Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-06 Policy & Services Committee Summary MinutesPOLICY & SERVICES COMMITTEE SUMMARY MINUTES Page 1 of 7 Special Meeting November 6, 2024 The Policy & Services Committee of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Community Meeting Room and by virtual teleconference at 7:00 PM Present In-Person: Kou (Chair), Lythcott-Haims, Tanaka Absent: None Call to Order Chai Kou called the meeting to order. The clerk called roll and declared two were present. Public Comments There were no requests to speak. Agenda Items 1. Discussion and Recommendation on the Annual Legislative Guidelines and Legislative Platform. CEQA Status – Not a Project Deputy City Manager Chantal Cotton Gaines commented that the Legislative Guidelines were brought to P&S each year and just the actual guidelines were being presented at this meeting and the legislative updated would go to City Council in January. Deputy City Clerk Christine Prior noted that the guideline changes had been marked in red. This year, based on input from staff and partners at Townsend, there were a few changes related to issues that would likely come up in the next legislative year, which she detailed. The guidelines included language that would allow staff the flexibility to act on the issues if they should come up in the legislature. Townsend Public Affairs Senior Associate Carly Shelby remarked that 2025 would kick off the first year of a two-year session. They were anticipating a deficit in the upcoming year. However, there were opportunities for budget earmarks and funding plots, which she discussed. In addition to legislative proposals anticipated next year, RHNA reform is something that comes to mind, potential credits given to cities for constructing units that are not in your typical housing regimes. They were anticipating potential reforms to local financing tools. She stated that the purpose of the legislative platform was to give guidance with the over 2,000 bills introduced SUMMARY MINUTES Page 2 of 7 Sp. Policy & Services Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 11/06/2024 each year and match some of the policies with Palo Alto’s policy statements and guidelines. She believed there would be opportunity to bring bills for consideration. They may not directly align with the platform, but keeping statements broad but still having details associated with Palo Alto’s priorities would be helpful. She went through the guideline changes, which included transportation, climate and environment, financial, and housing. Deputy City Clerk Prior added that guideline changes had been made to governance, transparency, and human resources, which she outlined. Townsend Public Affairs Shelby added that additional AI bills would come forward and she thought that in the coming years there would be more government-focused AI legislation related to communications, emergency preparedness, etc. Chair Kou asked if AI technology legislation might come forward for school policies. Townsend Public Affairs Shelby believed there may be more AI technology legislation for school policies. She was not aware of any emerging legislative proposals to school specifically. There were creative uses for AI at the local level, but considerations should be made for safety and equity, and how AI could interface with public agencies. Public Comments There were no requests to speak. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims referenced the second bullet on Packet Page 10 and asked if the phrase related to ADA accessible housing or access to housing. Concerning the seventh bullet on Packet Page 9 (financial), she inquired what reforms Palo Alto might support. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines would research and let Councilmember Lythcott-Haims know the origins of the term accessible housing on Packet Page 10, and the Committee could decide on any changes. The language was added to the legislative guidelines last year. She believed the definition related to access to housing. She noted the “and accessible housing” clause may not be needed but the Committee could make a recommendation related to that. Townsend Public Affairs Shelby replied that seventh bullet on Packet Page 9 (financial) could include bonds, special taxes, etc. Chair Kou remembered that the accessible housing related to ensuring economically feasible housing for IDD and ADA. Councilmember Tanaka thought the updates were good in general. He addressed “supports the lowering or maintaining of voter thresholds for local revenue measures” on Packet Page 9 and felt it should be revised to keep the current thresholds. He thought AI was an opportunity to better govern and queried if AI was focused on government use or general AI use. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 3 of 7 Sp. Policy & Services Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 11/06/2024 Townsend Public Affairs Shelby thought the application of the AI statement on Packet Page 9 could be utilized broadly. She thought keeping the statement open-ended could provide flexibility as the emerging proposals were being considered. They wanted to ensure the safety of the community and that it would be thoughtfully integrated. Councilmember Tanaka was not as concerned with safety. He wanted AI to be adopted and used, especially in governance, and he wanted Palo Alto to remain being a leader in using it. Deputy City Clerk Prior summarized why the AI statement had been added to Packet Page 9. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines added that Council had taken action related to “lowering and maintaining local thresholds for local revenue measures,” which she detailed. She noted that P&S could separate out “lowering and maintaining.” Chair Kou asked if this would go to Council on action the beginning of 2025 and if some of the bullet point subjects were presented on the November ballot. Deputy City Clerk Prior answered that this would go to Council on action the beginning of 2025, and it was hoped that folks from Townsend would attend in person to discuss deadlines, dates, etc. She asked that the voter thresholds be highlighted at the Council meeting. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines responded that some of the bullet points related to Council action related to legislation, and some went to the November 2025 ballot. The guidelines tried to reflect prior Council direction and some changes recommended by Townsend Public Affairs Shelby and Deputy City Clerk Prior. Councilmember Tanaka suggested keeping the voter threshold at two-thirds. Chair Kou agreed with a two-third voter threshold. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines mentioned that P&S could vote to remove or amend the voter threshold piece. She had heard Committee support for lowering the threshold, not increasing it, and she added that the maintaining piece could remain. Chair Kou supported lowering or eliminating that portion. She called attention to Packet Page 9, the fourth bullet under Financial, and questioned if the continuance of tax credits would depend on the administration. Regarding maintaining or expanding funding resources for local governments to reduce GHG emissions, she inquired if funding was expected to come from Proposition 4. Townsend Public Affairs Shelby remarked that a lot of the tax credits would expire in 2025, so the addition of this language reinforced support for keeping the tax credits. She did not know if the credits would be continued. She was expecting funding from Position 4 and other sources to reduce GHG emissions. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 4 of 7 Sp. Policy & Services Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 11/06/2024 MOTION: Councilmember Tanaka moved, seconded by Councilmember Lythcott-Haims, to recommend the City Council approve the 2025 Federal and State Legislative Guidelines incorporating the following changes: • Strike out “lowering or” from “Supports the lowering or maintaining of voter thresholds for local revenue measures” • Format “Promotes the development and enhancement of safe and affordable housing and accessible housing within the City for all economic segments of the population” as a separate bullet point MOTION PASSED: 3-0 2. Office of the City Auditor Presentation of ADA Compliance Audit Report City Auditor Kate Murdock shared slides and discussed the results of the ADA Compliance Audit, which was from the FY2024 Audit Plan, which she believed had been approved by Council in December 2023. The objective of the audit was to determine if improvements had been made in accordance with the City’s ADA Transition Plan Update. She provided some background related to the ADA Transition Plan. She shared their findings related to progress, which had been hampered by the pandemic, staffing reductions, and a lack of adequate tracking and monitoring of compliance efforts. She outlined their recommendations. Their second finding related to ADA requests and grievances tracking, which she elaborated on and detailed their recommendations. The third finding pertained to self-assessment recommendations, and she summarized their recommendations. Public Comments There were no requests to speak. Councilmember Tanaka questioned if there was a way to help Palo Alto businesses when it came to frivolous ADA lawsuits. Chair Kou voiced that she did not know if Councilmember Tanaka’s question was within the scope of the audit discussion. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims inquired if there was a legal risk of third parties suing City entities or business owners for a failure on Palo Alto’s part to meet ADA standards. She was surprised with the length of time to implementation and that an insignificant part of the funds allocated for improvements had been used. She questioned who the ADA coordinator was and why this was lower on the priority list. She felt this lacked urgency, particularly with funds not being spent, and queried why it was not rising to greater urgency. She asked what the funding source was for ADA compliance. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 5 of 7 Sp. Policy & Services Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 11/06/2024 City Attorney Molly Stump explained that the obligation to do the transition plan arose from Title 2 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. There was no legal exposure from issues specifically identified in the audit as it related to the work that would be done over time to increase accessibility of City facilities in Palo Alto. She stated that Councilmember Tanaka’s concern related to private facilities. She believed earlier in the year the City had been sued along with a private hotel, in which she believed the City was responsible for the sidewalk area. Aid to private business was distinct from the Title 2 obligation, which was the subject of the audit. Public Works Director Brad Eggleston understood from the consultants that the 60-year time frame was typical. He discussed the annual budget amount in the ADA improvements capital project, which typically allocated $500K a year. This was not characterized as a prescribed master plan, but they were trying to identify the work needed at various facilities, and he explained how that would generally be implemented. They were planning to do some stand- alone projects. He added that there were multiple significant projects that were funded and making ADA improvements but that they were not funded by the project discussed in the report. He conceded that in the last couple years not much had been spent out of the particular project called ADA Compliance. The Capital Improvement Fund was the funding source for ADA compliance, which came from the General Fund. There were plans to use the funds on upcoming projects. City Auditor Murdock understood that the 60-year timeline for implementation was typical for other cities. Chair Kou understood that there were stand-alone projects to improve a parking lot and add in ADA. Public Works Assistant Director Holly Boyd gave an example of a project and being able to pull funds from another CIP, if needed. She discussed why the sidewalk CIP had been paused for three years, but now work was to be done, and it was an annual program/contract. Curb ramp upgrades were being done in Districts 1 and 2 because they had the greatest need. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims understood that 50-plus percent of complaints coming in to the hotline/311/etc., were related to not receiving a response in a timely fashion, which suggested to her that the City was not being as responsive as they could be. She queried who was responsible for the 311 system within the City and if there was a central person to contact if a specific concern was not represented on the app. She queried what was last on the ADA implementation list. Director Eggleston addressed the budgeting and pointed out that prior to the work on the plan they were budgeting about $150K annually in the project, and as barriers were identified and the plan and schedule was developed, the annual funding more than tripled. There was not currently a single coordination from one department for the 311 system. It was set up to direct calls to the correct department. There was not a designated person to contact if a specific SUMMARY MINUTES Page 6 of 7 Sp. Policy & Services Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 11/06/2024 concern was not represented on the app. Information related to the timing of items on the ADA implementation list could be found in the schedule that was approved as part of the ADA Transition Plan. He did not think it was well attended, but there had been a public outreach process to solicit input on the timing of the schedule. Planning and Development Services Director Jonathan Lait noted that the tracking and recording issue had been highlighted in the audit. The recorded closure of cases may not have been properly documented, even though they may have been closed. As for response complaints, today staff had 4 outstanding complaints going beyond the 15-day period. He thought all departments shared responsibility for the 311 system. Deputy City Manager Chantal Cotton Gaines added that coordination was done between departments to route 311 calls to the right department. Councilmember Tanaka thought the City should help coordinate or organize a legal defense fund for businesses. At a policy level, he suggested passing out a local ordinance requiring a written notice before ADA lawsuits could be filed, a City-level mediation program for ADA disputes, and advocating for state-level reform to the California [inaudible] Act, which could help reduce the lawsuit burden to businesses. He noted that weeks ago he had sent an email and photo to the City Manager regarding a missing utility hole cover on Portage and he had not received a response. He hoped that would be considered an urgent ADA issue and be addressed. Chair Kou noted that the audit identified only 14 facilities and inquired if facilities were listed on the Public Works website. Director Eggleston clarified that the 14 facilities referred were those that had been worked on in the first 5 years of the plan. There were a total of 92 facilities in the plan. Chair Kou asked, for the benefit of the public, if those facilities were referenced somewhere other than the plan. She inquired if the sidewalk by the library was being worked on and if an ADA feature was being installed and if the project at Charleston and El Camino would be part of the ADA compliance CIP or it would come from that project’s CIP. She discussed ramps with the dot design and inquired if there were other ramp designs. She queried if 311 samples that had been marked as not complete had actually been completed. She understood that staff would apply the recommendations for this item. Director Eggleston answered that in the recurring capital projects staff typically tried to plan out year by year the facilities or type of work being done with the funding. However, it was not convenient for the public to find. It was deep within the budget document on the project page. He acknowledged that staff would apply the recommendations for this item. Assistant Director Boyd confirmed that the sidewalk by the library was being worked on and that the project at Charleston and El Camino would come from that projects CIP and would not SUMMARY MINUTES Page 7 of 7 Sp. Policy & Services Committee Meeting Summary Minutes: 11/06/2024 be part of the ADA compliance CIP. Ramps with the dot design was required for the visually impaired. Chief Building Official George Hoyt stated, regarding the 311 samples that had been marked as not complete, that staff reviewed and responded to the 51 complaints. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines added that the recommendations for the item would be applied in the context of all the other priorities and actions staff was doing. MOTION: Councilmember Lythcott-Haims moved, seconded by Councilmember Tanaka, to recommend the City Council approve the results of the ADA Compliance Audit Report. Councilmember Tanaka asked if the maker would be open to a friendly amendment for Council or P&S to discuss small businesses and frivolous ADA lawsuits. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims declined the amendment as she did not believe it was within the scope of this item. Chair Kou suggested speaking to the Chamber of Commerce regarding ADA lawsuits as they may be of help in developing a fund and giving guidance. She recommended the subject be placed on a future Council agenda for discussion. MOTION PASSED: 3-0 Future Meetings and Agendas Deputy City Manager Chantal Cotton Gaines announced that two audit reports were anticipated for the December meeting and the annual discussion of the City Council Priority Setting Retreat would include the priorities and the retreat itself, so recommendations for what Council would do related to the retreat. Typically there would be a separate item related to the procedures and protocols annual discussion, but staff was going to include a little of that in the priority retreat setting item. The Committee would also be updated on referrals. There would be a brief item related to recommending items for the City Council agenda. She would work with the Chair concerning a possible earlier meeting start time. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims asked about CEDAW. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines responded that CEDAW was part of the Race and Equity Action Plan. An update would be provided with the Race and Equity quarterly update, which would probably come to the Committee in February. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 PM.