DATE OR
FUTURE CONSTRUCTION
START
Stanford Avenue Bicycle Boulevard Barron Park Briones
Fletcher MS
Gunn HS
TBD via a new public
outreach process for NTSBB*
projects
Source: Office of Transportation, October 2021
*NTSBB: Neighborhood Traffic Safety and Bicycle Boulevard Project
Resource Impacts
The 2019-20 Safe Routes to School (PL-00026) capital budget was $104,000. Staff consisted of
two (2) full-time coordinators for a total of two (2) FTEs (full time equivalent). This capital
improvement project (CIP) allows for strategic investments in school route safety
infrastructure, such as crosswalks, pedestrian flashing beacons, improved signage, and street
markings.
Safe Routes to School infrastructure projects are financed through a variety of means, including
the Safe Routes to School (PL-00026), Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan
Implementation (PL-04010), and Street Maintenance (PE-86070) CIPs as well as through several
grant programs.
Stakeholder Engagement
The Safe Routes to School Partnership is a collaborative program. According to the International
Association of Public Participation (IAP2), collaborative programs allow for "partnership with
members of the public to identify problems and develop solutions." The program is supported
by bi-monthly City/School Transportation Safety Committee meetings, a Five -Year Plan that is
developed and adopted by SRTS stakeholders to further the mission of the Partnership, and
yearly reports to the City/School Liaison Committee and City Council. Safe Routes staff work
directly with PTA and PAUSD leaders as well as with other stakeholders in the community to
further the Partnership's goals.
Environmental Review
This agenda item is informational only and is not a “project” requiring review under the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Attachments:
• Attachment3.a: Attachment A: SRTS Partnership Year 4 of 5 Year Plan 2021
• Attachment3.b: Attachment B: 2019-2020 SRTS Bike Count and Travel Tally Data
• Attachment3.c: Attachment C: 2021 National SRTS Back To School Factsheet
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O-1 O-2 O-3 O-4 O-5 O-6 O-7
Adopt and institutionalize
key SRTS practices and
policies across the
Partnership and gather best
practices from elsewhere
Provide, continue
and enhance school
and community-
based SRTS
education
programs, materials
and
communications
Expand and enhance
SRTS events and
encouragement
programs and
materials to
communicate the
value of SRTS to
parents, students and
the community
Gather data to assess
and improve SRTS
program outcomes
Engineer routes
to school to
develop a more
safe and
efficient
network for
families
choosing active
transportation
Increase awareness &
engagement between City
Departments and the
community to advance
awareness of the SRTS mission,
goals & strategies
Commit to an equitable
distribution of SRTS resources
to encourage broad SRTS
community participation
S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7
Work toward PAUSD SRTS
policy adoption
Build out two
Stanford service
learning education,
evaluation &
enforcement
projects
Expand Youth for
Environmental
Sustainability Conf.
Participation
Develop SRTS Public
Service
Announcements
Increase Spanish and
Mandarin materials
Develop SRTS
educational posters
Participate in
countywide SRTS data
pilot
Integrate Statewide
Traffic System
(SWITRS) data into
SRTS
Pilot online travel
tally
Complete two
site
assessments
and update
Walk and Roll
Maps
Update City Comprehensive
Plan policies
This goal was not developed
S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7
Develop a PAUSD SRTS
policy to sustain ongoing
commitment from PAUSD
Explore optional
and compulsory
SRTS high school
education
programs
Develop a
communications plan
outline
Develop a public list
of carpooling
resources
Develop a PAUSD
parent survey to
evaluate participant
demographics and
identify challenges to
more active
transportation
Complete two
site
assessments
with updated
Walk and Roll
Maps for Palo
Verde and Gunn
H.S.
Create an enforcement
strategy
to reflect changing staffing
levels by shifting traffic
enforcement role to patrol
officers
Conduct a bike repair class
with student input
Promote safer routes for East
Palo Alto PAUSD student
bicyclists
S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7
Develop school report cards
summarizing travel mode
split, SR2S activities
undertaken, and the level
of green travel status
Implement optional
and compulsory
SRTS high
education
programs
Develop fact-based
and consistent Safe
Routes to School
messages that can be
used on social media
Administer a PAUSD
parent survey to
evaluate participant
demographics and
identify challenges to
more active
transportation
Complete two
site
assessments
with updated
Walk and Roll
Maps for Palo
Verde and Gunn
H.S.
Work with PAPD/City to
promote the Bike Index
Registry as a means of
preventing bike theft and
create a workflow at PAPD to
include Bike Index checks on all
recovered bikes
Work with PAUSD Family
Engagement Specialists to
develop an Equity Action Plan
to support underrepresented
and under-resourced
communities
S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7
Hold two PAUSD/City/PTA
Partnership meetings to re-
initiate PAUSD SRTS policy
implementation and renew
Partnership Consensus
Statement
Include Youth as the Fourth
Partner of the PA SRTS
Partnership
Enhance High
School youth
outreach
Enhance SRTS
online educational
materials and
resource library
Ensure updated,
standardized SRTS
language is included in
all PAUSD websites
and
parent handbooks
Pilot one Winter Walk
and Roll event
Conduct two local
family cycling events
Complete Year 3
Strategy to distribute
a PAUSD parent
survey
Develop a behavior
change-focused SRTS
infographic
Complete two
site
assessments
Work with the Community
Services Department to
administer a bicycle facility
needs
assessment ie. “Safe Routes to
Parks”
Ensure that relevent
transportation concept plans,
updated Pedestrian Bicycle
Plans and proposed community
engagement strategies are
reviewed by the CTSTSC
Complete Year 3 Strategy to
Work with PAUSD Family
Engagement Specialists to
develop an Equity Action Plan
Increase SRTS outreach to
students with special needs
and other disabilities by
conducting a minimum of one
SRTS presentation
Safe Routes to School Five Year Work Plan (Last edit: 10/16/21)
*Contingent on safe routes to school funding/capacity and subject to change as demand dictates.
Mission
Goal
To grow and strengthen community-wide support through the SRTS 6 E's (Education, Encouragement, Engineering, Engagement, Evaluation, and Equity) model
for safe, active, healthy, sustainable, school commutes.
Long-Term Objectives* (O)
Year Four Strategies (S) Items Listed in Bold = Completed Activities
Year Three Strategies (S) Items Listed in Bold = Completed Activities
Year Two Strategies (S) Items Listed in Bold = Completed Activities
Year One Strategies (S) Items Listed in Bold = Completed Activities
To enhance and sustain the City/PAUSD/PTA/Youth community partnership to reduce risk to students en route to and from school, and to encourage more
families to choose healthy, active, sustainable alternatives to driving solo more often.
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Objective 1: Adopt and institutionalize key SRTS practices and policies across the Partnership and gather best practices from elsewhere
S-1. Support Safe Routes to School Transportation Safety Representatives at each school site
S-2. PTA inspires action and educates potential leaders about public process, governance and SRTS Advocacy
S-3. Support increased uniform patrol presence to encourage and enforce compliance with existing laws
S-4. Maintain the City School Traffic Safety Committee (CSTSC) as a forum to further the SRTS Partnership's mission, goals & strategies
S-5. Improve communication of SRTS Consensus Statement and other policies, including PAUSD Building for Excellence Requirements, Palo
Objective 2: Provide, expand and enhance school and community-based SRTS education programs and materials
S-1. Cultivate a community of parents and others to build a network of skilled leaders for education and advocacy
S-2. Support active transportation events during the year by setting up information tables, assisting families with route planning and
responding to infrastructure concerns
S-3. Maintain K-2 in-class educational offerings and optimize the program to match students capabilities, support educational best practices
and incorporate infrastructure updates
S-4. Maintain 3rd grade Bicycle Life Skills in-class Curriculum and optimize program to match student capabilities, support best practices and
incorportate infrastructure updates
S-5. Maintain 5th grade in-class educational offerings and optimize the program to match studnets capabilities, support best practices and
incorporate infrastructure updates
S-6. Maintain 6th grade in-class educational offerings and optimize programs to match student capabilities, support best practices and
f d Objective 3: Expand & enhance encourgagement programs to communicate the value of SRTS to parents & the community
S-3. Support Bike to Work Day
S-4. Support City participation in Bike Palo Alto as communicated by the City Manager's Office
S-5. Communicate program activities and successes to the broader community
S-6. Use Walk and Roll Maps and "Safety Tips for Peds/Bikes/Drivers" as part of messaging
S-7. Employ purposeful incentives to support SRTS partcipation
S-8. Communicate the value of bicycling, walking, transit and sharing rides
S-9. Enhance website functionality and user experience
S-10. Support parent education, including Back to School Nights, spring information nights for rising 5th, 6th, and 7th graders and providing
SRTS information in Back to School packets
S-11. Develop a communication plan outline for crisis communications
Objective 4: Gather data to assess and improve SRTS program outcomes
S-1. Incorporate traffic and engineering data into mode split and modal share assessments
S-2. Explain the purpose of data collection to PAUSD administrators and share the data
S-3. Conduct yearly online travel tallies for PAUSD grades K-12
S-4. Conduct yearly bike counts
S-5. Manage local and administrative data requests
Objective 5: Engineer routes to school to develop a more safe and efficient network for families choosing active transportation
S-1. Assist with bicycle infrastructure design review to inform the planning process
S-2. Design and provide materials and education about new infrastructure improvements
S-3. Advovate as a Partnership for the rapid implementation of bike network, bike boulevards, bike racks, arterial projects and bicycle plans
S-4. Respond to Safe Routes to School -related Palo Alto 311 request
S-5. Conduct community site visits
S-6. Provide crossing guard management, including assessing needs, developing contracts and replying to public feedback
S-7. Develop material to support new engineering/infrastructure treatments
Objective 6: Deepen awareness & engagement across City Department & among community reps to advance & institutionalize SRTS
S-1. Support the build-out of the City of Palo Alto Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan
S-2. Provide students and families with transit system information and offer guidance of proposed transit changes
S-3. Model walking, biking, carpool, and transit through daily transportation decisions
S-4. Assist with plans to develop a more efficient roadway network for families choosing active transportation
S-5. Collaborate with local agencies, including public works, utilities, law enforcement and district officials to support motorist, pedestrians,
and bicyclists
Objective 7: Commit an equitable distribution of SRTS resources to encourage broad SRTS community participation
S-1. Develop Spanish and Chinese language materials
S-2. Promote a "no-guilt approach" to encourage participation via all transportation modes
S-3. Support free service, such as bike repair, helmet and bike light distribution and compulsory education to ensure that under-resourcesd
students can access important safety resources in a way that does not stigmatize them
S-4. Ensure ongoing awarness regarding the geopgrahic distribution of SRTS staff time and resources among Palo Alto regions and across
Safe Routes to School 5-Year Work Plan Ongoing Strategies
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Attachment B – 2019-2020 SRTS Bike Count and Travel Tally Data
2019-2020 alternative mode share/shift, calculated by using bike rack counts and classroom
travel tallies are conducted each fall. Bike rack counts are administered by PTA volunteers
calculating the number of parked bikes at their school. More detailed SRTS data can be found in
Attachment C.
2019 Parked Bicycle Counts at PAUSD Schools
School Type 2019 Parked
Bikes
% Biking % pt. + or – since 2016-17
Elementary 759 16% 0
Middle 1,674 63% +13
High 2,102 51% +10
Total 4,535 39% +8
Source: Office of Transportation, December 2019
Classroom travel tallies are administered by teachers through a show of student hands. In 2016-
17, new online data gathering methods for the classroom travel tally helped expand the
program’s capacity to conduct travel tallies at the secondary level. The City has a goal of reaching
a mean district response rate of 70%. The mean tally response rate was 49% in the first year of
this effort; this year the mean district response rate was 68%. Table 4 shows the travel mode
percentages aggregated by school type for the current school year.
2019 PAUSD Classroom Tally of Mode to School
Walk
Scooter
Skate
(%)
Bike
(%)
Carpool
(%)
Transit
(%)
Drive
(%)
Resp.
Rate
(%)
Alt.
Transp.
Mode
(%)
Alt. Mode Shift
+ or – since
2016-17
(%)
Elem. 25 16 6 3 50 80 50 +3
Middle 13 57 8 2 20 84 80 +3
High 9 54 6 6 24 61 75 +6
Average 15 42 7 4 31 75 68 +4
Source: Office of Transportation, December 2019
Data Interpretation
Weather variations, date of data collection, absenteeism, classroom tally participation rates,
school-based special events, volunteer-based calculation errors, and whether bicycles are left in
the rack or removed during the school day impact the validity of these results.
Importantly, the small mode shift changes across all school levels are well within the norm of
data fluctuations and suggest sustained levels of alternative mode use at a rate that is more than
twice the national average. Nevertheless, the relatively high use of the family car for school
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commutes of two miles or less, particularly at the elementary level, continues to represent a
growth area for the program. For this reason, the SRTS Partnership will seek to:
• Sustain active mode share numbers; and
• Provide bicycle, pedestrian and driver safety education to accommodate the buildout of
infrastructure appropriate for such high levels of alternative transportation.
Classroom travel tallies are administered by teachers through a show of student hands. In 2016-
17, new online data gathering methods for the classroom travel tally helped expand the
program’s capacity to conduct travel tallies at the secondary level. The City has a goal of reaching
a mean district response rate of 70%. The mean tally response rate was 49% in the first year of
this effort; this year the mean district response rate was 68%. Table 4 shows the travel mode
percentages aggregated by school type for the current school year.
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www.saferoutespartnership.org | Facebook.com/saferoutespartnership | Twitter @SafeRoutesNow2021 1
COVID-19 Has Taken a Toll on
Our Communities and Our Kids
During the pandemic, kids lost access to places and
activities (both in and out of school) where they could
find social connections and physical activity. This
took a serious toll, especially on the most vulnerable
populations. For everyone, the sustained periods of
stress and fear brought on by the pandemic have
contributed to a collective and individual trauma.
Keeping that in mind, it makes sense that moving into
a new school year may be challenging and everyone
involved will require more supportthan they did pre-
pandemic.
The Health and Academic Impacts of
Isolation and Remote Learning
Learning loss has been a growing concern as students
learning remotely have struggled to stay engaged in a
virtual classroom, but there is also significant concern
around physical and mental health because of students’
isolation. This is particularly acute for the many families
coping with significant stress levels during the pandemic,
from fear of contracting and recovering from the virus to
financial, housing, and food insecurities.
• Parents of students learning remotely or in hybrid
models were more likely than parents of students
learning in-person to report that their children
experienced decreased physical activity, time spent
outdoors, time with friends, and worsened mental or
emotional health.1
• Nearly three-quarters of parents polled in a national
survey shared that they were concerned about their
children’s learning loss during the pandemic due to
virtual learning.2 That same poll showed that the
vast majority of parents in the United States are
concerned about the toll remote learning has taken
on their children’s physical and mental wellbeing.3
Why Safe Routes to School is an Essential
Part of Reopening: Talking Points for Safe
Routes Back to School 2021
During the pandemic, students, families, schools, and other community members have dealt
with fear, isolation, and endless attempts to be creative in challenging situations. Now, we
are faced with a new challenge: dealing with the chaos of returning to “normal.” As schools
re-open, there will be a plethora of daunting challenges. Below is an outline of some of the
challenges that have either surfaced because of or were exacerbated by the pandemic and
talking points to outline how Safe Routes to School can provide the tools to address some of
those concerns. While Safe Routes to School cannot solve every problem, it can address some
significant health and safety challenges while enabling easier access to community destinations
and resources that fill other gaps. With thoughtfulness and creativity, we can help communities
thrive in this period of transition.
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www.saferoutespartnership.org | Facebook.com/saferoutespartnership | Twitter @SafeRoutesNow2021 2
Disparate Impacts by Race and
Socioeconomic Status
The pandemic and movements for racial justice in 2020
have underscored racial and economic disparities that
were decades in the making.
• In 2020, anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 150
percent in the nation’s largest cities.4
• The pandemic disproportionately impacted the
mental, physical, and economic health of low-
income communities and Black, Indigenous, and
people of color communities.
ºBlack, Indigenous, and people of color workers
are more likely to be employed in frontline or
essential fields, which were required to continue
going to work in conditions that placed them at
high risk for exposure to COVID-19.5
ºThese same workers are also much more likely
to have pre-existing health conditions, lack
health insurance, and lack access to health
care.6
ºBlack, Native, and Latinx Americans are also
more likely to live in dense, multi-generational
housing, further increasing the risk of exposure
to their communities.7
• As families of color and families with lower incomes
face disparate health and economic hardships
during COVID-19, children of color and children of
families with lower incomes are impacted by those
challenges. Children of color have disproportionately
experienced learning loss, challenges with the digital
divide, food insecurity, and housing instability during
the pandemic.8
• The movements for racial justice this year
highlighted racial profiling and over-policing in
Black communities that have been happening for
decades. For example, in a study from Minneapolis,
Minnesota, Black cyclists made up almost half
of the incident or arrest reports associated with
being stopped for a bicycling citation, despite
making up only 18 percent of the total Minneapolis
population. The report warns that inequitable law
enforcement actions may impede efforts to diversify
the demographics of bike riders and bike advocates
because of fear of targeted policing.9
A Spike in Traffic Danger
With fewer people driving, roads that were designed for
cars to move quickly facilitated higher speeds and more
fatal crashes.
• Even though people were driving less during the
pandemic, the number of traffic fatalities did not
drop at the same rate, causing deaths per mile to
jump by 30 percent.10
• Traffic crashes were more severe because people
were speeding on the emptier roads.11
• Speeding is a serious concern for road users outside
of cars, and particularly for Black, Indigenous, and
people of color communities, who are more likely to
live in areas lacking safe, quality walking and biking
infrastructure.12, 13
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How Walking, Rolling, and Safe
Routes to School Can Help
As schools return to in-person learning, students,
families, and school districts will be facing significant
challenges. Safe Routes to School may not be able
to address every one of those challenges, but it can
provide tools to help support students and their families
as schools reopen. Below is a collection of talking points
to outline how Safe Routes to School programming
can help students and families safely and affordably
navigate their neighborhoods, improve physical and
mental health, boost academic performance, cut costs,
and build community connections. Even as federal,
state, and local guidance changes, Safe Routes to
School activities such as walking school buses are
easy to adapt to different health and safety guidelines.
Thoughtful programming, tailored to the local context
with a focus on the most vulnerable families, can help
people thrive as our communities reopen.
Improved Physical Health
Safe Routes to School supports increased physical
activity, helps students and their families form healthy
habits that can last a lifetime, and decreases the risk of
chronic disease and obesity.
• In a study of adolescents, 100% of the students
who walked both to and from school met the
recommended levels of 60 or more minutes
of moderate to vigorous physical activity on
weekdays.14
• Walking and rolling to daily destinations, like school,
provide an opportunity for physical activity outside
of school time, augmenting physical education
in school. Walking one mile to and from school
each day is two-thirds of the recommended sixty
minutes of physical activity a day. Children who
walk to school have higher levels of physical activity
throughout the day.15, 16
Improved Social/Emotional Health
During the pandemic, many families were coping with
significant stress levels, from fear of contracting and
recovering from the virus, financial, housing, and food
insecurities, to dealing with grief, and trauma. After
the struggle of isolation, physical activity and social
connection can help kids and their families reach better
social and emotional wellbeing.
• Physical activity, movement, and play can be
productive ways of combating stressors. Physical
activity and physical education can support
students’ social and emotional learning, including
managing emotions, establishing relationships, and
feeling empathy for others.17
• Students can build stronger friendships and
relationships through walking and biking together.
Based on a CDC evaluation of 145 informants from
184 walking school bus programs from 2017 to
2018, every additional walking school bus trip per
week was related to a 21 percent increase in the
odds of experiencing less bullying.18
• Increasing the number of interactions with families
and neighbors by walking and rolling through
neighborhoods can build and reinforce positive
social connections.
Lower Transportation and Health Care
Costs for School Districts and Families
Walking and biking are low-cost options for students to
get to and from school, reducing the amount of money
needed to purchase and maintain personal and school
vehicles.
• Transportation is the second-highest household
expense in the United States. In 2019, Americans
spent an average of $10,742 to purchase, fuel, and
insure their vehicles.19
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ºIn 2016, an average of 13 percent of household
expenditures went to transportation. However,
for people with incomes in the bottom 20% of
the U.S., one-third of their expenditures when
to transportation costs. People making less
money are hardest hit by a lack of affordable
transportation options.20
• Safe Routes to School programs can significantly
reduce the cost of bussing for school systems.
American school districts currently spend $100
million to $500 million annually to bus children for
just one or two miles due to hazardous conditions.
Improving walking conditions near schools could
reduce this cost substantially, by decreasing the
need for school bus service for students who live
close enough to walk or bike to and from school.21
ºApproximately 55 percent of children are bused
to school, and we spend $21.5 billion nationally
each year on school bus transportation, an
average of $854 per child transported per
year.22
• Safer options for commuting to school can save
people from the emotional and financial cost of
injuries and fatalities. In New York City, the total
cost of implementing SRTS was just over $10
million, but it produced estimated cost reductions
of $221 million by reducing costs associated with
injury, lifelong disability, and death.23
Reduced Student Tardiness and
Absences
Lack of transportation options can be a barrier to getting
to school on time or at all, especially for students in
communities where there is no option other than to walk
or bike to school.
• A Walking School Bus study in Springfield,
Massachusetts showed that students participating
in the program had a better attendance rate
(approximately 2 percent) than their peers. One
student who was tardy or absent 22 days in the
2010-11 school was not late or absent once after
joining the program.24
• Based on a CDC evaluation of 145 informants from
184 walking school bus programs from 2017 to
2018, every additional walking school bus trip per
was related to a 23 percent increase in the odds of
experiencing a reduction in tardiness.25
Reduced Traffic Congestion and
Improved Air Quality
Traffic congestion, particularly at school arrival and
dismissal, is not only inefficient but it’s also dangerous
for kids and bad for air quality as cars sit idling. By
boosting the number of children walking and bicycling,
Safe Routes to School projects reduce traffic congestion
and improve air quality which can reduce asthma
attacks
• In 2009, school travel by private vehicle accounted
for 10 to 14 percent of all automobile trips made
during morning rush hour.26
• While distance to school is the most commonly
reported barrier to walking and bicycling, private
vehicles still account for half of school trips between
1/4 and 1/2 mile—a distance easily covered on foot
or bike.27, 28
• Children exposed to traffic pollution are more likely
to have asthma, permanent lung deficits, and a
higher risk of heart and lung problems as adults.29
• Over the last 25 years, among children ages 5 to
14, there has been a 74 percent increase in asthma
cases.30 In addition, 14 million days of school are
missed every year due to asthma.31
• One-third of schools are located in “air pollution
danger zones.”32
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Improved Academic Performance
Student health has been linked to academic
performance. Walking and/or rolling to school can help
ensure students arrive ready to learn.
• One study found that after walking on a treadmill for
20 minutes, children responded to test questions
with greater accuracy and had more brain activity
than children who had been sitting. Children also
completed learning tasks faster and more accurately
following physical activity.33
• Physically fit children have larger hippocampal
volume and basal ganglia, brain components both
connected with learning.34
• Sixth- and ninth-grade students with high fitness
scored significantly better on math and social
studies tests compared with less fit students, even
after controlling for socioeconomic status.35
• When children get physical activity before class, they
are more focused on their tasks. Data shows that
this is particularly beneficial for children who have
the most trouble paying attention and those with
attention deficit disorders.36
Increased Safety from Personal and
Traffic Violence
Safe Routes to School programming can help ensure
that walking, rolling, and biking can be a safe and
enjoyable choice, not just a necessary risk for those who
have no other options.
• Increasing the number of people using the streets,
better lighting, and better street design can increase
individual sense of safety as well as decrease actual
criminal activity. Data shows that the safer that
people feel in their neighborhood, the more time
they spend walking.37
• Groups of children walking or biking together
along with one or more adults can provide a safe
space to practice new routes or modes of active
transportation.
