HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-12-02 City Council EmailsDOCUM ENTS IN THIS PACKET INCLUDE:
LETTERS FROM CITIZENS TO THE
MAYOR OR CITY COUNCIL
RESPONSES FROM STAFF TO LETTERS FROM CITIZENS
ITEMS FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS
ITEMS FROM OTHER COMMITTEES AND AGENCIES
ITEMS FROM CITY, COUNTY, STATE, AND REGIONAL AGENCIES
12/2/2024 Preparedfor:
Document dates: 11/25/2024 - 12/2/2024
Note: Documents for every category may not have been received for packet reproduction
in a given week.
701-32
From:Maria Daehler
To:Council, City
Cc:Marty Dreher; Karen Lemes; Kathy Hoekenga; Lauren; Tim Biglow; Nancy Mayo; Anne Campbell; Alice Kaufman
Subject:Bay Area Native Allies Project signatures in support of resolution to protect Juristac and oppose gravel mining.
Date:Monday, December 2, 2024 11:27:36 AM
Attachments:JuristacPetition.pdf
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear Palo Alto City Council Members.
We the undersigned concerned citizens ask you to be the seventh city to support the following
resolution listed on your agenda for December 2, 2024 Council meeting at 5:30pm:
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE CHARTER CITY OF PALO ALTO AS FOLLOWS:
1.That the City Council of the Charter City of Palo Alto supports the efforts of the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band to preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as open space in perpetuity and to
regain access to their cultural and spiritual sites at Juristac.
2.That the City Council of the Charter City of Palo Alto supports the Amah Mutsun Tribal
Band’s preference to retain the name of the open space as Juristac.
3.That the Charter City of Palo Alto urges the County of Santa Clara to deny approval of
permits for the proposed Sargent Ranch Quarry Project.
We the undersigned stand in support with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, environmental
groups, and other concerned citizens (including 7500 letters written to Santa Clara County
and over 20,000 signatures) to protect the ecologically sensitive ancient ceremonial site
called Juristac, located in south Santa Clara County, and to oppose granting a permit to an
investor group based in San Diego who is currently seeking to develop a 403-acre open pit
sand and gravel mining operation at the proposed Sargent Quarry. The plan includes a 14-
acre processing plant, three 200-foot- deep open pit quarry sites, a 1.6-mile-long conveyor
belt, and a 20-foot wide access road.1 Additionally, an estimated 35 million cubic yards of
excavated material (sand and gravel aggregate), with 25.3 million cubic yards of salable
material (equal to 38 million tons of salable product) would be produced over the 30-year
life of the mine, primarily for use in local road building and general construction.
We believe this proposed project severely impacts
1.Ancestral lands of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band used for sacred ceremony.
2.Wildlife Corridors used by many impacted species in our area: puma, condor….
3.Biologic Resources
4. Water Quality
5. Air Quality
6. Climate Change
Thank you for listing Climate Change and Natural Environment Protection and CommunityHealth and Belonging as some of your top 2024 council priorities.
Sincerely,
See attached pdf with 93 signatures collected by BANAP, Bay Area Native Allies Project. Maria Daehler, Marty Dreher et al
Dear Palo Alto City Council Members.
We the undersigned concerned citizens ask you to be the seventh city to support the following
resolution listed on your agenda for December 2, 2024 Council meeting at 5:30pm:
NOW THEREFORE, B`E IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE CHARTER CITY OF PAL0 ALTO AS FOLLOWS:
1. Thatthe city council of the charter city of palo Alto supportsthe effortsofthe Amah Mutsun
Tribal Band to preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as open space in perpetuity and to regain access
to their cultural and spiritual sites at Juristac.
2. That the City Council of the Charter City of Palo Alto supports the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band's
preference to retain the name of the open space as Juristac.
3. That the C`harter City of Palo Alto urges the County of Santa Clara to deny approval of permits
for the proposed Sargent Ranch Quarry Project.
We the undersigned stand in support with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, environmental
groups, and other concerned citizens (including 7500 letters written to Santa Clara County
and over 20,000 signatures) to protect the ecologically sensitive ancient ceremonial site
called Juristac, located in south Santa Clara County, and to oppose granting a permit to an
investor group based in San Diego who is currently seeking to develop a 403-acre open pit
sand and gravel mining operation at the proposed Sargent Quarry. The plan includes a 14-
acre processing plant, three 200-foot-deep open pit quarry sites, a 1.6-mile-long conveyor
belt, and a 20-foot wide access road.1 Additionally, an estimated 35 million cubic yards of
excavated material (sand and gravel aggregate), with 25.3 million cubic yards of salable
material (equal to 38 million tons of salable product) would be produced over the 30~year
life of the mine, primarily for use in local road building and general construction.
We believe this proposed project severely impacts
1. Ancestral lands of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band used for sacred ceremony.
2. Wildlife Corridors used by many impacted species in our area: puma, condor ....
3. Biologic Resources
4. Water Quality
5.. Air Quality
6. Climate change
Thank you for listing Climate Change and Natural Environment Protection and Community
Health and Belonging as some of your top 2024 council priorities.
Sincerely,
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From:Deborah Goldeen
To:Bulbuk, Leslie
Cc:City Mgr; Council, City; Transportation; Star-Lack, Sylvia; Police
Subject:Illegal E-Bikes
Date:Monday, December 2, 2024 11:22:58 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
My bike route home from swimming is down Newell and North California and coincides withstart time for Greene Middle School (Palo Alto). Newell and N California are the two primary
bike routes to Greene. This morning I encountered three male youths ridingoverpowered/illegal, class-two E-"bikes" to Greene - two on Newell and one on N California.
Two of them were not wearing helmets. The one on N California was "biking" on thesidewalk.
I put bike and biking in quotes because these riders do not need to pedal. I was biking behind
the two riders on Newell for four blocks. They didn't pedal the entire time.
The only demographic that is genuinely at risk from not wearing a helmet is teen males. Teenmales who are riding E-"bikes" are openly flaunting this law. Worse, they are flaunting this
law while riding illegal/overpowered E-"bikes." They are all class two, which is NOT illegal.BUT almost all the bikes with small, very fat tires that are so popular exceed the power limit
of 750W as prescribed by law.
At some point, you all are culpable.
Deborah Goldeen,
PS - Because I have cc'd city departments on this email, and as such emails are public record, Ican not, for my own safety, include my address and phone number. Thank you for
understanding.
From:Kat Snyder
To:Council, City; Binder, Andrew
Subject:Use of Flock cameras, Item 11
Date:Monday, December 2, 2024 10:42:10 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear Council and Police Chief Binder,
I have concerns about expanding our use of Flock cameras, particularly in the current political
climate. When the Trump administration takes over, we will have more surveillance aroundwomen's doctor appointments and around immigrants living their lives. As a Sanctuary city
and county, I worry that setting up the infrastructure for this surveillance can easily lead to itbeing used for purposes we didn't choose.
The ACLU warns against using Flock cameras - they note that the default use of Flock sets up
a nationwide surveillance network that can be accessed by more than just law enforcement - infact, private entities can make their own "hot lists." Flock wants to become the default
surveillance system for law enforcement across the country and sharing data with theircustomers all across the country is part of their competitive advantage.
I'm grateful that we chose much more stringent data management than the default but I'm
worried that it clashes with Flock's bottom line. How do we know that, when it comes down toit, they will respect our data privacy? I say this because a few years ago Palantir swore that
their products were not used by ICE when, in fact, they were behind the largest immigrationenforcement workplace raid in US history.
What verification systems do we have set up to make sure Flock is doing what they say? Once
the cameras are in place, do we have a way to verify that the data they collect (license plate,make/model, color, bumper stickers) cannot expand beyond that to, for example, facial
recognition? The company plans to enter into facial recognition and other AI/ML spaces, sothis is not just an idle question.
There are many more concerns about Flock but in the interest of keeping this brief, I will just
drop a link to the ACLU's white paper on Flock in case it is of interest:https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/flock_1.pdf
Take care,
~Kat SnyderPalo Alto Resident
From:Deborah Goldeen
To:Public Works Public Services
Cc:City Mgr; Council, City
Subject:No Parking for Street Sweeping
Date:Monday, December 2, 2024 9:58:05 AM
The temporary, seasonaly no parking for street sweeping on the 200, 300 and 400 blocks of College Ave has been in
place for decades. Same for once a year, fall sweeping on the 2100 block of Ash.
No parking for sweeping is imperative for Ash and necessary - but not imperative - for College. However, there aremany other streets - the 2000, 2200 and 2300 blocks of Park Blvd, in particular - that are in much more desperateneed of the once a year, temporary no parking for street sweeping.
As it seem there has been no adjustment of the temporay no parking for street sweeping for decades, maybe it's timeto bring the subject of a permanent no parking for street sweeping schedule like many cities have?
When the street sweeping protocols that we have were established, most people did not park their cars on the street. Residents won't move cars on street sweeping days on their own. Having the streets properly swept in an importantpart of the perception of Palo Alto being a good place to live.
Thank you for considering - Deb G.,
From:Joy Sleizer
To:Council, City
Subject:Juristac Resolution
Date:Monday, December 2, 2024 8:40:00 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Please consider a resolution to support and stand with the Amah Mutsun TribalBand to protect the ecologically sensitive ancient ceremonial site, Juristac and rejectthe proposed Sargent Quarry Projectl
Passing this resolution would protect 10,000 acres of essentially virgin open
space from being destroyed by strip mining.