• Safe Routes to School programming can help
prepare children to safely respond to bullying or
harassment.
• Safe Routes to School programming can increase
safety on the routes to school without increasing
police presence, especially in Black communities
that experience over-policing and racial profiling.
Conclusion
As schools reopen, Safe Routes to School programming
will be an essential part of ensuring children and their
families have access to the resources they need and a
valuable tool for ensuring the health and safety of school
communities. For many, active transportation can be a
welcome addition for the physical, social, and mental
health benefits, while for other kids and their families,
walking and rolling are their only options. Let’s make
sure that regardless of how people choose to move
through their neighborhoods, they are safe doing so.
References
1 Verlenden JV, Pampati S, Rasberry CN, et al. Association of Children’s Mode of School Instruction with Child and Parent Experiences
and Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic – COVID Experiences Survey, United States, October 8–November 13, 2020. MMWR
Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:369–376. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7011a1external icon
2 Roberts, Nicole. “After Nearly a Year of Remote Learning Parent’s Fears Grow About Physical Health.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine,
January 11, 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleroberts/2021/01/11/after-nearly-a-year-of-remote-learning-parents-fears-grow-
about-physical-health/?sh=5460b7a8428b.
3 Ibid.
4 Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. (2020). Anti-Asian Hate Crime Reported to
Police in America’s Largest Cities: 2020. https://www.csusb.edu/sites/default/files/FACT%20SHEET-%20Anti-Asian%20Hate%20
2020%203.2.21.pdf
5 Why COVID-19 Has Hit Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Hardest. DoSomething.org. Accessed April 8, 2021. https://www.
dosomething.org/us/articles/why-covid-19-has-hit-black-indigenous-and-people-of-color-hardest.
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www.saferoutespartnership.org | Facebook.com/saferoutespartnership | Twitter @SafeRoutesNow2021 6
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Mitchell, Faith. COVID-19’s Disproportionate Effects on Children of Color Will Challenge the Next Generation. Urban Institute, August 17,
2020. https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/covid-19s-disproportionate-effects-children-color-will-challenge-next-generation
9 Hoffman, Melody, Kmiecik, Anneka. Bicycle Citations and Related Arrests in Minneapolis 2009-2015. MPLS Bicycle Coalition, October 2016.
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/mplsbike/pages/3970/attachments/original/1476137957/MBC_Police_Citations_Report_Final2_small.
pdf?1476137957
10 National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2020, December). Early estimates of motor vehicle traffic fatalities and fatality rate by sub-
categories through June 2020 (Crash•Stats Brief Statistical Summary. Report No. DOT HS 813 054). National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813054.
11 CTDOT and State Police Launch Please Do Not Speed Initiative. Connecticut Department of Transportation. (2020, May 8). https://
portal.ct.gov/DOT/News-from-the-Connecticut-Department-of-Transportation/2020/CTDOT-and-State-Police-Launch-Please-Do-Not-
Speed-Initiative.
12 Dangerous by Design 2021. Smart Growth America, March 2021. https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/
Dangerous-By-Design-2021-update.pdf.
13 Thrun E, Chriqui JF, Slater SJ, Barker DC, and Chaloupka FJ. “Using Local Land Use Laws to Facilitate Physical Activity.” Bridging
the Gap, Health Policy Center, Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, March 2012. http://www.
bridgingthegapresearch.org/_asset/5q86hg/btg_land_use_pa_FINAL_03-09-12.pdf.
14 Alexander, Leslie M., Inchley, Jo, Todd, Joanna, Currie, Dorothy, Cooper, Ashley R., and Currie, Candace. “The Broader Impact of
Walking to School Among Adolescents: Seven Day Accelerometry Based Study”. British Medical Journal. 331 (2005): 1061-1062.
15 Alexander et al., The broader impact of walking to school among adolescents. BMJonline.
16 Cooper et al., Commuting to school: Are children who walk more physically active? Amer Journal of Preventative Medicine 2003: 25 (4)
17 “School Physical Education and Physical Activity Policies Can Support the Social and Emotional Climate and Learning.” Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed May 12, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/323219-A_FS_SchoolPE_PA-032621-
FINAL_1.pdf.
18 Carlson, J. A., Steel C, Bejarano CM, Beauchamp MT, Davis AM, Sallis JF, et al. (2020). Walking School Bus Programs: Implementation
Factors, Implementation Outcomes, and Student Outcomes, 2017-2018. Preventing Chronic Disease. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.
gov/pcd/issues/2020/20_0061.htm
19 Consumer Expenditures--2019. (2020, September 9). https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cesan.nr0.htm.
20 The High Cost of Transportation in the United States. Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. (2019, May 23). https://www.
itdp.org/2019/05/23/high-cost-transportation-united-states/.
21 McDonald NC, Steiner RL, Palmer WM, Bullock, AN, Sisiopiku, VP, Lytle BF. Costs of school transportation: quantifying the fiscal
impacts of encouraging walking and bicycling for school travel. Transportation. 2014; doi:10.1007/s11116-014-9569-7.
22 Digest of Education Statistics, 2010. Tables 184, 186 and 187. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, 2011.
23 Muennig PA, Epstein M, Li G, DiMaggio C. The cost-effectiveness of New York City’s Safe Routes to School Program. Am J Public
Health. 2014;104(7):1294-1299.
24 Attendance Works. “Springfield: Walking School Bus - Attendance Works.” Accessed August 22, 2016. http://www.attendanceworks.
org/what-works/springfield-walking-school-bus/.
25 Carlson, J. A., Steel C, Bejarano CM, Beauchamp MT, Davis AM, Sallis JF, et al. (2020). Walking School Bus Programs: Implementation
Factors, Implementation Outcomes, and Student Outcomes, 2017-2018. Preventing Chronic Disease. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.
gov/pcd/issues/2020/20_0061.htm
26 McDonald N., Brown A., Marchetti L., Pedroso M. (2011). U.S. School Travel 2009: An Assessment of Trends. American Journal of
Preventive Medicine, 41(2), 146-151.
27 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report September 30, 2005, “Barriers to Children
Walking to or from School, United States 2004.” Available at www.cdc.gov/mm wr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5438a2.htm.
28 Federal Highway Administration, National Household Travel Survey 2001; NHTS Brief on Travel to School, January 2008.
29 Gauderman, W. J., E. Avol, F. Lurmann, N. Kuenzli, F. Gilliland, J. Peters and R. McConnell, “Childhood Asthma and Exposure to Traffic
and Nitrogen Dioxide,” Epidemiology, Volume 16, No. 6, November 2005. AND Gauderman, W.J., H. Vora, R. McConnell, K. Berhane,
F. Gilliland, D. Thomas, F. Lurmann, E. Avol, N. Kunzli, M. Jerrett, and J. Peters, “Effect of exposure to traffic on lung development from
10 to 18 years of age: a cohort study,” The Lancet, Volume 368, February 2007.
30 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Surveillance for Asthma—United States, 1960-1995: CDC Surveillance Summaries, April
24, 1998. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 47 (SS-1), 1998, pp. 1-27.
31 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthy Youth! Health Topics: Asthma. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/
asthma/index.htm.
32 Appatova, A. S., Ryan, P., LeMasters, G., Grinshpun, S. “Proximal exposure of public schools and students to major roadways: a
nationwide US survey,” Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Volume 51, Issue 5, 2008.
33 Hillman CH, Pontifex MB, Raine LB, Castelli DM, Hall EE, Kramer AF. The effect of acute treadmill walking on cognitive control and
academic achievement in preadolescent children. Neuroscience. 2009;159(3):1044-1054. doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.01.057
34 Castelli, D.M., Glowacki, E., Barcelona, J.M., Calvert, H.G., & Hwang, J. (2015). Active Education: Growing Evidence on Physical
Activity and Academic Performance. [Research brief.] Active Living Research. http://activelivingresearch.org/sites/default/files/ALR_Brief_
ActiveEducation_Jan2015.pdf
35 Coe, D. P., Peterson, T., Blair, C., Schutten, M. C., & Peddie, H. (2013). Physical fitness, academic achievement, and socioeconomic
status in school-aged youth. Journal of School Health, 83(7), 500–507. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23782093.
36 Taylor, A., Novo, D., & Foreman, D. (2019). An Exercise Program Designed for Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
for Use in School Physical Education: Feasibility and Utility. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 7(3), 102. https://doi.org/10.3390/
healthcare7030102
37 Foster, S., Hooper, P., Knuiman, M. et al. Safe RESIDential Environments? A longitudinal analysis of the influence of crime-related safety
on walking. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 13, 22 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-016-
0343-4
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City of Palo Alto (ID # 13792)
Office of the City Clerk
City Council CAO Report
Meeting Date: 11/29/2021
Title: Approval of Minutes November 15, 2021 City Council Meeting
From: Mahealani AhYun, Deputy City Clerk
Recommended Motion
To approve the minutes for November 15, 2021 as presented.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Attachment4.a: 20211115amCCs (DOCX)
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CITY COUNCIL
DRAFT ACTION MINUTES
Page 1 of 5
Special Meeting
November 15, 2021
The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in virtual
teleconference at 5:02 P.M.
Participating Remotely: Burt, Cormack, DuBois, Filseth, Kou, Stone, Tanaka
Absent:
Closed Session
1. CONFERENCE WITH CITY ATTORNEY- EXISTING LITIGATION Subject:
Miriam Green v. City of Palo Alto Santa Clara County Superior Court
Case No. 16CV300760 (One Case, as Defendant) Authority:
Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1).
AA1. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS Authority:
Government Code Section 54956.8 Property: 300 Homer Avenue,
Assessor’s Parcel Number 120-17-093 Negotiating Party: Palo Alto
Museum City Negotiators: Ed Shikada, Kiely Nose Subject of Potential
Negotiations: Lease Price and Terms of Payment.
MOTION: Council Member Stone moved, seconded by Council Member Kou
to go into Closed Session.
MOTION PASSED: 7-0
Council went into Closed Session at 5:06 P.M.
Council returned from Closed Session at 6:51 P.M.
Mayor DuBois announced no reportable action.
Special Orders of the Day
2. Proclamations Recognizing the Heroic Acts of Orlando Kent and
Benjamin Bellamy.
NO ACTION TAKEN
The City Council adjourned at 7:01 P.M. and called to order the joint special
meeting at 7:01.P.M.
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DRAFT ACTION MINUTES
Page 2 of 5
(Sp.) City Council Meeting
Draft Action Minutes: 11/15/2021
Study Session
3. Study Session to Provide Background and Information on Federal and
State Laws and Recent Court Case Law Affecting the Placement of
Wireless Telecommunications Facilities Within the City, and Overview
of Staff Workplan to Update Wireless Ordinance and Standards.
The City Council adjourned at 8:37 P.M. and reconvened the regular meeting
at 8:37 P.M.
Agenda Changes, Additions and Deletions
None
Consent Calendar
Council Member Kou registered a no vote on Agenda Item Number 7.
Council Member Tanaka registered a no vote on Agenda Item Number 6, 7,
10, 11.
MOTION: Council Member Cormack moved, seconded by Mayor DuBois to
approve Agenda Item Numbers 4-11.
4. Approve a Task Order for the Office of the City Auditor to Conduct the
Utility Work Order Process and Accounting Review as Recommended
by the Policy and Services Committee.
5. Approval of the Office of the City Auditor (OCA) Annual Report as
Recommended by the Policy and Services Committee.
6. Approval of Amendment Number 2 to Contract Number C19170648
With Salas O'Brien Engineers, Inc., for Professional Design Services for
the 12kV Electrical Distribution Network Rehabilitation Project at the
Regional Water Quality Control Plant under the Plant Repair, Retrofit,
and Equipment Replacement capital project (WQ-19002) to add
Services, Increase Compensation by $149,586 for a New Not-to-
Exceed Amount of $560,397, and Extend the Schedule for
Performance Through February 29, 2024.
7. Approval of Contract Amendment Number 1 to the Following Six
Contracts: Contract Number C21177994A with 4LEAF, Inc.,
C21177994B with SAFEbuilt, C21177994C with Bureau Veritas,
C21177994D with Independent Code Consultants, Inc., C21177994E
with Shums Coda Associates and C21177994F with TRB+Associates, to
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DRAFT ACTION MINUTES
Page 3 of 5
(Sp.) City Council Meeting
Draft Action Minutes: 11/15/2021
Increase the Total Contract Sum Across all Six Contracts by $350,000
(Due to Usage for Public Safety Building Inspector of Record Services)
for a New Six-Contract Pool Total Not-to-Exceed Amount of
$6,350,000.
8. Approve Amendment No. 1 to Contract C17165347 with TetraTech to
Extend the Term from November 30, 2021 to November 20, 2023 Date
Correction in title only.
9. Approval of Construction Contract Number C22182345 with Wickman
Development and Construction in the Amount of $284,000, and
Authorization for the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute Change
Orders Up to a Not-to-Exceed Amount of $28,400 for the Civic Center
Waterproofing Study and Repairs Project, Capital Improvement
Program Project PE-15020.
10. Approval of an Exemption from Competitive Solicitation by Council
Action per PAMC 2.30.330, and Approval of a Contract with Lew
Edwards Group for one year and a not-to-exceed amount of $101,695,
for Community Engagement and Ballot Measure Strategy and
Preparation Services Relating to Potential Revenue-Generating
November 2022 Ballot Measure.
11. Approval of Two Professional Services Agreements With GDS
Associates, Inc. and Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. for On-Call, As-
Needed Rate Design and Financial Consulting Services for a Total Not-
to-Exceed Amount of $1 per Agreement; and Approval to Select One
or More Consultants Under Either Agreement for a Not-to-Exceed
Amount of $250,000 per Year over the 5 Year Term.
ITEMS 4, 5, 8, 9 OF MOTION PASSED: 7-0
ITEMS 6, 10, 11 OF MOTION PASSED: 6-1, Tanaka no
ITEM 7 OF MOTION PASSED: 5-2, Kou, Tanaka no
Action Items
13. Adoption of Resolution 10002 Creating a Sibling City Relationship
with City of Bloomington, Indiana, and Authorizing the Mayor to
Execute A Sibling City Agreement.
MOTION: Mayor DuBois moved, seconded by Vice Mayor Burt to:
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DRAFT ACTION MINUTES
Page 4 of 5
(Sp.) City Council Meeting
Draft Action Minutes: 11/15/2021
A. Approve the Domestic Sibling City resolution between Bloomington,
Indiana and Palo Alto which would authorize the Mayor to sign a
Sibling City Agreement with Bloomington, Indiana ;
B. Request Staff to incorporate engagement with Bloomington, Indiana
into Palo Alto’s existing Sister City framework; and
C. Direct Staff to reach out to East Palo Alto to discuss partnerships on
community engagement, economic collaboration, and town hall and
citizen discussions.
MOTION SPLIT FOR THE PURPOSE OF VOTING
PARTS A & B OF MOTION PASSED: 6-1, Tanaka no
PART C OF MOTION PASSED: 6-1, Kou no
AA2. Review and Recommend Renter Protection Policies for Development
and Implementation (Continued from November 8, 2021 meeting).
The City Council moved to Item 14 at 10:37 P.M. and returned to Item AA2
discussion at 12:03 A.M.
MOTION: Mayor DuBois moved, seconded by Council Member Stone to
continue this item to a date uncertain.
MOTION PASSED: 7-0
14. Review and Provide Direction to Staff on Terms of Lease between the
City of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto History Museum for the ROTH
Building (300 Homer Ave).
MOTION: Mayor DuBois moved, seconded by Council Member Kou to:
A. Direct Staff to complete lease negotiations with Palo Alto History
Museum in alignment with terms outlined in the staff report with
following additional guidance:
i. $10,000 security deposit;
ii. Museum is responsible for long term maintenance;
iii. Proceed with principles outlined in the presentation on the
community room/facilities;
iv. Reimburse the permit and processing fees and the City to pay
for the payment/performance bonds;
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DRAFT ACTION MINUTES
Page 5 of 5
(Sp.) City Council Meeting
Draft Action Minutes: 11/15/2021
v. Museum is responsible for prevailing wage compliance payment
of $15,000;
vi. Staff to develop a contingency plan in the event that the
museum does not meet its operating commitment (to be
defined), which would allow the City to find other uses of the
building;
B. Request Staff to return with a lease and budget amendment within 90
days or sooner; and
C. Extend the permit approvals when requested.
MOTION SPLIT FOR THE PURPOSE OF VOTING
PART A – ii, iii, v, vi AND PART C OF MOTION PASSED: 6-1, Tanaka no
PART A – i, iv, AND PART B OF MOTION PASSED: 5-2, Cormack, Tanaka
no
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 12:07 A.M. in honor of our
Good Samaritan heroes.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
____________________ ____________________
City Clerk Mayor
NOTE: Action minutes are prepared in accordance with Palo Alto Municipal
Code (PAMC) 2.04.160(a) and (b). Summary minutes (sense) are prepared
in accordance with PAMC Section 2.04.160(c). Beginning in January 2018, in
accordance with Ordinance No. 5423, the City Council found action minutes
and the video/audio recordings of Council proceedings to be the official
records of both Council and committee proceedings. These recordings are
available on the City’s website.
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City of Palo Alto (ID # 13652)
City Council Staff Report
Meeting Date: 11/29/2021
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Title: Approval of Amended and Restated Purchase Order Number
4521000199 with Altec Industries, Inc., to Increase the Purchase Order
Amount by $33,202 to a New Not-to-Exceed Amount of $667,068, for the
Purchase of Two Peterbilt Crane Trucks through a Coope rative Contract, in
the Scheduled Vehicle and Equipment Replacement -Fiscal Year 2020 Capital
Improvement Project (VR -20000)
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Public Works
Recommendation
Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to
execute Amended and Restated Purchase Order No. 4521000199 (Attachment A) with Altec
Industries, Inc., to increase the Purchase Order amount by $33,202 for a new total not to
exceed amount of $667,068 in the Scheduled Vehicle and Equipment Replacement - Fiscal Year
2020 Capital Improvement Project (VR-20000), for the purchase of two 2022 Model DH50
Hydraulic Digger Derrick rear-mount Peterbilt crane trucks, utilizing a cooperative purchase
agreement via Sourcewell (contract number 012418-ALT), a cooperative purchasing agency
serving government and not-for-profit organizations.
Background
On January 11, 2021, Council approved a request to purchase two new 2022 Model DH50
Hydraulic Digger Derrick rear-mount Peterbilt crane trucks (CMR 11582) for an amount not to
exceed $633,866, to replace units 7602 and 7603. These vehicles were programmed in the
Fiscal Year 2020 Scheduled Vehicle and Equipment Replacement Capital Improvement Program
project (VR-20000). Purchase Order 4521000199, in the amount of $633,866 was issued with
Altec Industries, Inc. (Altec) on January 13, 2021.
Discussion
On August 13, 2021, Altec reached out to Public Works Fleet staff and indicated that with the
unprecedented rise in materials costs experienced over the last year, they have reached a point
where they are no longer able to absorb these increases from their suppliers. In turn, Altec can
no longer honor the original quote provided to the City for these new units and has provided a
letter recognizing these unique market conditions (Attachment B). An additional surcharge, per
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unit, in the amount of $9,924 now applies to the Altec portion of the build. Also reflected is a
surcharge from Peterbilt of $4,960 per chassis as well as an updated sales tax quote that
reflects the current sales tax rate of 9.125%. A revised quote for the new total purchase cost of
$667,068 was provided on October 19, 2021 (Attachment C). Altec’s contract amendment with
Sourcewell, in which Sourcewell approved Altec’s request to adjust its existing Sourcewell
contract pricing, was also provided (Attachment D), along with Peterbilt’s breakdown of the
surcharges for the chassis (Attachment E).
Procurement Process
Palo Alto Municipal Code section 2.30.360 (j) allows the use of cooperative purchasing
agreements in lieu of conducting a competitive solicitation. Altec was awarded a contract by
Sourcewell (formerly known as the National Joint Powers Alliance or NJPA), a cooperative
purchasing agency serving governmental, higher education, K-12 education, not-for-profit,
tribal government, and other public agencies. Sourcewell conducted a Request for Proposals
under which Altec Capital was an awarded vendor. Altec’s contract with Sourcewell was
subsequently amended to allow Altec to increase its contract pricing.
If this request is not approved, we will forfeit the two 2022 Peterbilt chassis that are designated
for this build. Staff would then have to request a new specification and quote for a later year
model chassis and return to Council for approval. This would further increase the purchase cost
and delay the delivery of these new vehicles. On this basis, staff recommends proceeding with
the amendment.
Resource Impact
Funding was approved for the purchase of two 202 2 Model DH50 Hydraulic Digger Derrick rear
mount crane trucks in the Fiscal Year 2020 Scheduled Vehicle and Equipment Replacement
Capital Improvement Project (VR-20000). Funding appropriated in VR-20000 in the FY 2022
Budget is sufficient to cover the increased costs of the purchases recommended in this report.
Stakeholder Engagement
Requests for vehicle replacements are presented to the Fleet Review Committee (FRC) for
approval. FRC approved the replacement of these two vehicles through the scheduled five-year
replacement review.
Policy Implications
The approval of this request to purchase vehicles is consistent with existing City policies,
including the Council-approved Utilities Strategic Plan. The Utilities Strategic Plan includes
operating the electrical distribution system in a cost-effective manner, which includes
investments in vehicles and infrastructure to deliver reliable service.
Environmental Review
This purchase is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
under Sections 10560 and 10561.
Attachments:
• Attachment5.a: Attachment B - Altec Material Surcharge Letter
• Attachment5.b: Attachment C - Quote
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City of Palo Alto Page 3
• Attachment5.c: Attachment D - Altec/Sourcewell Contract Amendment
• Attachment5.d: Attachment E - Statement from Coast Counties Peterbilt
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September 21, 2021
City of Palo Alto,
Thank you for being a valued Altec customer. We greatly appreciate our relationship and look forward to serving you
for years to come.
Costs in our industry continue to be volatile, increasing, and in cases like steel, at unprecedented levels. These
increases have been widespread, affecting not only commodities like steel, aluminum, resins, and petroleum-based
products, but also manufactured components from industrial suppliers. Steel futures indicate that prices will remain at
elevated levels for the foreseeable future. The Producer Price Indexes (PPIs) below illustrate the magnitude of the
impact to our business.
We continue to experience price increases from key suppliers as shown in examples below:
We will continue to focus on lean manufacturing and implement cost-saving measures where possible. However, we
are unable to absorb the entirety of the increased material costs we are experiencing in today’s environment.
To offset a portion of these unanticipated costs, Altec is continuing a 5% surcharge into 2022. We will continue to
monitor material prices to evaluate the need for this surcharge.
Thank you for your understanding.
Steven Ankney
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Appendix: These images can be substituted in the letter as needed
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Quote Number:694090-1
Opportunity Number:10569607
Sourcewell Contract #:012418-ALT
Date:9/29/2021
REFERENCE ALTEC MODEL
50' Fully Hydraulic derrick, rear mount $225,797
(A.)
1
2
3
4
(A1.)
1 UHBD Aluminum Bayonet Capstan Drum (fits any winch extended shaft)$568
2 DP Dica Pads and Pad Holder - 24" x 24" x 1", With Rope Handle (Pair)$633
3 SPOT6 Remote Spot Light, LED, Permanent Mount, With Wireless Dash Mounted Controls
And Programmable Wireless Remote $709
4 VCAM Backup Camera System $835
5 TBE ELECTRIC TRAILER BRAKE CONTROLLER. Controls Trailers with Electric
Brakes, Wired to 7-Way Plug Next to Pintle Hook $233
6 ISG Inverter Storage Inside of Body Compartment with Guard $588
7
8
SOURCEWELL OPTIONS TOTAL:$229,363
(B.)
1 UNIT
2
UNIT & HYDRAULIC ACC
10' JIB and braket, AB chance adapter, PCD24B Capstain w/ foot controller, Hyd
hose reel (50'), Tiiger pole puller w/ brackets, custom rope guides, custom subbase
compartmentation
$11,700
3 BODY Custom 2020 Altec Body with ladder, hotstick and open top storage boxes ILO
Sourcewell contract $9,184
4
BODY & CHASSIS ACC
Holland pintle hitch, custom derrick access step, cone holder (underhung), shovel
storage, modified exhaust tip, sign base holder, rigging D-ring for capstan, two-pole
capacity pole rack
$4,251
5
ELECTRICAL
TruckLite spot light above rotation, 42" LED directional light bar, four (4) 4.75" flood
lights, four (4) Federal Signal lights, 3600W Inverter and two (2) Aux batteries, 120V
GFCI quad receptacle and two (2) standard 120V GFCI, boom out of stow
indicators, additional strobe
$10,785
6 FINISHING Non-Regional build, CA Crane Certification (Incl/ horn at lower controls)$408
7 CHASSIS Custom Peterbilt 348 ILO Sourcewell Contract $21,708
OPEN MARKET OPTIONS TOTAL:$58,036
SUB-TOTAL FOR UNIT/BODY/CHASSIS:$287,399
Delivery to Customer:$3,568
Chassis Surcharge:$4,960
Altec Material Surcharge:$9,924
ESTIMATED Sales Tax (9.125%):$27,583
Doc/Admin Fee:$100
(C.)
1
2
3
4
Altec Industries, Inc.
SOURCEWELL OPTIONS ON CONTRACT (Unit)
SOURCEWELL OPTIONS ON CONTRACT (General)
OPEN MARKET ITEMS (Customer Requested)
TOTAL FOR UNIT/BODY/CHASSIS:(each) $333,534
TOTAL FOR UNIT/BODY/CHASSIS QUANITY OF TWO (2): $667,068
ADDITIONAL ITEMS (items are not included in total above)
DH50
Quoted for: City of Palo Alto
**Pricing valid for 45 days**
NOTES
PAINT COLOR: White to match chassis, unless otherwise specified
Quoted by: Omar Salcedo
Altec Account Manager: William Hamburger
Phone: (707) 693-2579 / Email: omar.salcedo@altec.com
BUILD LOCATION: St. Joseph, MO
WARRANTY: Standard Altec Warranty for Aerials and Derricks - One (1) year parts warranty One (1) year labor warranty Ninety
TRADE-IN: Equipment trades must be received in operational condition (as initial inspection) and DOT compliant at the time of
CHASSIS: Per Altec Commercial Standard
DELIVERY: No later than __270__ days ARO, FOB Customer Location
TERMS: Net 30 days
BEST VALUE: Altec boasts the following "Best Value" features: Altec ISO Grip Controls for Extra Protection, Only Lifetime
TO ORDER: To order, please contact the Altec Account Manager listed above.
Sourcewell (formerly NJPA) updated with surcharges with updated tax
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1
☐
☐
☐
☐
☐
Supplier Name:
CONTRACT AMENDMENT
PRICE AND PRODUCT CHANGE REQUEST FORM
Altec Industries, Inc 012418-ALT Sourcewell Contract Number: (Contract)
Instructions
A request for product or service changes, additions, or deletions to the Contract will be considered at any time throughout the Contract term. All modifications must be within the scope of the original RFP and be in the best interests of Sourcewell and Sourcewell Participating Entities. If approved, the request will be incorporated into the above- referenced contract; however, no changes will be binding unless the request is approved by the Manager of Supplier Development and this request is signed by Sourcewell’s Chief Procurement Officer.
Additions: New products and related services may be added to the contract if they are within the scope of the original RFP.
Deletions: Products and related services may be deleted from the contract if they are no longer available.
Price increases: Price increase requests must provide sufficient justification for the change (e.g., recently imposed tariffs or significant petroleum cost increases), not merely generalized statements requesting the increase.
Price decreases: Price decreases are accepted at any time.
Submit this request to the assigned Sourcewell Supplier Development Administrator.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Request
Check all that apply
✔ Adding Products/Services
✔ Deleting Products/Services
✔ Price Increase
✔
✔
Price Decrease
Other
Detailed Justification for Changes
1. Changed Product List
List the products and/or services that are changing from the previous contract price list, along with the percentage
change for each item or category. Attach a separate sheet if a large number of changes are included in this request.
Please see attached document "Supplement to P&P" for detail around 2023 Model Year pricing.
Additionally the surcharge approved from PnP June 6 2021 is being extended and will effect trucks currently
scheduled to complete production through the 1st half of 2022. This action is expanding the reach to orders
quoted before 5-4-2021 which will invoice between 7-1-2021 and 6-30-2022 (originally invoice dates were 7-1-
2021 to 12-31-2021)
DocuSign Envelope ID: 7D0F5D62-3A21-46AB-AE69-F155C7C15C87
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2
2. Justification for Changes
Provide justification and documentation explaining the requested changes (e.g., add a product because of technology
advances in new model of equipment, increased raw material costs, add a Hot List of products). Include the percentage
range of increase.
Please see attached document Altec Model Year 2023 Price Increase Reference Material. Significant changes
since Altec's most recent P&P (fully executed 5-4-2021):
* Altec Model Year 2023 pricing is now being quoted
* Costs continue to increase and remain at unprecedented levels
* Chassis new model year pricing has significantly increased, especially Ford Light Duty
3. Product additions only
Describe how the product additions fit within the scope of the original RFP.
Altec would like to add a new hybrid technology, JEMS SE Jobsite Anti-Idle and ePTO for Service Aerials with "Fiber
to the Boom Tip" included. This is within the scope of the original RFP in that it provides Sourcewell members the
most up to date offering to reduce emissions at their job site while performing work with our equipment.
4. Price changes or product/service additions only
State how the requested pricing is consistent with current Sourcewell contract pricing.
Pricing is consistent with our existing Sourcewell contract in that the discount ratio % from MSRP is maintained and within the limits we proposed on contract.
Complete Restatement of Pricing Submitted
I understand that a complete restatement of pricing must be attached with this request or it will not be processed.
Approvals
Supplier Offer:
This Price and Product Change Request has been submitted for review to be considered as an amendment to the above
referenced Contract. Riley Browne Digitally signed by: Riley Browne
DN: CN = Riley Browne C = US O = Altec Industries Inc OU = A01427E000001689A3A3F4C00012E5A 9-8-2021
By: Date: 2021.09.08 12:30:54 -05'00'
Supplier Authorized Signature Date
Riley Browne - Contract Specialist
Print Name and Title of Authorized Signer
Sourcewell Acceptance:
Sourcewell accepts Supplier’s offer in this Price and Product Change Request. By Sourcewell’s signature below, this
document becomes an amendment to the above referenced Contract and incorporates all referenced attachments into
this Amendment.
By:
Jeremy Schwartz
Sourcewell Chief Procurement Officer
Date
DocuSign Envelope ID: 7D0F5D62-3A21-46AB-AE69-F155C7C15C87
9/14/2021 | 8:41 AM CDT
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Statement from Coast Counties Peterbilt
Without rehashing the detail of the causes, the bottom line is the following as it relates to your size of
truck:
• Thousands of trucks slated for 2021 production have been taken out of build slots and put in an
unscheduled 2022 build bucket
• They have abandoned and/or modified the previous plan sent over in early August imposing
surcharges on all scheduled units depending on deal
• While a large portion of 2021 orders for fleets were cancelled and must be repriced/reordered
the older priced units remain viable to build with structured increases
• All dealers were placed on allocation, we are allowed a limited number of build slots per
model/month throughout the year.
In your case what we would have is access to build your truck in the first half of next year with one more
additional $1,000 material surcharge, a $500 increase in freight, and inclusion of the new mandatory
CARB emission warranty. So with that pricing we would be as follows:
(2) 2023 Peterbilt 348 2-axle Trucks
Original sale price: $ 91,105.00
Surcharge from August 2, 2021 1,000.00
Surcharge for 2022 build 1,000.00
2022 Freight surcharge 500.00
5 year/150,000 CARB emission warranty 2,460.00
Total per unit $ 96,065.00
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City of Palo Alto (ID # 13748)
City Council Staff Report
Meeting Date: 11/29/2021
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Title: Approval of Amendment Number 2 to Contract Number C19173514
With SP Plus to Add Two Years to the Term for the Valet Parking Program for
University Avenue and California Avenue Parking Facilities
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Transportation Dep artment
Recommended
Staff recommends that the City Council approve Amendment Two to Contract C19173514 with
SP Plus for valet parking services to extend the contract term from March 1, 2022 to February
29, 2024 with no additional costs or changes in scope (Attachment A).
Background
In early 2014, Staff began significant efforts to address the City’s parking and traffic challenges,
particularly in the Downtown core, through a multi-pronged approach. The strategy includes
projects to increase parking supply and availability (parking supply measures), improving how
existing parking facilities are utilized and controlled (parking management strategies), and
projects to reduce overall traffic demand and encouraging alternatives to driving
(transportation demand management strategies). One component of this strategy is more
efficient usage of existing parking capacity, and valet -assist parking is one part of this program.
On October 4, 2018, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was released for services including the
implementation, support, and related services of a Parking Ambassador Program to continue
and enhance the customer experience for valet parking in City parking garages.
In addition to the regular public posting of the RFP available to 414 vendors, t he following
companies that specialize in parking valet services were directly contacted and provided
information about the opportunity to submit a bid for this RFP:
• SP Plus
• ProPark
• Ace Parking
• California Parking
• Serco, Inc.
• Douglas Parking
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City of Palo Alto Page 2
Based on the single proposal, staff selected SP Plus (and City Council approved on April 1, 2019;
SR # 9751) for the commencement of contract negotiations, which were completed on March
4, 2019.
On April 22, 2019, the City’s Public Works Department began construction for the new parking
garage, reducing the number of available public parking spaces in the Ca lifornia Avenue
Commercial District. Business owners and operators in the California Avenue area expressed
concern about that loss of parking and requested additional mitigations. Some California
Avenue merchants have indicated that their business is down as much as 20% since garage
construction impacts began in late January 2019. In March 2019, staff learned that t he
merchants were surprised that valet service was provided to the University Avenue business
district, but none was proposed for the California Avenue area. Therefore, staff initiated an
expansion of the Downtown Valet Parking Program to include temporary valet service at Lot C-
6, increasing supply by roughly 40 vehicles. Expansion of the valet program to 258 Sherman Ave
(Lot C-6) occurred concurrently with construction closures, with options to expand to additional
California Avenue parking facilities if/as-needed based on occupancy.
Amendment Number One (approved by City Council on October 21, 2019; SR # 10620) added
additional funding and expanded services as a temporary program during the peak hours of
11:00 am to 3:00 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Additional valet service can
be canceled at any time and was to conclude upon the completion of the new parking garage.
However, on March 17, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Santa Clara County
implemented a shelter-in-place order, limiting travel for non-essential workers region-wide.
Simultaneously, the Office of Transportation suspended all valet operations up to current day.
As the City returns to pre-COVID traffic patterns, staff predicts higher parking demand in the
Spring of 2022.
The prolonged 2020-2021 impacts of the COVID pandemic led to significant reduction in
services on SP Plus’s scope of work. This current report brings forward a contract amendment
to continue services outlined in the agreement. Amendment Number Two adds an additional
two years to the terms of the contract due to the lack of services during the pandemic. Staff
expects to deploy valet services at garages and lots as needed, when parking demand is high
and parking availability is constrained. If this extention is not approved, the City will not have
support to offer valet services to meet parking needs as the City recovers from the impacts of
the pandemic.
Timeline
Staff implemented the valet parking programs in the spring of 2019 and this contract
amendment continues this service through February 29, 2024.
Resource Impact
This amendment will require no additional appropriation of funds as the amendment only
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City of Palo Alto Page 3
extends the term of the contract to February 2024, from a three to a five-year contract, without
changes to the contract scope or contract amount.
Funding for the contract was included as part of the FY 2022 Adopted Operating Budget.
Services will be provided to various parking districts in Palo Alto; therefore, the costs are
proportionally split between the University Avenue Parking Permit Fund, California Avenue
Parking Permit Fund, and Residential Preferential Parking (RPP) Program Funds.
Policy Implications
The valet-assist program is consistent with current Comprehensive Plan Goals, Policies, and
Programs:
• Goal T-8: Attractive, Convenient Public and Private Parking Facilities
• Policy T-45: Provide sufficient parking in the University Avenue/Downtown and
California Ave business districts to address long-range needs.
• Policy T-47: Protect residential areas from the parking impacts of nearby business
districts.
• Program T-49: Implement a comprehensive program of parking supply and demand
management strategies for Downtown Palo Alto.
• Program T-52: Evaluation options to ensure maximum use of the City parking structures
in the University Avenue/Downtown and California Avenue areas.
Stakeholder Engagement
The recommended contract extension supports the City’s ability to respond to parking
pressures in commercial districts with valet service, to support local retailers and other
businesses when and where parking demand is high.
Environmental Review
The proposed action would implement operational changes at existing garages and is
categorically exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under
Class One (CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, Existing Facilities) and because it can be seen with
certainty that the proposed action to incrementally increase garage capacity via operational
changes could not have a significant effect on the environment (CEQA Guidelines Section
15061(b)(3), the “general rule”).
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City of Palo Alto (ID # 13777)
City Council Staff Report
Meeting Date: 11/29/2021
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Title: Approval of the Office of the City Auditor's IT Risk Management
Assessment Report as Recommended by the Policy and Services Committee
From: City Manager
Lead Department: City Auditor
Recommendation
The Policy and Services Committee, City Auditor, and Staff recommend that the City
Council approve the Information Technology Risk Management Assessment report.
Executive Summary
Baker Tilly, in its capacity serving as the Office of the City Auditor, performed a review
of Information Technology risk management practices as approved in the FY2021 Audit
Plan approved by City Council
<https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/agendas-minutes-reports/agendas-
minutes/city-council-agendas-minutes/2021/03-01-21-ccm-agenda.pdf>.
Through the assessment, the Office of the City Auditor identified recommendations for
improvement. The Information Technology Department is in general agreement with
each finding and has drafted action plans for each item with some partial agreement in
recognition of the necessity to scale the best practices to the size and scale of the City
of Palo Alto and specifically to address current limited resources and prioritization of
those resources. This, however, is taken into consideration in the management action
plans developed by the Department.
The Policy & Services Committee unanimously approved the report at the October 12,
2021 meeting (ID #13556; Video).
The Office of City Auditor will perform periodic follow up procedures to validate that
corrective actions have been implemented.
Background
The City’s Information Technology Department provides technology services that
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City of Palo Alto Page 2
support all City departments in delivering quality services to the community. To ensure
that the City protects the value of its Information Technology Department and mitigates
potential risks, Office of the City Auditor conducted an assessment of the Department’s
risk management practices. Key risks facing the Information Technology Department
include cyber security, database/data management, and disaster preparedness and
recovery risks.
The Office of the City Auditor included an assessment in the FY2021 Audit Plan
approved by City Council <https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/agendas-
minutes-reports/agendas-minutes/city-council-agendas-minutes/2021/03-01-21-ccm-
agenda.pdf>. The objectives of this review were to:
1) Gain an understanding of the key risks areas within the City’s IT governance
strategy and the risk management environment.
2) Determine whether adequate controls are in place to ensure the security of
information, and aligned with the City’s strategic information technology goals.
The Policy and Services committee approved the IT Risk Management report
unanimously on October 12, 2021.
Discussion
The attached report summarizes the analysis, audit findings, and recommendations.
Timeline, Resource Impact, Policy Implications
The timeline for implementation of corrective action plans is identified within the
attached report. All corrective actions are scheduled to be implemented by FY 2023.
Stakeholder Engagement
The Office of the City Auditor worked primarily with the Information Technology
Department and engaged with additional stakeholders, including the City Manager’s
Office.
Environmental Review
Environmental review is not applicable to this activity.
Attachments:
• Attachment7.a: OCA - IT Risk Management - Final Draft (REDACTED)
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1
City of Palo Alto
Office of the City Auditor
Information Technology (IT) Risk
Management Assessment
September 30, 2021
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Palo Alto IT Risk Management Assessment
Executive Summary
2
Executive Summary
Purpose of the Audit
The purpose of this assessment was to gain an understanding of key risks areas within IT governance strategy and the
risk management environment, evaluate the adequacy of the control environment and offer recommendations for
improvement.
Report Highlights
Finding Page 10 Formalized IT Risk Management processes will further ensure
the City’s technology risks are properly identified, assessed,
managed and monitored.
The City does not currently have formal IT risk management practices. In general,
day-to-day operational controls are in place to mitigate IT risks, but gaps may still
exist for unidentified IT risks, resources may not be prioritized to higher risk or
strategically aligned areas, and senior management or oversight bodies may not
receive timely awareness of risks affecting the City.
Key Recommendations to the City Manager:
The City should work to develop an overall IT risk management process that
incorporates the following key steps:
− Setting Context for IT risk management including establishing a defined
risk appetite, assigning employee responsibility and developing Key
Performance Indicators (KPI) and metrics to evaluate the achievement of
strategic objectives and outcomes.
− Establishing and conducting a formal Risk Identification and Assessment
process including establishing techniques for risk identification with
consideration for vulnerabilities, decomposing areas of concern and
threats into statements of risk and maintaining a current risk register.
− Risk Analysis and Business Impact Evaluation beginning with adoption of
a best-practice risk management framework and then developing a set of
enterprise criteria to rank, rate, and assign disposition to accept, avoid,
mitigate or transfer each risk.
− Identifying a Risk Response including assigning a risk disposition (i.e.
response) to each risk, assigning responsibility for response, developing
a risk mitigation and contingency plan, and performing periodic
reevaluation of risk disposition as necessary.
− Conduct Risk Reporting and Communication including on-going
monitoring of risk status, periodic reevaluation and progress reporting to
all relevant stakeholders.
Page 31 In addition, the Information Technology Department should work to mitigate
operational level risks, identified as part of this audit, on a prioritized basis as
budget and resources allow.
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3
Table of Contents
Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................................................. 2
Purpose of the Audit ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Report Highlights .............................................................................................................................................................. 2
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Objective ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Background ....................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Scope .................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Compliance Statement ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Detailed Analysis & Testing ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Methodology ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Approach ............................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Assessment Results ............................................................................................................................................................. 7
Appendices .......................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Appendix A: Risk Matrix ................................................................................................................................................. 11
Appendix B: Risk Heat Map ........................................................................................................................................... 25
Appendix C: Operational Level Risks and Considerations ........................................................................................ 28
Appendix D: Management Response ............................................................................................................................ 32
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Palo Alto IT Risk Management Assessment
Introduction
4
Introduction
Objective The purpose of this assessment was to gain an understanding of key risks areas within IT
governance strategy and the risk management environment, evaluate the adequacy of the
control environment and offer recommendations for improvement.
Background The City of Palo Alto’s Information Technology Department exists “to provide innovative
technology solutions that support City departments in delivering quality services to the
community” according to their mission statement. These services support transportation,
utilities, streets, fire, police and ambulance service provision. Disruptions in technology and
unmitigated risks may prevent or delay residents from receiving vital services.
The City is a global technology hub and aims to reflect this in their city services. As Palo Alto
aims to “build and enable a leading smart and digital city,” there is a desire to adopt
innovative technologies to improve residents’ quality of life, serve commercial entities, and
lead in sustainability. At the beginning of FY13, the Information Technology Department set
a strategic direction to achieve these goals.
To ensure that the City protects the value of its Information Technology Department and
mitigate potential risks, the City has decided to conduct an internal assessment of the
Department. This decision was in conjunction with a broader, Citywide audit plan detailing
the potential risks facing each department. The key risks facing the Information Technology
Department include cyber security, database/data management, and disaster preparedness
and recovery risks.
The Information Technology Department is governed by the municipal code, “section
2.08.240 Department of Information Technology”, internal policies and procedures, and its
operational divisions including the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the IT Project
Management Office, IT Operations, IT Enterprise Services, and Information Security
Services.
The City is also going through a number of large-scale initiatives, including a large upgrade
to the City’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, implementation of a GIS system,
and alignment of Data Strategy, Standardization, and Governance.
In 2020, Baker Tilly conducted an initial risk assessment, the City’s current risk management
control environment. As a result, the following findings were identified:
There is no formal risk framework being followed.
No risk register exists with identified risks and risk prioritization.
No scoring or formal discussion of likelihood and severity or internal controls.
Palo Alto does not have a comprehensive strategic IT Capital Plan.
In order to properly assess the City’s IT risk management environment, we utilized COBIT 5
and Risk IT Management best practice frameworks, which were developed and published by
the Information Systems Audit and Controls Association (ISACA). The frameworks offer a
practical approach to evaluate risks associated with processes, organizational structures,
culture, policies, information, infrastructure and people from a functional and management
perspective. More details on these frameworks are included in the Detailed Report Approach
and Methodology section.
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Palo Alto IT Risk Management Assessment
Introduction
5
1 Government auditing standards require an external peer review at least once every three (3) years. The last peer review of the Palo
Alto Office of the City Auditor was conducted in 2017. The Palo Alto City Council approved a contract from October 2020 through
June 2022 with Baker Tilly US, LLP (Baker Tilly) and appointed Kyle O’Rourke, Senior Consulting Manager in Baker Tilly's Public Sector
practice, as City Auditor. Given the transition in the City Audit office, a peer review was not conducted in 2020 and will be conducted
in the second year of Baker Tilly’s contract.
Scope We reviewed the City’s IT governance, risk management, and operational level controls
documentation for the period March 1, 2020 through February 28, 2021.
Compliance
Statement
This audit activity was conducted from March 2021 to September 2021 in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards, except for the requirement of an
external peer review1. In addition, certain technical specialists do not adhere to the
Continued Professional Education (CPE) requirements outlined in the generally accepted
government auditing standards. A mitigating factor, however, is that the City Auditor
oversees all work and does adhere to the CPE requirements.
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate
evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit
objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
The Office of the City Auditor greatly appreciates the support of the IT Department in
conducting this assessment.
Thank you!
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Detailed Analysis & Testing
Methodology Baker Tilly’s objective is to evaluate the City’s IT implementation of risk management
processes. We noted that similar organizations adopt processes from a variety frameworks
and elected to compare common criteria to evaluate the current state of risk management at
the City of Palo Alto. Baker Tilly developed recommendations for the implementation of a
risk management program using the framework, known as COBIT 5, which was developed
and published by ISACA. This provided a baseline to evaluate the IT Department’s
mitigating control policies and procedures related to governance, IT risk management
framework, IT risk management process, event identification, risk assessments, IT risk
response and maintenance and monitoring of IT risk action plans. COBIT 5 is an umbrella
framework which aligns with the standards below:
1. ISO 31000 (2009): Risk Management Principles and Enablers
2. ISO/IEC 27005 (2011): Information Security Risk Management
3. COSO ERM: Integrated Framework which includes the eight components of COSO
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
Additionally, the Information Systems Audit and Controls Association (ISACA) Risk IT
Framework, 2nd Edition and IT Risk Management Work Program, both aligned with COBIT
and industry best practices, were referenced in assessing the City’s IT risk management
environment.
Approach The following approach was performed for the IT risk management assessment:
1. Request and review background information to obtain an understanding of the Risk
Management and Governance strategy within the City of Palo Alto.
2. Conduct interviews with key process owners and management to gain understanding
of the City’s IT risk management strategy, risk assessment process, and any security
baselines and frameworks
3. Assess risks and identify controls in place
4. Test design and implementation of controls related to assessment objectives to
determine whether controls are adequately designed and implemented to support the
IT Risk Management Strategy
5. Compare the current IT risk management process against appropriate IT governance
and security frameworks
6. Document findings and validate with process owners
7. Draft report
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Assessment Results
Finding 1 Formalized IT Risk Management processes will further ensure the City’s
technology risks are properly identified, assessed, managed and monitored.
Summary The City does not currently have formal IT risk management practices. In general, day-to-day
operational controls are in place to mitigate IT risks, but gaps may still exist for unidentified IT risks,
resources may not be prioritized to higher risk or strategically aligned areas, and senior management
or oversight bodies may not receive timely awareness of risks affecting the City.