Juristac has historical and religious significance to the Amah Mutsun
indigenous people.
I hope you will join other local communities who have passed such a
resolution.
Thank you!
Joy Sleizer
Joy Sleizer
From:Julie Pineida
To:Council, City
Subject:Re: Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch a
Open Space (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Monday, December 2, 2024 8:32:06 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
My name is Julie Pineida and I am a member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. I am writing
to request that the council approves the Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah MutsunTribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space. Juristac should be protected
because this land is sacred and deeply meaningful to our people. I ask that you please recognize its
value and significance to us, as it represents the connection to our ancestors, our heritage, andour family.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Julie Pineida Tribal Member-
From:Clerk, City
To:Alice Kaufman; Clerk, City
Cc:Council, City; Velasquez, Ingrid; Val Lopez; Valentin Lopez; Victorina Arvelo; Colleen Cabot; m.narasimhan@amahmutsun.org; Jenny Green; Lizabeth Morell
Subject:RE: Process to cede time during public comment
Date:Monday, December 2, 2024 8:05:21 AM
Attachments:image001.pngimage002.pngimage003.pngimage006.pngimage007.png
Good morning Alice,
We have received this request to speak, and added your group to the queue for Item 19.
Thank you!
Best,
Nicole Bissell
Administrative Associate III
Office of the City Clerk
P: 650.329.2630
E: Nicole.Bissell@cityofpaloalto.org
www.cityofpaloalto.org
From: Alice Kaufman <alice@greenfoothills.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 1, 2024 8:22 PM
To: Clerk, City <city.clerk@cityofpaloalto.org>
Cc: Council, City <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Velasquez, Ingrid <Ingrid.Velasquez@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Val Lopez
<vlopez@amahmutsun.org>; Valentin Lopez <vjltestingcenter@aol.com>; Victorina Arvelo <varvelo@greenbelt.org>; Colleen Cabot
<colleencabot@earthlink.net>; m.narasimhan@amahmutsun.org; Jenny Green <jenny@greenfoothills.org>; Lizabeth Morell
<lizabethmorell@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Process to cede time during public comment
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments andclicking on links.
Hi Nicole,
Thanks for your response. Here's the information you specified:
The spokesperson's name is Valentin Lopez, Chair of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. He will be speaking on item 19
(the resolution regarding Juristac), in person.
The people he will be representing are:
Victorina Arvelo
Colleen Cabot (via Zoom)
Jenny Green
Lizabeth Morell
Mohini Narasimhan
Please let me know if you need additional information. Thanks for your help!
photo Alice Kaufman (she/her)
Policy and Advocacy Director
Green Foothills | (650) 968-7243 x313 | mobile (650) 269-2248 | greenfoothills.org
Donate to Green Foothills by 12/31 and your gift will be doubled thanks to a 2X matching grant! Donate today.
On Wed, Nov 27, 2024 at 9:04 AM Clerk, City <city.clerk@cityofpaloalto.org> wrote:
Good morning Ms. Kaufman,
Thank you for reaching out. A spokesperson for a group will be allowed additional time if they are representing at least 5
other people (not including themselves). The typical time allotment is 10 minutes, and to the extent practical, the
spokesperson will be called upon ahead of individual speakers. If the Mayor reduces the speaking time for individual
speakers, the total speaking time for a spokesperson will also be reduced as determined by the Mayor.
If you would like to participate in group public comment, the Clerk’s Office asks that you notify us by email
(city.clerk@cityofpaloalto.org) at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. In your email, please include the name of the
spokesperson as well as the names of those that the spokesperson will be representing and the agenda item on which
you’d like to speak. (If you’d like to speak on the Juristac item, this will be item #19). This allows us to prepare for the
meeting by verifying the speakers and adding you to the public comment queue.
Please note, group public comment is allowed for both general public comment (which is for items not on the agenda) and
public comment for agenda items. However, our overall policy for general public comment is that participation must be in
person only. This policy carries over to group public comment as well – the spokesperson and those being represented
must be present at the meeting in person. However, virtual participation (for either the spokesperson and/or those being
represented) is permitted for other items on the agenda.
Best,
Nicole Bissell
Administrative Associate III
Office of the City Clerk
P: 650.329.2630
E: Nicole.Bissell@cityofpaloalto.org
www.cityofpaloalto.org
From: Alice Kaufman <alice@greenfoothills.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2024 6:06 PM
To: Council, City <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>
Subject: Process to cede time during public comment
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachmentsand clicking on links.
Dear City Clerk:
What is the process for speakers to cede their time during public comment to allow another speaker (someone
speaking on behalf of a group) to exceed the allotted time?
Thanks for your help!
photo Alice Kaufman (she/her)
Policy and Advocacy Director
Green Foothills | (650) 968-7243 x313 | mobile (650) 269-2248 | greenfoothills.org
Donate to Green Foothills by 12/31 and your gift will be doubled thanks to a 2X matching grant! Donate today.
From:Alice Smith
To:Council, City
Subject:Item 19: Palo Alto City Council Agenda December 2, 2024 -Juristac
Date:Monday, December 2, 2024 7:39:04 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
I would like to commend the Palo Alto City Council for considering a resolution to
support and stand with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, environmental groups, and
concerned citizens to protect the ecologically sensitive ancient ceremonial site, called
Juristac, located in south Santa Clara County, and to reject the proposed Sargent
Quarry Project.
Please pass this resolution to protect these 10,000 acres of essentially virgin openspace from being destroyed by strip mining an environmentally sensitive area, with
historical and religious significance to the Amah Mutsun indigenous people.
Once begun, the Sargent Quarry Project will destroy forever the Juristac.
As a bird-watcher, I would like my grandchildren and their children to enjoy seeing
Loggerhead Shrikes, California Condors, Burrowing Owls and other endangered
animals who depend on these undeveloped open spaces to survive.
Our own Foothills Park is the result of our City's vision to protect open space for
future generations. Speaking up now in support of protecting Juristac is the right
action for our City.
Thank you,
Alice Schaffer Smith
Alice
Your vote is your voice: use it or lose it.
From:Stew Plock
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Pull Item #8 from 12/2 Council Consent Calendar
Date:Sunday, December 1, 2024 9:38:53 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Mayor Burt and Council Members, please pull Item #8 from the 12/2 Council
meeting agenda, for further analysis and discussion.
The item would authorize design, EIR and administration work for a new
downtown parking garage. As is often
the case with technology in general these days, transportation technologies that
were seen as in the distantfuture have arrived much sooner than expected, obviating the need for other capitalinvestments once seen as necessary, like big, centralized garages.
That is the case with self driving "autonomous" vehicles (AVs). For example, notonly are Waymo's robotaxis being introduced now on our city streets, but thecompany is already providing 150,000 rides a week in three metro areas. With our
city's council behind wide deployment of AVs (cars or small buses), we could see in
10 years time a drastic reduction of privately owned cars in downtown Palo
Alto...significantly reduced traffic, no need for more parking, easier for shoppers toget downtown without the hassles of finding parking near retail, etc. European cities
are doing it now, through what's referred to as Mobility as a Service (MaaS).
The proposal for another parking garage for downtown was disapproved 4 yearsago. Now there are even more reasons to discuss another similar proposal and to
reject it again...please pull the #8 item for further discussion.
Stew Plock, Channing House senior community resident, and member of ourParking and Transportation Working Group and our CarFree Committee
From:Sonya Pineida
To:Council, City
Subject:Re: resent Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch
as Open Space (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Sunday, December 1, 2024 9:26:47 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members, My name is Sonya Pineida and I am a member of
the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. I am writing to request that the council approvesthe Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve
Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space. Juristac should be protected because this is the sacredplace that our community has held ceremonies since time immemorial. We must protect these
lands for future generations so that we may conduct ceremonies here once again. Thank you for your time and consideration, Sonya Pineida
Sonya Pineida
On Sun, Dec 1, 2024 at 8:46 PM Sonya Pineida > wrote:
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members, My name is Sonya Pineida and I am a member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. I am
writing to request that the council approves the Resolution Supporting the Efforts of theAmah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space. Juristac
should be protected because... Thank you for your time and consideration,
Sonya Pineida
Sonya Pineida
From:Cybele LoVuolo-Bhushan
To:Council, City
Subject:Protecting the Amah Mutsun ancestral land
Date:Sunday, December 1, 2024 9:11:16 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear City Council Members, I an writing to encourage you all to vote against the request for
Santa Clara County to allow a quarry on the ancestral land of the Amah Mutsun tribe. Thisland is sacred to the Amah Mutsun, and it should be conserved as such. The Amah Mutsun
will protect and teach future generations about their culture and provide stewardship of theland. A quarry would only bring more air pollution in our environment. Please vote against the
quarry and for turning this land over to its rightful owners. Thank you, Cybele LoVuolo-Bhushan
From:susan chamberlain
To:Council, City
Subject:in favor of Resolution protecting Amah Mutsun Tribal Bands Sacred Lands at Juristac.
Date:Sunday, December 1, 2024 9:10:32 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear City Council,
I am writing encouraging you to vote in support of the resolution protecting the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band's sacred
lands at Juristac. We owe this to the indigenous people in that area to not desecrate their land by mining there.
thank you
Susan Chamberlain
From:Pat Kinney
To:Council, City
Subject:Please support the Colleagues Memo, #19 on Dec 2 Agenda
Date:Sunday, December 1, 2024 8:49:02 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Esteemed Council Members,
I urge you to support the Colleague's Memo: Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space which in Item #19 on
the Dec. 2 Agenda.