The key components of risk management as covered in the Risk Management Workflow from the Risk
IT Framework, 2nd Edition, encompasses the five steps illustrated below:
1. Setting Context: Understand risk to the City in the context of its
mission, strategy, and objectives and identify resources
required to deliver the services that align with the City’s
priorities.
2. Risk Identification and Assessment: Establish a register of all
any internal and external IT risks that will impact the City’s
ability to achieve its objectives.
3. Risk Analysis and Business Impact Evaluation: Use standard
criteria to measure the likelihood, impact, frequency and
magnitude of the risk scenarios from a top-down or bottom-up
approach.
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4. Risk Response: Based on the analysis and the organization risk
appetite, plan and implement a mitigation approach to avoid,
share, transfer or accept the risks.
5. Risk Reporting and Communication: Monitor risks and report
timely and accurate risk information to decision makers and
stakeholders (including oversight bodies).
We are presenting our findings and recommendations for the City below as it relates to each of these
five steps of the Risk Management Workflow.
Step 1: Setting Context includes establishing a risk appetite, communication of risk vision, employee
responsibility and identifying high-value services and products to support critical asset risk
management. Understanding the threats to the City's strategic plan is essential to ensuring risk
management controls add value to the risk management process. Failure to define the City's threat
landscape may result the inability to protect against and respond in the instance where an event
occurs. Disruptions in technology and unmitigated risks may prevent or delay residents from receiving
vital services.
We reviewed the Palo Alto IT Strategy FY19-FY21 and found that critical assets have been identified,
prioritized and the strategy has been communicated to employees. However, employee
responsibilities and action plans have not been identified, a risk appetite has not been established and
Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and metrics to evaluate the achievement of strategic objectives and
outcomes of the plan were not developed.
We recommend The City establish its risk appetite and tolerance when developing strategy.
Implementing a proactive IT risk management process is critical because the IT Departments provides
numerous technology needs Citywide for Palo Alto. The strategy should be communicated to all
stakeholders to ensure there is an understanding of their respective risk management roles and
responsibilities. Critical assets should be identified and prioritized to determine what services and
products are necessary for service delivery. An effective IT strategy can bring many benefits to an
organization, including lower costs, greater control, more efficient and effective use of resources, and
overall better strategic alignment and risk management.
Step 2: Risk Identification and Assessment includes establishing techniques for risk identification
with consideration for vulnerabilities, decompose areas of concern and threats into statements of risk
and compare to current risk register. Preemptively, assessing the loss-event scenarios that can impact
the entire City is a proactive approach that is essential during the risk management process. Failure to
identify historical, present and emerging risks may result in reduced confidence or visibility into any
risks that can impede the City's ability to meet its objectives.
The City does have operational level controls and processes to identify specific vulnerabilities.
However, the City does not have an overall formal risk identification process, risk register or risk
assessment process. Due to the lack of risk register, Baker Tilly conducted numerous interviews with
key IT staff and end-users in each IT functional area to gain insight into the IT environment. The
purpose of the interviews was to gain a general understanding of the controls in place to mitigate the
associated risks within each IT area. Through these interview discussions and review of
documentation we developed the IT Risk Matrix in Appendix A and identified opportunities for the City
to further improve upon and reduce risk within IT operations. Information on the specific risk
observations are included in Appendix C.
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We recommend The City develop a criteria to identify risk. Inputs include an inventory of the
vulnerabilities, processes, assets, and groups of people in an organization so that consideration can
be given to potential for adverse impacts. Risk identification and categorization can occur through
many methods such as Strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) analyses, Business
impact analyses (BIA), Scenario analysis and Risk and control self-assessments (RCSA). Each
method provides an opportunity to consider potential events that may prevent the achievement of
business objectives. Then decompose the areas of concerns into a statement of risk and capture the
conditions or situation that causes the concern, and an impact statement that describes the outcome
of the realized risk. After these exercises, the register can be continuously compared against the risk
statements on an on-going basis.
Step 3: Risk Analysis and Business Impact Evaluation includes developing a set of enterprise
criteria to rank and rate risk and assign disposition to accept, avoid, mitigate or transfer risk based on
the related actions. An IT risk management best practice framework of choice should be leveraged as
guidance when conducting a risk analysis to facilitate the establishment of a risk disposition. Failure to
rank, rate and take a position on how to address risk may prevent the City's ability to respond to the
most sensitive and critical events timely.
The City has not undertaken efforts for rating and ranking risks or conducting a business impact
evaluation. A Citywide criteria has not been established based on an IT risk management framework.
Important events and near misses around IT affecting the City are not identified, analyzed and risk-
rated. Risk assessments are not performed on a recurrent basis, using qualitative and quantitative
methods that assess the likelihood (probability) and impact of identified risk. As a result, Baker Tilly
also assigned likelihood and impact ratings to each IT risk area within the Risk Matrix in Appendix A,
and plotted them on a Risk Heat Map, included in Appendix B.
We recommend the City develop their own criteria for ranking the risks included in the risk analysis.
The analysis should encompass first identifying threats to the City and then determining their
likelihood, frequency and magnitude on the City. Then Citywide risk scenarios can be identified and
analyzed. After analysis, the City can choose a risk disposition to address risk and the related
scenarios based on the stated thresholds and/or events that are deemed unacceptable.
Step 4: Risk Response includes assigning a risk disposition (i.e. response), periodic reevaluation,
assigning responsibility for response, and developing a risk mitigation and contingency plan. A
disposition of accept, avoid, mitigate or transfer is usually assigned to each risk. Establishing
actionable steps, assigning ownership and developing a formal risk response plan is critical to the risk
management process. Failure to establish a process for responding to risk may result in the inability to
mitigate risk timely due to a lack of resources and poor planning.
The City does have a security incident response process where ownership is assigned, response plan
is identified/implemented with oversight, and incident records are documented and retained. However,
overarching IT risk management response procedures have not yet been implemented. Additionally,
risk action plans are not developed and therefore do not allow for proper monitoring to ensure
implementation, identification of costs, benefits, responsibility and approval of remedial actions or
acceptance of residual risk.
For proper risk response, management should internally review and select a disposition to address
each risk. Per the Risk IT Framework, “Effective risk management requires mutual understanding
between IT and the business regarding which risk needs to be managed and why.” An owner or
responsible personnel should be identified for each risk and as conditions and the IT environment
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changes, the disposition should be revisited. A risk mitigation plan including mitigation activities,
milestones and target completion date needs to be developed. Plan should also consider technology
risk scenarios from a top-down or bottom-up approach, which both evaluate capabilities, timing,
people, processes and physical infrastructure. Top-down begins with a high-level view of mission and
strategy; whereas Bottom-up begins with critical assets, application or systems across the City. In the
event internal mitigation is too costly, a contingency plan can be established to minimize the risk
impact.
Step 5: Risk Reporting and Communication includes on-going monitoring of risk status, periodic
reevaluation and progress reporting to all relevant stakeholders. Once an IT risk management plan is
in place, it is important to continuously communicate the status to all involved stakeholders to ensure
the plan is adequate to meet the needs of the current IT environment. The inability to communicate the
current state of risks timely may prevent senior management from being able to respond appropriately.
Additionally, a lack of engagement may produce incomplete or ineffective mitigation efforts due to
excluding stakeholder feedback when revisiting, reassessing and updating the plan based on ever-
changing Citywide internal and external risk factors.
Palo Alto does have periodic reporting to City Council related to budget and large Citywide projects.
However, there is no formal process for IT Management and City Council’s regular and routine
consideration, monitoring and review of IT risk management.
We recommend Palo Alto establish a risk reporting structure. Risks should be identifiable, recognized,
well understood and known and managed through application of appropriate resources. This ensures
there is a common understating of the City’s risk exposure and increases transparency into the threat
defenses the City has at its disposal. Risk should be monitored and risk mitigation plans updated as
conditions change, if needed.
To effectively report on risks, there should be a clear understanding and training, as needed, on the
City’s risk management strategy and any related policies and procedures. Any areas where the City’s
current capabilities are lacking should be communicated so that the necessary resources can be
obtained to enhance the risk management process expeditiously. Once the risks have been identified,
status reporting should include the risk profile, Key Risk Indicators (KRIs), event/data loss, a root
cause analysis and migration options. Per the Risk IT Framework, “Information must be communicated
at the right level of detail and adapted for the audience.”
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Appendices
Appendix A: Risk Matrix
IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
Application Management
This area focuses on the
management of the organization's
business applications – how they
are developed, procured, modified
and managed as well as how
application security is performed
and the role of the IT department in
managing an application.
Risk Statement
Poor application management
practices causing application
downtime or lack of functionality
resulting in disruption of business
operations.
• Lack of application integration
• Inability to implement
application changes and
provide application support in
a timely manner due to critical
staff shortage or turn-over
• Disruption of core business
functions due to application
downtime
• Opportunity and/or revenue
loss due to lack of application
functionality
• Increased risk of data
breaches
REDACTED
Low Med Med
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
Architecture and Deployment
This area focuses on the
architecture and deployment of
organization’s information
technology. In-scope elements
include:
• The network architecture and
deployed technology that is used
to provide intra-site, inter-site
connectivity and Internet
connectivity
• The organization’s server and
storage infrastructure
• The computer hardware that is
deployed for end-users
Risk Statement
Poor IT architecture and
deployment causing unreliable IT
service delivery and security
weaknesses resulting in end-user
dissatisfaction or loss of data
availability, integrity, or
confidentiality and reputational
damage.
• Poor or unreliable IT service
delivery
• End-user dissatisfaction
• Security weaknesses
REDACTED
Low Med Med
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
Asset Management
This area focuses on the IT
department’s asset management
practices. In-scope activities
include the following:
• Tracking information technology
assets from procurement through
disposal.
• Reusing and decommissioning
information technology assets
• Ensuring information technology
assets have an assigned owner,
who is a stakeholder in the
asset’s protection
• Ensuring information technology
assets are properly maintained
to maximize their useful life
• Tracking software usage and
ensuring that vendors’ software
license agreements are followed
Risk Statement
Poor asset management practices
resulting in loss of data and IT
assets, decreased asset longevity
and usefulness, increased costs
due to unneeded asset acquisition,
and increased security
vulnerabilities for untracked IT
assets.
• Inadequate security
management of untracked IT
assets
• Lack of asset longevity and
usefulness
• Increased costs due to
unneeded asset acquisition
• Legal fines and reputational
damage
• Data loss
REDACTED
Med Med Med
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
Change Management
This area focuses on the IT
department’s practices for
controlling changes to the IT
environment. In-scope activities
include the following:
• Management of infrastructure
hardware, software and
configuration changes
• Management of host system
software and configuration
changes
• Management of normal and
emergency changes
• Application release management
• Delineation of the activities that
are controlled by change
management versus help desk
request ticketing
Risk Statement
Poor change management
practices causing inappropriate,
unauthorized, under-planned
and/or under-tested system
changes resulting in disruption to
business operations.
• Inappropriate, unauthorized,
under-planned and/or under-
tested system changes may be
implemented that negatively
impact agency operations
and/or reputation
REDACTED
Low Med Med
Compliance Management
This area focuses on the IT
department’s practices for
complying with IT-related contract
requirements, governmental
regulations (e.g., HIPAA Security
Rule) and industry standards (e.g.,
PCI Data Security Standard).
In-scope are the following
activities:
• Compliance program
development and maintenance
• Compliance program monitoring
and reporting
Risk Statement
Insufficient compliance
management practices causing
non-compliance with requirements,
laws or regulations resulting in
penalties, fines, legal costs, and
reputational damage.
• Regulatory fines and oversight
stemming from non-
compliance
• Increased operating expenses
(e.g., payment card transaction
costs)
• Legal costs and ramifications
that damage reputation and
hinder business operations
REDACTED
Med Med Med
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
Database and Data Management
This area focuses on the IT
department’s practices for
managing digital information. In-
scope activities include the
following:
• Classifying the information that is
received, processed, transmitted
and stored by the work staff
• Protecting digital information
from the following security
losses: confidentiality, integrity
and availability
• Controlling access to digital
information via file share and
database management controls
• Performing procedures to
backup stored information
• Ensuring backed up information
is recoverable
Risk Statement
Poor database and data
management practices causing
data loss and accidental or
unauthorized data modification or
disclosure resulting in unplanned
staff time and expense to recover
(reenter) lost data, disruption of
business operations, and
reputational damage.
• Accidental and unauthorized
data modification or disclosure
• Loss of data availability or
usage
• Unplanned staff time and
expense to recover (reenter)
lost data
• Disruption of business
processes and service delivery
• Financial penalties for service
level misses
• Reputational harm
REDACTED
Low Med Med
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
Disaster Recovery Preparedness
and Testing
This area focuses on the IT
department’s preparations and
testing for disaster recovery (DR).
In-scope activities include the
following:
• Disaster recovery strategy and
alignment with the organization’s
business continuity plans
• Disaster recovery plan
preparation
• Disaster recovery testing
Risk Statement
Insufficient disaster recovery
preparedness causing less
effective and timely recovery from
disaster events, resulting in
increased disruption of business
operations and service delivery,
expenditures for system recovery,
and reputational damage.
• System and information
unavailability
• Disruption of business
processes and service delivery
• Financial penalties for service
level misses
• Unplanned expenditures for
system recovery
• Reputational harm
REDACTED
Med High High
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
End-User Support and
Perceptions
This area focuses on the IT
department’s scope and approach
for providing end-user support as
well as the perceptions that end-
users have regarding IT service
delivery. In-scope activities include
the following:
• End-user request intake
• Help Desk triaging of end-user
requests and problems
• Help Desk request tracking and
reporting
• End-user notification of request
handling progress and
completion
• Requesting and receiving end-
user feedback on completed or
abandoned service requests
Risk Statement
Poor end-user support causing
customer dissatisfaction resulting
in loss of end-user sponsorship
and partnership in IT initiatives,
and loss of IT funding.
• Loss of IT funding
• Loss of end-user sponsorship
and partnership in IT initiatives
REDACTED
Med Low Med
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
Host Intrusion and Malware
Defense
This area focuses on the IT
department’s practices for
protecting network connected
computers, telephones, printers
and infrastructure hardware
devices from intrusive activity and
malicious software exploitation. In-
scope activities include the
following:
• Intrusion detection and
prevention deployment,
operation, and monitoring
• Malware defense deployment,
operation (e.g., signature
updating), and monitoring for
hosts and applications (e.g.,
spam email)
Risk Statement
Poor host intrusion and malware
defense practices resulting in
system vulnerabilities/weaknesses
that lead to a loss of data
availability, integrity, or
confidentiality, reputational
damage, and/or monetary loss and
penalties.
• Loss of system/application
availability and integrity
• Loss of data confidentiality,
integrity and availability
• Data breach and hijacking
(ransomware)
• Reputational damage
• Monetary loss and penalties
REDACTED
Med High High
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
Information Security
This area focuses on the IT
department’s practice of
information security.
Information security programs are
developed to protect an
organization’s information systems
and information from plausible
threats and vulnerability
exploitation that could result in one
or more losses of security:
confidentiality, integrity, availability,
authenticity and/or non-repudiation.
Programs should address the
following:
• Policy development and
enforcement
• Identity and access management
• Threat identification and
management
• Vulnerability identification and
management
• Security roles and
responsibilities
• Security training and awareness
for IT and non-IT personnel
Risk Statement
Under-developed information
security program resulting in
system vulnerabilities/weaknesses
that lead to a loss of data
availability, integrity, or
confidentiality, reputational
damage, and/or monetary loss and
penalties.
• Inappropriate or unauthorized
access (physical and logical).
• Unclear responsibilities and
performance requirements.
• Increased probability that the
systems and data within the
systems are not adequately
protected from technical and
malicious threats.
REDACTED
Low High Med
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
Mobile Device Management
This area focuses on the IT
department’s management of
mobile devices. In-scope activities
include the following:
• Authorization to use mobile
devices
• Mobile device provisioning,
monitoring, support and
deprovisioning
• Mobile device incident response
Risk Statement
Poor mobile device management
practices causing a data breach
resulting in loss of data
confidentiality.
• Unauthorized device access
due to compromised security
PINs
• Installation of unwanted /
malicious software on mobile
devices
• Non-detection of rooted
(security compromised) mobile
devices
• Unauthorized access by
installed mobile applications to
stored email, text messages,
media and data
• Unauthorized user access to
stored email, text messages,
media and data as well as
network applications via VPN
• Loss of data confidentiality
• Data breach
• Reputational damage
• Monetary loss and penalties
REDACTED
High Med High
Operations and Monitoring
This area focuses on the IT
department’s practices for
operating, monitoring and
maintaining the computer systems
and supporting infrastructure that
are used by the work staff. In-
scope activities include the
following:
• Capacity management
• Hardware and software
maintenance
Risk Statement
Poor computer operations and
monitoring/maintenance practices
causing loss of system security and
availability, increased costs from
insufficient planning/forecasting,
and disruption of business
operations.
• Loss of system security
• Reduced system availability.
• Increased costs due to
insufficient planning and
forecasting
• Disruption of business
processes and service delivery
• Financial penalties for service
level misses
• Reputational harm
REDACTED
Low High Med
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
Organizational Architecture
This area focuses on the
organization of the IT department,
its placement within the
organization and its approach to
staffing.
Risk Statement
Poor organizational structure and
staffing causing communication
gaps, lacking knowledge/skillsets,
excessive workload, or decreased
productivity resulting in poor
service delivery.
• Lack of organizational structure
and/or staffing to perform
business-as-usual functions
• Poor service delivery
• Unfulfilled end-user and
business sponsor expectations
REDACTED
Low Med Med
Physical and Environmental
Controls
This area focuses on IT physical
and environmental safeguards that
are deployed to protect the
organization’s application systems
and information. In scope activities
include the following:
• Deployment and monitoring of
physical access controls that
protect IT assets
• Deployment and monitoring of
environmental controls that
protect IT assets
Risk Statement
Lack of proper physical and
environmental safeguards over
data centers causing unauthorized
access or physical damage
resulting in loss of data or
hardware.
• Inappropriate or unauthorized
physical access to data
centers, server rooms, wiring
closets, or facilities containing
end-user IT hardware
• Inappropriate or unauthorized
physical access to IT hardware
• IT hardware and/or
infrastructure loss due to poor
environmental controls
• Data loss or theft
• System loss or theft
• Data breach
• Reputational damage
• Monetary loss and penalties
REDACTED
Low High Med
Problem Management and
Incident Response
This area focuses on the IT
department’s practices for
managing problems and incidents.
In scope are the following activities:
• The method(s) by which IT
problems are reported and
resolved• Problem tracking,
reporting and communication
• Incident response preparation
and response testing
• Loss of IT asset confidentiality,
integrity and availability
• Physical loss and damage
• Data breaches
• Reputational damage
• Monetary loss and penalties
REDACTED
Med High High
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
• Incident identification, triaging,
containment, eradication and
recovery
Risk Statement
Ineffective management of IT
problems and incidents causing
loss of IT asset confidentiality,
integrity and availability resulting in
impacts to business operations,
reputational damage, and/or
monetary loss and penalties.
Procurement and Service
Provider Management
This area focuses on the IT
department’s practices for
procuring hardware, soft-ware,
facilities and services as well as
managing the contracted service
providers. In scope are the
following activities:
• Procurement strategy
• Vendor and service provider due
diligence and performance
monitoring
Risk Statement
Insufficient procurement practices
and oversight of vendors/service
providers resulting in higher
spending, product/service delivery
problems, or security issues.
• Insufficient oversight of
procurement strategy and
methods could result in the
failure to optimize the cost and
effectiveness of IT asset and
service purchases
• Insufficient oversight of service
provider contract performance
could result in the non-timely
detection of product/service
delivery problems
• Insufficient oversight of service
provider activity and security
controls could cause security
problems including a data
breach
• Data breaches
• Reputational damage
• Monetary loss and penalties
REDACTED
Med Med Med
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
Portfolio Project Management
This area focuses on the IT
department’s project management
practices. In-scope activities
include:
• Initiating, planning, executing,
controlling, and closing projects
• Managing projects’ scope,
milestones, quality and budget
• Ensuring projects are adequately
staffed
• Reporting project progress and
issues on a recurring basis to
management and stakeholders
Risk Statement
Poor project management resulting
in cost/schedule overruns or unmet
customer needs, impacting
business operations.
• Poor project deliverable quality
• Project cost overruns
• Late project completion
• Unmet project stakeholder
expectations
• Fines due to unmet project
milestones or non-compliance
• Reputation harm
REDACTED
Low Low Low
Risk Management
This area focuses on the IT
department’s risk management
practices. In-scope activities
include IT risk identification,
triaging, treatment, tracking and
management reporting.
Risk Statement
Lack of awareness and
management of internal and
external technology risks caused
by inadequate risk management
practices resulting in severe
impacts to the City and its
operations.
• Loss of IT asset confidentiality,
integrity and availability
• Physical IT asset loss and
damage
• Data breaches
• Reputational damage
• Monetary loss and penalties
REDACTED
Med Med Med
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IT Risk Area Risk Factors Current Controls and Practices Likelihood Impact Rating
Strategy and Governance
This area focuses on IT strategy
and governance practices. In-
scope activities include the
following:
• Development, maintenance and
approval of an IT strategic plan
that is aligned with the
organization's business strategy
• Development and execution of
tactical IT plans that are aligned
to the IT strategy
• Development, maintenance and
approval of an IT operating
budget
• Recurring performance and risk
reporting to Executive
Management and the City
Council
• Oversight of IT operation and
resource consumption by
Executive Management and the
City Council
Risk Statement
Poor IT strategy and governance
practices resulting in the inability to
properly oversee and manage IT
functions and align with the City’s
needs and priorities.
• IT service delivery is
misaligned with the
organization
• IT over-spends and under-
delivers
• Organizational needs and
expectations with respect to
information technology are not
met
• Executive management and
the City Council are unaware
of IT risks and their severity
• All compliance and data-
related risks previously listed
REDACTED
High Med High
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Appendix B: Risk Heat Map
25
Appendix B: Risk Heat Map
The risk heat map ranks the following IT risk categories plotted in the heat map based on risk scores. Related risk observations are also noted within (refer to
Appendix C: Operational Level Risk Observations).
RISK MAP
Low Impact Medium Impact High Impact
Hi
g
h
Li
k
e
l
i
h
o
o
d
Risk Severity: Medium
Risk Severity: High
1. Mobile Device Management: Observation 10
2. Strategy and Governance
Risk Severity: Critical
Me
d
i
u
m
Li
k
e
l
i
h
o
o
d
Risk Severity: Low
1. End-User Support and Perceptions
Risk Severity: Medium
1. Asset Management: Observation 1, 2
2. Compliance Management: Observation 4, 5
3. Procurement and Service Provider Management:
Observation 12, 13
4. Risk Management: Finding 1 - 5
Risk Severity: High
1. Disaster Recovery: Observation 7
2. Host Intrusion and Malware Defense
3. Problem Management
Lo
w
L
i
k
e
l
i
h
o
o
d
Risk Severity: Negligible
1. Portfolio Project Management: Observation 14
Risk Severity: Low
2. Application Management: Observation
3. Architecture and Deployment: Observation
4. Change Management: Observation 3
5. Database and Data Management: Observation 6
6. Organizational Architecture
7. Architecture and Deployment
Risk Severity: Medium
1. Information Security: Observation 8, 9
2. Operations and Monitoring
3. Physical and Environmental Controls: Observation 11
1. Mobile Device Management
2. Strategy and Governance
3. Disaster Recovery Preparedness and Testing
4. Host Intrusion and Malware Defense
5. Compliance Management
6. Database and Data Management
7. Problem Management and Incident Response
8. Risk Management
9. Asset Management
10. Compliance Management
11. Procurement and Service Provider Management
12. Information Security
13. Operations and Monitoring
14. Physical and Environmental Controls
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Appendix B: Risk Heat Map
26
Risk Analysis Methodology
Baker Tilly used the Open Web Application Security Project’s (OWASP) Risk Rating methodology generally across all IT areas, which assesses risk based upon
the likelihood that a risk event will occur and its potential impact. The matrix shown in Table 1 considers technical likelihood and business impact to help determine
the overall risk level.