When this passes, Palo Alto will join six other cities in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties who
have passed similar resolutions. The reasons outlined in the Memo itself make it clear why we
should should support our indigenous brothers and sisters in the Bay Area.
Sincerely,
From:Sonya Pineida
To:Council, City
Subject:Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open
Space (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Sunday, December 1, 2024 8:47:05 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
My name is Sonya Pineida and I am a member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. I am writingto request that the council approves the Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun
Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space. Juristac should be protectedbecause...
Thank you for your time and consideration, Sonya Pineida
Sonya Pineida
From:Eric Zapata
To:Council, City
Subject:Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open
Space (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Sunday, December 1, 2024 8:27:56 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
My name is Eric Zapata and I am a member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. I am writing to request that the
council approves the Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve
Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space. Juristac should be protected because...
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Eric Zapata
From:Alice Kaufman
To:Clerk, City
Cc:Council, City; Velasquez, Ingrid; Val Lopez; Valentin Lopez; Victorina Arvelo; Colleen Cabot; m.narasimhan@amahmutsun.org; Jenny Green; Lizabeth Morell
Subject:Re: Process to cede time during public comment
Date:Sunday, December 1, 2024 8:23:27 PM
Attachments:image001.pngimage002.pngimage003.pngimage006.pngimage007.png
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments andclicking on links.
Hi Nicole,
Thanks for your response. Here's the information you specified:
The spokesperson's name is Valentin Lopez, Chair of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. He will be speaking on item 19 (theresolution regarding Juristac), in person.
The people he will be representing are:
Victorina ArveloColleen Cabot (via Zoom)Jenny GreenLizabeth MorellMohini Narasimhan
Please let me know if you need additional information. Thanks for your help!
photo Alice Kaufman (she/her)
Policy and Advocacy Director
Green Foothills | (650) 968-7243 x313 | mobile (650) 269-2248 | greenfoothills.org
Donate to Green Foothills by 12/31 and your gift will be doubled thanks to a 2X matching grant! Donate today.
On Wed, Nov 27, 2024 at 9:04 AM Clerk, City <city.clerk@cityofpaloalto.org> wrote:
Good morning Ms. Kaufman,
Thank you for reaching out. A spokesperson for a group will be allowed additional time if they are representing at least 5
other people (not including themselves). The typical time allotment is 10 minutes, and to the extent practical, the
spokesperson will be called upon ahead of individual speakers. If the Mayor reduces the speaking time for individual
speakers, the total speaking time for a spokesperson will also be reduced as determined by the Mayor.
If you would like to participate in group public comment, the Clerk’s Office asks that you notify us by email
(city.clerk@cityofpaloalto.org) at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. In your email, please include the name of the
spokesperson as well as the names of those that the spokesperson will be representing and the agenda item on which
you’d like to speak. (If you’d like to speak on the Juristac item, this will be item #19). This allows us to prepare for the
meeting by verifying the speakers and adding you to the public comment queue.
Please note, group public comment is allowed for both general public comment (which is for items not on the agenda) and
public comment for agenda items. However, our overall policy for general public comment is that participation must be in
person only. This policy carries over to group public comment as well – the spokesperson and those being represented
must be present at the meeting in person. However, virtual participation (for either the spokesperson and/or those being
represented) is permitted for other items on the agenda.
Best,
Nicole Bissell
Administrative Associate III
Office of the City Clerk
P: 650.329.2630
E: Nicole.Bissell@cityofpaloalto.org
www.cityofpaloalto.org
From: Alice Kaufman <alice@greenfoothills.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2024 6:06 PM
To: Council, City <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>
Subject: Process to cede time during public comment
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachmentsand clicking on links.
Dear City Clerk:
What is the process for speakers to cede their time during public comment to allow another speaker (someone speaking onbehalf of a group) to exceed the allotted time?
Thanks for your help!
photo Alice Kaufman (she/her)
Policy and Advocacy Director
Green Foothills | (650) 968-7243 x313 | mobile (650) 269-2248 | greenfoothills.org
Donate to Green Foothills by 12/31 and your gift will be doubled thanks to a 2X matching grant! Donate today.
From:Juan Perez
To:Council, City
Subject:Re: Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as
Open Space (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Sunday, December 1, 2024 8:20:00 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
My name is Juan Perez and my wife is a member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. I am
writing to request that the council approves the Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space. Juristac is very
important to the Amah Mutsun and many of their ceremonies were conducted on those lands
since time immemorial. As a community, we must do what's right and passing the resolution
will help make sure the right thing is done.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Juan Perez
From:Julisa Lopez
To:Council, City
Subject:Re: Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as
Open Space (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Sunday, December 1, 2024 8:04:52 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
My name is Julisa Lopez and I am a member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. I am writing to
request that the council approves the Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun
Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space. Juristac holds a lot of
spiritual significance to my community and the Sargent Ranch Quarry would permanently
destroy over 400 acres of our sacred site. Juristac is home to our medicine plants, our four
legged and winged relatives and holds generations of stories and ceremonies. Our youth group
was given the opportunity to visit Juristac, for the first time in 100 years, we shared stories
under the elderberry trees and talked about how much this land meant to us. We hope to bring
our children here for future generations. Please approve this resolution to help ensure that
Juristac is protected.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Julisa Lopez
From:Henry Etzkowitz
To:Team JulieforPaloAlto; Aram James; Marty Wasserman; Roberta Ahlquist; Lotus Fong; Brian Good; RebeccaEisenberg; Avroh Shah; Jeanne Fleming; Ellen Fox; Mary Rorty; Palo Post; Gennady Sheyner; Sarah Wright;Braden Cartwright; Office of the Provost; mickie winkler; Charlie Weidanz; Whitney McNair; Shikada, Ed; Council,City; Amalia Tormala; Martha Russell; Jim Hersh; Mark Granovetter; Ellen Granovetter; Sophia Adele Stringer
Subject:Fwd: Walmart, NFL, and Washington Post: Stop advertising on X
Date:Sunday, December 1, 2024 4:08:32 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Just back from keynoting Brazil Marines conference on Responding to “Natural” Disasters
(quote marks added in recognition that apart from asteroid impacts, so called natural disastershave social element, one estimate 7-40%.e.g Rio Grande do Sul Law suit alleges British firm
used flawed construction in building the city’s collapsed levees.
Back home: Sharing In case you haven’t received below Invitation to pushback!
Also, What do you think she hould be the main themes of Neighbors for Environmental andSocial Justice information campaign in parallel with, supporting its law suit against
Musk/Tesla environmental and health degradation through last month’s toxic chemical pourinto Matadero creek?
Best
Henry Author: Corporate Induced Disaster (Humanity and Society, 1980)
HenryEtzkowitz.org
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: "LeeAnn Hall, National Campaign for Justice" <info@juststrategy.org>Date: December 1, 2024 at 12:48:00 PM PSTTo: h.etzko@gmail.comSubject: Walmart, NFL, and Washington Post: Stop advertising on XReply-To: info@juststrategy.org
National Campaign for Justice
Henry,
Elon Musk has turned X (formerly Twitter) into a platform
of hate. Since taking over, Musk has amplified dangerous
rhetoric, removed verification for credible information, and
fostered an environment where hate speech, conspiracy
theories, and disinformation thrive.
Musk’s actions aren’t subtle. He has openly endorsed posts
spreading the antisemitic "Great Replacement Theory," a
cornerstone of white supremacist ideology. Under his
leadership, ads for mainstream brands have appeared next to
neo-Nazi content, prompting companies like Apple, Disney, and
IBM to pull their advertising. Yet Walmart, the NFL, and the
Washington Post still advertise on X and remain silent in
the face of this hate.
They're advertising dollars keep X alive. By continuing to
support Musk’s platform, these companies are complicit in
funding hate speech and disinformation. Musk’s alignment with
MAGA rhetoric and his amplification of harmful accounts make
X indistinguishable from extremist platforms like 4chan or Truth
Social.
Corporate accountability starts here. Tell Walmart, the
NFL, and the Washington Post: Stop advertising on Musk’s
platform of hate now.
SIGN & SEND
The stakes couldn’t be clearer. Under Musk’s leadership, X has
become a megaphone for extremism. From amplifying hate
speech to allowing conspiracy theories to flourish, Musk
has stripped the platform of accountability and turned it
into a breeding ground for harm.
Walmart, the NFL, and the Washington Post should follow the
lead of companies like IBM, NBC Universal and Paramount,
which pulled their ads after a Media Matters report revealed
ads running alongside neo-Nazi content.
Remaining silent sends the wrong message: that profit matters
more than integrity and that brands are willing to fund platforms
spreading hate. Funding platforms like X enable harm to
marginalized communities, disinformation, and the erosion of
truth. By pulling their ads, Walmart, the NFL, and the
Washington Post can take a stand for decency and
accountability.
Companies must act responsibly and refuse to fund
platforms that amplify hate and harm. Let’s make sure they
hear us loud and clear. Sign and send your message now!
Thank you for standing up for accountability and integrity.
- LeeAnn
LeeAnn Hall
Director, National Campaign for Justice
SUPPORT OUR WORK
PAID FOR AND AUTHORIZED BY JUST STRATEGY, JUSTSTRATEGY.ORG.
Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop
receiving emails from National Campaign for Justice, please click here.
From:Aram James
To:Perron, Zachary; Binder, Andrew; Sheriff Transparency; Robert. Jonsen; Sean Allen; Figueroa, Eric; Foley,Michael; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Julie Lythcott-Haims; Shikada, Ed; Council, City; Wagner, April;Raymond Goins; Enberg, Nicholas; Lotus Fong; kenneth.Binder@shf.sccgov.org; Supervisor Susan Ellenberg;Braden Cartwright; Dave Price; EPA Today; Diana Diamond; Barberini, Christopher
Subject:Detective accused of giving Nazi-like salute resigns from South Pasadena Police Department
Date:Sunday, December 1, 2024 12:42:06 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Detective accused of giving Nazi-like salute resigns from South Pasadena Police Department
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-11-30/detective-accused-of-giving-nazi-like-salute-resigns-from-south-pasadena-police-department
From:MakeX Palo Alto (MakeX)
To:Council, City
Subject:Request For Comment During 12/2/2024 Cubberley Community Center Meeting
Date:Saturday, November 30, 2024 9:51:44 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Hi!
We hope this finds you well. We are MakeX, a teen-run, free access makerspace running
from Building V2 of Cubberley Community Center. At the upcoming December 2nd
meeting, we'd really appreciate the opportunity to present our space to the community and
board officials. We are hoping to express our gratitude to board officials for the space and
resources we’ve been given access to for the past ten years. We would also like to share
some input for the anticipated Cubberley renovation, if possible. We attached our comment
outline below, and we would appreciate it if we could get about three to five minutes to
share. However, we understand that meeting time is valuable and we are grateful for any
amount of time you can give us. We were also wondering if it is possible to have multiple
people speak during the time period?
Thank you so much for your time.
Best regards,
The MakeX Team
Remarks:
What is MakeX?
We are a teen run makerspace here at cubberley. The main barrier to those interested in
building and making projects is often the cost of tools and knowledge. Here at MakeX, we
break that barrier by being free access, while also exposing people from all backgrounds
and ages to the joy of making. We open on Fridays and Saturdays, and we receive about
30 visitors each day, ranging from young kids, to high schoolers, and retired individuals. We
also run regular workshops with the Bay Area community, leading various projects and
introducing the concept of STEM- based learning to more people. Since October, we’ve run
3 outreach events, even hosting students from South Korea.
We would like to start off by expressing our appreciation for everyone at Cubberley and the
City of Palo Alto. We understand how valuable building space is and we are very grateful
and feel very fortunate that we have been given access to this space here at Cubberley.
We are approaching our 10 year anniversary in this space, which we feel is a huge
milestone. The resources and space that you’ve given us have allowed us to bring the joy
of making to more people, and these resources provide an amazing leadership experience
for local high schoolers like us.
Like we said earlier, we host about 30 people each day in building V2. Our current building
has allowed us to separate our tools into four rooms, giving our visitors a more streamlined
making experience. The first is the printer room. Here, people are able to learn about and
use our 3D printers, create t-shirts and stickers using the vinyl cutter, print out posters using
our large format printer, and use our embroidery machine.
The second is electrical. This is where the brains of many projects come to life, with visitors
working on projects such as drones, computers, and control boards. This room features
tools such as a soldering station, electronics safety equipment, and many electrical
components. Currently this room only is large enough for a single individual at a time.
Next is our main room. This is where visitors utilyze the open space and large workbenches
to layout and put together all the pieces of their project. In this room, you can also find art
supplies used by individuals to put the final touches on their projects, or simply work on art
pieces. We are also excited about a CNC router that is coming soon to this room.
Finally we have our woodshop. Here, visitors come in and use our many machines and
tools to woodwork, such as one of our recent visitors making his own chair. This room
features safety equipment, a band saw, a drill press, a router, a chop saw, a planer, and
many more woodworking tools.
Through the anticipated cubberley renovation plans, we would greatly appreciate access to
an expanded space.
There are a few reasons why expanding the space would be beneficial to the broader
community.
First, we would be able to utilize more tools with a larger space, and this would allow for
more reach in the community, as well as increasing safety for our areas that use large tools
and materials. For example, more space in the woodshop would make it safer and increase
the amount of people that can work in it at once.
Second, we would be able to have more storage space for people’s projects and for backup
supplies. For example, we host Gunn’s rocketry team, and our storage space is
increasingly harder to access.
Finally, more space would allow us to increase the number of visitors we can
accommodate, bringing the joy of making to more people.
We completely understand that it is a big project, and we are happy and grateful for any
update that may occur.
Again, we really appreciate everything we have been given, and we can’t wait to see the
updates that will come with this new project. Thank you so much for your time and
attention!
If you would like to visit our website for more information, we have linked it here.
From:linaswisher@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Lina Swisher
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Saturday, November 30, 2024 4:14:08 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Lina Swisher
From:Catherine CohenTo:Council, CitySubject:Palo Alto’s very dated Christmas treeDate:Saturday, November 30, 2024 2:24:36 PMAttachments:Video.mov
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links.
Hello City Council
I’m writing to you all as I think it’s time Palo Alto invested in a new City Christmas tree. The one we gave is out date and actually an embarrassment compared to other cities.
I have attached for example a tree in Alameda that isn’t even their city tree but one in their shopping center. It’s simple and elegant and something we should think about.
Palo Alto downtown as we know is struggling to keep up with other cities.
One of the wealthiest cities yet our tree looks like it’s from the 80’s.
Please consider an upgrade. I know for this year it’s too late, but definitely should be a thought for the future.
Many thanks Catherine Cohen A Palo Alto native and resident.
Sent from my iPhonePlease excuse typos
From:Sally James
To:Council, City
Subject:The Califa Library Group
Date:Friday, November 29, 2024 10:01:11 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Hi Cityofpaloalto,
I’m reaching out to check if you’d like to consider acquiring the Registrants/ Member List.
• The Califa Library Group ( San Francisco, CA , USA , 2024 )
• 1,000+ Contacts
If this is of interest to you, I’d be glad to give you more information and pricing.
Just let me know.
Regards,
Sally– Business Executive
From:Aram JamesTo:Ed Lauing; Keith Reckdahl; Supervisor Susan Ellenberg; h.etzko@gmail.com; Cribbs, Anne; Templeton, Cari; Human Relations Commission; Council, City; Perron, Zachary; Barberini,Christopher; Binder, Andrew; kenneth.Binder@shf.sccgov.org; Robert. JonsenSubject:https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/xqJzCA8LnDCNl2wjcGfDHG3mu0?domain=m.facebook.comDate:Friday, November 29, 2024 7:43:04 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking onlinks.
Jews Say No To Genocide!
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02ofUayBitNT6tP8t6uNTn5zTCmUeraToA6EEgUQN8VRz1nGVxERFvtEH66ja5koJul&ide=593194226&mibextid=qC1gEa
From:cedric.dlb@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Cedric de La Beaujardiere
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Friday, November 29, 2024 1:17:07 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Cedric de La Beaujardiere
From:Pat Marriott
To:Council, City
Subject:University Ave. vs. California Ave.
Date:Friday, November 29, 2024 12:01:06 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Council Members,
I read the news that you will spend $43M to spruce up University Ave. I don't know if that
includes the consultant fees or the $2.4M to the architect who will design a garage. In any
case, that's an astounding number.
Meanwhile, when I drive on El Camino past California Avenue, it still looks like the entrance
to a blighted shopping center due to be razed.
You just gave your city manager a 6% raise, so I guess you're not holding him accountable
for leaving Cal Ave to disintegrate over many years, even after spending money on
consultants for a plan to revitalize that once thriving shopping district.
I can't help wondering if the same slow slog will be followed on University.
All talk and no action. The only ones profiting are the high-priced consultants. It's past time
for you to hold yourselves accountable and get things done!
Pat Marriott
From:gerrygras@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Gerald Gras
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Thursday, November 28, 2024 12:05:19 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Gerald Gras
From:Aram James
To:Bill Newell; Raymond Goins; Doug Minkler; Supervisor Susan Ellenberg; h.etzko@gmail.com; Roberta Ahlquist;Rowena Chiu; josh@joshsalcman.com; Julie Lythcott-Haims; Veenker, Vicki; Ed Lauing; Burt, Patrick; KalomaSmith; Keith Reckdahl; George for Palo Alto; Council, City; Human Relations Commission; Salem Ajluni; JackAjluni; Shikada, Ed; Binder, Andrew; kenneth.Binder@shf.sccgov.org; Sean Allen; Reifschneider, James;Barberini, Christopher; chuck jagoda; Vara Ramakrishnan; Perron, Zachary; citycouncil@mountainview.gov; GRP-City Council; Emily Mibach; Braden Cartwright; Dave Price; Gardener, Liz; Lotus Fong; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto;Penni Wilson; dennis burns; DuJuan Green; Tom DuBois; Jeff Moore; Holman, Karen (external);jsylva@da.sccgov.org; Jay Boyarsky; Jeff Rosen; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Hayden; Palo Alto Free Press; Templeton, Cari;Cait James; Tim James; Marina Lopez; Supervisor Otto Lee; Summa, Doria
Subject:The ‘Ceasefire’ in Lebanon is a Ticking Bomb
Date:Wednesday, November 27, 2024 4:26:04 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
https://open.substack.com/pub/dropsitenews/p/the-ceasefire-in-lebanon-is-a-ticking?
r=fjmzt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
From:Humphrey, Sonia
Cc:LAFCO
Subject:LAFCO Agenda Packet Now Available - 12/4/24 Meeting
Date:Wednesday, November 27, 2024 3:22:50 PM
Attachments:December 2024 Meeting Agenda Packet.pdf
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
The agenda packet for the December 4, 2024 LAFCO Meeting is now available on the LAFCO website:
https://santaclaralafco.org/meetings/commission-meeting-2024-12-04-211500.