Technical likelihood addresses the ease of identifying and exploiting the risk. This can be further understood by looking at “threat agents” and “vulnerability
factors”. Threat agents are the items that address the motive and skill required to exploit a risk. Vulnerability factors address the ease of identifying the risk and
exploiting it.
Business impact addresses the exploitive effect of the vulnerability upon the business, consisting of “technical impacts” and “organizational impacts”. The technical
impacts are those that address the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the data. The organizational impacts are financial damage, reputational damage,
regulatory non-compliance, loss of intellectual property and violation of privacy.
Table 1. Risk Rating
Table 1. Risk Rating
Technical
Likelihood
Business Impact
Low Medium High
High Medium High Critical
Medium Low Medium High
Low Note Low Medium
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Appendix B: Risk Heat Map
27
Each risk rating category has been described in Table 2 below.
Table 2. Risk Rating Category Descriptions
Table 2. Risk Rating Category Descriptions
Risk Rating Description
Critical
These risks have both a high technical likelihood of occurrence and a high business impact upon
the organization. Their exploitation could cause great damage to the organization, its systems
and/or sensitive information assets. The underlying vulnerabilities should be treated as soon as
possible.
High
These risks have mixed technical likelihood of occurrence and a business impact that ranges
between medium and high. Their exploitation could cause much damage to the organization, its
systems and/or sensitive information assets but the degree of damage is less than the critical
risks. The underlying vulnerabilities should be treated with or after the “critical risk”
vulnerabilities.
Medium
These risks have mixed technical likelihood of occurrence and a business impact that ranges
between low and high. Their exploitation could cause moderate damage to the organization, its
systems and/or sensitive information assets but the degree of damage is less than the high
risks. The underlying vulnerabilities should be treated with or after the “high risk” vulnerabilities.
Low
These risks have mixed technical likelihood of occurrence and a business impact that ranges
between low and medium. Their exploitation could cause nominal damage to the organization,
its systems and/or sensitive information assets but the degree of damage is less than the
medium risks. The underlying vulnerabilities should be treated with or after the “medium risk”
vulnerabilities.
Note
These risks have both a low technical likelihood of occurrence and a low business impact upon
the organization. Their exploitation would cause negligible damage to the organization, its
systems and/or sensitive information assets but the degree of damage is less than the low risks.
The underlying vulnerabilities may optionally be treated with or after the “low risk” vulnerabilities.
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Appendix C: Operational Level Risks and Considerations
28
Appendix C: Operational Level Risks and Considerations
Opportunities exist to further improve upon and reduce risk within IT operations. While taking into consideration the risk levels associated with identified
observations and focusing on areas with the highest impact and likelihood, we recommend that the Information Technology department work to mitigate identified
risks on a prioritized basis, as budget and resources allow. It is important to note that the IT risks observations included within this assessment are not all-inclusive
of every possible threat that could impact the City. Rather, the scope is limited to risks identified during interview discussions and through review of documentation.
IT Area Risk/Observation and Recommendations
Asset Management Observation 1: There is a lack of visibility when IT assets (systems, software, equipment/devices) are purchased with end user
departmental budgets. This may contribute to decentralized shadow IT and the inefficient use of organizational resources by
purchasing unnecessary software without IT's review and approval.
Recommendation 1: We recommend that Palo Alto charter an Information Technology Committee to evaluate all IT system and
application procurements and purchases for appropriateness to ensure risk management oversight, standardization and strategic
alignment of IT investments, and prioritization of those most valuable and beneficial to the organization as a whole (driven by budget
and resource availability).
Observation 2: Asset tracking is manual in nature, monitored by multiple departments (i.e. Finance and IT) and there is an
opportunity to increase the amount and type of information being captured. This may contribute to the inefficient and ineffective
asset management.
Recommendation 2: We recommend that Palo Alto procure an asset management tool to provide a more effective and centralized
approach to manage assets, increase visibility into asset utilization, maximize asset life and reduce costs.
Change
Management
Observation 3: Palo Alto does not have a change management policy. This may result in inconsistent and uncontrolled application
and system changes.
Recommendation 3: We recommend that Palo Alto formally document its change management process to ensure consistency with
requests, testing, management approval and the implementation of changes to its applications and systems.
Compliance
Management
Observation 4: There is no formal process to identify, document, and monitor compliance requirements. Lack of documented
formal policies and procedures may result in unidentified compliance obligations and non-compliant business practices, which can
lead to penalties, fines and an increased costs related employee training.
Recommendation 4: We recommend that Palo Alto develop a compliance policy, which formally defines the City’s approach to
compliance management. This will ensure employees are provided with guidance to perform their roles and responsibilities in an
ethical manner that is in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and allow for a consistent, standardized process.
Observation 5: Information Security Policy gaps and exceptions are documented in SharePoint through an Exception Form, and it
was noted that Departments are allowed to request compliance exceptions without end dates. This may prolong the use of non-
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29
IT Area Risk/Observation and Recommendations
compliant business practices. Therefore, compliance related internal controls may be overridden which increases the City's risk
exposure.
Recommendation 5: We recommend that Palo Alto incorporate a requirement that exception duration dates must be provided on
exception forms. For extenuating circumstances where a date cannot reasonably be determined, the requestor should be required
to provide a remediation plan, which includes compensating controls to mitigate the risk exposure.
Database and Data
Management
Observation 6: The City protects data that falls under key compliance areas such as PCI, HIPAA, CJIS and NERC/CIP. There is a
draft Data Classification Policy, however, it has not been formalized and Citywide data has not been cataloged. This may result in
the inability to protect unclassified data. Furthermore, lack of a formal policy which employees are required to acknowledge and
adhere to may increase the risk of accidental and unauthorized data modification or disclosure.
Recommendation 6: We recommend that Palo Alto finalize the Data Classification Policy, which should include the requirements
for public, internal, confidential, restricted data and the impact of the data’s confidentiality, integrity and availability. Additionally,
roles and responsibilities should be established related to data owners, data protectors, data users and include a rationalization for
how data was classified.
Disaster Recovery
Preparedness and
Testing
Observation 7: The City does not have a formal disaster recovery plan. In 2014 a recovery plan was developed as a result of an
audit, but it was not formalized. Lack of a tested recovery plan may result in the inability for the City to respond in the event of a
disaster and the disruption of operations and resident services.
Recommendation 7: We recommend that Palo Alto revisit the recovery plan previously developed. The plan should be updated
based on the current IT environment and implemented Citywide. Development should incorporate a business impact analysis or
related process to solicit information from the business units on recovery time objectives and recovery point objectives. The plan
should include measures to address offline communication/building accessibility, software and hardware failures, downtime and
data loss, designates roles during a disaster, the handling of sensitive information, cyberattacks and environmental catastrophes.
Information
Security
Observation 8: The City has legacy and non-IT approved and procured applications that are not integrated with Active Directory
(AD) and do not require network permissions to access City data. The City has taken the initiative to integrate single sign-on
between Active Directory and all critical Citywide (enterprise) systems and applications but there are legacy systems and
applications that have not been integrated. The lack of integration increases information/data risk exposure and the potential for
applications that do not meet IT security standards and policy requirements.
Recommendation 8: To ensure consistent adherence to security standards across the organization, we recommend the City
continue to develop IT governance processes and standards to apply Citywide. It may also be prudent to reevaluate the non-AD
integrated applications and systems housing non-critical data. The reevaluation will provide an opportunity to determine if there is
any data still sensitive enough to be viewed as valuable to an attacker. In this case, said data and the respective applications and
systems should be prioritized, as contracts and the budget allows, to integrate with AD.
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30
IT Area Risk/Observation and Recommendations
Observation 9: The City’s legacy and/or shadow IT systems and applications are managed by each respective business unit. This
may contribute to an inconsistent termination notification process and potentially prevent or delay the deprovisioning of user access
depending on whom is managing the system or application. Additionally, Human Resources (HR), initiates the termination process
in the SAP system, however, there can be a lag in notification from HR to the IT Department. This may result in IT receiving untimely
notification of an employee separation to ensure that network access is disabled promptly.
Recommendation 9: We recommend that Palo Alto develop a centralized termination notification process to ensure a consistent
adherence to Citywide security standards. Designated systems and application owners should be identified and automatically
notified when a termination occurs via the same automated ticketing process as IT personnel. The process should increase the
communication of employee separations between Management and HR and then to the IT Department. Additionally, the specific
access rights/privileges current users have to each system/application and should be reviewed for accuracy. This will reduce the risk
exposure that terminated employees have unauthorized access.
Mobile Device
Management
Observation 10: The City currently has an in-flight project to replace mobile devices that cannot be wiped. However, it has not been
finalized. The inability to wipe mobile devices that have been, lost or stolen may result in the unintentional disclosure of confidential
organizational data to a malicious attacker.
Recommendation 10: We recommend that Palo Alto consider prioritization of the project to upgrade the devices, which will
enhance security capabilities across all platforms and reduce Citywide risk exposure.
Physical and
Environmental
Controls
Observation 11: The Interim CIO manually requests a data center user access review for appropriateness from the Facilities
Department on an ad hoc basis but the City does not perform formal user access reviews on at least an annual basis. In addition,
we reviewed the data center access listing and noted 10 generic “Safety Keys” for the Fire Department, which are not assigned to a
unique individual. These may result in unauthorized or inappropriate datacenter access.
Recommendation 11: We recommend that Palo Alto Management conduct, document and retain data centers reviews on at least
an annual basis to ensure users do not have access beyond their job responsibilities. Access should be designated to a unique
employee based on role and need. In instances were generic “Safety Keys” are needed; they should be logged per user and
monitored on a more frequent basis to ensure proper usage.
Procurement and
Service Provider
Management
Observation 12: Vendor contracts include a poor performance clause, which focuses on response time. However, vendor
monitoring for quality, efficiency and effectiveness is not actively performed and expectations beyond response time are not
established. Insufficient oversight of service provider contract performance could result in untimely detection of product/service
delivery problems.
Recommendation 12: We recommend that Palo Alto develop and incorporate service level agreements into City IT contracts.
Agreements should include an overview, goals and objectives, stakeholders and periodic review requirements. Additionally,
specifications should be included to cover the scope, customer requirements, service provider requirements, service assumptions
and service management.
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31
IT Area Risk/Observation and Recommendations
Observation 13: Through discussions we noted the procurement process may cause delays in IT purchases and acquisitions.
Delays in IT acquisitions may result in the disruptions of services to residents.
Recommendation 13: We recommend that IT work with Purchasing, Legal and other stakeholders to identify ways to streamline IT
procurement while maintaining procedural safeguards that protect the City.
Note: The City Auditor will also incorporate and consider IT purchase practices during the 2022 Risk Assessment process.
Project
Management
Observation 14: Palo Alto appears to have a knowledgeable and experienced project management group. However, the IT
Playbook (project management guide) is outdated and not fully utilized as a resource by staff. Outdated policies and procedures
may result in inconsistent project management, lack of knowledge retention and poor delivery which can cause end-user
dissatisfaction.
Recommendation 14: We recommend that Palo Alto Management review and update the Playbook once a year to ensure project
management personnel have accurate information and resources to be able to perform their job responsibilities consistently and in
accordance with standards and expectations.
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Appendix D: Management Response
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Appendix D: Management Response
Recommendation Responsible
Department(s)
Agree, Partially Agree, or Do Not Agree and
Target Date and Corrective Action Plan
Finding: Step 1 – Setting Context
Setting Context includes establishing a risk appetite, communication of risk vision, employee
responsibility and identifying high-value services and products to support critical asset risk
management. Understanding the threats to the City's strategic plan is essential to ensuring risk
management controls add value to the risk management process. Failure to define the City's
threat landscape may result the inability to protect against and respond in the instance where an
event occurs. Disruptions in technology and unmitigated risks may prevent or delay residents
from receiving vital services.
We reviewed the Palo Alto IT Strategy FY19-FY21 and found that critical assets have been
identified, prioritized and the strategy has been communicated to employees. However,
employee responsibilities and action plans have not been identified, a risk appetite has not been
established and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and metrics to evaluate the achievement of
strategic objectives and outcomes of the plan were not developed.
We recommend The City establish its risk appetite and tolerance when developing strategy.
Implementing a proactive IT risk management process is critical because the IT Departments
provides numerous technology needs Citywide for Palo Alto. The strategy should be
communicated to all stakeholders to ensure there is an understanding of their respective risk
management roles and responsibilities. Critical assets should be identified and prioritized to
determine what services and products are necessary for service delivery. An effective IT strategy
can bring many benefits to an organization, including lower costs, greater control, more efficient
and effective use of resources, and overall better strategic alignment and risk management.
IT / All
Departments
Concurrence: Agree
Target Date: FY22
Action Plan: IT is in the procurement process
with a third party that will assist in developing
a new three-year IT strategy that will include
a risk management framework. The process
will involve all departments to identify critical
services and software required for service
delivery. IT has based current and future risk
management practices on COBIT (Control
Objectives for Information and Related
Technology).
IT will adopt a Risk Management framework
as a guideline that conforms to the city’s
requirements.
Finding: Step 2: Risk Identification and Assessment
Risk Identification and Assessment includes establishing techniques for risk identification with
consideration for vulnerabilities, decompose areas of concern and threats into statements of risk
and compare to current risk register. Preemptively, assessing the loss-event scenarios that can
impact the entire City is a proactive approach that is essential during the risk management
process. Failure to identify historical, present and emerging risks may result in reduced
confidence or visibility into any risks that can impede the City's ability to meet its objectives.
IT Concurrence: Partially Agree
Target Date: FY 22
Action Plan:
IT requires a Business Impact Assessment
(BIA) and Vendor Information Security
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33
Recommendation Responsible
Department(s)
Agree, Partially Agree, or Do Not Agree and
Target Date and Corrective Action Plan
The City does have operational level controls and processes to identify specific vulnerabilities.
However, the City does not have an overall formal risk identification process, risk register or risk
assessment process. Due to the lack of risk register, Baker Tilly conducted numerous interviews
with key IT staff and end-users in each IT functional area to gain insight into the IT environment.
The purpose of the interviews was to gain a general understanding of the controls in place to
mitigate the associated risks within each IT area. Through these interview discussions and
review of documentation we developed the IT Risk Matrix in Appendix A and identified
opportunities for the City to further improve upon and reduce risk within IT operations.
Information on the specific risk observations are included in Appendix C.
We recommend The City develop a criteria to identify risk. Inputs include an inventory of the
vulnerabilities, processes, assets, and groups of people in an organization so that consideration
can be given to potential for adverse impacts. Risk identification and categorization can occur
through many methods such as Strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) analyses,
Business impact analyses (BIA), Scenario analysis and Risk and control self-assessments
(RCSA). Each method provides an opportunity to consider potential events that may prevent the
achievement of business objectives. Then decompose the areas of concerns into a statement of
risk and capture the conditions or situation that causes the concern, and an impact statement
that describes the outcome of the realized risk. After these exercises, the register can be
continuously compared against the risk statements on an on-going basis.
Assessment (VISA) are completed on new
technology contracts and for renewal of
existing technology contracts. In addition, IT
has implemented a risk register for IT
projects and plans to create a city-wide risk
register to monitor impacts on-going.
If council directs staff to move forward with
the recommendation, staff will initiate a
solicitation to contract with a third party to
develop and implement a Risk Management
Framework.
Finding: Step 3: Risk Analysis and Business Impact Evaluation
Risk Analysis and Business Impact Evaluation includes developing a set of enterprise criteria to
rank and rate risk and assign disposition to accept, avoid, mitigate or transfer risk based on the
related actions. An IT risk management best practice framework of choice should be leveraged
as guidance when conducting a risk analysis to facilitate the establishment of a risk disposition.
Failure to rank, rate and take a positon on how to address risk may prevent the City's ability to
respond to the most sensitive and critical events timely.
The City has not undertaken efforts for rating and ranking risks or conducting a business impact
evaluation. A Citywide criteria has not been established based on an IT risk management
framework. Important events and near misses around IT affecting the City are not identified,
analyzed and risk-rated. Risk assessments are not performed on a recurrent basis, using
qualitative and quantitative methods that assess the likelihood (probability) and impact of
IT / CMO / All
Departments
Concurrence: Partially Agree
Target Date: FY23
Action Plan:
To evaluate and rank the risk of technology
solutions, a Business Impact Assessment
(BIA) and Vendor Information Security
Assessment (VISA) are required for new
technology contracts and renewal of existing
technology contracts. IT agrees that
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Appendix D: Management Response
34
Recommendation Responsible
Department(s)
Agree, Partially Agree, or Do Not Agree and
Target Date and Corrective Action Plan
identified risk. As a result, Baker Tilly also assigned likelihood and impact ratings to each IT risk
area within the Risk Matrix in Appendix A, and plotted them on a Risk Heat Map, included in
Appendix B.
We recommend the City develop their own criteria for ranking the risks included in the risk
analysis. The analysis should encompass first identifying threats to the City and then
determining their likelihood, frequency and magnitude on the City. Then Citywide risk scenarios
can be identified and analyzed. After analysis, the City can choose a risk disposition to address
risk and the related scenarios based on the stated thresholds and/or events that are deemed
unacceptable.
improvements to the process will be
beneficial to analyze and rank risk effectively.
If council directs staff to move forward with
the recommendation, staff will initiate a
solicitation to contract with a third party to
develop and implement a Risk Management
Framework.
Finding: Step 4: Risk Response
Risk Response includes assigning a risk disposition (i.e. response), periodic reevaluation,
assigning responsibility for response, and developing a risk mitigation and contingency plan. A
disposition of accept, avoid, mitigate or transfer is usually assigned to each risk. Establishing
actionable steps, assigning ownership and developing a formal risk response plan is critical to
the risk management process. Failure to establish a process for responding to risk may result in
the inability to mitigate risk timely due to a lack of resources and poor planning.
The City does have a security incident response process where ownership is assigned,
response plan is identified/implemented with oversight, and incident records are documented
and retained. However, overarching IT risk management response procedures have not yet
been implemented. Additionally, risk action plans are not developed and therefore do not allow
for proper monitoring to ensure implementation, identification of costs, benefits, responsibility
and approval of remedial actions or acceptance of residual risk.
For proper risk response, management should internally review and select a disposition to
address each risk. Per the Risk IT Framework, “Effective risk management requires mutual
understanding between IT and the business regarding which risk needs to be managed and
why.” An owner or responsible personnel should be identified for each risk and as conditions and
the IT environment changes, the disposition should be revisited. A risk mitigation plan including
mitigation activities, milestones and target completion date needs to be developed. Plan should
also consider technology risk scenarios from a top-down or bottom-up approach, which both
evaluate capabilities, timing, people, processes and physical infrastructure. Top-down begins
IT / All
Departments
Concurrence: Agree
Target Date: FY23
Action Plan:
The Business Impact Assessment (BIA) and
Vendor Information Security Assessment
(VISA) processes identify risks. IT reviews
the findings with the departments to ensure
alignment. IT agrees a right-sized risk
response and management practice is
required taking into consideration budget and
resources.
If council directs staff to move forward with
the recommendation, staff will initiate a
solicitation to contract with a third party to
develop and implement a Risk Management
Framework.
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35
Recommendation Responsible
Department(s)
Agree, Partially Agree, or Do Not Agree and
Target Date and Corrective Action Plan
with a high-level view of mission and strategy; whereas Bottom-up begins with critical assets,
application or systems across the City. In the event internal mitigation is too costly, a
contingency plan can be established to minimize the risk impact.
Finding: Step 5: Risk Reporting and Communication
Risk Reporting and Communication includes on-going monitoring of risk status, periodic
reevaluation and progress reporting to all relevant stakeholders. Once an IT risk management
plan is in place, it is important to continuously communicate the status to all involved
stakeholders to ensure the plan is adequate to meet the needs of the current IT environment.
The inability to communicate the current state of risks timely may prevent senior management
from being able to respond appropriately. Additionally, a lack of engagement may produce
incomplete or ineffective mitigation efforts due to excluding stakeholder feedback when
revisiting, reassessing and updating the plan based on ever-changing Citywide internal and
external risk factors.
Palo Alto does have periodic reporting to City Council related to budget and large Citywide
projects. However, there is no formal process for IT Management and City Council’s regular and
routine consideration, monitoring and review of IT risk management.
We recommend Palo Alto establish a risk reporting structure. Risks should be identifiable,
recognized, well understood and known and managed through application of appropriate
resources. This ensures there is a common understating of the City’s risk exposure and
increases transparency into the threat defenses the City has at its disposal. Risk should be
monitored and risk mitigation plans updated as conditions change, if needed.
To effectively report on risks, there should be a clear understanding and training, as needed, on
the City’s risk management strategy and any related policies and procedures. Any areas where
the City’s current capabilities are lacking should be communicated so that the necessary
resources can be obtained to enhance the risk management process expeditiously. Once the
risks have been identified, status reporting should include the risk profile, Key Risk Indicators
(KRIs), event/data loss, a root cause analysis and migration options. Per the Risk IT Framework,
“Information must be communicated at the right level of detail and adapted for the audience.”
IT / All
Departments
Concurrence: Agree
Target Date: FY23
Action Plan: IT agrees the desired outcome
is to adopt and implement a mature Risk
Management Framework that fits the city’s
requirements and provides reports to the
proper management level, considering
budget and resources.
If council directs staff to move forward with
the recommendation, staff will initiate a
solicitation to contract with a third party to
develop and implement a Risk Management
Framework.