Best regards,
Sonia Humphrey, LAFCO Clerk
LAFCO of Santa Clara County
777 North First Street, Suite 410
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 993-4709
From:Rice, Danille
To:Council, City; Shikada, Ed
Cc:Executive Leadership Team; Clerk, City; City Mgr
Subject:City Council Bundle - November 27
Date:Wednesday, November 27, 2024 2:30:17 PM
Attachments:image002.pngFW Bathrooms at Eleanor Pardee park.msgRE Bike Parking for Apartments..msgFW downtown library used as a homeless shelter.msgPark and Page Mill.msgRE Comment on Nov 4 meeting.msgimage001.pngRe_ email.msgRE_ This wall may soon fall into Oregon Expressway underpass.msg
Dear Mayor and Council Members,
On behalf of City Manager Ed Shikada, please see the attached staff responses to emails received in
the City.Council inbox through November 27th.
Thank you,
Danille
Danille RiceAdministrative AssistantCity Manager’s Office|Human Resources|Transportation(650) 329-2229 | danille.rice@cityofpaloalto.orgwww.cityofpaloalto.org
From:Abdi Soltani
To:Council, City
Cc:Alice Kaufman; vjltestingcenter@aol.com
Subject:ACLUNC Support Juristac Resolution - Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting
Date:Wednesday, November 27, 2024 12:18:04 PM
Attachments:2024.11.27 ACLUNC Letter to Palo Alto City Council re Juristac Resolution.pdf
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Attached please find a letter from the ACLU Foundation of Northern California to express
support of Council Member Lydia Kou and Mayor Stone’s Colleague’s Memo, and to ask you to
approve the Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve
Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space.
Many thanks,
Abdi Soltani
Executive Director
ACLU Foundation of Northern California
Transmitted via Electronic Mail
November 27, 2024
Palo Alto City Council
250 Hamilton Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Via email: city.council@CityofPaloAlto.org
Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Re: Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council Meeting
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California (“ACLU NorCal”) submits
this letter to express support of Council Member Lydia Kou and Mayor Stone’s Colleague’s
Memo, and ask you to approve the Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun
Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space.1
The ACLU supports and defends the rights of all Native American peoples to retain their specific
and unique cultural and religious traditions and practices. The future existence of Tribes across
our country depends ultimately upon secure and permanent land bases, and the rights of self-
determination necessary to preserve traditional customs and ways of life.2 Self-determination,
religious freedom, and cultural survival are intimately tied to protection of sacred sites. There can
be no religious freedom if the foundation for the practice of the religion in question has been
destroyed.
The future survival and vitality of the ancestral people of these lands, represented by the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band, is largely tied to preservation of the sanctity of Juristac. To destroy this site
would be to continue the long and ugly history of the nation and the state of California, which was
founded on the forced removal, enslavement, and genocide of Indigenous peoples.3 As our state’s
1 Hereinafter referred to as “Juristac Resolution”
2 ACLU Bd. Pol’y 313; ACLU Found. N. Cal. Bd. Res. No. 2021-06-24A, “In Support of
Nationwide ACLU Indigenous Justice Initiatives,” available at:
https://www.aclunc.org/sites/default/files/FOUNDATION%20RESOLUTION%20supporting%2
0indigenous%20justice%20FINAL%2006.24.21.pdf.
3 See ACLU N. Cal., “Gold Chains: The Hidden History of Slavery in California,” available at
https://www.aclunc.org/sites/goldchains/index.html (last accessed Oct. 15, 2021); see also
Santa Clara City Council
October 15, 2021
Page 2
first Governor, Peter Burnett, put it bluntly in his 1851 address to the Legislature: “[t]hat a war of
extermination will continue to be waged between the two races until the Indian race becomes
extinct must be expected.”
California’s treatment of its original inhabitants was shockingly violent. After the brutal Mission
system enslaved and took the lives of thousands of Indigenous peoples, the state sanctioned and
funded massacres against Indigenous peoples—authorizing $1.29 million in 1850’s dollars to pay
for the militia campaigns that amounted to genocide.4 In addition to this brutality, California
Indians were subjected to repugnant laws and policies. For example, the 1850 “Act for the
Governance and Protection of Indians” made the enslavement of California Indians legal and
fueled the kidnapping and trafficking of Native American children into indentured servitude.
Furthermore, the State of California and the U.S. federal government destroyed sacred places and
prohibited traditional and cultural practices by law.
Native peoples—who stood in the way of the rich bounty that California’s diverse natural beauty
signified for newcomers—were forcefully removed from and dispossessed of their ancestral lands.
Through treaties and other agreements, the United States federal government acknowledged Indian
Tribes’ existence as sovereign nations predating the existence of the US as a nation, and entered
into government-to-government relationships with Tribes. In exchange for vast swaths of ancestral
territory - nearly the entire country - and often upon forced removal to distant, barren lands, the
federal government assumed a trust relationship with the Tribes, legally binding itself to provide
for the education, health, and well-being of Native American peoples; to hold tribal land in trust
and to respect self-determination; and to provide federal protections for sacred and burial sites and
rights to hunt, fish and gather. But many tribes were either never recognized by the United States
or had their federal relationship terminated. In California, this has often been a direct result of
California elites fighting to disposes Native peoples of their land and heritage and, in effect, erase
Native peoples from our state. Without federal recognition, tribes still exist, but without the rights
and protections afforded under federal law. Many tribes are today fighting to gain or regain federal
recognition—including the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band.
That the Amah Mutsun do not have federal recognition—and the tribal sovereignty, government-
to-government relationship, and protection of important and hard-won federal laws—is not an
accident. We must not use legacy of stolen land and broken treaties as a reason to deny the
principles of freedom, equality and justice enumerated in our Constitution to all people today. A
mine at Juristac would be only another shameful stain on our state’s history.
Benjamin Madley, An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian
Catastrophe 1846–1873 (Yale University Press, 2016).
4 See Brendan C. Lindsay, Murder State: California’s Native American Genocide, 1846–1873 346
(University of Nebraska Press 2015); see also Madley, supra n.2. For a non-comprehensive list of
genocide incidents in the San Joaquin Valley, see STATE OF CAL. NATIVE AM. HERITAGE COMM’N,
Timeline of Genocide Incidents in the San Joaquin Valley Region, available at:
http://nahc.ca.gov/cp/timelines/san-joaquin/ (last accessed Apr. 9, 2021).
Santa Clara City Council
October 15, 2021
Page 3
ACLU NorCal stands with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band in their efforts to protect their traditional
lands and urges the City of Palo Alto City Council to approve the Juristac Resolution at its
December 2 meeting.
Sincerely,
Abdi Soltani
Executive Director
ACLU Foundation of Northern California
asoltani@aclunc.org
CC: Alice Kaufman
alice@greenfoothills.org
Chairman Valentin Lopez
vjltestingcenter@aol.com
From:enidpearson1@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Emid Prarson
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Wednesday, November 27, 2024 11:16:51 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Emid Prarson
From:matt@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Matt Schlegel
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Wednesday, November 27, 2024 10:49:21 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Matt Schlegel
From:alt.caseyc@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Casey Cameron
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Wednesday, November 27, 2024 10:43:45 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Casey Cameron
From:Clerk, City
To:Alice Kaufman
Cc:Council, City; Velasquez, Ingrid
Subject:RE: Process to cede time during public comment
Date:Wednesday, November 27, 2024 9:04:45 AM
Attachments:image001.pngimage002.pngimage003.pngimage006.pngimage007.png
Good morning Ms. Kaufman,
Thank you for reaching out. A spokesperson for a group will be allowed additional time if they are representing at least 5
other people (not including themselves). The typical time allotment is 10 minutes, and to the extent practical, the
spokesperson will be called upon ahead of individual speakers. If the Mayor reduces the speaking time for individual
speakers, the total speaking time for a spokesperson will also be reduced as determined by the Mayor.
If you would like to participate in group public comment, the Clerk’s Office asks that you notify us by email
(city.clerk@cityofpaloalto.org) at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. In your email, please include the name of the
spokesperson as well as the names of those that the spokesperson will be representing and the agenda item on which
you’d like to speak. (If you’d like to speak on the Juristac item, this will be item #19). This allows us to prepare for the
meeting by verifying the speakers and adding you to the public comment queue.
Please note, group public comment is allowed for both general public comment (which is for items not on the agenda) and
public comment for agenda items. However, our overall policy for general public comment is that participation must be in
person only. This policy carries over to group public comment as well – the spokesperson and those being represented
must be present at the meeting in person. However, virtual participation (for either the spokesperson and/or those being
represented) is permitted for other items on the agenda.
Best,
Nicole Bissell
Administrative Associate III
Office of the City Clerk
P: 650.329.2630
E: Nicole.Bissell@cityofpaloalto.org
www.cityofpaloalto.org
From: Alice Kaufman <alice@greenfoothills.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2024 6:06 PM
To: Council, City <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>
Subject: Process to cede time during public comment
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachmentsand clicking on links.
Dear City Clerk:
What is the process for speakers to cede their time during public comment to allow another speaker (someone
speaking on behalf of a group) to exceed the allotted time?
Thanks for your help!
photo Alice Kaufman (she/her)
Policy and Advocacy Director
Green Foothills | (650) 968-7243 x313 | mobile (650) 269-2248 | greenfoothills.org
Donate to Green Foothills by 12/31 and your gift will be doubled thanks to a 2X matching grant! Donate today.
From:lljwinslow@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Laurie Winslow
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Wednesday, November 27, 2024 12:00:37 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Laurie Winslow
From:shannonrmcentee@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Shannon McEntee
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 9:58:50 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Shannon McEntee
From:barbara@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Barbara Bowden
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 9:50:52 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. Open pit mining woulld be an insult to the
indigenous peoples, and a visual insult to all who enjoy green, open spaces. Do your part i preserving and
protecting it.
Sincerely,
Barbara Bowden
From:sk.serena.chen@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Serena Chen
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 9:17:57 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Serena Chen
From:virgviolin@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Virginia Smedberg
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 8:32:17 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
First, we don't have that much groundwater to spare (to waste) on such a project). Second, we humans have to stop
stealing land from the other denizens of this planet - animal and plant kingdoms. Third, we need to respect the
sacredness of the area.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Virginia Smedberg
From:Michelle MacKenzie
To:Council, City
Subject:Sargent Ranch Quarry Project
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 6:58:18 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear City Council
I write in support of Item 19 on the agenda for December 2nd. This is a resolution in
support of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, which seeks to do the following: 1) to
preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as open space in perpetuity and to regain access to
their cultural and spiritual sites at Juristac; 2) retain the name of the open space as
Juristac; and 3) urge the County of Santa Clara to deny approval of permits for the
proposed Sargent Ranch Quarry Project.
Thank you for your consideration.
Michelle MacKenzie
From:Alice Kaufman
To:Council, City
Subject:Process to cede time during public comment
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 6:08:07 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachmentsand clicking on links.
Dear City Clerk:
What is the process for speakers to cede their time during public comment to allow another speaker (someone speaking onbehalf of a group) to exceed the allotted time?
Thanks for your help!
photo Alice Kaufman (she/her)
Policy and Advocacy Director
Green Foothills | (650) 968-7243 x313 | mobile (650) 269-2248 | greenfoothills.org
Donate to Green Foothills by 12/31 and your gift will be doubled thanks to a 2X matching grant! Donate today.
From:Alice Kaufman
To:Council, City
Subject:Please substitute for previous letter re Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 5:43:54 PM
Attachments:Joint letter re Juristac.pdf
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachmentsand clicking on links.
To the City Clerk:
Attached please find an updated version of our previous joint letter signed by multiple nonprofits and community groups.This updated version contains the names of additional groups that have signed on to the letter; the letter is otherwiseunchanged.
The following organizations have now signed on to this letter:
Friends of JuristacBay Area Native Allies Project (BANAP)South Bay Indigenous Solidarity
Please substitute the attached letter in place of the previous version. If you have any questions, please feel free to contactme. Thank you for your assistance.
photo Alice Kaufman (she/her)
Policy and Advocacy Director
Green Foothills | (650) 968-7243 x313 | mobile (650) 269-2248 | greenfoothills.org
Donate to Green Foothills by 12/31 and your gift will be doubled thanks to a 2X matching grant! Donate today.
November 26,2024
Palo Alto City Council
250 Hamilton Avenue
Palo Alto,CA 94301
Via email:city.council@CityofPaloAlto.org
Re:Agenda Item 19,12/2/24 City Council meeting
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
The undersigned organizations respectfully submit these comments in support of Council
Member Lydia Kou and Mayor Stone’s Colleague’s Memo,and ask you to approve the
Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve
Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space.We are nonprofit and community groups joining
together to support the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band in this effort,and we represent thousands of
members in the region,including in the City of Palo Alto.
Similar resolutions have already been approved by the City Councils of Gilroy,Morgan Hill,
Mountain View,Santa Clara,Santa Cruz,and Sunnyvale,and by the County of Santa Cruz.In
addition,more than 25,000 people have signed a petition in support of protecting Juristac,and
over 100 current and former elected officials,community leaders,and nonprofit organizations
have signed on to the Statement of Opposition to Sargent Ranch Quarry.We respectfully
request that the City Council take action to pass this resolution to support the Amah Mutsun
Tribal Band in the protection of this culturally important landscape,and to protect the critical
wildlife linkage and habitat at Juristac.
Juristac:Sacred to the Indigenous Community,Critical for Wildlife Movement
Juristac lies at the heart of the ancestral lands of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band.The portion of
Juristac known today as “Sargent Ranch”encompasses 5,200 acres located at the very
southern border of Santa Clara County,southwest of Gilroy (see image below).For thousands
of years,the Amah Mutsun people held sacred ceremonies at this location --the home of a
powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui.Juristac translates to “Place of the Big Head,”and the
Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took place
here over the centuries.Juristac was a gathering place for many tribes in the area,and its
spiritual and cultural significance to the Indigenous community is unique in our region.(For more
details on the history and the cultural and spiritual significance of Juristac,please visit
ProtectJuristac.org.)
Image created by GreenInfo Network.
In addition,Juristac is a critical wildlife corridor that links the Santa Cruz Mountains to the
Gabilan Range to the south and the Diablo Range to the east.This area has been identified as
an important migration route in all habitat connectivity assessments for the region since the year
2000.1 The Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency recognizes several landscape linkages running
1 See,e.g.,Diamond,TD,A Sandoval,NP Sharma,ME Vernon,PD Cowan,AP Clevenger,and
SC Lockwood.2022.Enhancing ecological connectivity and safe passage for wildlife on
highways between the southern Santa Cruz Mountains,Gabilan Range,and Diablo Range in
California.Pathways for Wildlife and Peninsula Open Space Trust;Penrod K,Hunter R,
Merrifield M (2001)Missing Linkages:Restoring Connectivity to the California Landscape.South
Coast Wildlands Project,Los Angeles;Spencer,W.D.,Beier,P.,Penrod,K.,Parisi,M.,Pettler,
A.,Winters,K.,Strittholt,J.,Paulman,C.and Rustigian-Romsos,H.,2010,California Essential
Habitat Connectivity Project:A strategy for conserving a connected California.Report prepared
through the Sargent Ranch property (linkages 12,18,19 and 20 on this map).The Santa Clara
Valley Open Space Authority considers the “Sargent Hills”area to be one of its top 10
conservation focus areas (number 8 on this map).
The Threat to Juristac:An Open-Pit Sand and Gravel Mine
The current owner of the property,the San Diego-based Debt Acquisition Company of America,
has submitted an application to the County of Santa Clara for a sand and gravel open-pit mining
operation on 400 acres of pristine hillside grassland at Juristac.According to the Draft
Environmental Impact Report (DEIR),the Sargent Ranch Quarry would operate for 30 years,
include three pits hundreds of feet deep,and pump about 86,000 gallons of groundwater per
day for quarry operations.The quarry would permanently alter the Juristac landscape,turning
hillsides into deep pits and scarring the landscape with truck haul roads,conveyor belts,and a
14-acre processing plant.Further information about the quarry proposal can be found on Santa
Clara County’s webpage about the Sargent Ranch Quarry project.
Over 10,000 public comments were submitted to the County in response to the DEIR.Of these,
the vast majority (99.9%)strongly opposed the mine and urged the County to deny the project.
The County is currently in the process of reviewing those 10,000+comments in preparation for
releasing the final EIR.According to the County’s best estimate,the Sargent Ranch Quarry
project may come to a vote before the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors by mid
to late 2025.
The Sargent Ranch Mine Would Destroy the Sacred Indigenous Landscape of Juristac
As part of the DEIR process,the County commissioned an ethnographic study of the Sargent
Ranch project area.That study documented known historic resources,including human burials
dating from thousands of years ago,and determined that there is a high likelihood of
currently-unknown buried prehistoric cultural sites very near to the processing plant and other
active areas of the quarry.In addition,the DEIR identified the entire Juristac landscape,
including the entire quarry area,as a cultural resource to be protected.The DEIR found that
construction and operation of the Sargent Ranch Quarry project would result in “permanent and
irreversible alterations to the physical landscape of the JTCL [Juristac Tribal Cultural
Landscape].These alterations would significantly diminish the emotional and spiritual
associations held by the Tribe to this cultural landscape through the destruction of the sacred
and spiritual qualities that qualify the JTCL as a TCR [Tribal Cultural Resource].”DEIR,p.
for California Department of Transportation and California Department of Fish and Game;Bay
Area Open Space Council 2011,The Conservation Lands Network:San Francisco Bay Area
Upland Habitat Goals Project Report,Berkeley,CA;Penrod,K.,Garding,P.E.,Paulman,C.,
Beier,P.,Weiss,S.,Schaefer,N.,Branciforte,R.and Gaffney,K.,2013,Critical Linkages:Bay
Area &Beyond.Produced by Science &Collaboration for Connected Wildlands,Fair Oaks,CA
[www.scwildlands.org],in collaboration with the Bay Area Open Space Council’s Conservation
Lands Network [www.BayAreaLands.org].