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City of Palo Alto (ID # 13803)
City Council Staff Report
Meeting Date: 11/29/2021
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Council Priority: Transportation and Traffic
Title: SECOND READING: Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Existing Palo
Alto Municipal Code Chapter 5.20, Collection, Removal and Disposal of
Refuse, and Adding Chapter 5.40, Edible Food Recovery, to Comply with
Senate Bill 1383 (Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Reduction Strategy) (FIRST
READING: November 1, 2021 PASSED: 7 -0)
From: City Manager
Lead Department: City Clerk
This was heard by the City Council on November 1, 2021 for a first reading and was approved 7-
0. No changes were made to the Ordinance; it is now before you for a second reading.
Attachments:
• Attachment8.a: Attachment A – Ordinance Amending PAMC Chapter 5.20 -
Collection, Removal and Disposal of Refuse and adding New PAMC Chapter 5.40 Edible
Food Recovery Requirements
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*Not Yet Approved*
Ordinance No. _____ An Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Title 5 (Health and Sanitation), Chapter 5.20 (Removal and Disposal of Refuse) and Adding Chapter 5.40 (Edible Food Recovery Requirements) for Mandatory Organic Waste Disposal Reduction in Landfills in Compliance with Senate Bill 1383 The Council of the City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as follows: SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations. The City Council finds and declares as follows: A. State recycling law, Assembly Bill 939 of 1989, the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (California Public Resources Code Section 40000, et seq., as amended, supplemented, superseded, and replaced from time to time), requires cities and counties to reduce, reuse, and recycle (including composting) Solid Waste generated in their jurisdictions to the maximum extent feasible before any incineration or landfill disposal of waste, to conserve water, energy, and other natural resources, and to protect the environment. B. State recycling law, Assembly Bill 341 of 2011 (approved by the Governor of the State of California on October 5, 2011, which amended Sections 41730, 41731, 41734, 41735, 41736, 41800, 42926, 44004, and 50001 of, and added Sections 40004, 41734.5, and 41780.01 and Chapter 12.8 (commencing with Section 42649) to Part 3 of Division 30 of, and added and repealed Section 41780.02 of, the Public Resources Code, as amended, supplemented, superseded and replaced from time to time), places requirements on businesses and Multi-Family property owners that generate a specified threshold amount of Solid Waste to arrange for recycling services and requires the City to implement a Mandatory Commercial Recycling program. C. State organics recycling law, Assembly Bill 1826 of 2014 (approved by the Governor of the State of California on September 28, 2014, which added Chapter 12.9 (commencing with Section 42649.8) to Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, relating to Solid Waste, as amended, supplemented, superseded, and replaced from time to time), requires businesses and Multi-Family property owners that generate a specified threshold amount of Solid Waste, Recycling, and Organic Waste per week to arrange for recycling services for that waste, requires the City to implement a recycling program to divert Organic Waste from businesses subject to the law, and requires the City to implement a Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling program. D. SB 1383, the Short-lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Act of 2016, (approved by the Governor of the State of California in September 2016) required CalRecycle to develop Regulations to reduce organics in landfills as a source of methane. The Regulations (14 CCR 18981 et seq.) place requirements on multiple entities including the City, residential
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*Not Yet Approved* households, Commercial Businesses and business owners, Commercial Edible Food Generators, haulers, Self-Haulers, Food Recovery Organizations, and Food Recovery Services to support achievement of Statewide Organic Waste disposal reduction targets. SB 1383 further requires the City to adopt and enforce an ordinance or enforceable mechanism to implement relevant provisions of the SB 1383 Regulations. E. Adoption of this Ordinance complies with the requirements of SB 1383 and will also help reduce food insecurity by requiring Commercial Edible Food Generators to arrange to have the maximum amount of their Edible Food, that would otherwise be disposed, be recovered for human consumption. F. Requirements in this Ordinance are consistent with other adopted goals and policies of the City including the City of Palo Alto 2018 Zero Waste Plan containing new programs and initiatives to meet the City’s zero waste goals, and the City of Palo Alto’s Sustainability Climate Action Plan goals of 95 percent of waste generated in Palo Alto to be diverted from landfills and 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030. SECTION 2. Chapter 5.20 of Title 5 is hereby amended to read as follows. The amendments are shown through strikethrough and interlineation: Chapter 5.20 COLLECTION, REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL OF REFUSE * Sections: 5.20.010 Definitions. 5.20.020 Declaration of policy. 5.20.030 Discarding of refuse. 5.20.040 Collection, removal and disposal only by authorized persons. 5.20.050 No unauthorized containers. 5.20.060 Contracting for special hauling services. 5.20.070 Use of agents or subcontractors by the collector. 5.20.080 Number of solid waste containers required. 5.20.090 Collection and ownership of recyclable materials. 5.20.100 Collection and ownership of compostable materials. 5.20.105 Contamination of containers. 5.20.108 Requirements for owners or managers of multifamily properties and commercial premises. 5.20.109 Requirements for special events. 5.20.110 Exclusions. 5.20.111 Self-Haul. 5.20.120 Refuse containers. 5.20.130 Maintenance and placement of containers. 5.20.140 Frequency of refuse collection.
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*Not Yet Approved* 5.20.150 Collection hours, quietness of collections, and collection equipment. 5.20.160 Litter, spillage or leakage of refuse. 5.20.170 Special permits in hardship cases. 5.20.180 No accumulation of refuse. 5.20.190 Burning, burial, or dumping of restrictions. 5.20.200 Hazardous waste. 5.20.220 Scavenging prohibited. 5.20.250 Liability for payment of rates. 5.20.260 Penalty for failure to pay collection rate. 5.20.270 Recycling center. 5.20.280 Administration by City manager. 5.20.290 Penalty for violation. * Editor's Note: Prior ordinance history for this chapter includes Prior Code §§ 31.01 - 31.20 and 31.22 - 31.24, as amended by Ordinances 1667, 2029 (part), 2196, 2511, 2566 (part), 2627 (part), 2862, 2960 (part), 3034, 3205 and 3424. For provisions relating to dead animals, see Chapter 6.32. 5.20.010 Definitions. Within and limited to this chapter, the following words and phrases shall be construed as defined in this section, unless the context indicates otherwise. (1) “Back-haul” means transporting Refuse to a destination owned and operated by the generator using the generator’s own employees or equipment. (21) "Bin" means a detachable refuse container used in connection with commercial premises with a 1 to 8 cubic yard capacity, equipped with a lid, and designed for mechanical pick-up by collection vehicles. (32) "Box" means a wheeled or sledded container or compactor, generally 7 to 50 cubic yards in size, suitable for the storage and collection of commercial solid waste or recyclable materials. (43) "Cart" means a wheeled receptacle equipped with a lid, and designed for mechanical pick-up by collection vehicles. (54) “CCR” refers to the California Code of Regulations. (64) "City" means the government of the City of Palo Alto, defined in Section 1.04.050(1) of the municipal code, with a principal place of business at 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, County of Santa Clara. (75) "City manager" means the person referred to in Section 2.08.140 of the municipal code, or designee. (86) "Collection agreement" means a contract with the City for the collection of refuse pursuant to Section 5.20.040. (97) "Collector" means one or more persons authorized by Section 5.20.040 to provide the collection, processing and disposal of refuse pursuant to one or more written contracts with the city.
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*Not Yet Approved* (108) "Commercial business owner" means any person holding or occupying, alone or with others, commercial premises, whether or not the person holds the title or is the record owner of the commercial premise. (119) "Commercial premises" means any occupied real property in Palo Alto, except property occupied by federal, state or local government agencies which do not consent to their inclusion, and except residential premises as defined in subsection (373) hereof, and shall include, without limitation, any wholesale or retail establishments, restaurant and food service establishment, bar, store, shop, shopping center, office, industrial establishment, manufacturing establishment, service station, repair, research and development establishment, professional, services, sports or recreational facility, any place or premise where an animal is maintained or sheltered, construction or demolition site, any multifamily property as defined ple dwelling that is not a residential premise in subsection 26 hereof , and any other commercial or industrial business facility, structure, site, or other establishment in Palo Alto. (120) "Compostable materials" means organic materials designated by the City as approved for collection and processing, including, without limitation, yard trimmings, food scraps, soiled paper and compostable plastics, but excluding animal manure, sewage sludge, and human biological wastes. “Compostable materials” has the same meaning as “Organic Waste” as defined in Section 18982 (46) of Chapter 14 of the California Code of Regulations and used in SB 1383. (13) “Compostable plastic” means any packaging made of compostable plastic meeting Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) and ASTM D6400 standard for compostability. The packaging must contain the words “Compostable” to be acceptable in the City’s organic waste collection program. (141) "Composting" means the controlled, biological decomposition of organic materials into humus for use as a soil amendment, conditioner or fertilizer or for any other similar use or purpose. (152) "Construction and/or demolition site" means any real property in Palo Alto, at which a building or structure, or any portion thereof, is being constructed, assembled, erected or demolished, and during which construction or demolition waste which must be removed from the property. (163) "Construction and/or demolition waste" means any waste generated as the result of construction or demolition work, including, without limitation, discarded packaging or containers and waste construction materials, whether brought on-site for fabrication or used in construction or resulting from demolition, excluding liquid waste and hazardous waste. (174) "Container" means any bin, box, cart, compactor, drop box, roll-off box, or receptacle, used for the storage of solid waste, recyclable materials, compostable materials or other materials designated by the City for collection by the collector. (185) "Director" means the person referred to in Section 2.08.190 of the Municipal Code, or the director's designee.
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*Not Yet Approved* (196) "Disposal or processing facility" means a landfill facility, a recycling facility, a composting facility or a solid waste transfer or processing station. (2017) "EPA" means the federal Environmental Protection Agency or successor agency. (2118) "Food service establishment" means any establishment, located or providing food within Palo Alto, which provides prepared and ready-to-consume food or beverages, for public consumption, including, but not limited to, any retail service establishment, eating and drinking service (as defined in Chapter 18.23), takeout service (as defined in Chapter 18.23), supermarket, delicatessen, restaurant, food vendor, sales outlet, shop, cafeteria, catering truck or vehicle, cart or other sidewalk or outdoor vendor or caterer which provides prepared and ready-to-consume food or beverages, for public consumption. (2219) "Hazardous waste" means waste defined as hazardous by Public Resources Code section 40141, as it now exists or may be amended, namely, a waste or combination of wastes, which due to its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics, may do either of the following: (i) cause or significantly contribute to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; (ii) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed. "Hazardous waste" includes extremely hazardous waste and acutely hazardous waste, and any other waste as may hereafter from time to time be designated as hazardous by the EPA or other agency of the United States Government, or by the California Legislature or any agency of the State of California empowered by law to classify or designate waste as hazardous, extremely hazardous or acutely hazardous. (23) “High diversion organic waste processing facility” means a facility that is in compliance with the reporting requirements of 14 CCR Section 18815.5(d) and meets or exceeds an annual average mixed waste organic content recovery rate of 50 percent between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024, and 75 percent after January 1, 2025. (240) "Home composting" means the controlled decomposition of organic material, including, without limitation, yard trimmings and kitchen scraps, into humus by any person owning or occupying any place or premises in Palo Alto. (251) "Manure" means the waste droppings of any animal. (262) "Multifamily property" means any residential premise with three or more attached units with shared service. (273) "Organic wastes" means "compostable materials." (284) "Person" means any individual, or entity referred to in Section 1.04.050(5) of the Municipal Code and includesing any general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, or limited liability company., firm, limited liability company, association, partnership, political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry, public or private corporation, or any other entity whatsoever. (295) "Place or premises" means every residential premises and commercial premises, including any structure, apparatus, or portion thereof occupied or operated by any person and situated on an integral parcel of land undivided by a public street, highway, or railway.
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*Not Yet Approved* (3026) "Public solid waste or recycling receptacles" means any container for the collection of solid waste, recyclable materials or compostable materials that are both located on public property and intended for use by the general public. (3127) "Recyclable materials" means materials designated by the City as suitable for collection and transport to a material recovery facility for processing into a recycled content product, including, without limitation, newspaper, paper, cans, corrugated cardboard, glass and certain types of plastic, and metals. (328) "Recycling" means the process of collecting, sorting, cleansing, treating, and reconstituting materials that would otherwise become solid waste, and returning them to the economic mainstream in the form of raw material for new, reused, or reconstituted products which meet the quality standards necessary to be used in the marketplace. This term does not include transformation as that term is defined in Public Resources Code section 40180. (3329) "Refuse" means and includes compostable materials, recyclable materials and solid waste. (340) "Refuse room" means a room(s) located inside a building in which refuse containers are maintained and refuse is collected. Refuse rooms are typically located at the end of a hallway or on the ground level, but may be in other locations. (351) "Refuse service" means the weekly or other periodic collection, processing and disposal of materials properly deposited in the collector-provided containers for solid waste, as well as weekly collection and processing of recyclable materials and weekly collection and processing of compostable materials. (362) "Residential householder" means any person owning or occupying residential premises in Palo Alto. (373) "Residential premises" means any residential dwelling unit in Palo Alto which does not meet the definition of multlifamily property in subsection (26) hereof, typically single-family homes or duplexes. , including, without limitation, a multiple unit residential complex, such as a rental housing project, condominium, apartment house, mixed condominium and rental housing, and a mobile home park, except any multiple dwelling which, with the prior written approval of the director, receives commercial bin service. (384) "Salvage" means the controlled removal of construction or demolition debris/material from a permitted building, construction, or demolition site for the purpose of recycling, reuse, or storage for later recycling or reuse. Examples include air conditioning and heating systems, columns, balustrades, fountains, gazebos, molding, mantels, pavers, planters, quoins, stair treads, trim, wall caps, bath tubs, bricks, cabinetry, carpet, doors, ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, electrical panel boxes, fencing, fireplaces, flooring materials of wood, marble, stone or tile, furnaces, plate glass, wall mirrors, door knobs, door brackets, door hinges, marble, iron work, metal balconies, structural steel, plumbing fixtures, refrigerators, rock, roofing materials, siding materials, sinks, stairs, stone, stoves, toilets, windows, wood fencing, lumber and plywood. (39) “Self-Hauler” means a person who occasionally collects, transports and disposes of solid waste, compostable materials or recyclable materials generated at the person’s place or premise, in lieu of availing themselves of the services of the collector. Self-hauler also
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*Not Yet Approved* includes a person who back-hauls waste. Self-Hauler includes, but is not limited to, landscapers, gardeners and contractors as specified in Section 5.20.111 of this Chapter. (40) “Self-Hauler of Compostable Materials” means a gardener, laborer, contractor, construction worker, or landscaper who collects, transports and disposes of compostable materials. (4135) "Solid waste" means solid and semisolid wastes, generated in or upon, related to the occupancy of, remaining in or emanating from residential premises or commercial premises, including garbage, trash, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, manure, animal carcasses, solid or semisolid wastes, and other solid and semisolid wastes. "Solid waste" shall not include liquid wastes or sewage, abandoned vehicles, hazardous waste, recyclable materials or compostable materials. (4236) "Solid waste enterprise" shall means any person regularly engaged in the business of providing solid waste, recyclable materials or compostable materials handling services. (4337) "Source separated single recyclable materials" means recyclable materials that are separated from other recyclable materials or solid waste and placed in separate containers according to type or category of materials and directly marketed as a single commodity. (44) “Waste Station” means a collection of at least three refuse containers, color coded, with proper signage located in common indoor and outdoor areas (such as lobbies, hallways, front entrances, laundry rooms, etc.) for use by the public, employees, tenants or customers allowing for proper separation of Refuse. (4538) "Yard trimmings" means plant trimmings generated from the maintenance or alteration of public, commercial premises or residential premises landscapes, including, without limitation, grass cuttings, yard clippings, leaves, tree trimmings, pruning, brush and weeds, excepting those materials which are prohibited under written rules and regulations promulgated by the director. (Ord. 5475 §1, 2019; Ord. 5377 §1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.020 Declaration of policy. (a) The accumulation, collection, removal and disposal of refuse must be controlled by the City for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare. The Council finds that to give practical effect to this policy a comprehensive system for the periodic collection, removal and disposal of refuse from all places or premises is essential and benefits all occupants of places or premises. All occupants of places or premises shall be liable for refuse collection charges established by the Council for the collection, removal and disposal of refuse. (b) The City complies with the applicable provisions of the California Integrated Waste Management Act, as amended, codified in the Public Resources Code section 40000 et seq. The law requires that, by and after January 1, 2000, fifty percent (50%) of the solid waste generated must be diverted through some source reduction, recycling, and composting activities.
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*Not Yet Approved* (c) The City also complies with the 75 percent recycling goal included as part of AB 341 Mandatory Commercial Recycling Law, adopted on October 6, 2011, which includes modifications to the Public Resources Code. (d) In addition, the city complies with the organic waste recycling requirements under AB 1826, which became effective on April 1, 2016. (e) In 2016, SB 1383 established methane emissions reduction targets to reduce statewide emissions of short-lived climate pollutants including, establishing a fifty percent reduction of disposed organic waste from 2014 levels by 2020 and a seventy-five percent reduction by 2025; and the target to reduce twenty percent of disposed edible food by 2025. Also in 2016, the city established sustainability and climate action goals of an eighty percent reduction in greenhouse gases and ninety- five percent diversion of materials from landfills by 2030. (f) In 2020, CalRecycle adopted Regulations pursuant to SB 1383 (14 CCR 18981 et seq.) to implement the goals of SB 1383; the City complies with these Regulations. (gf) The City may adopt, implement, and enforce requirements, rules and regulations for local compostable materials and local recyclable materials that are more stringent or comprehensive than California law. (Ord. 5475 §2, 2019; Ord. 5377 §1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.030 Discarding of refuse. (a) No person shall throw, drop, leave, place, keep, accumulate, or otherwise dispose of any refuse upon private property either with or without the intent to later remove the same from that place or premises, or upon any street, public right-of-way, sidewalk, gutter, stream, or creek, or the banks thereof, or any public place or public property. (b) All persons shall separate their refuse according to its characterization as solid waste, compostable materials, or recyclable materials, and place each type of refuse in a separate container designated for disposal of that type of refuse. No person may mix any type of refuse, or deposit refuse of one type in a collection container designated for refuse of another type, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. This does not prohibit the placement of refuse in public solid waste or recycling receptacles, or in containers for collection in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. This section does not prohibit any person from engaging in home composting. Administrative citations or any other enforcement actions will not apply to this paragraph for a person occupying a residential premise. (c) Effective July 1, 2020, Aany person occupying a commercial premises, not including multifamily property, ple dwellings , who uses bags to collect and discard refuse, whether placed for collection inside or outside a container, shall ensure that the refuse contents of the bags are clearly visible. When bags are used, garbage shall be collected in clear plastic bags and recyclable materials shall be collected in blue-tinted plastic bags. (d) Effective July 1, 2020, Aall persons who use bags to collect compostable materials, whether placed for collection inside or outside a container, shall use green-tinted compostable bags such that the contents are clearly visible. (Ord. 5475 §3, 2019; Ord. 5377 §1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997)
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*Not Yet Approved* 5.20.040 Collection, removal and disposal only by authorized persons. (a) The City shall authorize, permit, regulate and control the collection, removal and disposal of all refuse generated at all places or premises. For this purpose, the City may enter into a collection agreement with one or more solid waste enterprises with or without advertising for bids. The collection agreement shall not be or be deemed or construed as a franchise. (b) Notwithstanding any permit issued by any other governmental agency authorizing the collection of any type of refuse, no person other than a person with a collection agreement, or its duly authorized agents or subcontractors, as provided in Section 5.20.070, shall negotiate or contract for, undertake to receive, collect, remove, transport, or dispose of any type of refuse from within the Palo Alto for a fee, service charge or other consideration therefor, except as specifically provided herein. (c) No person shall interfere in any manner with the lawful operations of the collector or its duly authorized agents or subcontractors. (d) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, each residential householder and commercial business owner shall utilize the services of the collector for the collection of refuse from the residential or commercial premises held or occupied by that owner or occupant and shall pay the fees for services as approved by the Council. No residential householder or commercial business owner shall enter into an agreement with a solid waste enterprise for the collection of refuse except as otherwise provided in this chapter. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.050 No unauthorized containers. (a) Except as expressly authorized by this Chapter 5.20, no person other than a collector may place a container within Palo Alto. (b) The City shall notify, in writing, any person who violates this Section 5.20.050 that the prompt and permanent removal of the container from the place or premises is required. The City shall deliver the written notice by posting a copy of the notice prominently upon the container. If the container is identified by the name and telephone number of the solid waste enterprise servicing it, as required by Section 5.20.130(e), the City shall endeavor to contact the enterprise by telephone. The failure of the City to notify telephonically the owner of the presence of the container at the place or premises shall not invalidate the notice. The City may impound or cause to be impounded any container if the same is not permanently removed from the place or premises within the time set forth in the notice, which time shall be not less than twenty-four hours after the posting of the notice, or not less than six business hours after the telephonic notification, if any notice is provided. For purposes of this Section 5.20.050, "business hours" means the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Any person who violates this Section 5.20.050 shall be liable to the City for all fines and charges levied in connection with the collection, transportation, storage and handling of that container by the City. The container impounded by the City shall be retrieved by the owner or his or her representative immediately after all applicable fines and charges have been paid. The City manager may delegate to the collector the authority to impound any unauthorized containers and to collect the fines and charges levied by the City.
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*Not Yet Approved* (c) Upon posting of a written notice of violation upon the unauthorized container, the person using the unauthorized container shall immediately cease placing refuse therein. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.060 Contracting for special hauling services. Any owner, occupant or tenant of a place or premise may contract with the collector or its duly authorized agents or subcontractors, as provided in Section 5.20.070, but not otherwise, for special hauling services for the collection, removal and disposal of solid waste in excess of the regular services provided by the collector. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.070 Use of agents or subcontractors by the collector. The City may provide in any written contract entered into pursuant to Section 5.20.040(a) that the collector may designate, in writing, one or more agents or subcontractors who may collect, remove, and dispose of solid waste or construction and demolition waste as may be in excess of the regular collection made by the collector, subject to the limitations set forth in the collection agreement. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.080 Number of solid waste containers required. All persons owning or occupying any place or premises where solid waste is created, produced or accumulated shall subscribe and pay for this type of refuse service and shall subscribe and pay for a number of containers to hold all solid waste created, produced or accumulated at or on the place or premise during a one-week period, unless a different frequency for a collection schedule has been approved or directed pursuant to this chapter. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.090 Collection and ownership of recyclable materials. (a) All persons owning or occupying any place or premises where recyclable materials are created, produced or accumulated shall subscribe and pay for this type of refuse services and shall subscribe and pay for a number of containers sufficient to hold all recyclable materials created, produced or accumulated at the place or premises during a one-week period, unless a different frequency collection schedule has been approved or directed pursuant to this chapter. (b) Recyclable materials placed for curbside collection in or outside of a container shall become the property of the collector at the time of placement at the curb or other designated location for collection in or outside of the container. The collector shall have the exclusive right to collect the recyclable materials, unless the collection agreement specifies a different arrangement. (c) The disposal of solid waste and compostable materials in containers designated for the collection of recyclable materials is prohibited. Recyclable materials that are placed in a recyclable materials container for collection by the collector shallmust be free of solid waste and compostable materials.
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*Not Yet Approved* (d) Cardboard boxes shall be broken down flat before being placed into recyclables containers to allow for adequate space to contain the recyclable materials. (Ord. 5475 §4, 2019; Ord. 5377 §1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.100 Collection and ownership of compostable materials. (a) All persons owning or occupying any place or premises where compostable materials are created, produced or accumulated shall subscribe and pay for this type of refuse services and shall subscribe and pay for a number of containers sufficient to hold all compostable materials created, produced or accumulated at the place or premises during a one-week period, unless a different frequency collection schedule has been approved or directed pursuant to this chapter. (b) Compostable materials placed for curbside collection in a container shall become the property of the collector at the time of placement at the curb or other designated location for collection of the container. (c) The disposal of solid waste and recyclable materials in containers designated for the collection of compostable materials is prohibited. Compostable materials that are placed in a compostable materials container for collection by the collector shall be free of solid waste and recyclable materials. (d) All commercial premises at which solid waste refuse service is subscribed, shall subscribe and pay for a number of containers sufficient to hold compostable materials created, produced or accumulated at or on the place or premises during a one-week period, unless a different frequency collection schedule has been approved or directed pursuant to this chapter. (ed) The City may direct the collector to audit individual solid waste streams generated at commercial or residential premises to determine the owner, occupant or tenant's compliance with this section. (Ord. 5475 §5, 2019; Ord. 5377 §1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.105 Contamination of containers. (a) No person subscribing to refuse service shall dispose or permit the disposal of solid waste in a container designated for the collection of recyclable materials or compostable materials. The person shall remove any solid waste deposited in the recyclable materials and compostable materials containers before the collection of the recyclable materials and compostable containers occurring that week. (1) The collector will notify any person who occupies commercial or residential premises whenever the City or the collector determines the recyclable materials or compostable materials container of that person is contaminated with solid waste and the waste shall must be removed. After the person removes the solid waste from the recyclable materials and compostable materials container, the collector will return to the commercial or residential premises to service the container or containers and the person occupying the commercial or residential premises will be charged a "return trip" fee specified in the refuse rate schedules. (2) If the person occupying the commercial or residential premises does not remove the waste from the recyclable materials and compostable materials containers by the
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*Not Yet Approved* scheduled pick-up date, the containers will be serviced at the next business day and the person occupying the commercial or residential premises will be charged both an "extra solid waste pick-up" fee and a "return trip" fee in addition to the refuse charges that apply to the level of service subscribed by the person occupying the commercial or residential premises. The extra solid waste pick-up fee shall be determined according to the size of the contaminated recyclable materials or compostable materials container and the established rates approved by the City. (3) The fees outlined in Section 5.20.105 (a)(1) - (2) will also apply if a person occupying a commercial or residential premises places recyclable materials in containers designated for compostable materials or compostable materials in containers designated for recyclable materials. (4) If a person occupying a commercial or residential premises places recyclable materials and/or compostable materials in containers designated for solid waste, the person will be subject to a "contamination" fee. (5) A person occupying residential premises will not be subject to a "return trip" fee, an "extra solid waste pick-up" fee, a "contamination" fee, an administrative citation or any other enforcement action. A multifamily property will not be subject to a "return trip" fee or an "extra solid waste pick-up" fee if owners or managers of the multifamily property can demonstrate compliance with Section 5.20.108 to the satisfaction of the director. (b) No person shall dispose of commercial grease or cooking oil in a compostable materials container. (Ord. 5475 §6, 2019; Ord. 5377 §1 (part), 2016) 5.20.108 Requirements for owners or managers of multifamily properties and commercial premises. (a) The owner or manager of any multifamily property or commercial premises shall must provide a level of refuse service sufficient to contain the refuse generated by the owners, occupants, tenants, employees, contractors, and customers of the property or premises. (b) The owner or manager of any multifamily property or commercial premises shall must provide the number and type of containers at the property or premises sufficient to make the source separation of refuse convenient for the owners, occupants, tenants, employees, contractors, and customers of the property or commercial premises. (c) The three types of containers shall: (1) Be appropriate in number and size with respect to the quantity of solid waste, compostable materials, and recyclable materials anticipated to be generated at the property or premises; (2) Bear appropriate signage/label and be color-coded - blue containers for recyclable materials, green containers for compostable materials, and black containers for solid waste - to identify the primary materials type of refuse accepted and the primary materials prohibited in each to be containerd and meet any additional design criteria established by the City; and (3) Be placed within 6” or less of each other or as close together as practicable to provide equally convenient access to users.
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*Not Yet Approved* (d) The owner or manager of any multifamily property or commercial premises shall provide information and or training for new occupants or , tenants, employees and contractors, including janitors, on the manner of source separation of solid waste, compostable materials, and recyclable materials before or within 14 days of occupation of the premises or performing work on the premises. The owner or manager shall provide information or train current occupants, tenants, employees and contractors at least once per calendar year. (e) The owner or manager of any commercial premises or their contractor shall collaborate with on-site janitors to create effective source separation programs. (f) All commercial businesses including Multifamily Property shall periodically inspect green Compostable Materials containers for contamination and shall inform employees if containers are contaminated and of the requirements to only use those containers for Compostable Materials. (gf) The use of public solid waste, recycling, or composting receptacles by any commercial premises is prohibited. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016) 5.20.109 Requirements for special events. (a) The promoter or coordinator of a special event held in Palo Alto shallmust provide a level of refuse service sufficient to contain the refuse generated at the special event. (b) The promoter or coordinator shall provide containers at appropriate locations at the special event to facilitate the source separation of solid waste, compostable materials, and recyclable materials by event employees, vendors, and attendees. (c) The three types of containers shall: (1) Be appropriate in number and size with respect to the quantity of solid waste, compostable materials, and recyclable materials anticipated to be generated at the property or premises; (2) Bear appropriate signage and be color-coded - blue containers for recyclable materials, green containers for compostable materials, and black containers for solid waste - to identify the type of refuse to be contained and meet any additional design criteria established by the City; and (3) Be placed together as a waste station to provide equally convenient access to users. (d) If the promoter or coordinator determines that vendor booths at the special event will require refuse containers, the vendors shall receive from the promoter or coordinator a set of refuse containers that bear appropriate signage and are color-coded to identify the type of waste to be contained. (e) The use of public solid waste recycling or composting receptacles at special events is prohibited. The promoter or coordinator shall remove or cover all public solid waste recycling or composting receptacles to prevent their use during the special event. If covers for receptacles are utilized, the promoter or coordinator shall return them to the city after the special event. (Ord. 5475 §7, 2019; Ord. 5377 §1 (part), 2016)
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*Not Yet Approved* 5.20.110 Exclusions. (a) Residential Householder Exclusion. No provision of this chapter shall prevent a residential householder from collecting and disposing of occasional loads of solid waste generated at the residential premise, composting at home, or selling, donating or disposing of recyclable or compostable materials generated at the residential premise. The containers provided by the collector may not be used for activities authorized by this paragraph. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no residential householder shall employ or engage any solid waste enterprise, other than the collector to haul or transport solid waste, recyclable materials, or compostable materials to a disposal or processing facility. No residential householder may collect or dispose of solid waste generated at a location that is not the residential premise. (b) Gardener's Exclusion. No provision of this chapter shall bar a gardener, tree trimmer or other person engaged in a similar trade from collecting and disposing of yard trimmings not containing other solid waste whenever the collection and disposal are incidental to providing the gardening, tree trimming or similar services. Trade persons shall adhere to the requirements described in Section 5.20.111. (c) Commercial Source Separated Recyclable Materials and Compostable Materials. (1) Commercial business owners shall retain the right to donate or sell recyclable materials and compostable materials, or to pay fees for services to solid waste enterprises other than the collector for the collection of particular recyclable materials and compostable materials, so long as all recyclable materials and compostable materials collected are source separated single recyclable materials and compostable materials. Recyclable materials and compostable materials collected pursuant to this paragraph (c) shall be transported to a recyclable materials and compostable materials facility achieving a diversion rate of 90 percent and where not more than 10 percent of the materials are disposed of in a landfill. For source separated compostable materials owner shall follow requirements in Section 5.20.111. (2) Commercial business owners shall demonstrate compliance with the provisions of this paragraph (c) at the request of the director. (3) The City may require any recycler, junk dealer or other enterprise engaged in the business of buying and marketing recyclable materials and compostable materials to provide the City with information pertaining to the collection and the amount of recyclable materials and compostable materials collected from within Palo Alto's territorial limits. (d) Collection of Source Separated Single Recyclable Materials. No provision of this chapter shall prevent a recycler, junk dealer or other enterprise engaged in the business of buying and marketing source separated single recyclable materials in the stream of commerce and which buys such materials for marketing and not for disposition in a landfill or transfer station (as defined in Public Resources Code Section 40200), from buying recyclable materials for monetary or other valuable consideration. A recycler, junk dealer or enterprise which buys recyclable materials shall not be prohibited from removing and transporting those materials to a destination for marketing in the stream of commerce. (e) Renovation, Rebuilding, Repairs. No provision of this chapter shall prevent a commercial business owner from arranging for any worn, spent, or defective equipment, or part thereof, used in the commercial business and requiring renovation, rebuilding, recharging, regeneration or repair, to be picked up, renovated, rebuilt, recharged,
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*Not Yet Approved* regenerated or otherwise restored and repaired and returned to that commercial business owner. Any person engaged in the business of renovating, rebuilding, recharging, regenerating, or otherwise restoring or repairing the equipment or part thereof, is not prohibited from transporting the same from or returning it to the commercial business, or from removing, transporting or disposing of the equipment, or part thereof, replaced in connection with an equipment repair or service contract. (f) Contractors' Exclusions. In addition to the authority granted by paragraph (c) of this Section 5.20.110, no provision of this chapter shall prevent a licensed contractor under contract for the deconstruction, demolition or reconstruction of a building, structure, pavement, or concrete installation from marketing any saleable, including cardboard and metal, or donation items salvaged from the deconstruction, demolition or reconstruction, or from causing the salvageable items or construction or demolition waste to be removed and transported from the place or premises at which such waste is generated, pursuant to the provisions of the demolition or construction contract, subject to the following: (1) The collection, removal and disposal activity shall be performed only by the licensed contractor under contract for the construction, deconstruction or demolition work that generated the salvageable items or by regularly employed personnel carried on the licensed contractor's payroll records as an employee. (2) All vehicles used to facilitate the collection, removal and disposal activities shall be owned by or under the exclusive control of the licensed contractor and shall meet all of the requirements of this chapter and all other laws, statutes, rules, regulations and ordinances of the state of California and the City. All vehicles shall be subject to inspection by and the approval of the director from time to time. (3) The placement and use of a container, other than a container provided by the collector, shall be prohibited, whether placed on the ground, on a vehicle, or any other place. (4) A licensed contractor performing the work can collect, remove and dispose of clean soil. The soil must be free of other materials including compostable materials, wood, C & D debris, metal, etc. (g) Concrete Exclusion. In addition to the authority granted by paragraph (f) of this Section 5.20.110, nothing in this chapter shall prevent a commercial/industrial business owner, residential householder, or licensed contractor from using a solid waste enterprise other than the collector to dispose of concrete. (h) Document Destruction Service. No provision of this chapter shall prevent any person engaged in the business of destroying or disposing of secret, confidential or sensitive documents from transporting or disposing of those documents, provided the transport and disposal of the documents are incidental to the document destruction or disposal service. (i) Self-Haul Exclusion. In addition to the authority granted by paragraph (a) of this Section 5.20.110 nothing in this chapter shall prevent a commercial business owner or residential householder from, on a regular basis, collecting, transporting and disposing of solid waste generated at the place or premise, in lieu of availing themselves of the services of the collector. No residential householder or commercial business owner shall employ or engage any solid waste enterprise, other than the collector, to haul or transport the solid waste to a disposal or processing facility. Any residential householder or commercial business owner who pursuant to this paragraph (i) seeks to on a regular basis collect,
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*Not Yet Approved* transport and dispose of solid waste generated at the place or premise, shall first obtain approval of the director, and must comply with any written rules and regulations established by the director. (ij) General Requirement. In all cases where the right to an exclusion pursuant to this Section 5.20.110 is exercised, disposal shall be made at a disposal or processing facility that meets all applicable regulatory requirements. Any disposal by a person exempted under this section shall not be relieved of any obligation or liability imposed by this chapter or any other ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation for the payment of the minimum solid waste and recyclable materials disposal rates imposed pursuant to this chapter or any other applicable rates or fees. (k) Backhauling Compostable Materials. A commercial business may opt out of the compostable materials service levels required by this chapter, provided that business verifies to the satisfaction of the director that all compostable materials generated on-site will be transported to a central facility to be later composted or otherwise recycled at a 90 percent rate and not placed in a landfill. (jl) Space Limitations for Existing Structures. The director may grant a written exemption for any existing commercial business structure that lacks sufficient storage space for compostable materials or recyclable materials from all or portions of this section in accordance with the written rules and regulations established by the director. The director, in cases where space constraints are determined to exist, shall also evaluate the feasibility of shared container usage by contiguous businesses or multifamily property structures. (km) De Minimus Exception. The director may waive any of the requirements of this section if documentation satisfactory to the director, based upon rules and regulations, is provided to establish that the materials in any type of container, on an on-going basis is incidental to any other materials originating from that collection location. (Ord. 5475 §8, 2019; Ord. 5377 §1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.111 Self-Haul (a) In addition to the authority granted by paragraph (a) of Section 5.20.110 nothing in this chapter shall prevent a person from, occasionally collecting, transporting, and disposing of refuse generated at the place or premise, in lieu of availing themselves of the services of the collector. The person shall adhere to the container requirements as specified in Section 5.20.050. Any person who pursuant to paragraph (a) seeks to on a regular basis collect, transport and dispose of solid waste generated at the place or premise, shall first obtain approval of the director, and must comply with any written rules and regulations established by the director. (b) Self-haulers of compostable materials, including gardeners, laborers, contractors, construction workers, and landscapers disposing of source separated compostable materials, shall: (1) Adhere to container requirements as specified in Section 5.20.050, provided, however, that Self-haulers of compostable materials can use a truck with an attached bed, a landscaper/gardeners truck, a dump truck, or a trailer to collect, transport and dispose of compostable materials.
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*Not Yet Approved* (2) Transport the compostable materials to a high diversion organic waste processing facility approved by the City. (3) Keep a record of the amount of source separated compostable materials delivered to each high diversion waste processing facility, including: (A) Delivery receipts and weight tickets from the entity accepting the waste. (B) The amount of material in cubic yards or tons transported by the generator to each entity. (C) If the material is transported to an entity that does not have scales on-site, or employs scales incapable of weighing the self-hauler’s vehicle in a manner that allows it to determine the weight of materials received, the Self-Hauler is not required to record the weight of material but shall keep a record of the entities that received the compostable materials. (4) Provide information collected in section (b) (3c) above to City if requested, which shall be subject to Inspection by the City. (c) A residential compostable materials generator that self-hauls compostable materials is not required to record or report information. (d) A gardener, landscaper, or other contractor is not considered a residential compostable materials generator and is therefore required to follow section (b) above. (e) No residential householder or commercial business owner shall employ or engage any solid waste enterprise, other than the collector, to haul or transport the solid waste to a disposal or processing facility. 5.20.120 Refuse containers. (a) All types of refuse containers shall be kept in a sanitary condition with the lids closed except whenever they are being loaded or unloaded. (b) Refuse containers suitable for residential places or premises shall be provided by the collector or the City. Any container shall be of a size based upon the subscription service level requested by the person responsible for the payment of charges therefor or as may be required by this chapter. Any container shall not be loaded with more than the quantity of materials that either can fit in the container with its lid closed or is in excess of the weight limit marked on the container, when the lid is closed. All containers for use at commercial premises shall be provided by or approved by the collector, except for industry-approved grease or cooking oil tallow containers that shall be provided by a designated tallow hauler. (c) Refuse containers shall be collected by the collector whenever the containers are placed in a refuse enclosure or at the authorized collection area. Collection may be made at another location upon approval of the director, based upon the subscription service level requested. (d) All commercial property owners, and commercial business owners and persons shall provide access to the city or the collector for the inspection of internal and external refuse containers and enclosures. The director shall be authorized to conduct inspections of commercial premises, as permitted by law, to ensure compliance with this chapter, including this section. (e) Commercial property owners, and commercial business owners and persons shall ensure that all refuse containers and refuse enclosures are accessible and easily serviceable
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*Not Yet Approved* by the collector. Service vehicles shall have a safe and clear passage and access to refuse enclosures to provide for the efficient service to customers. (Ord. 5475 §9, 2019; Ord. 5377 §1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.130 Maintenance and placement of containers. (a) The commercial business owners and residential householder shall maintain their containers at their places and premises and the areas where the containers are located in good, usable, clean and sanitary condition, and shall ensure that the lids on the container are kept closed and shall ensure that there is no litter underneath or surrounding the containers. No refuse shall be placed outside of the container. Containers shall be maintained by the commercial business owners and residential householders in a manner that will prevent leakage, spillage and the emission of odors. Commercial premises sharing receptacles placed outside of retail areas, shallmust also share equally in the responsibility of emptying the receptacles so that they do not overflow and maintaining the area around the receptacles so that it is free of loose litter. (b) The location or placement of containers at any place or premise shall be subject to the approval of the director. Every commercial business owner shall provide a location at the commercial premises for the containers they use. (c) Any collection agreement may provide for the rental of containers approved by the collector to customers. The collector shall be responsible for maintenance of the rental containers by keeping the containers in good and sanitary condition (ordinary wear and tear excepted) and shall repaint the containers at a frequency as determined by the director. The collector and the renter shall determine and agree upon the placement of the containers to minimize traffic, aesthetics and other potential effects that may be associated with their placement. (d) Where a container is not rented from the collector but is rented from another solid waste enterprise and approved by the City, the renter shall ensure that the container meets the standards of quality and maintenance applicable to the containers supplied by the collector. The renter shall procure the written standards or rules and regulations of the collector prior to renting from another solid waste enterprise. (e) Any containers of a one cubic yard or greater size shall be identified with the name and telephone number of the collector or other solid waste enterprise servicing the container. The container shall be identified by the type of materials that can be deposited in the container. (f) Containers shall remain on private property and not in the public right-of-way except as necessary to accommodate scheduled collection. Containers are permitted in the public right-of-way only during the day preceding the day of scheduled collection and terminating the day following such collection. (Ord. 5475 §10, 2019; Ord. 5377 §1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997)
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*Not Yet Approved* 5.20.140 Frequency of refuse collection. The Collector or its duly authorized agents or subcontractors shall collect refuse from all residential premises and commercial premises within Palo Alto at least once a week, unless the director authorizes a different frequency of collection as provided in Section 5.20. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.150 Collection hours, quietness of collections, and collection equipment. (a) Refuse shall be collected only between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. in residential districts and at schools, churches, and commercial premises located in commercial districts adjacent to residential districts. (b) Refuse shall be collected only between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. in commercial districts other than as indicated in (a) above, subject to any reasonable modifications of collection periods as the director may impose. (c) All collections shall be made as quietly as possible. All trucks and equipment for refuse collection shall be operated in a manner that complies with the noise ordinance codified in the Municipal Code. All unnecessarily noisy trucks or equipment for such collections are prohibited. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.160 Litter, spillage or leakage of refuse. All types of refuse hauled by any person over public streets in Palo Alto shall be securely tied and covered during hauling in order to prevent litter and the leakage, spillage, blowing or dropping of refuse of any type on to public streets. No person shall allow any type of refuse to leak, spill, scatter, blow or drop from any vehicle operated on public streets within Palo Alto. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.170 Special permits in hardship cases. Upon a showing of hardship by the owner, occupant or tenant of a place or premise, the director may issue a special written permit authorizing a variance with the provisions of this chapter yet the variance will be subject to the imposition of terms and conditions as the director may deem necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.180 No accumulation of refuse. No person shall permit any type of refuse to accumulate at its place or premises for a period in excess of one calendar week, except the director may authorize by written rules and regulations a different frequency of collection, removal and disposal of refuse for compactors at commercial premises. This provision shall not be construed to prohibit any person from temporarily storing building materials at any place or premises during the period of active construction, reconstruction or repair of a building or structure thereon under a current valid building permit, storing wood in an orderly pile at the place or
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*Not Yet Approved* premise for household use, or retaining compostable materials for home composting purposes. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.190 Burning, burial, or dumping of restrictions. (a) No person shall burn any refuse within Palo Alto at any time. (b) No person shall bury or dump any type of refuse within Palo Alto. Compostable materials may be buried on-site by the occupant of the residential place or premises. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.200 Hazardous waste. No person shall deposit any hazardous waste in a container. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.220 Scavenging prohibited. (a) No person shall tamper with, modify, scavenge from or deposit any type of refuse placed in any refuse container which is not provided for the use of that person, without the permission of the person responsible for the container and payment of the fees therefor under this chapter. (b) Except as otherwise provided in Sections 5.20.090 and 5.20.110, no person shall collect any type of refuse originating from any residential place or premises or any posted recycling center within Palo Alto. (c) The foregoing prohibitions are in addition to the prohibitions set forth in Section 41950 et seq. of the Public Resources Code. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.250 Liability for payment of rates. Except as set forth in Section 5.20.110, every person with residential premises or commercial premises within Palo Alto shall be liable for the payment of the refuse service rates, including any collection rates authorized by the City. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.260 Penalty for failure to pay collection rate. (a) All collection rates and charges imposed by the Council pursuant to the provisions of this chapter for the collection, removal and disposal of all types of refuse shall be a civil debt owing to the City from the owner, occupant or person maintaining or controlling the place or premises receiving the services. (b) All such collection rates and charges shall be billed along with other municipal utility bills, if so billed, and shall be subject to the provisions of the City's utility rates and regulations governing the collection and payment of other utility rates. The City may by agreement permit the collector or other person to collect the applicable rates and charges
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*Not Yet Approved* for refuse service. Notwithstanding the foregoing, fees for the use of boxes may be collected by the collector. (c) The collection of the rates imposed pursuant to this chapter shall be in addition to any other remedies available to the City for the failure of any person to pay the rates. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.270 Recycling center. The city may maintain within the city's territorial limits a recycling center which accepts from residents and nonresidents the delivery of recyclable materials. The delivery of some or all of these recyclable materials may be subject to the imposition of rates as a condition of acceptance at the recycling center. Under rules and regulations promulgated by the city manager, the city at any time may prohibit nonresidents from delivering some or all recyclable materials to the recycling center, and may impose on nonresidents rates on the delivery of recyclable materials that differ from those imposed on residents. (Ord. 5136 § 2, 2011: Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.280 Administration by City manager. (a) The City manager or designee shall adopt written rules and regulations, not inconsistent with this chapter, as may be necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of this chapter. The written rules and regulations may include, but are not limited to, regulations relating to the required frequency of refuse collection from various types of places or premises, the types of special containers required for placement at places or premises, and regulations governing the vehicles used in making collections. (b) The City manager shall resolve all disputes concerning the administration or enforcement of this chapter, and his or her decision shall be final. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) 5.20.290 Penalty for violation. Violation of any provision of this chapter shall be subject to the provisions and penalties set forth in Title 1 of the Municipal Code unless otherwise specified. (Ord. 5377 § 1 (part), 2016; Ord. 4618 § 1, 2000: Ord. 4451 § 1 (part), 1997) SECTION 3. Title 5, Health and Sanitation, of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended by adding a new Chapter 5.40, entitled “Edible Food Recovery Requirements”, to read in full as follows.
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*Not Yet Approved* Chapter 5.40 EDIBLE FOOD RECOVERY REQUIREMENTS Sections: 5.40.010 Declaration of policy. 5.40.020 Definitions. 5.40.030 Requirements For Commercial Edible Food Generators. 5.40.040 Requirements For Food Recovery Organizations And Services. 5.40.050 Edible Food Recovery Inspections And Investigations By Department Or Designee. 5.40.060 Enforcement. 5.40.010 Declaration of Policy. (a) Pursuant to Senate Bill 1383, the Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Act of 2016, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) developed regulations to reduce organics in landfills as a source of methane. The regulations place new requirements on cities, counties, residential households, businesses, waste haulers, and food recovery organizations to support achievement of statewide organic waste disposal reduction targets. The regulations are set forth in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (“14 CCR”). (b) CalRecycle’s regulations direct cities and counties to develop edible food recovery programs and require certain businesses to arrange for the donation of edible food that would otherwise go to waste. In addition to targeting methane emissions, these programs will help address food insecurity in California. (c) Pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18981.2, jurisdictions may delegate certain responsibilities for implementing, monitoring, and enforcing their edible food recovery programs to public or private entities. 5.40.020 Definitions. The definitions set forth in this section shall govern the application and interpretation of this Chapter. (1) “City” means the City of Palo Alto. (2) “Department” means any department of the City, the County of Santa Clara, or any other public agency designated by the City to enforce or administer this Chapter, as authorized in 14 CCR Section 18981.2. The City manager or designee is authorized to administer and enforce the provisions of this Chapter on behalf of the City. (3) “Designee” means any private entity that the City contracts with or otherwise arranges to carry out any responsibilities of this Chapter, as authorized in 14 CCR Section 18981.2. (4) “Edible Food” means food intended for human consumption, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(18). For the purposes of this Chapter, “Edible Food” is not solid waste if it is recovered and not discarded. Nothing in this Chapter requires or authorizes the recovery of edible food that does not meet the food safety requirements of the California Retail Food Code.
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*Not Yet Approved* (5) “Food Distributor” means a company that distributes food to entities including, but not limited to, Supermarkets and Grocery Stores, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(22). (6) “Food Facility” has the same meaning as in Section 113789 of the Health and Safety Code. (7) “Food Recovery” means actions to collect and distribute food for human consumption which otherwise would be disposed, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(24). (8) “Food Recovery Organization” means an entity that engages in the collection or receipt of Edible Food from commercial edible food generators and distributes that edible food to the public for food recovery either directly or through other entities. “Food Recovery Organization” includes, but is not limited to: (i) A food bank as defined in Section 113783 of the Health and Safety Code; (ii) A nonprofit charitable organization as defined in Section 113841 of the Health and Safety code; and, (iii) A nonprofit charitable temporary food facility as defined in Section 113842 of the Health and Safety Code. A Food Recovery Organization is not a commercial edible food generator for the purposes of this Chapter pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(7). If the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(25) for Food Recovery Organization differs from this definition, the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(25) shall apply to this Chapter. (9) “Food Recovery Service” means a person or entity that collects and transports Edible Food from a commercial edible food generator to a Food Recovery Organization or other entities for Food Recovery, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(26). A Food Recovery Service is not a Commercial Edible Food Generator. (10) “Food Service Provider” means an entity primarily engaged in providing food services to institutional, governmental, commercial, or industrial locations of others based on contractual arrangements with these types of organizations, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(27). (11) “Grocery Store” means a store primarily engaged in the retail sale of canned food; dry goods; fresh fruits and vegetables; fresh meats, fish, and poultry; and any area that is not separately owned within the store where the food is prepared and served, including a bakery, deli, and meat and seafood departments, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(30). (12) “Health Facility” has the same meaning as in Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code. (13) “Hotel” has the same meaning as in Section 17210 of the Business and Professions code.