3.5-42.There is no way to mitigate these permanent and irreversible impacts to the Juristac
landscape as a whole,as well as to known cultural,historic and paleontological sites.
The Sargent Ranch Mine Would Destroy Juristac’s Biodiversity,Wildlife Corridors,and
Watershed
As highlighted in Mayor Stone’s and Council Member Kou’s Colleague’s Memo,Juristac
contains essential foraging habitat for the endangered California Condor,as well as prime
habitat for other at-risk species.Threatened California red-legged frogs live and breed in
Sargent Creek,which flows directly adjacent to two of the mining pits.The streams and ponds of
Juristac are habitat for threatened California tiger salamanders and western pond turtles,and
steelhead trout have been observed in Tar Creek on the Juristac site.Golden eagles have been
observed foraging on the hillsides,and burrowing owls have been observed in the
grasslands.Thus,Juristac is rich in biodiversity and critical habitat for a wide variety of species,
including threatened and endangered species.
The ecological impact of the proposed Sargent Ranch sand and gravel mine on Juristac would
be especially severe for species such as mountain lions,which depend on the ability to migrate
through this site for healthy population dynamics.Heavy industry such as mining causes
disruption to animal movement due not only to the disturbed footprint of the project but also due
to the daily noise and heavy vehicle activity,which can drive away sensitive wildlife species and
prevent them from utilizing their usual migration routes.In this case,the proposed footprint of
the mining operation lies directly across the main migration route for animals out of the Santa
Cruz Mountains.Highway 101 is a significant barrier for wildlife movement,and there are only a
few undercrossings beneath the highway where animals can travel.The DEIR found that the
quarry would have a significant and unavoidable impact on wildlife movement.
The Sargent Ranch Quarry could also severely impact the local watershed.According to the
DEIR,the quarry pits would excavate the hillsides on both sides of Sargent Creek.This creek is
a tributary to the Pajaro River,which is already heavily impacted from runoff and illegal
dumping.The Sargent Creek watershed encompasses over 1200 acres and is estimated to
provide hundreds of acre-feet of groundwater recharge and runoff.If the pits excavate below the
water table,the integrity of the Sargent Creek watershed would be affected and its ability to
recharge groundwater significantly impaired.Sargent Creek supports a rare stream-dwelling
population of California red-legged frogs,a federally listed threatened species,which could be
significantly impacted by the disruption,increased sediment,and other impacts to the creek and
the watershed.
Please Join Us To Support Protecting Juristac
By approving the resolution,the City of Palo Alto will join the cities of Gilroy,Morgan Hill,
Mountain View,Santa Clara,Santa Cruz,and Sunnyvale,and by the County of Santa Cruz,in
showing public support for protecting Juristac.More than 25,000 people have already signed a
petition in support of protecting Juristac,and over 100 current and former elected officials,
community leaders,and nonprofit organizations have signed on to the Statement of Opposition
to Sargent Ranch Quarry.We urge the Council to join with us to demonstrate to the County
Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors that the leaders and communities of Santa
Clara County are standing with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band in opposition to the Sargent
Ranch Quarry and in support of protecting Juristac.
Thank you for your consideration of these comments.
Sincerely,
Alice Kaufman
Policy and Advocacy Director
Green Foothills
Athena Hernandez
General Counsel
Amah Mutsun Land Trust
Shani Kleinhaus
Environmental Advocate
Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance
Mike Ferreira
Chapter Chair
Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter
Victorina Arvelo
South Bay Resilience Manager
Greenbelt Alliance
Greg Cotten
Founding Member
Friends of Juristac
Maria Daehler
Bay Area Native Allies Project (BANAP)
Karah Fisher
Conservation Advocacy &Outreach Senior Coordinator
California Native Plant Society
Judy Fenerty
Conservation Chair
California Native Plant Society,Santa Clara Valley Chapter
Emma Hartung along with SURJ Coordinating Committee
Facilitator,SURJ SCC's campaign to Protect Juristac
Showing Up for Racial Justice Santa Clara County
Kristi Iverson
Steering Committee,Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice
Action Council Chair,Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto
Colleen Cabot
South Bay Indigenous Solidarity
From:priag@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Pria Graves
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 5:23:53 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
Finally, during the County hearings on this proposal, the "experts" claimed that despite the beauty of the area, no
one really looks at it. They claimed that everyone is just busy driving past. Well, not all cars are just one solo
driver and there are also passenger trains that run by. Thousands of riders on these trains have the opportunity of
enjoying the wonderful scenery as I have. The claim that this has no scenic impact is simply a lie and I resent it
enormously.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this fabulously beautiful area and critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Pria Graves
From:lawrencegarwin@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Lawrence Garwin
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 4:46:56 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Lawrence Garwin
From:rutledgesteve@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Julie Beer
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 3:43:06 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Julie Beer
From:Winter Dellenbach
To:Council, City
Subject:RE: City Council item - Juristac Resolution
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 1:50:59 PM
Dear Council members -
Please approve the Juristac Resolution.
The old saw, “Save it or lose it” applies here.
To lose this open space to gravel mining is a waste and not good stewardship.
To lose habitat supporting endangered species deserves our City’s outspoken opposition.
To ignore the significance of this land to the Amah Mutsun is to erode a culture and heritage.
Winter Dellenbach
Palo Alto
From:jameseggers@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of James Eggers
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 12:49:39 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
What makes Santa Clara County special, even unique, is not our buildings and businesses, it is our people and our
nature.
We must give respect and support to the first peoples who understand and continue to care for the land.
We must also give respect to the people who are here now and the natural environment that is essential for their
health: physical, mental, emotional, familial and social, but also vocational, academic, and economic.
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
James Eggers
From:ncmartin@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Nancy Martin
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 10:25:33 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Nancy Martin
From:howard@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Howard Cohen
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 10:12:17 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Howard Cohen
From:a_m_mason@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Anne Mason
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 9:48:41 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Anne Mason
From:mulvey@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of trish mulvey
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 9:36:27 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
trish mulvey
From:carrie@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Carrie Petersen
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 9:22:15 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Carrie Petersen
From:ari.turrentine@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Ari Turrentine
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 9:21:28 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Ari Turrentine
From:emilyksharp1@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Emily Sharp
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 8:50:14 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Emily Sharp
From:dianemccoy10@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Diane McCoy
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 8:45:10 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Diane McCoy
From:lindaskeff@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Linda Skeff
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 8:42:12 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Linda Skeff
From:melanie@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Melanie Cross
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 8:21:58 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Melanie Cross
From:shalomnature@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Paul Hammes
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 8:16:00 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Paul Hammes
From:graceannj@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Graceann Johnson
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 7:19:50 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Graceann Johnson
From:ngkrop@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Nancy Krop
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 7:19:27 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou.
Palo Alto, as an environmental leader, should join the other county cities supporting this resolution. We also pride
ourselves as an inclusive community, honoring different cultural traditions as those threatened here.
Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400
acres of habitat, literally scooping out the hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000
gallons of groundwater would be pumped each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of
truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Nancy Krop
From:magdalenac@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Magdalena Cabrera
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 7:03:38 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Magdalena Cabrera
From:flavor-hurry-0u@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Sandy Songy
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 6:58:02 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please pay attention to this opportunity to block a sand and gravel plant from operating in sacred indigenous space
and an important wildlife corridor.
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution! As a resident of Palo Alto, I appreciate your attention to this important issue.
Sincerely,
Sandy Songy
From:virginia@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Virginia Van Kuran
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 6:57:57 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Virginia Van Kuran
From:joanna.e.holmes@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Joanna Holmes
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 6:55:47 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Joanna Holmes
From:jessica@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Jessica Wohlander
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 6:52:28 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Jessica Wohlander
From:barbjmo123@everyactioncustom.com on behalf of Barbara Moran
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Approve Juristac Resolution (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting)
Date:Tuesday, November 26, 2024 6:44:44 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking
on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Please approve the “Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent
Ranch as Open Space,” from Mayor Stone and Council Member Kou. Juristac is threatened by the Sargent Ranch
Quarry, an open-pit sand and gravel mine that would destroy over 400 acres of habitat, literally scooping out the
hillsides to create 3 open quarry pits hundreds of feet deep. About 86,000 gallons of groundwater would be pumped
each day for mining operations, and the mine would generate hundreds of truck trips per day.
Juristac is the most sacred site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who held ceremonies there for thousands of years.
For Mutsun people, Juristac is the home of a powerful spiritual being known as Kuksui. Juristac translates to “place
of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with Kuksui and other healing and renewal ceremonies took
place in the area for centuries, often attended by neighboring tribal groups.
Juristac is also uniquely important for wildlife and biodiversity. These hillsides and streams are home to multiple at-
risk species, including California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Burrowing Owl, and steelhead trout.
Juristac is also a critically important wildlife corridor. The biological review conducted on the proposed quarry
stated that this site may be one of the most important areas for wildlife movement on the entire Central Coast.
Mountain lions, American badgers, bobcats, coyotes, and other animals rely on the movement pathways through
Juristac – pathways that the Sargent Ranch Quarry would block or seriously impact.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale, and the County of Santa
Cruz, have all passed similar resolutions. This is Palo Alto’s opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Amah
Mutsun Tribal Band and their efforts to protect their most sacred landscape, as well as to show support for the
protection of this critical wildlife linkage.
Please approve the Juristac resolution!
Sincerely,
Barbara Moran
From:Aram James
To:Bill Newell; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Sean Allen; Raymond Goins; Jeff Moore; Council, City; ladoriscordell; Stump, Molly; Dave Price; Emily Mibach; Braden Cartwright; city.council@cityofpaloalto.com
Subject:EXCLUSIVE: San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus faces false info from her own department, Board of
Supervisors | abc7news.com
Date:Monday, November 25, 2024 9:32:24 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
EXCLUSIVE: San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus faces false info from her own
department, Board of Supervisors | abc7news.com
https://search.app/wVFNHXke9Z8EKCQz6
From:Aram James
To:h.etzko@gmail.com; Bill Newell; Julie Lythcott-Haims; Vicki Veenker; Ed Lauing; Keith Reckdahl; Josh Becker; JayBoyarsky; Jeff Rosen; Sean Allen; Jeff Moore; Raymond Goins; Human Relations Commission; Doria Summa;Zelkha, Mila; Jack Ajluni; Shikada, Ed; Burt, Patrick; gstone22@gmail.com; dennis burns; Tom DuBois; Holman,Karen (external); Kaloma Smith; Dave Price; Emily Mibach; Braden Cartwright; San José Spotlight; Templeton,Cari; Cribbs, Anne; Stump, Molly; Roberta Ahlquist; George for Palo Alto; Don Austin; Summa, Doria; SupervisorSusan Ellenberg; Supervisor Otto Lee; district1@bos.sccgov.org; Michelle; Daniel Kottke; Palo Alto Free Press;Diana Diamond; EPA Today; Council, City; citycouncil@mountainview.gov
Subject:Re: Human Agenda Human Rights Awards: Samir Laymoun Keynote Speaker
Date:Monday, November 25, 2024 9:13:58 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear Friends:
Human Agenda, a San Jose-based human rights and community
organization, now in its 22nd year, will hold its annual Human Rights
Awards banquet on Saturday, December 7 at 6:00 p.m.
One of the two keynote speakers this year is Samir Laymoun, the
founder of Santa Clara County Palestinian Culturual Day who will
speak on the urgent need to support Palestinian human rights. In
addition, the Council on American-Islamic Relations-SF Bay Area will
receive the Kindness Award this year. This year's event brings together
labor, human rights, civil rights, peace and climate justice
organizations and activists.
I urge you to attend and/or support this year's Human Rights Awards
event (see attachment).
For tickets to the event, please use this link:
https://humanagenda.squarespace.com/2024-human-rights-
awards/2024-human-rights-event-standard-ticket
To sponsor this event at any level, please use this link:
https://humanagenda.squarespace.com/2024-human-rights-
awards/2023-human-rights-awards-sponsorship
Your participation and support are greatly appreciated.
With regards and in solidarity,
Salem Ajluni
Board Member
Human Agenda
From:Alice Kaufman
To:Council, City
Cc:Athena Hernandez; Kleinhaus, Shani; Mike Ferreira; Victorina Arvelo; Karah Fisher; Judy Fenerty; Emma Hartung; kristi.l.iverson@gmail.com
Subject:Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 CityCouncil meeting)
Date:Monday, November 25, 2024 8:53:25 PM
Attachments:Joint letter re Juristac.pdf
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachmentsand clicking on links.
Dear Mayor Stone and Council Members,
Attached please find a letter in support of the Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band toPreserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space (Agenda Item 19, 12/2/24 City Council meeting), signed by the followingorganizations:
Green FoothillsAmah Mutsun Land TrustSanta Clara Valley Bird Alliance (formerly Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society)Sierra Club Loma Prieta ChapterGreenbelt AllianceCalifornia Native Plant SocietyCalifornia Native Plant Society, Santa Clara Valley ChapterShowing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Santa Clara CountyMultifaith Voices for Peace and JusticeUnitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto
We urge the City Council to approve the Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to PreserveJuristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space. Thank you for your consideration of these comments.
photo Alice Kaufman (she/her)
Policy and Advocacy Director
Green Foothills | (650) 968-7243 x313 | mobile (650) 269-2248 | greenfoothills.org
Donate to Green Foothills by 12/31 and your gift will be doubled thanks to a 2X matching grant! Donate today.
From:Madhavii Rawat
To:Burt, Patrick
Cc:Council, City; Arun Chaubey
Subject:Re: Request to Address Train Horn Noise at Churchill Avenue Crossing
Date:Monday, November 25, 2024 8:06:42 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Thanks for the update, Patrick. Appreciate your response.
Regards,
Madhavii Rawat
On Monday, November 25, 2024, Burt, Patrick <Pat.Burt@cityofpaloalto.org> wrote:
Madhavi,
Thank you for your note.
Earlier this year, the city began a project to pursue a quiet zone at Churchill. Unfortunately, such
projects are more complicated (including quad gates and median separations) and take a longer
period to receive approvals and implementation than we would wish. Our quiet zone consultants
estimated up to five years to completion. Consequently, we are also exploring “wayside horns”
that are fixed to the intersection and can attenuate the sound to result in a hoped for ~80%
reduction in sounds impacts on neighbors. Unfortunately, even the wayside horn approach is
estimated to take two years.
We welcome resident engagement on these projects through the Council Rail Committee.
Best regards, Pat Burt
From: Madhavii Rawat <madhavi.rawat@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2024 2:22 PM
To: Council, City <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>
Cc: Arun Chaubey <arun.chaubey@gmail.com>
Subject: Request to Address Train Horn Noise at Churchill Avenue Crossing
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear Members of the Palo Alto City Council,
I am writing to express a concern regarding the frequent train horn noise at the Alma Streetand Churchill Avenue crossing in Palo Alto. We recently moved to this area and arestruggling with the noise, especially during the night when trains repeatedly sound theirhorns.
We have a 1.5-year-old baby who is unable to sleep due to the disturbances. This hassignificantly impacted our family’s ability to rest and maintain a peaceful homeenvironment.
I understand that train honking is a safety measure, but I kindly urge the council to explorepotential solutions to mitigate the impact on residents. For instance, could the city considerdesignating this crossing as a “Quiet Zone” by implementing safety enhancements such asquad gates or additional barriers, as allowed under Federal Railroad Administrationguidelines?
I appreciate the council’s ongoing commitment to ensuring a high quality of life for allresidents and would be happy to provide further details about our experience. Thank you foryour attention to this matter.
Best regards,
Madhavii Rawat
From:Burt, Patrick
To:Madhavii Rawat; Council, City
Cc:Arun Chaubey
Subject:RE: Request to Address Train Horn Noise at Churchill Avenue Crossing
Date:Monday, November 25, 2024 7:55:49 PM
Madhavi,
Thank you for your note.
Earlier this year, the city began a project to pursue a quiet zone at Churchill. Unfortunately, such
projects are more complicated (including quad gates and median separations) and take a longer
period to receive approvals and implementation than we would wish. Our quiet zone consultants
estimated up to five years to completion. Consequently, we are also exploring “wayside horns” that
are fixed to the intersection and can attenuate the sound to result in a hoped for ~80% reduction in
sounds impacts on neighbors. Unfortunately, even the wayside horn approach is estimated to take
two years.
We welcome resident engagement on these projects through the Council Rail Committee.
Best regards, Pat Burt
From: Madhavii Rawat <madhavi.rawat@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2024 2:22 PM
To: Council, City <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>
Cc: Arun Chaubey <arun.chaubey@gmail.com>
Subject: Request to Address Train Horn Noise at Churchill Avenue Crossing
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Dear Members of the Palo Alto City Council,
I am writing to express a concern regarding the frequent train horn noise at the Alma
Street and Churchill Avenue crossing in Palo Alto. We recently moved to this area and
are struggling with the noise, especially during the night when trains repeatedly sound
their horns.
We have a 1.5-year-old baby who is unable to sleep due to the disturbances. This has
significantly impacted our family’s ability to rest and maintain a peaceful home
environment.
I understand that train honking is a safety measure, but I kindly urge the council to
explore potential solutions to mitigate the impact on residents. For instance, could the
city consider designating this crossing as a “Quiet Zone” by implementing safety
enhancements such as quad gates or additional barriers, as allowed under Federal
Railroad Administration guidelines?
I appreciate the council’s ongoing commitment to ensuring a high quality of life for all
residents and would be happy to provide further details about our experience. Thank
you for your attention to this matter.
Best regards,
Madhavii Rawat
From:pennyellson12@gmail.com
To:Council, City
Cc:Bansal, Megha; Eggleston, Brad; Shikada, Ed
Subject:Thank you.
Date:Monday, November 25, 2024 1:10:40 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
Honorable City Council and City Staff,
As a frequent bicyclist and pedestrian, I am writing to thank City Council and city staff for
planning, funding and implementing recent bicycle/pedestrian bridge repairs and
maintenance.
Resurfacing and adding new non-slip surfaces where needed improves safety. New smooth
and level bridge deck planks make a more comfortable, less bumpy ride with fewer trip
hazards for people on foot. Replacing and repairing worn bridge parts will lengthen the useful
life of these essential facilities that serve local and regional bike commuters and pedestrians
of all ages every day.
Special thanks to Megha Bansal, Sr. Engineer in Public Works, and her team who has been
working with PABAC on these well-needed projects.
Safe and convenient bicycle and pedestrian facilities contribute so much to our quality of life in
Palo Alto. Thank you for the work that has been completed so far and for the city’s ongoing
work in this area.
With gratitude,
Penny Ellson
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