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*Not Yet Approved* (14) “Inspection” means a Department or Designee’s electronic or on-site review of records, containers, and an entity’s collection, handling, recycling, or landfill disposal of organic waste or Edible Food handling to determine if the entity is complying with requirements set forth in this Chapter, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(35). (15) “Large Event” means an event, including, but not limited to, a sporting event or a flea market, that charges an admission price, or is operated by a local agency, and serves an average of more than 2,000 individuals per day of operation of the event, at a location that includes, but is not limited to, a public, nonprofit, or privately owned park, parking lot, golf course, street system, or other open space when being used for an event. If the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(38) differs from this definition, the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(38) shall apply to this Chapter. (16) “Large Venue” means a permanent venue facility that annually seats or serves an average of more than 2,000 individuals within the grounds of the facility per day of operation of the venue facility. A venue facility includes, but is not limited to, a public, non-profit, or privately owned or operated stadium, amphitheater, arena, hall, amusement park, conference or civic center, zoo, aquarium, airport, racetrack, horse track, performing arts center, fairground, museum, theater, or other public attraction facility. A site under common ownership or control that includes more than one Large Venue that is contiguous with other Large Venues in the site, is a single Large Venue. If the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(39) differs from this definition, the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(39) shall apply to this Chapter. (17) “Local Education Agency” means a school district, charter school, or county office of education that is not subject to the control of city or county regulations related to solid waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(40). (18) “Non-Local Entity” means an entity that is an organic waste generator but is not subject to the control of a jurisdiction’s regulations related to solid waste. These entities may include, but are not limited to, special districts, federal facilities, prisons, facilities operated by the state parks system, public universities, including community colleges, county fairgrounds, and state agencies. (19) “Restaurant” means an establishment primarily engaged in the retail sale of food and drinks for on-premises or immediate consumption, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(64). (20) “Share Table” has the same meaning as in Section 114079 of the Health and Safety Code. (21) “Supermarket” means a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(71).
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*Not Yet Approved* (22) “Tier One Commercial Edible Food Generator” means the following: (i) Supermarkets, as defined above. (ii) Grocery Stores, as defined above, with a total facility size equal to or greater than 10,000 square feet. (iii) Food Service Providers, as defined above. (iv) Food Distributors, as defined above. (v) Wholesale Food Vendors, as defined below. If the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(73) of Tier One Commercial Edible Food Generator differs from this definition, the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(73) shall apply to this Chapter. For the purposes of this Chapter, Food Recovery Organizations and Food Recovery Services are not commercial edible food generators. (23) “Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generator” means the following: (i) Restaurants, as defined above, with 250 or more seats or a total facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet. (ii) Hotels, as defined above, with an on-site Food Facility and 200 or more rooms. (iii) Health facilities, as defined above, with an on-site Food Facility and 100 or more beds. (iv) Large Venues, as defined above. (v) Large Events, as defined above. (vi) State agencies with a cafeteria with 250 or more seats or total cafeteria facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet. (vii) Local Education Agency facilities, as defined above, with on-site Food Facilities, as defined above. If the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(74) of Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generator differs from this definition, the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(74) shall apply to this Chapter. Non-local entities that operate a facility that meets this definition are Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators. For the purposes of this Chapter, food recovery organizations and food recovery services are not commercial edible food generators. (24) “Wholesale Food Vendor” means a business or establishment engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of food, where food (including fruits and vegetables) is received, shipped, stored, prepared for distribution to a retailer, warehouse, distributor, or other destination, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 189852(a)(76). 5.40.030 Requirements For Commercial Edible Food Generators.
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*Not Yet Approved* (a) Tier One Commercial Edible Food Generators must comply with the requirements of this Section commencing January 1, 2022, and Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators must comply commencing January 1, 2024, pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18991.3. (b) Large Venue or Large Event operators not providing food services, but allowing for food to be provided by others, shall require Food Facilities operating at the Large Venue or Large Event to comply with the requirements of this Section, commencing January 1, 2024. (c) Tier One and Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators shall comply with the following requirements: (1) Arrange to recover the maximum amount of Edible Food that would otherwise be disposed. (2) Contract with, or enter into a written agreement with Food Recovery Organizations or Food Recovery Services for: (i) the collection of Edible Food for Food Recovery; or, (ii) acceptance of the Edible Food that the Commercial Edible Food Generator self-hauls to the Food Recovery Organization for Food Recovery. (3) Shall not intentionally spoil Edible Food that is capable of being recovered by a Food Recovery Organization or a Food Recovery Service. (4) Allow the Department or Designee to access the premises, conduct inspections, and review electronic and hard copy records pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18991.4. (5) Keep records that include the following information, or as otherwise specified in 14 CCR Section 18991.4: (A) A list of each Food Recovery Service or Organization that collects or receives its Edible Food pursuant to a contract or written agreement established under 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b). (B) A copy of all contracts or written agreements established under 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b). (C) A record of the following information for each of those Food Recovery Services or Food Recovery Organizations: (i) The name, address and contact information of the Food Recovery Service or Food Recovery Organization. (ii) The types of food that will be collected by or self-hauled to the Food Recovery Service or Food Recovery Organization. (iii) The established frequency that food will be collected or self-hauled.
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*Not Yet Approved* (iv) The quantity of food, measured in pounds recovered per month, collected or self-hauled to a Food Recovery Service or Food Recovery Organization for Food Recovery. (d) Tier One Commercial Edible Food Generators shall submit Food Recovery Reports, as defined below, to the Department or Designee according to the following schedule: (1) On or before August 1, 2022, Tier One Commercial Edible Food Generators shall submit a Food Recovery Report for the period of January 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022. (2) On or before May 1, 2023, and on or before May 1st each year thereafter, Tier One Commercial Edible Food Generators shall submit a Food Recovery Report for the period covering the entire previous calendar year. (e) Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators shall submit Food Recovery Reports, as defined below, to the Department or Designee according to the following schedule: (1) On or before May 1, 2025, and on or before May 1st each year thereafter, Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators shall submit a Food Recovery Report for the period covering the entire previous calendar year. (f) Food Recovery Reports submitted by Tier One and Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators shall include the following information: (1) The name and address of the Commercial Edible Food Generator; (2) The name of the person responsible for the Commercial Edible Food Generator’s edible food recovery program; (3) A list of all contracted Food Recovery Services or Food Recovery Organizations that collect Edible Food from the Commercial Edible Food Generator; (4) The total number of pounds of Edible Food, per year, donated through a contracted Food Recovery Organization or Food Recovery Service. (g) Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to limit or conflict with the protections provided by the California Good Samaritan Food Donation Act of 2017, the Federal Good Samaritan Act, or share table and school food donation guidance issued by the California Department of Education pursuant to Senate Bill 557 (2017). 5.40.040 Requirements For Food Recovery Organizations And Services (a) Food Recovery Services collecting, receiving, or coordinating the collection of Edible Food directly from Tier One or Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators, via a contract or written agreement established under 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b), shall maintain the following records, or as otherwise specified by 14 CCR Section 18991.5(a)(1):
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*Not Yet Approved* (1) The name, address, and contact information for each Commercial Edible Food Generator from which the Service collects Edible Food. (2) The quantity in pounds of Edible Food collected from each Commercial Edible Food Generator per month. (3) The quantity in pounds of Edible Food transported to each Food Recovery Organization per month. (4) The name, address, and contact information for each Food Recovery Organization that the Food Recovery Service transports Edible Food to for Food Recovery. (b) Food Recovery Organizations collecting, receiving, or coordinating the collection of Edible Food directly from Tier One or Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators, via a contract or written agreement established under 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b), shall maintain the following records, or as otherwise specified by 14 CCR Section 18991.5(a)(2): (1) The name, address, and contact information for each Commercial Edible Food Generator from which the Organization receives Edible Food. (2) The quantity in pounds of Edible Food received from each Commercial Edible Food Generator per month. (3) The name, address, and contact information for each Food Recovery Service that the organization receives Edible Food from for Food Recovery. (c) Food Recovery Organizations and Food Recovery Services that have their primary address physically located in the City and contract with or have written agreements with one or more Tier One or Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b) shall submit Food Recovery Reports, as defined below, to the Department or Designee according to the following schedule: (1) On or before August 1, 2022, Food Recovery Organizations and Food Recovery Services shall submit a Food Recovery Report for the period of January 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022; (2) On or before May 1, 2023, and on or before May 1st each year thereafter, Food Recovery Organizations and Food Recovery Services shall submit a Food Recovery Report for the period covering the entire previous calendar year. (d) Food Recovery reports submitted by Food Recovery Services or Organizations shall include the following information: (1) Total pounds of Edible Food recovered in the previous calendar year from Tier One and Tier Two Edible Food Generators with whom the reporting entity has a contract or written agreement with pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b).
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*Not Yet Approved* (2) Total pounds of Edible Food recovered in the previous calendar year from the Tier One and Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators within Santa Clara County with whom the reporting entity has a contract or written agreement pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b). (e) In order to support Edible Food Recovery capacity planning assessments or other studies conducted by the County of Santa Clara, the City, or their Designees, Food Recovery Services and Food Recovery Organizations operating in the City shall provide information and consultation to the City, Department, or Designee, upon request, regarding existing, or proposed new or expanded, Food Recovery capacity that could be accessed by the City and its Tier One and Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators. A Food Recovery Service or Food Recovery Organization contacted by the City, the Department, or Designee shall respond to such request for information within 60 days, unless a shorter timeframe is specified. 5.40.050 Edible Food Recovery Inspections And Investigations By Department Or Designee. (a) The Department and/or Designee are authorized to conduct Inspections and investigations, at random or otherwise, of any collection container, collection vehicle loads, or transfer, processing, or disposal facility for materials collected from generators to confirm compliance with this Chapter by Tier One and Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators, Food Recovery Services, and Food Recovery Organizations, subject to applicable laws. This Section does not allow the Department or Designee to enter the interior of a private residential property for Inspection. (b) Regulated entities shall provide or arrange for access during all Inspections (with the exception of residential property interiors) and shall cooperate with the Department’s or Designee’s employees during such Inspections and investigations. Such Inspections and investigations may include in-person or electronic review of Edible Food Recovery activities, records, or any other requirement of this Chapter described herein. Failure to provide or arrange for access to an entity’s premises or access to records for any Inspection or investigation is a violation of this Chapter and may result in penalties described. (c) Any records obtained by the Department or Designee during its Inspections, and other reviews shall be subject to the requirements and applicable disclosure exemptions of the Public Records Act as set forth in Government Code Section 6250 et seq. (d) Representatives of the Department and/or Designee are authorized to conduct any Inspections, or other investigations as reasonably necessary to further the goals of this Chapter, subject to applicable laws. (e) Department shall receive written complaints, including anonymous complaints, regarding entities that may be in violation of this Chapter. Complaints shall include the name and contact information of the complainant, if the complainant is not anonymous;
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*Not Yet Approved* the identity of the alleged violator, if known; a description of the alleged violation including location(s) and all other relevant facts known to the complainant; any relevant photographic or documentary evidence to support the allegations in the complaint; and the identity of any witnesses, if known. 5.40.060 Enforcement. (a) Administrative Fine. Violation of any provision of this Chapter shall constitute grounds for issuance of a Notice of Violation and assessment of an administrative fine by the Department. Absent compliance by the respondent within the deadline set forth in the Notice of Violation, the Department shall commence an action to impose penalties, via an administrative citation and fine. (b) Notice of Violation. Before assessing an administrative fine, the Department shall issue a Notice of Violation requiring compliance within sixty days of issuance of the Notice. The Notice shall include: (1) the name(s) of each person or entity to whom it is directed, (2) a factual description of the violations, including the regulatory section(s) being violated, (3) a compliance date by which the respondent is to take specified action(s), and (4) the penalty for not complying before the specified deadline. (c) Extensions to Compliance Deadlines. The Department may extend the compliance deadlines set forth in a Notice of Violation if it finds that there are extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the respondent that make compliance within the deadlines impracticable, including the following: (1) Acts of God such as earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, and other emergencies or natural disasters; (2) Delays in obtaining discretionary permits or other government agency approvals; (3) Deficiencies in Edible Food Recovery capacity and the existence of a corrective action plan imposed by CalRecycle pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18996.2 due to those deficiencies; or, (4) Any other circumstance in which the Department Director, in their sole discretion, finds good cause to extend the compliance deadlines. (d) Administrative Citations. If the respondent fails to correct the violation by the compliance date, the Department shall issue an administrative citation and fine. The citation shall include a description of the administrative citation appeal process, including the designated hearing officer, the time within which the administrative citation may be contested, and instructions for requesting a hearing. (e) Amount of Fine. The amount of the administrative fine for each violation of this Chapter shall be as follows:
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*Not Yet Approved* (1) For a first violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $50 to $100 per violation. (2) For a second violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $100 to $200 per violation. (3) For a third or subsequent violation, the amount of the base penalty shall be $250 to $500 per violation. (f) Factors Considered in Determining Penalty Amount. The following factors shall be used to determine the amount of the penalty for each violation within the appropriate penalty range: (1) The nature, circumstances, and severity of the violation(s). (2) The violator’s ability to pay. (3) The willfulness of the violator’s misconduct. (4) Whether the violator took measures to avoid or mitigate violations of this Chapter. (5) Evidence of any economic benefit resulting from the violation(s). (6) The deterrent effect of the penalty on the violator. (7) Whether the violation(s) were due to conditions outside the control of the violator. (g) Appeals. Persons receiving an administrative citation for an uncorrected violation may request a hearing to appeal the citation. The City will designate a hearing officer who shall conduct the hearing and issue a final written order. The hearing officer may be a City official or another public agency designated by the City. The hearing officer shall be identified in the administrative citation. A hearing will be held only if it is requested within fifteen days from the date of the notice of the administrative citation. (h) Other Remedies. Other remedies allowed by law may be used to enforce this Chapter, including civil action or criminal prosecution as misdemeanor or infraction. The Department and/or City may pursue civil actions in the California courts to seek recovery of unpaid administrative citations. The Department and/or City may choose to delay court action until such time as court action is a reasonable use of staff and resources. (i) Education Period for Non-Compliance. Beginning January 1, 2022, and through December 31, 2023, the Department and/or Designee will conduct Inspections and compliance reviews. If the Department and/or Designee determines that a Tier One Commercial Edible Food Generator, Food Recovery Organization, Food Recovery Service, or other entity is not in compliance, it shall provide educational materials to the entity describing its obligations under this Chapter and a notice that compliance is
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*Not Yet Approved* required. It shall also provide notice that violations may be subject to administrative civil penalties starting on January 1, 2024. SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion or sections of the Ordinance. The Council hereby declares that it should have adopted the Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid. SECTION 5. This Ordinance was assessed in accordance with the authority and criteria contained in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the State CEQA Guidelines (the Guidelines), and the environmental regulations of the City. The City Council hereby finds that under Section 15061(b)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines, this Ordinance is exempt from the requirements of CEQA because it can be seen with certainty that the provisions contained herein would not have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. It also finds the Ordinance is exempt from the requirements of CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15307 and 15308 as an action by a regulatory agency taken to protect the environment and natural resources. // // // // // // // // // // // //
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*Not Yet Approved* // SECTION 6. This ordinance shall be effective on the thirty-first day after the date of its adoption. INTRODUCED: PASSED: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTENTIONS: ATTEST: ____________________________ ____________________________ City Clerk Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED: ____________________________ ____________________________ City Attorney City Manager ____________________________
Director of Public Works
____________________________
Director of Administrative Services
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City of Palo Alto (ID # 13783)
City Council Staff Report
Meeting Date: 11/29/2021
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Council Priority: Transportation and Traffic
Title: SECOND READING: Adopt an Ordinance to Amend the FY 2022
Municipal Fee Schedule Increasing Parking Permit Fees (FIRST READING:
November 1, 2021 PASSED: 6 -1, Tanaka no)
From: City Manager
Lead Department: C ity Clerk
This was heard by the City Council on November 1, 2021 for a first reading and was approved 6-
1, Tanaka no. No changes were made to the Ordinance; it is now before you for a second
reading.
Attachments:
• Attachment9.a: Attachment A – Ordinance to Amend the FY22 Municipal Fee
Schedule to Amend Parking Permit Prices
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*NOT YET APPROVED*
1
240_20211019_ts24
Ordinance No. ___
Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending the Fiscal Year 2022
Municipal Fee Schedule to Add and Amend Parking Permit Fees for Business
District and Residential Parking Permits
The Council of the City of Palo Alto ORDAINS as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations. The City Council finds and declares as follows:
A. The City has various paid parking programs as authorized by Palo Alto Municipal
Code Chapter 10.46 (College Terrace Residential Parking Permit Program), Chapter 10.50
(Residential Preferential Parking Districts), and Section 10.60.070 (Permit parking in city lots),
among others.
B. The fees for parking permits authorized by these ordinances are set in the City’s
Municipal Fee Schedule.
C. Based on recommendation from the Finance Committee, the City Council desires
to increase certain parking permit fees as described in this Ordinance.
SECTION 2. The Council of the City of Palo Alto amends the Fiscal Year 2022 Municipal Fee
Schedule by amending and restating the Office of Transportation’s parking permit fees as set
forth in Exhibit “A” and incorporated here by reference. All fees not listed in Exhibit “A” remain
unchanged.
SECTION 3. The fees in this Ordinance are a charge imposed for a specific benefit conferred or
privilege granted directly to the payor that is not provided to those not changed, and which does
not exceed the reasonable costs to local government of conferring the benefit or granting the
privilege; or for voluntary entrance and/or use of government property. Pursuant to Art. XIII C,
Section I(e)(2) and (4) of the California Constitution, these fees are not a tax.
SECTION 4. The Council finds that this Ordinance is categorically exempt from the provisions of
the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) per section 15301 (Existing Facilities).
//
//
//
//
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2
240_20211019_ts24
SECTION 5. This ordinance shall be effective thirty-one days after the date of its adoption or on
January 1, 2022, whichever is later.
INTRODUCED:
PASSED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
ATTEST:
____________________________ ____________________________
City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED:
____________________________ ____________________________
Deputy City Attorney City Manager
____________________________
Chief Transportation Official
____________________________
Director of Administrative
Services
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*NOT YET APPROVED*
3
240_20211019_ts24
Exhibit A
Fiscal Year 2022 Municipal Fee Schedule
Office of Transportation
Parking District
Full Price Employee
Permit
Reduced Price Employee
Permit
(eligibility required)
Annual Resident
Parking Permit
(price per year)
Parking Permit – Business District
(These fees replace the annual parking permit rates)
University Avenue
$75/month
$900/year
(Permits may be issued
in one-month or longer
durations as determined
by the City Manager by
pro-rating the yearly fee)
$18.75/month
$225/year
(Permits may be issued
in one-month or longer
durations as determined
by the City Manager by
pro-rating the yearly fee)
N/A
California Avenue
$54.17/month
$650/year
(Permits may be issued
in one-month or longer
durations as determined
by the City Manager by
pro-rating the yearly fee)
$13.54/month
$162.50/year
(Permits may be issued
in one-month or longer
durations as determined
by the City Manager by
pro-rating the yearly fee)
N/A
Parking Permit – Residential
College Terrace None None $50
Downtown $87.50/month
$525/six-months
$21.88/month
$131.25/six-months $50
Crescent Park None None $50
Evergreen
Park/Mayfield
$62.50/month
$375/six-months
$15.63/month
$93.75/six-months
$50
(no first free
permit)
Southgate $62.50/month
$375/six-months
$15.63/month
$93.75/six-months
$50
(no first free
permit)
Old Palo Alto None None $50
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240_20211019_ts24
Fees deleted
Downtown RPP - Daily Employee Parking Permit
Evergreen Park - Mayfield RPP Daily Employee Parking Permit
Southgate RPP - Daily Employee Parking Permit
All fees not amended or deleted in this Exhibit “A” remain unchanged from the FY 2022 Municipal
Fee Schedule.
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City of Palo Alto (ID # 13786)
City Council Staff Report
Meeting Date: 11/29/2021
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Title: Review and Recommend Renter Protection Policies for Development
and Implementation (Continued from the November 15, 2021 meeting)
From: City Manager
Lead Department: City Clerk
This item was initially heard at the November 8, 2021 City Council Meeting and public
comments were accepted. The discussion was continued to the November 15, 2021
City Council Meeting and has been continued again to the November 29, 2021 meeting.
To access the staff report and attachments, please use the following link from the
November 8th, 2021 meeting:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/agendas-minutes-reports/agendas-
minutes/city-council-agendas-minutes/2021/11-november/20211108/20211108pccsm-
amended.pdf#page=161
To access the presentation, please use the following link from the November 8th,
2021 meeting:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/agendas-minutes-reports/item-
presentations/2021/20211108/20211108pptccs-item-14.pdf
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City of Palo Alto (ID # 13787)
City Council Staff Report
Meeting Date: 11/29/2021
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Title: Review Three Grade Separation Design Alternatives for Churchill
Avenue and Confirm Which Alternative(s) Continue Towards Selection of
Preferred Alternative, and Direction to City Staff for Conducting Additional
Studies for Consideration of Final/Pre ferred Alternative; and Authorize Staff
to Negotiate with AECOM for Additional Scope of Work for Amendment to
the Contract (Continued from November 15, 2021)
From: City Manager
Lead Department: City Clerk
This item was initially heard at the November 1st, 2021 City Council Meeting and public
comments were accepted. The discussion was continued to the November 29, 2021
meeting.
To access the staff report and attachments, please use the following link from the
November 1st, 2021 meeting:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/agendas-minutes-reports/agendas-
minutes/city-council-agendas-minutes/2021/11-november/20211101pccs-
amended.pdf#page=358
To access the presentation, please use the following link from the November 1st,
2021 meeting:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/agendas-minutes-reports/item-
presentations/2021/20211101/20211101pptccs-item-15.pdf
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Schedule of Meetings
Published November 18, 2021
This is a courtesy notice only. Meeting dates, times, and locations are subject to change. Almost all Palo Alto
Council and some Standing Committee meetings are cablecast live on Channel 26. If there happens to be
concurrent meetings, one meeting will be broadcast on Channel 29.
Until further notice, all meetings except City Council Meetings will be held virtually.
City Council Meetings will be held in-person and virtually.
Persons with disabilities who require auxiliary aids or services in using City facilities or programs, or who would like information on the City’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may
contact: ADA Coordinator, City of Palo Alto, 650-329-2550 (voice) or 329-1199 (TDD), ada@cityofpaloalto.org. Listening assistive devices are available in the Council Chambers. Sign language interpreters will be
provided upon request with 72 hours advance notice. Please advise the City Clerk's Office (650-329-2571) of meetings or changes by 3:00 p.m. on Wednesdays for inclusion in the following week’s schedule.
11/18/2021
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18
Sp. Human Relations Commission Meeting, 6 p.m.
Public Art Commission Meeting, 7 p.m.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22
Sp. City Council Meeting (Boards and Commissions Interviews), 5 p.m.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29
Sp. City Council Meeting, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30
Sp. Finance Committee Meeting, 6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1
Sp. Utilities Advisory Commission Meeting, 5 p.m.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2
Architectural Review Board Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 6
Sp. City Council Meeting, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7
Sp. Finance Committee Meeting, 6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8
Planning & Transportation Commission Meeting, 6 p.m.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9
Historic Resources Board Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
Human Relations Commission Meeting, 6 p.m.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 13
Sp. City Council Meeting, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14
Sp. Policy and Services Committee Meeting, 7 p.m.
Sp. Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15
Sp. Planning & Transportation Commission Meeting, 7 p.m.
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